Coronavirus pandemic in the US

By Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 4:00 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020
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6:09 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Trump ends news conference after heated exchange with reporter

President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus during a press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House, on May 11, in Washington DC.
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus during a press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House, on May 11, in Washington DC. Alex Brandon/AP

When an Asian-American White House reporter asked President Trump about him saying the US is testing for coronavirus more than any other country, he responded by asking her to ask China and then ended the news conference abruptly.

"You've said many times that the US is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing. Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we're still seeing more cases every day?" the reporter from CBS, Weijia Jiang, asked Trump.

Trump responded: "Well they're losing their lives everywhere in the world and maybe that's a question you should ask China, don't ask me, ask China that question, OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer."

Trump then called on another reporter, but Jiang followed up: "Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically? That I should ask China?"

"I'm telling you. I'm not saying it specifically to anybody, I'm saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that," Trump responded.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins then tried to ask Trump two questions but he cut her off and abruptly ended the news conference. Trump then immediately left the White House Rose Garden.

Watch here:

5:52 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Pennsylvania governor says discretionary funding will not go to counties "operating illegally"

From CNN’s Hira Humayun

State of Pennsylvania
State of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said discretionary funding to fight Covid-19 will not go to counties putting people at risk by “operating illegally.”

He said the funding put aside to help combat the crisis will go to those who “do their part.”

“That includes the CARES act funding which will be used to support counties that are following the orders to prevent the spread and medical communities," he said.

Wolf said other discretionary funding will not go to counties that “put us all at risk by operating illegally” and instead to those that are “doing everything they ought to do to keep their citizens safe.”

When asked about President Trump’s tweet from earlier in the day saying the people of Pennsylvania “want their freedom” and that the “Democrats are moving slowly all over the USA, for political purposes,” Wolf said, “I don’t know how you stay safe and move quickly. We’re trying to move deliberately.”

6:36 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Fight breaks out at Target over refusal to wear masks

From CNN's Alexandra Meeks

CNN obscured parts of this image to protect the identity of those pictured.
CNN obscured parts of this image to protect the identity of those pictured. Surveillance video from Target in Van Nuys

Surveillance video at a Target store in Van Nuys, California, shows two men assaulting an employee after they were confronted about not wearing masks, the Los Angeles Police Department told CNN. 

The two suspects, 31-year-old Phillip Hamilton and 29-year-old Paul Hamilton, have been arrested and face felony battery charges. Their bail was set at $50,000, the police department said.

The two suspects were escorted out of the store on the morning of May 1 after refusing to wear face coverings, according to LAPD officers. 

As they approached the exit, one suspect, suddenly without provocation, turned and punched a store employee, causing him and the suspect to fall to the floor. While on the ground, the store employee broke his left arm.

The Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics had to transfer the store employee to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

5:47 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Pence has tested negative for coronavirus again today

From CNN's Jason Hoffman

President Trump said that Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative for coronavirus again today.

“The vice president first of all has been tested and he’s negative and he was tested yesterday, tested today and he is negative. He's in very good shape and I think that that's going to be fine,” Trump said.

Both Trump and Pence are now being tested for coronavirus daily.

Pence was at the White House today but was not at the Rose Garden event.

5:54 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Trump says he is the one requiring staffers to wear masks at the White House

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal 

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany wears a face mask during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 11, in Washington, DC.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany wears a face mask during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 11, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump says he is the one requiring face masks at the White House, even as he defended his choice not to wear one on Monday.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden, was asked why he wasn’t requiring White House staffers to wear face coverings.

“If they’re a certain distance from me, or a certain distance from each other, they do. In the case of me, I'm not close to anybody. I would like to be close to these two gentlemen, they're hardworking, great men,” the President quipped, “but they just said frankly, let's keep it this way. Obviously I'm very far away from everyone."

“If you look at all those people over there, every one of them from what I see, these are White House staffers, they’re White House representatives, they’re White House executives and everybody has a mask on. Just about everybody I’ve seen today has worn a mask,” he remarked.

Asked if he was the one who required it, Trump answered that he was.

“I did,” he said, “I required that.”

5:40 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Connecticut monitoring 3 cases of mysterious illness in children that could be Covid-related

From CNN's Sarah Jorgensen 

Gov. Ned Lamont, left, talks with medical staff outside Saint Francis Hospital, on May 7, in Hartford, Connecticut.
Gov. Ned Lamont, left, talks with medical staff outside Saint Francis Hospital, on May 7, in Hartford, Connecticut. Mark Lennihan/AP

Yale-New Haven Hospital is reporting three cases of the mysterious inflammatory syndrome seen in children that health officials believe could be linked to the coronavirus, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said.

“It’s something we’re really concerned about,” Lamont said, adding the state will be monitoring those cases closely.

Josh Geballe, the chief operating officer for the governor’s office, also noted that the state had been in touch with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the illness.

The latest numbers: Lamont said that the state’s overall trend lines are continuing in “a very positive direction,” saying that the percentage of those who have tested positive is now less than 10%, and has been for a few days.

The state reported 211 new cases, and 41 new deaths on Monday. The number of new hospitalization admissions also decreased from 273 a week ago to approximately 152 yesterday.

Lamont said that all of these numbers illustrate that the state is still on track for its targeted May 20 reopening.

He added the state received a new shipment of personal protective equipment and the anti-viral remdesivir from the federal government, and that new announcements about personal protective equipment and testing will be made tomorrow.

6:26 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Trump on state closures: "People are dying that way, too"

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 11, in Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing about coronavirus testing in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 11, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump claimed that Americans are "dying" from social distancing measures while defending allegations he made that Democrats are keeping the states closed for political reasons to hurt his reelection chances.

“People want to go back. The numbers are getting to a point where they can and there just seems to be no effort on certain blue states to get back into gear,” Trump said. “People aren’t going to stand for it. They want to get back. They're not going to stand for it. They want our country open. I want our country open. I want it open safely.”

He said people are also dying from drug addiction and suicides because of social distancing measures, with no evidence to back up the assertion.

At least 80,087 people have died in the US from coronavirus. Last month, a Washington Post analysis found coronavirus to be one of the leading causes of death among Americans. 

“Don't forget, people are dying the other route,” Trump continued. “You can go with the enclosed route. Everything closed up, you're in your house not allowed to move. People are dying with that too. You look at drug addiction. You look at suicides. Look at some of the things that are taking place.”

Watch here:

5:31 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Trump on positive tests in the White House: "I think it's really well contained"

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

President Trump defended the White House response to diagnosed cases of coronavirus among staffers, continuing to insist it’s safe for businesses to reopen even as the administration struggles to keep its own employees healthy. 

During a news conference Monday, Trump was asked how the system broke down to allow staffers to expose others within the White House to the virus.

“It can happen,” he said. “It’s the hidden enemy, remember that. It’s the hidden enemy, so remember that.”

Trump added that “the one that tested positive,” the vice president’s press secretary Katie Miller, “will be fine.”

On reopening businesses: Asked how businesses should feel comfortable reopening when even the White House is seeing positive cases of the virus, Trump said the White House has seen low numbers of positive cases. 

“We have a lot of people in the White House, and we had one,” he said. “Basically we had one."

Miller was the second White House employee diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, after CNN first reported that one of the President’s personal valets also tested positive. The President did not seem to acknowledge that employee’s diagnosis in any way. 

“We have a lot of people that work here. This building is shocking if you look at the numbers. It's also tremendous numbers of people coming in. Normally you wouldn't do that, but because we are running a country we want to keep our country running. We have a lot of people coming in and out,” he said.

Trump said everybody coming into his office is tested.

“I felt no vulnerability,” he said.

The President later added that he thinks the White House is “really doing a very good job in watching it, and I think it’s very well contained.”

5:13 p.m. ET, May 11, 2020

Michigan governor says more than 12,000 prisoners have been tested for Covid-19

From CNN's Julie Gallagher 

State of Michigan
State of Michigan

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said 12,208 people in Michigan prisons have been tested for Covid-19

She said 2,152 people were positive for the virus and 6,162 were negative. Results for 3,894 tests are still pending.

“Michigan has tested more prisoners than any state in the country,” Whitmer said. 

The state is also offering parole at what the governor expects to be a record pace.

“Last week the parole board paroled 225 people. This week they have 273 projected paroles. Next week, they project 253, and the week of May 25, they project 303. That will likely be the highest number of paroles in one week,” Whitmer said.