Welcome to The Hill’s daily roundup of coronavirus news.

There are more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including nearly 453,000 cases in the U.S. That includes 15,000 deaths.

The Trump administration and some governors are cautiously optimistic that the outbreak is slowing in some areas, mainly New York. At the same time, states in the South and Midwest are starting to see cases spike.

ADVERTISEMENT

COVID-19 continues to grip the U.S. economy, but the administration hopes to get things back up and running as early as May. It's debatable though if "opening up the country" means the same thing to President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner MnuchinMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Hillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers On the Money: Pelosi draws line at .2T | Jobless claims dip | Swing-state jobless numbers an issue for Trump MORE as it does to Dr. Anthony Fauci Anthony FauciControversial CDC guidelines were written by HHS officials, not scientists: report Overnight Health Care: Ex-Pence aide backs Biden over virus response | Trump's sharp words put CDC director on hot seat | Trump coronavirus adviser threatens to sue Stanford researchers Trump coronavirus adviser threatens to sue Stanford researchers MORE.

Here's what you need to know today:



From the administration

Trump administration officials are laying the groundwork for a possible May reopening of the economy. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on CNBC that businesses could reopen in May as long as Trump “feels comfortable with the medical issues.” Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant report.

Roughly 6.6 million Americans filed new applications for unemployment benefits in the first week of April as the coronavirus pandemic devastates the U.S. economy and forces millions out of work, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. Sylvan Lane has the story here.

A side effect of these record-high job losses: many also losing their health insurance, dealing a double whammy to suffering workers. Jessie Hellmann has more here.

The White House said it would start administering a coronavirus test to all of the reporters attending the press briefings, “out of an abundance of caution.” Read more here.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the total number of U.S. deaths “looks more like 60,000” than earlier estimates of 100,000 to 200,000. Kaelan Deese reports.

State watch

ADVERTISEMENT

From Congress: