Update (1350ET): As states from New York to Maryland to Ohio active the national guard to help with the virus response, the Pentagon said it expects to have 1,000 troops on the ground in various states by the end of the day Friday.
Meanwhile, in one of the biggest hits to the entertainment industry reported so far, Disney has announced that it’s halting the production of all its live-action films over coronavirus concerns – though it stipulated that no members of the cast or crew have been infected.
Via CNBC:
“While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time. We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible,” the company said in a statement.
Impacted films include: “The Little Mermaid,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Home Alone,” “The Last Duel,” “Nightmare Alley,” as well as “Peter Pan & Wendy” and “Shrunk.”
Across the US, more cases are being reported on Friday. New York State is now the coronavirus-case leader in the US as the number of cases jumped 30% overnight to 421.
Earlier, Cuomo announced that New York will begin its first “drive-thru” testing center in New Rochelle, still the largest cluster in the state.
Across the US,
The CDC hasn’t yet updated its national figures, but at last count, the US had 41 confirmed deaths and 1,701 cases, with many more of both likely still untested.
President Trump is speaking at 3pmET, where he may declare a national emergency, while Nancy Pelosi goes on at 2pm.
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Update (1340ET): For at least the second time in the last week or so, Italy has reported its largest single-day jump in deaths since the country’s coronavirus crisis kicked into overdrive at the end of last month. Officials reported on Friday that the country had counted 250 deaths on Thursday, bringing its total to 1,266
The number of new confirmed infections soared by more than 2,500 to 17,660.
Italy also reported 181 new recoveries and 175 new cases in serious condition, for a total of 1,439 recovered and 1,328 in serious condition.
It’s beginning to seem like each day, Italy’s outbreak is breaking new grim records. The outcome has been in some cases almost unfathomably tragic, as we reported earlier.
Offering a critical moment of levity, a clip of Italians singing songs in their windows has gone viral on social media.
