Two Ohio health care professionals die due to coronavirus

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Monday extended the closure of K-12 classrooms until at least May 1 as the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state reached 1,933 and deaths hit 39. A public-health order issued by state health director closed schools beginning March 17. The order was set to expire after Friday, but the virus shows no signs of slowing.

According to new guidelines from the EPA, industries will largely be exempt to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus pandemic, with the agency saying it will not ’seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.’ EPA said that the agency does not expect industries to meet environmental standards and reporting of pollution during this time.

A top hospital exec in NY has been fired and another placed on leave for their Facebook comments where they are reportedly mocking the Trump supporters by suggesting that they should ’pledge to give up their ventilators for someone else’ amid the pandemic. Laura Krolczyk from Roswell Park Cancer Center has been fired while Lisa LaTrovato of Hauptman Woodward Institute has been put on leave.

The Pentagon confirmed Monday that a New Jersey Army National Guardsman who tested positive for coronavirus has died, becoming the first US service member to succumb to the virus. The service member had been in hospital since March 21. He died on Saturday. The Pentagon has reported a total of 1,087 cases of the coronavirus, out of which 569 are active-duty military personnel.

A pastor of a Florida megachurch accused of holding 2 Sunday services has been arrested for violating the safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the COVID-19. The services, presided over by Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne at the River at Tampa Bay Church, were attended by hundreds of parishioners. He was arrested on charges of unlawful assembly and violating emergency public health order.

Three federal judges issued orders on Monday requiring Alabama, Texas and Ohio to allow abortion clinics to stay open and keep providing services in the states.The states had outlawed non-medical procedures so that all health equipment and resources can be targeted at the coronavirus outbreak. However, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed lawsuits, arguing that the orders were unconstitutional.

A Las Vegas parking lot was turned into a temporary shelter for hundreds of homeless people by the city officials after a man staying at a homeless shelter tested positive for coronavirus, forcing that facility to close. The sleeping arrangements, however, has ignited some backlash on Monday, after an image of homeless people sleeping six-feet apart to each other, circulated across social media.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Pope Francis’ vicar for the diocese of Rome, has been tested positive for COVID-19. He is the highest-ranking Catholic official to have been tested positive for the virus. De Donatis, 66, was tested for the virus after feeling unwell and was admitted to a Rome hospital. His closest aides had gone into voluntary quarantine as a precaution, a statement said.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D - N. Y.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Businesses has been diagnosed with a presumed case of COVID 19 based on symptoms. The Congresswoman is self-quarantining and working from home while monitoring and treating symptoms. An actual test was deemed unnecessary by the attending physician.

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on healthcare workers from other states to come and help New York’s hospitals cope with the crisis as the coronavirus death toll for the state rose to 1,218 and the number of cases rose to more than 66,000. Cuomo also pleaded for bipartisanship and ’partnership’ with President Trump . ’In this situation, there are no red states and there are no blue states’.

As the coronavirus pandemic rips across New York City, an emergency field hospital is being set up in Central Park to accommodate the rising number of patients. The hospital is being built by an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization which goes by the name of Samaritan’s Purse.

Amazon workers working in the Staten Island facility are demanding a closure for a thorough cleaning. They also want unsafe working conditions at the facility remedied. The workers are demanding an increase in protective gear as well as hazard pay during the coronavirus pandemic. A walkout has been planned by nearly 100 of the Amazon workers on Monday.

Twitter has removed two of Jair Bolsonaro’s tweets from the social media platform. According to Twitter, the tweets violated the social network’s rules. In the two tweets, the Brazilian President questioned the quarantine measures which are aimed at containing the novel coronavirus disease.

As per reports, the Department of Justice is currently probing decisions made by a lawmaker to sell stock a few days before the market plummeted due to the coronavirus outbreak. Senator Richard Burr has also been contacted by investigators regarding the same.

The leaders of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia issued shelter-in-place orders to residents on Monday, telling residents to avoid going out for anything but essential trips for food, medical attention and other specific reasons. Maryland’s order will take effect from 8 p.m. on Monday and Virginia’s taking effect at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday.

A 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship docked in Manhattan, NY, on Monday and a field hospital was going up in Central Park for COVID-19 patients. Gov. Cuomo waited at a Midtown Manhattan pier when the converted oil tanker, painted white and adorned with giant red crosses, arrived. NY is the epicenter of the outbreak in the US with 60,679 cases and 1,063 deaths.

Major US retailers Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap said Monday they would furlough tens of thousands of employees as their stores remained temporarily closed and sales collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Macy’s said the majority of its 125,000 employees will be furloughed this week, while Kohl’s said that the furloughs will apply to 85,000 of its employees. Gap is furloughing 80,000 of their employees.

Microsoft Corp. said Monday its video calling platform Skype saw a 70% jump in usage in March from a month earlier, as more people shift to working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. The tech giant said 40 million people used the service, with a 220% jump in calling minutes from a month earlier. Shares of Microsoft rose during the day, jumping 6.2%, or $9.32, to $159.02 after the news.

Rep. Mark Meadows is set to resign from Congress on Monday as he heads over to the White House to become President Trump’s next chief of staff. After five terms in the House, Meadows will replace his former colleague Mick Mulvaney. Meadows will be coming into the high-profile role as the White House is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Engineers at the University College London and Mercedes Formula 1 have come together to build a breathing aid that bridges the gap between an oxygen mask and a full ventilator. The team used reverse engineering to adapt continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines in an effort to keep patients out of ICU’s. Developed in just days, Mercedes hopes to deliver up to 1,000 daily in about a week.

The health minister of Saudi Arabia declared on Monday that the country would finance the treatment of anyone infected with coronavirus in the country. Steps to boost wheat and livestock supplies were also taken by the agriculture minister as fears of a global food shortage hit headlines.

Taking advantage of the museum being closed amid the COVID-19 outbreak, thieves stole a Van Gogh painting in the Netherlands overnight. The 1884 painting ’Lentetuin’, or ’Spring Garden’, had been on loan with the Singer Laren Museum from the Groninger Museum.

The Hungarian Parliament has voted by 137 to 53 to accept the govt’s request for the power to rule by decree during the coronavirus emergency. PM Viktor Orban promised to use the extraordinary powers ’proportionately & rationally’. However, the leader of the opposition said that the law placed the whole of Hungarian democracy in quarantine.

President Trump plans to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to address the uncertainty in the oil market sparked by a feud between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Besides oil, Trump plans to discuss trade with Putin, potentially the situation in Venezuela and the coronavirus pandemic.