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 at least 21,003.
There have been about 192,840 coronavirus cases in the city and approximately 50,770 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.
5:00 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Trump on second stimulus bill: "I think we will. I think we’re going to be helping people out"
From CNN's Allie Malloy
President Donald Trump speaks during a tour at the Ford Rawsonville Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment in Ypsilanti, Michigan on May 21. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
President Trump said today he thinks that there will be a second stimulus bill for Americans, echoing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments earlier Thursday.
“I think we will. I think we’re going to be helping people out. We’re gonna be getting some money for them during the artificial — cause it really is it’s an artificial closure — and now we’re gonna be able to open it up,” Trump told reporters while touring a Ford Motors factory in Michigan.
“I would say there could be one more nice shot. One more nice dose,” Trump said regarding the stimulus.
When asked what should be included in the bill, Trump wouldn’t answer saying he’ll let reporters know at the “appropriate time.”
“Today we’re celebrating these great companies doing ventilators and other equipment but we have a very, very specific plan. It’ll be great for the American people and our economies gonna be back soon,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Mnuchin said there is a “strong likelihood” that another stimulus bill will be needed to keep the economy afloat.
He added, that for now, Congress needs to take a step back and allow the $3 trillion in aid already appropriated to get pumped into the economy.
4:57 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Puerto Rico will hold its Democratic primary on July 12
From CNN's Adam Levy
A medical personnel stands at the entrance of a municipal Covid-19 drive-thru testing site in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 25. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images
Puerto Rico announced it will now hold its Democratic primary on July 12.
A statement from the Puerto Rico Democratic Party announcing the date change criticized both the Democratic National Convention and Sen. Bernie Sanders for forcing them to hold the contest amid the coronavirus outbreak.
It said chairman Charles Rodriguez “preferred to avoid the primary and save much needed public funds to deal with the COVID-19 emergency and budgetary constraints, and instead adopt an alternate method for selecting delegates.”
“The Democratic primary, however, is mandated by law and Senator Sanders insist on participating in the primaries in Puerto Rico and other states in order to accumulate delegates that he believes will enable him to advance his platform proposals at the Democratic National Convention,” the statement said.
Some background: Puerto Rico postponed its primary after originally delaying the event scheduled for March 29. It has been a US territory since 1917, and it participates in the presidential primary process but not the general election.
4:55 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
UPenn considering an entirely online fall semester
From CNN's Elizabeth Stuart
The University of Pennsylvania is considering conducting all classes online for the fall 2020 semester, one of four possible scenarios it is looking at.
The four scenarios laid out in an email by the university's president Amy Gutmann and other school leaders are:
A hybrid experience with some in-person instruction.
An in-person experience ending at Thanksgiving break.
A more robust summer course offering in 2021.
An entirely online experience for the fall semester.
For the hybrid option, classroom instruction would be offered in smaller groups, with no more than 25 students. All larger classes of more than 25 students would be delivered online, even for students living on campus.
The in-person experience ending at Thanksgiving break could also be compatible with a hybrid experience. All on-campus activities would end before the holiday, and the remainder of the semester would be conducted online.
The option for more course offerings in summer 2021 would be to maintain flexibility for students, and is also compatible with the first two scenarios, according to the email.
The final option of an entirely online fall semester would happen if students can't be brought back to campus in the fall because of the pandemic.
"In this scenario, we would make every effort to bring students back to campus as soon as possible," the email said.
The email also said some activities, like research, are likely to resume before others, like extracurricular or student-life activities. A decision with more specific plans will be made by the end of June.
5:22 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Trump says he will not replace the director of the CDC
From CNN's Greg Clary
President Donald Trump speaks as he tours Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment on Thursday, May 21, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Alex Brandon/AP
President Trump said he is not looking to replace Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trump shared this insight after answering a reporter's question as he was was wrapping up the second stop on his visit to a Ford manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Some context: Redfield’s job has been in question after Trump criticized him at a private Senate GOP lunch and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro slammed the CDC for failed coronavirus tests early in the pandemic.
Trump said Wednesday that Redfield is doing a "very good job" leading the agency and denied ever discussing the CDC at Tuesday's lunch on Capitol Hill with GOP senators.
"I think he's done a very good job. I think my whole team has done a very good job," Trump said, adding that there is "great talent" at the CDC.
Watch:
4:46 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Los Angeles County reports more than 2,000 coronavirus-related deaths
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
With 46 new deaths reported today, Los Angeles County now has a total of 2,016 coronavirus-related fatalities.
“This is a sad milestone for us,” Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in a daily briefing.
Some context: There are 42,037 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the county, with about three-quarters of those infected falling between the ages of 18 and 65; the age group that makes up the majority of the county's workforce, Ferrer said.
Testing is increasing within the county, with more than 400,000 people tested so far. Of those, about 9% are confirmed to have the virus.
Ferrer expressed concern about no-shows at testing sites, saying that 10-20% of appointments made are not being kept.
4:45 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
African Americans with Covid-19 more likely to be hospitalized than non-Hispanic whites, new study finds
From CNN's Gisela Crespo
Medics wearing personal protection equipment transport an African American patient showing Covid-19 symptoms from his apartment to Stamford Hospital on April 4, in Stamford, Connecticut. John Moore/Getty Images
African-American patients with confirmed Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized than non-Hispanic whites, according to a new study.
Among 1,052 confirmed cases of Covid-19 within one California health network, 52% of African Americans were hospitalized compared to 25.7% of non-Hispanic white patients, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Health Affairs.
Nearly 25% of African Americans who were hospitalized for Covid-19 during the time period studied were transferred to the intensive care unit, compared to 10.7% of whites, the team at Sutter Health, a health care network serving 22 counties in Northern California, including in the San Francisco Bay area, found.
The study used Sutter's electronic health record data of Covid-19 tested and confirmed cases within the network and looked at factors beyond lack of health care coverage, since nearly 93% residents in California are insured under either private or government health plans.
These factors included self-reported race and ethnicity, sex, age, and underlying health conditions.
The study also looked at income level, and found that overall, African Americans live in areas with a lower income compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
Among the confirmed Covid-19 cases during that period of time, 51 patients died. The study did not find a significant difference in the mortality rate when it came to race and ethnicity.
Why this matters: Researchers say genetic or biological factors may increase the severity of illness for African Americans. But they also point to societal factors that may delay seeking care, including structural inequities and unconscious biases on the part of providers.
"The disparity therefore may not be in who is tested but when," the report said.
Dr. Stephen Lockhart, chief medical officer at Sutter Health, said that Covid-19 "has ripped a Band-Aid off the structural inequities that exist within our society."
"We must address these disparities right way because the cost of not addressing them is measured in human life," Lockhart said in a statement.
4:42 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Orange County reports back-to-back Covid-19 death records as protesters rally against stay-home order
From CNN's Alexandra Meeks
Orange County in Southern California reported their highest number of deaths in a single day today, just one day after setting the previous high record of daily deaths in the county.
The county reported 14 new deaths today, bringing the total number of deaths in the county to 112.
Yesterday, the county reported 10 new deaths, with 8 of those identified as residents at skilled nursing facilities.
There are currently 4,841 cases in Orange County to date, according to latest data from the county's public health department.
This comes after up to 200 protesters rallied against stay-at-home orders at Orange County's San Clemente beach Thursday, a spokesperson at the Orange County Sheriff's Department told CNN.
Eight people were arrested for a variety of crimes included trespassing, vandalism and refusing to disperse from an unlawful assembly, according to the sheriff's department.
Latest on California's reopening: More than two-thirds of the counties in California are moving ahead with reopening further, including San Diego, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara counties.
The 40 counties that have been approved will move ahead into "expanded phase two" of reopening, which allows dining in restaurants and shopping in stores.
Among those areas maintaining current restrictions are Southern California’s highly populated counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino. Densely populated Bay Area counties like San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Clara are also remaining as is.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that Los Angeles specifically "is likely weeks behind" the rest of the state when it comes to reopening.
4:36 p.m. ET, May 21, 2020
Trump addresses threat to pull federal funding from Michigan
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
President Donald Trump tours Ford's Rawsonville Components Plant that has been converted to making personal protection and medical equipment on Thursday, May 21, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Alex Brandon/AP
President Trump addressed threats to pull federal funding from Michigan as he visited a Ford plant in the state Thursday, but didn’t get specific about what funding could be taken away.
Trump was asked about comments Wednesday where he seemed to soften on that threat, saying he didn’t think it would be necessary.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t necessary,” the President clarified. “I said that I might have to do that.”
“We’re not going to go to voting by mail,” Trump continued. “Voting by mail is wrought with fraud and abuse,” he said, before launching into a list of claims about vote by mail fraud, none of which he supported with evidence.
When asked to clarify what funding he wanted pulled if Michigan didn’t comply, Trump wouldn’t talk about it.
“I’m not going to discuss that,” he said, “there are so many forms of funding and we’re not going to discuss that.”
Some background: In his tweet Wednesday morning, Trump falsely claimed Michigan would send absentee ballots to 7.7 million voters.
But he also threatened to "hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Trump several hours later deleted the tweet and sent a new one that correctly described Michigan's absentee ballot initiative.
A senior administration official with the Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday that "no decisions have been made" about funding to states in response to Trump's threats.
"No decisions have been made at this time. Discussions are ongoing," the official said, adding the "President has made waste, fraud and abuse key over the last few years -- for example, his budget this year included the first ever full chapter dedicated to money the Government spends on inappropriate or harmful or wasteful organizations and programs."
