April 9 coronavirus news

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he is thinking ahead to prepare for what could happen next year with the coronavirus.

It "will be another challenging time," he warned during CNN's ongoing coronavirus town hall. “I want to be able to have it so we respond to it next year with the fundamentals of public health, early case identification, isolation contact tracing.

Those proactive steps would change the way the country could deal with another outbreak. That way, “we don’t have to go through the serious mitigation steps that we’re taking to get us under control,” Redfield said.

All public transportation in Cuba will be suspended starting Saturday to stop the virus from spreading across the island, officials announced today.

This means buses, taxis and other forms of public transit will cease to operate, said Cuban Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila on state-run television.

Only state employees deemed essential to national interests will be allowed to take special buses to their workplaces, he said. Those employees will need to wear face masks and maintain social distancing from other passengers.

Most Cubans rely on public transportation to travel, often packing into buses and vintage American cars that operate as communal taxis.

Cuba has 515 cases and 15 deaths so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

##Daily Life

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield praised the American people for largely adhering to social distancing guidelines, which he described as among the most important "weapons" wielded against the pandemic.

Redfield made these comments Thursday night during CNN's coronavirus town hall.

He added: "But I can tell you, I've been really unbelievably amazed and gratified by the commitment of the American people."

The city of Honolulu, Hawaii, is instituting a "pilot" curfew for the city into place to try to avoid the spread of coronavirus over the coming Easter weekend.

Police Chief Susan Ballard announced in a press conference that most people will not be allowed to use any vehicles – “anything with a wheel,” she said – from 11 p.m. local time until 5 a.m. each day, as police patrols are increased. 

Although it is currently in effect only for the upcoming weekend, Ballard says it may be extended through the rest of the month if it’s considered a success.

The mayor also announced a new campaign called “No Butts on Beaches,” encouraging people not to use public beaches for sunbathing. 

Caldwell says socially distant surfing is still allowed, but with no mingling afterward.

“When you come out of the water, maybe you rinse off, but you go home,” Caldwell said.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta are hosting a two-hour special tonight on the coronavirus pandemic.

There is no audience tonight due to ongoing concerns around the coronavirus.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott today announced the passing of former Vermont State Representative Bernie Juskiewicz, who was a confirmed positive case of Covid-19, according to the governor’s office.

Scott added: “Although this terrible new disease took Bernie from us, the impact of his service will live on. My heart goes out to Suzan and the rest of his family during this difficult time."

Scott has ordered the Vermont state flag to fly at half-staff on April 13 in the late lawmaker's honor.

Amazon has reassigned a group of employees to build a lab meant for coronavirus testing, the e-commerce giant said Thursday. 

The company hopes to begin testing “small numbers of our front line employees soon” for the virus, and left open the possibility that the testing could be made more widely available.  

Some context: The move comes amid mounting pressure on Amazon to protect its workers, as more have fallen ill.

More than a dozen Amazon facilities have been hit by the pandemic, and many workers claim that the true number is far higher. 

“We’ve begun the work of building incremental testing capacity,” Amazon said in a blog post Thursday. “A team of Amazonians with a variety of skills – from research scientists and program managers to procurement specialists and software engineers – have moved from their normal day jobs onto a dedicated team to work on this initiative.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order that allows for licensed funeral directors around the country to practice in New York state, a move that will make it easier for more funeral directors to assist with the high number of coronavirus deaths.

The governor said earlier today that he was planning to sign this type of order.

The order also allows for the New York State Registrar to register death certificates and issue burial and removal permits, as well as allowing for individuals deputized by the Health Commissioner to be agents who, after being authorized by a funeral director, can be present and supervise and arrange for the removal or transfer of a deceased individual.  

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said some states are already distributing the additional $600 benefit to unemployment applicants provided through the latest stimulus package, but acknowledged that there are still lags in other states’ computer systems preventing them from distributing the payments.

Some context: Scalia’s comments come amid skyrocketing unemployment claims across the country.

Scalia added the federal government has “already dispersed half a billion dollars to states to help them with their systems and making these payments. We have another half a billion dollars that we’re ready to release."