The novel coronavirus continues to ravage the United States, where the official death toll is rapidly approaching 50,000 — more than a quarter of the 191,000 deaths reported worldwide from COVID-19. A tally by Johns Hopkins researchers on Thursday found 3,176 people died of the disease in the U.S. in just 24 hours. And many funeral directors and medical examiners say thousands more U.S. deaths from COVID-19 remain uncounted.

The disease continues to batter the U.S. economy. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported another 4.4 million U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits over the last week, raising new jobless claims over the past five weeks to more than 26 million — a scale that hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression.

On Capitol Hill, House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve another $484 billion in emergency relief. Most of the money will replenish the Paycheck Protection Program, set up to provide forgivable loans to small businesses. New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted Republicans for refusing to take up new assistance to hard-hit U.S. residents — like cash payments and food aid — in the latest relief bill. And she pointed to big businesses like corporate chain restaurants that got tens of millions of dollars in loans meant for small businesses.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “The only folks that they have urgency around are folks like Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Shake Shack. Those are the people getting assistance in this bill. You are not trying to fix this bill for mom-and-pops. And we have to fight to fund hospitals, fighting to fund testing. That is what we’re fighting for in this bill. It is unconscionable. If you had urgency, you would legislate like rent was due on May 1st and make sure that we include rent and mortgage relief for our constituents.”

Most lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wore masks throughout Thursday’s historic proceedings, except when delivering speeches from the House floor. Pointedly, a group of at least a dozen House Republicans refused to cover their faces, over the objections of their colleagues and the medical advice of the House physician. At least 34 members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19, which has touched the families and friends of people across Capitol Hill. This is California Democratic Congressmember Maxine Waters.

Rep. Maxine Waters: “I’m going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister, who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, right now, infected by the coronavirus.”

Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said Thursday her oldest brother died in an Oklahoma hospital this week, three weeks after he tested positive for the coronavirus. Donald Reed Herring was 86 years old. Senator Warren tweeted, “It’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say 'I love you' one more time — and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close.”

At the White House, the top scientist at the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday outlined new research showing the novel coronavirus suffers from exposure to warm and humid conditions and from high levels of ultraviolet light. The findings, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, suggest the coronavirus may become less contagious during summer months. President Trump seized on the news at Thursday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing.

President Donald Trump: “So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do, either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting. And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”

In response, the maker of Lysol disinfectants issued a stern warning that “under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route.)” Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at New York’s Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital, responded on Twitter, “Instead of being asked about how we improve our #COVID19 response in the coming months, doctors are being asked to comment on why people shouldn’t drink things like bleach or isopropyl alcohol. This has to stop.”

President Trump also said Thursday he disagreed with his top coronavirus task force scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, that the U.S. needs to significantly ramp up testing. Public health experts say a vast expansion of both diagnostic and serology tests is needed before any states can safely begin reopening their economies.

Outside the White House, dozens of drivers blared car horns Thursday as they drove along Pennsylvania Avenue, displaying protest signs reading “Trump Lies People Die” and “#GiveUsPPE!” A small group of protesters deposited effigies of body bags on the sidewalk outside the Trump International Hotel as the protest convoy surrounded the building.

Protester: “Every day, people are dying unnecessarily because we don’t have testing. We don’t have adequate PPE. We don’t have adequate planning. We don’t have adequate leadership. We need the president to resign.”

Here in New York City, the death toll from COVID-19 is nearing 16,400, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said about one in five New York City residents has antibodies to the novel coronavirus in their blood, suggesting infection rates are an order of magnitude higher than the number of confirmed cases. The announcement was based on preliminary results from a study that randomly sampled 3,000 people at grocery stores across New York state.

If the numbers hold, the death rate from coronavirus infections in New York is about 0.5% — less lethal than World Health Organization estimates but still many times deadlier than seasonal flu. And the novel coronavirus remains far more contagious than influenza.

Health experts are concerned about the accuracy of dozens of new serology tests that have only just reached the market, with little vetting by the Food and Drug Administration. And it’s still not known whether people with antibodies to coronavirus are immune to a second round of the disease — or how long any immunity might last.

In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp has defied the stark warnings of public health experts and is reopening many nonessential businesses — beginning today.

Gov. Brian Kemp: “We will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, aestheticians, their respective schools, and massage therapists to reopen their doors this Friday, April the 24th.”

The Associated Press reports President Trump and Vice President Pence told Governor Kemp on Tuesday they approved of his aggressive plan to reopen businesses — just one day before Trump reversed course and publicly said he opposed the plan.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday his state had suffered its “deadliest day” of the pandemic, with 115 deaths in 24 hours. Newsom said it’s still much too soon to end social distancing policies.

Gov. Gavin Newsom: “I know there’s deep desire. People are making calls on an hourly basis saying it’s time to open back up. Consider the deadliest day in the state of California within the last 24 hours, 8.5% percent increase in the total number of deaths. We saw 5.6% increase in the total number of people tested positive in the state of California.”

Despite the grim numbers, California has suffered far fewer per capita deaths from COVID-19, after public health officials moved earlier than other states to order residents to remain at home while the virus began its spread.

In medical news, a draft manuscript of a report from a long-awaited clinical trial in China finds the antiviral drug remdesivir failed to lower the death rates or recovery times of COVID-19 patients. The findings have not yet passed peer review.

Preliminary results of a study by the New York state Department of Health showed the drug touted by President Trump as a curative for COVID-19 — hydroxychloroquine — had no effect on patients’ recoveries.

Researchers at Northeastern University say the novel coronavirus spread undetected in major cities, including Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, in early February — far earlier than previously known. The researchers estimate 28,000 people in U.S. cities were infected by March 1, when there were just 23 confirmed cases of the disease.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ new spokesperson repeatedly made racist comments about Chinese people and claimed Democrats wanted the coronavirus to kill thousands of people. Michael Caputo, a longtime Republican political operative and Trump ally, was appointed last week as assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS.

In since-deleted social media posts archived online, Caputo tweeted, “Millions of Chinese suck the blood out of rabid bats as an appetizer and eat the [bleep] out of anteaters.” In follow-up tweets, Caputo wrote, “Don’t you have a bat to eat?” and “You’re very convincing, Wang.”

The New York Times reports Ecuador’s COVID-19 death toll is 15 times higher than the official government count, making it one of the worst in the world. The Times’s analysis of official death registrations in Ecuador reveals a staggering 7,600 more people died of COVID-19 from March 1 to April 15, more than the average mortality rate in recent years. This spike is in stark contrast to the 503 deaths the government attributed to the coronavirus as of April 15.

Brazil has reported its highest daily death toll since the beginning of the pandemic, with over 400 COVID-19 deaths within 24 hours. This comes as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro continues to lash out against restrictions imposed by local governments across Brazil to control the spread of the coronavirus.

In Peru, medical workers are protesting the country’s hospitals’ lack of preparedness, with coronavirus cases topping 20,000 and a death toll of over 500. Many hospitals are on the verge of collapse. This is Rosmini Ayquipa, a nurse at one of the worst-affected hospitals in Lima.

Rosmini Ayquipa: “We have to use these face masks right now, with the exposure we are having, and to dispose of them. That is what the World Health Organization has said, which is to use and dispose. But we have to wear this face mask for the whole month. We have to use three face masks for a whole month, so we reuse it and reuse it. So what has happened? Where I work, colleagues have become infected.”

In Mexico, hospital workers are speaking out against the recent abuse and discrimination they have received from strangers and authorities, who believe doctors and nurses are helping spread the coronavirus. Over 20 medical staff across Mexico reported being assaulted, thrown off buses, and some were banned from entering their own homes. One nurse described having bleach thrown at her as she walked home after a shift treating COVID-19 patients.

A new report warns Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is taking authoritarian measures to deal with the coronavirus outbreak in El Salvador, as human rights leaders in the country say Bukele is using a pandemic to further his militaristic agenda. The report also sounds the alarm on the chronic shortage of water in El Salvador and urges the government to establish adequate protocols to ensure the protection of women, girls, LGBTQ people and others during the pandemic. In a statement, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, which authored the report, wrote, “This pandemic will be a death sentence for those who could otherwise be saved by a humane and comprehensive public health approach.”

In Puerto Rico, transgender rights advocates are demanding local authorities investigate the recent killing of two transgender women who were found burnt to death inside a vehicle on the eastern coast of the island. Serena Velázquez and Layla Pelaez are among at least four transgender people killed in Puerto Rico this year.