Texas posts third straight day of 1,000 new cases as state reopens
The coverage on this live blog has ended — but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus outbreak, visit the live blog from CNBC's Asia-Pacific team.
States across the U.S. are reopening after weekslong coronavirus lockdowns, while protests erupted in places where stay-at-home rules remain in place. In states like California and Michigan, groups demanded the easing of restrictions. A big week of earnings are in, and tech giants Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla have all reported, providing a first look at how the pandemic has affected some of the biggest companies in the U.S.
All times below are in Eastern time.
- Global cases: More than 3.4 million
- Global deaths: At least 242,270
- US cases: More than 1.1 million
- US deaths: At least 66,045
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
5:49 pm: Brazil reports nearly 5,000 new cases
Brazil recorded 4,970 new cases of the coronavirus over the last 24 hours, according to a report from Reuters. That brings the national total to 95,559. Deaths related to the virus rose by 421 to 6,750. —Sara Salinas
5:06 pm: Buffett says US economy will overcome coronavirus
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett addressed the coronavirus pandemic during the company's annual shareholder meeting, saying, "Nothing can basically stop America."
"The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed and it will do so again," Buffett said from Omaha, Nebraska.
Buffett also said he owes White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci a "huge debt of gratitude" for his informative updates on the outbreak.
The shareholder meeting was held virtually for the first time in the company's history to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Read more about what Buffett said on the coronavirus from CNBC's Fred Imbert. —Sara Salinas
4:57 pm: Leaders decline offer for more tests for Congress
The two top officials of the House and the Senate declined an offer from the White House for additional coronavirus tests for Congress.
The question of more testing for congressional members has come up in media reports and among White House administrative members as the full Senate is expected to return to Washington on Monday.
In a rare display of congressional unity, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood together to say they would not accept the offer for additional tests given to congressional members. Instead, they suggested, the resources should go to those responding to the pandemic on the front lines.
"Congress is grateful for the Administration's generous offer to deploy rapid COVID-19 testing capabilities to Capitol Hill, but we respectfully decline the offer at this time," McConnell and Pelosi said in a joint statement.
"Our country's testing capacities are continuing to scale up nationwide and Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly."
The Trump administration was planning to send 1,000 coronavirus tests to the Senate, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tweeted Friday. —Yelena Dzhanova
3:30 pm: Texas reports 1,000 new cases after some businesses start to reopen
Texas reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the third straight day as the state heads into its first weekend of reopening the economy with limited measures.
The Texas Department of Health reported 1,293 new positive cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, which is its second highest single-day infection rate. This also marks the first time Texas has recorded more than 1,000 cases three days in a row.
Texas now has a total of 30,552 positive cases and 847 fatalities. The spike in infection rate comes after Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on April 28 allowing certain businesses to reopen on May 1.
In-store retail services and dine-in restaurants may operate at up to 25% capacity. Movie theaters and shopping malls are also allowed to operate at up to 25% of the total occupancy. The governor enacted a "stay-at-home" order on April 2. —Jasmine Kim
2:15 pm: France reports another 166 deaths
France's Health Ministry reported an additional 166 deaths from Covid-19, bringing the national total 24,760, according to a Reuters report. That figure includes coronavirus-related deaths recorded in hospitals and nursing homes.
The daily death toll, the number of people in the country hospitalized for the virus, and the number of patients being treated in intensive care units all declined, Reuters reported.
France has recorded one of the highest death tolls related to the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Only the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom have recorded more deaths. —Sara Salinas
1:16 pm: US reports deadliest day yet as states reopen, according to WHO data
The United States just saw its deadliest day yet of the Covid-19 outbreak as states across the country begin to ease restrictions and reopen nonessential businesses, according to data from the World Health Organization.
The data, which was collected as of 4 a.m. ET on Friday, says 2,909 people in the U.S. died of Covid-19 in 24 hours. That's the largest single-day Covid-19 death toll the U.S. has recorded, according to the WHO.
The new numbers come as state officials across the country unveil plans to reopen the economy and lift social distancing restrictions. Several mostly southern states have already reopened some retail businesses and lifted restrictions on access to beaches and other congregating areas.
Officials have said coronavirus-related deaths are difficult to analyze due to the length of time it takes for the disease to manifest symptoms and grow severe enough to kill someone. It remains unclear why the day proved to be so fatal, according to the WHO's data. —Will Feuer
1:04 pm: European Union countries call to halt cash refunds for canceled flights due to the pandemic
Germany, Italy and Spain have added their support to a group of European Union governments asking for the group's executive body to halt rules forcing airlines to give cash refunds for canceled flights, France said in a statement, according to Reuters.
On Wednesday 12 EU governments called for the European Commission to suspend rules forcing airlines to offer refunds instead of vouchers for future travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
"I'm glad a very large majority of member states are supporting my request to authorize airlines and maritime groups to temporarily use vouchers when trips are canceled, so as to relieve their cash reserves while protecting passengers' rights to a refund," French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in a statement, according to Reuters. —Chris Eudaily
12:44 pm: Antibody study estimates 12% of New Yorkers have had virus, Cuomo says
Approximately 12.3% of New Yorkers have likely had Covid-19, according to the latest preliminary study results released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The survey of over 15,000 people was conducted to develop a baseline of infection rate in the state, Cuomo said. "Statisticians will say this is all plus or minus in the margin of error. But it's a large sample. It is indicative."
The first preliminary result on April 22 showed that out of 3,000 people tested randomly at grocery stores and shopping locations, 13.9% of people had antibodies. On April 27, there were 7,397 people surveyed and 14.9% tested positive.
The survey results show the percentage of New Yorkers with antibodies, indicating that they have had the virus and recovered from it. This could help provide more accurate data on how many people have been infected with Covid-19 in New York, as state officials don't know the exact number of infections.
"We test about every 4 or 5 days. We have so much at stake," Cuomo said. "We always want to see the number dropping rather than the number increasing." —Jasmine Kim
12:17 pm: Italy's death toll climbs to 28,710
Italy's death toll due to Covid-19 climbed by 474, the Civil Protection Agency said, according to Reuters.
In Lombardy, Italy's worst-affected region, the death toll took a significant jump. The region reported 329 deaths in the last 24 hours versus 88 the day before, Reuters reported.
For the third day in a row, the daily tally of new infections was largely stable.
The national total death toll now stands at 28,710, the agency said, according to Reuters. Italy has the second-highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in the world after that of the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University data. —Chris Eudaily
12:03 pm: 1,000 NYPD officers out to enforce social distancing rules as weather warms up
With warm weather tempting quarantine-weary people to go outside, the New York Police Department dispatched 1,000 officers to enforce social distancing measures and other pandemic rules, the Associated Press reported.
"I believe with the warm weather people will come outside," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, according to the AP. "You can't stay indoors all the time. People will come outside and that's great, go for a walk. But respect the social distancing and wear a mask."
NYPD has made 60 arrests and issued 343 summonses related to social distancing since March 16, according to the AP. —Chris Eudaily
11:48 am: Economic hit from pandemic-enforced sports shutdowns could bring ownership changes
With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down professional sports around the world and cutting off vital revenue streams, teams could be on the verge of ownership changes.
Charles Baker, a partner at law firm O'Melveny, told CNBC's Jabari Young there are "often one-off conversations" among interested buyers and owners in major U.S. teams, as the pandemic continues to impact revenue streams.
To deal with the disruption, some owners could offer to sell stake in a team, while other opportunities could become available as current partners look to get out.
Baker, who represented David Tepper in his $325 million acquisition of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, estimated a "potential 15% to 20% drop" in team control and limited-partner positions. He said teams heavily dependent on "match day revenue" are most at risk for ownership changes. —Chris Eudaily
11:32 am: Death toll in the UK climbs to 28,131
The Covid-19 death toll in the United Kingdom rose to 28,131 as of Friday, which is just shy of Italy, the country with the highest number of deaths from the virus in Europe, Reuters reports.
Italy reported 28,236 dead from Covid-19 as of May 1, according to Reuters. —Chris Eudaily
11:09 am: At least 15 states begin first phase of easing restrictions as May kicks off
At least fifteen states are beginning to reopen this weekend as the government eases some restrictions and stay-at-home mandates that were put in place to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
States that are starting the first stage of their reopening plan include Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Each state outlines different reopening guidelines but most are allowing nonessential businesses to offer curbside pickup, drive-thru and delivery services, the construction industry to resume work, hair salons and barbershops to restart their business and state parks to reopen.
While state governments are working to reopen their economies, social distancing rules and safety measures such as wearing face coverings are still in place. —Jasmine Kim
10:51 am: Spain reopens after strict lockdown as people rush outside
Spaniards were allowed to exercise outdoors for the first time in 49 days as some of the strictest coronavirus restrictions in the world began easing across the country, Reuters reported.
"We are reaping the rewards of the sacrifices we have made during these long weeks," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, adding that the risk of a resurgence remains, according to Reuters.
Spain has 213,235 recorded Covid-19 infections according to Johns Hopkins University, the second-highest in the world, and imposed a strict lockdown in March. Sports and walks were banned, Reuters reported. —Chris Eudaily
10:30 am: US automakers face major hurdles in reopening plants
U.S. auto plants began shutting down in March, and some automakers only expected the closings to last days or weeks.
But the majority of auto plants were closed through April and reopening dates are a moving target.
Auto manufacturing is facing a number of obstacles to reopen, from worker safety and local mandates to supply chain logistics and supplies.
"It's extremely complex," Ford Motor Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley said.
"It's critical that we get this restart right," Farley said. A false start could further set the industry back, CNBC's Michael Wayland reports, which could endanger lives and complicate matters even more. —Chris Eudaily
10:03 am: Protesters challenge lockdown orders, demand that businesses are reopened
Protesters in at least 10 states on Friday demanded that the government lift stay-at-home orders and other emergency measures put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Among the states that saw protests are California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee and Washington.
Protesters, who were often photographed not wearing face coverings, urged the re-opening of businesses in their individual states, waving signs with messages against state leadership. Among their principal backers has been President Donald Trump, who tweeted words of encouragement to protesters in support of re-opening businesses nationwide to prop up the economy, which has been ravaged by the pandemic.
But despite the protests, multiple governors have said that they will determine whether to re-open their states only when they deem it's safe to do so. —Yelena Dzhanova
9:48 am: Updated map of US coronavirus hotspots as infections now total 1,104,345
9:41 am: Berkshire Hathaway takes $50 billion hit from pandemic
Berkshire Hathaway's operating profit rose, but Warren Buffet's company posted a net loss of nearly $50 billion as the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a major blow to its common stock investments, Reuters reported.
Berkshire posted a first-quarter net loss of $49.75 billion, or $30,653 per Class A share, which reflected $54.52 billion of losses from investments, mainly common stocks, according to Reuters.
Quarterly operating profit rose 6% to $5.87 billion. —Chris Eudaily
9:17 am: CDC official says US missed chances to slow virus
Early limited testing and the lack of travel alerts for areas outside China contributed to the rise in U.S. coronavirus cases in February, a high-ranking official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, the Associated Press reports.
"We clearly didn't recognize the full importations that were happening," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the No. 2 official at the CDC, told the AP.
The CDC published an article by Schuchat Friday analyzing the U.S. response to the outbreak, which found that the top health agency in the country missed chances to slow the spread, according to the AP. —Chris Eudaily
9:01 am: Farmers markets change amid the pandemic
Farmers and others involved in open-air markets have had to make changes to adapt to a world that has safety at the top of mind, the Associated Press reports.
Some venues have instituted adjusted opening times or days, drive-thrus and fences, according to the AP.
"The crowds are small and there aren't many vendors," Johnny Gyergyou, who has sold goods at Eastern Market in Detroit for 12 years, told the AP. Gyergyou said that it's not cost-effective to take loads 33 miles from his home to the market, where they may not sell. —Chris Eudaily
8:30 am: US hospitals increasing safety measures
As parts of the U.S. begin to open up after coronavirus stay-at-home orders, hospitals are putting more safety procedures in place to help reassure people coming in for other kinds of treatment, Reuters reports.
Hospitals are using plexiglass dividers, testing patients in advance and limiting elevator traffic as part of a safety push before beginning elective procedures and nonessential operations, which were put on hold as hospitals dealt with a crush of Covid-19 cases, Reuters reported.
"We have to convey to the public that we are safe ... and to defer medical care in urgent situations will cause more harm," Mark Solazzo, chief operating officer at Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider, told Reuters.
Medical providers are starting to tell patients that they can return for non-coronavirus procedures. —Chris Eudaily
Read CNBC's coverage from CNBC's Asia-Pacific and Europe teams overnight here: Russia reports highest daily rise in cases; Singapore prepares to ease partial lockdown