May 8 coronavirus news

Disney's theme parks in Tokyo will remain closed with more than 5,000 park employees working a reduced schedule after Japan extended its state of emergency until the end of May.

A decision on when to reopen Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea had been expected by the middle of May. But parks operator Oriental Land said Friday that a date will only be announced once the country's state of emergency is lifted. Some 5,400 employees will work four fewer days per month until the parks reopen, the company added.

The news comes as Disney said it will begin a phased reopening of its Shanghai park on Monday with "enhanced safety measures."

The Shanghai park has been closed for three months.

Disney's bottom line has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Profits dropped 91% during the first three months of 2020, the company said. Its operating income on its Parks, Experiences and Products segment fell about $1 billion due to lost revenue, although sales for its second quarter were up 21% to $18 billion.

Read more here.

This post has been updated to correct the number of days that some employees will work.

Amazon France is planning to take the case over the shutdown of its distribution centers to the French Supreme Court, the company said in a statement. 

A Paris court ruled last month that Amazon had to stop selling anything but essential items while the company reassessed how it was keeping its warehouse employees safe from coronavirus.

The case stemmed from a complaint brought by a French labor union. Amazon had appealed the decision but lost.  

After the court ruling, Amazon shut its French distribution centers on April 15, saying the move was due to the complexity of its logistics system and what it called confusing instructions from the court with the risk of hefty fines. 

The company yesterday announced the warehouses will remain closed through next Wednesday, but all staff will continue to be paid. 

Japan's health ministry said 95 new coronavirus patients and six virus-related deaths were identified on Thursday, the first time the daily caseload fell below triple digits since March 31.

The country has been under a state of emergency since last month as it has battled to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, though there are signs things are improving. Of Japan's 47 prefectures, 34 have been advised to prepare to ease their lockdown and social distancing restrictions in the coming days.

A total of 16,259 patients have been identified nationwide, while 570 have died. Of those, 712 cases and 13 fatalities are tied to the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Jimmy Glenn, a former boxing trainer and Times Square bar owner, died on Thursday after fighting the novel coronavirus for weeks, his son told CNN.

He was 89.

Glenn was hospitalized at NYU Langone Medical Center in April after suffering Covid-19 related symptoms and tested positive shortly after being admitted, his son Adam Glenn said.

The former boxer and cornerman was originally from South Carolina but spent most of his life in New York City. He began his boxing career as part of the Police Athletic League and later competed in The Golden Gloves for two years, according to the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

Glenn left behind amateur boxing and went on to become a trainer, manager and cut man. In the 1970s, Glenn worked as a cornerman for heavyweight great Floyd Patterson and trained numerous boxers.

He operated the now shuttered Times Square Gym for 18 years, working with fighters who considered him family.

More recently, Glenn was a fixture at Jimmy's Corner, the dive bar he owned in Times Square.

The bar is an homage to boxing and a favorite for those looking for beer and whiskey at reasonable prices in the area.

Read more:

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Pakistan's Ministry of Health said Friday it identified 1,764 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the highest rise in a single day the country has seen during the pandemic.

In total:

Esron Torres' grandfather was admitted to a hospital in Manaus, Brazil, with a finger wound. Days later, he was buried in one of the city's many overcrowded cemeteries. A handful of relatives attended the small ceremony, while others listened over the phone as the family's patriarch was laid to rest.

According to his death certificate, it was not the wound that killed him, but Covid-19.

The tragedy highlights the massive healthcare crisis facing this city, the capital of the northwestern state of Amazonas, and the strain on local institutions' ability to contain the coronavirus.

Officials have attributed just 532 deaths to Covid-19 in Manaus, but the true total is likely much higher. City data shows that 2,435 people were buried in April alone, compared with 871 burials during the same month a year ago. Shocking images have also emerged of excavators digging mass graves at the Parque Taruma cemetery, to accommodate the spike in burials.

Manaus mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto told CNN Brasil he feels the city has been "abandoned" during the health crisis. "I would like to create awareness around the world because I can't seem to get Brazil to wake up to the strategic importance of my state and my region," Neto said.

Read more:

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As many as 75,000 Americans could die because of drug or alcohol misuse and suicide as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an analysis conducted by the national public health group Well Being Trust.

The growing unemployment crisis, economic downturns and stress caused by isolation and lack of a definitive end date for the pandemic could significantly increase so-called “deaths of despair” unless local, state and federal authorities take action, the group says in a new report released Friday.

The Well Being trust released maps showing state and county level projections of these types of deaths, based on data from past years, due to Covid-19’s impact on unemployment, isolation and uncertainty.

The group is calling for a robust approach from local, state and federal officials and agencies to help those who lose their jobs because of the pandemic to find work.

What happened in 2008: Deaths from both suicide and drug overdoses rose along with unemployment during the 2008 recession. Unemployment went from 4.6% in 2007 to a peak of 10% in October 2009 and declined steadily, reaching 3.5% in early 2010, according to the group.

2020 could be much worse.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday he expects the US unemployment rate was above 16% in April, “My guess right now is it’s going to be north of 16%, maybe as high as 20%,” he said.

"We're looking at probably the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression," Hassett told CNN's Poppy Harlow Tuesday.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison today outlined a three-point plan to reopen the economy and society -- and hopes to have it completed by July.

Morrison held up a board detailing the plan, saying that states and territories would be allowed to adhere to it at their own pace. 

The prime minister said the government will work to better define steps two and three when authorities get closer to implementing them. He said the plan would be reviewed every three weeks, according to CNN affiliate Nine News Australia.

Here are the steps Morrison outlined during his news conference:

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

At least 28,420 new coronavirus cases and 2,231 deaths were recorded in the United States on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The total number of infections recorded in the country has now reached at least 1,257,023, with at least 75,662 related deaths, according to JHU.

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

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US