15 things to know today about the coronavirus outbreak

Welcome to The Hill’s daily roundup of coronavirus news. 

The U.S. has surpassed China and Italy to become the country with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. As of Thursday evening, 82,404 cases have been confirmed in the U.S., including 1,136 deaths.

Meanwhile, in the White House, President Trump sent a letter to governors outlining his plan to classify different counties by their risk — likely part of his effort to open the country up by Easter.  

Here’s what you need to know today… 

• The Hill’s Peter Sullivan breaks down how the U.S. is now the world’s leader in coronavirus cases.
• Unemployment claims in the last week skyrocketed to over 3 million, a sign of how the outbreak is battering the country’s economy. More on this from The Hill’s Sylvan Lane. President Trump on Thursday said he believed the country would rebound and jobs would return “very quickly.” More on that from Brett Samuels.
• President Trump on Thursday outlined plans for his administration to classify each county across the United States based on its risk for an outbreak of coronavirus and use that information to create targeted guidelines. The administration is simultaneously working on new guidelines for social distancing that would apply to an area depending on its classification, Trump wrote in a letter to governors Thursday. Brett has more here.
• Meanwhile, Trump’s aggressive timeline for reopening the economy could set the White House on a collision course with governors and mayors who seem intent on maintaining social distancing policies beyond the president’s Easter target date if necessary. Read more on this from The Hill’s John Kruzel here.
• American health officials are deeply concerned that the coronavirus outbreak that has overwhelmed New York City hospitals in recent days is just the first in a wave of local outbreaks likely to strike cities across the country in the coming weeks. Read more here from Reid Wilson’s exclusive interview with Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• U.S. hot spots in the coronavirus pandemic are facing a shortage of ventilators, and it’s not clear how or even if the need can be met. Read the sobering story from Peter here.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci delivered a reality check: “You don’t make the timeline. The virus makes the timeline.” Read more from Zack Budryk here.
• The fight over abortion rights is getting tangled up in the battle against the coronavirus, with conservative states moving to restrict access to the procedure by classifying it as nonessential. The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann has the story here.

In Congress: 

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the House will move quickly on Friday to approve the Senate’s massive, $2 trillion coronavirus relief package through the lower chamber and on to President Trump’s desk. Trump has vowed to sign it immediately. Read more here from The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong.
• The House sergeant-at-arms and attending physician also detailed safety protocols on Thursday for lawmakers ahead of the vote in an effort to tamp down on health risks. The Hill’s Juliegrace Brufke has the details.
• Lawmakers are quickly shifting their attention to a “phase four” coronavirus bill as the economic, health and social impacts of the pandemic unfold across the U.S. Jordain Carney has more on that here.
• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), though, is throwing cold water on talk of moving forward with another coronavirus stimulus bill. Read more here from Juliegrace.

In the states

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Thursday said the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by the Senate late Wednesday did not meet the needs of the Empire State, calling the bill “irresponsible” and “reckless.” Read more from Zack here.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on Thursday called on federal and local officials to ensure women continue to have access to safe abortion procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic. Zack has the rest of the story here. 
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced a total of more than 6,800 cases of COVID-19 in the state on Thursday, marking an uptick of 2,492 cases since Wednesday. Kaelan Deese has more here.