Coronavirus pandemic in the US

By Elise Hammond, Mike Hayes and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 9:17 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

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5:34 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Los Angeles mayor says officials will "continuously edit" the stay-at-home order

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper following a report that the county is likely to remain under some sort of stay-at-home order for months.

The mayor said he wants to "reassure" residents that this doesn't mean "we'll stay exactly as we are for three more months."

"I want to reassure people, there was panic from the headlines that we'll stay exactly as we are for three more months, and that's not the case. I think she was saying we're not going to fully reopen Los Angeles or anywhere in America without any protections or health orders in the next three months. I think it's going to be longer than three months. We're not moving past Covid-19. We're learning to live with it," the mayor said.

Garcetti's comments to CNN came after Los Angeles Health Director Barbara Ferrer said “with all certainty,” the stay at home order will be extended another three months. Restrictions will continue to be lifted, while the order remains, Ferrer explained.

Los Angeles County’s current order holds until May 15, but the stay-at-home order in California is open-ended.

Addressing the order, Garcetti explained, "There's no radical changes in the next week coming."

He continued: "That doesn't mean three weeks from now, six weeks from now, two months from now, we won't continuously edit that order and make sure we open up safely as much as we can, and if it gets dangerous, we may need to step back at times as well. I've always told people the hard truths."

Watch here:

5:05 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

California state universities to cancel most in-person classes through fall semester

From CNN's Jon Passantino

The California State University system plans to cancel nearly all in-person classes through the fall semester to reduce spread of coronavirus.

The CSU system, which comprises 23 universities across the state, will be moving most instruction online, Chancellor Timothy White announced Tuesday at a Board of Trustees meeting.

The California State University system is the nation’s largest four-year public university system with a total enrollment of more than 480,000 students, according to the CSU.

A CSU spokesperson confirmed the plans to CNN and said additional details will be released later today.

“We will be going fully virtual with the exception of certain classes,” the spokesperson said.

In-person classes at CSU campuses have been canceled since March and have since moved to online only. The CSU has previously announced students applying for admission will not be required to take the SAT or ACT.

5:23 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Arkansas sees a spike in cases, officials say

From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch

Arkansas has seen a spike of at least 27 cases in St. Francis County, officials said at a press conference today.

Arkansas Department of Health Director Dr. Nate Smith said that many of the cases may be connected to the federal prison at Forrest City.

Officials say they are concerned because not all inmates and staff at the prison have been tested and now they are seeing a larger community spread in the county.

The state has received enough remdesivir to treat 50 patients, which will be distributed by the Arkansas Department of Health, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said.

By the numbers: Currently there are 59 people hospitalized in the state. The state is reporting 4,164 cases of coronavirus and 95 deaths.

5:16 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Pelosi says she's not satisfied with administration's pledge for more testing

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, arrives to speak at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on May 12. Graeme Jennings/AFP/Getty Images

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today criticized the Trump administration's pledge to provide the nation with at least 40 to 50 million coronavirus tests per month by September, if necessary, saying it was inadequate.

"No," she replied when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper if she was satisfied by the pledge made by Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Dr. Brett Giroir this morning during a Senate hearing. "You have to do much more than that, and I think they know that.”

“It has to be at least double that, maybe two and a half times that," she added. "The sooner we do it the better."

Pelosi went on to tout House Democrats' latest relief effort, a $3 trillion stimulus bill, which faces stiff opposition from many congressional Republicans who say it includes a wish list of Democratic priorities.

"It may be partisan on their part but it's not partisan on our part to meet the needs of the American people," Pelosi said.

The bill, which Democrats are calling the Heroes Act, would provide nearly $1 trillion for state and local governments, a $200 billion fund for essential worker hazard pay, an additional $75 billion for Covid-19 testing, tracing and isolation efforts, and a new round of direct payments to Americans of up to $6,000 per household, according to a fact sheet released by the House Appropriations Committee.

If the bill passes, it would provide an amount that would stand as the largest relief package in history.

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4:42 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Pediatricians describe treatments for inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to Covid-19

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first US case of Covid-19. C.S. Goldsmith and A. Tamin/CDC

Immune treatments and blood thinners can help children affected by an inflammatory syndrome might be linked with coronavirus infection, pediatricians say.

A panel called the International PICU-COVID-19 Collaboration has compared notes and released a consensus statement defining the condition, named “Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Potentially Associated with COVID-19.”

“To date, most children affected have done well. Treatments have included anticoagulation, IV immunoglobulin, IL-1 or IL-6 blockade, and corticosteroids. Some children have only needed supportive care,” Boston Children’s Hospital said on its website. Dr. Jeffrey Burns, chief of critical care medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, coordinates the panel.

The syndrome is marked by persistent fever, inflammation, poor function in one or more organs, and other symptoms similar to shock.

“In some cases, children present with shock and some have features of Kawasaki disease, whereas others may present with signs of cytokine storm. In some geographic areas, there has been an uptick in Kawasaki disease cases in children who don’t have shock,” Boston Children’s Hospital rheumatologist Dr. Mary Beth Son said. Kawasaki disease involves inflammation in the walls of medium-sized arteries and can damage the heart.

The panel offered guidance for clinicians dealing with possible cases of the inflammatory syndrome:

Children with unexplained fever and evidence of inflammation such as elevated C-reactive protein or white blood cell count should be carefully followed to detect potential progression of disease.
Lab tests should check for signs of inflammatory response, and should include a complete blood count/differential, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; coagulation parameters including D dimer and ferritin; liver function markers; and a cytokine panel.
Children should be tested for antibodies to Covid-19 along with standard PCR diagnostic tests, because many with the syndrome have tested negative for current coronavirus infection.
Children with the syndrome should be given heart tests known as serial echocardiograms, including detailed assessment of the coronary arteries, because many patients have developed low heart function and enlargement of the coronary arteries.

4:39 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Key coronavirus task force members say they will leave quarantine for White House meetings

From CNN Health’s Maggie Fox and Amanda Watts

The leaders of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Tuesday they’ll leave self-quarantine to attend meetings at the White House.

They agreed to self-quarantine after having been exposed to a White House staffer with coronavirus infection.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci had all said over the weekend that they would work from home because of the exposure.

But in a joint statement Tuesday, all three said they would go to the White House for meetings, after all. All are members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have together determined that government entities working in support of the COVID-19 response efforts are providing essential services and the current guidelines for critical infrastructure workers apply,” they said in the statement.

“Therefore, providing that they are asymptomatic, screened, and monitored for fever and other symptoms, wear a face covering, and maintain a distance of at least six feet from others, Drs. Redfield, Hahn, and Fauci can and will participate in meetings on the White House complex when their attendance is needed," the statement continued.

Fauci had already said he would attend meetings at the White House if he was needed, and told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Tuesday that he was at the White House Monday.

“I was at the White House yesterday, and I will likely even perhaps even be there today, and in my office at the NIH. So it is not really strictly speaking, the quarantine as we know it, but it is performing our duties as critical workers,” he said.

4:38 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Florida's initial antibody test results show higher positivity rate in Miami

From CNN's Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt

A bicyclist passes a restaurant with positive message about dealing with the coronavirus pandemic written on it on May 10, in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted Tuesday that the initial results from serological testing at drive-through sites established last week show a higher positivity rate in Miami.

DeSantis wrote that the results show “10% positive for antibodies in Miami and between 2% and 3% in Orlando and Jacksonville.”

"Health care workers and first responders were tested, so not necessarily a representative sample,” DeSantis explained.

5:14 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

Los Angeles County likely to remain under some stay-at-home order for months

A young man rides his bike in front of the Banc of California Stadium in the neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 9. Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images

Los Angeles County is expected to remain under some sort of stay-at-home order for months, according to Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

She said “with all certainty,” the order will be extended another three months. Restrictions will continue to be lifted, while the order remains, Ferrer explained.

“Our hope is always that by using the data, we’d be able to lift restrictions slowly over the next three months,” Ferrer said.

She went on to say that “there’s no way” the extension would be lifted “unless there’s dramatic change in ... this virus and the tools we have at hand.”

Los Angeles County’s current order holds until May 15, but the stay-at-home order in California is open-ended.

Watch here:

4:37 p.m. ET, May 12, 2020

North Carolina to allow outdoor church services, governor says

From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian

Gov. Roy Cooper gives an update on the coronavirus and phase one of reopening the state's economy during a press briefing, on May 12, at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Robert Willett/The News & Observer/AP

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that he is honoring people’s First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and has given permission for outside services of more than 10 people if there is social distancing.

“What we’re hoping is that ministers and church leaders will put the health of their congregations at the head of their thinking in consideration of each other, realizing that it is still dangerous to hold indoor services,” Cooper said.

Where the state stands: North Carolina started its first phase of reopening on May 8 — the same day the stay-at-home order expired.

Retail stores where allowed can expand capacity to 50%. Child care facilities opened for children of working parents or those looking for work and gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed outdoors.