By Joshua Berlinger, Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Rob Picheta, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN
From CNN's Joe Sutton
At least 245,213 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally. Of those, 5,983 patients have died.
On Thursday, 28,491 new cases and 846 deaths were recorded, according to Johns Hopkins. 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 to have reported a death from coronavirus.
From CNN's Isaac Yee in Hong Kong
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways will further decrease the number of passenger flights it runs due to low demand caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The airline said it flew just 582 passengers in one day this week, down more than 99% on its daily expectations. The airline usually expects to fly around 100,000 passengers a day.
In an internal memo shared with CNN, Cathay Pacific's CEO Augustus Tang said that the "economic implications associated with the COVID-19's global pandemic is intensifying" and that "our passenger fleet has been virtually grounded as the remaining demand has disappeared."
Tang said that due to the pandemic, "passenger capacity will now be reduced further from the skeleton schedule previously announced," adding, "We will continue to monitor flights closely and may make further reductions if necessary."
The new cost-saving measures come after Cathay announced last month that it would halt all flights on its low-cost carrier HK Express and cut passenger capacity on Cathay Pacific by 96%.
The airline will now only operate two long-haul flights per week to four destinations: London, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Sydney. In Asia, Cathay will maintain three weekly flights to eight destinations including Tokyo, Manila and Singapore.
Tang said that he and Cathay chairman Patrick Healy will be taking a 30% cut in base salary, while executive directors will each see their salaries cut by 25% from April to December.
He warned that employees in regions where capacity has been reduced or flights have been eliminated may need to take unpaid leave or furloughs.
From CNN's Evan Perez and David Shortell
The US Health and Human Services Department said Thursday it had distributed some 192,000 N95 respirator masks and a large haul of other scarce medical supplies that the FBI had seized during the arrest of a Brooklyn man.
Baruch Feldheim, 43, was arrested Monday after he allegedly coughed on FBI agents and told them he had the coronavirus. Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Feldheim sold the N95 masks to doctors and nurses at inflated prices; in one instance at as much as a 700% markup.
They're now being distributed to health-care workers in New York and New Jersey. The department used its authority under the Defense Production Act to make the move.
Read more:
From CNN's Matthew Philips
While discussing the question of whether his administration will advise citizens to use masks today, President Donald Trump claimed that some scarves can be more effective against the coronavirus, when used to cover people's faces, than masks themselves.
“In many cases the scarf is better, it’s thicker. I mean you can -- depending on the material, it’s thicker,” Trump said.
Trump also said that new recommendations for civilians using masks will come out soon.
Facts First: Though he was addressing what citizens should do, Trump’s claim that scarves can work better than masks is not supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance for health care workers.
While scarves may offer some protection, the CDC's advice describes scarves as a possible last resort if masks are not available -- and urges workers to exercise caution if they are using scarves and other clothing, since their capacity to protect workers is "unknown."
When masks are no longer available, the CDC says workers “might use homemade masks (e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort.” The guidance also states that “caution should be exercised when considering this option” and that face shields should be used in addition to these homemade masks.
Read more here:
Global cases top 1 million: More than a million people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University, a landmark moment in the growing worldwide pandemic. The worst affected countries are the United States, Italy and Spain, all of which have more than 100,000 cases.
Italy's death toll nears 14,000: More than 53,000 deaths have been reported globally, according to Johns Hopkins. The countries with the highest number of fatalities are Italy, with 13,915 deaths, and Spain with 10,348.
US to issue nationwide guidance on face masks: In a news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump said that US regulations on face masks would be announced soon, but added they likely wouldn't be mandatory.
Time for national stay-at home order: Fauci: Top US infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci told a CNN town hall Thursday night that it was time to put in place a nationwide order for citizens to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. "I don't understand why that's not happening," he said. President Trump has previously called for flexibility between states.
South Korea tops 10,000 recorded cases: South Korea is now the second country in Asia to have more than 10,000 infections, after China. Nearly 60% of the country's patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
Tokyo records highest single day rise in infections: Japan reported 235 new cases of the novel coronavirus today, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the country to 3,329. The capital Tokyo saw its largest single-day rise yet of 97 cases. There are now 684 infections in the city.
By CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Sony is gearing up to launch a $100 million fund to support those around the world who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative would support frontline medical workers and first responders in the fight against the virus; help children and teachers who must now work remotely; and assist people working in the arts and entertainment industries, the company said in a statement released on Thursday.
"Sony extends its condolences to the families of those who have passed away as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and extends its sympathies to all those who have been impacted," said Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony's president and CEO, in a statement.
“In order to overcome the unprecedented challenges that as a society we now face around the world, we will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in the creative community."
From CNN’s Debra Goldschmidt and Mark Morales
New York City Emergency Medical Service teams who cannot find or restart a pulse while administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation on adult cardiac arrest patients have been told not to bring those patients to hospitals to mitigate the risk of coronavirus exposure to EMS workers, according to a memo obtained by CNN and the chair of the regional emergency medical advisory committee familiar with the edict.
“In the event a resuscitation is terminated, and the body is in public view, the body can be left in the custody of NYPD,” states the memo sent to NYC EMS providers outlining the temporary change issued in response to the ongoing pandemic.
If the New York Police Department (NYPD) response is delayed, EMS teams are instructed to call the police department’s Dead on Arrival Removal teams, according to the memo.
The memo was issued effective immediately on March 31.
“The number of cardiac arrests has gone up significantly over this current pandemic. The reality is we need to do our best to protect our providers,” said Josef Schenker, the chair of the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC) -- which issued the memo.
“Doing CPR, performing rescue breathing are very, very high risk procedures in this environment,” Schenker said, even with personal protective equipment (PPE). “The likelihood that you're going to have a successful resuscitation after doing all the CPR in the field is so low that the risk of doing CPR in that ambulance is so great it outweighs the benefit of the transport,” he said. “The success of that resuscitation is very low,” he said adding, “The risk is more dangerous than the benefit.”
New York City Fire Department deputy commissioner Frank Dwyer said in a statement to CNN that the FDNY "will follow these guidelines and devise a plan to implement these policies."
The FDNY provides EMS services within the city of New York. CNN has reached out to the NYPD for comment.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday on CNN’s coronavirus town hall that the city has about six days at “the current burn rate of ventilators.”
“It’s very simple: A person comes into the ICU unit. They need the ventilator, or they die. It’s that basic proposition,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the state has purchased 17,000 ventilators but they haven’t been delivered because they are coming from China and there are 50 states and the federal government all competing for the equipment. New York only has 4,000 ventilators in the state, Cuomo said.
“Obviously, nobody would say that this was the best way to do it,” Cuomo said, “to have 50 states compete, but that’s where we are.”
Cuomo said that once New York runs out of ventilators, the state will have to share the machines between patients, use BiPap machines, anesthesia machines and other creative strategies such as canceling all non-elective surgeries to provide people the care they need. He also said he will redeploy the ventilators to the places that need them the most.
President Donald Trump’s effort to work with General Motors and Ford to manufacture more ventilators comes too late for the apex of the disease in New York, Cuomo said.
Cuomo questioned why national resources couldn’t be deployed to stay ahead of the curve.
“It’s like watching a slow-moving hurricane across the country, where you know the path that it’s taking. Why not deploy the national resources and just stay ahead of the hurricane?” Cuomo asked.
States, he said, cannot manage the ventilator problem on their own.
“I have a 50,000 bed health system. I don’t have the resources to be able to build an additional 50,000 beds just in case there’s a public health emergency and a pandemic every 10 years. You know, it doesn’t work that way,” Cuomo said.
The governor said while the President has been critical of him during this pandemic, that they have a “very honest relationship.” Trump helped New York convert the Javits Center into a 2,500-bed Covid-19 facility.
“I called him this morning. He got it done by the afternoon, so kudos the President,” Cuomo said.
By CNN's Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo
Japan is banning travelers who have recently visited any of over 70 countries and regions -- including the US, UK and China -- in the past 14 days, as of April 3.
The new rules kick in for arrivals as of Friday, even for those whose flight departs before April 3, in an escalation of Japan's fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
For now, there is no end date to the travel restriction.
Surge in coronavirus cases: Following a spike in infections in Tokyo and other cities, Japan is scrambling to avert an explosive uptick in cases as public pressure mounts on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency.
Emergency measures: A declaration of a state of emergency would allow prefectural governors to send out a stronger message when it comes to urging the public to stay at home, but the measures will not be legally binding.
