April 3 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Rob Picheta, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 8:02 a.m. ET, April 4, 2020
114 Posts
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5:23 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Alabama governor issues stay-at-home order

From CNN's Lindsay Benson

Office of Gov. Kay Ivey
Office of Gov. Kay Ivey

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.

5:16 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Illinois governor on coronavirus tests: "There’s no federal plan"

From CNN's Jessica King

WLS/Pool
WLS/Pool

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

“We do not have enough tests. The federal government said they were going to provide millions of tests, and all the states relied upon that promise, and it still hasn’t happened,” Pritzker said when asked about the levels of coronavirus testing in his state in a press conference Friday afternoon.

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.

“Right now, the testing supplies, the swabs, everything about the tests are very difficult to come by and there’s no federal plan for this so every state is on their own – as I’ve said it’s the wild west out here,” he added. 
5:01 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Massachusetts reports 1,436 new coronavirus cases and 38 new deaths

From CNN's Rob Frehse

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.

5:03 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

About 15% of people diagnosed with coronavirus have been hospitalized in Texas

Texas Army National Guardsmen set up a field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on March 31, in Dallas.
Texas Army National Guardsmen set up a field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on March 31, in Dallas. Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP

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. 

4:59 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Trump is being urged to consider national stay home recommendations, source says

From CNN's Jim Acosta

Pool/Getty Images
Pool/Getty Images

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. 

4:55 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

New York mayor says federal government sent the city 200,000 N95 masks

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a news conference on March 31, in New York.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a news conference on March 31, in New York. Frank Franklin II/AP

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.

4:54 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

2 more Houston-area sheriff's employees test positive for coronavirus

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

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. 

6:17 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Wyoming extends order keeping schools, nonessential businesses closed through April 30

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.

4:34 p.m. ET, April 3, 2020

Illinois reports biggest one day jump in coronavirus cases and deaths

From CNN's Omar Jimenez

Illinois announced 1,209 new cases and an additional 53 deaths Friday in the biggest one day jump in both cases and deaths the state has seen to date.

At a Friday news conference, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also urged residents to wear a mask when going outside.

“Maybe it’s a homemade fabric mask, or maybe it’s a manufactured general mask, really just something to cover your nose and mouth out of courtesy to those around you in case you’re one of those who are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic,” Pritzker said at his daily briefing. 

Seventy percent of ICU beds are now occupied in the state of Illinois while only fifty percent of the state’s ventilators are available, according to data from the state health department Friday.

“Every day we have added existing beds and equipment at our existing hospitals to increase capacity,” Pritzker said Friday. “That availability is diminishing as Covid-19’s presence continues to grow,” Pritzker told reporters.