Nearly 4 million people worldwide — including almost 1.3 million in the United States – have been infected with the new coronavirus, and the number of deaths from the outbreak continues to rise. While efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak continue, states have begun to shift their focus towards reopening their economies.
Live updates for Saturday, May 9, continue below:
Fauci under ‘modified quarantine’
Update 9: 32 p.m. EDT May 9: The nation’s top infectious disease expert is under a “modified quarantine” although he was not in close proximity to a White House staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus, CNN reported.
Fauci said he is at a “low risk” and tested negative for the virus Friday.
He is expected to stay home and telework for the next 14 days, although he might go to his office at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he is the only one there. He is expected to be tested every day for the virus.
Already, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, director of the Food and Drug Administration will self-quarantine for 14 days after being exposed to someone at the White House who tested positive for the coronavirus. That staffer has not been identified.
Florida city closes beaches after crowds overrun sand
Update 9: 10 p.m. EDT May 9: Throngs of beachgoers crowded beaches, causing the city of Naples, Florida, to close them at 12: 01 a.m. Sunday.
City of Naples is closing City beaches at midnight. Emergency meeting will be held at 1pm on Monday, May 11, 2020. pic.twitter.com/y0nRWCnnxz
— Naples Police Dept. (@NaplesPolice) May 9, 2020
City officials will discuss more restrictions at an emergency meeting Monday, WBBH reported.
The emergency order was prompted by numerous images of people on beaches not practicing social distancing measures. The shutdown includes beach access points, restroom facilities and parking areas.
Images of crowds of spring breakers on Florida beaches sparked a national uproar earlier this year. Counties along both coasts started opening beaches for limited use and with social distancing guidelines still in effect earlier this week.
CDC, FDA directors to self-quarantine for 14 days
Update 6: 54 p.m. EDT May 9: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration will self-quarantine for 14 days after being exposed to someone at the White House who tested positive for the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported.
Robert Redfield, with the CDC, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, of the FDA, are both members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which last met Thursday, CNN reported.
The person who tested positive that they came in contact with has not been identified.
Global cases top 4 million
Update 5: 25 p.m. EDT May 9: The number of people infected with the coronavirus worldwide surpassed 4 million Saturday afternoon.
There are more than 1.3 million confirmed cases and more than 78,000 deaths in the United States, CNN reported.
200 patients evacuated, 1 dead after fire at Moscow hospital
Update 4: 55 p.m. EDT May 9: A hospital treating coronavirus patients caught fire killing one person and forcing the evacuation of 200 others Saturday.
The fire in a ward repurposed to treat coronavirus victims was extinguished. A cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
The evacuated patients were taken to other hospitals.
It was not known how many of the 200 transferred patients were suffering from the coronavirus.
USDA to buy $3 billion worth of food from farmers
Update 3: 56 p.m. EDT May 9: U.S.Department of Agriculture will buy $3 billion worth of food from farmers starting next week, according to a tweet from President Donald Trump.
Trump called the initiative “Farmers to Family Food Box,” CNN reported.
The program is part of the $19 billion in aid to farmers from the USDA that was announced on April 17.
Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens. “FARMERS TO FAMILY FOOD BOX” Great news for all! @SecretarySonny @ZippyDuvall
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2020
National Sports Collectors Convention postponed
Update 1: 48 p.m. EDT May 9: The National Sports Collectors Convention, the largest sports memorabilia show in the world, announced that this year’s event, scheduled to begin July 29, has been postponed until Dec. 12.
The event will still be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, organizers said.
“We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic situation with our partners along with city and state officials. It has become clear postponement is the appropriate course of action.” said John Broggi, promoter for the show. “We have tentative plans to hold the National Dec. 12-16, 2020, at the Atlantic City Convention Center, given state and federal guidelines indicate it is safe to hold our event.”
4,000 NYC health care workers getting free vacations
Update 12: 51 p.m. EDT May 9: American Airlines and Hyatt Hotels will give health care workers at New York City’s Elmhurst Hospital free vacations, the airline said in a news release.
The free vacations will be awarded to more than 4,000 doctors, nurses and assistants. The excursions will be three nights to locations in the United States and the Caribbean, American Airlines said.
“We’ve heard from so many of our colleagues and members who simply want to do some good and find a way to share their gratitude for some of the heroes of this pandemic in one of the hardest-hit areas of New York, ” Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt, said in a statement. “We are humbled by the health care workers’ dedication to saving lives.”
Cuomo: Hospitalization rate in New York state still dropping
Update 11: 50 a.m. EDT May 9: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference that the rate of hospitalization across New York has dropped. Cuomo said the number of new cases over the past 24 hours was 572.
“Those are new cases, people who walk in the door of a hospital or people who are in the hospital and test positive. But that’s down to 572,” Cuomo told reporters. “You see it hasn’t been that level since we started back March 20, March 21. So that is welcome news.”
Feds ship 260 cases of remdesivir to hardest-hit states
Update 11: 42 a.m. EDT May 9: According to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday, 260 cases of the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir have been shipped to states hardest hit by the coronavirus.
According to the HHS statement, the cases are part of the previously announced donation by the drug’s manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, to the federal government, CNN reported.
The FDA granted emergency authorization that allowed remdesivir to be used to treated patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.
FDA head will self-quarantine for 2 weeks
Update 11: 32 a.m. EDT May 9: Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, will self-quarantine for 14 days after coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus, an