April 10 coronavirus news

President Trump says the number coronavirus deaths in the US will be "substantially below the 100,000" figure projected by health experts as cities like Detroit and New Orleans turn a corner in terms of infections.

Some context: The state of Louisiana Friday reported an increase of 970 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours with a total of 19,253 cases and an additional 53 deaths. The state reported that there are 2,054 people hospitalized.  

Orleans Parish continues to have the most cases with 5,416 cases and 225 deaths. Jefferson Parish is reporting 4,678 cases and 165 deaths. 

Detroit health officials reported 249 new Covid-19 cases in the city Thursday, a slight decline from days prior, according to the city's health website. 

There were 525 cases reported in the city on April 4, the highest for a single day there so far. Since then, daily reported cases have showed a steady but slow decline, Detroit's health department epidemic curve shows.  

Italian authorities are urging people to stay at home during the weekend, as traffic rates increase ahead of Easter Sunday in Lombardy, the worst-hit region in the country.

Lombardy has been monitoring its citizens' movement through phone cell's geolocation. 

"We have to spend this Easter at home," he added. 

The Interior Ministry has ordered local police departments to intensify the patrol of people’s movement ahead of the Easter weekend, and said checkpoints have been implemented on the main roads in and out of cities. 

"For the Easter holidays, the prefectures must promote any useful initiative to ensure compliance with the limitations regarding travel within the same municipality and between different locations, including the prohibition to go to homes other than the main one, including the second homes used for holidays," a note on the ministry's website read. 

In the past month, Italian authorities have fined more than 110,000 people for not following the restrictions, according to the interior minister. 

At least 100,376 people have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of deaths across the world.

As of 1:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Johns Hopkins is reporting more than 1,650,000 confirmed cases globally.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he is enacting several cost-cutting measures after the comptroller announced a "potential revenue loss of up to $2.8 billion for fiscal year 2020," Hogan announced today at a press conference. 

This amount represents "up to a 15% reduction in revenues" for the fiscal year, which ends on July 1, 2020, Hogan said.

To address this expected revenue loss, Hogan said he has directed a "budget freeze on all state spending across all state government agencies" except for spending on payroll and Covid-19 expenses.

The governor also instituted a hiring freeze effective immediately. 

Hogan said that, although he received 679 pieces of new legislation from the state's General Assembly, "it is very unlikely that any bills that require increased spending will be signed into law." 

"The state will be tapping into and spending much of, perhaps even all of, the state's rainy day fund balance," Hogan said.

As a result, the governor warned that the state's Covid-19 response "will likely create a multi-year budget issue" which will require "further, substantial budget reduction actions."

The state of Louisiana Friday reported an increase of 970 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours with a total of 19,253 cases and an additional 53 deaths. The state reported that there are 2,054 people hospitalized.  

Orleans Parish continues to have the most cases with 5,416 cases and 225 deaths. Jefferson Parish is reporting 4,678 cases and 165 deaths. 

Pennsylvania added 1,751 new Covid-19 cases bringing the statewide total to 19,979, according to data from the state.

There were 78 more deaths, bringing the statewide death toll to 416.

Philadelphia County continues to have the highest number of cases and deaths at 5,521 cases and 110 deceased.

Britain’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam said that the curve of coronavirus infections is starting to bend — but it's "impossible" to say the United Kingdom has reached its peak.

London has seen a decrease in the number of cases in the last day, but the north of England has seen a rise, he added.

"It's still a dangerous situation we have to keep taking measures to bring this under control," Van Tam said.

The UK reported 980 coronavirus deaths since Thursday, the country’s highest daily death toll, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Friday.

The total number of deaths in the UK stands at 8,958, Hancock said. There are currently 19,304 coronavirus patients in hospital, he noted, adding that 19,116 tests were concluded on Thursday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday that about half of all US deaths have been reported in two states: New York and New Jersey.

The CDC’s numbers lag behind those maintained by other sources, such as Johns Hopkins University, but the agency on Friday released a detailed report outlining the geographic distribution of coronavirus in the US.

New York City has had the highest “cumulative incidence” of reported cases, with 915.3 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. Minnesota had the lowest incidence, at 20.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Some context: A variety of factors could explain why some regions have more cases and deaths, the CDC said. 

Differences in population density, age distribution and the prevalence of underlying medical conditions among Covid-19 patients could be factors, according to the agency.

The variation between regions could also reflect differences in when coronavirus was first introduced into a population. And the timing and extent of community mitigation measures could also be at play, according to the agency.

The CDC also said that differences in testing capacity – and public health reporting practices – could be factors.

The agency cautioned, however, that its report has limitations.

Case counts are likely “underestimated” because of incomplete detection of cases and delays in reporting, according to the CDC. And deaths are also likely to be underreported, the agency said, because people might die from the virus without receiving a Covid-19 diagnosis.

The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that some stimulus payments will start going out next week. Payments will start with those people who have filed their 2018 or 2019 tax returns and have authorized a direct deposit. Those payments will be made automatically.

Social Security beneficiaries will also receive their payments automatically. Those payments will go out “in the near future,” the IRS said Friday.

Others — who haven’t filed those returns, authorized direct deposits, or receive Social Security — will likely have to wait weeks and even months before seeing their money. Some will have to first file a return or register online in order to receive the payment.

Also on Friday, the IRS launched a new tool to help low-income people who aren’t normally required to file returns to input some basic information so that they can receive the stimulus money. They’ll have to provide their Social Security number, name, address, and the number of their dependents – as well as bank account information if they want to receive a direct deposit.

Next week: The IRS plans to roll out another online tool. This will allow people a chance to provide their bank account information so they can receive their payment more quickly rather than waiting for a paper check.

This feature will be unavailable if the payment has already been scheduled for delivery, the agency said. It will also help people check on the status of their payments.