May 6 coronavirus news

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York held up a letter and N-95 mask sent to him by a retired Kansas farmer, he called it humanity at its best.

"If you could, would you please give this mask to a nurse or doctor in your state?" read the March letter from Dennis Ruhnke.

Now, Ruhnke has been given an honorary degree from his state.

Kelly and Kansas State University President Richard Myers presented Ruhnke with a bachelor's degree during a ceremony on Tuesday.

Ruhnke was two credits shy of earning his degree in 1971 when his father died, according to Kelly's post. He decided to leave school to look after his mother and the family farm.

The N-95 mask was one of five left over from Ruhnke's farming days, he said in the letter. He and his wife, who are both in their 70s, sent the unused mask to Cuomo amid a medical supply shortage.

New York has been the hardest hit state during the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 321,000 reported cases and at least 25,124 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Two Indian Navy ships have been deployed to Maldives to repatriate a thousand citizens, according to India's Ministry of Defence. 

The stranded citizens will begin to board the ships on May 8, in an operation that will bring people back to India in phases. 

Indian nationals who are permitted to return will undergo medical screening and will be subject to social distancing measures while onboard.

India will also be evacuating citizens via air starting May 7, bringing back 14,800 passengers in 64 flights from 13 countries, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.

US President Donald Trump wants to move on. "Wartime" leadership in a national crisis no longer fits his political timetable.

No matter that coronavirus cases are rising in many states and that governors are ignoring his guidelines about when it's safe to open. Trump is shrugging off warnings by scientists that the easing restrictions taking place across the country could cause tens of thousands of deaths.

The White House gave its clearest sign yet Tuesday, just less than six months from Election Day and as the US death toll topped 70,000, that it is moving from pandemic management to a message of revival and an aggressive pitch for a second term. And Trump is thwarting oversight efforts of how he and his administration responded to the pandemic that could reveal failures that worsened the outbreak.

Vice President Mike Pence revealed conversations about scaling back the administration's coronavirus task force perhaps around Memorial Day at the end of the month. Officials said that advisers like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx would remain on board. But closing the task force would make experts whose science-based arguments have sometimes contradicted Trump's overly optimistic projections far less visible.

Disbanding the task force would also raise questions about the administration's priorities in effectively declaring victory over a pandemic that appears likely to rage for many more months.

The President called on Americans to maintain social distancing and handwashing, but claimed that stay-at-home orders were also injurious to national well-being.

Read the full analysis:

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Trump pivots hard away from fight against unvanquished pandemic

A total of 40 people died from the coronavirus in Pakistan yesterday -- the country's highest single-day increase in deaths during the outbreak, according to the health ministry.

The ministry also confirmed 1,049 new cases, raising Pakistan's total to 22,550 cases and 526 deaths.

A day earlier, the country reported its largest daily increase in cases, with 1,315 new infections within 24 hours.

In a short address to the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that he plans to “ease restrictions” on the ongoing national lockdown to “help the economy and daily wage earners.” 

Pakistan’s lockdown is scheduled to run through May 9.

If the coronavirus pandemic was a nine-inning game, we're only at the second inning, said Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Covid-19 will likely infect 60% to 70% of the US population before it slows down, Osterholm told CNN on Tuesday. He estimates that between 5% and 15% have been infected so far.

The country has “a long ways to go” to get to a level of herd immunity, he added.

Osterholm and his colleagues have offered three possible scenarios for the pandemic:

The United States has recorded at least 1,204,351 cases of coronavirus and 71,070 related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

On Monday, the US reported 24,063 new cases and 2,142 deaths. 

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

Prominent coronavirus modeler Dr. Christopher Murray says US President Donald Trump was wrong when he said Murray's latest forecast about the number of virus deaths did not account for mitigation measures.

The model, often cited by the White House, now forecasts more than 134,000 people will die from Covid-19 by August -- double its earlier projection.

Trump, when asked by CNN about the new model from Murray’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), claimed that the model "assumes no mitigation."

Murray confirmed that’s incorrect.

Murray, chair of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington, said there are some positive factors that have also influenced the model. An increase in testing and contact tracing will help reduce the number of deaths, he predicts. Summer temperatures should also “put a little bit of a brake on transmission,” Murray said.

“So all those are factored into our forecast of 134,000 deaths,” Murray said.

Murray said use of masks, avoiding large gatherings and working from home will help reduce the spread of the virus.

The Japanese government is facing a public backlash after it promoted “new social behavior” guidelines on Monday, as a state of emergency implemented to curb the spread of coronavirus was extended until May 31.

Speaking at a news conference, an expert panel said the rate of new cases was on the decline in Japan -- but emergency measures would remain in place and the new guidelines should become the norm, as an uptick in infections would overwhelm hospitals. 

New normal: The panel stressed the need to permanently adopt measures such as wearing face masks outside, keeping 2 meters (6.5 ft) between people, teleworking as much as possible, avoiding crowded spaces and washing hands regularly with soap in the long-term fight against the virus.

Backlash ensues: The advice, however, prompted criticism on social media. Many people commented that the new guidelines were obvious and that it was patronizing to try to enforce them.

One new recommendation made on Monday for people eating in restaurants to sit outside, side-by-side while keeping conversation to a minimum, triggered the biggest adverse reaction.

Others, however, preferred to err on the side of caution. One Twitter user posted images of people eating out alone and children at elementary schools eating lunch at their desks with a protective shield around each of them.

On Tuesday, the Japanese government said it would reevaluate the need to maintain the state of emergency on a weekly basis, according to public broadcaster NHK.

For the first time in its history, New York City’s entire subway system is scheduled to be closed Wednesday morning.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is starting a deep cleaning to avoid spread of the coronavirus.

The cleanings will be done on a nightly basis, starting from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday. When the cleaning is done, every single subway car will be disinfected.

“This is critical to ensure the health and safety of our employees and customers,” said Foye.

To accommodate the loss of train service, the MTA is adding several hundred buses to its typical overnight routes to make sure essential workers have access to transportation.

Subway officials warned New York residents that there may be hiccups in executing the unprecedented closure. 

“If this were a normal moment, we would have planned this for months,” New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg said.