April 6 coronavirus news

New York could be at the apex of coronavirus cases according to new projections shown at a press briefing.

Jim Malatras, the president of SUNY Empire State College, said new models show a much lower projection.

Some of the initial models predicted that up to 110,000 beds would be needed for coronavirus patients alone, and another that suggested 55,000 beds were needed. Both of the early models showed the peak — or apex — occurring at the end of April.

Malatras said a new, more optimistic projection can be attributed to social distancing.

“We saw the folks looking at those types of model says it was going so what activities and actions could you take to aggressively lower that overall number," Malatras said. "The answer really was, and what the governor’s been doing, was aggressively enforce and enact social distancing to lower the overall number and this number, and the current data suggests that is exactly what's happening.”

Remember: Malatras said that while the new model is hopeful, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will continue to take it one day at a time.

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the state's “pause act” – which closes schools and non-essential businesses — until April 29th.

He said the situation is “turning” and the “rate of infection is going down” and that is because “social distancing is working.”

“I know that’s a negative for many many reasons, I know what it does for the economy” but he said since day one he would not choose “between public health and economic activity.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is going to ask the President to shift the USNS Comfort "from non-Covid to Covid."

The Navy ship was initially dispatched to New York to treat non-coronavirus patients. "We don't need the comfort for non-Covid cases," the governor said.

The Comfort is outfitted with 1,000 hospital beds and is currently docked in New York City. Cuomo said utilizing those beds for coronavirus patients would "make a significant difference" for the state.

Cuomo said he is going to call Trump today to put in the request.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that new hospitalizations, ICU admissions and daily intubations are all down for the state.

He added that those numbers, "would suggest a possible flattening of the curve."

Here were the number of new hospitalizations in New York over the past three days that the governor reported today:

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At least 130,689 people across New York have tested positive for coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

At least 16,837 people are currently hospitalized.

Cuomo said there have been 4,758 deaths — that's up from 4,159 yesterday.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen believes that unemployment may go to depression levels “for a time.”

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Yellen called the initial jobless claims “absolutely shocking” and said the unemployment rate is likely at 12% or 13% and moving higher.

“I think the toll is continuing to rise and how bad it gets, I think it really depends on how quickly people can get back to business,” Yellen said. 

Yellen also said that the focus should be on testing and getting the pandemic under control.

Here's what Yellen said when she was asked about US employment:

Italy’s top flight football league, Serie A, recommended that the annual pay of players and coaching staff be cut by as much as a third due to the Coronavirus emergency in the country. 

Following an emergency General Assembly meeting via video conference on Monday, the League along with 19 clubs unanimously voted to propose “a reduction of 1/3 in total gross annual earnings" if the season can't be resumed, the league said in a statement.

They also recommenced "a reduction of 1/6 in total gross annual earnings" if "the remaining matches of the 2019-20 season can be played in the coming months." 

The statement went on to explain that each club would have to negotiate the cuts with its players and that such a proposal was “necessary to safeguard the future of the entire Italian football system.” 

The 2019-20 Serie A season has been suspended indefinitely since March 9.

“The assembly confirmed the desire to play again and finish the season, but without running risks and only when health conditions and government decisions allow,” added Serie A.

Gov. Gavin Newsom today announced today that California would loan 500 state-owned ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile inventory. 

“We can’t turn our backs on Americans whose lives depend on having a ventilator now,” Newsom said in a press release.

Some context: By all accounts, the coronavirus peak has not hit California yet, but the state is lending ventilators while continuing to prepare for the onslaught of patients.

The famed Masters golf tournament has earmarked a November weekend to hold its 2020 championship.

The Masters was originally slated to tee off this week but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fred Ridley, the chair of Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters, said in a statement, that the organizers had “identified November 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters.”