BEAUMONT, Texas — This article contains ongoing U.S. and international updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. Here are some key updates for Tuesday, May 6, 2020. You can find more details by scrolling through the story.
Key Updates
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing for another stimulus package with more direct payments to individuals, unemployment insurance and small businesses, and help to state and local governments.
- Tyson Foods will begin limited operation Thursday of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, Iowa
- Look back at the Tuesday, May 5, blog at this link.
Latest updates:
Here are the latest updates from around Southeast Texas, Texas, Louisiana and some from the world (all times are local Central Daylight Time)
May 6, 5:26 p.m. — The Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center released Wednesday's COVID-19 case numbers. Jefferson County saw an increase of 9 cases, while Hardin County added 3. Jasper County added one case.
Jefferson County also confirmed 8 recoveries on Wednesday, bringing the total number of those recovered to 98. Orange County reported 6 more people have recovered for a total of 62. Hardin County reports 6 new recoveries as well, bringing its total to 86. Jasper County reported 9 recoveries.
May 6, 5:13 p.m. — Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel says,"I am pleased to see the downward trend of active cases continue, and also happy that the number of pending lab results is now very low as well."
May 6, 9 a.m. — The ride-sharing company Uber on Wednesday announced it will lay off 3,700 full-time employees in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 7:45 a.m. — The Treasury Department is detailing how it plans to borrow a record-breaking $2.99 trillion in debt this quarter which will include issuing for the first time since 1986 a 20-year bond. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 6:30 a.m. — Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez says that his government will declare a national state of mourning for the more than 25,800 deaths the European nation has suffered from the coronavirus pandemic. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 6:15 a.m. — It was the sounds of silence in New York City’s subway system, as the normally round-the-clock system shut down for train cleaning. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 6 a.m. — House Democrats are seeking to drive the debate on the fifth coronavirus response bill, promising to produce a mega-package stuffed with Democratic priorities even as a chorus of GOP leaders voices hesitation about more spending. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 5:30 a.m. — During an exclusive interview with ABC News' "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir in Arizona, President Trump was asked what he would say to families who lost loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic. Scroll down for more.
May 6, 3:30 a.m. — Tyson Foods will begin limited operation Thursday of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers, the company announced Tuesday. Scroll down for more.
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There have been 1.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 71,000 deaths and nearly 190,000 people recovered.
Worldwide, there have been 3.68 million confirmed cases with more than 258,000 deaths and more than 1.2 million recovered.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Uber laying off 14% of workforce
The ride-sharing company Uber on Wednesday announced it will lay off 3,700 full-time employees in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi also agreed to waive her base salary for the rest of the year. CNBC reported he made $1 million in base salary but gained the vast majority of his compensation from bonuses and stock awards in 2019.
Uber stock was down more than three percent as of Wednesday morning.
A 20-year Treasury bond; part of $2.99 trillion borrowing
The Treasury Department is detailing how it plans to borrow a record-breaking $2.99 trillion in debt this quarter which will include issuing for the first time since 1986 a 20-year bond.
The Treasury faces an unprecedented need for credit because of the trillions of dollars the government is spending to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs. And the nation is likely headed for a deep recession.
Treasury officials said the 20-year bond will first be auctioned on May 20 with the goal of raising $20 billion. That will be followed by $17 billion auctions in June and July.
Spain to declare state of mourning over virus
Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez says that his government will declare a national state of mourning for the more than 25,800 deaths the European nation has suffered from the coronavirus pandemic.
Sánchez is appearing before Spain’s Parliament on Wednesday to ask for a fourth two-week extension of the state of emergency that has allowed his government to apply a strict lockdown that has reined in a savage COVID-19 outbreak. It appears he will have the support despite losing the backing of the main opposition party.
Spanish health authorities reported 244 new deaths over the previous 24 hours on Wednesday, taking the toll of virus fatalities to 25,857.
The figures, which are in line with the overall slowdown of the outbreak in Spain, don’t include thousands more who have died in nursing homes before they could be tested.
NYC's subways shut down for virus cleaning
It was the sounds of silence in New York City’s subway system, as the normally round-the-clock system shut down for train cleaning.
The trains, which had been running on a reduced schedule since late March, were scheduled to stop from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday. That's going to be the new daily routine, to allow for daily cleanings and for city workers to move homeless people who have been more visible in subway cars during the coronavirus.
The New York Police Department has assigned more than 1,000 officers to secure many of the system’s 472 stations, as fewer than 200 can be physically locked up.
Pelosi pushes ahead on massive virus bill, but GOP wary
House Democrats are seeking to drive the debate on the fifth coronavirus response bill, promising to produce a mega-package stuffed with Democratic priorities even as a chorus of GOP leaders voices hesitation about more spending.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi promises that the Democratic-controlled House will deliver legislation to help state and local governments through the COVID-19 crisis, along with additional money for direct payments to individuals, unemployment insurance and a third installment of aid to small businesses. The amount of funding is to be determined.
The California Democrat is leading the way as Democrats fashion a sweeping package that is expected to be unveiled soon even as the House stays closed while the Senate is open in the pandemic.
The contours of the next package are taking shape despite Republican resistance to more spending and a deepening debate over how best to confront the pandemic and its economic devastation. Some Republicans such as Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and a group of GOP governors want to be more generous to states confronting furloughs and cuts to services as revenues plummet and unemployment insurance and other costs spike.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday it's time to push “pause” on more aid legislation — even as he repeated a “red line” demand that any new aid package include liability protections for hospitals, health care providers and businesses operating and reopening.
President Trump has a one-on-one interview with ABC News
During an exclusive interview with ABC News' "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir in Arizona, President Trump was asked what he would say to families who lost loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said, "I want to say, ‘I love you.' I want to say that we're doing everything we can."
"We're with you," he continued. "We're working with you. We're supplying vast amounts of money, like never before. We want that money to get to the people. and we want ‘em to get better."
The president said he has only spoken to a handful of families turning this trying time.
President Trump was also asked about the deadly risks if the country is reopened.
"It's possible there will be some because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is," Trump said. "But at the same time, we're going to practice social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time."
Tyson Foods to reopen pork plant in Iowa
Tyson Foods will begin limited operation Thursday of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers, the company announced Tuesday.
Tyson said workers have been invited to tour the plant Wednesday to see enhanced safety measures and social distancing procedures that have been implemented. The plant has been closed since April 22, and the Iowa Department of Public
Health reports 444 workers have tested positive for the virus. The plant is Arkansas-based Tyson’s largest pork processing operation, with the ability to process 19,500 hogs per day. That accounts for 3.9% of the U.S. pork processing capacity, according to the National Pork Board.