April 9 coronavirus news

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed an expanded executive order extending her stay-at-home order through April 30.

The order also “prohibits all businesses and operations from requiring workers to leave their homes, unless those workers are necessary to sustain or protect life or to conduct minimum basic operations.”

Under the new order, all public and private gatherings among people outside a single household remain temporarily banned. 

The order also imposes restrictions on stores in an effort to reduce crowds. Here's what the order says:

A federal judge on Thursday denied a motion to order the immediate release of medically vulnerable detainees at Cook County Jail in Chicago to prevent the further spread of Covid-19.

The lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of two current detainees at the jail, sought the release or transfer of elderly and medically compromised inmates. It cites accounts from detainees who complained the jail had not done enough to provide them with reasonably safe living conditions and adequate testing in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. 

While Kennelly denied the plaintiff’s request for release, he did grant other remedies which Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart must begin implementing.

In his 37-page order, Kennelly ordered Dart to enact additional sanitation and quarantine guidelines to keep detainees safe. Kennelly also ordered Dart to begin prompt testing of inmates who exhibit Covid-19 symptoms by Saturday. Additionally, the judge said the Cook County Sheriff’s Office must provide face masks to all detainees who are quarantined starting April 12.

A request for comment from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department was not immediately returned. As of Thursday, there are 4,463 detainees at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.

By the numbers: The Cook County Sheriff’s office said Wednesday that 251 detainees and 150 staff members have tested positive for the virus. A majority of those employees are correctional deputies at the jail, according to a spokesperson for the sheriff's office. 

Of the detainees sickened in the outbreak, 22 are hospitalized for treatment and 31 others have been moved to a recovery facility. Additionally, one detainee died of “apparent” complications of Covid-19, sheriff’s officials said, but an autopsy remains pending.

The total number of beds in intensive care units available for use during the spread of coronavirus in 43 countries in Africa is less than 5,000. This is about five beds per one million people in those parts of Africa compared, to 4000 beds per one million people in Europe, the World Health Organization reports. 

There are also less than 2,000 functional ventilators in 41 countries in Africa. 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa has risen to more than 10,000.

While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection have grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread, WHO reports. 

Africa’s first coronavirus case was recorded in Egypt on Feb. 14. Since then, a total of 52 countries have reported cases. 

Top Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggested on Fox Business this afternoon that the economy will be reopened on a "rolling basis."

Kudlow touted the $2.3 trillion from the Federal Reserve geared at helping medium-sized "Main Street" businesses, but didn't provide many details, saying that he didn't "know all of the parameters" for the loans yet and that is still being worked out with the Treasury Department. 

However, he said, "Everybody who wants one is going to be able to get one. That is our goal. That’s the essential message: we want to keep you in business, we know just how difficult this is. We know the hardships are enormous."

He added that mitigation efforts "seem to be bearing fruit," and that it is his hope that the economy will reopen in a four to eight week time frame (something he's said previously). 

He again acknowledged "glitches" with the small business loan program but expressed praise for Mnuchin and the SBA. 

As of today at 2 p.m., he said, 500,000 loans have been approved, worth $128 billion, via almost 4,000 bank lenders. 

One viewer who owns a hair salon asked him about issues with getting employees to want to come back to work. 

"If I may, it's cool to work," Kudlow said. "Working has become cool again."

Today marks the 100th day since the World Health Organization was notified of the first cases of novel coronavirus in China, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on his Twitter account.

Since then, more than 1.5 million cases of coronavirus have been reported around the world, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

“For the past 100 days, our unwavering commitment has been to serve all people of the world with equity, objectivity and neutrality. That will continue to be our sole focus in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Tedros wrote.

He added that the health organization will be releasing an updated strategy and a “revised Strategic Preparedness & Response Plan in the next few days.” 

In a live address on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a two-week extension to South Africa’s current 21-day lockdown, keeping restrictions in place until at least the end of April.

Ramaphosa said that the strict nationwide lockdown had slowed the rate of confirmed infections in the country over the past two weeks.

During his address, Ramaphosa also announced that senior government officials, including himself, will take a one-third pay cut over the next three-months. The portion will be donated to the country’s solidarity fund, set up to aid the country’s coronavirus response.

Ramaphosa said that any decisions to ease restrictions needed to be cautious and calibrated.

“Our immediate priority must remain to slow down the spread of the virus and prevent a massive loss of life,” he said. “This is a matter of survival and we will not fail.”

New Jersey's peak could occur in the next 2 to 3 days, according to Commissioner of Health Judy M. Persichilli.

At that point, New Jersey would have 14,400 hospitalizations and 2,880 critical care cases in the state, according to model projections as of last night.

“We look at this every day. It changes every day,” Persichilli noted.

The Spanish Parliament has voted to extend the state of emergency in the country for the second time, until April 26.

Speaking in front of an almost empty Parliament, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the country has reached the "peak" of the pandemic.

"[T]he last thing we should allow is a step backward because that would be more than a setback," he said.

Sánchez also added that he is "convinced" he'll have to request a new extension of the state of emergency in 15 days, extending it into May.

The vote happened as the country prepares the "de-escalation" phase where some easing in measures could happen, like allowing non-essential workers in certain sectors to go back to work.

The state of emergency was first declared on March 14 and extended for the first time on March 27.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery," Downing Street said in a statement Thursday.

“He is in extremely good spirits,” the statement added.

Some background: The 55-year-old was taken to London's St. Thomas' Hospital on Sunday because he was displaying "persistent" symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

Johnson's condition worsened on Monday, and he was taken to the ICU. On Tuesday, Downing Street said he was in a stable condition.

He did not require mechanical or invasive ventilation and did not have pneumonia, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputizing for the Prime Minister.