Coronavirus Watch: 'The worst month ever'
The April jobs report this week will likely reveal the highest U.S. unemployment rate on record, but even that figure will probably understate the scale of joblessness across the nation.
Some economists reckon that one-third or more of Americans who were laid off in the weeks leading up to the Labor Department’s April jobs survey aren't even looking for work and so aren’t counted as unemployed.
It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network.
Here's the latest news, as of 1:30 p.m. ET:
- More than 1.1 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., and more than 71,000 have died. See a map of confirmed cases here.
- Here to stay: President Donald Trump said that the White House coronavirus task force will "continue on indefinitely" and shift focus to reopening and manufacturing vaccines.
- Trump was scheduled to mark National Nurses Day with a proclamation honoring thousands of nurses who have been on the front lines of the crisis.
- The coronavirus, which originated in China, is mutating as it spreads across the planet, with a strain that may first have appeared in Europe becoming dominant in many areas.
- Only 12 states are currently showing a sustained case reduction and another 15 have experienced sustained increases.
- Meanwhile, influential models are predicting higher death tolls that surpass 110,000 by the end of June and 130,000 by August.
- Trump on Tuesday pledged $600 million for the Navajo Nation, which includes land in northern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, to fight the coronavirus.
- Bing Liu, a University of Pittsburgh professor who was "on the verge of making very significant findings" about COVID-19 was killed in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities say.
- Starbucks plans to reopen 85% of its stores in the U.S. this week while following new protocols.
What we're talking about: The New York City health department says children have presented symptoms of the mysterious Kawasaki disease, raising concerns about a COVID-19 link. Here's what we know about the rare inflammatory condition.
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— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter, @grace_hauck