May 21 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton and Zamira Rahim, CNN

Updated 0228 GMT (1028 HKT) May 22, 2020
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11:17 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Trump criticizes China's virus response: "It all comes from the top"

From CNN's Kevin Liptak 

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter again tonight to criticize China's response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying, "It all comes from the top."

This is as far as he’s gone in calling out Chinese President Xi Jinping, although Trump still isn’t naming the Chinese leader directly.

"They could have easily stopped the plague, but they didn't," the tweet said.

Trump then goes on to more familiar claims that China wants presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to win the 2020 US election because he wouldn’t be as tough as him on Beijing.

11:05 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Fauci conspicuously stops doing TV interviews as White House moves to reopen economy

From CNN's Oliver Darcy

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a teleconference hearing hosted by a Senate panel on the White House's response to the coronavirus in Washington on May 12.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a teleconference hearing hosted by a Senate panel on the White House's response to the coronavirus in Washington on May 12. Liu Jie/Xinhua/Getty Images

The US' top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been conspicuously absent from national television interviews over the past two weeks, as the White House moves ahead with reopening the economy.

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, last gave a television interview when he spoke to CNN on May 4.

Prior to his recent absence from the airwaves, Fauci was regularly appearing on national news programs to update the American people on the country's fight against the coronavirus.

While Fauci has been on "modified quarantine" after possible exposure to the virus, he has still been present at the White House and testified remotely before the Senate last week.

Fauci's absence was particularly noteworthy this week, given the positive early results regarding a vaccine developed by the biotech company Moderna in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, which Fauci's NIAID falls under.

Despite the NIH's role in helping to develop the vaccine, Fauci did not appear for interviews to discuss the promising results.

Read more:

10:49 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

China reports 2 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Alexandra Lin in Hong Kong

China recorded two new coronavirus cases and no new deaths yesterday, according to the country's National Health Commission.

Of the new cases, one was an imported infection in Guangdong province and the other a local case in Shanghai

This raises the national total to 82,967 confirmed symptomatic cases, of which 84 remain active.

Some 31 new asymptomatic cases were also reported -- a total of 375 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation. These cases are counted separately from confirmed symptomatic cases.

The national death toll stands at 4,634. 

10:32 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Bolivian health minister arrested for alleged corruption involving ventilator purchase

From CNN's Stefano Pozzebon and Mitchell McCluskey

Journalists wait at a police station as Bolivian prosecutors launched a probe into potential corruption regarding overpriced purchases of ventilators, in La Paz, Bolivia on Wednesday.
Journalists wait at a police station as Bolivian prosecutors launched a probe into potential corruption regarding overpriced purchases of ventilators, in La Paz, Bolivia on Wednesday. David Mercado/Reuters

Bolivian health minister Marcelo Navajas was arrested in a mounting corruption scandal over the purchase of 170 ventilators at an inflated cost, Col. Ivan Rojas, chief of the Bolivian Special Forces in the Fight Against Crime, announced on Wednesday.

Bolivian interim President Jeanine Añez said on Twitter that Bolivia used $2 million in funds from the Inter-American Development Bank to purchase 170 ventilators from a Spanish company. 

Navajas and several others were arrested and taken in for questioning, but public prosecutors have yet to present charges, Rojas said. Navajas was also removed from his post as health minister after being arrested.   

On Monday, Añez pledged to fully investigate the purchase.

"We will keep investigating, no matter who's going to fall," Añez tweeted hours after Navajas' arrest.

A spokesperson for the Inter-American Development Bank said it began investigating possible irregularities around the purchase as soon as the bank was aware. 

"The Inter-American Development Bank views with great concern information about possible irregularities in the acquisition of ventilators by Bolivia’s Ministry of Health with financing provided by the Bank, and we respect the efforts that the country’s public institutions are making to shed light on the facts of the case," the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

10:18 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Coronavirus testing is "a mess" in the US, report says

From CNN's Maggie Fox

Mike Osterholm speaks during an interview with CNN.
Mike Osterholm speaks during an interview with CNN. CNN

Coronavirus testing in the United States is disorganized and needs coordination at the national level, infectious disease experts said in a new report released on Wednesday.

Right now, testing is not accurate enough to use alone to make most decisions, including who should go back to work or to school, the team at the University of Minnesota said.

"It's a mess out there," Mike Osterholm, head of the university's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which issued the report, told CNN.

"Testing is very, very important, but we're not doing the right testing."

The number of tests that have been completed -- numbers widely reported by states and by the White House -- show only part of the picture, the report reads.

"The data is really kind of screwed up," Osterholm said. "It's because the public health system is overwhelmed."

The report calls on the US Department of Health and Human Services to appoint a panel to oversee and organize testing.

Read the full story:

10:01 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

US aircraft carrier returns to sea following major coronavirus outbreak

From CNN's Barbara Starr

The USS Theodore Roosevelt docked at Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor on April 27.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt docked at Naval Base Guam in Apra Harbor on April 27. Credit: Tony Azios/AFP via Getty Images

The USS Theodore Roosevelt has returned to sea, after being docked in Guam for weeks due to a coronavirus outbreak onboard in March.  

The US Navy announced the aircraft carrier left Guam today and entered the Philippine Sea to conduct carrier qualifications.

Onboard outbreak: More than 1,000 of the ship’s nearly 4,900-member crew tested positive for Covid-19. After evacuating some 4,000 sailors from the ship to Guam, the US Navy had been returning sailors following a period of quarantine and isolation in the hopes of getting the aircraft carrier to sea as soon as possible.

“After cleaning the entire ship from bow to stern, the appropriate number of crewmembers to operate the ship underway have returned from quarantine after passing rigorous return-to-work criteria,” the Navy said in a news release.

The release added that they were bringing fewer sailors onboard, which would help increase social distancing.

New measures: All sailors onboard have taken required lessons on virus prevention and mitigation, and practiced simulation emergency procedures while executing measures like wearing masks, said the release.

Other virus prevention measures include adjusted meal hours, sanitizing spaces, minimizing in-person meetings, and a simulated medevac.

"It was an unprecedented challenge to get to this point and I'm proud of the Rough Rider Team's tenacity and resiliency in the face of uncertainty," said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, the ship's commanding officer.

9:45 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Peru surpasses 100,000 coronavirus cases

From CNN's Tatiana Arias and Mitchell McCluskey in Atlanta

Funeral home workers unload a coffin outside a crematorium in Lima, Peru on May 20.
Funeral home workers unload a coffin outside a crematorium in Lima, Peru on May 20. Rodrigo Abd/AP

Peru has surpassed 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the country's Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

The country reported 4,537 new cases and 110 deaths within 24 hours, raising the national total to at least 104,020 cases and 3,024 deaths.

Peru is second to Brazil for the highest number of coronavirus cases in Latin America. 

9:20 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Mexico records 424 deaths in 24 hours

From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey in Atlanta

Mexico reported its highest one-day jump for coronavirus deaths, the country's health ministry said Wednesday.

Covid-19 deaths surged by 424 in 24 hours, the ministry said.

The country also reported 2,248 new cases within 24 hours.

This brings the national total to 56,594 confirmed cases and 6,090 total deaths, the ministry said.

Mexico has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in Latin America, after Brazil and Peru. 

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

9:15 p.m. ET, May 20, 2020

Jordan announces 3-day nationwide curfew following rise in cases

From CNN's Ghazi Balkiz in Lebanon and Jomana Karadsheh

Jordanian boxing brothers Hussein and Zeyad Ashish, who qualified for next year's Olympics, train on the roof of their family home during curfew on May 14 near Amman, Jordan.
Jordanian boxing brothers Hussein and Zeyad Ashish, who qualified for next year's Olympics, train on the roof of their family home during curfew on May 14 near Amman, Jordan. Muhammad Hamed/Reuters

The Arab country of Jordan will impose a nationwide curfew for three days as Covid-19 cases increase, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said on Wednesday.

The curfew starts midnight Thursday local time and ends midnight Sunday. It coincides with Eid Al Fitr, the religious holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Medical workers and essential employees are exempt from the curfew.

“These decisions came in light of developments in the epidemiological situation in Jordan. The number of infections has increased significantly over the past days," said Adaileh at a briefing on Wednesday.

New cases: 23 new infections were recorded on Wednesday, raising the country's total to 672, said Minister of Health Saad Jaber.

This comes soon after lifting lockdown: Jordan, which imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, began easing restrictions on economic activity earlier this month.

While the government at the time announced the spread of the virus had been suppressed, officials warned that they would revert to the lockdown if the situation worsened.