April 10 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Jenni Marsh, Rob Picheta, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 0138 GMT (0938 HKT) April 11, 2020
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1:12 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

South Korea virus hotspot of Daegu sees no new cases

From CNN’s Jake Kwon in Seoul

In this photo taken on March 12, medical workers wearing protective clothing against the coronavirus walk between buildings at the Keimyung University hospital in Daegu.
In this photo taken on March 12, medical workers wearing protective clothing against the coronavirus walk between buildings at the Keimyung University hospital in Daegu. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

The city of Daegu, which had been the epicenter of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak, reported zero new cases for the first time in weeks Friday, as the national numbers of new cases continues to decline.

"For the first time in around 50 days, the number of new confirmed cases had reduced to around 20 (nationwide)," said the country’s Vice Minister of Heath Kim Ganglip.

"In Daegu, for the first time since the patient 31, there was no new case. This is a shared achievement that we all have reached through last three weeks of strengthened social distancing."

The first known case in Daegu, referred to as patient 31, was reported by the government on February 18.

Out of the total 10,450 cases in South Korea, Daegu accounts for 6,807 cases and surrounding North Gyeongsang province accounts for 1,327.

12:59 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

Third coronavirus related death reported in Mumbai slum, total number of cases now at 22

A 70-year-old woman who had tested positive for the coronavirus in Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, died Thursday. The total number of positive cases of coronavirus in one of Asia's largest slums now stands at 22, according to a Mumbai municipality official.

While most of the new cases can be traced to coming in contact with someone who had previously contracted the virus, two of the new cases are of those who had returned from the Tablighi Jamat conference in New Delhi, according to Kiran Dighavkar, an official overseeing Dharavi.

"We are conducting door to door screening of all residents in highly affected areas and are contact tracing and quarantining anyone that has come in contact with those who have tested positive for the virus," Dighavkar said. 

Four apartment complexes and slum areas within Dharavi have been declared containment zones by the Mumbai authorities. The supply of essential services in these areas is maintained but all movement in and out of these localities is restricted in order to contain the spread of the virus, Dighavkar added. 

12:56 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

The US has more than 465,000 cases and 16,000 deaths

Volunteer Jennifer Niebergall holds a specimen bag during drive-through coronavirus testing at Malibu City Hall on April 8 in Malibu, California.
Volunteer Jennifer Niebergall holds a specimen bag during drive-through coronavirus testing at Malibu City Hall on April 8 in Malibu, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The US now has 465,750 cases of the coronavirus and 16,684 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. 

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases. 

This case total doesn't reflect the number of active cases, but rather the total number of people infected since the start of the pandemic. Of those total cases, 25,960 patients have now recovered, according to JHU.

Wyoming is the only state that has not yet reported a coronavirus death.

12:45 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

Trump tries to push fast-forward on the pandemic

Analysis from CNN's Paul LeBlanc and Zachary B. Wolf

Health experts have said from the beginning that only the virus sets the timetable for when the mass pause is over.

US President Donald Trump wants to hit fast-forward. He has specifically expressed interest in a "big bang" reopening, where the entire country comes back online at once, perhaps as soon as May 1.

Trump's (lack of) authority: Just as it wasn't clear that Trump had the power to shut the country down, it's not clear he has the power to open it back up -- particularly not when it's local officials and individual businesses and institutions that would bear the risk of relaxing too soon.

Remember: The federal government's guidelines on closing businesses and restricting gatherings were only ever recommendations. Decisions on how and when to reopen the country will lie mostly with governors who enacted mandatory stay-at-home orders.

Public opinion matters: Regardless of any decisions from the White House, Americans will need to feel comfortable returning into public for the economy to actually "reopen."

A CNN/SSRS poll released Wednesday showed 60% of Americans say they would feel uncomfortable returning to their regular routines if social distancing guidelines were lifted after April 30, the current expiration date for Trump's recommendations.

Read the full analysis here:

12:35 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

Chinese border city will build makeshift hospital after spike in cases coming from Russia

From CNN's Isaac Yee in Hong Kong

China is opening a new field hospital in the city of Suifenhe, home to about 70,000 people, which was placed under lockdown yesterday morning.

The city, in China's far northeast, lies right by the Russian border -- and it has seen a recent spike in imported coronavirus cases, state media reported.

According to state-run outlet China Daily, the makeshift hospital is being converted from an office building, and is expected to be finished tomorrow. It will provide more than 600 hospital beds, and will be staffed by around 400 medical workers.

This comes after the lockdown was announced yesterday. All residents are confined to their homes, and only one person per household will be allowed outside to buy groceries and supplies every three days.

As of Thursday, Suifenhe has 123 imported cases and 137 asymptomatic cases, according to state-run news outlet People's Daily.

12:24 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

10 million students in China are facing the toughest exam of their lives in the middle of a pandemic

From CNN's Ben Westcott and Nectar Gan

Every day, Xiong Yanfei sits at her desk in her parent's small apartment in Wuhan, studying for an exam that could change the course of her life.

She starts at 8 a.m. and finishes at 11 p.m. Normally, at school, she'd get little breaks between classes during the day, before coming home to revise. But for the past two months her city was on coronavirus lockdown, so she studied all day in front of her laptop until her eyes hurt.

Every year, millions of high school students and vocational trainees across China sit the college entrance exam, known colloquially as the "gaokao," or big exam.

high score in the exam, which 10 million people have registered to take this year, is the only way to get into the country's top universities, helping to secure a good future and lucrative career.

Originally scheduled for June, the Chinese government has delayed the exam by at least a month.

Across China, students and teachers are speculating on whether the deferral will help or hinder their grades. But for some, the prospect of another month of study is already causing extreme anxiety.

"After the gaokao was postponed, I had more anxiety," Xiong wrote in a viral post on her Weibo account. "But this is a psychological battle and I have to win, and I must win."

Read the full story here:

12:13 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

Scientists express doubts to White House about coronavirus tests

From CNN Health’s Elizabeth Cohen

A technician in the testing lab displays a coronavirus test sample at MedStar St. Mary's Hospital April 8 in Leonardtown, Maryland.
A technician in the testing lab displays a coronavirus test sample at MedStar St. Mary's Hospital April 8 in Leonardtown, Maryland. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The current tests for coronavirus infection and post-recovery immunity are both imperfect, a top scientific advisory panel told the White House this week.

A committee of the National Academy of Sciences sent a letter to the White House on Wednesday, explaining that the coronavirus test sometimes misses positive cases. One study missed 16 cases out of 51 coronavirus patients.

Tests based on relatively new CRISPR technology might be more accurate, but those tests are not currently available to patients, said the letter.

There is also uncertainty about whether people develop immunity after recovering from the coronavirus.

In a separate letter this week, scientists said that even if someone does develop antibodies against the coronavirus, it’s unclear for how long they’ll be immune or if they’ll be immune at all.

And antibody tests -- which help determine whether someone has recovered and can go back to work -- are often of poor quality.

Results from antibody tests “should be viewed as suspect until rigorous controls are performed and performance characteristics described, as antibody detection methods can vary considerably, and most so far have not described well-standardized controls,” the scientists wrote.

12:03 a.m. ET, April 10, 2020

Singapore government to move foreign workers into alternative living arrangements

From CNN's Anna Kam in Hong Kong

Foreign workers, wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus, look out from the fence of the workers' dormitory in Singapore on April 9.
Foreign workers, wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus, look out from the fence of the workers' dormitory in Singapore on April 9. Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

Singapore will move migrant workers to military camps and floating hotels as the number of cases in the city-state spikes, government officials said late Thursday.

More than 200 cases linked to foreign workers were confirmed that day, the Ministry of Health said.

On Monday, Singapore announced it would quarantine 19,800 migrant workers in dormitories, which have since seen cases spike as well.

The city is now moving to isolate uninfected migrant workers in essential services. These alternative venues include military camps for the Singapore Armed Forces, an exhibition center, floating hotels, and vacant government apartments, said Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce.

"We are moving out workers who are not sick, especially for those who are in essential services, because they still need to continue to work," said Wong. 

The government also announced they would provide other types of aid for foreign workers, including care packages with masks and thermometers, and providing them with three meals a day. 

11:50 p.m. ET, April 9, 2020

Unclaimed victims of the coronavirus could be buried on New York's Hart island, officials say

 From CNN’s Mark Morales and Laura Ly

Drone pictures show bodies being buried on New York's Hart Island where the department of corrections is dealing with more burials overall, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in New York City, on April 9.
Drone pictures show bodies being buried on New York's Hart Island where the department of corrections is dealing with more burials overall, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in New York City, on April 9. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

People in New York who have died from the coronavirus and not been claimed by anyone could be buried on Hart Island, east of the Bronx, officials told CNN today.

“For decades, Hart Island has been used to lay to rest decedents who have not been claimed by family members. We will continue using the Island in that fashion during this crisis and it is likely that people who have passed away from Covid-19 who fit this description will be buried on the Island in the coming days,” said NYC Mayor Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein.

“These are people who, for two weeks, we have not been able to find anyone who says ‘I know that person, I love that person, I will handle the burial,’” she said. “These are people who we have made zero contact with the family.”

If morgue officials make contact with a relative of a deceased person within 14 days, the body will not be moved to Hart Island, said Goldstein. This is part of the city’s plan to ensure they have morgue space during the pandemic.

Prison inmates won't be tasked with burying people on Hart Island, as they once were, said the Department of Corrections Press Secretary on Tuesday. Inmate labor on the island has been suspended for social distancing purposes.