May 15 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton, CNN

Updated 0055 GMT (0855 HKT) May 16, 2020
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11:13 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Prestigious medical journal blasts Trump over meddling with the CDC and ignoring warnings

From CNN's John Bonifield

One of the world's most prestigious medical journals, the Lancet, tacitly called for new presidential leadership in the United States in an editorial published on Thursday.

"Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics," the authors wrote.

They strongly condemned actions by the Trump administration that they say "chipped away" at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's capacity to combat Covid-19.

"The (CDC), the flagship agency for the nation's public health, has seen its role minimised and become an ineffective and nominal adviser in the response to contain the spread of the virus," the authors said.

They criticized the Trump administration for leaving "an intelligence vacuum" in China by cutting back CDC staff in the country just as Covid-19 began to emerge, and pointed to an instance where a prominent CDC doctor was sidelined from news briefings after warning the US to prepare for major disruptions due to the virus. 

They also accused the Trump administration of "punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it" after it failed to produce high-quality diagnostic tests early in the outbreak.

"This requires an effective national public health agency," the authors said.

11:02 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Mexico reports highest one-day jump in coronavirus cases as it prepares to reopen

From CNN’s Matt Rivers in Mexico City

Psychologist and neuropsychologist Lucia Ledesma Torres and her dog Harley, arrive at a hospital in Mexico City, on May 13.
Psychologist and neuropsychologist Lucia Ledesma Torres and her dog Harley, arrive at a hospital in Mexico City, on May 13. Claudio Cruz/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico reported 2,409 new coronavirus cases on Thursday -- the biggest one-day jump the country has seen since the outbreak began.

The Mexican Ministry of Health also reported 257 new deaths Thursday.

That brings the national total to at least 42,595 cases and 4,477 related deaths.

Plan to reopen country: This record jump comes just one day after the government announced plans to begin slowly reopening parts of the economy starting June 1.  

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said factories and workers would be subject to new hygiene and safety protocols, adding that the Mexican people were responsible enough to follow these new guidelines.

“Now there is light that indicates we will get out of the tunnel in which we were and still are,” he said. 
10:47 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Homelessness in the US may increase 45% by end of the year, economic expert warns

A homeless person wearing a mask sleeps in front of a store closed on May 8, in Los Angeles.
A homeless person wearing a mask sleeps in front of a store closed on May 8, in Los Angeles. Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

The United States could see its homeless population increase by 40% to 45% this year, according to an analysis by an economics professor at Columbia University.

The report was published by Community Solutions, a nonprofit organization to end homelessness.

More than 800,000 Americans will experience homelessness by this summer if it follows unemployment trends -- the way it did in the earlier part of the century, said Professor Brendan O'Flaherty, also a former aide to Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson.

"This is unprecedented. No one living has seen an increase of 10% unemployment in a month," he said in the report, citing the current unemployment rate of 14.7%.

"If the projections of unemployment being made now turn out to be accurate, and the relationship between unemployment and homelessness follows the historical pattern, and no other major changes occur, that's what we can expect to happen."

How he calculated this analysis: O'Flaherty made this projection using data on homelessness and unemployment from 2007 to 2009. According to the report, it found that for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate, homelessness per 10,000 people increased by 0.65.

The baseline number of people experiencing homelessness was drawn from the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, and his model drew on projections for unemployment published by the Economic Policy Institute, according to the report. 

10:36 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

China reports new local transmissions as fears rise of virus resurgence

From CNN's Chermaine Lee in Hong Kong

Police officers clad in protective suits stand guard outside Jilin city's railway station in Jilin province on May 13.
Police officers clad in protective suits stand guard outside Jilin city's railway station in Jilin province on May 13. Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

China reported four new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, according to the country's National Health Commission.

The new cases come from Jilin province in the northeast of the country, where a recent cluster of local infections has raised fears of a second wave and prompted fresh lockdown measures.

Jilin borders both Russia and North Korea, and concerns have previously been raised over imported cases from overseas causing a renewed outbreak.

There are also 11 new asymptomatic cases nationwide, which are counted separately from symptomatic cases, the NHC said today. Two of those were imported.

That raises mainland China's total to 82,933 infections since the start of the pandemic, and 4,633 related deaths. These totals don't reflect current active cases; so far, 78,209 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to the NHC.

9:28 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Coronavirus has arrived in Bangladesh camps home to 1 million Rohingya refugees

From CNN’s Bex Wright in Hong Kong

The first known Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Bangladesh's refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, the United Nations said on Thursday, citing the Bangladeshi government.

The camps at Cox's Bazar are home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled across the border to Bangladesh to escape violence in neighboring Myanmar. 

One of the confirmed cases was a Rohingya refugee, and the other was a Bangladeshi citizen who lives in the surrounding area of the camps, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement.

Bangladesh currently has at least 18,863 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 283 deaths, a tally from Johns Hopkins University shows.

Government response: The Bangladeshi government suspended most of the services within the densely populated camps in late March, including educational programs and other advocacy work.

Health officials have now begun to treat both patients while isolating and testing other refugees in the camps, the agency said.

Covid in the camps is "a nightmare": “The first positive case of Covid-19 in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh is the realization of a nightmare scenario,” said Daniel P. Sullivan, a senior advocate for human rights with the US-based organization Refugees International.

“In addition, the prevalence of underlying health conditions among refugees and the deteriorating sanitary conditions sure to come with the looming monsoon and flooding season make for a witch’s brew of conditions in which the virus is sure to thrive," Sullivan added.

Sullivan also stressed the importance of the Bangladeshi government’s efforts to ensure open communication as well as more medical resources within the refugee camp to prevent and prepare for further spread.

CNN has reached out to the Bangladeshi government for a comment.

10:23 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

US medical mask maker details production concerns: "I've been ignored for so long"

From CNN's Amanda Watts

A man wears an N95 mask with filter on May 14, at the LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.
A man wears an N95 mask with filter on May 14, at the LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Mike Bowen, executive vice president of Prestige Ameritech, a medical supply company in Texas, said today the US dependence on foreign masks has been a national security issue for years.   

“Forgive me for being angry; I'm angry because I've done this for so, so long. And I've been ignored for so long. And I apologize,” Bowen said, fighting back tears.

Bowen made the remarks today before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

Foreign dependence: Bowen said the issue of US dependence on China for masks is “not some multibillion dollar problem.” The issue, he said, amounts to “people trying to save pennies across the whole United States.”

Bowen said to help end over-reliance on foreign suppliers, the US government should say it is a national security problem. "It requires the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), telling America's hospitals 'you’re dependent on foreign made masks’ and put them in legal liability. They have to protect their patients and staff," he added.

China controls most of the world’s mask supply, Bowen said. China sells a box of masks for $1, he said, while he sells them for about $5. “Their prices are so cheap that they've captured most of the world's mask market,” he said.

“Their masks cost less than the materials. If I take my labor costs totally out, I'm still nowhere near the cost of their products,” Bowen said.

10:23 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

France unveils "unprecedented" plan to save its tourism industry

From CNN's Pierre Bairin and Simon Cullen

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, seen here in Paris on May 10, said cafés and restaurants in green zones would reopen on June 2 as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, seen here in Paris on May 10, said cafés and restaurants in green zones would reopen on June 2 as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate. Ian Langsdon/AFP/Getty Images

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has announced an “unprecedented” 18 billion euro ($19.4 billion) plan to support the country’s tourism industry.

Under the plan, tourism businesses will be eligible for grants of up to 10,000 euros ($10,800). There are also government-guaranteed loans totaling 6.2 billion euros ($6.7 billion).

“(Tourism in France) is probably facing the worst test in its modern history, even though it is one of the jewels of the French economy,” Philippe said Thursday, adding that French residents would be able to go on domestic summer holidays in July and August.

Philippe said cafés and restaurants in green zones -- where the coronavirus epidemic is not as bad -- would reopen on June 2 as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate.

For Paris and other areas in red zones, a decision to reopen cafés and restaurants would be made during the week of May 25.

He also thanked the tourism industry for guaranteeing that full refunds would be given for cancellations related to coronavirus. 

10:19 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro says lockdowns are "the path to failure"

From Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a face mask as he arrives at the flag-raising ceremony before a ministerial meeting at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, on May 12.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a face mask as he arrives at the flag-raising ceremony before a ministerial meeting at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, on May 12. Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro warned that more restrictive social isolation measures would break the country and said there wouldn’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.

This story about lockdown, closing everything, that is not the path,” he told journalists gathered outside the presidential residence, “That is the path to failure, to breaking Brazil.”

Brazil reported its highest daily spike in new cases on Thursday, with nearly 14,000 infections.

Bolsonaro said quarantine measures already introduced by many governors across the country were making the crisis worse. “Brazil is turning into a country of poor people.” He warned, “there won’t be enough money to pay public sector workers.”

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil has risen to nearly 203,000, according to the country’s health ministry.

Brazil has the sixth highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. It stands behind the US, Russia, UK, Spain, and Italy, according to Johns Hopkins University.

8:15 p.m. ET, May 14, 2020

More than 300,000 people have died from coronavirus worldwide

From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali

At least 302,025 people have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of deaths across the world.

A total of at least 4,437,442 people have been infected with the virus globally, JHU data shows.

See CNN's global case tracker here: