Coronavirus live updates: USNS Comfort crewmember tests positive, Spain sees an uptick in deaths

FAN Editor

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

  • Global cases: More than 1,359,398.
  • Global deaths: At least 75,945.
  • US cases: At least 368,449.
  • US deaths: At least 10,993.

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

7:10 am: USNS Comfort crewmember tests positive

A military officer next to the USNS Comfort Navy hospital ship located at Pier 90 to care for patients not related to Covic-19 on March 31, 2020 in New York City.

Pablo Monsalve | Getty Images

A crewmember on the Navy hospital ship sent to New York City to originally treat noncoronavirus patients tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, the Navy said. 

“The crewmember is isolated from patients and other crewmembers,” the Navy said in a statement to NBC. “There is no impact to Comfort’s mission, and this will not affect the ability for Comfort to receive patients. The ship is following protocols and taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all crewmembers and patients on board.”

The Comfort, which is docked on Manhattan’s West Side, was deployed to relieve the city’s hospitals of noncoronavirus patients. However, President Donald Trump agreed on Monday to allow the 1,000-bed hospital ship to be used to treat COVID-19 patients.

The ship until now has been used to treat just a handful of patients without COVID-19, leading to criticism that it has been of little or no help with the hospital crisis in New York. —Will Feuer

6:55 am: VW plans to partially reopen a plant in Spain on April 20

Volkswagen hopes to partially reopen its plant in Spain’s Navarra region on April 20 after its closure in mid-March, a spokesman said.

The plant in northern Spain should reopen with one of its three daily shifts working four days in the first week, the plant spokesman said. The goal is to add a second shift the following week, depending on how well the supply chain works, he said.

All workers would wear masks and gloves, and the plant’s disinfection would be intensified, he added. The plant has around 4,800 workers and produces the Polo and T-Cross models. —Reuters

6:30 am: Another UK minister self-isolates, media reports

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Environment Secretary Michael Gove leave 10 Downing Street on June 15, 2017 in London, England.

Chris J Ratcliffe | Getty Images News | Getty Images

U.K. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has gone into self-isolation for seven days after a member of his family came down with symptoms of COVID-19, Sky News and other news agencies reported.

Gove is the latest in a string of U.K. politicians and officials who have self-isolated after they, or family members, displayed symptoms of the virus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care after his coronavirus symptoms worsened Monday—Holly Ellyatt

5:30 am: Spain sees uptick in daily deaths

Mortuary employees wearing face masks transport a coffin of a COVID-19 coronavirus victim at La Almudena cemetery on April 04, 2020 in Madrid, Spain.

Carlos Alvarez | Getty Images

Spain reported 5,478 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 140,510, the health ministry said.

The number of deaths has risen by 743 cases to 13,798, that’s above the 637 deaths recorded the previous day. —Holly Ellyatt

4:47 am: Japan declares state of emergency, prepares near $1 trillion stimulus

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections in major population centers and has unveiled a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen ($990 billion).

Abe announced the state of emergency targeting the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures — accounting for about 44% of Japan’s population — for a period of about one month, Reuters reported.

“We have decided to declare a state of emergency because we’ve judged that a fast spread of the coronavirus nationwide would have an enormous impact on lives and the economy,” he told parliament earlier.

His Cabinet will also finalize the stimulus package — which is equal to 20% of Japan’s economic output — to cushion the impact of the epidemic on the world’s third-largest economy. — Holly Ellyatt

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Exxon cuts capital budget by 30% during coronavirus, makes hand sanitizer ingredient

Fox News contributor Liz Peek provides insight into the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Exxon Mobil Corp. plans to lower operating spending and reduce its capital budget as the oil company grapples with weaker crude prices and economies that have been damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Continue Reading […]