President Donald Trump holds his hand to his face as he talks about masks during a briefing about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, March 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

U.S. records 30,000 cases in 24 hours, death toll climbs above 7,000

Coronavirus-related deaths in the United States eclipsed 7,000 Friday evening, according to state health departments and tracking by The Washington Post. States also reported a combined 30,000 new cases in a day for the first time, and 1,169 people died – the highest one-day death toll so far..

The grim metrics are emblematic of covid-19’s contininuing spread across the country, even as state and federal officials have encouraged stricter social distancing measures. The increased numbers are also representative of increased testing availability across the United States.

Face coverings recommended, but Trump says he won’t wear one

President Donald Trump has announced new federal guidelines recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public. The president immediately said he had no intention of following the advice himself. He says, “I’m choosing not to do it.” The guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control encourage people, especially in areas hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus, to use rudimentary coverings like T-shirts, bandannas and non-medical masks to cover their faces while outdoors. The new guidance raises concern that it could cause a sudden run on masks if Americans turn to private industry to meet the expected surge in demand.

NY to get 1,100 ventilators with help from China, Oregon

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York is poised to get over 1,100 ventilators from China and Oregon as the state scrambles to line up more breathing machines for the sickest coronavirus patients.

Cuomo said Saturday that the Chinese government facilitated a 1,000-ventilator donation from billionaires Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai, the co-founders of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Cuomo said.

He said those ventilators were due to arrive Saturday, and the state of Oregon had volunteered to send 140 more breathing machines.

Puerto Rico discovers protective supply cache amid COVID-19

The suspected mismanagement of essential supplies during Hurricane Maria has turned out to be a boon for Puerto Rico as it fights a rise in coronavirus cases.

Health Secretary Lorenzo González said Saturday that officials discovered a cache of urgently needed personal protective equipment at a hospital in the nearby island of Vieques that remains closed since the Category 4 storm hit in September 2017.

He said the equipment includes face masks, gloves, gowns and face shields that were in good condition. Puerto Rico has reported 18 deaths, including that of a nurse, and more than 450 confirmed cases, including police officers who have demanded more personal protective equipment.

How the cell phones of spring breakers who flouted coronavirus warnings were tracked

The Trump administration wants to use Americans’ smartphone location data to help track and combat the spread of coronavirus. Now, a pair of US data companies are making a public pitch to show just how that kind of technology might work.

X-Mode and Tectonix focused on a high-profile case: tracking location data from the phones of people who visited the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in March — among them spring breakers who made national news two weeks ago when they ignored warnings to practice social distancing despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

The results of tracking data, a map posted on Twitter, showed where people went after they visited the beach, spreading out all across the country to major cities including New York and Chicago, possibly bringing the coronavirus with them.

Facebook and Google confirmed to CNN Business in March that they were exploring ways to use aggregated, anonymized data to help in the US coronavirus effort.

 Virginia city putting homeless in hotels to blunt virus

A plan by Virginia state government to offer money to localities to provide shelter to homeless people as a way to blunt the spread of coronavirus is an idea that’s already taken off in Virginia Beach. The city already has been offering more than 45 hotel rooms to homeless individuals for the last two weeks.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced that $2.5 million is now available statewide for hotel vouchers, food, cleaning supplies and other items to people lacking housing.

Virginia’s health department said on Saturday the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state now exceed 2,400, with 52 confirmed deaths.

Italy is seeing more relief from the coronavirus outbreak in its jammed intensive care units, with 74 fewer beds in use over the past day nationwide.

Overall, new infections continued to slow their once-exponential pace, with 4,805 new cases registered Saturday that brought Italy’s official count to 124,632. The death toll continued to mount, with 681 new victims bringing the world’s highest toll to 15,362.

Italian officials have urged Italians to continue rigorously observing the west’s first and most comprehensive national shutdown after some Italians were seen out walking and shopping in great numbers in various cities.

Officials say the emergency is still very much under way, and that the infection curve remains at a plateau, not yet beginning its hoped-for decline.

Singer Pink says she had COVID-19, gives $1M to relief funds

The singer Pink says she had COVID-19 and is donating $500,000 each to two emergency funds.

In a pair of tweets posted Friday evening, the singer says she tested positive after she and her three-year-old son started displaying symptoms two weeks ago. She says they were negative when they were tested again “just a few days ago.”

She announced she’s donating $500,000 to the Temple University Hospital Emergency Fund in honor of her mother, who worked there for nearly two decades. She’s giving the same amount to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles’ COVID-19 response fund.

Her post thanked health care workers and called upon the public to “Please. Stay. Home.”

Mormons start crowd-less conference due to pandemic

Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sat 6 feet apart inside an empty room as the faith carried out its signature conference by adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Normally, top leaders sit side-by-side on stage with the religion’s well-known choir behind them and some 20,000 people watching.

This time, they are being live-streamed. It is the first conference without a crowd since World War II, when wartime travel restrictions were in place.

Where will the bodies go? Morgues plan as virus grows

With U.S. medical experts and even President Donald Trump now estimating the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic could reach 240,000 nationwide, the sheer practicalities of death — where to put the bodies — are worrying just about everyone as cities, hospitals and private medical groups clamor to secure additional storage.

The need is compounded by private mortuary space that is occupied longer than usual as people wait to bury their loved ones— regardless of how they died— because rules on social distancing make planning funerals difficult.

In the U.S. epicenter of New York City, where the death toll was nearly 1,900 on Saturday, authorities brought in refrigerated trucks to store bodies.

At Brooklyn Hospital Center, a worker wheeled out a body covered in white plastic on a gurney and a forklift operator carefully raised it into a refrigerated trailer.

Pet fostering takes off as coronavirus keeps Americans home

Shelters from California to New York have put out the call for people to temporarily foster pets. Thanks to an overwhelming response from people who suddenly found themselves stuck at home, shelters say they have placed record numbers of dogs, cats and other animals.

If past trends hold, many of those who agree to temporarily care for a pet will ultimately decide they want the animal to stay for good.

Shelters have several reasons for pushing to foster out animals, Steele said, including the fear that they might have to stop adopting out animals if people can’t visit them or that they might see an influx of people surrendering animals amid economic woes.

But the overriding factor, she said, was concern for workers’ health.

What You Can Do to Keep Yourself and Your Family Healthy

• Take everyday preventive actions to stay healthy.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.