April 6 coronavirus news

By Helen Regan, Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Amy Woodyatt and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 9:18 p.m. ET, April 6, 2020
5 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
8:25 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

US Vice President announces hydroxychloroquine trial in Detroit hospital

From CNN's Nikki Robertson

A packet of hydroxychloroquine pills.
A packet of hydroxychloroquine pills. Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images

Hydroxychloroquine will be used in a trial of 3,000 patients at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and the results will be tracked in a formal study, Vice President Mike Pence announced Sunday.

Pence added that they are "more than prepared" to make hydroxychloroquine available to doctor's offices and pharmacies in the Detroit area "as they deem appropriate."

Rear Adm. John Polowczyk of the Supply Chain Logistics Task Force said that the government is working to put out millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine into areas with increasing number of coronavirus cases.

President Donald Trump has frequently claimed the drug has high efficacy against Covid-19 despite no evidence the drug is effective and safe for preventing or treating the coronavirus.

However, there is no "definitive information to be able to make any comment" on whether the drug can be used to treat coronavirus, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at the White House briefing on Saturday. There are currently no products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent Covid-19.

8:19 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Italy records lowest coronavirus death rate in two weeks

From CNN's Lindsay Isaac

Italy has recorded its lowest death rate in a 24-hour period with 525 deaths, the Italian Civil Protection Ministry said Sunday.

A total of 15,877 people have died of Covid-19 in Italy. 

There was a small decrease in patients in critical condition with hospital intensive care units reporting 17 fewer patients. A total of 2,972 new cases have been diagnosed, another decline, bringing the total active cases to 91,246. 

A total of 21,815 people have recovered from the coronavirus, an increase of 819. There are now almost 130,000 coronavirus cases in Italy.

Italy has been in a lockdown for almost four weeks now.

8:21 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Trump claims 1.6 million people in the US have been tested and received results

From CNN's Nicky Roberston

President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing after a coronavirus task force meeting at the White House on April 5.
President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing after a coronavirus task force meeting at the White House on April 5. Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump claimed Sunday that 1.6 million people in the United States have been tested for coronavirus and been given results.

"That's far more than any country’s been able to do," Trump said.

He also said that Abbott Laboratories will produce 1,200 of its new 15-minute coronavirus test weekly. Abbott's test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on March 27.

8:23 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

British Prime Minister expected to stay in the hospital overnight

From CNN’s Duarte Mendonca

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to stay in the hospital overnight, a Downing Street source told CNN on Sunday.

Johnson was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night in what Downing Street said in a statement was a "precautionary step" given that the "Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus."

Johnson was diagnosed with coronavirus on March 27.

President Donald Trump wished Johnson well during a Sunday night press briefing.

"I want to express our nation’s well wishes to Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he wages his own personal fight with the virus," Trump said. "All Americans are praying for him. He’s a friend of mine, he’s a great gentleman and a great leader."
"I’m hopeful and sure that he’s going to be fine," Trump said. 
10:13 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

US coronavirus fight enters crucial weeks as cases top 330,000

Samaritans' Purse members gather at a field hospital for coronavirus patients in Central Park on April 4 in New York City.
Samaritans' Purse members gather at a field hospital for coronavirus patients in Central Park on April 4 in New York City.

There are at least 337,072 cases of coronavirus in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

At least 9,619 people have died in the US from coronavirus. 

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