Coronavirus US live: Pelosi emphasizes 'testing, testing, testing' to fight pandemic

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will hold a press briefing in about 30 minutes.

The governor will likely be asked about the rising coronavirus death toll in New York City, which has reported more than 900 fatalities connected to the virus.

Congressman Max Rose announced he would deploy to the National Guard to help with coronavirus response efforts.

Rose, a captain in the Army National Guard, will deploy tomorrow and serve as an operations officer at Staten Island facilities in the coming weeks, his office said in a statement.

“Over the past month I have seen acts of incredible bravery and sacrifice by our first responders, nurses, doctors, and essential workers who never thought they’d be on the frontlines of a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rose, a freshman Democrat, said in the statement.

“My activation and deployment is nothing compared to what our city, state, and country has asked of all them. And it’s certainly nothing compared to the other men and women serving in uniform both here at home and overseas. I am just trying to do my duty and my small part.”

Republican senator Rick Scott called for most testing to be done in his home state of Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis has not yet issued a statewide “stay at home” order.

DeSantis has faced some criticism over his response to the virus after footage circulated of spring breakers visiting Florida beaches earlier this month.

But Scott resisted criticism of DeSantis in a CNBC interview this morning. “I’m not going to second guess somebody in the middle of a crisis,” Scott said.

But the freshman senator added: “Here’s where I think Florida needs to step up: we have to get more testing done.”

House majority leader Steny Hoyer urged members to keep their schedules “very flexible” in the weeks and months to come.

Hoyer said yesterday that the House was not expected to reconvene until 20 April , but the Democratic leader warned the chamber will later have to make up for time lost because of the pandemic.

“I would urge you to keep your schedules very flexible,” Hoyer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to House members.

“In order to make up for time that has been lost, the House may meet during weeks that had previously been scheduled as District Work Periods, and four-day weeks may become five-day weeks.”

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine complained about the lack of “widespread testing” in a CNN interview this morning, echoing reported complaints from other governors.

DeWine, who has been widely praised for his aggressive response to the virus, said the state would see its peak number of cases sometime between mid-April and mid-May, but it is difficult to know for sure because of the current level of testing.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock reportedly complained to Trump yesterday that his state has struggled to identify and track coronavirus patients because of inadequate testing.

But DeWine said he believed the social distancing measures being practiced across the state are already having an effect and urged residents to continue respecting the guidelines.

“My message to my fellow Ohioans is that we can’t let up now,” DeWine said. “We’ve got to really, really stay at this.”

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats’ fourth coronavirus bill would help to serve state and local leaders grappling with the pandemic.

On a call yesterday with reporters, Pelosi said the legislation would include proposals on clean water, infrastructure and rural broadband.

However, in a separate interview this morning, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell downplayed the possibility of passing such legislation.

“I’m not going to allow this to be an opportunity for the Democrats to achieve unrelated policy items they wouldn’t otherwise be able to pass,” McConnell said.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi also commented on her tense relationship with the president amid the coronavirus pandemic. (The pair have not spoken in five months.)

“If it’s necessary, I’m sure we will speak,” Pelosi told MSNBC. But she added that she didn’t know what she would learn from speaking to Trump.

The House speaker said she mostly communicates with Trump through television interviews. “That is what he hears is what people say publicly – much more than in a call,” Pelosi said.

Hello and welcome to our live blog coverage of the coronavirus emergency. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday night that the peak number of concurrent cases in the state, still the country’s foremost hotspot, was expected to arrive in the coming six to 21 days.

As of Tuesday morning there were more than 164,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the United States and 3,161 had died, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. In New York state there were 67,384 confirmed cases and 1,342 deaths. Neighboring New Jersey had the second-most cases with 16,636 cases and 198 deaths.

In an animated conversation with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, his younger brother, Andrew Cuomo, the governor, whose handling of the crisis has won strong approval, denied that he would respond to calls from some quarters that he run for president.

Cuomo also had nice words for Donald Trump, who has demanded praise from governors as a condition of their states receiving federal aid. Cuomo’s praise in this case found its mark, with Fox News picking up the comment and Trump tweeting about it.

Here’s a bit of the interview: