New York's coronavirus outbreak came from Europe and other parts of US, research suggests

9:55 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

New York's coronavirus outbreak came from Europe and other parts of US, research suggests

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Madeline Holcombe

A patient is transferred from Elmhurst Hospital Center to a waiting ambulance during the coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday, April 7, in New York. Kathy Willens/AP

Two separate datasets suggest that the earliest infections of the novel coronavirus in New York City most likely originated in Europe and other parts of the United States.

New data from NYU Langone Health suggests that the novel coronavirus has been spreading in New York for a couple of months now and a genetic analysis of viral samples in the city indicate that they originated in Europe, according to an announcement from the academic medical center today.

This early data was based on a genetic analysis of the novel coronavirus taken from 75 patients in New York City. The data has not been described yet in a report, pre-print paper, study or peer-reviewed journal.

“We’re just starting this project, but will soon be sequencing 192 viral samples per week with the goal of offering thousands of sequences for analysis in the near future," Adriana Heguy, leader of the research team and director of the Genome Technology Center at NYU Langone Health, said in the announcement.

Separately, a pre-print study from Mount Sinai — which was published online today at medRxiv and not yet peer-reviewed — involved sequencing and analyzing 90 complete coronavirus genomes from 84 Covid-19 patients who sought care in the Mount Sinai Health System between Feb. 29 and March 18.

"With increased testing, we observed the emergence of community acquired infections with the majority of the community cases caused by viral isolates from clades that are of European origin," the researchers wrote in the Mount Sinai study.

"Taken together, we provide a first analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genotypes collected from patients seeking medical care," the researchers wrote. "We find that New York City, as an international hub, provides not only a snapshot of the diversity of disease-causing SARS-CoV-2 at the global level but also informs on the dynamics of the pandemic at the local level."

9:11 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

18-year-old who had coronavirus warns other teens: "It's nothing to joke about"

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Dimitri Mitchell and his mother, Laura Yoder CNN

An 18-year-old grocery store worker who recovered from coronavirus cautioned others to follow social distancing guidelines and group limits.

“I just want to make sure everybody knows that no matter what their age is, it can seriously affect them, and it can seriously mess them up like it messed me up,” Dimitri Mitchell told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “I just hope everybody’s responsible, because it’s nothing to joke about. It’s a real problem.”

Mitchell said he thinks he caught the virus while working as a cashier at his Iowa grocery store. He became sick in the middle of March and progressively got worse — with a high temperature, fatigue, difficulty speaking and “horrible” headaches.

His mother, Laura Yoder, said she took him to the emergency room but he couldn’t get tested at first because the hospital said he was too young to meet the criteria for testing. He admitted he didn’t think he could get coronavirus because the virus at the time seemed to be mostly affecting older people.

“I just never expected myself to get it, and I never expected it to even reach my community,” he said.

Watch more:

8:45 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

6.6 million people in the US filed for unemployment last week

From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

Eddie Rodriguez, who works for the City of Hialeah, Florida, hands out unemployment applications to people in their vehicles on April 8. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Another 6.6 million people filed claims for unemployment benefits in the week that ended on April 4.

It was the second largest number of initial unemployment claims in history, since the Department of Labor started tracking the data in 1967.

9:07 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

At least 100 Italian doctors have died from coronavirus

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite and Hande Atay Alam

Doctors treat a coronavirus patient in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Rome, Italy, on March 26. ROME, ITALY - MARCH 26: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

At least 100 doctors have died from coronavirus in Italy, the Italian Association of Doctors said Thursday.

Eighty of them worked in the north of Italy, the hardest-hit area of the country.

As of Wednesday, 13,522 health workers have been infected in Italy, according to the Italian Institute of Health.

“We have seen unprecedented levels of overwork by nurses, particularly those specialized in intensive care units, those in management or those most directly involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, oftentimes without adequate time for rest and recuperation, without support and assistance, with limited considerations for their mental health and well-being.” said Giorgio Cometto, the coordinator of Human Resources for Health Policies and Standards at WHO’s Health Workforce Department.

As Italy enters its eight week of restrictions, it has the highest death toll in the world, with at least 17,669 deaths, Johns Hopkins University.

The number of active coronavirus cases in Italy reached 95,262 on Wednesday, with 3,693 people in intensive care units. It is the fifth day in a row that the intensive care unit numbers have fallen, with 99 fewer patients than the day before.

8:27 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

Chinese government after US criticism: "Accusations won't get rid of the virus"

From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks at a daily media briefing in Beijing on April 8. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

China responded to criticism of its handling of coronavirus Thursday, as the situation worsens in the US.

"Smearing and accusations won't get rid of the virus," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a press conference in Beijing Thursday. "We hope to see the American people win its fight against the outbreak as early as possible."

Some background: The US and China are fighting to shape the narrative about the pandemic's origins.

Trump and senior members of the administration, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have attempted to brand the outbreak as the result of a "Chinese virus" as they ramp up accusations that Beijing failed to identify, stop or warn about the virus early on.

Zhao refrained from naming Pompeo or Trump in his rebuke, added that "we hope that the American people will reject certain politicians' actions to politicize the pandemic, stigmatize China, shift public attention and deflect blame."

9:56 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

Americans may be able to take summer vacations, Fauci says

From CNN's Amanda Watts

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 8. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Americans have the potential to take summer vacations — if we continue with mitigation strategies to prevent a resurgence.

Speaking to CBS This Morning, Fauci was asked if he could envision a typical summer, filled with vacations, baseball games, weddings and family reunions.

“It can be in the cards,” he said.

But he warned:

“And I say that with some caution, because as I said, when we do that, when we pull back and try to open up the country, as we often use that terminology, we have to be prepared that when the infections start to rear their heads again that we have it in place a very aggressive and effective way to identify, isolate, contract trace and make sure we don't have those spikes we have now. So the answer to your question is yes, if we do the things that we need to do to prevent the resurgence."

Getting back to normal is not like a light switch that you turn on and off, Fauci said, adding it’ll be gradual and depend on where in the country you live.

“The bottom line of it all is, that what we see looking forward, it is very likely that we will progress towards the steps towards normalization as we get to the end of this thirty days. And I think that’s going to be a good time to look and see how quickly can we make that move to try and normalize. But hopefully, and hopefully, by the time we get to the summer we will have taken many steps in that direction," he added.

When asked if Fauci would be taking a summer vacation, he laughed, “I don’t take vacations.”

8:04 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's condition is improving, spokesperson says

From CNN's Luke McGee

A general view of St Thomas' Hospital in London on April 9, where Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to be treated for coronavirus. Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s condition "continues to improve," his official spokesperson said.

Johnson has spent a third night in intensive care at London’s St Thomas’ hospital. Johnson was hospitalized Sunday because he was still suffering coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

“(Johnson) had a good night and continues to improve,” his spokesperson said. “He’s in good spirits.”

He said Johnson is continuing to receive “standard oxygen treatment” and thanks health staff for their care.

7:37 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

What we're covering

From CNN's Jack Guy

Commuters make their way through a subway station in Beijing, China on April 9. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Here's your roundup of the latest coronavirus developments from around the world.

While the number of coronavirus cases, and deaths, continues to rise, so does the number of people who have been infected and gone on to make a full recovery. As of Thursday, more than 332,000 people have recovered from coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center.
Spain has recorded 15,238 coronavirus-related deaths, but the daily death toll rise has slowed after smaller increases in the previous two days. There were 683 deaths in the past 24 hours, 74 fewer than Wednesday’s total death count of 757.
Young people who don’t live with their parents should be allowed to return to work first in order, UK researchers have suggested, in order to ease the "severe damage" being done to the country’s economy.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has called on the European Union (EU) to loosen its budget rules, warning that a failure to do so could mean “the end of Europe.” Members of the bloc are currently divided over an economic response to the coronavirus outbreak, and Conte called for collective action.
Chinese companies have signed medical supply contracts with 58 countries and regions, as well as four international bodies, as authorities around the world scramble to secure essential equipment.
Airbus says it is cutting production by about one-third as airlines scale back orders for new planes due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airplane manufacturer will now make 40 A320, two A330 and six A350 planes per month.

7:34 a.m. ET, April 9, 2020

UK lawmakers given £10,000 for work from home equipment

From James Frater and Simon Cullen

The UK Houses of Parliament are pictured as a cyclist crosses Westminster Bridge in London, England, on April 9. Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

British lawmakers are being given up to £10,000 ($12,400) each to help them set up work-from-home arrangements during the coronavirus outbreak, the UK’s Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) announced Thursday.

“We will do all we can to enable MPs and their staff to continue their work by making it as straightforward as possible to deal with IPSA and receive funding for parliamentary work,” it said.

“To achieve these aims, we have provided an additional £10,000 to each MP’s office costs budget to support the setting up of working from home arrangements.”

It is also relaxing some of the other rules around expense reimbursement, including the 90-day rule for submitting claims.

April 9 coronavirus news