Coronavirus pandemic in the US

New York City is hiring 1,000 contact tracers to build a network that will trace the spread of coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in a press conference this morning.

“That’s what we’re going to build in the month of May: a contact-tracing network in this city like never been seen before on a vast scale. Every time somebody tests positive, immediately we can swing into action, figure out who were their close contacts, get those people tested too, isolate anyone who needs isolation," he said.  

Here's what the job entails: Contact tracers will do interviews to determine key contacts of New Yorkers who test positive for Covid-19, follow up with those contacts and arrange for their testing and potential isolation. 

“They’ll help make sure that the steps that are needed are glued together,” he said.

The city is looking for “talented, experienced, health workers” to “lend their talents to this fight” and work alongside current city healthcare personnel and others trained from a variety of city agencies.

“We are hiring immediately and we are hiring through the month of May,” de Blaiso said.

Michael Fowler, a coroner in Georgia, said he is frustrated to see some residents take the coronavirus pandemic lightly as they walk outdoors without masks and gather in groups.

“I know people are going to have homicides and suicides and stuff like that, but this virus is something we can prevent,” he says. “It’s frustrating sometimes.”

With Georgia allowing some businesses to reopen, including salons, gyms and restaurants, Fowler discouraged people from going out.

“I think you can go a little longer without getting your hair cut. I think your life is more important. You need to worry about your insides, not just your outsides at this present time," he said.

His neighbors have also been victims to the virus and it’s upsetting, he said, adding that he wishes the skeptics of coronavirus could see the situation in the hospitals and morgues.

WATCH:

Self-swab testing for coronavirus will be available at NYC Health + Hospitals clinics this week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said this morning. 

“There is a better way to do testing. There is an easier way to do testing, and there is a safer way to do testing, and we’re going to start that this week … This means the health-care worker explains to the person there for the test how to administer the test themselves,” he said.

Here's how it works: The patient submits their own nasal swab and saliva sample to the health professionals. "Those two samples provide enough information for the testing to be done," de Blasio said.

He called the new testing method "simpler but also safer, especially for that health-care worker."

The health-care provider the sends the sample to labs for testing.

The self-swab method will increase capacity of tests at sites from 15 per hour to up to 20 per hour, de Blasio said.

“This is something we're going to start using aggressively,” said de Blasio.

There will be no White House daily press briefing this afternoon, according to the press secretary.

“Today we're not tracking a briefing,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News.

She also said that there will be a media availability with retail CEOs later today.

“We will have briefings this week,” she added.

Some background: At Thursday's briefing, Trump suggested sunlight and ingesting disinfectants could help cure coronavirus. Medical experts say bleach should not be ingested. Trump's bizarre comments even prompted the company that makes Lysol to urge customers not to consume its cleaning products.

A day later, the President held a record short briefing, abruptly ending it after 22 minutes of statements without taking any questions from the press. There was no briefing this weekend.

The number of Americans traveling by plane is climbing slightly, according to Transportation Security Administration data, reaching a three-week high as some states begin reopening. 

The 128,875 people who passed through airport security checkpoints on Sunday was the most screened since April 3, according to the agency’s data. 

The trend “is happening at every airport across the country, regardless of airport size,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told CNN. She declined to provide statistics for individual airports.  

However, it was still only about 5% of the 2.5 million people screened on the equivalent day in 2019. 

But data from the TSA and airlines are now showing passenger counts trending upwards over the last 10 days, after sinking to lows not seen in decades.  

The average domestic flight now carries 12.5 passengers – up from a low of about 10 passengers. 

The uptick comes as some states begin re-opening businesses that have been shuttered for weeks, and may reflect restlessness in the traveling public as summer approaches and flights are inexpensive.   

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA on Thursday urged the US departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services "to take further action to limit the spread of the virus by restricting air travel to only that necessary to continue essential services."

Today, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to announce his plans to reopen the state. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says the city is ready to reopen if the transition is “gradual enough.”

Unemployment has deepened as businesses remained shut across the state, including restaurants and small businesses. Mayor Whaley said it’s “incredibly painful” to tell owners to wait longer but reemphasized gradual reopening is the right way to go about reopening for the “long-term viability of this economy”

“They can't afford to keep on opening and closing so we really have one chance to get it right.”

Several states over the weekend began plans to reopen. Georgia allowed barber shops and hair salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and bowling alleys to reopen on Friday. In Oklahoma, salons, barbershops, spas and pet groomers took appointments also on Friday.

Alaska, Texas, Michigan and South Carolina allowed some businesses in some areas to open up as well.

Here's a look at how some states are beginning to reopen today:

Use this tool to see where your state stands on reopening.

WATCH:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the idea of a guaranteed minimum income for Americans is perhaps worth considering during the coronavirus pandemic.

She also emphasized a need for caution in reopening parts of the economy.

“We’re talking about the lives of the American people,” she said. "And again, the polar push of should we open up or not — if it jeopardizes the lives of the American people, we have to handle it with care."

Pelosi also said she would like to extend the timeline for small businesses to be able to use Paycheck Protection Program funds. She also defended the move to distribute the small business loans through banks rather than directly from the federal government, saying it was to expedite the process.

“I wouldn’t want banks to be made villains in this. They are facilitators and this should be something that we go forward with in a very positive way,” she said.

Pelosi also said during the interview that along with funding for states and local governments, Democrats are going to be “supporting vote-by-mail in a very important way” in the next coronavirus relief package.

“We think it’s a health issue at this point,” she said.

US stocks kicked the week off higher today.

Investors are focusing on the onslaught of earnings in the week ahead, including big names like Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Meanwhile, oil prices are dropping again as the lack of storage capacity that drove down prices last week continues to weigh on the commodity.

 You can follow live updates on the markets here.