The coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people around the world as of Thursday, killing at least 297,491 people.
President Donald Trump is expected on Thursday to name a former pharmaceutical executive to lead « Operation Warp Speed, » the push to accelerate the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. Trump has said he believes a vaccine will be ready for distribution before the end of the year, a timeline that some scientists have challenged as unrealistic.
Also Thursday, ousted federal vaccine scientist Dr. Rick Bright is due to testify before a House health subcommittee, where he plans to warn Congress that without a more coordinated response, « 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history. » Bright filed a whistleblower complaint after he was removed last month as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The agency is a key player in federal coordination of vaccine development.
Jobless claims continue to increase, with another 2.9 million Americans filing for unemployment. That brings the total since the crisis started to 36.5 million. Unemployment stood at 14.7% in April.
This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. All times below are in Eastern time. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC that schools should try to hold in-person classes in the fall, as long as local cases of the coronavirus are under control.
« I do think we’re going to have to contend with Covid going into the fall, but it might not be in September. It might occur later into the fall, and we should at least make an attempt to open the schools if this isn’t spreading widely, » Gottlieb said on « Squawk Box. » Gottlieb, a CNBC contributor who sits on the boards of Pfizer and Illumina, said it is not a « national-level decision » right now on whether in-person classes should be held in the fall. It will be made at the local level, he said. « But I think it’s too early to say whether or not we are going to be able to open the schools in the fall. We will have to see what happens in July and August, » he said. —Kevin Stankiewicz
CVS Health will start offering Covid-19 testing on Friday at some of its pharmacy drive-thru windows.
