Trump says he has lost five friends to coronavirus
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
President Donald Trump speaks following a tour of medical supply distributor Owens and Minor Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Thursday, May 14. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
President Trump said he's lost five friends to Covid-19 as he spoke to a crowd of dozens of workers in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The President, who early in the pandemic often compared coronavirus to the flu, on Thursday used his personal experience to contrast the two viruses.
"You can say what you want about the flu, but I’ve never lost anybody that I know to the flu," he said.
Trump said he knew people that got sick with the flu, but "they're fine. Nobody ever said they died."
"But I’ve lost five people that I know," he said, "two people were very good friends."
"Now they were older," Trump continued, "I wouldn’t say they were in the greatest of health. I wouldn’t say their weight was perfect. Not perfect. But they’re gone."
"It’s just a terrible, terrible thing," the President said.
Last month, Trump said he'd lost four friends to the virus, including one close friend.
4:15 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
At least 5 sailors from pandemic-stricken aircraft carrier test positive for coronavirus
From CNN's Barbara Starr
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is docked at Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor on Monday, April 27. Tony Azios/AFP/Getty Images
At least five sailors who had returned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier have tested positive for coronavirus despite extensive efforts by the US Navy to prevent another outbreak on the ship, according to a US defense official.
The Navy had instituted several screening procedures to enable those who had recovered to return to the ship following two negative tests, however, despite those measures the five sailors have since again tested positive for the coronavirus
At least one of the sailors who had returned to the aircraft carrier had suddenly started experiencing symptoms, according to the official.
The other four sailors that tested positive had been in close proximity to the sailor exhibiting symptoms.
An additional 18 sailors who had close proximity with those stricken have also been taken off the ship out of “an abundance of caution,” the official said.
The official said the initial inclination is the new cases may be a testing issue rather than a renewed outbreak.
After evacuating about 4,000 sailors from the ship to Guam, the Navy had been returning sailors to the ship following a period of quarantine and isolation in the hopes of getting the aircraft carrier to sea as soon as possible.
CNN's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.
Watch more:
3:20 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Massachusetts governor says number of positive tests has declined "significantly"
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker gives a press conference during his visit to Stanley Street Treatment and Resources in Fall River, on Wednesday, May 13. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced today that the state is reporting a 14% positive rate for the coronavirus tests that came back yesterday, which the governor says is in the range they’ve been seeing over the past few days.
“As we’ve said before, that positive rate has come down significantly from where we were a month ago, where the percent of positive tests was hovering in the 20s and the 30s,” Baker said.
More than 3,000 residents are in the hospital with Covid-19, he said, but hospitals have been have been able to withstand the surge.
“Massachusetts, however, still remains one of the hardest hit states,” Baker said. “And while many data points have been declining, which is a hugely positive development for which the people of Massachusetts deserve enormous credit, we’re watching these numbers very closely because they do move day to day.”
The governor also said that Massachusetts is in the top five testing site per capita and has the lab capacity to process about 30,000 tests per day, but he is pushing for more.
He announced they are expanding testing and will submit a plan to the federal government to secure Covid-19 testing resources. Their plan includes boosting overall testing capacity to 45,000 tests a day by the end of July, randomized testing, and more testing for people in high-risk settings, like state hospitals, group homes, and correctional facilities.
3:18 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Ohio will allow gyms, pools and campgrounds to reopen next week
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess
A woman dispenses hand sanitizing lotion at SouthPark Mall, on Wednesday, May 13, in Strongsville, Ohio. Ohio retail businesses reopened Tuesday following a nearly two-month-long shutdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Tony Dejak/AP
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced today additional reopening dates for the state.
Here's what we know:
Campgrounds can now reopen on May 21 if they can meet safety protocols.
Horse racing can resume on May 22, but spectators will be prohibited.
Gyms and fitness centers in Ohio can reopen on May 26 and low or non-contact sports leagues can resume if they can meet safety protocols.
Pools can reopen on May 26 if they are regulated by local health departments, but Husted pointed out that this guidance is not for water parks or amusement parks.
According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that Covid-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas.
##Reopening
3:10 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Rhode Island to allow in-person summer camps starting on June 29
From CNN's Mirna Alsharif
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo Pool
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced today that summer and youth camps in the state will be allowed to operate in person starting June 29.
Raimondo said that summer camps will look different than previous years because there will be strict social distancing and hygiene guidelines in place. The administration is also considering requiring camp advisers to keep children in "small, stable groups" of about 10 in order to limit their interaction with others.
Raimondo emphasized that this decision is just a goal and is subject to change. More guidance about summer camps will be available on the state's reopening website starting next week.
"For their mental and emotional and intellectual development and health, I think we need to try our best to operate summer camps this summer," Raimondo said, adding that she will be dipping into the Covid-19 emergency funds the state received to ensure camps get what they need to operate safely.
3:00 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Ohio to reopen childcare facilities at the end of the month
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine The Ohio Channel
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced today that beginning May 31 childcare providers in the state will be able to reopen with reduced numbers of children in each classroom and intensified cleaning and hand-washing practices.
Childcare providers will be wearing masks, temperature checks will occur regularly, and children will be required to wash their hands upon arrival, throughout the day, and before pickup, according to adviser Joni Close, president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton.
Preschool classes will only be allowed a maximum number for nine children, while classes with infants and toddlers will only be allowed six per classroom.
DeWine emphasized that there is no playbook for childcare during Covid-19, saying the state must learn and make changes as it moves forward. The governor said Ohio therefore also intends to fund a research project to study best practices for controlling the spread of Covid-19 in childcare settings.
As Ohio’s childcare providers will need assistance when they reopen, the state will be utilizing over $60 million in federal CARES Act funding to provide reopening grants.
"Our goal is to have the safest child care system in the nation. One that nurtures the health and continued growth and development of our children and one that protects the health and safety of our child care workers and teachers,” DeWine said.
Day camps will also open the same day as daycares, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced.
2:57 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Nearly 40% of low-income workers lost their jobs in March, according to new report
From CNN’s Tami Luhby
Nam Y. Huh/AP
The Federal Reserve Bank has released a report detailing just how unequally the coronavirus-induced economic downturn is hitting Americans.
On one hand, lower-income people are getting slammed. Nearly 40% of those with a household income below $40,000 reported a job loss in March, according to the Economic Well-Being of US Households report.
At the same time, for the majority of adults, their income and ability to pay current bills appeared to remain generally stable during the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.
Also essentially unchanged was the percentage of people who reported they could pay off an unexpected $400 emergency expense entirely using cash, savings, or a credit card at the next statement.
What this all means: The findings back up other reports that show that lower-income Americans, as well as black and Hispanic people, are bearing the brunt of the outbreak's financial fallout. They are more likely to work in sectors that are laying off or furloughing workers, such as food services.
More than one in five Americans have filed initial jobless claims since the pandemic began.
From the start of March through early April 2020, 19% of adults said they lost a job, were furloughed or had their hours reduced, the report found. More than one-third of these folks expected to have difficulty paying their bills in April.
Some 64% of adults who reported a job loss or reduction in hours expected to be able to pay all their bills in full in April, compared to 85% of those without an employment disruption.
But nine in 10 people who lost a job reported that their employer indicated that they would return to work, though their bosses did not say when that would occur.
Just over half of workers did at least some work from home in the last week of March, and 41% did all of it remotely. That's a big jump from October when only 7% of those employed by others usually worked from home.
Those with college degrees were more likely to telecommute. Some 63% of workers with at least a bachelor's degree worked entirely from home, but only 20% of those with high school education or less did so.
2:39 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
108-year-old New Jersey woman recovers from Covid-19
From CNN's Julian Cummings
Gov. Phil Murphy/Facebook
Last month, 108-year-old Sylvia Goldscholl of Allendale, New Jersey, was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Today Goldscholl has recovered from the virus, Gov. Phil Murphy said at a news conference.
“She was 7 years old during the 1918 flu pandemic and she survived it. Last month, Sylvia tested positive for Covid-19 and now we can say she has beaten that,” Murphy said.
The governor added: “A tremendous life. A tremendous spirit, A tremendous show of strength. A tremendous role model for all of the rest of us."
2:50 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020
Cuomo: Covid-related illness affecting infants to 21 year olds
State of New York
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state's Department of Health is "now looking at 110 cases of Covid-related illness in children."
The governor said the age of patients range from less than 1 years old to 21 years old.
