May 13 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Adam Renton and Zamira Rahim, CNN

Updated 9:26 p.m. ET, May 13, 2020
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2:10 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

Germany's Covid-19 reproduction rate dips below 1

From CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Berlin

Germany's reproduction rate for the novel coronavirus has dipped back below the key threshold of 1, the country's center for disease control said today. 

The so-called R0 had been above 1 for three consecutive days -- a sign the disease may have been expanding rather than being pushed back. 

"The decline in new infections which we have seen in the past weeks is flattening and may be reaching a plateau,” the Robert Koch Institute wrote in its daily data brief. 

Germany continues to deal with several larger scale outbreaks in meat processing plants and retirement homes as the country eases restrictions to combat the pandemic.

Official daily data from Tuesday showed 798 new infections and 101 Covid-19-related deaths during that 24-hour period. 

1:54 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

The way these states handled coronavirus shows India's vast divide

From CNN's Manveena Suri in New Delhi and Julia Hollingsworth

In January this year, Kerala became the first Indian state to report a coronavirus case. Now, four months later, it claims it has flattened the curve.

Although India has been under a strict nationwide lockdown since late March, cases have continued to rise -- the country of 1.3 billion has reported more than 74,000 cases, including over 2,400 deaths.

But Kerala, a thin strip on the country's southern coast, has appeared to buck that trend.

Although Kerala has a population of around 36 million -- almost as big as Canada -- it has reported just 519 cases and four deaths. As of Saturday, it had only 16 active cases, according to the state's finance minister, Thomas Isaac.

For comparison, Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in India, has reported more than 23,000 cases, including at least 860 deaths.

Experts say part of Kerala's success is thanks to swift action and learning from past disease outbreaks. But Kerala also shows how disparate India is -- and how much a person's chances against the virus depend on where in the country they live.

Read more:

1:57 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases for first time since January 

From CNN's Kocha Olarn in Bangkok

Policemen and volunteers measure body temperatures of visitors entering a market in in Bangkok on Tuesday.
Policemen and volunteers measure body temperatures of visitors entering a market in in Bangkok on Tuesday. Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP

Thailand today reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time since January 13, according to the country's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin told reporters that the total number of infections in the country now stands at 3,017.

A total of 56 patients have died, while 2,844 have recovered and been discharged.

CORRECTION: This post was updated to reflect the number of deaths.

1:35 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

Fauci tells US Congress that states face serious consequences if they reopen too quickly

From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Lauren Fox

Dr. Anthony Fauci attends a coronavirus news briefing at the White House on April 9 in Washington.
Dr. Anthony Fauci attends a coronavirus news briefing at the White House on April 9 in Washington. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, warned senators Tuesday that states and cities face serious consequences if they open up too quickly amid the pandemic.

Fauci urged states not to reopen until they know they have the capabilities to handle an inevitable uptick in cases once they relax stay-at-home orders.

In a high-profile hearing where witnesses and many lawmakers joined via video conference, Fauci also told a Senate committee on Tuesday it was a "bridge too far" for schools to expect a vaccine or widely available treatment for Covid-19 by the time students return to campuses in the fall, though he expressed optimism a vaccine would be developed in the next year or two.

Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was subdued but candid in his testimony about efforts to respond to the coronavirus outbreak and roll back stay-at-home orders on Tuesday in the Senate's first hearing on the coronavirus outbreak since March.

"My concern that if some areas -- cities, states or what have you -- jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up, without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks," Fauci said in testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Read more:

1:22 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

Virus outbreak linked to Seoul clubs stokes homophobia

From CNN's Jake Kwon in Seoul and Julia Hollingsworth

A cluster of coronavirus cases connected to clubs frequented by South Korea's gay community has sparked an outpouring of hate speech towards the country's already-embattled LGBTQ population.

At least 119 cases have been linked to nightlife venues in the South Korean capital, and on Saturday, Seoul ordered all clubs and bars to temporarily close.

The cluster has caused alarm in South Korea, which was among the first countries outside of China to deal with a large-scale coronavirus outbreak. In recent weeks, however, authorities had begun loosening restrictions as case numbers fell.

The suggestion that the outbreak is linked to the city's gay scene has sparked a huge backlash against the LGBTQ community, including the 29-year-old man believed to be at the center of the cluster.

Local media has emphasized his sexual orientation and reported that the clubs he visited are gay venues, although the venues do not openly describe themselves as such on their official websites or social media accounts.

That reaction could make contact tracing harder, with people afraid to be associated with the LGBTQ community and having their sexuality outed.

Read more:

1:09 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

Spokesman for Mexico's foreign secretary tests positive for Covid-19

From CNN's Natalie Gallón in Mexico City

The spokesman for Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday evening. 

Spokesman Roberto Velasco Álvarez announced his condition on Twitter, saying, "I report that I tested positive for Covid-19 today. I will stay at home, remotely coordinating the tasks in my charge."

12:56 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

CDC to alert doctors to look out for syndrome possibly related to Covid-19 in children

From CNN Health’s Maggie Fox

Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first US case of Covid-19.
Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first US case of Covid-19. C.S. Goldsmith and A. Tamin/CDC

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that may be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman said on Tuesday.

The syndrome is marked by persistent fever, inflammation, poor function in one or more organs, and other symptoms similar to shock. An informal panel of pediatricians organized by Boston Children’s Hospital named it pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with Covid-19.

The CDC spokesman said the agency was preparing an alert to go out on the Health Alert Network, or HAN, to thousands of physicians and other clinicians around the country.

“We will provide a working case definition of what cases look like. They’ll be asked to report cases to state and local health departments so we can try to learn about much about this syndrome as we can,” the spokesman said.

The CDC is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to get the definition of the syndrome. It could be released on Wednesday or Thursday, the spokesman said.

New York state has reported 100 possible cases. “We lost three children, (a) 5-year-old boy, 7-year-old boy and 18-year-old girl,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday. 

New York City has 52 cases with an additional 10 cases pending, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

Last week, the informal panel, called the International PICU-COVID-19 Collaboration, released a consensus statement defining the condition. Dr. Jeffrey Burns, chief of critical care medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, coordinates the panel.

“In some cases, children present with shock and some have features of Kawasaki disease, whereas others may present with signs of cytokine storm. In some geographic areas, there has been an uptick in Kawasaki disease cases in children who don’t have shock,” Boston Children’s Hospital rheumatologist Dr. Mary Beth Son said.
12:32 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

It's just past 7:30 a.m. in Moscow and 1:30 p.m. in Seoul. Here's the latest on the pandemic

Medical staff guide visitors waiting to be tested for coronavirus at a testing site in the nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul, South Korea, on May 12.
Medical staff guide visitors waiting to be tested for coronavirus at a testing site in the nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul, South Korea, on May 12. Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

More than 4.2 million people have been infected by Covid-19 worldwide, including at least 291,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments from around the globe:

  • South Korea nightclub cluster grows: Nearly 120 cases have been linked to an outbreak in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district. With fears of a second wave, authorities have tested more than 20,000 people in relation to the outbreak.
  • Chinese province tightens restrictions: Six more people have become infected with coronavirus in northeastern China, prompting authorities to implement tighter lockdown measures in parts of Jilin province, which borders North Korea.
  • US death toll could rise substantially: A key coronavirus model often cited by the White House has again raised its coronavirus death projection, now predicting there could be 147,000 deaths in the United States by August 4.
  • Russia cases surge: The country is reporting the second highest number of infections in the world, with more than 232,000 officially confirmed. Tuesday was the 10th consecutive day that Russia reported more than 10,000 new cases.
  • Smoking danger: Smokers and former smokers, including e-cigarette users, have a significantly greater risk of developing severe cases of Covid-19 and dying from the illness than their non-smoking counterparts, according to a new study.
  • India stimulus unveiled: In a national address Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi announced an additional financial package to help India’s ailing economy during the coronavirus outbreak. Modi said the new stimulus package, along with previous measures taken by the government, would account for about $266 billion -- or around 10% of the country’s GDP. 
12:21 a.m. ET, May 13, 2020

FEMA returns Russian ventilators after same models caught fire in St. Petersburg

From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez

Firefighters respond to a fire at the Saint George hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12.
Firefighters respond to a fire at the Saint George hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 12. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency returned a shipment of Russian ventilators after the same models reportedly caught fire in St. Petersburg, a FEMA spokesperson said.  

When asked about the ventilators the spokesperson said they had been sent at the beginning of April to the United States.

“At the time, a severe ventilator shortage was projected in New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ), so the ventilators were delivered to warehouses owned by the two states. Thankfully, the flattening curve meant these ventilators were not needed, but they were held in reserve in case the situations in NY and NJ worsened," the statement said.
"The ventilators have not been deployed to hospitals. Out of an abundance of caution, the states are returning the ventilators to FEMA. The conclusion(s) of the investigation being conducted by the Russian authorities into the fire in St. Petersburg will help inform our decision regarding any future use of the ventilators.”

FEMA later noted that none of the Russian-supplied ventilators brought into the US had burst into flames.