April 1 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Tara John, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 9:37 p.m. ET, April 1, 2020
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12:10 p.m. ET, April 1, 2020

Pence: "The next two weeks, the next 30 days are vital"

Vice President Mike Pence urged every American to "do their part" and follow the federal coronavirus guidelines.

"The next two weeks, the next 30 days are vital," Pence said. "The future is on our hands."

On Sunday, President Trump said he would extend nationwide social distancing guidelines for another 30 days, an abrupt back-down from his push to reopen the country as coronavirus continues to spread.

The White House's social distancing guidance advises all Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 and urges older people to stay at home.

Watch:

11:45 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

Nearly 100 sailors aboard a Navy ship have tested positive for coronavirus

From CNN's Barbara Starr

Bullit Marquez/AP
Bullit Marquez/AP

There are nearly 100 sailors who have tested positive for Covid-19 on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a senior defense official tells CNN. The Navy has every expectation that the number will rise, source added.

About 1,000 of more than 4,000 crew members have been tested so far. The official said about 1,000 sailors have been moved ashore in Guam and that is expected to rise to 3,000 in the coming days.  

Guam’s Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said on Wednesday she will allow sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam if they test negative for coronavirus and undergo a 14-day quarantine. 

Some context: CNN reported Tuesday that the commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a US Navy aircraft carrier where an outbreak of the coronavirus has spread to at least 70 sailors, has warned Navy leadership that decisive action is required to save the lives of the ship's crew.

"We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors," Capt. Brett Crozier wrote in a memo to the Navy's Pacific Fleet, three US defense officials have confirmed to CNN.

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly told CNN's John King Tuesday that the Navy was working to get the sailors off the ship. "We don't disagree with the (Commanding Officer) on that ship and we're doing it in a very methodical way because it's not the same as a cruise ship, that ship has armaments on it, it has aircraft on it, we have to be able to fight fires if there are fires on board the ship, we have to run a nuclear power plant, so there's a lot of things that we have to do on that ship that make it a little bit different and unique but we're managing it and we're working through it," he added.

11:17 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

Wimbledon tennis tournament canceled

Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Alex Davidson/Getty Images

The famous Wimbledon tennis tournament has been canceled, organizers announced today.

"It is with great regret that the AELTC has today decided that The Championships 2020 will be cancelled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic," tournament organizers said in a statement.

Organizers said they would offer refunds to those who purchased tickets for this summer's tournament.

11:08 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

New York hospital system says more than 400 employees have coronavirus

Northwell Health, the largest health care system in the state of New York, told CNN that about 470 employees have tested positive for Covid-19.

Northwell Health spokesperson Terence Lynam said the hospital system has had more than 2,400 Covid-19 patients in their hospitals, with an additional 3,600 hospitalized patients who were either waiting to be tested or waiting for results. ICUs are currently 85% full.

The company employs about 72,000 people.

11:07 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

Germany extends social distancing measures until April 19

From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to the media on March 22.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to the media on March 22. Clemens Bilan/Pool/Getty Images

German chancellor Angela Merkel announced today that the federal government and Germany's sixteen states have agreed to extend the country’s social distancing measures until April 19 to curb the spread of coronavirus.

''We assessed the situation today and confirmed that the restrictions ... will be valid up to and including April 19," Merkel said in a live audio stream from her home quarantine.

This date is after the Easter holidays. Merkel explained that ''a pandemic knows no holidays'' and that ''citizens are urged to keep contact with people beyond their own household to an absolute minimum, even during the Easter holidays, in accordance with applicable rules'," adding that it was far too early to relax contact restrictions.

Merkel also warned that there would be dire consequences if measures were to be lifted too soon. She said that her government would re-assess the situation on the Tuesday after Easter. 

10:53 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

There are now at least 186,991 coronavirus cases in the US

According to CNN Health's tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are at least 186,991 cases of coronavirus in the US. At least 3,888 people have died in the US from coronavirus. 

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

Wyoming is the only state not reporting a death from coronavirus. 

11:01 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

Pakistan extends national lockdown for 2 more weeks

From Sophia Saifi in Islamabad

A cat roams the Rawal Lake area in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 01.
A cat roams the Rawal Lake area in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 01. Muhammed Semih Ugurlu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Pakistan has extended its nationwide lockdown by two weeks, until April 14, the country's National Coordination Committee on Covid-19 announced today.

Domestic and international flights will not resume during this time. However, from Thursday until April 11, Pakistan International Airlines will run special flights to get Canadian and British citizens out of the country.

According to the Ministry of Health, 2,071 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 26 people have died from the virus in Pakistan. 

10:24 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

If you wear a mask, do these three things

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to re-examine possible changes to its recommendations on the general public wearing face masks.

In the meantime, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said that there are three things you should do if you decide to wear a mask. 

He broke it down on the “Today” show on Wednesday:

  • Don't touch your face: “If you’re going to wear a face covering, please try not to touch your face. Please be very, very careful about making sure you don’t touch your face,” Adams told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.
  • Don't use an N95: “If you’re going to wear a face covering, please save the N95 masks for healthcare workers who need them,” Adams said.
  • Stay at home: “Wearing a face covering does not mean that you don’t have to practice social distancing. The most important thing you can do is stay at home right now, and we don’t want people to feel like ‘OK I’m covering my face so now it’s OK for me to go out in public,'" he said.
10:20 a.m. ET, April 1, 2020

At least one Indian territory is tracking the phones of suspected coronavirus patients

From CNN's Swati Gupta in New Delhi

Roads are seen deserted during a lockdown in Greater Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India, on March 26.
Roads are seen deserted during a lockdown in Greater Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India, on March 26. Altaf Qadri/AP

The Delhi government has announced that it has started tracking the phones of people who are suspected to have coronavirus and have been quarantined at their home.

“We have made a decision and with help from the police, people who have been asked to quarantine themselves at home, we will track their phones over the past few days to ensure that they were staying at home,” said Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister.

A total of 25,429 phone numbers have been provided to police for tracking, according to Kejriwal.

“People who are leaving the quarantine, we will take strict action and we will also trace people they came in contact with,” said Kejriwal.