This story on the new coronavirus is updated throughout the day with national news and developments from around our network of local Patches. Scroll down for links, helpful for day-to-day living and the most recent stories.
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30 Million Have Sought Unemployment Aid
One day, the country receives promising news about a drug to fight the new coronavirus. Good news. The next day, Thursday, comes this: The government reports an additional 3.8 million workers have sought unemployment aid.
And more bad news Thursday: A lot of kids have had their dreams stolen, joining those who will no longer dance at prom, cross the graduation stage or compete in sports championships.
Thursday’s unemployment report brings the total number of jobless to more than 30 million workers in the six weeks since the coronavirus began pummeling the U.S. economy and killing more than 61,000 people across the country.
More than one in six American workers have now filed for unemployment.
Economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20 percent. That would be the highest rate since it reached 25 percent during the Great Depression.
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NYC Subway Closure Shows Grip Of Coronavirus
By Friday, 31 states will be under some form of risky reopening. But for a glimpse of the hold the new coronavirus has taken, look to New York City.
New York City subways will stop running 24 hours a day, with the Metropolitan Transit Authority cutting a large chunk of late-night service, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
This just doesn’t happen in New York. But it is.
Subways won’t run between 1 and 5 a.m. starting May 6 and continuing for the duration of the pandemic, the governor said. For a place such as New York, that’s almost like banning cars elsewhere in the country.
“This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging endeavors the MTA has done,” Cuomo said. “It’s not that easy to stop train service. “
New York was one of two cities to offer 24-hour subway service — the other is Copenhagen — and one of few in the United States to provide continuous public transportation.
More Dreams Stolen: Little League World Series Canceled
This summer’s Little League World Series, along with its 82 regional qualifying tournaments and numerous associated events, has been canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. It’s the first time in its 74-year history that it has been canceled.
All seven World Series events organized by the Little League — including the Little League Softball and intermediate, junior and senior league baseball and softball events — will not be held in 2020.
“This is a heartbreaking decision for everyone at Little League International, but more so for those millions of Little Leaguers who have dreamt of one day playing in one of our seven World Series events,” Stephen D. Keener, Little League president and CEO, said in a statement Thursday.
Fauci: Coronavirus Vaccine May Be Available By January
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, is optimistic that a coronavirus vaccine could be ready by the start of next year.
Asked by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie whether it is “in the realm of possibility” for hundreds of millions of vaccine doses to be ready by January — as the administration’s new Operation Warp Speed envisions — Fauci said, “I do.”
“We want to go quickly, but we want to make sure it’s safe and it’s effective,” he added. “I think that is doable if things fall in the right place.”
Drug Proves Effective Against Coronavirus
The promising news came as an announcement by biotech company Gilead Sciences: Its experimental drug remdesivir has proved effective in fighting COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The discovery was called “highly significant” by Fauci, who’s usually cautious with his words of affirmation. In a Wednesday meeting at the White House, Fauci said the drug was shown to reduce the time it takes patients to recover by 31 percent — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care.
The remdesivir study, conducted by the National Institutes of Health, tested the drug versus usual care in about 800 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. The main result is how long it takes patients to recover.
Fauci said Thursday he expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to quickly approve the experimental drug, adding he spoke with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. While Hahn had yet to make a final decision, Fauci said, “I would project that we’re going to be seeing that reasonably soon.”
Back To The Economy: It’s Shrinking And Getting Worse
The U.S. economy took a hit last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession.
The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8 percent annual rate last quarter.
That’s bad. And it’s getting worse. Officials warn that last quarter was only a precursor of a far grimmer report to come for the current April-June period, with business shutdowns and layoffs striking with devastating force.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that economic activity will plunge this quarter at a 40 percent annual rate.
That would be, by a breathtaking margin, the bleakest quarter since such records were first compiled in 1947. It would be four times the size of the worst quarterly contraction on record, set in 1958.
Trump Says Social Distancing Guidelines Won’t Be Extended
President Donald Trump said the government will be “fading out” federal coronavirus social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday, adding that he’s counting on states to take charge as they pivot toward reopening.
“They’ll be fading out because now the governors are doing it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday as he met with John Bel Edwards, the Democratic governor of Louisiana.
The Trump administration said the cautionary guidance issued 45 days ago has been incorporated into recommendations given to the states on reopening their economies.
The transition is not going smoothly everywhere. Edwards is currently under fire from Republican lawmakers in his state after he extended Louisiana’s stay-at-home order through May 15.
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Trump Orders Meat Processors To Stay Open Amid Coronavirus
Trump this week also signed an executive order requiring meat processing plants across the country to remain open, even though many have been hard hit with coronavirus cases, according to multiple news sources.
Trump used the Defense Production Act to order meat processing plants to stay open by declaring them “critical infrastructure.” The government intends to provide additional protective gear for employees as well as guidance.
Thousands of meatpacking workers have already been infected by the virus, and at least 20 have died, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said.
Pelosi: Dems Want $1T For States In Next Aid Package
Democrats are likely to push for nearly $1 trillion for states and local governments in the next coronavirus relief package, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.
The next package is also expected to include hundreds of billions of dollars more to help workers, businesses and families weather the crisis, The Hill reported, adding it’s likely to approximate the massive size of the initial CARES Act passed in March.
“We’re not going to be able to cover all of it, but to the extent that we can keep the states and localities sustainable, that’s our goal,” Pelosi told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this week said he is “open” to considering additional funds for state and local governments in a future coronavirus relief bill.
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From Across America Illinois Gov. Doing His Best Donald Trump Impression
KONKOL COLUMN: Gov. J.B. Pritzker is starting to sound like President Donald Trump at those daily new coronavirus briefings that his social media fan club calls #SpritzersWithPritzker.
A Coronavirus Drug Seems To Work, So What’s Next?
News that an experimental drug seems to be the first effective treatment for the new coronavirus has unleashed a flurry of interest from doctors and patients — and questions about how soon it might be available.
NASCAR To Resume Season In May
Seven races are planned in 10 days. Only essential personnel will be permitted to attend the events, and cloth face masks will be required.
Lawn Sign Project Honors Front-line Workers
Jennifer Leeper and Tory Mileti of Fairfield, Connecticut, teamed up in an effort to support essential workers and raise money for local nonprofits at the same time.
Maryland Boy Details School Struggle In Parody Song
Ilan Shterenberg 11, recorded a parody of “Hallelujah,” in which he belts out lyrics about his struggles logging on to an online class.
New Jersey Teachers Sing To Stay Connected
Bridgewater-Raritan teachers, administrators sang for students and community during this time of distance learning due to the coronavirus.
Folks On Mission To Sew 100K Masks
The Mask Squad of Somerset County started with a Bridgewater mom and has since grown to unite neighbors sewing masks out of their homes.
Businessman And ‘Hero Dad’ Remembered
Douglas Burger, 55, was the owner of the popular Hammonasset Service Station. The beloved family man is remembered for his goodness.
NYC Coronavirus ‘Restart’ Team To Begin
The mayor announced 11 new task forces that he says will start a recovery from the pandemic and address inequalities that it “laid bare.”
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