By Ben Westcott, Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Tara John, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN
The UK is reporting 563 more deaths from Covid-19 — the most deaths recorded in a 24 hour time period yet.
According to the British Department of Health and Social Care, 2,352 people have died as of 5 p.m. local time. There have been 4,324 new diagnoses for a total of 29,474 positive cases in Britain.
Switzerland now has 17,139 coronavirus cases, an increase of 963 cases from Tuesday, according to the Swiss Federal Office For Health.
That is a rate of 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the office said. At least 378 people have died, according to the online report.
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Dr. Leana Wen, former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore, said the United States' “piecemeal approach” to social distancing is only delaying Americans getting back to normal.
Right now, states, counties and cities are deciding their own social distancing guidelines. Wen said a national response would be better.
“It is important to mention that the longer we have this piecemeal approach, the longer it will take for all of us to get back to normal,” Wen said, adding, “But the sooner we can get everything under control and having national coordinated response, the better it is.”
Wen said, “most people would speculate that we need at least 8 to 10 weeks of social distancing for this to work at all.”
"We also need the federal government to do a lot more, too. Because that rationing of ventilators, the rationing of supplies, that is also going to be what leads to unnecessary deaths. And every day that we waste is one more day that we could have been saving people instead,” Wen added.
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,400 NYPD employees have tested positive for coronavirus, a law enforcement source tells CNN.
6,172 uniformed officers -- about 17% of the police department -- are out sick, according to the source.
“It has been a clearly a difficult time for New York City as a whole. The message is to all New Yorkers that we're all in this together,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said to CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
Shea said the NYPD is in “a constant state of planning” to respond to the coronavirus in the city and among officers.
“We are scrambling, but that shouldn’t have a negative connotation. We are able to handle many, many different tasks here. We’re still fighting crime,” Shea said, adding that officers are on patrol, as well as delivering food and calling domestic violence survivors.
“Right now, we're in good shape in New York City. But the bottom line is anyone that can help will be asked upon to help to keep people safe,” Shea said when asked if state police may provide backup to city police in the future.
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
US stocks kicked off the second quarter in the red.
Equities are down across the globe as investors grapple with new White House estimates for how many Americans could die from the coronavirus.
Here's how the markets opened today:
From CNN Health's Jacqueline Howard
While models show that the coronavirus pandemic could result in some 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in the United States, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on the “Today” show that level of death can be prevented.
"Those numbers don't have to be a reality," Adams told NBC's Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.
He continued: “Those projections are definitely sobering, but they don’t have to be our reality. If we really do our part — stay at home, social distance — then we can flatten our curve even below those projections, but it really depends on all of us," Adams said. "As surgeon general, I'm going to do my best to get you the information you need. We're going to do our best as the Task Force to make sure the federal support is there, but we need state and we need local people to come together with federal support to make this possible."
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said on the “Today” show that he has been in talks with the head of the national stockpile to come up with a "better way" for states to access the ventilators that are needed to treat some of the sickest Covid-19 patients.
"We’re trying to work with governors to come up with a better way," Adams told NBC's Savannah Guthrie.
He continued: “We’re trying to purchase what we can for the stockpile and send it to places like New York that need it the most, but we’re also trying to make sure other states and governors can get priority purchasing at a reasonable rate," Adams said. "It’s one of the things that we’re working with to try to make sure the equipment can get to where it’s needed and in an efficient way and without price gouging.”
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said violators of a mandatory quarantine in the state could face up to year in prison and a $5,000 fine. The mandate went into effect just after midnight in Hawaii and requires residents and visitors traveling between any of the state’s islands to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“I fully understand that the ability to travel between islands is important for many residents for work, family, and medical treatment and we have been working how to allow essential travel and still protect our community,” said Gov Ige at a press conference.
The mandate requires travelers to fill out an inter-island declaration form. Essential functions, such as those traveling for medical or health care, are not subject to self-quarantine, but travelers must wear masks and follow social distancing requirements.
“In Hawaii, we have a tradition of coming together during challenging times. This is who we are. This is what makes our island community so special and as a community it is all of our responsibility to help flatten the curve and stop the spread of Covid-19 in Hawaii,” said Gov Ige.
The state has reported 224 coronavirus cases including 1 death.
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
Most members of President Trump’s coronavirus task force have come to agree that Americans should begin wearing face coverings in public and could issue formal guidance soon, people familiar with the matter said.
Trump signaled he was open to the idea during Tuesday’s briefing and members of the task force are working to draft recommendations on how to fashion the coverings to prevent spread of the virus.
Previously, some members of the task force — including Dr. Deborah Birx — cautioned in meetings against recommending Americans wear masks because of a fear it could lull them into a false sense of protection and prevent them from socially distancing.
But new insights into asymptomatic spread of the virus have led to a reconsideration of the guidance.
Among the issues discussed by the task force and the CDC have been how to teach Americans to wear masks and how to prevent a rush on medical-grade equipment still in short supply for hospitals.
There have also been discussions of the cultural shift that recommending masks would represent, since Americans — unlike citizens of some Asian countries — are not accustomed to wearing masks in public.
There have also been discussions of whether or not to call the recommended face coverings “masks.” Some have suggested referring to them simply as “face coverings” or “courtesy masks” to distinguish them from the medical masks needed by professionals.