April 3 coronavirus news

Short term rentals in South Carolina — including hotels, motels, rental houses, Airbnbs and time shares — are now prohibited to travelers coming from Covid-19 hotspots, the state’s Gov. Henry McMaster announced today.   

The state had 147 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours for a total of 1,700 total cases. 

McMaster has also announced the closing of more non-essential businesses including furniture and clothing stores, florists, book stores, craft and music stores, effective Monday, April 6, at 5 p.m.  

Grocery stores, home improvement stores, gas stations and firearm retailers will remain open, McMaster said. 

McMaster was pressed by several reporters about his decision to not order a stay-at-home order and he said the orders he’s already put in place address many of the things that would make them stay home.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced a statewide stay-at-home order effective Saturday afternoon. 

"My fellow Alabamians, I want to get straight to the point. Effective tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m., I am mandating a stay-at-home order for the entire state," Ivey said during a press conference Friday afternoon in Montgomery.

Before Friday, Alabama was one of the few states that had yet to issue a stay-at-home order.

Alabama has at least 1,349 cases of coronavirus and at least 34 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his state does not have enough tests for coronavirus.

He said that Illinois is doing about 5,000 tests a day, but hope to get to 10,000. The increase on tests would provide better data and hone in on testing potential outbreak areas, Pritzker added.

Massachusetts has reported 1,436 new coronavirus cases and 38 new deaths today, according to the state website.

The state now has a total of 10,402 cases and 192 deaths.

About 15% of Texans diagnosed with coronavirus have been hospitalized, Gov. Greg Abbott said during a Friday afternoon press conference.

There are currently 5,478 people who have tested positive in the state and 827 of them are hospitalized, Abbott said. 

So far, 91 people have died, according to Abbott.

The state is working to identify alternative sites for medical treatment but currently has more than 19,000 hospital beds and 2,000 ICU beds available, he said.

The state received additional personal protective gear including 1.4 million face masks and 190,000 face shields, Abbott said. 

President Trump is being urged to consider calling for nationwide stay-at-home recommendations, something he has so far refused to do, a source close to the White House Coronavirus Task Force says tells CNN. 

Among the officials nudging the President to embrace such a move is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the source said. On Thursday night during CNN's Town Hall on the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci said it's time for every state in the country to have stay-at-home orders. 

"If you look at what's going on in this country, I just don't understand why we're not doing that. We really should be," Fauci said.

Separately, a White House official tells CNN that the task force is looking to issue mask guidelines at Friday's White House briefing. 

The official said it's possible the mask guidelines could slide until Saturday, but the briefing is expected to delve into masks today. 

President Trump, Vice President Pence, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Deborah Birx are all expected to attend the official said. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said today that the federal government has provided 200,000 N95 masks that have been given to the NYC public hospital system.

De Blasio said he spoke to President Trump and Jared Kushner and thanked them for the masks.

Two more Harris County Sheriff's Office employees have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of employees infected to 15, a press release from the Sheriff's Office said Friday.

One employee is a deputy in her late 40s and the other is a detention officers in her late 30s, according to the release. Harris County is home to the city of Houston and located in southeastern Texas.

Both employees were assigned to work at a county jail, the release said.

By the numbers: So far, 178 employees of the sheriff's office are currently on quarantine due to possible exposure to the virus and one is hospitalized, according to the release.

Three inmates at the jail have also tested positive and 33 more are in quarantine with symptoms awaiting test results, the release said. 

Gov. Mark Gordon announced today Wyoming its order closing schools and most nonessential businesses through April 30.

Gordon updated his order Friday, along with a directive that says anyone who comes to Wyoming from out-of-state must self-quarantine for 14 days unless the trip is related to a job.

Wyoming does not have a mandatory statewide stay-at-home order, although the governor’s office says in a statement, “The Governor continues to emphatically state that people need to stay home whenever possible to prevent or slow the spread of the virus.”

As of Friday afternoon, Wyoming is the only state in the US with no confirmed deaths due to Covid-19. However, state Department of Health spokeswoman Kim Deti tells CNN that a cluster of coronavirus at an assisted living facility in Lander is straining the resources of one of the hospitals in Fremont County, where nine patients are in isolation. 

Fremont County has a population of fewer than 50,000 people, but covers an area of more than 9,000 square miles.

CORRECTION: This post has been updated to reflect that Wyoming’s governor has recommended staying at home.