Coronavirus pandemic in the US

The past 24 hours have seen more people in Illinois die due to Covid-19 than any other day yet, Illinois Department of Public Health Director, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, announced Wednesday.

The director announced 192 new Covid-19 related deaths, bringing the total state count to 3,792 deaths.

The state reported 1,677 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases across the state to 84,698, Ezike said.

Ezike said testing capacity is increasing statewide, and to date 489,359 tests have been performed — 17,668 in just the last 24 hours.

US stocks finished lower on Wednesday, with the Dow logging its worst day since the start of the month.

Dire words from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at an event this morning weighed on the market all day. The central banker said negative interest rates are not on the table and that significant risks in the economy remain. Powell added that the unemployment rate would likely peak in the coming month before declining.

Here's where the markets closed:

The Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Madison, Nebraska, has resumed limited operations, after shutting down at the beginning of this month for deep cleaning, sanitization and testing of employees, according to the company. 

In a joint statement, Tyson Foods and the Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department announced that 212 of the employees at the Madison plant had tested positive for Covid-19. 

The statement said 112 of the cases were identified through mass testing from May 1 through May 4 and 100 through local health care providers. Tyson called the testing event "facility wide" but did not specify if all 1,467 of the people who work at the Madison plant were tested. 

According to the statement, "team members who test positive receive paid leave and may return to work only when they have met the criteria established by both the CDC and Tyson."

Some context: On Tuesday afternoon, CNN had asked the health department for an update on the numbers in Madison.

A health official told CNN they had completed testing and had the results waiting, but could not release the information until it received the consent of Tyson, by order of the governor. 

Last week, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the state would only be publishing “aggregate numbers,” which means the total number of positive Covid-19 cases in food processing plants Nebraska-wide, rather than data from individual sites. He said this would also apply to long-term care facilities, like nursing homes. 

Since May 7, CNN has repeatedly asked Ricketts office for clarification on his order, as well as examples of a person who tested positive for Covid-19 and lying about working at a processing plant. The governor's office has not responded. 

Tyson added in the statement that it intends to disclose verified test results at other plants to "health and government officials, team members and stakeholders as they become available as part of its efforts to help affected communities where it operates better understand the coronavirus and the protective measures that can be taken to help prevent its spread."

The famed Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Los Angeles announced Wednesday it will not open for the 2020 season.

The venue said the decision was made "in response to the latests guidance of public health officials and in an effort to protect artists, audiences, and staff from the spread of Covid-19."

With a seating capacity of over 17,000, the Hollywood Bowl hosts about 110 concerts each summer and is one of the largest outdoor amphitheaters in the world, according the venue.

It closed for 12 days in 1951 but has never been shuttered for an entire season.

As California prepares for fire season amid the coronavirus pandemic, the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) said a solution is to put fire evacuees into hotel rooms instead of congregate facilities like a large dorm room or a school gym, which the state typically uses.

The state is also looking into partitions and segregating appropriately at school gyms in addition to using air purifiers and air cleaners, Cal OES Director Mark S. Ghilarducci said.

People will also be evacuated in advance so they have more time to prepare and practice social distancing.

There are at least 1,381,696 coronavirus cases in the US and at least 83,356 people have died from the virus across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

Johns Hopkins on Wednesday reported 12,320 new cases and 1,000 deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that the state now has 10 counties moving into stage two of reopening.

The three new counties are Plumas, Sierra, and Tuolumne counties.

More on this: Earlier today, California officially allowed seven counties to move into the next stage of reopening businesses. Those counties are Amador, Butte, El Dorado, Lassen, Nevada, Placer, and Shasta. There are 58 counties in total in the state.

These counties are allowed to operate curbside retail, childcare for essential workers, car washes, and other services. Personal services like nail salons and gyms are still not permitted at this stage.

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