The latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic for April 25, 2020
NEW YORK - FOX 5 NY is updating this blog with the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak so you can get the information in one spot.
8:23 PM: Frustration is mounting as more families across the U.S. enter their second or even third week of distance learning — and some overwhelmed parents say it will be their last.
7:54 PM: Hundreds of workers at Ford, General Motors, Toyota and other companies have offered to work in a wartime-like effort to stem shortages of protective medical gear and equipment.
7:20 PM: The Navy hospital ship sent to relieve stress on New York City hospitals at the height the pandemic is discharging or transferring its last 12 patients this weekend as it nears the end of its mission.
6:48 PM: Non-profit organizations in New York City are stepping up to provide food and medical care to underserved communities impacted disproportionately by the pandemic.
6:10 PM: A New Jersey police department says what officials called “excessive” wearing of a medical mask is believed to have been a factor in a single-car crash after the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle passed out behind the wheel.
5:25 PM: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday that there was currently “no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second coronavirus infection.
4:30 PM: In a tweet, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said that the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the state had risen to 24,582, while another 98 had died, bringing the total to 1,862.
3:27 PM: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says that New Jersey has lost more residents to coronavirus than the state lost to World War I, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined.
2:15 PM: According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, the global coronavirus death toll has now passed 200,00.
1:53 PM: Murphy: “There’s no question we are winning this…. but we are not out of the woods yet.”
1:46 PM: Murphy says there are currently 95 locations across the state where residents can be tested for COVID-19 and reiterates the need for federal funding to help the state get through the crisis financially.
1:16 PM: Murphy again directs people to covid19.nj.gov/renter to that renters and landlords know the current guidelines and their rights. He also says homeowners should visit covid19.nj.gov/mortgage for information on mortgage forbearance.
1:13 PM: Murphy asks residents to keep up the social distancing in order to defeat the virus
1:07 PM: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says the curve is continuing to flatten as he announces 3,457 new positive tests, bringing the statewide total to 105,523. He also announced an additional 249 deaths, bringing the state’s death toll to 5,863.
12:37 PM: As more states push to reopen their economies, many are falling short on one of the federal government's essential criteria for doing so — having an efficient system to track people who have been physically near a person infected with the coronavius.
12:09 PM: Cuomo says that a decision will be made “at the right time” on the “New York on Pause” order.
11:54 AM: Cuomo: “Every expert projected that there would be at least 100,000 more serious infections in the state of New York. What happened? We did what we had to do, which was hard and is hard. What did we accomplish? 100,000 fewer serious infections. That’s what 56 days of our relative living through hell has accomplished, and that is a heck of an accomplishment.”
11:52 AM: Cuomo says that he understands the frustration, but reminds New Yorkers to keep perspective that the 1918 pandemic went on for two years.
11:47 AM: Cuomo says the state is focusing on providing testing to first responders, health care workers, and essential workers and is conducting antibody testing for frontline healthcare workers at four hospitals and healthcare systems in New York City.
11:43 AM: Cuomo says he is signing an Executive Order allowing independent pharmacists to conduct diagnostic coronavirus tests.
11:40 AM: Cuomo says the state is currently testing an average of 20,000 people a day. With federal partnership, he says the goal is to test 40,000 people a day.
11:39 AM: Cuomo says that another 437 people died of coronavirus on April 24.
11:38 AM: Governor Andrew Cuomo says that all the numbers are showing that we are on the downside of the peak of the crisis.
10:54 AM: With New York City at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. and its native-born among those offering crucial information to the nation in televised briefings, the New York accent has stepped up to the mic — or maybe the megaphone.
MORE: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/new-york-accent-takes-center-stage-in-pandemic-response
9:03 AM: From the NYC Office of Emergency Management:
Keep yourself and others safe by staying home. Remember: If you must go out, stay 6 feet apart from others and wear a face covering.
8:47 AM: Federal prosecutors say that two women have been charged in a robbery at a San Francisco Walgreens, where they coughed on store employees while not wearing masks. On April 6, Carmelita Barela, 36, and Rosetta Shabazz, 32, both of San Francisco, allegedly stole $92 in merchandise from the store at Franklin and Post streets.
MORE: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/2-women-charged-by-feds-for-walgreens-robbery-coughing-on-employees