Coronavirus: Biden wins Ohio’s mail-in primary delayed by coronavirus

More than 3 million people worldwide – including more than 1 million people in the United States – have been infected with the new coronavirus, and the number of deaths from the outbreak continues to rise. Officials are attempting to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. as hospitals manage unprecedented patient surges.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking cases in the U.S. here.

>> Coronavirus: Know the facts directly from the CDC

Live updates for Tuesday, April 28, continue below:

Biden wins Ohio’s mail-in primary delayed by coronavirus

Update 10:40 p.m. EDT April 28: Joe Biden won Ohio’s presidential primary Tuesday, clinching a contest that was less about the Democratic nomination and more about how states can conduct elections in the era of the coronavirus.

The primary was the first major test of statewide elections via mail amid an outbreak.

There were reports of confusion but no widespread disruption. It wasn’t like Wisconsin earlier this month, when voters were forced to overlook social distancing guidelines to stand in line wearing masks to cast ballots.

“Within the context of the threat of the virus, it’s a decision that we will have made the best of,” Republican Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio elections chief who chairs the bipartisan International Foundation for Electoral Systems, said of mail-in balloting.

Overall turnout was surprisingly strong, said Secretary of State Frank LaRose. While his office said about 1.5 million votes had been cast as of midday Saturday, down sharply from the 3.2 million cast in Ohio’s 2016 presidential primary, he said some larger counties received tens of thousands of additional ballots Tuesday.

China reports increase of imported virus cases

Update 9:50 p.m. EDT April 28: China on Wednesday reported a jump in imported cases of coronavirus, but no new deaths from the disease it causes.

Out of 22 new cases, 21 were brought from abroad and one was a result of local transmission in the southern industrial province of Guangdong, the National Health Commission reported. China, the source of the worldwide pandemic, now has just 647 registered cases of COVID-19, along with just over 1,000 people under quarantine and monitoring for being suspected cases or having tested positive for the virus without showing symptoms.

China has registered a total of 4,633 deaths from the virus among 82,858 cases. Authorities have relaxed social distancing restrictions, but have maintained strict quarantine rules on those coming from abroad or other parts of the country to ward off a second wave of virus cases as summer approaches.

Trump signs executive order requiring meat processing plants to stay open

Update 8:40 p.m. EDT April 28: President Donald Trump took executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply.

The order uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health.

More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pressure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus, including two of the nation’s largest, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota. Others have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick.

Governor unveils plan to get South Dakota ‘back to normal’

Update 6:40 p.m. EDT April 28: Republican Gov. Kristi Noem unveiled her plan Tuesday to get South Dakota “back to normal” by encouraging schools and businesses to allow limited gatherings and cautioning people to continue to keep their distance from one another.

Noem continued to stress that she wouldn’t force people to take precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus, though she acknowledged the relaxed recommendations could result in flareups in infections. She said she would handle those as they come, issuing orders county by county.

Noem said her plan is all about putting decision-making “into the hands of the people.” She began her announcement by acknowledging that people who lose loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic “will never be able to return to normal” before she shifted her focus to its effects on social interactions, the economy and education.

She is advising businesses to open their doors to customers and employees while taking precautions such as keeping people spread apart and taking their temperatures. She is also asking schools to consider consider hosting small groups of students in school to check in with them before the school year ends. Some schools have reported that they have not heard from students since closing, the governor said.

LA County reaches 1,000 COVID-19-related deaths

Update 5:30 p.m. EDT April 28: Los Angeles County has reported 59 new COVID-19-related deaths, raising the total to 1,000.

“LA County has hit the tragic milestone of 1,000 people dying from COVID-19,” county public health director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Please know that if you are grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19, our thoughts and prayers are with you, your family, and your friends.”

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous with 10 million residents, also reported 597 new cases, raising its total to 20,976.

The number of deaths in institutional settings rose to 462 and the majority were residents of skilled nursing facilities, the county said.

Researchers warned Iowa governor not to relax virus limits

Update 4:40 p.m. EDT April 28: A team of experts advised Gov. Kim Reynolds last week not to relax social distancing rules, warning that doing so at this point could cause a second wave of infections and that Iowa could suffer “catastrophic loss of life” even under strict limits, according to documents released Tuesday.

Days after receiving that warning, the Republican governor signed orders to partially reopen 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties and allow in-person church services and farmers markets to resume statewide. She said Monday that the state must learn to live with the coronavirus and balance health and economic concerns.

The warning came in a research paper authored by seven professors of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health. The governor’s office released the paper Tuesday after Reynolds outlined her rules to reopen restaurants this week.

Pat Garrett, a spokesman for Reynolds, said mitigation strategies remain in place even in the counties that are partially reopening, including bans on gatherings of more than 10 people.

Researchers warned that their modeling found a huge degree of uncertainty in how the pandemic will unfold, “from relatively low fatalities to catastrophic loss of life.”

One model predicted that Iowa could see 747 deaths by May 28, and that a range of 316 to 965 by then seemed likely. But researchers warned that death tolls in the thousands were also plausible, even assuming that business closures and other limits remained in effect.

New York City has had nearly 12,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths

Update 3:05 p.m. EDT April 28: New York City officials said at least 11,820 people have died in the city because of the coronavirus. There are another 5,395 probable deaths contributed to the pandemic, CNN reported.

Overall there have been 157,713 cases with 40,578 people hospitalized in the city, according to city records.

UK officials report 3,996 new cases of COVID-19

Update 2:55 p.m. EDT April 28: Officials in the United Kingdom reported 3,996 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, raising the country’s number of COVID-19 cases to 161,145.

Authorities with the British Department of Health and Social Care also announced that a total of 21,678 have died in the U.K. due to the novel coronavirus. The number is 586 higher than the fatal cases reported nationwide Monday.

Ohio governor reverses course on requiring people to wear face masks at stores

Update 2:45 p.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio on Tuesday said people will not be required to wear masks in public when stores begin to reopen in the state May 1, one day after announcing the mandatory measure, WHIO-TV reported.

DeWine said he decided to drop the requirement after hearing from Ohioans who opposed wearing masks, according to WHIO-TV.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that Americans wear cloth face coverings while in public to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus. The masks do not protect their wearers but instead prevent them from spreading the virus if they’ve contracted it unknowingly because people who have COVID-19 can be asymptomatic and still spread the coronavirus.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 16,769 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state, along with 799 deaths, WHIO-TV reported, citing the Ohio Department of Health.

>> Read more on WHIO.com

Case count tops 1 million in the US

Update 2:30 p.m. EDT April 28: The United States reached a grim milestone Tuesday when the number of novel coronavirus cases reported in the country topped 1 million, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 1,002,498 cases of COVID-19 have been reported nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 50,000 Americans have died of the viral infection.

The numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins include nearly 300,000 novel coronavirus infections reported in New York, the hardest hit of all states. Health officials in the state have reported 17,638 coronavirus-related deaths.

The state with the second-most number of reported coronavirus cases is New Jersey, in which health officials have confirmed 113,856 cases of COVID-19. Statewide, 6,442 people have died after being diagnosed with coronavirus infections.

In Massachusetts, the state with the third-most number of confirmed coronavirus cases, officials have identified 56,462 COVID-19 cases as of Monday, the most recent date for which data was available. Officials reported 3,003 people have died of coronavirus-related causes.

Some protesters calling for a May Day ‘rent strike’ in Seattle

Update 2:15 p.m. EDT April 28: Some tenants and one city council member in Seattle are calling for a rent strike on May 1 in hopes that Gov. Jay Inslee will suspend rate and mortgage payments amid the coronavirus pandemic, KIRO-TV reported.

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant has been one of the most vocal supporters of a rent strike. On Saturday, she hosted a “rent strike organizing conference” to get tenants involved in the movement, according to KIRO-TV.

Sawant and activist organizations Rent Strike 2020 and Socialist Alternative are among those calling for a nationwide rent strike on May 1.

>> Read more on KIRO7.com

2,887 new cases of COVID-19 reported in New Jersey

Update 1:55 p.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said Tuesday that 2,887 new coronavirus infections have been reported, raising the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 113,856.

Officials also reported 402 new fatal COVID-19 cases, higher than the 106 new fatal cases reported one day earlier.

Statewide, 6,442 people have died of coronavirus.

Trump says he’ll sign executive order on food supply Tuesday

Update 1:45 p.m. EDT April 28: President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that he plans to sign later Tuesday an executive order to address “liability problems” in the food supply chain.

"We’re going to sign an executive order today, I believe, and that’ll solve any liability problems,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office pool spray with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany mistakenly announced as a press conference earlier Tuesday.

The president said he was working with poultry giant Tyson Foods on the issue, which he tied to distribution. Tyson Foods and other meat manufacturers have been forced to close by the novel coronavirus after employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that Trump plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to order meat processing plants to remain open as critical infrastructure.

Louisiana reports 218 new coronavirus infections

Update 1:30 p.m. EDT April 28: Officials in Louisiana reported 218 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, raising the state’s total number of infections to 27,286.

The number is slightly lower than the 295 new infections reported Monday.

Officials said that statewide, at least 1,758 people have died of COVID-19.

Technical issues continue for federal small business relief program

Update 1:25 p.m. EDT April 28: Lenders across the U.S. reported a second straight day of computer glitches Tuesday as they tried to secure small business loans under the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

With many interested businesses and lenders, the computer system for the Small Business Administration was swamped on Monday - and again on Tuesday morning. Small business owners around the nation were left hoping they would be able to access some of the over $300 billion in aid approved last week by Congress and the President.

“Hoping for the best,” said Kimberly Gaddis, who owns a legal firm in Atlanta, Georgia, with six employees.

More than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 reported in Italy

Update 1:15 p.m. EDT April 28: Health officials in Italy reported Tuesday that the number of novel coronavirus infections detected in the country has topped 200,000.

Officials have identified 201,505 COVID-19 cases in Italy. The country has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world behind Spain, which has more than 232,000 cases, and the United States, which has more than 994,000 cases, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of active coronavirus infections reported in Italy continued to decline Tuesday with 105,205 people ill as of 6 p.m. local time, according to numbers released by health officials.

The number continues a slow decline in cases first noticed last week in the country. The number of active cases reported Tuesday fell 608 from the number of cases reported Monday.

Health officials said Tuesday that 27,359 people have died of COVID-19 in Italy since the outbreak began.

Alabama governor relaxing social distancing measures

Update 1:05 p.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama announced Tuesday that she will allow her stay-at-home order to expire Thursday in Alabama in favor of a less restrictive “safer at home” order.

The new order encourages, but does not require, people to “exercise personal responsibility in slowing the spread of COVID-19.” It will allow for “drive-in” gatherings of any size, provided people remain in their vehicles and ride with people who are members of their households, and allow for businesses and government offices to reopen if they “take reasonable steps, where practicable, to protect their customers, constituents or other guests.”

“Alabamians, let me be abundantly clear, the threat of (COVID-19) isn’t over,” Ivey said Tuesday in a statement posted on Twitter. “We’re still seeing the virus spread (and) our people are susceptible to the infection. Folks, we must continue to be vigilant in our social distancing both today (and) for the foreseeable future.”

New York reports 335 new fatal coronavirus cases

Update 12:45 p.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Tuesday that 335 more people have died in the state of COVID-19, the lowest number reported so far in New York.

Still, Cuomo said the numbers weren’t falling as quickly as he’d like.

“Every day, I think maybe today’s the day the nightmare will be over, but it’s not,” he said Tuesday at a news conference. “You see this number is basically reducing but not at a tremendous rate and the only thing tremendous is the number of New Yorkers who still pass away.”

He said less than 1,000 new coronavirus patients had been hospitalized Monday continuing that downward trend.

“It’s still a significant number of people, 900 people,” the governor said. “After all of this, we still have 900 new infections yesterday on a three-day rolling average but overall you see the numbers coming down, so that’s good news.”

708 new coronavirus cases reported in Florida

Update 12:30 p.m. EDT April 28: Health officials in Florida reported 708 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, raising the state’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 32,846, according to WFTV.

A vast majority of the cases -- nearly 32,000 of them -- involved Florida residents, WFTV reported, citing the Florida Department of Health.

Statewide, 1,171 people have died of COVID-19 in Florida.

>> Read more on WFTV.com

Massachusetts governor extends stay-at-home order until May 18

Update 12:25 p.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts on Tuesday extended the state’s stay-at-home order through May 18, WFXT reported. The order had been set to expire on May 4.

>> Read more on Boston25News.com

Baker announced Tuesday that he is also extending the state’s mandatory closure of non-essential businesses through May 18, according to WFXT.

Grammy-nominated gospel singer Troy Sneed dies after contracting COVID-19

Update 12 p.m. EDT April 28: Troy Sneed, a Grammy-nominated gospel singer whose career spanned decades, died Monday in Florida from complications related to the novel coronavirus, WJAX-TV reported.

Sneed spent a decade as assistant minister of music for the Georgia Mass Choir, during which time he appeared with the group in the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife,” starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, according to WJAX-TV.

He earned a Grammy nomination in 2000 for his work on Youth for Christ’s 1999 album “Higher." In 2003, he and his wife founded a recording label, Emtro, which produced gospel radio hits including the Rev. Rudolph McKissick’s “The Right Place” and Alvin Darling & Celebration’s “All Night,” WJAX-TV reported.

Sneed is survived by his wife of 27 years, Emily, and their four children, Troy Jr., Evany, Trey and Tyler.

New York City to hold virtual, city-wide graduation for high school seniors

Update 11:40 a.m. EDT April 28: Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City said Tuesday that officials plan to hold “one big, city-wide virtual graduation ceremony” to celebrate the city’s high school seniors.

“You may not have the traditional ceremony that you were looking forward to,” he said Tuesday at a news briefing.

“We’re going to give you something you will remember for the rest of your life and you will cherish. We’re going to bring together some very special guests to celebrate you, to salute you, the way you stuck with it -- not just in the years before but particularly during this crisis.”

Numbers from the New York City Board of Education show more than 70,000 students were set to be high school seniors for the 2019-2020 school year. The city’s schools have been closed for weeks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The mayor said more details about the celebration, which will include a celebration of the parents and family members who support students, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“You’re going to have a day of inspiration and support and celebration, no matter what this pandemic has thrown at us,” de Blasio said.

US House will not not return to Washington next week

Update 11:30 a.m. EDT April 28: One day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers will return to the U.S. Senate next week to continue legislative work, the leader of the House announced representatives would not be following suit.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday that the decision to hold off on returning to Washington was made after consultations with the House physician.

Dog in North Carolina tests positive for COVID-19

Update 11:25 a.m. EDT April 28: The pet dog of a North Carolina family participating in a study at Duke University has tested positive for COVID-19, marking what’s believed to be the first known case in the U.S. of a canine contracting the viral infection.

After three members of the McLean family tested positive for coronavirus infections, four of their pets were tested, WRAL reported. One dog, a pug named Winston, tested positive for COVID-19, according to the news station.

“To our knowledge, this is the first instance in which the virus has been detected in a dog,” Chris Woods, the principal investigator for the Duke study, told CBS News. "Little additional information is known at this time as we work to learn more about the exposure.”

Trump, Florida governor DeSantis to hold joint news conference

Update 11:10 a.m. EDT April 28: President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are scheduled to hold a joint news conference Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

The appearance is scheduled after Trump and DeSantis meet at the White House at 11 a.m., WFTV reported. Details surrounding the meeting were not immediately clear, though WFTV reported the pair might be discussing Florida’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mnuchin: Officials will review companies that take out Paycheck Protection Program loans over $2M

Update 11 a.m. EDT April 28: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin criticized big companies that have applied for federal loans meant to support small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic and said the Small Business Administration will review any loans over $2 million to ensure they meet government criteria allowing for loan forgiveness.

“Let me just be clear, the purpose of this program was not social welfare for big business,” Mnuchin said Tuesday during an interview on CNBC. “It’s a small business program and it was meant for small businesses that didn’t have liquidity.”

His comments come after businesses, including Shake Shack and the Los Angeles Lakers, announced they were millions of dollars in loans they received through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

“I never expected in a million years that the Los Angeles Lakers -- which, I’m a big fan of the team, but I’m not a big fan of the fact that they took a $4.6 million loan,” Mnuchin told CNBC. “I think that’s outrageous, and I’m glad they returned it or they would have had liability.”

102 new cases of COVID-19 reported in DC

Update 10:45 a.m. EDT April 28: Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington D.C. said Tuesday that 102 new coronavirus infections have been reported in the area, double the number of new cases reported one day earlier.

As of Tuesday, 3,994 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Washington.

Bowser said five more people between the ages of 26 and 95 also died of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, 190 Washington D.C. residents have died of coronavirus, officials said.

Wisconsin governor reopening several state parks, forests May 1

Update 10:35 a.m. EDT April 28: Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin on Tuesday directed the state Department of Natural Resources to reopen several state parks, forests and recreational areas that had been closed due to the threat of the novel coronavirus.

Evers said 34 state parks and forests will be reopened under special conditions meant to minimize overcrowding and allow for social distancing.

"Outdoor recreation is important for both physical and mental health, and I know how important it is to Wisconsinites to get outside and enjoy Wisconsin’s natural resources and spring weather,” Evers said in a statement. “With a few adjustments, like closing one day a week for maintenance and reduced hours of operation, folks should be able to get outside and enjoy our parks safely and respectfully.”

As of Monday, the most recent date for which data was available, 6,081 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Wisconsin, according to the state’s Department of Health Services. At least 281 people have died statewide after being diagnosed with coronavirus infections.

Los Angeles Lakers return $4.6 million loan meant for small businesses

Update 10:15 a.m. EDT April 28: The Los Angeles Lakers have returned a $4.6 million loan the team received from a federal program aimed at shoring up small businesses struggling as the coronavirus pandemic forced stores to close nationwide, according to multiple reports.

In a statement obtained by ESPN, the Lakers said they returned the money, secured through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, after learning funds had been depleted and that many small businesses failed to secure loans.

“We repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need," team officials said in the statement. "The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”

The Los Angeles Times reported the Lakers “have long been one of the most valuable franchises in U.S. sports.” Forbes magazine ranked the Lakers as the second most valuable NBA team with a worth of $4.4 billion, second only to the New York Knicks, who were valued at $4.6 billion.

JetBlue requiring passengers wear face masks beginning May 4

Update 9:55 a.m. EDT April 28: Passengers flying on JetBlue Airways will be required to wear face coverings during travel beginning on May 4, airline officials announced Monday, according to WFXT.

The policy, modeled on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comes after the airline began requiring all crew members to wear face coverings during work, WFXT reported.

“Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself; it’s about protecting those around you,” Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer of JetBlue, said in a statement. “This is the new flying etiquette."

Stocks open higher on Wall Street as nations look to reopen

Update 9:45 a.m. EDT April 28: Stocks opened higher Tuesday on Wall Street as nations and some U.S. states move toward reopening their economies from lockdowns made to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% in the first few minutes of trading Tuesday. Markets are broadly higher in Europe and closed mostly higher in Asia.

Investors are also focusing on the earnings reports that big U.S. companies will be reporting this week. Google parent company Alphabet and Starbucks report their latest results after the closing bell.

U.S. crude oil prices fell again on concern about oversupply and a lack of storage space.

Birx: Behavior of virus in summer will ‘define how we do in the fall’

Update 9:30 a.m. EDT April 28: White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said Tuesday that officials will be monitoring how the coronavirus responds to the changing seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres to prepare for the U.S. response to the virus in fall.

“Normally northern hemisphere respiratory diseases move into the southern hemisphere during the summer because it’s their fall,” Birx said during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News. “It’ll be very interesting to watch Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa and Chile and Argentina to see what happens to the virus in the summertime and what’s happening to the virus here. ... Those two pieces together will really define how we do in the fall.”

Birx said that in the meantime, White House officials are working to “ensure that we are ready for anything that happens in the fall, whether it’s testing, whether it’s PPE, whether it’s ventilators, whether it’s a complete surveillance system that understands we have to track for asymptomatics as well as symptomatic individuals."

“All of those pieces need to accelerate and expand to be ready for the fall,” she said.

Global death toll hits 211,522 as total cases surpass 3M

Update 7:36 a.m. EDT April 28: The global death toll attributed to the novel coronavirus reached 211,522 early Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

In the four months since the virus was first identified in Wuhan, China, it has infected at least 3,057,957 people worldwide. Meanwhile, nearly one in every four deaths reported worldwide have occurred in the United States.

The 10 nations with the highest number of infections recorded to date are as follows:

• The United States has reported 988,469 cases, resulting in 56,253 deaths.

• Spain has confirmed 232,128 cases, resulting in 23,521 deaths.

• Italy has reported 199,414 infections, resulting in 26,977 deaths.

• France has confirmed 165,977 infections, resulting in 23,327 deaths.

• Germany has reported 158,758 cases, resulting in 6,126 deaths.

• The United Kingdom has reported 158,348 cases, resulting in 21,157 deaths.

• Turkey has recorded 112,261 cases, resulting in 2,900 deaths

• Russia has confirmed 93,558 cases, resulting in 867 deaths.

• Iran has recorded 92,584 cases, resulting in 5,806 deaths.

• China has recorded 83,938 cases, resulting in 4,637 deaths.

Tokyo Olympics to be nixed next summer if coronavirus pandemic lingers, report says

Update 4:58 a.m. EDT April 28: In an interview published Tuesday in Japanese newspaper Nikkan Sports, Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said the rescheduled games will be canceled if the coronavirus pandemic has not ended by next summer.

According to CNN, when asked specifically if the games could be postponed a second time, Mori said “No. It will be canceled then. The Olympics was canceled in the past for problems like war. We are fighting against an invisible enemy now.”

The Olympics and Paralympic Games, slated originally for this summer in Tokyo, were rescheduled to start on July 23, 2021, in an attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

FDA urges manufacturers to make hand sanitizer ‘unpalatable’ to people, especially kids

Update 4:04 a.m. EDT April 28: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is fighting the novel coronavirus on an entirely new front, begging manufacturers to ensure hand sanitizer is anything but appetizing, especially to children, The Washington Post reported.

In a Monday advisory, the FDA said that calls to the National Poison Data System regarding hand sanitizer increased 79% last month, compared with March 2019. The agency said the majority of the calls involved children under the age of five, but one 13-year-old said the hand sanitizer consumed from a distillery bottle was “reported to taste like normal drinking alcohol.”

Specifically, the FDA urged distillers to increase the products’ bitterness by adding denatured alcohol as a deterrent, the Post reported.

“Hand sanitizers are not proven to treat covid-19, and like other products meant for external use, are not for ingestion, inhalation, or intravenous use,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in the statement.

Calif. Governor warns crowded beaches threaten coronavirus pandemic progress

Update 3:30 a.m. EDT April 28: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is concerned residents flocking to recently re-opened beaches could jeopardize all of the state’s progress to date in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Specifically, Newsom told NPR that photos he has seen of packed beaches illustrated “what not to do.”

"I cannot impress upon you more, to those Californians watching, that we can't see the images like we saw, particularly on Saturday in Newport Beach and elsewhere, in the state of California," Newsom said, adding, "This virus doesn't go home because it's a beautiful sunny day around our coasts."

Read more here.

NBA to honor local lifting of stay-at-home orders, reopen practice facilities amid coronavirus quandary

Update 2:46 a.m. EDT April 28: The NBA has announced it will follow the lead of local governments and reopen practice facilities during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic if restrictions in those cities are lifted, The Washington Post reported.

Teams are still not allowed to hold organized group workouts or practices, but individual workouts are slated to resume May 8, the Post reported.

Detroit automakers eye May 18 restart date amid loosening coronavirus restrictions

Update 2:14 a.m. EDT April 28: Detroit’s automakers are targeting May 18 to resume some operations of their U.S. factories, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Following talks with United Auto Workers leaders and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, executives from General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are tentatively eyeing mid-May to restart operations, allowing time to ensure safety protocols are in place to protect workers from novel coronavirus infection, the Journal reported.

Tweaked pandemic model increases projected US coronavirus deaths by almost 25%

Update 1:44 a.m. EDT April 28: Forecasters at the University of Washington have tweaked the projected novel coronavirus death toll in the United States from 60,000 to 74,000, representing a roughly 23 percent increase.

Dr. Chris Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Help Metrics and Evaluation, told “CNN Tonight” new variables necessitated the adjustments.

“Our forecast now is for 74,000 deaths. That’s our best estimate. The range is pretty wide because there’s a lot of unknown factors there, but our best estimate is going up, and we see these protracted, long peaks in some states,” Murray told the network, adding, “We’re also seeing signs in the mobility data that people are getting more active, and that’s also feeding into our assessment.”

By 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a total of 56,245 coronavirus infections have been confirmed in the United States, according to research compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

US coronavirus deaths hit 56,245, total cases top 988K

Update 12:40 a.m. EDT April 28: The number of novel coronavirus cases in the United States neared one million early Tuesday morning across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, there are at least 988,451 confirmed U.S. cases of the virus, which have resulted in at least 56,245 deaths. Of those cases, nearly 292,000 have been reported in New York, meaning the state has, itself, confirmed more cases than any other nation outside the United States, including the United Kingdom with 158,348 cases, Germany with 158,758, France with 165,963, Italy with 199,414 and Spain with 229,422.

Of the confirmed U.S. deaths, 22,668 – or roughly 42% of the nationwide total – have occurred in New York, 6,044 in New Jersey and 3,407 in Michigan.

In terms of diagnosed cases, New York remains the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak with at least 291,996 confirmed cases, followed by New Jersey with 111,188 and Massachusetts with 56,462.

Nine other states have now confirmed at least 20,000 novel coronavirus cases each, including:

• Illinois: 45,883 cases, resulting in 1,983 deaths

• California: 44,966 cases, resulting in 1,779 deaths

• Pennsylvania: 43,558 cases, resulting in 1,886

• Michigan: 38,210 cases, resulting in 3,407 deaths

• Florida: 32,138, resulting in 1,088 deaths

• Louisiana: 27,068, resulting in 1,740 deaths

• Connecticut: 25,997, resulting in 2,012 deaths

• Texas: 25,321, resulting in 666 deaths

• Georgia: 24:302, resulting in 995 deaths

Meanwhile, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, Washington state and Virginia and each has confirmed at least 13,000 cases; Tennessee and North Carolina each has confirmed at least 9,000 cases; Rhode Island and Missouri each has confirmed at least 7,000 cases; Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi and Wisconsin each has confirmed at least 6,000 cases; Iowa and South Carolina each has confirmed at least 5,000 cases; Nevada, Utah, Delaware and Kentucky each has confirmed at least 4,000 cases; the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arkansas each has confirmed at least 3,000 cases; and New Mexico, Nebraska, Oregon and South Dakota each has confirmed at least 2,000 cases.

Click here to see CNN’s state-by-state breakdown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.