April 18 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan, Laura Smith-Spark, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 8:59 p.m. ET, April 18, 2020

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11:43 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

540 people died in New York over the past 24 hours from coronavirus

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 540 people in New York died Friday from coronavirus, he said moments ago during a news conference.

The state also recorded 2,000 new admissions to a hospital or new Covid-19 diagnoses yesterday, he said.

"And if you notice, 2,000 we're not at the peak, but this is where we were just about in late March, when it started to go up. So we're not at the plateau anymore, but we're still not in a good position. And the worse news is still tragic news, number of deaths, 540. It's not as high as it was. It's still 540 people died yesterday. 540 people. 540 families. 504 in hospitals, 36 in nursing homes. Nursing homes are the single biggest fear in all of this. Vulnerable people in one place, it is the feeding frenzy for this virus," Cuomo said.

ICU admissions and intubation numbers down in New York, Cuomo added.

11:16 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

New awareness campaign focuses on face coverings on New York's public transit

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is launching a public awareness campaign to remind riders to wear face coverings.

The campaign, “Keep Them Covered,” compliments New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order requiring all New Yorkers to wear a face covering while riding public transportation.

The campaign includes digital signage across more than 7,000 digital screens –– including 4,000 in the NYC subway system, 2,600 on busses and about 550 on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad.

There are also an additional 7,000 printed signs and audio announcements across the system.

“Wearing the face covering is critical to protecting public health and could ultimately save lives," said Patrick Warren, MTA chief safety officer.

11:03 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Secretary Esper to extend travel restrictions for Defense Department personnel

From CNN's Jamie Crawford

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks at a press conference in 2019. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Defense Secretary Mark Esper will extend the current Defense Department wide travel restrictions through June 30, a Pentagon official said Saturday.

The order will continue to stop the movement of most military forces and their families to new assignments around the world in order to get a better sense of testing forces for coronavirus.

In a telephone briefing with reporters, Matthew Donovan, under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said the order will be effective on Monday. It was due to expire in May.

“Continuing these travel restrictions is necessary because of the global nature of the department of defense enterprise. We have service members stationed in all 50 states and in numerous foreign nations across the globe. While many areas in the United States may be on a positive trajectory, some areas and many nations are not,” Donovan said in the briefing. "Secretary Esper will maintain a continuous conditions based assessment of the Covid-19 pandemic and will formally review this policy every 15 days to determine if conditions allow travel to resume earlier than June 30."

Some context: In a briefing at the Pentagon earlier this week, Esper said the decision to allow more movements for troops and their families to new postings around the globe will be “driven by science by what the scientists and doctors are telling us about how this virus moves because protecting our people, protecting our communities will be task number one."

10:58 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Trump properties in Florida furlough 713 workers

From CNN's Nicky Robertson

Two Trump properties in Florida have furloughed a total of 713 workers due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to documents the Trump Organization filed with the Florida Department of Labor and local officials.

There are 560 employees furloughed at Trump National Doral Miami and 153 employees were furloughed at the Mar-A-Lago club.

The organization said the furloughs are of non-essential employees at both properties.

“We anticipate that this cessation of nonessential operations of the Club and these furloughs will be temporary. Based on the fluid and rapidly evolving nature of this situation, however, at this time we are unable to provide a specific date at which we will be able to recommence regular Club operations and return affected employees to work,” the organization’s head of human resources said in a letter regarding Doral.

A spokesman for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment regarding the furloughs.

The real estate publication the Real Deal first reported the furloughs.

10:37 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

New York City residents can now report people who are not social distancing

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Times Square is seen virtually empty on April 17. Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images

New York City residents can now report other people for not social distancing.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new service that encourages New Yorkers to take a photo of a crowded place, or a group of people who are not following social distancing guidelines, and text it to a phone number that alerts authorities.

"We still know there's some people that need to get the message and that means sometimes making sure the enforcement is there to educate people and make clear we've got to have social distancing," de Blasio said in a tweet today. "When you see a crowd, when you see a line that's distanced, when you see a supermarket that too crowded, anything, you can report it right away so we can get help there to fix the problem."

De Blasio said that once New Yorkers send the photo, "we will make sure enforcement comes right away."

He said the new reporting system is about saving lives and making sure social distancing is continuing in the city.

Some context: There has been 13,202 deaths due to the coronavirus so far in New York City, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Watch the mayor's announcement:

6:48 p.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Ferrari to produce respirator valves and fittings for protective masks

From CNN's Valentina Di Donato

Respirator valves and fitting for protective masks produced by Ferrari. Ferrari Media via AP

Italian sports car maker Ferrari has announced that it will produce respirator valves and fittings for protective face masks as part of its efforts to support the national response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement today.

“Ferrari has started to produce respirator valves and fittings for protective masks at its Maranello plant as one of its initiatives in support of health workers treating coronavirus patients,” the company said.

The statement added: “In the next few days, Ferrari plans to manufacture several hundred items of equipment that are already being distributed by some of the companies involved, with the coordination of the Italian Civil Protection Agency."

According to Ferrari, the newly developed equipment will be distributed to various Italian hospitals, including those in Bergamo, Genoa, Modena and Sassuolo, as well as to health workers in the town of Medicina, near Bologna.

In a statement shared on his official Facebook page, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the country is proud of Ferrari’s efforts to support health care workers.

“Ferrari, one of our Italian excellences, has deployed its skills to face coronavirus and safeguard the lives of Italians…knowing that the company is helping to support the country's restart makes us proud,” Di Maio said.

9:33 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Coronavirus death toll in the United Kingdom climbs to more than 15,000

From CNN's Nada Bashir

Hospital workers wheel a stretcher to the mortuary at Lewisham Hospital in London on April 16. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

A total of 15,464 people in the United Kingdom have died after contracting coronavirus, the UK Department of Health and Social Care confirmed Saturday, marking an increase of 888 from Friday's confirmed total of 14,576.

"As of 5pm on 17 April, of those hospitalized in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 15,464 have sadly died," the DHSC said in a tweet.

The number of confirmed cases has also increased in the past day, with 5,525 people diagnosed in the past 24 hours. Currently there are 114,217 confirmed Covid-19 patients in the UK.

Read the tweet from DHSC:

9:29 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Italy opens a bid for development of a blood test to map coronavirus contagion

From CNN’s Hada Messia in Rome

The Italian government has opened a bid for an official contract to develop a new blood test which could help authorities create a map of the contagion.

While some regions in Italy have already started using blood tests for such purposes, the government has yet to officially validate a specific test kit for the procedure.

During a press conference on Saturday, Italy’s coronavirus commissioner Domenico Arcuri asserted that “health has no price,” adding that the government will award the development contract to those who can provide quality tests.

Arcuri confirmed that the bidding process will remain open until April 29, after which the government will make a decision on who to award the contract to.

9:34 a.m. ET, April 18, 2020

Queen Elizabeth II cancels traditional gun salute for her birthday due to coronavirus concerns

From CNN's Max Foster

People walk past an image of Queen Elizabeth in Piccadilly Circus in London on April 9. Peter Summers/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II will not be marking her birthday with the traditional royal gun salute as she does not feel it would be appropriate during the coronavirus pandemic, a royal source told CNN on Saturday.

The Queen will celebrate her 94th birthday on April 21.

While the Palace is expected to mark the occasion on social media, all family-related affairs, including telephone and video calls with family members, are to be kept private, the source added.

The announcement follows earlier confirmation by Buckingham Palace that the traditional parade held annually in mid-June to mark the Queen’s official birthday –– known as Trooping the Colour –– will not go ahead.

The parade gives the Queen, who is head of the United Kingdom’s armed forces, a chance to review her army. It traditionally moves from Buckingham Palace down the Mall to Horse Guard's Parade, with members of the royal family traveling on horseback or carriage.

By the numbers: Last year, more than 200 horses, 400 musicians and 1,400 officers took part in the parade.

According to the royal source, there are currently no plans in place for an alternative marking of the Queen’s official birthday.