April 8 coronavirus news

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo started his daily news conference by saying he had both good and bad news to report.

While data shows that social distancing is helping to flatten the curve, the death toll is still going up. Yesterday, 779 people died across the state — the highest single-day death toll yet.

"There is good news in what we're seeing, that what we have done and we are doing is actually working," Cuomo said.

Social distancing "is working," Cuomo said, saying the curve is flattening because New Yorkers are rigorous about social distancing.

Then, he reported the death toll.

"The bad news isn't just bad. The bad news is actually terrible," he said of the 779 people who died yesterday.

Watch:

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed President Trump’s claims that WHO mishandled the coronavirus, saying right now, “the focus should be on fighting this virus.” 

Tedros said, when you’re confronted with a new and dangerous serious public health concern like coronavirus, WHO does an after-action assessment, “so we will do our assessment identifying the strengths and weaknesses,” WHO wants to learn from our mistakes and strength and move forward, Tedros said.

Some background: During the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing yesterday, President Trump said WHO had mishandled the coronavirus.

“We'll be looking into that very carefully. And we're going to put a hold on money spent to the WHO. We're going to put a very powerful hold on it and we're going to see,” he said.

Later in the briefing he clarified that he wouldn’t freeze funding, but “I said we’re going to look at it.” 

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has started the process to move for quick passage Thursday of the $251 billion for additional small business loans — without including the list of Democratic demands outlined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, according to GOP sources.

McConnell has checked with senators to determine whether any of them will object to moving just the $251 billion package. 

Democrats are expected to object to passing the $251 billion package if their demands aren't met. Those requests include hundred of billions of dollars for hospitals and state and local governments, according to Democratic sources.

That means we could see on the floor tomorrow morning dueling efforts by both sides to pass their bills — with both expected to fail, according to a source involved in the talks.

Talks are expected to occur today to see if any deal could be reached to avoid a stalemate.

There are 401,166 coronavirus cases in the United States, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Johns Hopkins is currently reporting 12,912 deaths in the United States from the disease.

There are 70 additional deaths in Pennsylvania, bringing the statewide total to 310, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

There are also 1,680 new cases, which the state says brings its total to 16,239.

“Now more than ever, as we continue to see Covid-19 cases and deaths rise in Pennsylvania, we need Pennsylvanians to take action,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

She continued: “Those actions should be to stay calm, stay home and stay safe. If you must go out, please limit it to as few trips as possible and wear a mask to protect not only yourself, but other people as well. We need all Pennsylvanians to heed these efforts to protect our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, and our healthcare workers and frontline responders.”

Canada’s national lockdown will continue “for many more weeks” as the nation studies how best to resume some economic activity, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

He added that things "won’t be back to normal."

Trudeau said his government is looking at different scenarios, but it's still too early to think about relaxing any social distancing measures.

“It’s going to be very, very, important to do it in a measured, graduated way that allows for economic activity to begin while preventing severe spikes in COVID transmissions.”

By the numbers: Canada has reported 17,984 cases of Covid-19 and 391 related deaths. Per capita, Canada has less than half the reported coronavirus cases than in the United States and a lower death rate. Testing for the virus in Canada has been rigorous, although testing per capita has slipped in recent days.

The UK on Wednesday reported 938 deaths in hospitals from Covid-19 – its highest death toll in a single day so far – taking the total deaths to 7,097.

Of the 232,708 people who have been tested, at least 60,733 people have now tested positive for coronavirus, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Twitter.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who remains in intensive care with Covid-19, “has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team,” Chancellor Rishi Sunak said. 

The prime minister's situation is improving.

"The news about the prime minister reminds us how indiscriminate this virus is,” Sunak added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders said today that the "horrific" coronavirus crisis "has exposed for all to see how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is." 

Speaking during a live-streamed address where he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race, Sanders pointed out that "the current economic downturn we are experiencing has not only led to a massive loss of jobs but has also resulted in millions of Americans losing their health insurance."

Sanders continued:  

"Health care must be considered as a human right, not an employee benefit," he added.