April 5 coronavirus news

The Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are finalizing new restrictions that are expected to prohibit cruise ship passengers and crew arriving in the US from boarding domestic commercial flights, according to a person briefed on the matter and an administration official.

The restrictions would apply even to people not showing symptoms and would require 14-day quarantines for cruise passengers and crew. 

While officials are working on the new protocols, they have not been finalized, according to the sources.

These new protocols would likely be agreements between cruise ship companies and the government, requiring that they be followed for these ships to dock at specific ports, the administration official said.

The official said that there could be a range of exceptions and specific circumstances that would divert from the new protocols, specifically as it relates to foreigners on the ships.

If adopted, the new restrictions would limit cruise passengers and crew to flying on charter aircraft. 

The US Coast Guard said Saturday there are 114 cruise ships, carrying 93,000 crew members, either in or near US ports and waters.

This includes 73 cruise ships, with 52,000 crew members, moored or anchored in US ports and anchorages. Another 41 cruise ships, with 41,000 crew members, are underway and still in vicinity of the United States. The cruise industry has an ongoing obligation for the care, safety and welfare of their seafarers.

The first batch of 1 million rapid tests to detect coronavirus are set to be distributed among autonomous regions in Spain between Sunday and Monday, according to a statement from the country's government. 

"Spain will substantially increase the diagnostic capacity to confirm or rule out the presence of COVID-19 in the population," the statement read.  

"Fifteen thousand to 20,000 tests are being performed daily, but this daily diagnostic capacity needs to be increased," the statement added.

The rapid tests will complement the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and will especially target hospitals and vulnerable groups like nursing homes. 

The key part of the diagnostic strategy will continue to be the PCR tests, according to the statement.

As of Sunday, according to the ministry's data, there are 80,261 active cases and 12,418 people have died in Spain

At least 22 New York City subway employees have died of complications due to coronavirus, according to Metropolitan Transit Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan.

Of about 74,000 workers, 1,092 have tested positive for the virus, Donovan said Sunday.

There are 5,430 MTA employees that are on home quarantine, which includes the 1,092 members who have tested positive, Donovan said.

Haiti reported its first novel coronavirus death Sunday, a 55-year-old man who had underlying health conditions, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

The country has only reported 21 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, according to the statement. 

A 2019 report from the Research and Education Consortium for Acute Care in Haiti (REACH), which surveyed Haitian health facilities, said that Haiti had as few as 124 ICU beds and the capacity to ventilate 62 ICU patients across the country, which has a population of more than 10 million. 

The country has faced a prolonged electricity crisis, power that is vital for keeping ventilators and other hospital equipment running.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released instructions and visual tutorials on how to make cloth face coverings from common household materials.

The CDC recently released guidance recommending the use of cloth face coverings "in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, especially in areas of significant community based transmission."

Cloth face coverings, according to the CDC, can be homemade out of pieces of fabric, T-shirts, bandannas and coffee filters to slow down the spread of the virus, especially those that may be asymptomatic and capable of transmitting it to others despite experiencing no symptoms. 

The CDC recommended any homemade cloth face coverings include multiple layers of fabric, be secured to the ears, and allow for breathing without restriction. The guidance recommends routinely cleaning coverings in a washing machine and that no child under the age of 2 should wear them.

People across India turned off all lights in their homes and stood on their balconies, at their open entryways and outside their homes with candles and lamps lit, or flashlight and mobile phone lights turned on to observe a nationwide candlelight vigil Sunday night.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the people of India to hold a nationwide candlelight vigil on Sunday at 9 p.m. local time, for nine minutes, in a show of solidarity for the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Modi said it was important for every Indian to realize that he or she wasn’t alone in this fight. 

Social media has lit up with images of the vigil. Photos posted online show India's President Kovind and the country's first lady with candles at the Presidential Palace. Prime Minister Modi was seen lighting a lamp at his residence.  

China's ambassador to India, India's Home Minister, Bollywood star couple, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, were just some of the people across the country posting images online as they observed the vigil.

A 4-year-old Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York tested positive for coronavirus, which causes Covid-19 in humans. This is the first instance of a tiger being infected, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

The tiger, named Nadia, along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions "had developed a dry cough and all are expected to recover," a news release from the zoo said.

Samples from Nadia were taken and tested after several lions and tigers at the zoo showed symptoms of respiratory illness, the USDA said in a release.

The zoo said the big cats were infected by a person caring for them who was either asymptomatic or had not yet developed symptoms.

"Appropriate preventive measures are now in place for all staff who are caring for them, and the other cats in our four WCS zoos, to prevent further exposure of any other of our zoo cats," the release said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to a hospital on Sunday, according to a statement released by Johnson's office.

Johnson tested positive for coronavirus March 27.

"On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests," the statement read.

"This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

"The Prime Minister thanks (to National Health Service) staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government's advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives."

There are at least 331,151 cases of coronavirus in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

At least 9,441 people have died in the US from coronavirus. 

As of Sunday, there have been at least 18,906 new cases and at least 945 new deaths reported in the US.

CNN is keeping track of coronavirus cases across the US and an interactive map can be found here.