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Key Trump coronavirus task force must work remotely after positive COVID-19 test A critical White House unit that is getting, shipping and distributing goods to fight the spread of the coronavirus has been ordered to vacate its war room and begin working remotely after a "partner" of the group tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials sent to staff members late Monday night. Read the full story here. Share this -







Treasury preparing to request more money for small businesses The Treasury Department is preparing a formal request to Congress for more funds for the “Paycheck Protection Program” forgivable small business loans, a Treasury Department official confirmed to NBC News. The request is expected to come today or tomorrow – less than a week after applications opened for the $350 billion in loans that Congress has already approved. The official declined to specify a number for the forthcoming request but said the Treasury is working with the U.S. Senate on the proposal. However, President Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he would be asking for an additional $250 billion. In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to approve more funding for the program. Share this -







Senate Dems unveil proposal to boost pay to essential workers on the front lines Senate Democrats unveiled a draft proposal Tuesday that would boost pay to workers on the frontline during the coronavirus outbreak. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a conference call with reporters and other Senate Democrats that the plan would provide a premium pay increase to essential workers of up to $25,000 from the start of the crisis through the end of the year. “That's equivalent to a raise of about $13 an hour,” Schumer said, adding that it would not only cover medical professionals but also grocery store workers, pharmacists and more. The proposal would also include an incentive of $15,000 to expand the medical workforce by recruiting people new to the industry or people who previously worked in the industry. “This would be paid for by the federal government, it would apply to state workers, local workers, private sector workers,” said Schumer, who said that Democrats want this wrapped into the next coronavirus relief package that Congress considers. Share this -







New York saw 'largest single-day increase' of deaths on Monday, Cuomo says New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday the state saw its "largest single-day increase" in deaths yesterday at 731, but that the three-day hospitalization rate is lowering. Cuomo said at a press conference that deaths are increasing in New York, the state hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, because "people came in on the peak" and have been on ventilators for while at this point. New York now has seen 138,836 cases of coronavirus and 5,489 deaths, up from yesterday's total of 4,758. The governor said ICU admissions are also "way down," with only 89 new admissions yesterday. Cuomo said the state currently has "more than enough beds available" at 90,000 beds, including 2,500 at the Javitz Center and 500 on the USNS Comfort, which will now be converting to seeing coronavirus patients. He also said "every hospital has what they need" when discussing personal protective equipment and ventilators. The state is experiencing staffing problems though, as medical workers get sick and are overworked. The decrease in the number of new cases and the lowering three-day hospitalization rate, however, is a sign that "social distancing is working," Cuomo said, but for the state to even think about reopening the economy down the road, it would need significantly more testing. He also said the federal stimulus plan does far less for the state then what is needed, saying Congress' bill "gets worse when you read it." Gov. Cuomo: Eventual restart of New York economy will depend on coronavirus testing April 7, 2020 03:36 Share this -







Photo: Crowded Tokyo street People wearing face masks walk to work Tuesday in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared on Tuesday a month-long state of emergency following a sharp rise in confirmed coronavirus cases. The state of emergency will allow the heads of six designated prefectures and Tokyo to do more to reinforce calls for social distancing. Carl Court / Getty Images Share this -







Israel sets Passover travel ban, according to local media Israel has imposed a Passover travel ban that will strictly limit the ability of people to move around during one of Judaism’s holiest holidays, local media reported Tuesday. All travel between cities is forbidden starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday and ending Friday at 6 a.m. In addition, a curfew will be in place beginning Wednesday at 3 p.m. and ending the next morning that bars Israelis from going more than 100 meters (about 328 feet) from their homes. The Israeli government’s move come as the Jewish state has reported 60 deaths and more than 9,000 confirmed cases. Share this -







NYC to release data that will show racial disparity in cases, mayor says New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city will soon release data on the racial breakdown of coronavirus cases that will show disparities among who is affected by the pandemic. "This disease is affecting people disproportionately in lower-income communities" with "more health problems" and in "communities of color," de Blasio said. He said the numbers on age and gender are readily available, but it's been harder to get hospitals to track race in the midst of an emergency. Jumaane D. Williams, public advocate for New York City, on Thursday sent a letter to de Blasio calling for a release of data on the racial impact of the crisis. De Blasio also said Tuesday that the number of people hospitalized and in need of ventilators has "improved a bit in recent days." "It is giving us some more time, giving us the opportunity to get more ventilators in and know we can get farther into the week," the mayor said. "We know we bought a few more days." Share this -







Airlines cannot afford to refund canceled flights Global airlines cannot afford to refund canceled flights because of the coronavirus crisis, according to the head of the industry’s representative body IATA. The airlines are instead issuing vouchers, as they conserve cash to survive. “The key element for us is to avoid running out of cash, so refunding the canceled ticket for us is almost unbearable financially speaking,” IATA Director General Alexandre De Juniac told an online news conference on Tuesday. Airlines have been criticized by consumer groups for breaking rules over providing refunds within set time limits. IATA also said that one-third of global airline employees have either been furloughed or lost their jobs. Share this -







African Americans may be dying from COVID-19 at a higher rate. Better data is essential, experts say. In Chicago, a recent report found that 70 percent of people who died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are black — even though the city's population is just 30 percent black. In Milwaukee County, which is 27 percent black, the figure is 81 percent. And public health officials tracking the coronavirus have seen similar disproportionate impacts on African Americans in Philadelphia, Detroit and other cities. But just how widespread the disparities might be across the country is difficult to know, because most states and the federal government haven't released demographic data on the race or ethnicity of people who've tested positive for the virus. That's created an information gap that could aggravate existing health disparities, prevent cities and states from equitably distributing medical resources and potentially violate the law, advocates say. Read the full story here. Share this -





