Below are 28 updates from the six states hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic:
New York (214,832 confirmed cases as of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16)
1. New York’s stay-at-home order will be extended through May 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a media briefing April 16.
Mr. Cuomo said that the state’s current infection rate is 0.9, which means each person infected with the virus is passing the virus to less than one person, and this means the infection rate is declining. If the infection rate rises to one person infecting more than one person, it means the infection rate is rising, and “that’s fire through dry grass,” he said. That is what the state is trying to avoid by continuing shelter-in-place regulations and other mitigation efforts.
2. Mr. Cuomo said that the state will make sure no reopening plans result in a rise in infection rates. The state will also work to strengthen the healthcare system, which has been working in overdrive for weeks, and will work to scale up testing and contact tracing. It will also conduct a phased reopening of the economy, first allowing only more essential businesses that pose less risk of increasing the infection rate to open.
The state will assess businesses based on a matrix — how important is the business to society and how risky it is to reopen the business in terms of potential change in infection rate.
“How do you restart that machine in a coordinated way that does not increase infection rates?” said Mr. Cuomo. “That’s the balance we are trying to achieve.”
3. New York will send 100 ventilators to New Jersey.
“The wave hasn’t crested in New Jersey,” he said. “They are our neighbors. Anything we can do to help, I’ve told Gov. (Phil) Murphy to just ask.”
4. On April 15, Mr. Cuomo said he will issue an executive order requiring all New York residents to wear a mask or a face covering when out in public and in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained. The order will go into effect April 17.
Mr. Cuomo added April 16 that people must wear masks while riding public transportation or riding in private transport carriers, including for-hire vehicles, such as Uber or Lyft. Operators of public transportation and private vehicles must also wear masks.
5. In line with new CDC guidelines, New York will start reporting probable deaths from the new coronavirus to the agency, NBC News reports. New York City officials said probable deaths include people who had no known positive laboratory test for COVID-19, but whose death certificate list "COVID-19" or an equivalent as the cause of death.
"There is a sense that there may be additional people who have passed away and they weren't included in the count because they weren't in a hospital, they weren't in a nursing home, so we'll be going through that," Mr. Cuomo said April 15, according to NBC News.
The state started adding probable deaths to the official death count this week, which caused the toll to jump by thousands of deaths to more than 10,000, The New York Times reports.
6. Mr. Cuomo is issuing an order requiring nursing homes, adult homes and other assisted living facilities to report positive COVID-19 cases and deaths to the families of residents within 24 hours.
7. The governor will also issue an executive order allowing people helping with the COVID-19 response or those who have been displaced due to the pandemic to stay in a hotel in New York City for more than 28 days without becoming a tenant.
8. New York City-based Northwell Health formed a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to offer transit workers priority testing at certain urgent care centers, according to The New York Times. Northwell plans to test up to 350 transit workers a week.
Read more about how New York is fighting the coronavirus here.
New Jersey (71,030 confirmed cases as of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16)
1. Social gatherings are not likely to resume anytime soon in New Jersey, but a reopening of the state could occur in June or July, Gov. Phil Murphy told MSNBC in an April 14 interview.
The governor hinted that the warmer weather could help New Jersey find its footing, but reinforced the need for large-scale, rapid testing throughout the state.
"We need to have cracked the back of the curve," Mr. Murphy told MSNBC. Once you eliminate community spread, you can't let that come in the back door."
2. A new COVID-19 swab test collected samples from 184 people on April 15 at a drive-thru testing facility in Edison, NJ.com reports.
The test obtains saliva samples through a spit collection tube, offering a more comfortable alternative to the prevailing nose and throat swabs.
Designed by scientists at Rutgers University, the saliva test aims to increase the number of tests health officials can conduct per hour.
The new test will enable 10,000 samples to be analyzed a day, with the opportunity to significantly increase that number, and provide results within 24 to 48 hours.
3. In an April 15 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Mr. Murphy defended his decisions to ban social gatherings, close nonessential businesses and order New Jersey residents to stay at home.
Mr. Murphy said that he was thinking about "data and science," rather than the Bill of Rights, while issuing his executive orders to slow the spread of the virus.
The governor maintained that the next two weeks are likely to be New Jersey's "toughest period" in terms of the number of coronavirus-related cases and deaths, which he outlined in a media briefing earlier in the day.
"Here's the reality: You get that economic recovery, that responsible reopening, after you crack the back of this," Mr. Murphy said.
Read more about how New Jersey is fighting the coronavirus here.
Massachusetts (29,918 confirmed cases as of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16)
1. Gov. Charlie Baker announced steps to better support long-term care facilities in the state, including an additional $130 million in funding and efforts to boost staffing and testing. The state will offer a $1,000 signing bonus to people who volunteer to work in a nursing home. The administration also said it is working to expand access to COVID-19 testing for residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
The state said the increased focus is to curb the spread of the virus in senior living facilities.
2. Massachusetts on April 15 became the fifth U.S. state to report more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to CBS News. New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Louisiana have already reached 1,000 deaths. As of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16, Massachusetts had reported 1,108 deaths.
3. Massachusetts will now report the number of positive COVID-19 cases by cities and towns, according to CBS Boston. Previously, the state had only been releasing case totals by county.
As of April 15, Boston had the highest number of confirmed cases at 4,609, followed by Brockton, Mass., with 1,202 and Worcester, Mass., with 886.
"Having the ability to look at this virus through the lens of its impact on specific cities and towns will help us identify potential hot spots, inform the public health response, assist cities and towns working to slow the spread, and help the state appropriately deploy resources," Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders told the news station.
Michigan (28,059 confirmed cases as of 7:25 a.m. CDT April 15)
1. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services is prioritizing appeals related to a denial of coverage for COVID-19 testing or treatment. The department will review claims to establish eligibility for review and, in cases of medical necessities, will work with an independent review organization to determine whether denials were appropriate
"All consumers have the right to an independent external review if their health insurance claim is denied," said Anita Fox, the department's director. "Those claims with urgent health needs with COVID-19 treatment denials are being given priority."
2. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order April 15 to protect residents and employees at long-term care facilities.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will work with long-term care facilities to create COVID-19 regional hubs, which will provide higher levels of care to patients with advanced needs.
Residents with symptoms associated with COVID-19 must notify employees and other residents, and nursing facilities are required to have separate units for people who test positive or display symptoms of the virus.
3. Thousands of Michigan residents drove their cars to the state capital in Lansing on April 15 to protest the governor's executive orders closing nonessential businesses and keeping people at home, the Guardian reports. The Michigan Conservative Coalition organized the protest, named "Operation Gridlock," brandishing its slogan, "She's driving us out of business. We're driving to Lansing."
Sheriffs from four Northern Michigan counties issued a statement on April 15 opposing the governor's executive orders and said they won't be strictly enforcing them, according to Mlive.
On April 9, the governor extended the state's stay-at-home order, deeming it necessary to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Michigan, the state hit fourth-hardest.
4. Beaumont Wayne Hospital temporarily closed after it discharged or transferred its remaining COVID-19 patients to other facilities on April 15. Most of the hospital's staff has shifted to other hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, but some will be temporarily laid off. In March, the hospital's emergency room closed, and it began accepting only COVID-19 patients.
Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., penned a letter to John Fox, president and CEO of Royal Oak-based Beaumont Health, condemning the decision to close the hospital during the pandemic and requested that it reopen.
5. Thirty-five percent of Detroit nursing home residents tested for COVID-19 contracted the virus, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said on April 15, according to Click On Detroit. Despite the number of positive cases in nursing facilities, the data seems to point to fewer COVID-19 cases in the city.
TCF Center has been transformed into a 1,000-bed field hospital and wastreating 16 COVID-19 patients as of April 15, but Mr. Duggan said "if this city is disciplined about social distancing, we won't need 1,000 beds there."
Read more about how Michigan is fighting the coronavirus here.
California (27,098 confirmed cases as of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16)
1. On April 15, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to implement new unemployment benefits for the state and measures to handle the surge in unemployment claims.
"Many Californians are one paycheck away from losing their homes or from being able to put food on their tables, and COVID-19 has only made these challenges worse," Mr. Newsom said. "California is focused on getting relief dollars and unemployment assistance in the hands of those who need it as quickly as possible."
Mr. Newsom announced the state would contribute $125 million in disaster relief to help unemployed Californians. Immigrants living in California without documentation, who are ineligible for unemployment insurance and disaster relief from the CARES Act, can tap into the $125 million, according to the governor.
An executive order signed April 15 by Mr. Newsom also expands the hours of unemployment call centers, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. In addition 1,340 state employees will be redirected to help take the calls.
2. In California, 2,789 healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 14. This is an increase of 190 from April 13. The confirmed case number includes individuals who tested positive after on-the-job exposure, as well as travel and close family contact, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
3. In the state, 227,600 tests had been conducted as of April 14, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. At least 214,387 results have been received and 13,200 are pending.
4. Los Angeles may not allow large gatherings, like concerts or sports games, to take place until 2021, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti raised the issue during his weekly briefing with a group of high-level staff from several departments. Mr. Garcetti said that "large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events may not be approved in the city for at least one year," according to the report.
However, a spokesperson for Mr. Garcetti emphasized that the mayor does not have a timeline for allowing large-scale events to occur, and that he is just raising the possibility based on science.
"It's difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands any time soon. I think we should be prepared for that this year. I think we all have never wanted science to work so quickly. But until there's either a vaccine, some sort of pharmaceutical intervention or herd immunity, the science is the science," Mr. Garcetti said on CNN April 15.
Pennsylvania (26,804 confirmed cases as of 9:25 a.m. CDT April 16)
1. Rachel Levine, MD, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, signed an order April 15 directing employers to provide employees with masks and make it mandatory to wear masks while at the work site, among other protections for workers at essential businesses that have been allowed to continue in-person operations during the pandemic.
The order also directs employers to stagger work start and stop times for employees to prevent large gatherings as people enter or leave the work site and to provide sufficient space for employees to have breaks and meals while staying 6 feet apart, among other requirements.
2. Gov. Tom Wolf will veto a bill passed by the state House and Senate this week that would have allowed several businesses to reopen, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The bill would have redefined what businesses are considered essential and provided guidance for employers to reopen provided they followed CDC safety precautions.
Mr. Wolf closed down all businesses not considered "life-sustaining" in March, and the state later opened a waiver process for businesses not considered essential. But Republican lawmakers and some Democrats grew frustrated with the waiver process, saying it was not transparent and allowed bigger businesses to stay open but forced small businesses to close, the Inquirer reports.
3. Mr. Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman created a COVID-19 Response Task Force for Health Disparity, which will gather and communicate information about how the pandemic is affecting the state's minority and vulnerable populations.
"It's unconscionable for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Pacific Pennsylvanians to be hit harder by this pandemic, which has highlighted the systemwide inequity that already existed in these communities,” said Mr. Fetterman, who will chair the task force. "It's our job to keep all Pennsylvanians safe, and we need to reach into these communities and create a line of communication straight to the governor, so we can stop the spread of COVID-19."
4. Data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health shows that half of the 684 coronavirus deaths in the state have occurred in nursing homes and personal care facilities, Dr. Levine said, according to the York Daily Record. There have been 324 deaths and 3,316 COVID-19 cases in long-term care homes across the state.
5. In early March, Pennsylvania hospitals submitted emergency plans to accommodate a potential influx of COVID-19 patients to the state health department, but these plans have not been made public, according to Penn Live. Though the hospitals were asked to implement the plans by March 20, the health department has provided little information about those plans and has refused requests to share them.
Nonprofit groups have spoken out, saying that health systems that need taxpayer money to implement the plans should be transparent about the preparations they have taken or will take.
Read more about how Pennsylvania is fighting the coronavirus here.