Here’s where the day stands so far:

• New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the state may be starting to hit the apex of its coronavirus crisis. But the governor extended the state’s “stay at home” order until April 29, emphasizing that this is not the time to be lax about social distancing guidelines.
• Trump expressed optimism about the situation even as experts warned this would be the worst week yet. The president tweeted about seeing a “light at the end of the tunnel,” even though the surgeon general said yesterday that this week would be “our Pearl Harbor moment.”
• Peter Navarro defended the use of an anti-malaria drug to fight coronavirus after arguing with Dr Anthony Fauci about the treatment. Navarro told CNN this morning that studies indicate the drug hydroxychloroquine can help coronavirus patients recover, even though experts like Fauci have said the evidence is anecdotal at best. Navarro acknowledged he and Fauci argued about this drug this weekend, confirming earlier reports of a contentious exchange in the Situation Room.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced new guidelines to “reduce the physical presence of Members and staff in the Capitol.”

“Beginning Tuesday, staff must electronically submit all Floor documents – including bills, resolutions, co-sponsors and extensions of remarks – to a dedicated and secure email system, rather than deliver these materials by hand to staff in the Speaker’s Lobby or Cloakrooms,” Pelosi said in a “Dear Colleague” letter.

The speaker said the policy would be in effect until at least April 19, as the House is not expected to return to session until April 20 at the earliest.

Pelosi has previously ruled out the possibility of having House members participate in remote voting, even after several members announced they were diagnosed with coronavirus.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo just wrapped up his daily briefing on the state’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Here’s some of what he said:

• New York has confirmed 130,869 cases of coronavirus and 4,758 deaths, far more than any other US state.
• Cuomo said the state may be starting to hit the apex of the crisis. He noted the death rate has stayed relatively flat for the past two days, but he warned that the state’s healthcare system remains overwhelmed.
• The state’s “stay at home” order has been extended until April 29. All schools and non-essential businesses will remain closed for at least another three weeks.
• Cuomo doubled the fine for violating the “stay at home” order. The governor said he has seen an alarming “laxness” toward social distancing guidelines in recent days and urged residents against engaging in “reckless” behavior that could endanger someone else’s life.
• Cuomo is asking Trump to allow the Navy hospital ship Comfort to start receiving coronavirus patients. The hospital ship, which arrived in New York Harbor last week, was originally supposed to take non-coronavirus patients, but the ship has received few patients because there have not been many non-coronavirus cases since the crisis started. Cuomo said he would ask the president to allow the hospital ship to start accepting coronavirus patients to relieve pressure on New York’s overwhelmed emergency rooms.

Melissa DeRosa, secretary to New York governor Andrew Cuomo, said the state is working with Google to help break the logjam causing issues with filing unemployment claims.

DeRosa ackowledged residents’ frustration with the website glitches but asked for patient because of the number of claims trying to be filed.

She noted that the biggest single day for the unemployment website during the financial crisis was 13,000 claims. The state saw six times that number two days ago.

DeRosa also emphasized that once residents’ claims are processed, the benefits will apply backwards from the time of job loss.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the “stay at home” order needs to be enforced more strictly, after being asked about reports of Orthdox Jewish communities ignoring the social distancing restrictions to hold funerals.

“I don’t care if you’re Orthdox Jewish, Catholic, Christian Muslim,” Cuomo said. “It’s the job of local government to enforce.”

Cuomo noted he is doubling the fine for breaking the order because he is concerned about residents becoming more lax about social distancing.

“None of us has the right to be reckless in our own behavior,” Cuomo said. “Now is not the time to go to a funeral with 200 people.”

New York governor Andrew Cuomo expressed surprise at New York City officials saying some bodies of coronavirus patients may need to be buried in parks because morgues are overwhelmed.

“I haven’t heard anything about the city burying people in parks,” Cuomo said. “I haven’t heard that there’s an issue.”

The governor said he spoke to city officials yesterday. But a city councilman said this morning that they are looking at temporary burials in parks.

Governor Andrew Cuomo mourned the nearly 5,000 New Yorkers who have already died as a result of coronavirus.

But Cuomo celebrated the work of the state’s healthcare system, saying no one has died as a result of lack of access to medical equipment or staff.

“The people we lost are the people we couldn’t save,” Cuomo said.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced he was extending the state’s stay at home order until at least April 29.

The state’s schools and non-essential businesses will remain closed for at least another three weeks.

Cuomo chastized residents who are not taking the order seriously, warning that there has been “a laxness on social distancing, especially over this past weekend, that is just wholly unacceptable.”

“Now is not the time to be lax,” Cuomo said. He added that he will be raising the fine for violating the order from $500 to $1,000, and he will be asking police officers to be “more aggressive on the enforcement” of the order.

“If it’s not about your life, you don’t have the right to risk someone else’s life,” Cuomo said to New Yorkers.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said he is going to call Trump and ask him to start allowing the Navy hospital ship Comfort to begin receiving coronavirus patients.

The Comfort arrived in New York Harbor last week, and the original plan was to have the hospital ship receive non-coronavirus patients.

But Cuomo noted there have not been many non-coronavirus cases since the crisis started. The New York Times reported last week that the Comfort had only received 20 patients since arriving, even though the city’s emergency rooms are overwhelmed.

Cuomo said he will talk to Trump about the ship taking coronavirus patients to help relieve pressure on the city’s hospitals.

New York officials said the state may be at the apex, or the beginning of the apex, of its coronavirus crisis.

But governor Andrew Cuomo warned that this potential development is not all good news because the state’s healthcare system is stretched to a breaking point.

“If we are plateauing, we are plateauing at a very high level,” Cuomo said. “Staying at this level is problenatic”

The governor also noted that if the crisis is starting to hit its apex, it’s because social distancing is working, which is why those restrictions need to remain in place for now.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is holding his daily briefing on the state’s response to coronavirus as hospitals there deal with a surge in cases.

Cuomo said New York has now confirmed 130,869 cases of coronavirus and recorded 4,758 deaths linked to the virus.

Cuomo noted the death rate has been stable for the past two days, a positive sign considering the rate had been on the rise.

The Federal Communications Commission will not act on a request to investigate networks that air the White House coronavirus briefings, the agency’s chief of staff said in a tweet.

Some of Trump’s critics have called on networks to stop carrying the briefings live because the president has repeatedly made false claims from the White House podium.