By Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Fernando Alfonso III and Zamira Rahim, CNN
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 74 people died yesterday in the state from the coronavirus. He called this "relatively positive news" compared to the higher daily death toll number the state was previously seeing.
"This is always painful. And we're going to be watching this number to see how far down it actually goes," he added.
Cuomo said that hospitalizations, intubations, and new Covid-19 cases are also down in the state. "That is all very very good news," he said.
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From CNN's Jamie Crawford
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said he was “very confident that a vaccine” for coronavirus “will be on line beginning sometime in the fall and we’ll have, the goal is to have upward of three hundred million doses by the first of January.”
“If that happens – and there is very high confidence levels that it will happen – then we will be able to immunize the military and immunize the population at large and then we will see a very very rapid decrease in this disease throughout the country and then I think we’ll get back to more normal conditions,” he said.
Milley made the comments Thursday during an online town hall with US forces and Defense Department staff alongside Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Esper and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar are leading a task force unveiled earlier this month by President Trump called ‘Operation Warp Speed’ that is working to develop a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Nine businesses in Borough Park Brooklyn have been shut down in the last 48 hours, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, adding it is “idiotic” to try to open a business that will be legally allowed to “open in as little as a week or two.”
Responding to a question from a reporter, de Blasio explained that those businesses were told they were not to be open and stopped operating. He added that the sheriff’s department has been working this.
“If any of them are found in operation again that begins with a $1,000 daily fine," he said.
“Hey how bout waiting until it's legal and safe? And then you can do it the right way,” de Blasio said.
“If you don’t, you’re going to suffer this kind of consequence, it makes no sense," he added.
Earlier in response to a more general question about businesses deciding to reopen early, de Blasio said, “Businesses are not supposed to make up their own rules and jump the gun, it’s just, it’s really clear.”
From CNN's Lauren Fox
Senator Tim Kaine announced in a statement Thursday that he and his wife have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.
“We each tested positive for coronavirus antibodies this month. While those antibodies could make us less likely to be re-infected or infect others, there is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide," the Virginia senator said in a statement. "So we will keep following CDC guidelines—hand-washing, mask wearing, social distancing. We encourage others to do so as well. It shows those around you that you care about them.”
Some context: Earlier this week CNN's health team reported that antibody tests used to determine if people have been infected in the past with Covid-19 might be wrong up to half the time, according to new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From CNN's Kaori Enjoji in Tokyo and Angus Watson in Hong Kong
Nissan can't guarantee long-term job security for its 10,000 workers in the US, now furloughed during the coronavirus lockdown, the automaker’s chief operating officer told CNN. However, he said, those workers are beginning to return to their factories.
“Now we are ramping up the plants, and they are coming back,” Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta told CNN.
Nissan said Thursday it will slash its overall production capacity by 20% after 2019 proved its worst year since 1999, including a big drop in sales in the United States.
“When we look at the United States [in 2020] we anticipate that the United States will be 12 million, which is 4-5 million less than last year. That's why we are not giving any projection this year. Because nobody knows how the recovery will come back,” says Gupta.
Nissan's market share in Europe is now just 2.7%, Gupta told CNN, prompting the ailing Japanese firm to close its Barcelona plant, costing 3,000 jobs.
There are no planned production line closures in the UK, he said.
“US, China, Japan are the top three markets for us in terms of market share. But Europe is very important for us because we are the ones who created the crossover SUV. We are going to focus that in Europe, focusing that in Sunderland. At the moment there is no line closures in Sunderland.”
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Mayor Bill de Blasio outlined the first phase of reopening as it aligns with state guidelines, adding that based on metrics, this will happen either in the first or second week of June.
“That’s four whole parts of our economy, manufacturing, construction, wholesale, and parts of retail that haven’t been opened yet again with restrictions," de Blasio said at his daily news briefing on Thursday.
The mayor added that clothing stores, office supply stores and furniture stores are restricted to curbside pickup or in store pick up.
It's estimated a range of 200,000 to 400,000 workers will be returning to work. The estimate is based on analysis of April 2020 employment in affected industries.
In a lot of other parts of the country “that would be their entire city,” de Blasio said.
The mayor said there are basic “common sense” rules for all sectors during reopening including social distancing, to keep occupancy to under 50%, personal protective equipment, regular cleaning of shared surfaces, health screenings for employees such as temperature checks or questionnaires, and communication with employees and patrons in the form of creating distance markers and signage.
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House will forgo issuing economic projections that are traditionally released over the summer that would likely show the effects of the coronavirus downturn, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
The "mid-session review" usually comes over the summer after the winter release of the President's budget proposal. It includes updated projections on unemployment and growth.
The officials said the coronavirus had injected too much uncertainty into the economy to allow for accurate projections. Instead, the report will likely include a summary of the current economic conditions and information about relief legislation enacted by the Trump Administration.
The Washington Post first reported on the decision to forgo the traditional economic forecast this year.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the city is getting to the point “very, very soon” where it can take the first step towards Phase 1 as it navigates reopening amid the pandemic.
The mayor said that he thinks "it’s time that New Yorkers see their hard work rewarded."
On New Yorkers' efforts during the pandemic, de Blasio said, “It hasn’t been easy for a single day."
“Despite that you’ve done it and you’ve done it to a remarkable degree,” he added.
De Blasio said that the city has put itself "in a position to start talking about opening things up, step by step, phase by phase.”
We are “getting to the point very, very soon where we can take the first step to restart in phase 1," the mayor said.
“You have earned it," he added.
President Trump for the first time weighed in on the United States surpassing 100,000 deaths from coronavirus calling it a “sad milestone” in a tweet this morning.
Asked why the President had not spoken about the milestone earlier, deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere said, “President Trump’s prayers for comfort and strength are with all of those grieving the loss of a loved one or friend.”
A White House official also said the President has talked about the “grave loss of life” many times before and noted that the President referenced the losses Americans have suffered during his Memorial Day remarks.
"He lowered the flags over the weekend as a mark of tribute and honor to all those lost,” the official added.