People walk along Broadway as the coronavirus keeps financial markets and businesses mostly closed on May 08, 2020 in New York City. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the US economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April. This is the largest decline in jobs since the government began tracking the data in 1939. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Spencer Platt
Several members of President Donald Trump’s close contacts have recently tested positive for coronavirus, including the president’s valet and Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary. They are among more than 1.29 million positive cases reported in the United States since the outbreak began.
As the country struggles to balance safety and an increasingly dire economic situation, Friday’s grim monthly jobs report confirmed a record number of Americans out of work. As states begin to re-open their economies, officials are hoping it’s possible to get Americans back to work while preventing a surge in new cases of the virus. Covid-19 cases worldwide continue to rise, with the death toll in the United States swiftly approaching 80,000.
- Global cases: More than 3.99 million
- Global deaths: At least 276,800
- U.S. cases: More than 1.29 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 77,700
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
3:40 pm: Top levels of the White House stalled CDC guidance, AP reports
Internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press show that “the highest levels of the White House” made the decision to shelve extensive advice offered by top experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC spent weeks compiling detailed guidance for reopening various industries and included “decision trees,” or flow charts, specifically designed for business owners, faith leaders, educators and local and state officials, the AP reported.
The White House, which had shelved the CDC’s guidance on April 30, reversed course after the AP’s initial report published on Thurs., May 7. That afternoon, the Trump administration ordered some of the guidance to be revived and fast-tracked for approval, the AP’s Jason Dearen reports. —Elisabeth Butler Cordova
2:15 pm: Atul Gawande preparing to leave CEO role at high-profile health venture Haven
Atul Gawande
Getty Images
Dr. Atul Gawande plans to leave his job as CEO of Haven, the health-care venture backed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Gawande, a surgeon, author and Harvard professor, wants to “focus more on policy and advocacy work, particularly related to the current coronavirus pandemic,” the Journal reported late Friday. The publication’s sources said Gawande would instead move into a chairman role.
Haven has already begun searching for a new CEO to run the two-year-old venture, the Journal reported. The company, which appointed Gawande as CEO in July 2018, declined to comment to CNBC on his reportedly impending transition. —Elisabeth Butler Cordova
1:55 pm: FDA director enters self-quarantine
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Director Stephen Hahn is starting two weeks of self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who has coronavirus. Hahn immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus.Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday, only day after news broke that President Donald Trump’s personal valet also tested positive. The president has denied having close contact with the valet.
The White House declined to say whether Trump planned to quarantine following the valet’s diagnosis. — Emma Newburger
1:30 pm: Tesla CEO lashes out over shuttered California factory
Elon Musk says the fight over his shuttered Fremont manufacturing plant just drew its final straw. The Tesla CEO says he is preparing to file a lawsuit against Alameda County and will move the company’s headquarters and future programs out of California altogether.
Musk’s angry tweets follow a Friday order from Alameda County to keep the car plant shuttered in an effort to help contain a Covid-19 outbreak in the region. Tesla had wanted to reopen the production site on Friday, reports CNBC’s Lora Kolodny. — Elisabeth Butler Cordova
12:08 pm: Three children have died from rare illness tied to coronavirus, NY Gov. Cuomo says
Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference of the Coronavirus briefing at Northwell Feinstein Institute For Medical Research in Manhasset.
Ron Adar | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Three New York children have died from coronavirus-related complications, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news briefing on May 9.
A 5-year-old boy in New York City died on May 7 and the state Department of Health is investigating several other cases. There have been 73 cases of children falling severely ill with the symptoms like toxic shock syndrome and kawasaki disease which causes swelling of the heart’s blood vessels.
New York has reported 226 deaths from the coronavirus, and 572 new cases in hospitals in the past day. —Sunny Kim
11:19 am: Alaska fisheries to get $50 million in federal aid
Alaska will receive $50 million in federal aid for fisheries, the U.S. Department of Commerce said — half of what state officials had expected, the Associated Press reported. Alaska was responsible for 58% of the nation’s seafood by volume in 2018.
Alaskan officials had expected the state to receive about $100 million, or one-third of the $300 million allocated to fisheries in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Anchorage Daily News reported on Friday.
Despite Alaska’s expectations, however, Alaska is tied with Washington state for the most money given to any state, according to AP. —Terri Cullen
11:13 am: Experts think Tesla is in a better position than other US automakers to survive the recession
11:01 am: The coronavirus could kill the $2 billion US bail bond business
2.3 million are incarcerated in the U.S., the world’s largest prison population in any country, with nearly 83% in state prisons or local jails.
Gary Friedman | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
One of the most vulnerable populations amid the coronavirus outbreak is the U.S. correctional system. Nearly 15,000 prisoners so far have tested positive for Covid-19, according to The Marshall Project.
To attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus, correctional facilities have released more than 16,000 prisoners. And, as Sully Barrett reports, with no bonds to post, many bail bond companies have had to lay off their entire staff. —Terri Cullen
10:24 am: Mazda Motor reportedly seeks $2.8 billion in loans to ride out the pandemic
Mazda Motor has been reaching out for loans totaling roughly $2.8 billion from Japan’s three main banks and other lenders as the pandemic batters the auto industry, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group — as well as the Development Bank of Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust and others — are expected to agree. Some have already extended the loans, Reuters reported. The loan request had initially been reported by the Nikkei business daily. —Terri Cullen
9:45 am: FDA approves emergency use of the first diagnostic ‘antigen’ test
This 2020 electron microscope made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention image shows the spherical coronavirus particles from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. On Monday, May 4, 2020, New York City health authorities issued an alert to doctors about severe inflammatory condition possibly linked with COVID-19 has been found in a cluster of U.S. children in New York City after first being reported in Europe.
C.S. Goldsmith, A. Tamin | CDC | AP
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the first emergency use for a Covid-19 antigen test developed by diagnostic product maker Quidel Corp. This antigen test quickly detects fragments of proteins found on or in the virus by testing samples collected from the nasal cavity using swabs, the FDA said in a statement. The Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA test was designed for rapid detection of the virus that causes Covid-19.
As CNBC’s Sunny Kim reports, antigen tests have a higher chance of false negatives and a negative result may need to be confirmed with an additional test prior to further treatments. That said, positive test results from antigen tests are highly accurate. —Terri Cullen
9:12 am: Amazon and sellers struggle to adapt to demand amid the outbreak
Frustrated by long delays in receiving your online orders? Amazon is, too.
The retailing behemoth has been battling coronavirus-related problems on multiple fronts since the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. began to take hold in March. The resulting surge in online orders tested the company’s supply chain as Americans rushed to buy essential items such as toilet paper and sanitizers. Meanwhile, Amazon found itself suddenly needed to police a widespread price gouging problem and its grocery delivery services were buckling under the weight of online orders.
Amazon said it can’t predict when things will return to normal for sellers, as many logistical challenges remain, CNBC’s Annie Palmer reports. —Terri Cullen
8:56 am: Coronavirus has taken millions of jobs, but here’s where they’re coming back
While Friday’s monthly jobs report highlighted the economic toll the coronavirus outbreak has taken on the economy, some sectors of the labor market are bouncing back and new occupations are emerging. A growing number of positions are needed for noncritical health care. For example, job openings for temperature takers and contact tracers at workplaces are needed to help institute guidelines for employees returning to work.
As CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports, there’s also is a growing demand for logistics and supply, finance, pharmaceutical and telecommunications positions. —Terri Cullen
8:45 am: Egypt’s president expands powers, citing the pandemic
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi approved amendments to the country’s state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Associated Press reported.
The new amendments allow the president broad new powers, including the ability to suspend education and quarantine individuals returning to the country from abroad, according to AP. The amendment also expands the authority to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly. —Terri Cullen
Read CNBC’s coverage from CNBC’s Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Russia’s Victory Day celebrations pared back; Spain’s daily virus death tolls falls
