April 5 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Jenni Marsh, Rob Picheta, Peter Wilkinson, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 9:30 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020
56 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
1:01 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Louisiana governor says state could run out of ventilators by end of the week

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks inside the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge on April 3.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks inside the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge on April 3. Gerald Herbert/AP

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Sunday said his state could run out of ventilators by the end of the week if the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to surge in his state.

"Every day we get new information that informs our modeling. We now think it's probably around the 9th of April before we exceed our ventilator capacity based on the current number on hand and that we're a couple of days behind that on ICU bed capacity being exceeded," he told CNN this morning. "As we achieve success in slowing the rate of spread, we also push out that date. And critically important is the number of people who will present to the hospital and not be able to get a (ventilator) or a bed, it's a smaller number."

By the numbers: Louisiana has emerged as one of several coronavirus hot spots across the United States with a surge in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.

The state has more than 12,000 cases and more than 400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

Early Sunday, the nationwide death toll had gone up to at least 8,503 people, with at least 312,245 infected, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins.

4:17 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

New York surgeon writes letter about rationing care for patients who don't have the coronavirus

From CNN's Elizabeth Cohen, John Bonifield and Minali Nigam

WPIX
WPIX

In a haunting letter to his friends and colleagues, a Columbia University surgeon describes how coronavirus has forced doctors to ration care for very sick patients who don't have the virus, but still need medical procedures.

"We have had to make decisions that I personally have never had to contemplate before," wrote Dr. Emile Bacha, director of the pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "We have had to ration care and make decisions about who is considered an urgent or emergent case." 

Bacha explains that nurses have been deployed to care for coronavirus patients, and that safety gear is scarce. 

"The lack of Personal Protective Equipment is galling. Who would have thought that a simple plain surgical mask, something we use and discard multiple times a day during normal times, would become a rationed product in one of the richest cities in the world?" he wrote. 

He said his pediatric heart surgery program was down to one operating team, "barely."

4:18 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

US Northern Command deploys 1,000 medical personnel to New York City

From CNN's Jamie Crawford

US Northern Command, which oversees US military operations in North America, said it was "deploying a combined total of 1,000 Air Force and Navy medical providers to the New York City area in next 3 days," according to a press release sent Sunday.

"Approximately 300 of these uniformed medical providers will work from the Javits Center and the rest will deploy to other area locations to expand local medical capabilities in the war against Covid-19," the release said.

During an interview with CNN, Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke of the effort.

"The mayor and I talked as recently as Thursday. I spoke to the governor on Friday. What we plan on doing now is deploying over 1,100 additional doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to New York. The bulk of them will go to the Javits Center and then as of late yesterday, we agreed to deploy a few hundred of them to 11 New York City hospitals that are also seeing a deficiency when it comes to medical staff," Esper said on CNN Sunday morning.

4:19 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

New Jersey has secured 500 additional ventilators, the governor says

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tours the new Field Medical Station at the Meadowlands Exposition Center on April 2.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tours the new Field Medical Station at the Meadowlands Exposition Center on April 2. Michael Mancuso/NJ Advance Media via AP

The state of New Jersey has secured about 500 additional ventilators after having "multiple" conversations with the White House, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted Sunday.

The tweet goes on to say, ventilators are the state's top need right now.

"I won’t stop fighting to get us the equipment we need to save every life we can," Murphy said.  

Read Murphy's tweet:

4:21 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

West Virginia limits gatherings to no more than 5 people in multiple counties

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in 2019.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in 2019. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is expanding an executive order he issued Friday limiting gatherings to no more than five people to include three more counties. 

Monongalia, Harrison and Kanawha counties are now included in an order which originally included Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, Justice said in a press release.

These are the restrictions, according to the governor:

  • Limiting groups to a maximum of five people.
  • Directing all businesses to require employees to work from home to the maximum extent possible. 
  • Directing the local health departments to establish the maximum occupancy of and proper social distance within essential businesses and taking action to enforce these health regulations. 
  • Directing the West Virginia National Guard to provide logistical support and services to assist county agencies.
  • Directing the West Virginia State Police to assist with enforcement of local county orders.
12:48 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Various coronavirus treatments are being tested in New York, governor says

State of New York
State of New York

A coronavirus vaccine and other treatments to fight the virus are being tested, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

He said doctors in New York are working with the Food and Drug Administration. Some of the treatments that are being tested are the use of plasma, antibody treatment and the use of hydroxychloroquine.

Cuomo also said they are testing a rapid testing programs which could play a part in protecting vulnerable populations and getting people back to work.

"We liberate people who go back to work because we know that they're not in a vulnerable category and they're negative," he said. "That is going to be the answer, I believe."

Watch:

11:33 a.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Fauci on coronavirus in US: "We are struggling to get it under control"

From CNN's Nicky Robertson

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 1.
Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 1. Alex Brandon/AP

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, says the US does not have the coronavirus under control, “to say we have it under control, Margaret, would be a false statement. We are struggling to get it under control.” 

Fauci warned Americans in an interview on CBS with Margaret Brennan, that “it is going to be a bad week” ahead as there is an escalation in cases, but that “within a week or a little bit more” we should see the curve begin to flatten.

He again underscored the importance of social distancing measures, and said that mitigation is working.

Fauci said that it was crucial for the coronavirus to get “globally under control,” or it could become seasonal. He also said that efforts for a vaccine and the beginning of clinical trials will hopefully mean the US is more prepared if there is a resurgence of the virus.

This morning Fauci said in the next week or two the US will have a much greater capacity to perform the types of testing needed before society can return to normal, though they are not “100% there yet.”

Some context: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidelines, recommending that Americans wear some sort of face protection when out in public.

When if Fauci wears a mask, he said that if he goes into a situation where he cannot control whether or not he is 6ft away from people, that he would and does wear a mask. He said the mask is an “adjunct to help protect you and protect others.”

 

2:33 p.m. ET, April 5, 2020

New York hospitals are "being asked to do the impossible," governor says

From CNN's Elise Hammond

State of New York
State of New York

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the health care system is facing operational challenges due to hospitals being over capacity.

"They are being asked to do the impossible," Cuomo said.

He said hospitals are being asked to manage the same amount of staff and resources.

"That is putting a tremendous amount of stress on the health care system," Cuomo said. "You're asking a system to do more than it has ever done before, more than it was designed to do with less."

He said the way to get through it is to use a surge and flex the system to balance the patient load between private and public hospitals in the area.

Watch:

11:19 a.m. ET, April 5, 2020

Pentagon workers told to bring face coverings to work Monday

From CNN's Barbara Starr

Some Pentagon workers began receiving emails from their office administrators over the weekend to come to work Monday with at least one face covering, according to an official who received one of the messages.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said during an interview Sunday that such a directive for Defense Department staff and troops would likely be coming very soon following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.