Here is a look at some of the latest news on COVID-19 from the U.S. and around the world on Monday.
WASHINGTON — This article contains ongoing U.S. and international updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Here are some key updates for Monday, April 20, 2020. You can find more details by scrolling through the story.
- Shops, schools begin opening in Germany, Denmark
- President Trump says his administration and Congress are getting close to a deal on a $450 billion aid package.
- Trump says he’ll use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for coronavirus.
There were more than 759,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States around 4 a.m. ET on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been over 40,000 deaths in the U.S., with more than 70,000 recoveries. More than 3.8 million tests have been conducted nationwide.
Worldwide, there have been 2.4 million cases and 165,000 deaths.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.
Shops, schools reopening in Germany, Denmark
Some shops are reopening in much of Germany as Europe’s biggest economy takes its first tentative step toward restarting public life after a four-week shutdown.
Shops with a surface area of up to 800 square meters (8,600 square feet) are being allowed to reopen on Monday, along with auto showrooms, bike shops and bookshops of any size, under an agreement reached last week between the federal and state governments.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun, told n-tv television that big shops “draw large numbers of people into the city center, they have high customer numbers and that isn’t possible in the first step.”
State governments are responsible for imposing and loosening shutdown measures, and there are regional variations. Berlin and neighboring Brandenburg are expected to reopen small shops later this week. The eastern state of Thuringia is waiting until next Monday. So is Bavaria, although it is allowing DIY and garden shops to reopen Monday.
Denmark took another small step toward reopening society when hair salons, dentists, physiotherapists, tattoo parlors and driving schools, among others, were allowed to reopen Monday.
Trump, Congress near deal on small business, hospital aid
The Trump administration and Congress expect an agreement Monday on a coronavirus aid package of up to $450 billion.
It would boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money and add funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing. President Donald Trump said Sunday the administration is “very close to a deal.”
The Senate is scheduled for a pro forma session Monday, but no vote has been set. The House announced it could meet as soon as Wednesday for a vote.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he is hopeful of a deal that could pass Congress quickly and get the small business payroll program back up by midweek.
Trump to use DPA to increase swab production
President Donald Trump says he will use the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of swabs used to test for the coronavirus.
Many governors have for weeks urged the White House to further evoke federal powers to increase private industry’s production of medical supplies as health officials work to slow the spread of the virus. Trump has generally been reluctant to do so.
But the president said during a briefing Sunday evening that he would use the measure to increase production of swabs and that he would soon announce that production reaching 10 million per month.
To emphasize the point, Trump waved a swab in front of reporters. Trump also said Vice President Mike Pence would hold a call with governors on Monday to discuss testing and send a list of lab facilities in their states.
Trump administration announces new guidelines for nursing homes
The Trump administration has announced new guidelines requiring nursing homes nationwide to report to patients, their families and the federal government when they have cases of coronavirus.
Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said during a Sunday evening White House press briefing that the new rules will mandate that nursing homes report cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said the moves are aimed at increasing transparency about the spread of the virus at facilities where populations can be especially vulnerable to its effects.
There have been 7,121 deaths at long-term care facilities nationwide, according to an Associated Press tally.
Verma also discussed plans to allow elective surgeries to resume after being placed on hold during the pandemic.
That move is coming as part of larger Trump administration guidelines to reopen the economy and Verma said lifting restrictions would be gradual — not like flipping on a light switch, but “more like a sunrise.”