Coronavirus pandemic in the US

A new study suggests that the Covid-19 test being used by the White House frequently misses cases of the virus. 

The Abbott ID NOW test, which has been touted by President Trump on several occasions, is faster than other tests, showing results within 15 minutes. 

Researchers at New York University Langone School of Medicine decided to compare it to other tests. They looked at nasal swabs from 101 patients who came in for coronavirus testing, comparing the Abbott test to a test made by a company called Cepheid.   

The test from Cepheid found that 31 of the 101 patients were positive. The researchers ran those same positive swabs through the Abbott test and found it got a negative result on 48% of them.  

The Abbott test was better for the negative samples, with a 98.5% accuracy rate, according to the NYU research. 

The research was posted on the pre-print server biorxiv.org. It was not reviewed by outside scientists or published in a medical journal.  

Abbott said it was reviewing the NYU research.  

“It’s unclear if the samples were tested correctly and we’re further evaluating these results,” the company said in a statement. “The outcomes in this paper are inconsistent with any experience that we’ve had with this instrument.” 

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam detailed the first phase of reopening starting Friday during a news conference on Wednesday.

Nonessential retail and centers of worship can operate at 50% capacity starting Friday.

Gyms will remain closed, but can offer outdoor fitness options. Restaurants will also remain closed, but can offer outdoor seating at 50% capacity. Salons and barbershops can reopen with social distancing and face covering requirements. 

Gatherings of more than 10 people will remain banned, Northam said.

On May 18, 11 DMV centers will reopen on an appointment-only basis for select services, such as getting a license, vehicle registration, or disabled parking permit, Northam said.

Phase one will be delayed for two more weeks in northern Virginia, which has almost one-third of the state's population but half of the coronavirus cases, Northam said

New York City has 15,233 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 5,083 probable deaths as of May 13, according to the most recent data on the city's website. 

The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 20,316.

There have been 185,206 coronavirus cases in the city and approximately 49,307 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.

The data is from the New York City Health Department and was updated on May 13 at 2:30 p.m., according to the website.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said today that the city's Covid-19 numbers are dropping faster than anybody in the country. He attributes that to the residents wearing masks and social distancing.

The weekly trend in the city is going down, and he announced that the city will expand the testing starting Thursday. Detroit will be able to test 2,000 residents a day with a prescription. They have also made testing available without a prescription to anyone over the age of 60. Testing will also be available to any family member of a city employee.

Duggan emphasized that everyone should be wearing a mask when they leave the house.

By the numbers: There are at least 10,001 cases of coronavirus in Detroit and at least 1,220 people have died due to the virus.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he's aiming for sports to resume practice and playing in the state as soon as this week. 

Sport teams that play in the state will not necessarily have fans, according to DeSantis.

"We want to have the basketball practicing again, we would love to have the Major League Baseball and I think the message is that our people are starved to have some of this back in their lives, it's important part of people's lives," the governor said. 

Florida is already hosting two charity golf tournaments, DeSantis said. 

"All professional sports are welcome here for practicing and for playing," the governor said.

DeSantis said he will announce plans for sports "probably this week."

Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, called on President Trump to cancel his visit to Allentown scheduled for tomorrow.  

Boyle represents an area about one hour from Allentown and voiced his concerns with the President’s visit.

“This is a thinly veiled campaign stop to one of the most important battleground states come November. This is not a time for campaigning,” he told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.

Boyle added that the President should focus on dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is has been an unmitigated disaster from this White House and a real absence of leadership,” he said.

Boyle urged the President:

Watch here:

Yellowstone National Park will begin to reopen on a limited basis on May 18, almost two months after it closed to visitors, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

The park has been closed to visitors since March 24 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The park has created a three-phased plan that initially opens the South and East entrances of Wyoming and limits visitor travel to the lower loop of the park. The first phase will allow visitors to visit Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, and Canyon Village as well as restrooms, self-service gas stations, trails and boardwalks in open parts of the park.

The entrances on the Montana border will remain closed for now as will campsites and overnight accommodations. The park is also not allowing commercial tour buses back in or opening hotels and dining establishments. 

The park said it has developed "a range of mitigation actions" to guard against Covid-19, including protective barriers where needed, encouraging the use of face masks in high-density areas, metering visitor access in certain locations, and increasing cleaning frequency of facilities.

The statement said that Wyoming had "requested the state’s entrances open the week of May 18."

"Montana and Idaho continue to have out-of-state restrictions in place and the park is working closely with these states and counties to open the remaining three entrances as soon as possible," the statement added.

There have been 18 reported cases of inflammatory response syndrome in children in the State of New Jersey, according to Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

The ages of the children showing symptoms of the syndrome range from 3 to 18. The cases are all under investigation and four of the children have tested positive for Covid-19.

Some more context: In neighboring state New York, there are more than 100 cases of children with the inflammatory syndrome, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier today.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that could be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman told CNN Tuesday.

Disney Cruise Line has extended the suspension of its sailings through July 27, the company announced in a statement.

Guests currently booked on any of the sailings affected will be offered the choice of cruise credit (good for 15 months) or a full refund.