April 7 coronavirus news

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

Updated 9:24 p.m. ET, April 7, 2020

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1:32 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

Tyson Foods suspends production in Iowa after dozens of employees test positive for Covid-19

Tyson Foods, one of the world's largest poultry, beef and pork producers, is suspending operations at an Iowa pork plant after more than two dozen employees there tested positive for coronavirus.

The plant is located in the city of Columbus Junction, the company said in a statement.

CEO Noel White said the suspension was imposed "out of an abundance of caution," and that the company was seeing "varying levels of production impact."

"In an effort to minimize the impact on our overall production, we’re diverting the livestock supply originally scheduled for delivery to Columbus Junction to some of our other pork plants in the region,” White said in the statement.

The statement also said the company is taking the temperature of workers at all locations before they enter facilities, has increased deep cleaning, is working to secure protective face coverings for workers, and has implemented interim protocols for temporary protective coverings.

1:23 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

Honduras makes it mandatory to wear face masks in public

From CNN's Juliana Gonzalez, Jackie Castillo and Hira Humayun in Atlanta

People wearing face masks on a street of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Monday. Credit: Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images

People in Honduras will now be required to cover their mouths when they are outside, President Juan Orlando Hernández said in a televised statement Monday.

The order goes into effect on Tuesday.

“The use of masks is mandatory, it is not optional. Even a homemade mask makes a big difference and can partially protect us,” he said in a video dedicated to the use of masks.

"Today, any type of protection is essential," he added.

The government is including four masks with each bag of food it delivers to the neediest families, he said, and invited people to watch videos on how to make masks at home.

The government is also preparing policies that will allow masks to be made in bulk for Hondurans and to export them later, Hernández said.

The armed forces industry, which usually manufactures military equipment, has also been ordered to produce face masks and other protective equipment instead.

1:11 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

The real coronavirus death toll could be much higher -- but coroners don't have enough tests

From CNN's Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken and Ashley Fantz

Jill Romann, the coroner in Douglas County, Colorado, was so desperate for coronavirus tests that she began calling hospitals in the middle of the night to avoid management, begging whoever was on duty for one or two test kits.

Her total collection reached about 13 before the hospitals caught on and shut her down.

She asked the state health department for help getting the tests needed to determine whether deaths were linked to the virus. But she said the agency told her it was not providing them to coroners because it was prioritizing the tests for the living. She hasn't been able to get the supplies she needs from private labs either.

"If you die in my county, I will not know if you died of Covid-19," Romann said. "I will, however, be able to tell if you legally smoked pot."

Other death investigators are equally frustrated and worried about coronavirus deaths being missed. A coroner in Wyoming, the only state that still hasn't reported any deaths due to the virus, said he seriously doubts its official death count, and told CNN he hasn't been able to test a number of suspected cases.

And an Ohio coroner said she believes at least four deaths in her county have already been left uncounted.

As the country battles a rapidly growing number of coronavirus infections, 13 coroners and medical examiners in nine states told CNN that they are struggling to acquire the supplies needed to test bodies arriving at their facilities for the disease.

Read more about it here:

Coroners worry Covid-19 test shortages could lead to uncounted deaths

1:12 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

South Korea records fewer than 50 new cases for a second day in a row

A worker holding signs advising people to keep 2 meters apart amid concerns over the coronavirus stands near blossom trees in the Yeouido district of Seoul on April 5. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

South Korea recorded 47 new coronavirus infections yesterday -- the second consecutive day that the country saw fewer than 50 new cases.

Of the new cases, 13 are from the national epicenter of Daegu, 10 are from Gyeonggi province, four from Seoul, and the rest from other parts of the country.

The country has now recorded 10,331 cases and 192 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This total doesn't reflect the number of active cases, but rather the number of all infections since the outbreak began. A total of 6,694 patients have recovered, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

12:41 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

Japan will declare a state of emergency, but some worry it's too little too late

From CNN's James Griffiths in Hong Kong and Will Ripley in Tokyo

Much of Japan will enter a state of emergency today as the country struggles to rein in the pandemic, months after the first domestic cases were reported.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that "basic economic activity" will continue in seven affected prefectures, but urged people to exercise social distancing and avoid unnecessary trips.

Not enough testing: Abe has faced criticism for not activating emergency measures earlier, as experts warned the true number of cases could be far higher than official statistics due to a lack of widespread testing.

The capital Tokyo is among one of the country's worst hit areas, and doctors in the city declared a state of medical emergency yesterday, citing a possible collapse of the health care system.

One medical official warned that the next six weeks will be critical in preventing an "explosive spread" of the virus.

Too little too late? Japan was among the first countries to report cases of the coronavirus. But despite this long exposure to the virus, the country has been slow to take the kind of radical steps seen in many other parts of the world.

Officials have faced accusations of deliberately dragging their feet to avoid greater damage to the economy after the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, which is expected to cause a big hit.

But experts have warned that the failure to respond quickly could result in a far worse situation.

Read the full story here:

Japan to declare state of emergency over coronavirus pandemic

12:31 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

The US now has more than 368,000 cases

The United States now has at least 368,196 cases of the coronavirus and 10,986 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

There were 30,576 new cases and 1,343 deaths reported on Monday.

The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all cases repatriated from overseas.

Wyoming is the only state not reporting a death from coronavirus.

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

Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

12:21 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

Japan records more than 250 new cases as PM prepares to declare state of emergency

People cross a road near the Kabuki-cho district of Tokyo, an area that has seen a disproportionate number of coronavirus cases, on April 6, in Tokyo, Japan. Carl Court/Getty Images

Japan recorded 252 new cases and seven more deaths from the coronavirus yesterday, the country's health ministry said.

Some 83 of those new cases are from the capital Tokyo.

That brings the total number of cases nationwide to 4,618. Of those, 712 cases were from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in quarantine in February.

The national death toll has reached 91, with 11 deaths from the ship.

State of emergency: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced yesterday that he will declare a state of emergency.

Abe will further explain the declaration at a news conference later today. He added that Japan's state of emergency will differ from Western countries, and will last about a month.

Basic economic activity, like public transportation and supermarkets, will continue to operate, he said.

12:07 a.m. ET, April 7, 2020

For the first time since January, China has reported no new coronavirus deaths

From CNN's Isaac Yee and Eric Cheung in Hong Kong

A face mask-clad cyclist rides alongside a barricade separating a residential compound in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province, on April 6, after some restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic were eased in the city. Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images

China reported no new novel coronavirus deaths or locally transmitted cases yesterday, according to the country's National Health Commission.

There were 32 new cases -- all of them imported from abroad.

This is the first time China has reported no new coronavirus deaths since the NHC began releasing daily updates in late January.

China has now recorded a total of 81,740 cases and 3,331 deaths, according to the NHC.

This doesn't represent the total number of active cases, but rather the number of infections since the pandemic began. Of those total cases, 77,167 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, according to the NHC.

Much of China is returning to normal life. Hubei province -- ground zero for the pandemic -- and many other parts of the country have been under lockdown and movement restrictions for three months, but curbs designed to stop the spread of the virus are beginning to loosen as the perceived level of threat subsides.

Tomorrow, the lockdown on Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, will be lifted -- a significant milestone in its battle against the deadly virus.

Starting tomorrow, people will be allowed to leave Wuhan and Hubei if they have a green QR code on their mobile phones, which the provincial government has distributed as an indicator of people's health status.

11:46 p.m. ET, April 6, 2020

Samsung says it eked out a profit rise before the worst of the pandemic hit

From CNN's Sherisse Pham

Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, predicts it eked out a rise in profit last quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic was just beginning to disrupt supply chains and hobble global demand.

The South Korean company said on Tuesday that it expects to make an operating profit of roughly 6.4 trillion won ($5.2 billion) for the January-to-March period. That's up nearly 3% from the same period a year ago and right in line with what analysts polled by data provider Refinitiv predicted.

Samsung said it expects sales will also rise about 5% to 55 trillion won ($45 billion).

Shares in Samsung rose about 2% in Seoul on the news, though later pared gains to 1.4%.

The company will report full first-quarter results at the end of this month.