By Mike Hayes, Meg Wagner and Ivana Kottasová, CNN
At least 231 people died across New York from coronavirus yesterday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the death toll is decreasing, but slowly.
"You can see how slow that has come down and how painfully high it still is," he said.
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From CNN's Amanda Watts
Dr. Francis Collins, Director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said the race to ramp up testing across the United States will be “a wild ride.”
Speaking today to the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee about new ideas for defeating coronavirus, Collins said, last week NIH announced a program called Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostic (RADx), “the goal of RADx is to help make millions more accurate and easy to use tests per week available to all Americans by the end of summer, and even more in time for the flu season,” Collins said.
Since it announcement last week, Collins said he is “delighted and somewhat astounded” that as of yesterday afternoon, “there were 1,087 applications initiated, 79 of those already complete.”
“In 27 years at NIH, I have honestly never seen anything move this quickly. The expert review team already in place has identified 20 of these completed applications that are ready to move into that first phase of intense scrutiny and the game is on, and it's going to be a wild ride,” he said.
Collins warned, the goal of RADx “is a stretch goal that goes well beyond what most experts think will be possible. I have encountered some stunned expressions, when describing these goals and this timetable.”
“The scientific and logistical challenges are truly daunting, but I remain optimistic because of the track record of American ingenuity and the outpouring that has already happened, of great ideas coming into this Shark Tank,” Collins said.
Japan has approved the use of the experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir, for the treatment of coronavirus patients with severe symptoms.
About the drug: Researchers in the US released some good news last week about a possible treatment for coronavirus — evidence that the experimental drug may help patients recover more quickly from the infection.
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized remdesivir for emergency use in patients with severe Covid-19.
The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare granted special approval of the drug, developed by the US's Gilead Pharmaceutical, just three days after it applied for approval.
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Peter Morris
A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Trump's personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, CNN has learned Thursday, raising concerns about the President's possible exposure to the virus.
The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close to the President and his family.
Trump was upset when he was informed yesterday that the valet had tested positive, a source told CNN, and he was subsequently tested again by the White House physician.
In a statement, the White House confirmed that one of the President's valets had tested positive.
"We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health."
A White House source said the valet, a man who has not been identified, exhibited "symptoms" yesterday morning, and said the news that someone close to Trump had tested positive for coronavirus was "hitting the fan" in the West Wing.
Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the senior staffers who regularly interact with them are still being tested weekly for coronavirus, two people familiar told CNN.
The number of people that were admitted into the hospital for Covid-19 as of Tuesday are down, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
At least 79 people were admitted to hospitals. That number is down from 109 reported Monday, the mayor said.
At least 567 people were admitted into ICUs for Covid-19 treatment across the city and that number is down from the 599 reported on Monday.
Outreach workers and police engaged 361 homeless individuals in New York City last night into this morning, the second day the Metropolitan Transportation Authority closed its subways stations to disinfect trains during overnight hours.
At least 218 people accepted social services: 196 went to shelters and 22 went to hospitals, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference.
“When 218 come in at one night … that’s an extraordinary story,” he said.
From CNN ‘s Chris Isidore
No one expected airlines to report good news for the first quarter. But Spirit's and JetBlue's losses were even worse than analysts predicted.
Spirit followed other airlines in announcing it will offer 12 million shares at an as-yet-undetermined price, and $150 million in debt to raise cash to weather the crisis. It also has reached an agreement to increase a credit line by $30 million by May 18.
That news, combined with Spirit's adjusted loss of $58.9 million, sent Spirit shares down 14% in early trading Thursday.
JetBlue lost an adjusted $116 million excluding special items, compared to a $51 million profit a year earlier. Shares of JetBlue were little changed in early trading.
140,000 New Yorkers will undergo antibody tests beginning next week, as New York City is launching its own antibody survey in partnership with BioReference to understand the spread of the coronavirus, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday morning.
Up to 5,000 people will be tested per day, he said, and test results are expected within 48 hours. Up to 70,000 people will be tested within the first two weeks.
Tests will be focused on people in the general area of test sites, de Blasio said, adding initial testing sites will be located in the Morrisania neighborhood in the Bronx, East New York, Upper Manhattan, Concord, and Long Island City.
Earlier this week, the city announced a separate 140,000 antibody tests for health care workers and first responders.
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he’d like to hear from CDC experts about reopening the US economy, and he said he bases decisions about his states on scientific recommendations.
“What do you got to hide? I think it would be very helpful for us,” Lamont said in response to the Trump administration’s decision to not implement the Centers for Disease Control’s 17-page draft recommendation for reopening America.
“Let us hear from the experts. I think we'll be able to make much better decisions accordingly. Don't politicize this,” he added.
With Connecticut set to begin reopening on May 20, Lamont said the state is “making baby steps as we slowly reopen our economy.”
He outlined what businesses will be able to open at that time:
Lamont also said the state will look at opening summer camps at an appropriate time, and those would also have an educational component. “I’ve got to continue to ramp up the education, so [by] September 1, kids are ready to go back to school,” he said.
Ultimately, the reopening will be shaped by the residents of Connecticut themselves, and Lamont says he trusts them to do the right thing.
“I put a lot of trust in the people of Connecticut and they really honored that trust. I can say I don't want groups of more than five or six, you know, clanging around there. I can't enforce that. I can't have police doing that. I have to trust people that they're going to use their good judgment, and overwhelmingly they have,” he said.
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