Coronavirus: South Koreans vote in national elections amid virus fears

Nearly 2 million people worldwide – including more than 592,000 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 brace for 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 14, continue below:

South Koreans vote in national elections amid virus fears

Update 11:30 p.m. EDT April 14: South Korean voters wore masks and moved slowly between lines of tape at polling stations on Wednesday to elect lawmakers in the shadows of the spreading coronavirus.

The government resisted calls to postpone the parliamentary elections billed as a midterm referendum for President Moon Jae-in, who enters the final years of his term grappling with a historic public health crisis that is unleashing massive economic shock.

While South Korea’s electorate is deeply divided along ideological and generational lines and regional loyalties, recent surveys showed growing support for Moon and his liberal party, reflecting the public’s approval of an aggressive test-and-quarantine program so far credited for lower fatality rates compared to worst-hit areas in China, Europe and North America.

2,129 deaths in single day, highest since outbreak began

Update 10 p.m. EDT April 14: The death toll in the U.S. has climbed to 25,992, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

According to CNN, the death toll over the last 24 hours was 2,129, the highest number of deaths in a single day since the outbreak began.

The number of confirmed cases in the United States had reached 608,377 by Tuesday evening.

$1,200 paper stimulus check will bear Trump’s name

Update 9:20 p.m. EDT April 14: The Treasury Department has reportedly ordered President Donald Trump’s name to be printed on the paper stimulus checks according to The Washington Post.

“President Donald J. Trump” will be printed on the left side of the check.

The decision was made late Monday and the IRS’s information technology team learned of the announcement early Tuesday, the Post reported.

Officials told the Post that the decision will likely lead to a delay in issuing the first paper checks which were scheduled to be sent out Thursday.

Pro wrestling ‘essential’ under Florida governor’s order

Update 8:20 p.m. EDT April 14: With Florida under a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, there’s one business deemed essential by Florida’s governor that is raising some eyebrows: pro wrestling.

Florida’s top emergency official last week amended Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stay-at-home order which was issued at the start of the month. Pro sports were added to a list of essential businesses allowed to stay open in an April 9 memorandum to include “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience ... only if the location is closed to the general public.”

The amendment allows World Wrestling Entertainment, run by CEO Vince McMahon in metro Orlando, to continue putting on shows — without fans.

DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday that people are “champing at the bit” for new entertainment to boost morale while house-bound. He also would like to see other sporting events, maybe NASCAR races without an audience or a redo of the Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson golf match.

President Trump directs halt to payments to World Health Organization

Update 6:20 p.m. EDT April 14: President Donald Trump says he has directed a halt to U.S. payments to the World Health Organization pending a review of its warnings about the coronavirus and China.

Trump says the outbreak could have been contained at its source and spared lives had the U.N. health agency done a better job investigating reports coming out of China.

The president says the world depends on the World Health Organization to work with countries to make sure accurate information about health threats are shared in a timely manner.

Trump claims the organization failed to carry out its “basic duty” and must be held accountable.

But Trump says the U.S. will continue to engage with the organization in pursuit of what he calls meaningful reforms.

Major airlines will take aid to meet payrolls, Treasury says

Update 5:50 p.m. EDT April 14: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that the nation’s major airlines have tentatively agreed to terms for $25 billion in federal aid to pay workers and keep them employed through September.

The deals aren’t final, but the assistance is almost certain to be a mix of cash and loans, and the government could take a small ownership stake in the leading airlines.

The airlines did not want to give up equity, but Treasury demanded compensation for taxpayers. The airlines have little leverage — their business has collapsed as the COVID-19 pandemic reduces air travel to a trickle and they face mass layoffs without the federal aid.

The nation’s six biggest airlines — Delta, American, United, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue — along with four smaller carriers have told the Treasury Department they plan to take part, and discussions are continuing with others, Mnuchin said.

Detained immigrants plead for masks, protection from virus

Update 5 p.m. EDT April 14: While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has started to lower the number of detainees to reduce the risk of people getting sick, those held in immigration jails and their advocates say there’s not enough protective gear, cleaning supplies or space to allow for social distancing. They fear the number of coronavirus cases will sharply rise in the coming weeks as it has in jails and prisons nationwide.

The Otay Mesa Detention Center jumped from one confirmed case last week to 15 on Tuesday. ICE reported 77 detainees in 13 states have tested positive and hundreds of others are quarantined.

Detainees in at least four states say they have been denied masks, even as the White House has urged face coverings in public.

Private prison company CoreCivic, which operates Otay Mesa, denied masks were withheld unless detainees signed waivers. Spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist said they were given an “acknowledgment form” that a mask alone could not protect them from the virus.

As jails and prisons free some non-violent offenders, ICE has released 693 people considered medically vulnerable and not a security or flight risk, Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said Tuesday.

Over 21,000 fatal coronavirus cases reported in Italy

Update 4 p.m. EDT April 14: Officials in Italy reported 602 new fatal coronavirus cases Tuesday, bringing the country’s total number of COVID-19 deaths to 21,067.

Italy’s civil protection agency reported 2,972 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since March 13, when 2,547 cases were reported. Italy has registered a total 162,488 positives since the virus broke out on Feb. 21.

The country has the third highest number of coronavirus cases in the world behind Spain, which has more than 172,000 cases, and the United States, which has more than 598,000 cases, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Louisiana reports 502 new coronavirus infections

Update 3:55 p.m. EDT April 14: Officials in Louisiana reported 502 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, raising the state’s total number of infections to 21,518.

Officials also reported 129 more fatal coronavirus cases. Statewide, 1,013 people have died of COVID-19.

4,059 new COVID-19 cases reported in New Jersey

Update 3:50 p.m. EDT April 14: Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said health officials reported 4,059 new coronavirus infections Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 68,824 in the state.

The number is higher than the 3,219 new cases reported Monday.

Officials also reported 365 new fatal COVID-19 cases Wednesday. Statewide, 2,805 people have died of coronavirus.

California governor announces steps state will need to reopen

Update 3:35 p.m. EDT April 14: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has six milestones the state must meet when it comes to if and when the state will reopen.

Newsom said, “Science, not politics must be the guide,” CNN reported.

His benchmarks include, according to CNN:

• Expanded testing and tracking of those who test positive
• Protect vulnerable communities
• Address the needs of hospitals, superficially PPE, ICU beds and ventilators
• Engage education and technology
• Reevaluate how businesses and schools are laid out, trying to adapt for physical distancing
• Reinstate controls that can be turned on and off as needed

California is in lockdown until May 3. Some stay at home orders for select counties have been extended to May 15, CNN reported.

Death toll climbs to 24,737

Update 2:45 p.m. EDT April 14: The death toll in the U.S. climbed Tuesday to at least 24,737, CNN and Johns Hopkins University said.

The number of positive cases also climbed Tuesday afternoon to 592,743 cases.

Scientists say social distancing may need to stay until 2022

Update 1:15 p.m. EDT April 14: It is the prediction that no one wants to hear, but scientists are warning that the U.S. may have to continue social distancing for more than a year.

That means stay-at-home orders and school closures, albeit intermittent ones, could not be fully lifted until 2022 if a vaccine isn’t developed quickly, researchers said Tuesday, CNN reported.

Their findings were released in the journal Science.

At the same time, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the government, said the testing and tracing procedures are not in place to reopen the economy, The Associated Press reported.

“We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet,” Fauci told the AP.

There is a target date that’s being pushed by the Trump Administration to get the country back in business on May 1, but Fauci said that date is “a bit overly optimistic" for many areas, the AP reported.

584,000 coronavirus cases in U.S.

Update 12:55 p.m. EDT April 14: The U.S. now has at least 584,073 in the country. The number of people who have died in America is now at least 23,709, Johns Hopkins University said.

Two drug companies to work together on vaccine

Update 12:45 p.m. EDT April 14: Two companies that could be considered rivals are working together to develop a vaccine to treat COVID-19.

GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi are collaborating on a vaccine with clinical trials expected in the second half of the year, CNN reported.

The vaccine could be available by the second half of 2021.

GSK and Sanofi said that any vaccine they would make would be affordable for the public, CNN reported.

To enter Canada, travelers must have quarantine plan

Update 12:30 p.m. EDT April 14: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spelled out who will be allowed to cross the border into his country.

While the border between the U.S. and Canada is closed for non-essential travel, there are some cases where people will have to travel to the country. That closure is expected to last weeks, CNN reported.

When someone must travel to Canada, they have to have a “credible” plan for quarantine. If they do not, they will be forced to hold up in a hotel for at least two weeks, CNN reported.

Trudeau didn’t say when the lockdown will end, but that the economy will open in phases, with different areas of the country opening before others.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York may have reached plateau

Update 11:45 a.m. EDT April 14: Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his daily press conference said that New York possibly hit the apex of the coronavirus pandemic.

The governor said hospitalizations in the state are basically flat and have actually went down slightly.

But the number is still high, with 1,600 new cases added, CNN reported.

Cuomo said that 778 people died in the state over the past 24 hours.

He is urging other state leaders to come up with a plan to not counter each other’s efforts to stop the pandemic. Cuomo is working with governors from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts on ways businesses can reopen.

At the same time, Cuomo said that reopening has to be strategic, but that the current economic shutdown is not sustainable.

At least 10,834 people have died in New York from coronavirus, CNN reported.

FDA approves saliva test

Update 11:15 a.m. EDT April 14: Officials with the Food and Drug Administration have authorized a saliva test for coronavirus, CNN reported.

The test was developed by a Rutgers University collaboration with other groups and the FDA received it over the weekend.

Rutgers University, where the test was developed in collaboration with other groups, announced the FDA emergency authorization Tuesday after formally receiving it over the weekend.

Until the saliva test, testing involved nose or throat swabs in most cases.

The FDA is working with 300 groups trying to come up with more diagnostic tests. So far the FDA has granted 34 emergency-use authorizations, CNN reported.

Trump: New York governor ‘seems to want Independence! That won’t happen’

Update 10:55 a.m. EDT April 14: President Donald Trump slammed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday morning after the governor told CNN that he would refuse a presidential order to reopen businesses closed by coronavirus if it would endanger the public.

“Cuomo’s been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everyhing, most of which should have been the state’s responsibility, such as new hospitals, bed, ventilators, etc.,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning. “I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won’t happen!”

The tweet comes one day after the president claimed that he had the ultimate authority to decide when to reopen businesses in the country, although constitutional scholars have said that responsibility lies with state governments.

Earlier Tuesday, Cuomo told CNN that despite Trump’s claim, “the federal government does not have absolute power.”

"We don’t have King Trump, we have President Trump,” Cuomo said. "“If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people in my state, I wouldn’t do it. And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and federal government that would go to the courts.”

While Trump has issued federal social distancing recommendations, it has been governors and local leaders who have instituted mandatory restrictions, including shuttering schools and ordering the closure of non-essential businesses.

More than 2,000 coronavirus infections reported in DC

Update 10:35 a.m. EDT April 13: Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington D.C. said Tuesday that 103 new coronavirus infections have been reported in the area, bringing the total number of cases in the capitol to 2,058.

Bowser said Tuesday that 15 people between the ages of 31 and 93 died of COVID-19. Sixty-seven Washington D.C. residents have died of coronavirus, officials said.

Lice drug being tested to treat COVID-19

Update 10:30 a.m. EDT April 14: Studies suggest that a drug typically used for head lice might help to treat COVID-19, according to multiple reports.

Researchers are in the early phases of testing ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, but two preliminary studies are giving experts “cautious optimism," ABC News reported.

Coronavirus death toll tops 12,000 in the UK

Update 10:15 a.m. EDT April 14: Officials in the United Kingdom recorded 778 new fatal COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the country’s coronavirus death toll to 12,107.

The number is slightly higher than the 717 new fatal cases reported Monday.

Authorities with the British Department of Health and Social Care also announced a total of 93,873 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus infections in the U.K. The number is 5,252 higher than the number of cases reported nationwide Monday.

IMF: Global growth expected to drop -3%

Update 10:10 a.m. EDT April 14: In an updated World Economic Outlook report released Tuesday, officials with the International Monetary Fund said they expect to see a sharp global downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression,” Gita Gopinath, economic counselor for the IMF, said in the report. “Like in a war or a political crisis, there is continued severe uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the shock.”

The organization expects a partial economic recovery in 2021, “but the level of GDP will remain below the pre-virus trend with considerable uncertainty about the strength of the rebound.”

The group urged leaders to handle the crisis in phases focused on containment, stabilization and recovery.

“Quarantines, lockdowns, and social distancing are all critical for slowing transmission, giving the health care system time to handle the surge in demand for its services and buying time for researchers to try to develop therapies and a vaccine,” Gopinath said. “These measures can help avoid an even more severe and protracted slump in activity and set the stage for economic recovery.”

Stocks rise as traders see hopeful signs in fighting virus

Update 9:55 a.m. EDT April 14: Stocks opening higher on Wall Street on Tuesday as traders gingerly embraced early signs that the White House and a number of state governors are considering how to gradually reopen the economy.

Big companies also started reporting their first-quarter earnings, giving investors an early peek into how the coronavirus outbreak was affecting their business. Johnson & Johnson rose after beating earnings estimates, even though the health care giant also had to slash its outlook. JPMorgan Chase rose after setting aside billions of dollars to cover potential losses.

Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund said the world economy will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression.

New York governor: Trump not ‘king,' can’t dictate when states reopen businesses

Update 9:50 a.m. EDT April 14: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Tuesday that President Donald Trump doesn’t have the authority to determine when businesses shuttered by the coronavirus will reopen one day after the president claimed the decision was his alone.

“The federal government does not have absolute power. .... We don’t have King Trump, we have President Trump,” Cuomo said during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday.

“If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people in my state, I wouldn’t do it. And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and federal government that would go to the courts, and that would be the worst possible thing he could do at this moment, would be to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan, divisive way.”

While Trump has issued federal social distancing recommendations, it has been governors and local leaders who have instituted mandatory restrictions, including shuttering schools and ordering the closure of non-essential businesses. Under the Constitution, public health and safety is primarily the domain of state and local officials.

Nearly 600 sailors have tested positive for COVID-19 on USS Theodore Roosevelt

Update 9:35 a.m. EDT April 14: At least 589 sailors assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for COVID-19, CNN reported citing an unidentified U.S. Navy official.

Officials announced Monday that a sailor died after being admitted four days earlier to intensive care in Guam with COVID-19. The Roosevelt aircraft carrier pulled into port at the island on March 27, shortly after the first coronavirus cases on board were detected.

New York governor: ‘Phased reopening’ will take months

Update 9:15 a.m. EDT April 14: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Tuesday that reopening businesses closed by the coronavirus pandemic will take months and have to come in phases.

“We’re not talking about the next two weeks or three weeks -- we’re talking about months," Cuomo said during an appearance on CNN’S “New Day” on Tuesday. “We’re talking about a phased reopening and a safe reopening. We’re talking about a reopening that has a public health plan and an economic plan totally coordinated.”

Cuomo said the process would likely start with an expansion of what’s deemed an essential service to include more workers.

“There is no light switch. It’s not binary," Cuomo said. “It’s not going to be -- next Tuesday we all go back, amen, you can leave your homes.”

Global coronavirus deaths top 120K, worldwide cases near 2M

Update 7:52 a.m. EDT April 14: The global death toll attributed to the novel coronavirus reached 120,450 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 1,930,780 people worldwide. The 10 nations with the highest number of infections recorded to date are as follows:

• The United States has reported 582,594 cases, resulting in 23,649 deaths.

• Spain has confirmed 172,541 cases, resulting in 18,056 deaths.

• Italy has reported 159,516 infections, resulting in 20,465 deaths.

• France has confirmed 137,877 infections, resulting in 14,986 deaths.

• Germany has reported 130,072 cases, resulting in 3,194 deaths.

• The United Kingdom has reported 89,571 cases, resulting in 11,347 deaths.

• China has recorded 83,303 cases, resulting in 3,345 deaths.

• Iran has recorded 73,303 cases, resulting in 4,585 deaths.

• Turkey has recorded 61,049 cases, resulting in 1,296 deaths.

• Belgium has confirmed 31,119 cases, resulting in 4,157 deaths.

Morgan Stanley: May take full year to get US economy humming again after coronavirus

Update 6:57 a.m. EDT April 14: At least one investment bank is taking a cautious approach to projections for the U.S. economy’s post-coronavirus outbreak recovery.

With officials in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, signaling novel coronavirus cases may well have peaked in the Empire State, Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday morning, investors’ optimism in a swift recovery is most likely misplaced.

“While we understand the desire for optimism, we also caution that the U.S. outbreak is far from over,” Harrison told the Journal, adding, “We believe the path to re-opening the economy will be long. It will require turning on and off various forms of social distancing and will only come to an end when vaccines are available, in the spring of 2021 at the earliest.”

WWE, deemed an essential service, returns to live TV amid coronavirus crisis

Update 6:39 a.m. EDT April 14: Following weeks of taped bouts, World Wrestling Entertainment returned to the live matches Monday night, making it the first professional sports league to do so since the Florida governor’s office deemed them critical to the state’s economy.

An order, signed Thursday, states that employees in professional sports and media production with a national audience can continue only if the location is closed to the general public, CNN reported.

“We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times,” WWE said in a statement to CNN, dding, “We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff.”

Florida ER doc loses custody of daughter, 4, over coronavirus fears

Update 4:54 a.m. EDT April 14: A divorced emergency room physician in Miami has lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter while she continues to treat novel coronavirus patients.

“In order to protect the best interests of the minor child, including but not limited to the minor child’s safety and welfare, this Court temporarily suspends the Former Wife’s timesharing until further Order of Court,” Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro wrote in his ruling, adding, "The suspension is solely related to the outbreak of COVID-19.”

Dr. Theresa Greene told CNN’s “New Day” she is appealing Shapiro’s emergency order that granted her ex-husband, Eric Greene, full custody of their daughter.

“I think it’s not fair. It’s cruel to ask me to choose between my child and the oath I took as a physician,” Greene said. “I won’t abandon my team at work or the patients who will increasingly look to me to save their lives in the coming weeks, but it’s torture.”

Virginia pastor, who preached that ‘God is larger than this dreaded virus,’ dies of COVID-19

Update 3:32 a.m. EDT April 14: A high-profile Virginia minister who defied early-stage social-distancing measures died Saturday night after contracting the novel coronavirus.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bishop Gerald Glenn, founder of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield, told his congregation in a March 22 sermon, “I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus.” Glenn’s comments came five days after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam encouraged residents to “avoid non-essential gatherings of more than 10 people.”

In addition to being the Chesterfield Police Department’s first black chaplain, Glenn had been a police officer, himself, before entering the ministry, the Times-Dispatch reported.

Groupon to cut, furlough 2,800 workers amid coronavirus crunch

Update 3:10 a.m. EDT April 14: Online deals company Groupon announced late Monday it will lay off or furlough an estimated 2,800 workers between now and July 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The proliferation of stay-at-home orders since the global coronavirus pandemic began has crippled customers’ access to group vouchers for local services, activities and events, so the Chicago-based company has launched a multi-phase restructuring plan to remain viable and attempt to weather the widespread virus restrictions on public gatherings.

The plan calls for the elimination of roughly 1,400 global jobs by the close of the second quarter and the remaining 1,400 by July 2021.

US coronavirus deaths hit 23,628, total cases near 583K

Update 12:58 a.m. EDT April 14: The number of novel coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 582,000 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 582,580 confirmed U.S. cases of the virus, which have resulted in at least 23,628 deaths. Of those cases, more than 196,000 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 89,571 cases, Germany with 130,072, France with 137,877, Italy with 159,516 and Spain with 170,099.

Of the confirmed U.S. deaths, 10,058 – or nearly half of the nationwide total – have occurred in New York, 2,443 in New Jersey, 1,602 in Michigan, 884 in Louisiana and 844 in Massachusetts.

In terms of diagnosed cases, New York remains the hardest hit with at least 196,146 confirmed cases – more than three times the next-closest state – followed by New Jersey with 64,584, Massachusetts with 26,867, Michigan with 25,635, California with 24,379 and Pennsylvania with 24,336.

Seven other states have now confirmed at least 10,000 novel coronavirus cases each, including:

• Illinois: 22,025, resulting in 798 deaths

• Florida: 21,019, resulting in 499 deaths

• Louisiana: 21,016, resulting in 884 deaths

• Texas: 14,505, resulting in 317 deaths

• Connecticut: 13,381, resulting in 602 deaths

• Georgia: 13,125, resulting in 480 deaths

• Washington: 10,838, resulting in 522 deaths

Meanwhile, Maryland and Indiana each has confirmed at least 8,000 novel coronavirus infections, followed closely by Colorado with 7,696 cases and Ohio with 6,975 cases; Virginia and Tennessee each has confirmed at least 5,000 cases; North Carolina and Missouri each has confirmed at least 4,000 cases; Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada each has confirmed at least 3,000 cases; and Rhode Island, Mississippi, Utah, Kentucky and Oklahoma 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.