Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has ended for the day. Follow the latest developments from around the globe here.
Beaches in Los Angeles and San Diego counties will remain closed this weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus as a heatwave brings record warm temperatures to Southern California.
The continued closures have prompted local officials to remind the public to continue to stay home despite the temptation to hit the sand during the summer-like weather.
In Los Angeles county, the?stay at home order?states that all public beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, and beach access points remain shuttered.
The closures could prompt Southern Californians to head to Ventura and Orange counties where most beaches are open, but parking lots and piers are closed to curb visits from out-of-towners.
Both the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff are increasing patrols to enforce social distancing rules at beaches. Two lifeguard chiefs and?representatives with three law enforcement agencies praised Southern California residents for adhering to social distancing guidelines and for their cooperation.
There has been a concerted effort among aides and allies to get President Trump to stop conducting the daily coronavirus briefings, multiple sources told CNN.
Many close to him believe the daily briefings hurt him more than they help him. This comes after the White House spent the last 24 hours attempting to clean up remarks from the President that researchers should look into injecting people with disinfectant or ultraviolet rays to cure coronavirus.
“I see the disinfectant — where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” Trump asked Dr. Deborah Birx Thursday night.
Trump left the briefing after just 22 minutes on Friday and took no questions from reporters after tweeting he would be holding a press conference.?
A source close to the coronavirus task force said Trump was upset about the “flack” he was taking after his comments about people injecting disinfectants as a coronavirus cure.?
One White House official said they asked the President to stop conducting the daily briefings last week but he resisted. Another ally told CNN that this concern is not new among those close to him.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis may withhold emergency funding from Weld County after a local leader said any business would be allowed to reopen on Monday.
The state is moving to what it calls a “Safer at Home” plan on Monday that involves loosening some restrictions, but the plan promoted by Weld County Commission Chairman Mike Freeman would allow all businesses to open with only suggested social distancing guidelines.?
“Weld County is prepared to let all of its businesses, including those involving face to face transactions such as restaurants and retail establishments, to open on Monday,” Freeman wrote on Facebook.
Polis says the state is allowing local counties to request their own exceptions to the state’s coronavirus restrictions, but he says Weld County has not even attempted to ask for a variance.?
In an interview with the Greeley Tribune in Weld County, Freeman said he considered tight coronavirus restrictions to be unenforceable.?
“People are trying to do the right thing, but people have reached the end of their ropes,” Freeman told the newspaper.
The Supreme Court denied a request Friday from New York and other states to block the Trump administration’s controversial “public charge” rule during the pandemic.
The rule makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.
Earlier in the term, a 5-4 court said the rule could go into effect nationwide while legal challenges played out, but the states had asked the justices to reconsider that decision given the implications of the virus.?
The court denied the request with no noted dissents, but the justices did indicate the states could ask district courts for relief.
Some context: New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New York City had filed one petition asking the justices to block the rule nationwide, arguing that while they are trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, the government’s rule is deterring some immigrants from accessing health care and public benefits that are “essential tools for protecting the public at large” by limiting the “spread and severity” of the virus.
“Such narrow and temporary relief” is warranted, New York Attorney General Letitia James argued.
In the petition, James provided examples of the impact of the rule on immigrants.
“A physician in Connecticut has spoken with patients who had symptoms consistent with Covid-19,” James wrote, “but were afraid to obtain COVID-19 testing or seek treatment due to concerns about the Public Charge Rule and fears that they could not afford to pay for treatment.”
She said the unwillingness for immigrants to come forward jeopardized their safety but also the public at large.
There are at least?890,524?cases of coronavirus in the US and?at least?51,107?people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.?
On Friday, Johns Hopkins tallied?21,579?new cases and?1,130?reported deaths.?
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories.
The 2020 California State Fair and Food Festival has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, event organizers announced in a press release Friday.
This year’s event, which was scheduled for July 17-August 2 at Cal Expo in Sacramento, would have been the 166th?year of the award-winning fair. This is the first time the annual California State Fair has been canceled since WWII, Cal Expo said.
More than 700,000 people were expected to attend this year’s event, according to Cal Expo Deputy General Manager Margaret Mohr. The cancelation of the fair has a huge economic impact on Cal Expo and the region, she added.?
Cal Expo hires over 800 seasonal employees for the event each year.
The venue for the event currently serves as a drive-thru coronavirus testing site, as well as a temporary emergency isolation trailer facilities for the homeless population, according to the press release.
“California Exposition and State Fair is a proud member of the statewide community and we will continue to do our part to combat COVID-19,” Pickering said.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont slammed President Trump for his comments Thursday which suggested that disinfectant could be a treatment for coronavirus.
Lamont added: “And I urge each and every one of you, don’t even take it as a bit of humor and sarcasm. Make sure your kids know that this is something that’s dangerous and should not be allowed.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not set a deadline for when to reopen the state.
“I’m not concerned about specific dates as much as I’m concerned about getting it right,” DeSantis said at a news conference Friday.
The governor’s Reopen Task Force was scheduled to deliver their recommendations to DeSantis today.
DeSantis said he plans to take a look at the task force’s recommendations through the weekend and then roll out the plan in the “next many days.”
“When that [the reopening] would start has absolutely not been determined yet,” DeSantis said.
President Trump announced the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home COVID-19 test kit this week during the White House press briefing.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the at-home test was developed by LabCorp.
Hahn said the test would require a doctor’s referral.?
Vice President Mike Pence says the US has tested roughly 5.1 million Americans for coronavirus.
This update was provided moments ago during the White House coronavirus task force briefing.
New York City has 10,746 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 5,102 probable coronavirus deaths,?according to the city website.
The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.
CNN reached out to the department Friday afternoon for an explanation on why the probable deaths dropped by 19 compared to yesterday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 15,848.
There have been 146,139 coronavirus cases in the city and approximately 37,995 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, speaking about the shortages of personal protective equipment in his state, slammed Trump for delaying his use of the Defense Production Act.
“As you also know, I have been very robust in urging the President to get off the dime and start producing some PPE with the Defense Production Act,” Inlsee said.?“Unfortunately he waited weeks before he did that and so we’ve been delayed.”
The DPA gives Trump authority not only to order private companies to produce and expedite production of certain essential items — in this case, ventilators, masks and other essential medical resources — but also to allocate such materials.?
He said the federal government is “starting to do a little more work to produce more PPE and we’re grateful for that” but he stressed that “we need to continue to ramp up the manufacturing.”
Washington has?85 million pieces of PPE that are “in the queue or in the supply chain” to the state, he said. Inlsee added that private?businesses?and prisons have also been working to make PPE for the state as well.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has instructed his surgeon general to give licensed pharmacists the power to order and administer Covid-19 tests.
The governor made the announcement during a news conference Friday.
DeSantis said the effort is a step towards making testing more “simple” and “accessible” in Florida.
Former President Barack Obama says the US needs a comprehensive testing program “if we want life to approach anything like normal anytime soon.”
By the numbers: The US is testing about 150,000 people per day.
Germany, with a smaller population, is testing 120,000 per day, according to The New York Times. Harvard researchers have argued that unless the US could be testing?500,000 per day by May 1, the economy won’t be able to open up.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam does not anticipate reopening the state before May 8, he said in a news conference Friday.
Northam outlined his “Forward Virginia” plan and explained that phase one of reopening will require downward trends in new cases and hospitalizations for 14 days; increased testing and contact tracing and a sustainable supply of hospital beds and personal protective equipment.
Northam compared the recovery to the aftermath of September 11.
Northam said Virginia’s goal is to eventually process 10,000 tests per day. The state processed 4,000 tests each of the last two days.
Northam also said that he is not considering reopening the state by region or county.
Illinois has recorded 2,724 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest number of new cases in a single day, said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
This brings the total state count to 39,658 cases, Ezike said at a news conference Friday.
There were 4,828 people hospitalized and 25% of those patients were in intensive care, according to Ezike
Ezike also announced 108 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the state total to 1,795.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said on Friday he was “disturbed” to hear that grocery stores are not making a greater effort to get all employees tested for Covid-19.
Speaking at today’s news briefing, Duggan warned that he will “crackdown” on them if they fail to get all their workers tested by May 11.??
Missouri will begin loosening restrictions on businesses and some public gatherings beginning on May 4, Gov. Mike Parson said at a news conference Friday.?
“Since Missouri’s first case nearly 50 days ago, we have accomplished a tremendous amount of work together,” the governor said.
He said the “reopening” will include restaurants, salons, gyms and houses of worship.?Details outlining social distancing measures will be released next week, the governor said.
Parson said he is extending the state’s coronavirus emergency declaration through June 15.
“Extending the emergency declaration simply allows us to continue using our resources and deploying them across the state,” he said.
Indiana Department of Health Commissioner Kristina Box acknowledged that she has received questions about the wisdom of ingesting disinfectant and has told these people it is not something she recommends.
Sen. Mike Braun was more critical, saying, “sometimes when you’re not clear with how you say things, and especially when you’re at a high level where people watch, it’s best probably not to venture into areas that you may not know a lot about.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb followed Box, repeating the President’s explanation today that he was being sarcastic but also added the state will give sound medical counsel if anyone asks.
“Yeah and I would just add, apply those disinfectants to surfaces. They work. Not yourself,” Holcomb said.
California is unveiling a new program focused on caring for seniors while also getting farmers, restaurant workers and delivery people back to work.?
Touted as the first of its kind in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the program will focus on seniors who are particularly vulnerable and dealing with isolation.?
The program will allow for restaurants to reopen in order to prepare and deliver meals to seniors.
Elderly people meeting eligibility requirements, including financial means and vulnerability to coronavirus, will receive three meals a day, seven days a week. The meals will be made with an eye on locally-produced ingredients in an effort to put farmers back to work, and will follow nutritional guidelines, the governor said.
As of yesterday, Boston coronavirus cases were up by at least 398, for a total of 6,958, Mayor Marty Walsh announced.
This is the city’s largest one-day increase so far in the pandemic, he said. The city had 11 new coronavirus deaths for a total of 232.
He added: “We do know that the measures we are taking in Boston are working. These numbers would be much higher if we had not taken very strong steps and if the folks in the communities haven’t been social distancing, physical distancing, staying at home and doing everything that they have been for the last, say, six or eight weeks here.”
Because Maryland has yet to hit its Covid-19 peak and cases are still on the rise, the state is not ready to open back up for business, Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference this afternoon.
Hogan said that the federal guidelines issued by President Trump last week called for states to meet specific gating metrics before considering lifting restrictions, including a 14-day downward trend in key numbers.
Maryland has not seen a “spike” in Covid-19-related illnesses and it is not ready to open, Hogan said.
“We have been successful in?flattening and lengthening the curve in our state, and we have not had the very high spikes that you have seen in other states. But that is also why we are several weeks behind those other states who spiked earlier, and the number of new cases of Covid-19 is still rising here in Maryland and throughout the Maryland, DC, and Virginia region, and by the federal standards instituted last week, and under the guidance given in the studies and reopening plans that we cited Maryland is not yet able to lift our restrictions,” Hogan said.
A new study revealed that tens of thousands of Miami-Dade residents had Covid-19 and didn’t even know it, Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced during a news conference Friday.
Gimenez said a random antibody testing study of some of the county’s 2.8 million residents was recently conducted. About 1,800 people participated.
The data showed 6% of the sample tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, which would be about 165,000 residents, he said.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there are 10,701 coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade. That means that the actual number of cases, according to the study, is 16.5 times the number reported by the state, Gimenez said.
Gimenez pointed out that this means a significant number of people were carrying coronavirus while being asymptomatic. He emphasized that social distancing restrictions are working.
The data also shows that black Americans might be twice as likely to be infected with Covid-19 than other racial groups, he said.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will sign an executive order to support renters, the governor announced during a Covid-19 news conference today.?
The order will allow renters to use their security deposit to pay their rent, the governor said.??
There will be a question and answer portal for tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities.
President Trump lied Friday when he said he was being “sarcastic” when he asked medical experts on Thursday to look into the possibility of injecting disinfectant as a treatment for the coronavirus.
Doctors and the company that makes Lysol and Dettol warned that injecting or ingesting disinfectants is dangerous. But when Trump was asked about the comments during a bill signing on Friday, he said, “I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.”
He then suggested he was talking about disinfectants that can safely be rubbed on people’s hands. And then he returned to the sarcasm explanation, saying it was “a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside.”
A reporter noted that he had asked his medical experts to look into it. Trump responded: “No, no, no, no — to look into whether or not sun and disinfectant on the hands, but whether or not sun can help us.”
Facts First: Trump was not being “sarcastic” on Thursday when he raised the possibility of injecting disinfectant. There was simply no indication that he was being anything less than serious. He was also wrong Friday when he denied he had asked the medical experts to “check” the idea of disinfectant injections; he was looking at them at the time. And he did not mention hands during his Thursday remarks.
Here’s what Trump said Thursday while looking in the direction of coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and Department of Homeland Security science official Bill Bryan:
What happened on Thursday: Bryan, the acting undersecretary of science and technology for the Department of Homeland Security, outlined tests in which he said disinfectants like bleach and isopropyl alcohol quickly killed the coronavirus on surfaces. Bryan also spoke about how the virus was found to be negatively affected by exposure to UV rays and higher temperatures.
Trump first spoke about the possibility of using light as a treatment for people who already have the coronavirus, musing that a “very powerful light” could be used to “hit the body” or be brought “inside the body…either through the skin or in some other way.”
Trump said Bryan had said he is going to “test that.” (Experts said this idea does not make sense; when Trump asked Birx if she has heard of the use of heat or light related to the virus, she said, “Not as a treatment.”)
Bryan said he would “get to the right folks” who could do testing. Trump then began his comments about disinfectant, which he concluded by saying “it sounds interesting to me.”
Reminded by a reporter on Friday that he had been looking at Birx when he made these Thursday comments, Trump said he was looking at Bryan, Birx, but also “some of the reporters.” In fact, the video shows he was looking in the direction of Birx and Bryan for almost the entirety of his musings about disinfectant, glancing forward at reporters only very briefly.
Later in the Thursday briefing, when a reporter asked Bryan if there is any scenario in which household cleaners could be injected into a person, Bryan said, “No, I’m here to talk about the findings that we had in the study. We won’t do that within that lab and our lab.”
Trump then interjected: “It wouldn’t be through injection. We’re talking about through almost a cleaning, sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t work. But it certainly has a big effect if it’s on a stationary object.”
Trump can argue that he walked back his comments during the briefing. But even in this more cautious follow-up, he offered no indication that he had been anything less than completely serious.
The White House’s initial statement on Friday about the disinfectant remarks did not say the President had been sarcastic. It only alleged that the media had taken him out of context.
Watch:
The annual summer action sports and music festival X Games has been canceled.
Originally set to take place July 17-19 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, X Games organizers blamed the ongoing concerns of Covid-19 for the cancellation.
X Games host Jack Mitrani announced the news via a video on Twitter.
Watch:
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued an executive order postponing the state’s local elections until May 19, he announced today.
The two-week postponement is the maximum that Northam is constitutionally allowed after the state Senate declined to delay the elections further.?
The governor’s statewide stay-at-home order is currently set to expire on June 10, which means the election might happen while the state is still under lockdown. Northam strongly encouraged voters to use absentee ballots and drew a comparison to Wisconsin when expressing his frustration with the situation.
“The last thing that we want in Virginia is a scene like what we saw when Wisconsin held an election a few weeks ago. People waiting in line for hours, trying to social distance, just in order to vote,” Northam said.
The elections will decide local positions like mayors, town council members and school board members.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it is continuing to use hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus cases after the?Food and Drug Administration made clear Friday that the drug has not been shown to be “safe and effective for treating or preventing Covid-19,” and carries “known risks” of potentially deadly heart complications.
The VA said it would the drug in a manner “consistent with current FDA guidance.”
“While clinical trials are ongoing to determine the safety and effectiveness of these drugs for COVID-19,” the FDA said on Friday, “there are known side effects of these medications that should be considered.”
The FDA said those risks “may be mitigated when health care professionals closely screen and supervise these patients such as in a hospital setting or a clinical trial,” which is mentioned in an emergency-use authorization for the drugs issued last month.?
Asked whether the VA believes veterans should use hydroxychloroquine going forward, VA spokesperson Christina Noel said the department is using “it to treat COVID-19 in cases where Veteran patients and their providers determine it is medically necessary, and in a manner consistent with current FDA guidance.” Noel pointed to a part of the FDA guidance that allows the drug to be used for treatment temporarily during the pandemic in hospitalized patients.
CNN previously reported coronavirus patients taking hydroxychloroquine were no less likely to need mechanical ventilation and had higher deaths rates compared to those who did not take the drug, according to a study of hundreds of patients at US Veterans Health Administration medical centers.
The study, which reviewed veterans’ medical charts, was posted Tuesday on?medrxiv.org, a pre-print server, meaning it was not peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia.
“In this study, we found no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine, either with or without azithromycin, reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with Covid-19,” the authors wrote.
There are currently no products approved by the FDA to prevent or treat Covid-19, although research is underway on many drugs.
There has been a “big increase” in 911 calls for domestic abuse in the past few weeks, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said during a news conference on Friday.
She encouraged people who are not safe to reach out for help and said that those who are safe need to pay attention to their communities.?
The state is reviewing data and resources to help combat this uptick in domestic violence, Raimondo said.
President Trump tweeted that he “will never let our Post Office fail” after attacking the US Postal Service earlier Friday.
Trump criticized the USPS in his tweet saying, “It has been mismanaged for years, especially since the advent of the internet and modern-day technology” but goes on to praise those who work for the postal service.
“The people that work there are great, and we’re going to keep them happy, healthy, and well!” Trump tweeted.
During today’s bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump called the Postal Service “a joke” and claimed it needed to raise rates on companies like Amazon by four or five times.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters earlier “we authorized in the last CARE[S] Act over $10 billion in a loan.”
“My team is already actively working on that with the postal service, if they need the money. And we’re dealing with them,” he said. Mnuchin went on to say that “certain criteria for postal reform” would be included as part of that loan.
Trump then added that if the USPS doesn’t raise the price on packages, he won’t sign any legislation to provide it more funding.?
Admiral Michael Gilday, the chief of Naval Operations, has?recommended to Defense Secretary Mark Esper today that Capt. Brett Crozier be restored to command of the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, according to an administration official tells CNN.
A defense official also said that Esper was not prepared to immediately accept the Navy’s recommendation after being briefed on the investigation?on Friday, telling top Navy officials he wanted more time to review their recommendations.
More on this: Crozier was?relieved of his command after sending a letter warning that action was needed to save the lives of his crew from an?outbreak of coronavirus?aboard the aircraft carrier.
In the memo, Crozier pleaded with Navy leaders that “decisive action is required” to remove a majority of the ship’s personnel and isolate them for two weeks. The letter was published in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Watch sailors cheer on Capt. Crozier in send-off:
Ohio will scale up testing to 22,000 tests per day by the end of May, Gov. Mike DeWine announced in a news conference on this afternoon.
DeWine said the state struck a partnership with a dental supply company to manufacture?swabs, and with a medical manufacturing company to supply reagents for the tests — which both have been major obstacles for Ohio’s testing expansion.
Currently, Ohio’s daily testing capacity is 3,728. DeWine said that by Wednesday, the state should get to?7,200 tests per day, and by May 27, that number should reach 22,000 tests per day.
DeWine said testing will be prioritized for nursing homes, essential workers and hotspots.?
DeWine did not provide any additional details about the state’s reopening plan, which is expected to be announced on Monday.?
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced on Friday that elective dental procedures will be allowed to proceed on May 18.
The state’s Department of Health will be working with industry associations on proper guidelines so consumers have confidence that protective measures are in place before May 18, the governor said.
Hutchinson also announced that the total number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to 2,741 in total, which includes 198 new cases at the Arkansas Department of Corrections Cummins unit.
The state has also pushed for additional testing and had over 2,800 tests come in over the past day.
The UFC has scheduled three fight nights that will be closed to the public starting May in Jacksonville, Florida.
The mixed martial arts organization said all thee of the events will take place in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena?“with only essential personnel in attendance.”
In a statement released by the UFC, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said,?“As we move step-by-step on the path toward economic recovery, we are proud to host these UFC events at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena.”
The televised UFC 249 will take place on May 9 with additional fight nights on May 13 and 16, the UFC said. Each event will be?“closed to the public.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?on Friday?issued a reminder about disinfectants: Use them properly.
Some context: The CDC message was sent a day after President Trump suggested?that injecting disinfectant?might be a possible treatment for coronavirus.
“I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute.?One minute,” Trump said.
“And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning,” the President added. “Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs.?So it would be interesting to check that.”
The CDC tweet?included a link for anyone interested in learning “more about cleaning and disinfecting your home.”
Among other instructions. the CDC website says people should try “not to breathe in product fumes. If using products indoors, open windows and doors to allow fresh air to enter.”
CNN has reached out to the CDC for clarification on what prompted the tweet.
Earlier today, The maker of Lysol issued a?statement clarifying that under no circumstances should its products be administered into the human body.
See Dr. Birx’s reaction to Trump’s disinfectant suggestion:
US airlines are moving forward with plans to carry cargo in otherwise empty passenger planes.?
Airlines for America, the industry group that represents airlines, on Friday formally asked the Federal Aviation Administration to allow all carriers to transport cargo on airplane seats.?
Delta Air Lines said it has received federal government approval to carry cargo in empty overhead bins on cargo-only, wide-body charter flights.?Since early April, it has been using passenger planes for those flights, but the passenger compartment is empty.??
What we know: The airlines are proposing carrying up to 50 pounds of cargo on each seat — or up to 110 pounds if the cargo is packaged in a single container that takes up three seats.?They propose carrying up to 20 pounds of cargo under each seat.?The seats will be in the upright position, rather than reclined, and flight attendants would be aboard to make sure none of the cargo catches fire.?(Passenger compartments typically don’t have the firefighting systems installed in cargo compartments.)?
Some airlines are also looking at removing passenger seats, providing even more cargo capacity.?Delta CEO Ed Bastian said on a call with financial analysts earlier this week:?“We are — we have looked at and we’re taking some of the main deck seats off our — a few of our international planes to facilitate taking greater lift in the short term.”?
The 80% cut in US flights means there is significantly less cargo capacity available to shippers.??
Earlier this month, the FAA laid out the standards airlines must meet when seeking approval to carry cargo in non-traditional areas.?Details on that below.??
Here’s a diagram from Airlines for America showing how cargo would be placed on seats:?
Three class action lawsuits have been filed against New York-area universities by students who?argue the schools’ have failed to adequately refund or reimburse students for tuition and other fees they paid to attend in-person, on-campus classes.
The lawsuits are against Columbia University, Pace University and Long Island University. The students argue that online-only instruction is less valuable and should cost students less.
Pace University spokesperson Marie Boster told CNN that while they have not been served yet, “housing fee adjustments for students who had to leave the residence halls are being issued. We are planning to use CARES Act funding to support our students when it is available.”
Columbia University and Long Island University have not yet responded to comment.
Delaware schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year, Gov. John Carney announced on Friday.?
The governor also encouraged superintendents to begin planning for summer learning and instruction, summer food distribution, and preparation for the new school year.?
President Trump attacked the US Postal Service, calling it “a joke” during Friday’s Oval Office bill signing ceremony.
Trump said that the postal service needs to raise the price of a package, “approximately four times” because they are currently losing money delivering packages for Amazon “and other internet companies.”
“The Postal Service is a joke, because they are handing out packages for Amazon and other internet companies, and every time they bring a package, they lose money on it,” Trump said.?
Trump said that the Postal Service is “very cozy with some of these companies” which is why, according to Trump, they wont raise the price on packages.
“But they don’t want to raise, because they don’t want to insult Amazon and they don’t want to insult other companies, perhaps, that they like. The post office should raise the price of the packages to the companies, not to the people, to the companies and if they did that, it would be a whole different story,” Trump said.
Some background: The Postal Service is a government agency, but it operates as an independent business without direct taxpayer support. It has lost $65 billion over the last 11 fiscal years.
Amazon has a confidential agreement with the Postal Service where it delivers large numbers of packages directly to the post office nearest to where they need to be delivered. The Postal Service then delivers the packages the “last mile” to their destinations. The Postal Service says the law requires that such negotiated contracts cover its costs, and that regulators have studied the Amazon contract and approved it.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that there was a $10 million loan provided to the USPS in the CARES Act, but “certain criteria for postal reform” would be included as part of that loan.?
Trump added that if the USPS doesn’t raise the price on packages, he won’t sign anything for more funding for the postal service.
Watch:
President Trump reiterated Friday that he didn’t know Dr. Rick Bright, the dismissed director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority?(BARDA), an office leading the charge on a coronavirus vaccine.
“Until yesterday, I never heard of the gentleman,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I guess they moved him to a different group.”
Asked if he had any plans to look into Bright’s move to a narrower position at the National Institutes of Health, Trump suggested he will.
“I have not yet, at some point I will,” he said.
Bright has alleged that his ouster was retaliatory and stemmed in part from his opposition to widening the availability of a coronavirus treatment with dubious scientific merits that?the President had repeatedly promoted.
Watch: ?
President Trump Friday signed into a law a roughly $480 billion package to deliver aid to small businesses and hospitals and expand Covid-19 testing, the latest attempt by Washington to blunt the devastating impact of the pandemic.
The total price tag of the funding package is approximately $484 billion. It will add to the already historic levels of spending to deal with the pandemic by authorizing an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was set up to help small businesses struggling from the economic deep freeze triggered by coronavirus.
Funding for the program ran dry earlier this month, prompting an outcry from the business community.
Watch the moment here:
More than 400,000 people in Tennessee have filed unemployment claims, Gov. Bill Lee announced at a news conference on Friday. The claims add up to about 15% of the state’s workforce.?
Lee also said the state suffered an $870 million loss in revenue in March, and that state officials predict a $5 billion loss to Tennessee’s GDP in 2020.
Yesterday, the US Department of Labor? announced that first-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 4.4 million in the week ending April 18, after factoring in seasonal adjustments.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced plans to start reopening some sectors of the economy on Monday during the Covid-19 pandemic.?
During Friday’s news conference, Reynolds said the proclamation she is signing will allow for hospitals to resume elective surgeries in a phased approach. Farmers Markets will also be able to reopen with limited operations on Monday as well.
Iowa recorded 521 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the state total to 4,445, Reynolds said.
The state also reported 11 additional deaths, bringing the total to 107. The deaths include residents from long-term care facilities and those with pre-existing conditions, Reynolds said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her weekly press conference criticized President Trump over his suggestion that sunlight and injecting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus and linked the comments to recent comments from Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell suggesting that he thinks that bankruptcy and not more federal money might be best for state and local governments.
She went on to say, “unfortunately we’re seeing Republicans make comments with zero connection to science and facts. Just put that behind us and let’s go forward in a way that gets the job done for the American people. I’ve mentioned the President and his, let’s say, we can kill the virus by injecting disinfectants like Lysol into the body. Clearly and sadly, the President is not listening to medical experts. I don’t know which ones he is listening to if any.”
Wearing a bandana around her neck, but not covering her face, Pelosi called the climbing coronavirus death count “staggering,” saying that “many people, as am I, are quite shaken by the fact that we have passed the 50,000 number of people who have died from the coronavirus mark.”
Pelosi noted that it has hit close to home for some members of Congress. “We heard Maxine’s sister is dying,” she said in a reference to Rep. Maxine Waters.
On Thursday, Waters said her sister is dying of coronavirus in a hospital in St Louis, Missouri.
During his daily briefing, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he received a letter from a retired Kansas farmer, enclosed with one N95 mask. The farmer asked Cuomo to give it to a New York health care worker on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.?
The farmer, Dennis, said he and his wife, Sharon, are in their 70s, and she has only one lung, along with diabetes. While he is keeping four masks for his family, he wanted a doctor or nurse to have one of the masks left over from his farming days.
“How beautiful is that? I mean, how selfless is that? How giving is that?” Cuomo said, adding, “God bless America.”
Watch:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was just asked about President Trump’s comments yesterday, asking if it was possible to treat coronavirus with sunlight or a “injection” of disinfectants, such as Lysol.
Here’s how Cuomo responded:
Cuomo then asked the state’s Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to respond.
“These are chemicals you would not ingest,” Zucker said of bleach and other disinfectants.
“We make sure our kids do not go into cabinets that have these chemicals in them, so we need to stay away from those products,” Zucker added.
Remember: The maker of Lysol issued a?statement today clarifying that under no circumstances should its products be administered into the human body.
“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),” the company?said in a statement.
New York will suffer a $13.3 billion shortfall due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his daily news conference.
State revenues will decline by $61 billion from the 2021 fiscal year to the 2024 fiscal year, he said.
“New York state was not ‘in trouble’ before this?happened.?New York state was very, very?strong before this happened.?Our economy was growing, it was?growing at a very high rate.?Our government spending has been?at record lows …?And then this economic tsunami?hits, and you shut down all the?businesses, everybody stays?home, they’re not getting a?paycheck, they feel economic?anxiety,” Cuomo said.
“The consequence to the state is?the revenue projections are way?down,” he added.
Watch:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that reopening the state’s economy too soon could have a devastating impact and could potentially erase any progress made.
The governor said while the number of cases is decreasing, state officials “have to be smart” about reopening businesses.
He warned: “All the?progress?we made is?gone, and all experts, or?virtually all experts, will say?not only does the virus spread?increase, but it increases to a?higher point than we had?increased the first time.?Again, this is a remarkably?effective virus at spreading and?growing. So I know everyone is impatient.?Let’s just reopen.?That’s what happens if we just?reopen.”
Watch:
There were 422 deaths from coronavirus in New York state on Thursday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The number is down slightly: There were 438 deaths in the state on Wednesday. ?
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said evidence suggests the state is “on the downside of the curve.”
New hospitalizations and intubations continue to decline, the governor said at his daily news conference.
As Georgia businesses start to reopen today and into next week, business owners are expressing caution while also saying they need to open their doors in order to survive financially.
Mario Zelaya, CEO of Bad Axe Throwing, said most small business owners do not want to open up but they are compelled to do so, because of lease agreements and financial instability.?
Greg Smith, who owns a gym in Martinez, Georgia, told CNN’s John King that he’s taking measures such as spacing out equipment by 10 feet, checking customers’ temperatures and buying an air filtration system.?
Smith said a few clients have expressed concerns but he thinks he’ll be able to keep a safe experience.?
Lester Crowell, owner of a hair salon in Marietta, Georgia, said he consulted with his employees about coming back to work. About half said they would return this week, and Crowell said the salon will be back to regular hours next week.?
“I definitely have hesitation.?I’m anxious, I’m scared, I’m?excited all at once.?I’m just trying to rely on the?advice of our local government,” Crowell said.?
A US Navy destroyer performing counter narcotics mission?has an outbreak of coronavirus, with 18 cases reported, a US Navy official tells CNN.??
The Pentagon has confirmed that there has been a coronavirus outbreak on the USS Kidd, with more than one sailor testing positive. The ship is assigned to the Caribbean/Eastern Pacific mission.?
The first sailor that tested positive was taken off the ship when he displayed symptoms, according to Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman. He tested positive at a medical treatment facility in San Antonio, Texas. There have since been other sailors on the ship who have tested positive.?
A Navy medical team is conducting contact tracing and isolating individuals who may have been exposed, according to Hoffman.?
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee outlined today the first steps from the “Tennessee Pledge,” the state’s guidance for reopening businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. These guidelines apply to 89 of the state’s 95 counties.
The first industries to receive guidance through the plan include the restaurant and retail industries.
According to the plan….
The state recommends that employees in both industries wear cloth face coverings and that business owners follow federal guidelines for hygiene and workplace sanitation standards related to the pandemic. You can read the full full guidance offered by the state?here.
Previously, Lee said that his administration will work with some of the state’s most populated counties and their health departments as they plan their own reopening strategies. This includes counties surrounding Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.
There are at least?50,031?reported deaths from coronavirus in the US, ?according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of deaths in the United States.?
On Friday morning, Johns Hopkins is reporting at least 870,468 coronavirus cases in the United States.?
President Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration is “pursuing some kind of liability safeguard program” for businesses that reopen that would protect them from coronavirus-related lawsuits.
There would be exceptions for gross negligence, he said during an appearance on Fox Business this morning.
Trump said he’d look into this kind of safeguard when asked in a briefing last week.
Kudlow declined to say what he’d like to see in the next round of relief package, but said there needs to be an “incentive-oriented program” to encourage US businesses to work and take risks.
Kudlow projected positive growth in the third quarter and “even more positive growth” in the last quarter of 2020.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday warned against the use of two drugs that have been touted by President Trump as potential treatments for novel coronavirus.
The agency said the drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine,?should only be used in hospital settings or clinical trials because of the potential?for?serious side effects.
The agency said it was aware of reports of “serious heart rhythm problems” in Covid-19 patients treated with the drugs, often in combination with azithromycin or other medications that can affect the heart.?
Trump has mentioned the closely related drugs nearly 50 times since mid-March, according to a CNN analysis of his public comments.
The President has said the drugs would be a “game changer” in the fight against coronavirus, but a growing body of evidence suggests they may not?help?Covid-19 patients?at all, and may do more harm than good.?
The agency said it was monitoring serious side effects in coronavirus patients who took the drugs, either alone or combined with the antibiotic azithromycin or other drugs.
“These adverse events included abnormal heart rhythms such as QT interval prolongation, dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, and in some cases, death,” the agency said.
“We understand that health care professionals are looking for every possible treatment option for their patients and we want to ensure we’re providing them with the appropriate information needed for them to make the best medical decisions,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a statement.??
“While clinical trials are ongoing to determine the safety and effectiveness of these drugs for COVID-19,” he said, “there are known side effects of these medications that should be considered.”
In its statement, the FDA said those risks “may be mitigated when health care professionals closely screen and supervise these patients such as in a hospital setting or a clinical trial,” which is mentioned in an emergency use authorization for the drugs issued last month by the FDA.
“Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are FDA-approved to treat or prevent malaria,” the agency said, adding that hydroxychloroquine is also approved for certain autoimmune conditions such as lupus.
Patients?taking?the drugs for their approved?indications?should continue taking their medications as prescribed, the FDA said. “The benefits of these medicines outweigh the risks at the recommended doses for these conditions.”
President Trump claims he and Vice President Mike Pence, “never?gave Governor Brian Kemp an OK on those few businesses outside of the Guidelines,” as the state’s aggressive reopening plan begins.
CNN’s previous reporting from Jim Acosta, Kristen Holmes and Dana Bash is that Trump and Pence told Kemp via telephone that they supported his decision on reopening the state and praised his work as governor, according to a separate source with knowledge of the call.?
But the President — around the time Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus task force coordinator, met with Trump — had a second call with Kemp, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The call was brief and struck an entirely different tone than the first: Trump asked the governor to slow down his reopening plan, to which Kemp said no, according to the sources. The President said he’d call Kemp back later to discuss, but never did.
To the relief of members of the task force, Trump proceeded to say he disagreed with Kemp’s decision during Wednesday’s coronavirus briefing.
Vice President Pence said that he thinks “by Memorial Day weekend we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us” in a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera.
Pence emphasized that the White House’s recommended “phased approach” is the best way to ensure there is not a resurgence of the virus.
President Trump also retweeted Rivera about the interview with Pence, in which the radio host expressed some skepticism over the projection.
“If–as @VP tells me on our radio interview this morning–the worst is behind us & entire epidemic will be largely behind us by Memorial Day–less than a month away. It’s @realDonaldTrump Administration’s most optimistic projection. Mike Pence sticks his neck out-Hope he’s right,” Rivera wrote.?
Dr. Anthony Fauci yesterday warned that he is “not overly confident” about the current testing capacity in the US, which governors need before they are able to reopen their states.??
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will extend the state’s stay-at-home order until at least May 15, according to her spokesperson Zack Pohl.
The governor will hold a news conference to announce the extension at 11 a.m. ET, Pohl said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany issued a statement Friday claiming that President Trump has “repeatedly” said Americans should consult their doctors on coronavirus treatments.?
This comes after fallout from Trump’s comments yesterday, asking if it was possible to treat coronavirus with sunlight or a “injection” of disinfectants.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing.?Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines,” McEnany said in a statement.
Some background: Here’s what President Trump said yesterday about “cleaning the lungs” with disinfectants:?
Following the remarks, the company that makes Lysol urged customers not to consume its cleaning products.
US stocks opened in positive territory despite all three major stock indexes on track to finish the week lower.
During the coronavirus pandemic, stocks have tended to lose steam into the weekend. Investors are reluctant to hold onto their positions while exchanges are closed, experts say.
Here’s where things stand now:
Public Beaches in Sarasota County, Florida, will reopen on Monday for “essential” recreational activities, according to Nicole Rissler,?director?of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources in?Sarasota County.
Sarasota County commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to reopen beaches for…
Playgrounds, tennis/basketball courts and beach pavilions will remain closed.?No coolers, tents, umbrellas or chairs will be allowed. Congregating is also banned, and all parking near beaches will remain closed.
The city of Jacksonville reopened beaches last weekend. Meanwhile, a Florida Task Force is expected to issue recommendations to Governor DeSantis today for reopening the state of Florida.??
The Infectious Diseases Society of America warned that we don’t know enough about antibody testing to assume immunity.
“We do not know whether or not patients who have these antibodies are still at risk of reinfection with Covid-19. At this point, I think we have to assume that they could be at risk of reinfection,” Dr. Mary Hayden, spokesperson for IDSA and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rush University Medical Center, said at a briefing today.
The society is “recommending that people with antibodies not change their behavior in any way and continue social distancing.
“Having antibodies is not a license to stop the mitigation guidelines and rules that are affected in many states,” Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski, spokesperson for IDSA and chief of infectious diseases at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center said.
“We need to stay inside if we’re not essential workers, we need to stay six feet away from people and we cannot cluster and having an antibody is not a license today on April 24, to break with that policy,” Pirofski said.?
Some background: A preliminary study of 3,000 New Yorkers found that 13.9% tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said yesterday. And 21% of people tested in New York City had antibodies for the virus.
The beaches in Bay County, Florida, are officially back open as of today with limitations during the Covid-19 pandemic.?
The beaches reopened just one day after the?Bay County Board of Commissioners approved an emergency order allowing recreational use of county beaches during the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, according to the ordinance.
The commissioners said beachgoers should still follow all strict social distancing rules while enjoying the sun.?
Last week, beaches in Jacksonville, Florida, reopened with similar limitations.
Gov. Ron DeSantis supported the idea of reopening beaches, parks and other public spaces as long as social distancing is practiced, WJXT reported.
“You look at how this disease is transmitted, it’s transmitted overwhelmingly when you are in close, sustained contact with people, usually in an indoor environment,” DeSantis said. “Going forward, we got to be promoting people to get exercise, do it in a good way, to do it in a safe way.”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she feels like “we’re living in the twilight zone” as she now has to advise people not only to stay at home but to also not inject themselves with Lysol.?
“In a normal world, we’d be able to look to our President and to the White House and receive sound guidance and advice, but instead we’re now telling — having to tell people not to ingest and inject your body with household cleaners,” she said on CNN’s New Day this morning.
What this is about: Yesterday, President Trump suggested the possibility of injecting disinfectants to protect people from coronavirus.
Remember: The maker of Lysol issued a?statement today clarifying that under no circumstances should its products be administered into the human body.
“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),” the company?said in a statement.
Watch more:
Georgia is allowing some businesses, including gyms and salons, to reopen today, even as coronavirus deaths increase statewide.
But Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she’s telling people to stay home despite Gov. Brian Kemp’s orders.
“Nothing has changed. People are still getting infected. People are still dying. We don’t have a cure to this virus,” she said on CNN.
However, Bottoms said she still expects some people not to listen to the science.
“They will go into hair salons and go and get manicures and pedicures as if it is business as usual, and then in a couple of weeks we will see our numbers continue to rise is in this state,” she said.
It’s morning in the US, and the coronavirus death toll across the country nears 50,000, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally.
Here’s the news you need to know to start the day:
Undeterred by a barrage of criticism, Georgia state officials moved ahead today with plans to allow some nonessential businesses to reopen, even as?coronavirus?deaths increase statewide.
Gov. Brian Kemp was one of the last state leaders?to issue a stay-at-home order, effective April 3, to combat the spread of Covid-19.
These are some of the businesses allowed to reopen today:
What the experts are saying: Georgia should not even begin to reopen?until June 22, according to the model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which assumes states will implement aggressive testing, contact tracing, isolation and crowd-size limits to prevent more infections.
The maker of Lysol issued a?statement Friday clarifying that under no circumstances should its products be administered into the human body, after US President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of injecting disinfectants to treat the coronavirus.
Manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser said that the range of disinfectants and cleaners must not enter the body “through injection, ingestion or any other route.”??
“We have a responsibility in providing consumers with access to accurate, up-to-date information?as advised by leading public health experts,” the company said.
The statement followed?remarks?from President Trump on Thursday on the use of disinfectants.
“And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in one minute. Is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning … it would be interesting to check that,” Trump said.??“It sounds interesting to me,” he added.
CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta was quick to point out that this is simply wrong.
“He also said it needs to be studied. Actually, it doesn’t. I mean we know the answer to this one,” he said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on Thursday.?
“I think everybody would know that that would be dangerous and counter-productive.”
The US Food and Drug Administration regularly warns the public against drinking bleach, or even inhaling fumes from bleach. It’s also irritating to skin.
On Monday,?the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said calls about poisonings with cleaners and disinfectants had increased more than 20% in the first three months of 2020 – as coronavirus cleaning increased – than from the same period a year earlier. Among cleaners, bleaches accounted for the largest percentage increase in calls from 2019 to 2020.
The CDC recommends using soap and water or bleach on surfaces to kill the virus. Rubbing alcohol that’s at least 70% alcohol will also kill it on surfaces; 60% for your hands.
Roll up for Donald Trump’s old West traveling medicine show.
He’s marketed steaks and real estate, board games and vodka, but nothing the incorrigible salesman has tried to hawk measures up to his latest routine as?he speculated on a possible new cure?for Covid-19.
For most of his life as a pitchman, Trump has only had his own reputation on the line. But now, in the middle of a generational health crisis, lives are at stake.
In an eye-popping moment, Trump doubled down on his claim that sunlight and the festering humidity of high summer could purge the virus in his latest grab for a game-changer therapy.
Then, he asked aides on camera whether zapping patients with light or injecting disinfectant into the lungs to clean sick patients from inside could cure them of the disease.
It’s easy to mock Trump. But he also has the world’s largest megaphone, appears to be openly mulling a treatment that could cause people to poison themselves if they adopted it and has a record of deflecting from the grave reality of the virus to peddle optimism that may not be matched by the facts.
He also seems to have little time for the rigorous clinical testing and factual deduction that is at the heart of generations of advances in clinical science and is the bedrock of ethical medicine.
Read the full analysis here: Trump, ever the salesman, is peddling dangerous cures for coronavirus
Dr. Anthony Fauci?said Thursday that he was doubtful of the country’s?current testing capability, which is a key resource as several states and cities look to partially reopen their economies during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
During a?Time 100 Talks?interview, Fauci — the nation’s top infectious disease expert and a White House coronavirus task force member — was asked how confident he was that the country currently has sufficient capability to handle the potential increased coronavirus testing needs in order to inform leaders looking to reopen hard-hit areas.
That way, he continued, “you don’t have a situation where you have a test, but it can’t be done because there’s not a swab, or not an extraction media or not the right vial – all of those things got to be in place.”
“I am not overly confident right now at all, that we have what it takes to do that,” Fauci added.
Some context: Fauci’s comments run counter to President Donald Trump’s regular assurances that American coronavirus testing is on solid footing, including on Wednesday when he told reporters “we’re doing more testing, I think, than probably any of the governors want.”
Trump and his political allies have touted the total number of coronavirus tests conducted in the US but the country still lags behind Italy in per capita tests performed.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, the chairwoman of the House’s Health subcommittee, told CNN she plans to call in Dr. Rick Bright to testify before her panel as she reviews the circumstances of his removal from a key position after he raised concerns about the safety of a drug that President Trump touted as a potential vaccine to coronavirus.
Eshoo said she also wants to call Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Bob Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, to testify before her panel.
“I don’t know where this began, why, who where, when, why,”?said Eshoo, whose subcommittee falls under the Energy and Commerce full committee. “But I think it deserves to be examined and the story told.”
Eshoo said she wants to have hearings as soon as it’s “feasible” and said she’s willing to return to Washington to probe the matter.
“I’m willing to come here, I think others will as well,” she said Thursday.
Eshoo appears to have backing from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Asked by CNN about the Bright situation, Pelosi directed an inquiry to Eshoo.
Some context: Bright had led BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, since 2016 until Tuesday, when he was reassigned to a narrower position.
“I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,”?Bright said in a lengthy statement issued Wednesday. “I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way.”