HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve of transmission.
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.)
No Coronavirus Task Force Update On White House’s Saturday Schedule — 4/23/20, 9:49 p.m. ET
There is no coronavirus task force briefing on the White House schedule for Saturday. The schedule was published late Friday night.
Earlier Friday, Trump abruptly walked out of the task force briefing without taking questions. He was facing criticism over his comment one day earlier that injecting disinfectants into people could be studied as a “cure” for the virus.
Axios also reported Friday that Trump was planning to cut back on the daily updates.
— Carla H. Russo
Although governors in several U.S. states have started to allow movie theaters to resume operations against the recommendations of public health experts, AMC Theatres, the largest movie theater chain in the U.S., won’t reopen its locations until at least this summer.
“As we plan our reopening, the health and safety of our guests and associates is our absolute highest priority,” the company said Friday in a statement. “To be able to open, we also need a line of sight into a regular schedule of new theatrical blockbusters that get people truly excited about returning to their favorite movie theaters.”
The earliest major releases currently on the calendar are Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” scheduled for July 17, and Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan,” now scheduled for July 24 after being moved from its original March opening.
AMC said it expects to allow moviegoers to return “in the weeks ahead of these new blockbusters” and is figuring out how to do so “in an environment that’s safe and welcoming,” as the COVID-19 crisis makes the prospect of public events and gatherings unlikely for the foreseeable future.
Read more here.
— Marina Fang
Trump Claims He Was ‘Sarcastically’ Pitching Disinfectant As COVID-19 Cure ― 4/24/20, 3:50 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump told reporters that he was only testing the media when he suggested injecting people with disinfectant to fight off the coronavirus.
“I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen,” he said early Friday afternoon, shortly after the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. surpassed 50,000. Trump did not appear to be joking when he pondered the idea at Thursday’s press briefing.
Read more here.
― Lydia O’Connor
A group of Asian American organizations documenting the surge of racist incidents related to the COVID-19 pandemic received 1,497 reports of anti-Asian harassment and discrimination over the past month, the organizations said in a report released Friday.
In mid-March, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, the group Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University launched the project STOP AAPI HATE. They created a form for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to report incidents of racism related to the coronavirus.
In the first four weeks, they collected 1,497 incidents from respondents in 45 states and Washington, D.C. People said they were called racial slurs, spat on, denied service and physically assaulted. About 58% of the reported incidents took place in California and New York, which both have large Asian American populations.
There have been mounting reports of racist attacks against people of Asian descent since late January, when the coronavirus outbreak swelled in China and began to spread globally. Growing fears over COVID-19 led to increased stigma and bigotry against Asian Americans, who have long faced racist stereotypes involving disease, including being described as a “yellow peril” in the 1800s.
The national data reflects similar trends from local and regional leaders. Earlier this week, officials for New York City’s Commission on Human Rights said they’ve seen skyrocketing levels of anti-Asian harassment and discrimination, with 105 reported incidents since February, compared to just five during the same period last year.
Read more here.
― Marina Fang
U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 50,000 ― 4/24/20, 11:15 a.m. ET
The coronavirus crisis in the U.S. passed another bleak milestone Friday, when Johns Hopkins counted 50,031 deaths due to the virus.
As of late morning, the country has recorded 879,468 cases of COVID-19, with around one-third of those coming from New York state.
But even with the crisis raging on, many states have begun to announce plans to reopen parts of their economies. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is allowing hair salons, barbers, bowling alleys and other select businesses to open their doors Friday, with restaurants and movie theaters permitted to reopen Monday ― a move that critics have called dangerous to public health.
Experts agree that widespread testing is key to returning to a “new normal.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Thursday that he is “not overly confident” that current testing ability is enough to start resuming ordinary life.
Read more here.
― Sara Boboltz
FDA Warns Against Using Hydroxychloroquine To Treat Coronavirus ― 4/23/20, 10:30 a.m. ET
The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
The FDA said it was aware “of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine.”
President Donald Trump and Fox News hosts have for weeks touted hydroxychloroquine as a way to beat the disease, but preliminary results of a study found it had little effect on recovering coronavirus patients. Trump reportedly owns a stake in a company that produces the drug.
— Sebastian Murdock
Michigan Extends Lockdown To May 15 But Loosens Leisure Restrictions — 4/24/20, 10:20 a.m. ET
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has extended the state’s stay-at-home order through May 15, local news outlets reported.
However, restrictions on outdoor activities such as golfing and boating will be loosened. Certain businesses that can implement social distancing rules relatively easily — including landscapers, plant nurseries and bike repair shops — can also resume operations.
Whitmer’s last lockdown order triggered a small wave of protests in and around Lansing. Over the last two weeks, people have gathered in person ― without observing social distancing ― and in their cars, creating a gridlock that appeared to slow down some medical services.
Michigan currently has the seventh-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Nearly 3,000 people have died of the illness in the state, largely in the Detroit area.
— Sara Boboltz
Lysol Maker Warns People Not To Ingest Disinfectants After Trump Remarks — 4/24/20, 6:35 a.m. ET
Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the company that manufactures Lysol and Dettol brands, issued a statement Friday morning warning that their products shouldn’t be ingested into the body through any route. It didn’t mention Trump by name.
“Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus,” the company said.
“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.”
— Chris York
UK’s COVID-19 Website Runs Out Of Tests, Shuts Within Minutes — 4/24/20, 6:10 a.m. ET
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