April 11 coronavirus news

New York will gather the best minds to study information on whether reopening the state economy would trigger a "second wave" of infections, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday at a press conference.

"I want to make sure that we know this time that we've learned from the other experiences," he said.

This group will study what happened in other countries across the world to determine the possibility of people catching the virus again, Cuomo said.

New York State Court System will organize lawyers statewide to help businesses pro bono, the governor said.

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The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday morning with the most reported deaths of any nation.

The United States is now reporting at least 18,860 coronavirus deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

Italy is reporting 18,849 coronavirus deaths, according to the university.

There were 783 deaths from the coronavirus across New York state Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday at a press conference.

Cuomo said that while that is not the highest number the state has seen during this pandemic, it is consistent with the rest of the week.

About 101 people are in the ICU and 109 people have had intubations, he said.

A total of 8,627 people have died across the state from Covid-19, the governor added.  

“We have kept politics out of this crisis,” Cuomo said, adding “I worked very hard to do that.”

“I have no personal politics...not running for anything. I’m governor of New York thank you, and that’s where I’m going to stay," he added.

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations across the state "is continuing to flatten."

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There are 237 members of the Chicago Police Department who have tested positive for coronavirus, interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said at a press conference Saturday morning.

Officials also released the name of the second Chicago police officer to die of complications from the virus.

Sgt. Clifford Martin died on Friday after being hospitalized for about two weeks. Martin, a 25-year veteran of the department, left behind a wife and three children, two of whom are officers with the Chicago Police Department, Beck said.

The Spanish government will distribute roughly 10 million masks to workers returning to their jobs beginning this week when restrictions on some workplaces, such as construction sites, will be relaxed.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the masks would be distributed at places like subway stations and other transport hubs by police officers or civil protection workers. Their use would be recommended but not required.

Health Minister Salvador Illa said the use of the masks would be useful especially when social distancing can’t be met.

Grande-Marlaska also announced that 1,700 police officers nationwide have been affected by Covid-19. At the same news conference, Illa said that just over 25,000 workers in the health sector had been infected since the virus hit Spain.

Grande-Marlaska said there had been "a slight increase" in the number of incidents where people had left their homes without reason. He said that on Good Friday, traffic was down 95% compared to normal and entry into Madrid and Barcelona was down 93%.

Illa repeated that the nationwide lockdown continues "at least" until April 26.

A constitutional lawyer says President Trump might not have the authority to completely reopen the country from restrictions put in place to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Page Pate, a criminal defense and constitutional attorney, told CNN that the Constitution and US Supreme Court interpretation does not give the President the authority to override governors' decisions.

Some context: This insight comes after President Trump said Friday at the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing that the decision to reopen the country's economy will be the "biggest decision" he's ever made.

Pate said although this is how the Constitution is interpreted, this particular issue has not played out in the courts before.

"If you look at the constitution, the president's responsibilities and authority ends with the federal government. He cannot control the individual states as far as specific local restrictions," he said.

At least 343 homeless people have tested positive for Covid-19, according to a city official at the press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio today.

About 20 of those individuals have died, the official said. So far, 37 homeless people have been discharged from the hospital, 139 are in isolation within the shelter system, 81 are still in the hospital and 35 are in self-isolation with their families, the official added.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking "advantage of this pause" in business to complete infrastructure projects in Florida, he said at a press briefing Saturday.  

Having less people on Florida roads is an opportunity to make some progress on Orlando's I-4 "construction congestion," DeSantis said.  

The $2.3 billion project aims to reconstruct 21 miles of the interstate in Central Florida, according to DeSantis.   

On average, the interstate sees "well over 100,000 cars a day" but "now you're dealing with volumes that are probably 40,000," allowing for increased road closures without affecting as many people, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Kevin Thibault said.  

DeSantis says the sped-up contract will increase day time operations and allow for longer hours. Thibault projects FDOT will be able to "get this work done in one to two months."