April 9 coronavirus news

The state of New Mexico is using cell phone data to track the movement of people within the state for data on whether people are abiding by stay at home orders, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said during a Thursday evening press conference.

The state wants to screen truckers who are bringing in supplies and take their temperatures but doesn't have enough temperature readers to do so, Lujan Grisham said.

Lujan Grisham said the state is using road signage to let travelers from out of state know that many state parks are not open and small communities should not be visited.

The governor does not want people visiting tribal communities or pueblos and has put up signage to say so as well as diversions and road blocks. 

Lujan Grisham said there is a concern that tourists will overrun small communities, expose them to the virus and buy many supplies needed by residents.

Some tribes have put curfews in place to help dissuade travel of members, Lujan Grisham said.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the coronavirus response coordinator for the Trump administration's White House Coronavirus Task Force, said that the attack rates for coronavirus in some newer hot spots, including Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia, are lower than the attack rates were in some of the early hot spots.

The attack rate is how many people are getting sick per 1,000 people.

Birx said that the attack rate in New York was seven in a thousand but new attack rates are one to two per thousand. She added that these numbers show early mitigation efforts have a direct impact on the amount of cases seen in these cities.

Birx said this new data allows for the integration of information from actual cases as oppose to relying on models in making future decisions.

“This gives us hope about really understanding how to integrate this information together, not dealing with a model but the real live cases that are occurring and understanding how to move forward together to really have a different future,” Birx added.

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Vice President Mike Pence suggested the task force is looking into reassessing guidance regarding disposable gowns as many hospitals across the country face shortages of personal protective equipment. 

Pence continued: “And we’re working very rapidly in the next 24 hours and we’ll have guidance for hospitals and healthcare workers about the ability to, in effect, recycle gowns and make sure that we have the supplies that we need.”

All public and charter schools within the state of Missouri will remain closed through the rest of the school year, Gov. Mike Parson said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

All schools should continue to use online learning and end the school year on the previously set date for each district, Parson said.

Food service options will remain available for those who need them, Parson said.

President Trump said he does not believe additional funding for hospitals and states should be attached to a proposed influx of cash to the Paycheck Protection Program, which is providing loans for small businesses struggling with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump was asked at the coronavirus task force briefing Thursday whether he supports sending additional funds to states and hospitals that need the money.

Some context: Senate Republicans and Democrats sparred Thursday over dueling proposals to add to the stimulus bill Congress recently passed.

Republicans aimed to funnel $250 billion of additional funds into the Paycheck Protection Program available for small businesses, but Democrats said support for hospitals and states should be included with the small business support.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill remain locked in a stalemate.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said during a press conference Thursday that she was "disturbed" by images she's seen on social media of people participating in large social gatherings despite the state order.

Data gathered by the state shows that too many people are congregating too long in places like grocery stores, hardware stores and convenience stores as well as parks, Lujan Grisham said.

She showed a picture of her mother, who she said is in an assisted living facility in Albuquerque, and said she is one of the vulnerable people that could be threatened by others failing to social distance. 

Lujan Grisham said she hasn't seen her mother in six weeks and is concerned that if people aren't acting responsibly she, and others, could suffer. 

"The life that you could destroy could be mine because I could lose my mother," Lujan Grisham said. 

President Trump said there have been more than 2 million coronavirus tests conducted in the US.

Earlier in the briefing, the President said, “Other countries are looking to what we are doing, and our testing operation has now become, far and away, the most sophisticated and the best anywhere.”

However, Trump conceded there will not be mass coronavirus testing for all Americans as the country goes back to work, but also claimed it was not needed.

"We want to have it and we’re going to see if we have it. Do you need it? No. Is it a nice thing to do? Yes. We’re talking about 325 million people and that’s not gonna happen, as you can imagine, and it would never happen with anyone else, either. Other countries do it but they do it in a limited form. We’ll probably be the leader of the pack," Trump said.

Trump also suggested there would be "massive testing" in "certain areas" of the country. 

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The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights organizations have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of nine people in the Dallas County Jail against Dallas County and Sheriff Marian Brown asking for those over the age of 50 to be immediately released during the coronavirus pandemic, a joint press release from the ACLU and other organizations said Thursday.

The legal team involved in the suit has asked the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas to remove those who are medically vulnerable and ensure the jail is adopting protocols including testing, physical distancing.

They also want the jail to provide free access to masks, soap and other sanitation supplies to those in the jail, a release said. 

Plaintiffs have described a lack of access to medical care and a lack of concern for those with underlying health conditions, the release said. 

New Mexico is working to get more reagent and other supplies needed for coronavirus testing, secretary Kathy Kunkel, who oversees the New Mexico Department of Health, said during a Thursday press conference.

Labs within the state are working to complete coronavirus tests but do not have enough supplies, including reagent, Kunkel said.

The state is working in conjunction with other states to share supplies and has also requested supplies from the federal government.

Kunkel said the state received rapid test kits from the federal government but did not receive additional resources to implement those tests

The tests will be made available to hospitals to test healthcare workers and possible coronavirus patients, Kunkel said.