NYC Sees Highest One-Day Death Toll, Sanders Quits

New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., reported its highest one-day number of deaths yet on Wednesday (April 8th), 779, bringing the state's overall death toll to almost 6,300. However, there continued to be signs of progress, with Governor Andrew Cuomo saying hospitalizations are decreasing. But he warned, "We are flattening the curve because we are rigorous about social distancing. But it’s not a time to be complacent. It’s not a time to do anything different than we’ve been doing."

At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly considering changing self-isolation guidelines to make it easier for some people exposed to someone with the virus to return to work if they don't have any symptoms. Under the proposed revamped guidance, which is meant for workers in critical fields, people would be allowed back to work if they take their temperature twice a day and wear a mask, AP reported. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease experts, said the administration had been working on plans to eventually re-open the country, but said on Fox News, "That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it right now. But it means we need to be prepared to ease into that."

As social distancing continues to have an impact, modeling of the pandemic in the U.S. is showing there will be fewer deaths than had previously been estimated. Modeling from the Institute for Heath Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, which has been heavily referred to, estimated Wednesday that about 60,415 Americans will die from the virus by August, down from an estimate of 82,000 on Tuesday, and more than 100,000 earlier on in the U.S. outbreak. They also project the U.S. will reach its highest daily number of deaths on or around Sunday, and its peak use of resources like hospital beds and ventilators on or around Saturday.

In other developments:

• Alarm Over African-American Deaths: Lawmakers and community leaders have been expressing alarm over a trend of African-Americans being disproportionately killed by the coronavirus, which is particularly being seen in cities including New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago and Milwaukee. They are also calling for more information to be made available about the race of victims.

• PM Boris Johnson Improving: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care with the coronavirus, but officials said he's improving and was sitting up in bed. He was moved to intensive care on Monday, one day after being admitted to the hospital, but has not been on a ventilator.

• First Lady Message for Medical Workers, Responders: First Lady Melania Trump released a video message of thanks and appreciation to the medical personnel and other front-line responders in the coronavirus battle in the U.S. yesterday. She said, "We stand united with you and we salute your courageous and compassionate efforts. Our prayers are with all who are fighting this invisible enemy, COVID-19."

Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are squaring off over the next round of emergency funding to help Americans and small businesses amid the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The White House has proposed putting another $251 billion into a small business loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), that was part of the new $2.2 trillion economic stimulus package, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he'd move quickly approve the bill today. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday put forward their demands for its passage, including $150 billion for state and local governments, $100 billion for hospitals and community health centers, and more money for food stamp programs. They also want half of the additional $251 billion for the PPP to be directed toward local lenders that benefit farmers, women, veterans and minority-owned companies.

➤SANDERS ENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Senator Bernie Sanders announced yesterday (April 8th) that he was ending his presidential campaign, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Sanders said in a video message to supporters, "The path toward victory is virtually impossible. If I believed we had a feasible path to the nomination I would certainly continue the campaign, but it’s just not there." He called Biden, who has a more than 300-delegate lead over him, a "very decent man," but didn’t explicitly endorse him. Sanders also said his name would remain on the ballot in states that have not yet held their primaries so he can win more delegates and, quote, "exert significant influence" on the Democratic platform. He made clear that he will continue to fight for the progressive causes he believes in, saying to his supporters, "Please stay in this fight with me. The struggle continues."

➤LINDA TRIPP DEAD AT 70: Linda Tripp, a key figure during then-President Bill Clinton's sex scandal who secretly recorded her conversations with Monica Lewinsky about Lewinsky's affair with Clinton, died from cancer Wednesday (April 8th). She was 70.