Coronavirus live updates: Fauci says ‘now is the time’ to reopen the economy; Cuomo says new cases in NY ‘lower than we first began’

The U.S. coronavirus death toll is approaching 100,000 about five months after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the country. More than 1.58 million people across the country have been infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci joined CNBC Friday and said now is the time to reopen the economy, but states should still take “very significant precautions” with social distancing. States continue to chart a path forward, reopening nonessential businesses and easing restrictions on movement. Even the hardest-hit states in the country, New York and New Jersey, are reopening beaches for Memorial Day weekend.

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

• Global cases: More than 5.15 million
• Global deaths: At least 335,063
• U.S. cases: More than 1.58 million
• U.S. deaths: At least 95,052

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

1:18 pm ET — White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell that states staying closed for too long due to the coronavirus could end up causing “irreparable damage.”

He said the U.S. had to institute severe measures because Covid-19 cases were exploding. “But now is the time, depending upon where you are and what your situation is, to begin to seriously look at reopening the economy, reopening the country to try to get back to some degree of normal.”

Last week, Fauci had warned members of Congress that the U.S. could face even more “suffering and death” from the coronavirus if some states rush to reopen businesses too early. It could also hinder states “on the road to try to get back to an economic recovery,” he testified at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on May 12. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

1:02 pm ET — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there were 225 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, based on a three-day rolling average, which is at a “level now that is lower than we first began.”

While only a single daily figure, the number of new infections has been on a steady decline across the state, which at its peak reported more than 3,100 new cases daily. The state reported an additional 109 deaths on Thursday, which “has been stubborn on its way down,” Cuomo said.

The state has started to implement its phased reopening plan in some regions of the state that have met seven health metrics, such as declining hospitalizations and new cases, as well as sufficient hospital bed and testing capacity, among other requirements. He said the Long Island and the Mid-Hudson regions could begin reopening next week if deaths continue to decrease and sufficient contact tracing is implemented. —Noah Higgins-Dunn

12:51 pm ET — Hospitalized Covid-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine had a 34% higher risk of death than those who were not treated with it, according to a new study published in The Lancet.

President Donald Trump has been taking the malaria drug daily despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace reports.

The study, which looked at more than 96,000 patients at 671 hospitals around the world, also found that patients treated with hydroxychloroquine had a 137% increased risk of developing serious heart arrhythmia. —Hannah Miller

12:33 pm ET – The Trump administration is starting to sound a lot more comfortable with pushing out another round of coronavirus relief money.

In the past two days, President Donald Trump and two of his economic advisors – Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Kevin Hassett – indicated they think another rescue bill is likely. Trump said the government could take “one more nice shot” at a stimulus. 

As tens of millions of Americans lose their paychecks, both Democrats and the White House appear to support another round of direct payments. Other issues, including state and municipal aid, the extension of an enhanced unemployment benefit and liability protections for businesses, could prove more difficult to resolve if the major parties negotiate another bill.

Formal talks on fiscal relief between the administration and Congress are stalled. The House will convene for only part of next week, while the Senate will not return until June 1. —Jacob Pramuk

12:18 pm ET — A large number of homeowners who entered into mortgage forbearance programs didn’t initially need bailouts, but now they do, according to data from Black Knight.

In April, nearly half of those in forbearance still made their monthly mortgage payments, but as of May 19, just 21% had paid, CNBC’s Diana Olick reports.

These figures could lead to a sharp increase in the national delinquency rate in May. —Hannah Miller

12:06 pm ET — Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha said that activity in the U.S. health-care sector is seeing a “snapback” as cities and states lift restrictions on nonessential health procedures.

“We’re seeing definite signs of the recovery happen right now,” Martha said on “Squawk Alley.” “It’s going to vary by location. It’s going to vary by therapy.”

Many hospitals around the country suspended elective procedures at the beginning of the pandemic to preserve space and personal protective equipment for the fight against Covid-19. The loss of revenue from those procedures has led many hospitals to lay off staff members.

Medtronic reported its most recent earnings on Thursday, showing a revenue decline of 26% year-over-year. —Jesse Pound

11:50 am ET —At least 80 million infants could be at risk of getting life-threatening diseases as the pandemic disrupts routine immunizations in countries around the world, according to data from global health experts.

Of the 129 countries reporting data to global health officials, 53% indicated that routine childhood immunization services were moderately to severely disrupted or were totally suspended from March to April of this year.

Many countries have also suspended vaccination campaigns intended to prevent other diseases such as cholera, measles, meningitis, polio, tetanus, typhoid and yellow fever, due to risk of Covid-19 transmission, they said. Campaigns for polio and measles have been hit the hardest, with measles campaigns suspended in 27 countries and polio campaigns put on hold in 38 countries, according to the report. —Hannah Miller, Noah Higgins-Dunn

11:28 am ET — Companies from Walmart to Wendy‘s say they got a bounce in April as Americans received stimulus checks from the federal government, but some cautioned the higher levels of spending may not last.

In earnings calls this week, the CEOs of Walmart, Target and Best Buy spoke about an uptick on spending as customers had extra money in their pockets. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said more people bought discretionary items, such as sporting goods, toys and TVs. Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said it saw a bump in gaming, computing and small appliances. 

Even as companies described the stimulus’ effect, they were hesitant to forecast future sales and spending patterns. And some research indicates that many Americans have put the money in savings or already used it. —Melissa Repko, Lauren Feiner

10:08 a.m. ET — The White House’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, stands by the timeline that a vaccine could be ready as early as December. Fauci first said in January that a vaccine could be ready in 12 to 18 months and he doubled down on Friday, telling NPR the “schedule is still intact.”

Fauci cautioned, however, that it’s difficult to estimate timelines for vaccines and it’s “never a promise.” The U.S. government has partnered with biotech company Moderna to fast-track the development of its vaccine. Fauci said regulators are not compromising on safety or “scientific integrity” to accelerate the development of the vaccine candidate. “The risk is to the investment,” he said, not to the patient. —Will Feuer

9:52 a.m. ET — From Tampa to Cincinnati to Boston, cities across the U.S. are making it easier for restaurants to set up outdoor dining to soften the economic blow from the coronavirus.

Jeff Gigante, co-owner of Forbici Modern Italian in Tampa, said the Florida city’s program has been “a life saver for us.” Capacity restrictions, while meant to make social distancing easier, are challenging in the already-low-margin restaurant business. Expanding tables to streets, sidewalks and parking lots is one way to add capacity while still complying with public-health rules.

“If we’re going to continue our great renaissance as a city, we’re going to have to open up more streets and public space to restaurants or … they’re not going to survive,” said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. —Kevin Stankiewicz 

9:46 a.m. ET — As auto manufacturers reopen, they are dealing with production interruptions when employees become sick with the coronavirus. At least three employees at Ford Motor plants in Illinois and Michigan tested positive for Covid-19 this week, prompting temporary factory shutdowns for deep cleaning, CNBC’s Michael Wayland reports.

Even as factories implement safety measures like requiring employees to wear face masks and undergo temperature checks, they can’t dictate what employees do outside of work and are not yet reliant on mass testing to screen workers. —Hannah Miller 

9:36 a.m. ET — Stocks opened along the flatline as tensions between China and the U.S. offset increasing optimism for a potential coronavirus vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 18 points, or less than 0.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also traded marginally lower.

Read updates on stock market activity from CNBC’s Fred Imbert. —Melodie Warner

9:00 a.m. ET — Apparent 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden said on CNBC that if he were president, a coronavirus vaccine would be free for everyone in the United States.

“I tell you what, if one is found, I would make sure that every single person in America is able to get a vaccine, period, without any cost,” Biden told “Squawk Box.”

“And I would do the same thing with testing right now.” The former vice president couched the health-care stance in economic terms, contrasting himself with President Donald Trump, who is pushing states to quickly reopen their economies.

“All this talk about reopening — people aren’t going to open until they have the confidence to know that if they gather together, they’re not going to get sick,” Biden said.

Trump said last week that he was “looking at” the possibility of making an eventual coronavirus vaccine available free of charge. —Kevin Breuninger

7:06 a.m. ET — AstraZeneca and Oxford University have announced plans to move their vaccine candidate to human trials and have already started to recruit up to 10,260 adults and children for the next phase of trials, the university said.

On Thursday, AstraZeneca announced it received about $1.2 billion in funding from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to accelerate development of the potential vaccine. Human trials began last month with over 1,000 volunteers in the south of England. No trial data has been released.

The university said it’s now recruiting for a phase two trial, which will include older adults and children, to assess if the immune response varies in different age demographics. The phase three trial will assess how well the vaccine actually defends against infection from the coronavirus.

“The speed at which this new vaccine has advanced into late-stage clinical trials is testament to Oxford’s ground-breaking scientific research,” AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos said. —Will Feuer

7:00 a.m. ET — India’s health ministry reported the country recorded its highest single-day spike of new infections since the pandemic began.

The country of approximately 1.3 billion people reported a total of over 118,000 cases on Friday, a roughly 5% increase from Thursday’s figures.

To date, India has recorded 3,583 fatalities due to the virus, according to the health ministry. —Sam Meredith

Read CNBC’s previous coronavirus live coverage here: Russia reports record daily jump in deaths; Soros warns EU may not survive