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President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a rare joint statement on Saturday turning down the Trump administration’s offer to provide 1,000 rapid coronavirus tests so that more would be available for front line health care workers.
“Congress is grateful for the Administration’s generous offer to deploy rapid Covid-19 testing capabilities to Capitol Hill, but we respectfully decline the offer at this time,” Pelosi and McConnell said in the earlier joint statement. “Our country’s testing capacities are continuing to scale up nationwide and Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly.”
The Senate is set to return next week with the congressional physician issuing protocols for screening and social distancing. Dr. Brian Monahan is the attending physician of the US Congress.
The New York Police Department has 2,160 uniformed members on sick report, which is 6% of the department’s work force. This is down from a high of 19.8%.
While 5,225 members of the NYPD have tested positive for Covid-19, 4,405 members have returned to work after recovering from a positive diagnosis.
There are 639 uniformed members and 144 civilian members out sick after receiving a positive diagnosis.
The department says 37 members have died due to coronavirus-related illnesses.
More than 500 people gathered at the California Capitol in Sacramento Friday to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
“The majority of the demonstrators were not wearing face masks or physically distancing and at one point a group of them locked hands,” according to a news release from the California Highway Patrol. “In so doing, they were jeopardizing the health and safety of themselves as well as our officers and onlookers during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.”
As a result, police arrested 32 for failing to comply with the lawful orders to disperse along with health and safety violations, the release said.
Charisse Hill, New York City Parks Department spokeswoman, told CNN in a statement that while there is a large volume of visitors in both Central Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, most are in compliance with social distancing rules.
Here’s Hill’s full statement:
The Newport Beach City Council voted Saturday to support litigation filed by Huntington Beach, Dana Point and other business owners to reopen Orange County beaches, according to a news release from the city.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all Orange County beaches closed on Thursday despite a vote from the Newport Beach City Council Tuesday to keep beaches open, the release said.
“The Governor’s office had not sought the City’s perspective on beach safety or the weekend plan before issuing the directive,” the Newport Beach release said.
On Friday, an Orange County judge rejected a request from local officials to block Newsom’s order closing the beaches in the county to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Lawyers representing three cities argued the governor had singled out the county and overstepped his authority while allowing other beaches in California to remain open. The judge agreed to hear more on the challenges to the beach order next week.
Also on Friday, between 2,500 and 3,000 people took part in a protest over the beach closures in Huntington Beach.
An emergency proclamation issued Thursday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, requiring the use of face masks in stores and restaurants was amended Friday after several reports of threats, a statement from Stillwater City Manager Norman McNickle said.
Due to the threats of violence the city has decided to amend their emergency order, but officials still want people to wear face masks whenever possible, the statement said.
The Duchess of Cambridge took part in a virtual roundtable with midwives, health visitors, parents, and leading sector experts about the challenges that Covid-19 is having on new and expectant mothers and their families ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.
Catherine spoke with health workers at Kingston Hospital as they continue to battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
The Duchess has long been involved in highlighting the importance of the early years and parental well-being, according to a press release from Kensington Palace.
Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK starts on Monday and runs through Sunday, May 10.
There are at least 1,126,519 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 66,051 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases in the United States.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases and those in the US military, veterans hospitals and federal prisons.
CNN has an interactive map tracking coronavirus cases across the country.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN’s Ana Cabrera that the city is not yet out of the woods and is not going to rush reopening.
Cabrera asked de Blasio if the worst was behind the city with regards to Covid-19 given recent data.
“Of course we all want to restart, but we’re not going to restart until we have harder evidence that we’ve turned the corner,” de Blasio said.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN’s Ana Cabrera Saturday officials expected the crowds at Central Park and were “prepared for this.”
“The NYPD is out in force” along with other city agencies, he said.
Enforcement numbers from about an hour ago “looked actually quite good,” the mayor said adding “the vast majority of people got the message and that’s the story of NYC over these last weeks.”
He said its “totally understandable” that folks want to go out get some exercise and fresh air but added the message has been “don’t linger too long, get back home” and “while you’re out there keep that face covering on, keep that social distance.”
For anyone who tries to resist these rules or create a public gathering, the NYPD is immediately going to give them a summons, de Blasio said.
The mayor said overall in the past few weeks “people are overwhelmingly abiding by that social distancing,” adding that more and more people are putting on face coverings. The city is giving them out today for free, he added.
“New Yorkers have been pretty amazing at following rules in a place where it’s tough,” he said.
Scores of people descended upon the National Mall on Saturday as the US Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds performed a flyover to honor first responders on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation’s capital is under a stay-at-home order to slow down the spread of the virus but that didn’t stop crowds from gathering between the US Capitol and the Washington Monument.
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds conducted flyovers in Washington, Baltimore and Atlanta on Saturday.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he would announce more guidelines as the state began lifting restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“On Monday we will be having an announcement in terms of guidelines in reference to our houses of worship, and some of our larger venues,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said the state has sought a measured approach when it comes to reopening the state.
A federal judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed the New York State Nurses Association’s request for an injunction that would’ve forced Montefiore Medical Center to provide more personal protective equipment, court documents show.
The union alleged shortcomings like inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), a lack of training for registered nurses redeployed from hospital units to meet the staffing needed to treat the high number of Covid-19 patients, and unsafe working conditions for high-risk employees.
The union filed similar suits against Westchester Medical Center and the New York State Department of Health.
Writing Friday, Judge Jesse Furman wrote that the court did not have the authority to enforce an injunction against Montefiore, and that under the union’s collective bargaining agreement, the dispute could only be resolved through arbitration.
“It would ‘unduly interfere’ with the hospital’s ability to make business decisions’ at a time when the judicial interference could be particularly problematic,” Furman wrote, citing legal precedent. “The tragic fact that, between now and the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings, nurses at Montefiore may well (indeed, are likely to) contract Covid-19 does not alter that conclusion.”
Furman wrote “…given the measures that Montefiore has been taking, under extraordinary circumstances, to protect its staff and provide patient care,” adding “the Court cannot say that the likelihood of infection (let alone death) in the absence of an injunction is so great as to render the arbitral process meaningless.”
“That is not to say that Montefiore cannot or should not do more to protect its nurses than it is,” Furman wrote, “it is merely to say that, under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, that is an issue for the arbitrator, not this Court, to decide.”
CNN’s Ramon Escobar captured photos of people in Central Park on a sunny Saturday while the state remains under a stay-at-home order.
Signs instructed park visitors on how far apart they must remain from others.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea asked community partners Friday night to spread a singular message: “Now is not the time to relax.”
Several tweets Saturday from the NYPD’s press Twitter accounts and the chief of department reinforced that the department is aware that people are heading outside to “soak up the sun and enjoy the fresh air,” but also reminded the public that social distancing rules are in place.
Officers who patrolled an Upper East Side park Saturday were pleased to report proper PPE and social distancing observed. There were no tweets about Central Park specifically.
The NYPD had no information on whether or not citations have been issued Saturday when reached by CNN.
A total of 24,760 people in France have died after contracting Covid-19, an increase of 166 since Friday, the Health Ministry announced Saturday.
The number of patients in intensive care continues to decline with 3,827 receiving treatment, a decrease of 51 in 24 hours.
In total, 25,827 patients are currently receiving hospital treatment in France for coronavirus.
China has sent 149 medical experts to 16 countries for Covid-19 prevention and control work, according to Mi Feng, China’s National Health Commission spokesperson.
Mi made the statement Saturday, according to Chinese state-run media China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Mi said China is willing to continue to work with the international community to combat the pandemic.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported a single new case of novel coronavirus and no deaths for the fourth consecutive day, according to a statement published on Saturday.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters Saturday that the state’s downward trend in Covid-19 cases continued, but emphasized the importance of remaining socially distant, especially as the weather improves.
Murphy reported 205 news deaths and 2,912 additional cases since yesterday, bringing the state totals to 7,742 deaths and 123,717 cases, respectively.
While the governor called the statewide death toll “unfathomable,” he expressed hope that New Jersey was rounding the corner.
“All of the important metrics in our hospitals continue to show positive trends,” Murphy said.
He said initial anecdotal reports indicated that the reopening of parks in the state was working out but said that this weekend would be a bellwether for social distancing.
“If we hear minimal reports of knucklehead behavior at our parks and we see the metrics we need to meet being met over the next couple of days and weeks, then we know that you all have taken to heart your responsibility,” he said.
He said it was a “big week in terms of federal assistance” He lauded the federal government for giving the state testing supplies and for providing PPE to long-term care facilities.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a joint statement Saturday “respectfully” declining an offer from the Trump administration to deploy rapid coronavirus testing capabilities to Capitol Hill.
“Consistent with CDC guidelines, Congress will use the current testing protocols that the Office of the Attending Physician has put in place until these speedier technologies become more widely available,” they also said.
Some background: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that 1,000 coronavirus tests will be available as US senators and staff return to Capitol Hill on Monday, after the Capitol physician earlier said testing for members would be limited.
The House –– which has 435 members compared to 100 in the Senate –– canceled its plans to return to Washington this upcoming week, with Democratic leadership citing guidance from Capitol attending physician Brian Monahan.
Trump criticized Pelosi on Twitter Saturday and said the House should return.
New York has been testing residents for Covid-19 antibodies at grocery stores, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said Saturday.
The survey developed a baseline infection rate by testing 15,000 people at grocery stores and community centers across the state over the past two weeks, the governor’s office said, adding that the study shows 12.3% of the population have Covid-19.
Rudy Fuertes, the president of Fteley Food Corp, told CNN that antibody testing had occurred at two of his Fine Fare grocery stores in the Bronx, and at one Key Food location in Brooklyn.
He said about 200 people, including patrons and workers, were tested at the locations over several days.
“The communities we serve, they’re very vulnerable. They’re less fortunate. They want to go back to work. They’re running out of money,” Fuertes said.
Testing involved a dedicated line and room for taking blood samples, according to Fuertes.
He was contacted by the state about the pilot program of testing in the grocery stores and said he was more than happy to accommodate.
About 62 employees collectively at the 3 locations were tested for antibodies, including Fuertes who said he tested positive
“I think it was a great initiative from the governor to bring hope to the community,” Fuertes said of the antibody testing.
He also said he noticed an uptick in the number of individuals cashing in recyclables for money.
“That tells me people are running out of money. People are desperate. They’re cashing anything they can to buy food,” Fuertes said.
