April 7 coronavirus news

There have been so many coronavirus deaths in a short amount of time in Suffolk County, New York, that the county’s morgue and overflow morgues are nearing capacity.

Now, the Long Island county is planning to use a refrigerated building on a farm to help store bodies, a county spokesman confirmed to CNN.

Bellone decided, instead, to use facilities on the Suffolk County Farm, which is run by the Cornell Cooperative Extension but owned by the county.

There is a building on site that has large, unused refrigeration system, Bellone’s spokesperson Jason Elan said.

The county’s morgue capabilities, which includes a refrigerated trailer from the state, are half full, Elan said, adding that another trailer is expected to arrive later on Tuesday. After those are filled, the farm’s refrigerator would be used.  

Bellone’s administration has also requested more body bags from the state.

“I’m having conversations I never imagined having in this position,” Bellone said.

France’s total death toll due to coronavirus has surpassed 10,000 and it has recorded the largest daily increase in deaths — a total of 1,417 — according to France’s Health Ministry data published today.

The total number of dead now stands at 10,328, including 7,091 people in hospitals and 3,237 in nursing homes. 

Jerome Salomon, director of the public health authority, said that France has not reached the peak of the epidemic yet. 

The coronavirus pandemic is overwhelming, and one of the most excruciating parts for many people is the feeling of utter helplessness in the face of widespread suffering and hardship.

Here's how to help service workers in your community during the coronavirus pandemic:

CNN’s Impact Your World has compiled a list of donation opportunities and tips to help those affected by the crisis. You can read the full list here.

President Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro fired off an internal flare at the White House in late January, warning in a memo that the coronavirus could become a "full-blown pandemic," risking trillions of dollars in economic losses and the health of millions, a source familiar with the memo confirmed to CNN.

In the first memo, Navarro pushed for a travel ban on China — something he and other officials had begun lobbying for weeks earlier — and "aggressive" containment efforts.

Less than a month later, as Trump continued to downplay the threat, Navarro warned that the risk of a pandemic was rising and urged the White House's coronavirus task force to secure billions in supplemental spending, according to two sources familiar with the second memo.

The sources confirmed the authenticity of both memos, which were first reported by the New York Times and Axios.

In the first memo, Navarro warned of a worst case scenario in which a half-million Americans could die. In the second, he warned the risk was growing to imperil the loss of 1.2 million lives.

Some context: The memos are the latest piece of evidence that undercuts Trump's insistence at the time that the administration had the situation under control and his more recent claims that the pandemic the US now faces was "unforeseen."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's condition is stable, and he is still in intensive care, a Downing Street spokesperson said Tuesday.

“He is in good spirits,” the spokesman added.

Johnson was taken to hospital on Sunday night. At the time, Downing Street said the decision was a precaution because he continued to suffer from a cough and a fever ten days after testing positive for the coronavirus.

But his condition deteriorated yesterday, Downing Street said, and he was moved to the intensive care unit at St. Thomas' Hospital.

Johnson tested positive for Covid-19 nearly two weeks ago. 

There are at least 378,289 cases of coronavirus in the US and more than 11,000 people have died, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that the state experienced its highest coronavirus related death toll in one day so far, saying in part, “New Jersey has seen 232 deaths to Covid-19 related complications bringing the number of total deaths statewide to 1,232.”

In a press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Murphy said the state had 3,361 positive test results which brings the statewide total of positive coronavirus cases to 44,416.

Numbers show a disproportionate number of black Americans are dying due to the coronavirus, doctors and officials say.

Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones, a family physician and epidemiologist, said structural segregation and inequality in US society has positioned black Americans and other minorities to be more exposed to the virus, and have more severe cases because of other health issues.

She said this same segregation also means that black people work jobs that are seen as less valuable, and as a result, they are not as protected. Phyllis Jones pointed out another reason cases are resulting in death could be the limited access to health care."What's happening is black folks are getting infected more because they are exposed more and once infected they're dying more," she said.

Here's a look at some of the numbers: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a press briefing yesterday about 70% of coronavirus deaths in the state have been black residents who make up only about 32% of the overall population.

In Illinois, about 42% of deaths have been black patients, who make up only about 15% of the population there. In Michigan, black residents make up about 14% of the statewide population, and account for more than 40% of the deaths

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said yesterday that 72% of all Chicago deaths related to Covid-19 have been black Chicagoans.  

WATCH:

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been in touch with the top four congressional leaders — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — about passing additional funding for the emergency small business loan program, a source with knowledge tells CNN.