Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. From fine to flailing - rapid health declines in COVID-19 patients jar doctors, nurses

One medical worker called it "insane," another said it induces paranoia - the speed with which patients are declining and dying from the novel coronavirus is shocking even veteran doctors and nurses as they scramble to determine how to stop such sudden deterioration. Patients "look fine, feel fine, then you turn around and they're unresponsive," said Diana Torres, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, where the virus has infected more than 415,000 people. "I'm paranoid, scared to walk out of their room." U.S. senator to liquidate individual stock shares after coronavirus flap

U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler said on Wednesday she would liquidate her individual stock share positions after the wealthy Republican and her husband were criticized over sales of millions of dollars in stock during the coronavirus outbreak. Loeffler, who was appointed to her Senate seat in January by Georgia's governor, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. She is seeking to be elected to the seat in November. Trump: Like to reopen the U.S. economy with a 'big bang'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would like to reopen the U.S. economy with a "big bang" but that the death toll from the coronavirus needs to be on the down slope before that can happen. At a White House news briefing, Trump said the Centers for Disease Control would release guidance later on Wednesday to ensure critical infrastructure workers can do their jobs after being exposed to the virus. New York reports 779 more deaths, governor says social distancing working

New York's efforts at social distancing are working to get the coronavirus outbreak under control even as the state reported an additional 779 deaths, a record high for a second day, the Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday. Cuomo, who has emerged as a leading national voice on the outbreak, said he never thought he would ever again experience a disaster on the scale of the September 11, 2001 ,attacks and called the mounting death toll "almost unimaginable to me." Speed of coronavirus deaths shocks doctors as New York toll hits new high

New York, the hardest hit state in America, on Wednesday reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day with even veteran doctors and nurses expressing shock at the speed with which patients were declining and dying. The number of coronavirus cases in New York state alone approached 150,000 on Wednesday, even as authorities warned the state's official death tally may understate the true number. New York hospital sends some 'borderline' COVID-19 patients home with oxygen monitors

Some coronavirus patients who would have been admitted into the emergency department at a New York hospital are being sent home with an oxygen-monitoring device as the city's medical system struggles to reserve resources for only the sickest people. The new program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is an example of how doctors are adapting and loosening normal protocols to ease the strain on emergency rooms and intensive care units in New York state, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Sanders quits U.S. presidential race, setting up Biden battle with Trump

Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist whose progressive agenda pushed the Democratic Party sharply to the left, ended his White House campaign on Wednesday, clearing the way for a Nov. 3 election battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump. Sanders, a onetime front-runner who promised to lead a grassroots political revolution into the White House, acknowledged he no longer had a path to victory after a string of decisive nominating contest losses to Biden but promised to work with his more moderate former rival to oust Trump. Trump holds support of political base in virus-prone states

Earl Kerr, a 57-year-old electrical contractor in Jacksonville, Florida, says he fears for his 80-year-old mother, who entered an assisted living facility just before the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States. And he says he worries that the tanking economy will sink his small business. But he has faith in U.S. President Donald Trump to handle the crisis. He’s heard the widespread criticism that Trump initially didn’t take the pandemic seriously, that his administration failed to procure vital medical supplies and left overwhelmed states to fend for themselves. Kerr has a different take. U.S. to seize exports of masks and gloves amid coronavirus crisis

The United States will seize exports of key protective medical gear until it determines whether the equipment should be kept in the country to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, two federal agencies announced on Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold exports of respirators, surgical masks and surgical gloves, according to a joint announcement made with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will then determine if the equipment should be returned for use in the United States, purchased by the U.S. government or exported. 'This is very real': from their window, New York couple sees refrigerated trucks remove bodies

A New York couple has seen the cityscape outside their Brooklyn apartment change dramatically in recent weeks, as refrigerated trucks line up in the lot below to receive the remains of COVID-19 victims as they exit the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. Alix Monteleone, a 28-year-old account supervisor, who lives in a trendy part of Bushwick with her 33-year old fiance, Marc Kozlow, described what the two have witnessed peering out their window.