April 17 coronavirus news

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state is not ready for a Phase 1 reopening and that there is still "work to do." 

Edwards, speaking at a news conference Friday, said the state has not reached the threshold that must be passed to get to the Phase 1 reopening — including not having 14 days where the number of cases, tests and deaths are moving in the right direction.

Speaking from Louisiana State University where he toured a personal protective equipment production center, Edwards said he hopes the state can get to Phase 1 within the next few weeks. 

"I can't tell you that we will get to Phase 1 by May 1st, but I hope we do," he said.

"We aren’t going to be successful in opening the economy if we see a spike in cases and can’t deliver healthcare,” he added 

The US Navy currently assesses that the first cases of coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt originated with the aircraft carrier’s air wing and the Navy’s top doctor said the virus may have come aboard on routine “supply flights that come out to the ship." 

The Navy’s surgeon general Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham cautioned on Friday that the Navy doesn’t know for sure how the virus came aboard.

“We don't know for sure how the virus got started,” Gillingham said. 

Gillingham said there's evidence to suggest that the first two sailors to test positive may have contracted the disease during a port visit.

"We also know that those sailors were from the aircrew portion of the crew," he said.

Gillingham said it is "likely that it may have come aboard on the routine ... supply flights that come out to the ship."

While Gillingham later said that he did “not personally have knowledge about the initial individuals,” a Navy official later confirmed to CNN that the first two cases were among the ship’s air wing.

The air wing is responsible for operating the fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft on board the carrier. 

The number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have skyrocketed in recent days, with 660 sailors testing positive as of Friday, and seven sailors have been hospitalized in Guam.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has moved the state's 2020 presidential primary election to August 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the second time the governor has rescheduled the election.

The White House is helping provide data and feedback to the institute behind an influential coronavirus model, which currently predicts about 60,000 deaths in the United States by August.

Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, described the relationship Friday in a virtual press briefing.

Asked whether the White House had any input or influence on new tools from the model, Murray said, “We have very regular discussions with the task force at the White House.”

Murray’s institute on Friday released new projections saying that some states could begin reopening as early as May 4, so long as measures are in place to prevent a resurgence of the virus.

Murray said the White House has been “extremely helpful in helping get us better data, and by making contacts through different parts of the government, or with state governments, or in fact with networks of hospital providers, or providers of mobility data.”

Working with the task force has “been a very helpful route for us getting extra, or better data, and getting data faster,” Murray said. He pointed out that for his modeling approach, “the data is the most important thing.”

While the White House and others have often cited the model, Murray said that states should rely on a variety of projections when deciding when to reopen.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont responded Friday to President Trump’s tweet about states needing to do more testing. 

He went on to say the federal government should help states with testing, but added that he’s taking it upon himself to make sure his state has everything it needs to make it happen.  

“I can’t wait for the feds any longer,” he said.  

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have announced that the players will see a partial pay cut in the event that remaining games in the 2019-2020 season are canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The gradual reduction in pay, 25% of salaries, is to avoid a large one-time cut should games need to be canceled.

The NBA suspended the current season on March 11.

Here's what the league and NBPA said in a joint statement:

Dozens of inmates being housed at a federal minimum-security prison camp in Otisville, New York, will be moved Friday to quarantine in an adjacent facility as they are processed for a potential early release due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson.

The prisoners, 111 in total, are mainly low-security inmates who pose a low risk of recidivism, so they are likely to qualify for home confinement or a furloughed sentence, in line with standards set in a recent memo by Attorney General William Barr, who oversees the Bureau of Prisons. 

They are being moved now, as many of their cases are reviewed, so that they can begin serving a mandatory two-week quarantine ahead of their potential release from federal custody, with the expectation that many will indeed be released, the spokesperson said. 

Some background: Some prisoners who'd been housed at the prison camp, known for being one of the cushier federal facilities, have already been notified of their pending release.

Michael Cohen, the President's former fixer, was told Thursday by the Bureau of Prisons that he would be released early to serve out the remainder of his sentence under home confinement, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter and his lawyer. A Justice Department official also confirmed on Friday that Cohen would be released early. 

A federal court has issued an emergency restraining order to prevent a group from distributing a “miracle” solution to treat coronavirus, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA said Friday that “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing” was selling a “Miracle Mineral Solution” to treat the virus.

According to the agency, the supposed treatment included chlorine dioxide, which is used for industrial bleaching.

Genesis claimed that its products could also be used for Alzheimer's disease, autism, brain cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS, the FDA said in a statement. 

When combined with another included ingredient, the supposed treatment “has a chlorine dioxide content equivalent to industrial bleach,” according to the agency. 

The FDA had previously issued a warning letter to Genesis, but said “the defendants made clear that they had no intention of taking corrective action and would continue to sell [the treatment] in violation of the law.”

The FDA said it had received reports of serious adverse effects – including respiratory failure, life-threatening low blood pressure and acute liver failure – after people drank certain chlorine dioxide products.

The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. 

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Friday called on the Trump administration to end its practice of swiftly removing migrant children arrested on the southern border, according to a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, the administration invoked public health law to begin suspending entry of all migrants "seeking to enter the US without proper travel documentation" for both the northern and southern border, citing the coronavirus pandemic. As of April 9, around 300 children who arrived alone to the border have been expelled — a break from longstanding practice of referring unaccompanied children to the care of the US Health and Human Services Department.

The Trump administration has been trying to deport unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries shortly after arrest, arguing that the system as is encourages illegal immigration and the exploitation of children. Those attempts, though, have been unsuccessful. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act dictates how migrant children who arrive alone are to be handled.

US Customs and Border Protection previously told CNN there may be exceptions, like if an agent suspects trafficking or sees signs of illness. Still, very few children have been turned over to the care of HHS, with referrals largely hovering in the single digits daily. 

The caucus requested information on the number of children removed, details on processing, and what steps DHS has taken to ensure the safety of children, among other things, by April 20.