10 things you need to know today: April 25, 2020
1.
President Trump on Friday claimed he was being sarcastic when he suggested health officials look into treating COVID-19 with measures like injecting disinfectants or hitting lungs with a "tremendous" amount of ultraviolet or "very powerful light." His comments were widely criticized, and health experts slammed his suggestion, which came during one of Trump's widely-viewed coronavirus briefings, as "irresponsible" and "dangerous," seeing as disinfectants can be poisonous or deadly if ingested or injected, which Lysol warned. Trump said he brought it up "sarcastically to reporters" to "see what would happen." The speculation about disinfectants was not interpreted as a joke by many viewers: The state of Maryland confirmed it had "received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use" as it pertains to curing COVID-19. [The New York Times]
2.
The World Health Organization on Saturday warned countries against issuing so-called coronavirus "immunity passports" to recovered patients because there's "no evidence" they are protected from a second infection. As things stand, the United Nations agency believes such actions could increase the risks of the virus' spread. The WHO, however, will continue to monitor antibody responses to get a better sense of whether people can develop immunity and, if so, for how long. Several countries have tinkered with the idea of creating some form of immunity certificate that would allow recovered patients and those with antibodies to return to work during the pandemic. Chile was the first country to officially announce it planned to do so. [Reuters, Bloomberg]
3.
The United States crossed a grim threshold on Friday, officially recording its 50,000th death attributed to COVID-19. The U.S. now accounts for almost a third of the confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, and more than a quarter of the deaths. Many experts believe the toll of the disease in the U.S. is being underreported, due to insufficient testing and excess mortalities. America's confirmed coronavirus deaths have now outpaced predictions by experts, who estimated last week that 47,000 would be dead by May 1, a number the country instead hit on Wednesday, April 22. "Just a few days from now," writes The New Yorker, "more Americans will have died from COVID-19 than the entire toll from the Vietnam War." The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., contains 58,320 names. [Johns Hopkins, The New Yorker]
4.
India announced Friday the relaxation of some aspects of its strict coronavirus pandemic lockdown measures. Some neighborhood stores are allowed to re-open, but only those situated outside of hotspots. Greece, which has received praise for its early actions in combating the pandemic, as well as for its citizens' adherence to guidelines, is reportedly preparing to gradually reverse its lockdown measures beginning on May 4 when small shops, hairdressers, barbers, and beauticians will be allowed to go back to work. Greece's actions largely prevented a major outbreak — the country has 2,490 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 130 confirmed deaths. In the United States, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Alaska have also eased some restrictions, though they all include limitations. [The Associated Press, The Guardian]
5.
President Trump on Friday signed a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill after it was passed by both chambers of Congress this week. The relief package includes more than $300 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses and recently ran out of money. It also includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing but does not include money for states and local governments. Lawmakers will turn to the next phase of coronavirus relief after the passage of this interim bill, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he wants the full Senate to return to Washington. [Axios, NBC News]
6.
The Congressional Budget Office on Friday predicted the U.S. GDP will contract 39.6 percent year over year during the second fiscal quarter of the year, which runs from April through June. The nonpartisan group forecasts an 11.8 percent drop from Q1 of 2020. The CBO ascribes the massive contraction to the coronavirus pandemic and "the social distancing measures put in place to contain it." It predicts economic activity will restart in Q3, leading to a 5.4 percent growth year over year in that quarter, or a 23.5 percent jump from Q2. The CBO says the unemployment rate will only continue to grow, hitting an estimated 16 percent in Q3, and efforts to mitigate the economic woes are expected to lead to a federal deficit of $3.7 trillion by the end of 2020. [Congressional Budget Office, The Week]
7.
Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Darren Campbell said Saturday a domestic assault may have been the catalyst for a shooting rampage in the province that left 22 people dead last weekend. Police constructed a 12-hour timeline that began with the gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, assaulting his longtime girlfriend, who escaped and hid in the woods. Wortman then led police on a manhunt across Nova Scotia while wearing a RCMP uniform and driving a police cruiser. Wortman killed 22 people during that span before he died in a confrontation with police. It was the deadliest shooting in Canada's history. Police are investigating whether the domestic assault was the inciting incident, but they have not discounted that the shooting spree was pre-meditated. [CNN, The Washington Post]
8.
Los Angeles-based U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee ruled Friday that the Trump administration is violating the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which generally requires children detained at the border to be released within 20 days. Gee has found the U.S. government to be in violation of some elements of the settlement over the years, though the latest order comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, prompting Gee to express concerns about the safety of detention centers. Gee did not agree with every claim brought forth by the plaintiffs represented by the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, but she concluded the Office of Refugee Resettlement and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement "shall continue to make every effort to promptly and safely release" approximately 2,100 unaccompanied minors, as well as 342 held with their families at ICE detention centers. [CBS News, NBC News]
9.
Adm. Mike Gilday, the Chief of Naval Operations, reportedly recommended to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday that Capt. Brett Crozier be reinstated as commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Esper said he needed more time to review the investigation report before making a decision. Crozier was ousted over his warning about a coronavirus outbreak on his ship earlier this month. Crozier wrote a four-page letter asking for help containing the outbreak. He was relieved of command on April 2 after the letter was leaked to the press. Then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said the dismissal was because he sent the letter over "non-secure unclassified email." Modly later resigned after apologizing for calling Crozier either "too naive or too stupid" to run the ship. [The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press]
10.
Sony is delaying the release of two Spider-Man sequels as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Both the follow up to the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the third installment in the live-action Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy — which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — will have their release dates pushed back from April 8th, 2022 to October 7th, 2022 and November 5th, 2021 to July 16, 2021, respectively. Subsequently, Disney's Marvel Studios will accommodate the Homecoming franchise by shifting the releases of fellow sequels Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. [The Verge]
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