From CNN's Maggie Fox, Jim Acosta and Veronica Stracqualursi
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, will self-quarantine for 14 days after coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus, an FDA spokesperson told CNN.
"As Dr. Hahn wrote in a note to staff today, he recently came into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19. Per (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, he is now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus," FDA spokesperson Michael Felberbaum said in a statement on Friday.
While the FDA did not name the person with whom Hahn came into contact, President Trump earlier Friday had revealed that Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, had tested positive for Covid-19.
Hahn is a member of the White House coronavirus task force, which held its most recent meeting on Thursday.
An official familiar with the situation inside the White House coronavirus task force told CNN it's unclear whether some on the panel will go into quarantine and that more will be known about next steps on Saturday.
10:04 a.m. ET, May 9, 2020
US Army working to develop wearable sensors to detect coronavirus symptoms
This week they invited initial proposals for a $25 million contract to develop a device that uses existing technology as much as possible.
"There is a dire and urgent need for development of rapid, accurate wearable diagnostics to identify and isolate pre-symptomatic Covid-19 cases and track/prevent the spread of the virus," the Army said in an initial solicitation that was issued through a medical consortium.
Where ever the sensor is worn on the body, possibly on the wrist like a watch or on a shirt or belt, the aim is it will provide indicators of a fever, respiratory difficulties, "molecular biomarkers" of exposure to the virus and even the presence of antibodies against it.
If symptoms are detected then the service member can be fully tested, isolated and receive medical attention if necessary.
Some context: This is all part of a broader military effort to contribute to efforts to battle the virus on everything from vaccine research to sewing face coverings. Many of the initiatives are similar to what is happening in civilian society, but there are efforts to adapt emerging battlefield technology to take on the pandemic.
An Army team based at Fort Benning, Georgia, in charge of ensuring advanced warfighting capabilities for soldiers in close combat has adapted goggles used in battle to take the temperature of 300 troops in 25 minutes.
The concept is important for high traffic areas such as public transportation, airports and buildings -- as well as for the safe movement of large numbers of military personnel, especially new recruits who may need to be screened and tested multiple times.
10:52 a.m. ET, May 9, 2020
2 Florida high schools will have a drive-through graduation at Daytona International Speedway
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Students from two Florida high schools are going to have a graduation ceremony like no other.
Chip Wile, the president of the Daytona International Speedway, is planning a drive-through commencement to honor graduating seniors at the local high school.
"Knowing that these seniors are not going to get the opportunity that we all had when we graduated high school to walk across that stage, what better way to do it than at the Daytona International Speedway," Wile told CNN on Saturday.
Wile said the students and their families will be in their own cars and drive across the finish line when their name is called over the speakers in the stadium where they will be handed a diploma through the window.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said.
The ceremony will be broadcast on the speedway's low frequency AM radio so the graduates can hear it in their cars, Wile said.
"Then they'll then make an entire lap around the speedway – at slow speeds – and then they'll park at pit end, right where the cars end at pit road, and we'll actually do a hat toss," Wile said.
"So really trying to find all of the different elements that happen at graduation, and be able to incorporate them into the event," he added.
Hunter Perez, a senior at Matanzas High School who will be participating in the graduation ceremony at the speedway, said it is going to be an event he never forgets.
"I think I most look forward to getting that picture at the speedway. Something that I'll be able to show others. And always have something to remember," he told CNN.
8:39 a.m. ET, May 9, 2020
Today is Saturday. Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic.
From CNN's Elise Hammond
A woman sits during a hair-styling appointment in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 8. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
It's almost 9:00 a.m. ET in the US. Here what you need to start your day:
Triple drug therapy: A combination of three antiviral drugs, plus an immune system booster, seems to help patients recover more quickly from coronavirus infections, doctors in Hong Kong announced yesterday. They say the approach needs more testing but could be another possible treatment.
The first at-home Covid-19 test: The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency-use authorization for the first at-home Covid-19 test that uses saliva samples, the agency said yesterday. People can collect their saliva at home and send samples to a lab for results. The test remains prescription only.
Americans split about states reopening: Protesters have been taking to the streets for days, demanding individual states allow businesses to reopen. But as nearly all of them started lifting restrictions this week, the issue remains polarizing. Two-thirds of Americans say they are concerned about their states rushing to reopen, while nearly a third state restrictions are not being lifted quickly enough, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
Positive tests in the White House: One of Trump's personal aides, Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary and Ivanka Trump's (remote) personal assistant have all tested positive for the virus in the past few days.
The state of the economy: The US economy lost a record 20.5 million jobs in April, the worst monthly plunge since records began more than 80 years ago, according to a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
7:13 a.m. ET, May 9, 2020
Thousands gather for military parade in Belarusian capital, as leader brushes off coronavirus concerns
From CNN’s Mary Ilyushina in Moscow
Thousands of people gathered in Minsk on Saturday to attend a Victory Day military parade, despite increasing numbers of coronavirus cases in Belarus.
Unlike other former Soviet states, Belarus did not cancel mass events to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and has not imposed strict self-isolation rules.
Belarusian servicemen march for the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, as a crowd watches on with no social distancing measures in place. Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
For Victory Day celebrations. Minsk has set up seating up to 11,000 people, and 3,000 servicemen are also taking part in the parade, according to state-run Belarusian news agency Belta. Few people were seen wearing masks on the live-feed from the parade, aired by Belarusian TV stations.
President Alexander Lukashenko’s decision to hold the parade amid the pandemic was met with criticism both abroad and at home, with over 13,000 people signing a petition to cancel the parade and use the funds to buy ventilators for hospitals.
Belarus' servicewomen take part in a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Minsk on Saturday Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Lukashenko, who has publicly dismissed other countries’ coronavirus measures as “psychosis” and declared “it’s better to die standing than to live on your knees," addressed the criticism during the ceremony on Saturday.
“In this crazy, disoriented world there will be people who will criticize us for timing and the location of this sacred event,” Lukashenko said. "And to them I say, like human to human, do not jump into conclusions and, moreover, do not rush to judge us, the descendants of victory.”
"We just couldn't have done it differently, we had no other choice, and even if we had, we would have done the same thing,” Lukashenko added.
Images of the celebrations showed a large number of spectators seated close together with very few wearing face masks, as servicemen and woman marched together in groups.
As of Saturday, Belarus, a country of 9.5 million, has officially reported 21,101 cases of coronavirus and more than 120 deaths, Johns Hopkins University figures show.
6:57 a.m. ET, May 9, 2020
You might need to book the beach this summer
From CNN's Al Goodman
You make reservations at restaurants, sure. But how about booking in advance just to get a spot on the sand at the beach?
Spain offers a glimpse of how some countries may reopen their beaches this summer.
In the region of Galicia, on the Atlantic Ocean, Sanxenxo will only allow sunbathers entry on a "first come, first served" basis.
Canet d'en Berenguer, a Mediterranean town located just north of Valencia, will only allow 5,000 daily sunbathers on its local beach, around half the usual number, in order to maintain social distancing.
These spaces will need to be reserved in advance via a mobile phone app.
This summer will be very different," Pere Joan Antoni Chordá, the town's mayor, tells CNN. "There'll be more space between your neighbor. Like a 'business-class' beach."
Canet will use a grid pattern to divide its broad, flat beach into square sections, each separated by two meters (six feet).
Triple drug therapy helps coronavirus patients recover more quickly, study finds
From CNN's Maggie Fox
A combination of three antiviral drugs plus an immune system booster seemed to help patients recover more quickly from coronavirus infections, doctors in Hong Kong have reported.
They said the approach needs more testing but it could offer another treatment possibility for Covid-19 patients. Currently the only authorized treatment in the US is the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which also shortens the duration of illness but is limited in supply.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, who is treating coronavirus patients at the University of California San Francisco, said the study offers new hope in the pandemic.
"This study is really refreshing because it tells us remdesivir isn't the only game in town and maybe there are other options around," he told CNN.
Dr. Kwok-Yung Yuen at Hong Kong University and colleagues tested the HIV drug combination of ritonavir and lopanivir along with the general antiviral drug ribavirin and a multiple sclerosis drug called beta interferon.
Yuen's team gave some patients only the HIV drug combination, often sold under the brand name Kaletra. Others were randomly assigned to get the lopinavir-ritonavir combination plus the antiviral drug ribavirin and injections of beta interferon.
The patients who got the cocktail tested negative for coronavirus after seven days on average. Those who just got the HIV drugs were positive on average for 12 days, the team reported in the Lancet medical journal.
The patients given the cocktail also felt better quicker -- within four days.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency-use authorization for the first at-home Covid-19 test that uses saliva samples, the agency said in a news release.
With the test, people can collect their own saliva at home and send their saliva samples to a lab for results. Testing for Covid-19 so far has usually involved nose or throat swab samples.
Rutgers University's RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab received an amended emergency authorization late Thursday. In April, Rutgers University announced that the FDA authorized the saliva test that it developed with other groups for "emergency use" for diagnosing Covid-19.
"What's new and next is expanding access to testing for people," Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at the RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab, told CNN.
"If people are committed to do self-collection and can facilitate that collection at home, certainly with a prescription under medical care, we can get to those that are quarantined, don't have the means for transportation or are too scared to go outside," Brooks said. "So they get the test in the mail or from a distribution center."
Medical staff collect coronavirus test samples at Ernakulam Medical College in Kerala, India, on April 6. Arun Chandrabose/AFP/Getty Images
The southern Indian state of Kerala announced Saturday that it had flattened its coronavirus curve.
The state crossed its 100th day since its first Covid-19 case was reported and currently has only 16 active cases, Kerala's State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac tweeted.
Kerala was the first state in India to report a positive case earlier this year. Since then, state officials have worked on aggressive isolation and treatment protocols.
Kerala is preparing to receive thousands of stranded Indians, many from the UAE, as the country embarks on a major repatriation drive. More than 1,000 people have arrived in the state from Dubai, Riyadh and Bahrain in the last two days.
Kerala has reported a total of 503 cases, out of which 484 people have been treated and discharged. The state has a death toll of four, one of the lowest in the country.
