Our live coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
The?Peruvian Health Ministry said on Monday that the total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in?Peru?rose to at least 123,979 — an increase of 4,020 from the previous day.
The ministry said on Friday that a total of 3,629 people have died, including 173 additional deaths reported since the previous day. The ministry reports countrywide totals each day for cases confirmed through midnight of the previous day.?
Peru?has the second highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Latin America behind Brazil.?
The?Brazilian health ministry said Monday the country registered 11,687 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 374,898.
The country recorded 807 new coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 23,473.
Brazil’s growing outbreak has caused the country to rise in the global rankings of countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The South American nation is now second only to the United States in reported number of cases.?
The mayor of Daytona Beach, Florida, Derrick Henry said the city needs to educate visitors about the rules and regulations that have been put in place to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“We have to do it through our?website and use messaging boards?as people are entering the city to inform them of what we’re expecting and what?they can and cannot do,” he added.
This comes after a video released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office showed a crowd of people not socially distancing while celebrating Memorial Day weekend in Daytona Beach.
Henry said the crowd came from Orlando and Miami for “a big celebration of sorts because they were happy to be out.”
“If you are going to be a guest,?you are a guest and we want you?to come with a guest mentality.?Otherwise we want you to choose?another destination,” he said.
The latest numbers: There has been at least 659 coronavirus cases and 37 deaths in Volusia county where Daytona Beach is located, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Cases in Florida increased this weekend –?from at least 563 on Saturday to about 997 on Sunday.
The White House released an amendment to the travel suspension for Brazil, moving the effective date up by two days to tomorrow, May 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET, instead of May 28.
The?proclamation will suspend entry into the US for any individual who has been in Brazil within 14 days immediately preceding their attempt to enter the country.
It’s aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus coming into the United States from?Brazil, the country with the second?most cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the change.
Dr. Chris Murray, a researcher behind an influential coronavirus model from the University of Washington, said Monday that the Covid-19 pandemic is “far from over.”
Murray cited new survey data on mask usage that shows “on average in the US, about?40% of Americans say in surveys?that they wear a mask all the?time.?Eighty percent say they wear a mask some of?the time or all of the time.”
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Sunday that there is “clear scientific evidence” that?masks work to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The researcher said he believed that social distancing and mask usage were factors for why the Covid-19 crisis was “not as bad as it could?have been.”
“We really think that’s?because of mask use and people?being more cautious,” Murray said.?“But of course, the images this?[Memorial] weekend make you wonder if?people are starting to forget?about that caution.”
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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced Monday that a two-month lockdown in the Palestinian territories would come to an end in the coming days.
Speaking from Ramallah, Shtayyeh said that government offices will return to regular work on Wednesday morning after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
He also said that shops, commercial and industrial establishments, and places of worship can reopen for prayers on Tuesday.??
Shtayyeh still urged caution, saying, “If we see new cases developing, we will reinstate all previous measures,” according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.
There are at least 122 active coronavirus cases in the Palestinian territories, according to Wafa.
There are at least?1,657,441?cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least?98,034?people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.
Johns Hopkins reported?14,195?new cases and?314 deaths on Monday.??
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.?
Maryland-based biotechnology company Novavax announced plans Monday to begin enrolling approximately 130 people with a new experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus.?
It’s the 10th company worldwide to start human trials of potential vaccines against Covid-19.
The first volunteer is expected to be vaccinated Monday evening in Australia, where the initial phase of the trial is being conducted at two sites.
The vaccine, called?NVX?CoV2373, produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies in pre-clinical testing, according to a company statement issued Monday.
The announcement was made only in the statement, and the data has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.?
The company says it expects to have preliminary safety and effectiveness results in July. If the results are promising, the trial will proceed into its second phase, in which a larger group of participants in multiple countries would be tested to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and Covid-19 disease reduction capacity of the vaccine.
Meanwhile,?Novavax plans to produce the vaccine ahead of time, so a supply will be available if it is proven to work. The manufacturing is being accelerated with $388 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global partnership among public, private and philanthropic organizations.
A company spokesperson tells CNN Novavax expects to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year, and a billion doses in 2021.
The number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus across France continues to decline, falling by 387 over the last 24 hours, the French Health Ministry confirmed Monday.
The total number of patients currently in hospitals with coronavirus now stands at 16,798.
France also continues to see a decline in the number of patients admitted to intensive care units, with a total of 1,609 patients currently in intensive care – 46 fewer than Sunday’s total.
This decline comes a day after the health ministry reported a spike in cases over the weekend.
According to the latest data released by the country’s health ministry, the nationwide death toll now stands at 28,432. These are the latest figures released by the government since Thursday, when the holiday weekend began.
Connecticut reported 405 new coronavirus cases and 49 new deaths, according to a statement released from the governor’s office on Monday.
Some of the latest numbers come from data that occurred over the last several days to a week, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.
As of 2 p.m. today, the state now has a total of 40,873 cases of coronavirus and 3,742 deaths.
At least 706 Covid-19 patients have been hospitalized.
The workers union representing 1,300 employees of Smithfield’s Farmer John plant just south of Los Angeles, California, are calling for its immediate closure in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak.
The company, which makes the Dodger Dog, a delicacy at baseball games, reported 153 cases among its 1,837 employees,?according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
Of the 153, only 14 have returned to work. Smithfield has offered testing to all employees.
The union said the company needs to increase safety measures before reopening.
Rina Chavarria, who works at the plant, said in the statement that workers do not feel safe.
“We work hard every day. Smithfield has not taken steps to make sure workers are protected and now so many of us are getting sick. We can’t go to the plant under these conditions. We are paid too little not to work so we call on Smithfield to do the right thing and close the plant while we keep our pay and benefits,” Chavarria said.
Some context: President Trump?signed an executive order?at the end of April aimed at keeping meat-processing facilities open during the pandemic.
This left plants across the country scrambling to?balance worker safety?with pressure from the federal government to remain operational.
Kuwait will not extend its full coronavirus curfew beyond May 30, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA said on Monday, citing Interior Minister Anas Al-Saleh.
Al-Saleh announced that Kuwait will instead turn to a partial curfew to pave the way “for restoration of normal life,” KUNA reported.
No further details were immediately provided about the partial curfew.
The country has so far recorded 21,967 coronavirus cases with 165 deaths, according to its health ministry.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is trying to give all workers a minimum of 10 days paid sick leave per year as Canada starts to prepare for a possible second wave of the pandemic.?
The effort is complicated by the fact that sick leave is usually a provincial jurisdiction. Trudeau said putting the necessary mechanisms in place for a national paid sick leave program would be challenging but his government and the provinces are determined to try.?
“When the fall comes and flu season starts up we don’t want people who develop a sniffle to suddenly worry that while they really shouldn’t go into work but they can’t afford to not go into work and therefore the risk of contributing to a wave significantly, could be a real problem,”?said Trudeau.?
Canada’s top doctor repeated her assertion Monday that a second wave of the virus could be worse than the first and encouraged public health officials to build up capacity for testing, hospital beds and PPE in order to prepare.?
“I think you can never be overly prepared and we have to just keep going with some of these capacity developments and that goes for lab testing as well,“ said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer.
By the numbers: As of Monday, Canada had reported more than 86,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 6,500 deaths.?
A Charlotte city councilman said President Trump’s threats to pull the Republican National Convention from North Carolina aren’t realistic.
Earlier today, Trump contended that Gov. Roy Cooper is “unable to guarantee” that the arena will be allowed “full attendance.”
He told CNN’s Brianna Keilar that he thinks the Covid-19 pandemic has been politicized.
“I think at first, at least in our state, we were seeing a?lot of bipartisan cooperation?for doing what’s best for the?citizens of North Carolina. That seems to be fraying,” Egleston said.
Vice President Mike Pence on Monday suggested a trio of other states — all with Republican governors — as possible RNC replacements for North Carolina.
“It’s an issue we’ve been talking about because these national conventions literally take many months to organize and prepare and there are states around the country – we think of Texas, we think of Florida, Georgia, the last two states I visited last week that have made tremendous progress on reopening their communities and reopening their economies,” Pence said.
Egleston reacted to the mention of moving the convention to Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
“If the reason that they’re moving?is because they don’t want to?adhere to some of the precautions… I think it’d be pretty reckless of those states,” he said.
Watch full interview here:
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the state would loosen restrictions on restaurants and open summer?day?camps, ski resorts and campsites, a statement from his office announced today. The move is as part of an?update and extension of his “Safer at Home” executive order.
Restaurants in the state will be able to open for in-person dining at 50% capacity or 50 people, whichever is less, starting?Wednesday, the statement said. Restaurants are also encouraged to provide outdoor seating.
Meanwhile,?bars will remain closed, the order said.
The new order also allows children’s day camps and youth sports camps to open on June 1 “with restrictions and strong precautionary measures,” the statement said.
Ski resorts and private campsites will also be allowed to reopen,?though ski resorts will still need approval from local authorities.?
The governor said they will be evaluating rules for establishments that do not serve food and overnight youth camps in June.
The UK retail sector is set to begin reopening in mid-June as part of the government’s planned second phase in the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday, giving the go ahead for thousands of stores across the country to prepare to open their doors for business.?
According to a government statement, retail businesses will only be able to open from these dates once they have completed a risk assessment and taken the necessary steps to become Covid-19 secure, in line with current Health and Safety legislation.
Those businesses failing to implement the safety measures set out by the government could face fines and even jail sentences of up to two years, the statement added.?
“This change will be contingent upon progress against the five tests, and will only be permitted for those premises that are Covid-secure,” the prime minister cautioned.
New York City has 16,482 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 4,777 probable coronavirus deaths as of May 25,?according to the most recent data on the city’s website.
The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “COVID-19” or an equivalent.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 21,259.
There have been 196,098 cases of coronavirus in New York City and 51,197 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.
California issued guidelines on Monday that would allow places of worship to open, while still “strongly recommending” institutions hold remote services for vulnerable populations including older adults.
Here are some of the suggestions included in the guidance:
Despite the guidelines, the state cautions that “even with adherence to physical distancing, convening in a congregational setting of multiple different households to practice a personal faith carries a relatively higher risk for widespread transmission of COVID-19.”
Dubai will allow movement and business activity between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. local time (10 p.m. ET?- 3 p.m ET) starting on Wednesday, as the Emirate begins to ease restrictions imposed during Eid holidays to stop the spread of coronavirus, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed tweeted.
“We followed how the pandemic impacted most countries of the world, but what distinguishes us is our ability to deal positively with the changes,” he added.
Some context: The United Arab Emirates had imposed a strict nationwide curfew during Eid holidays, a time where families gather and people go out.
Reported cases and deaths during the month of May continued to rise in the UAE, which now has over 30,000 cases in total and 248 deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
Other Emirates have not yet announced the easing of curfew.
The mayor of Houston, Texas, Sylvester Turner, said “we have to pump the brakes” on relaxing coronavirus restrictions after seeing images of crowds not complying with social distancing over the weekend.
In response to the crowds, Turner announced yesterday that he will enforce the 25% capacity rule in bars and clubs –– two days after saying the rule would not be enforced. The city also will enforce the 50% rule for restaurants, he said.
Turner said if businesses do not voluntarily comply with the capacity rules, the city can close the establishment for that particular night.
He said they received 180 complaints yesterday.
“The fire marshals went out,?talked to the establishments,?the managers or the owners and?in all cases where they went?out, the people agreed to?voluntarily comply,” Turner said.?“That’s a good sign and we’re?hoping that others will follow?suit.”
The latest predictions: Texas is one of a handful of southern states at risk of seeing a rapid surge of new coronavirus cases in some areas, according to a?new projection model.
That model predicts that Harris County, which includes Houston,?could see more than 2,000 new cases each day by June.
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The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina released a joint statement Monday addressing preparations for the Republican National Convention set to be held in August.?
According to the statement, the city, county and “other local entities?will continue to plan for the RNC while respecting national and state guidance regarding the pandemic.”
In a series of tweets Monday morning, President Trump threatened to pull the convention out of North Carolina if the state’s governor did not “immediately” give on answer on whether the site of the convention would be allowed to be fully occupied.
Italy has recorded 300 new confirmed cases of coronavirus over the last 24 hours, the national Civil Protection Agency confirmed Monday –– the lowest daily increase in new infections since February 29.?
According to the latest data, the number of active cases has also dropped by 2.29% to at least 55,300 on Monday.??
The total number of patients in intensive care is now at?541 –– a decrease of 12 patents over the last 24 hours.?
Italy is also reporting 92 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 32,877, the agency said.
There has been at least 230,158 coronavirus cases in the country so far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Patrick Ewing Jr. revealed today that his father Patrick Ewing has returned home after a brief stay in a local hospital due to a positive coronavirus test.?
Ewing Jr. tweeted:?
The Hall of Famer and current head coach of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team?announced on Friday via Twitter that he had tested positive for Covid-19, and encouraged everyone to remain safe during this time.
Read Ewing Jr’s full tweet:
An additional 121 coronavirus patients in the United Kingdom have died as of 4 a.m. ET Monday, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed, bringing the total number of fatalities in all settings to 36,914.?
According to the latest data from the government, a total of 261,184 people in the UK have so far tested positive for the virus, with an additional 1,625 confirmed cases registered over the last 24 hours.?
While the total number of people tested for coronavirus so far was not immediately available in Monday’s data due to technical difficulties, the government has confirmed that 3,532,634 tests have been carried out, with the daily increase totaling at 73,726 on Monday.?
Important note: Due to a lag in the data provided by health care institutions over the weekend, the government has cautioned that the latest data is “likely to represent an undercount” in confirmed figures.?
At least 965 new Covid-19 cases and 16 additional deaths were reported in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted today.?
The state has approximately 155,092 coronavirus cases and 11,144 deaths, he said.
At least 2,755 patients are in the hospital and 719 people are in critical or intensive care, Murphy tweeted.
Read Murphy’s tweet:
The World Health Organization said the downward trend of coronavirus cases didn’t occur naturally, and is warning countries not to become complacent.
“Many countries have paid a heavy price in doing the measures that have needed to be done to suppress the transmission of this disease, and they deserve credit,” Dr. Mike Ryan,?executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a Monday briefing.
Ryan said it’s “worrisome” when people assume the downward trend occurred naturally. In reality, Ryan said, “that has occurred because of very, very, very tough public health measures that have been tough on the population.”
Maria Van Kerkhove,?a WHO?infectious disease epidemiologist, said “there’s a certain predictability of this virus,” adding, “anytime you become complacent and you think you know, it will surprise you.”
“I understand very well and I am in the same boat as you – we all want this to be over, but we have a long way to go,” Van Kerkhove said.
Ryan said removing pressure on the virus at this point and assuming “the real next danger point is sometime in October or November” is a “dangerous assumption.”
Van Kerkhove said it could get worse if we have “co-infection or co-circulation of influenza and Covid-19.”
The World Health Organization is warning of a second peak – not necessarily a second wave – of coronavirus cases.?
During a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Mike Ryan,?executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, said right now, we are “right in the middle of the first wave, globally.”
“We’re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up,” he added.
Ryan warned that a second peak or wave could come during the normal influenza season, “which will greatly complicate things for disease control.”
Maria Van Kerkhove,?a WHO?infectious disease epidemiologist, said “all countries need to remain on high alert here. All countries need to be ready to rapidly detect cases, even countries that have had success in suppression. … Even countries that have seen a decline in cases must remain ready.”??
Van Kerkhove said if given the opportunity, the virus will start an outbreak.
“A hallmark of coronaviruses is its ability to amplify in certain settings, its ability to cause transmission – or super spreading events. And we are seeing in a number of situations in these closed settings. When the virus has an opportunity, it can transmit readily,” she said.
In an effort to restart the 2019-2020 season, the National Hockey League (NHL) says it is aiming to reopen team facilities in early June.
In a league-wide memorandum sent on Sunday, the NHL outlines a ‘Phase 2’ return to sport protocol that allows small groups of players to utilize home team facilities and ice.
Here are some of the reopening requirements:
The league does not give a specific date in June for teams to open.?
The?22-page memorandum?also outlines cleaning and disinfecting requirements and includes a checklist form for team staff to utilize.
President Trump attended a second event commemorating Memorial Day on Monday, speaking at a patriotic ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland, where he acknowledged the US military’s fight against coronavirus as the US death toll approaches the grim milestone of 100,000 Americans.
“As one nation, we mourn alongside every single family that has lost loved ones, including the families of our great veterans. Together, we will vanquish the virus and America will rise from this crisis to new and greater heights,” he added.
Some background: The remarks, which also cast a patriotic and historic tone with Francis Scott Key references, came after a morning of tweets threatening to pull the Republican National Convention from North Carolina and railing against media criticism of his weekend golf outings.
Trump and the vice president also made a trip to Arlington National Ceremony, where they observed a moment of silence at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top adviser, Dominic Cummings, has defended his actions after?receiving widespread criticism for traveling more than 250 miles from his London home during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, telling reporters on Monday that he traveled to Durham to ensure the welfare of his child.??
“I can understand that some people will argue that I should have stayed at my home in London throughout. I understand these views, I know the intense hardship and sacrifice the entire country has had to go through, however I respectfully disagree,” he added.?
Cummings also told reporters that he believes his actions were “reasonable in these circumstances,” detailing the series of events which preceded his decision to leave London.?
“I was worried that if both my wife and I were seriously ill, possibly hospitalized, there is nobody in London that we could reasonably ask to look after our child and expose themselves to Covid,” the prime minister’s adviser said.?
“I don’t regret what I did…I think what I did was actually reasonable in these circumstances,” Cummings told reporters after explaining why he made the decision to travel to Durham during the nationwide lockdown.?
Some context: Following an investigation by the Mirror and Guardian newspapers, Cummings was revealed to have traveled to Durham – more than 250 miles from his home in London –?during the lockdown, despite his wife having developed symptoms of coronavirus.
While Johnson has offered his support for Cummings, saying on Sunday that he believes his adviser acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity,” Cummings confirmed on Monday that he did not inform the prime minister of his decision prior to leaving for Durham.?
“I did not ask the prime minister about this decision. He was ill himself, and he had huge problems to deal with…I thought that I would speak to him when the situation clarified over coming days,” Cummings said.
“Arguably this was a mistake and I understand that some will say that I should have spoken to the prime minister before deciding what to do,” he added.
The World Health Organization has temporarily halted studying hydroxychloroquine as a potential Covid-19 treatment in its Solidarity Trial due to safety concerns,?WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing in Geneva on Monday.
The decision was made after an observational study was published in the medical journal The Lancet on Friday, which described how seriously ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were more likely to die.
Tedros said that an independent executive group is now reviewing the use of hydroxychloroquine in WHO’s Solidarity Trial. The trial, which involves actively recruiting patients from more than 400 hospitals in 35 countries, is a global research effort to find safe and effective therapeutics for Covid-19.
“The Executive Group of the Solidarity Trial, representing 10 of the participating countries, met on Saturday and has agreed to review a comprehensive analysis and critical appraisal of all evidence available globally,” Tedros said on Monday.
Tedros added that the other arms of the trial are continuing.
“This concern relates to the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in Covid-19,” Tedros said. “I wish to?reiterate that these drugs are accepted as generally safe for use in patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria.”
Japan is set to expand its travel ban list to 111 countries effective Wednesday, now including the United States, India, and South Africa, the government ministries said.
The ban list, which will add 11 more countries this week, forbids foreign nationals who stayed in those countries from entering Japan, to protect against the spread of coronavirus.?
Japanese citizens are still allowed to enter the country, although they will need to go through medical tests and self-quarantine for 14 days.??
The travel ban expansion comes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the country’s nationwide state of emergency earlier today. It lasted almost a month.?
The state of New York and local governments will provide death benefits to frontline workers, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday at the state’s daily Covid-19 news conference.
The governor said public employees who work in the state, whether in a city or county, can qualify and the local or state pension fund will pay for those death benefits.
At the start of the presser, the governor took a brief moment of silence to honor those who have fallen and to give thanks to them on Memorial Day.
The governor then went on to thank all frontline workers for the work they are doing today to fight the pandemic.
We needed the frontline workers to show up so others could stay home and be safe and healthy, Cuomo said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at least 96 people died from coronavirus across the state yesterday — down from 109 on Saturday.
He noted that the overall hospitalization rate, the number of intubations and day-to-day hospitalizations are all down.
“We are making progress here in New York,” he said.
WATCH GOV. CUOMO:
There have been?1,646,495?cases of coronavirus reported in the US, and at least?97,794?people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally of cases.?
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.?
Sweden has recorded a total of 4,029 deaths from coronavirus, a spokesperson for the?national?Public Health Agency confirmed to CNN on Monday.?
This latest increase in deaths comes after a study carried out by Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, revealed last week that 7.3% of Stockholm residents have developed the antibodies needed to fight coronavirus.
The results produced by the study, which was carried out to determine the potential herd immunity in the Swedish population, were a “little lower” than expected, according to?Tegnell.
The Public Health Agency says it plans to release results from other regions, which will help to provide a clearer picture of the level of herd immunity in the Swedish population.
Remember: In a divergent approach from its Nordic neighbors, Sweden decided not to impose a mandatory lockdown, allowing businesses and schools to remain open despite the outbreak of Covid-19 within the country.?
Four top congressional Democrats have issued a written statement Monday responding to the Trump Administration’s Covid-19 Strategic Testing Plan, calling it “disappointing” and accusing the Administration of not taking responsibility for testing on a national scale.?
The leaders are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee ranking member Patty Murray and House Energy and Commerce committee chair Frank Pallone.
They continued: “We still need clear explanations for how targets were set, how they will be met and what will be done if they are not.?The Trump Administration still does not take any responsibility for ramping up our nation’s testing capacity, instead pushing the burden onto the states,” they said.?
More on the report: The 81-page report was submitted to Congress late Sunday. It commits the Administration to obtaining 100 million testing swabs by years-end and distribute them to states.?
President Trump will soon attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed some of traditions at the cemetery, CNN’s Barbara Starr reported. She noted that the officials attending the ceremony today are standing far apart to maintain social distance.
“This year is different — visually different, of course,” Starr said.
Starr explained that burials at the cemetery also look different during the pandemic.
Families attending those burials are wearing masks. The “iconic visual” of a folded flag being handed to a relative is also gone: Now, folded flags are left on a table next to the grave site for contact-less retrieval.
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Spain?will lift quarantine measures for arriving international tourists starting July 1, the Spanish government announced Monday.
What this is about: Spain?currently enforces a two-week quarantine for all international travelers to the country, a measure in effect since May 15.?The quarantine measure applies to Spanish, as well as foreign arrivals.
Some more context: Spain’s?tourism?and hospitality sector have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government has come under pressure to revive this part of the economy, which accounts for?12% of GDP and 2.6 million jobs.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signaled the country will reactivate foreign?tourism?in July, during a press conference Saturday.
The country, under strict confinement measures since March 14 to limit the spread of the coronavirus, is now on a gradual reopening.
Just over half of the population is on Phase 1, including Madrid and Barcelona, and the rest is on the more advanced Phase 2, which allows even more businesses to re-open and more social activities, including weddings with up to 100 guests.
Anger is mounting among Britons who have sacrificed family gatherings during the country’s lockdown, after Boris Johnson defended his chief aide for breaching restrictions by driving across the country while his wife had Covid-19 symptoms.
John Wilson shared a letter to his MP on Twitter on Monday in which he described being unable to visit his wife while she died in hospital with the coronavirus.
“I have delayed writing to you for 15 hours to try and let my rage subside so that I can be coherent and civil,” he wrote in the letter, which has gone viral.
“On the day she died I could not be with her to hold her hand, I just sat by the telephone, I was not able to see her body,” Wilson wrote. “In other words under severe mental and emotional distress I, like the vast majority of the population, have complied with your government’s instructions in order to protect my fellow citizens.”
Wilson asked his Conservative MP Greg Smith what his view is on Dominic Cummings’ trip to the north of England, and Boris Johnson’s decision to stand by the aide despite outrage in the UK that he was allowed to travel while the public were being told to stay at home.
“This is a letter about the actions and judgment of Mr. Johnson – not, as many people seem to think, about Mr. Cummings,” Wilson explained too CNN.
His message exemplifies the sentiment of many Brits, who are asking why Cummings has avoided discipline while funerals of more than 10 mourners have been banned and Britons have been asked to stay away from family events.
The Prime Minister said on Sunday that Cummings had “no alternative” but to drive 260 miles across England to stay with his parents while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms, insisting he acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity.”
“I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and I do not mark him down for that,” Johnson added at the government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Sunday.
But the scandal has rumbled into a fourth day and has derailed the government’s coronavirus response. “There cannot be one rule for Dominic Cummings and another for the British people,” the opposition Labour Party said in a statement.
Vice President Mike Pence reiterated President Trump’s threat to move the Republican National Convention from North Carolina.
He continued: “And I think the President is absolutely intent on ensuring that as we see our nation continue to make steady progress on putting the coronavirus epidemic in the past, that come this August, we’ll be able to come together in a safe and responsible venue and re-nominate President Donald Trump for four more years.”
Pence said Trump’s request of Gov. Roy Cooper was “very reasonable.”
Some background: Trump began a solemn Memorial Day railing against North Carolina Gov. Roy?Cooper, a Democrat, ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention, threatening to pull it out of Charlotte, where the convention is expected to be held August 24 to 27.??
Trump contended that?Cooper?is “unable to guarantee” that the arena can be filled to capacity.?
After the tweets, Pence insisted “we all want to be in Charlotte, we love North Carolina, but having a sense now is absolutely essential because of the rules and regulations that are involved.”
“We look forward to working with Gov. Cooper, getting a swift response, and, if need be, moving the national convention to a state that is farther along on reopening and can say with confidence that we can gather there,” Pence said.
While Montgomery, Alabama, has seen an increase in available ICU beds, the city is “still at a crisis level,” Mayor Steven Reed told CNN today.
The number of beds grew from just one on Thursday to six as of this morning.
Reed sounded the alarm last week when he revealed the city had just one ICU bed.???
When asked about his states upward trend in positive cases, the mayor told?Camerota?that “people have decided the pandemic is over,” and aren’t doing things like social distancing or wearing masks.?He said he was not comfortable with Gov. Kay Ivey’s decision to reopen the state and depend on residents to be personally responsible.??
“I think that we have to ask people to be personally responsible but I also think the government has to set the tone,” Reed told?Camerota.??
Reed told?Camerota’s?the governor’s decision to allow high-school sports to resume training June 1?was “another example of us moving too fast, moving too soon.”?????
“I’m concerned that we may put not only the students at risk but we may also put their loved ones, their families at risk as well,”?Reed told?Camerota.?
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Vienna’s medical university successfully conducted the first coronavirus lung transplant in Europe?last week, the medical center said in a press release Monday. The hospital said the 45-year-old COVID-19 patient would not have survived otherwise but is now recovering well.?
The hospital said the patient was in good health without prior illnesses before coming down with coronavirus eight weeks ago. Shortly after falling ill, her condition deteriorated dramatically.?
“The situation was hopeless,” Klepetko said. “The lung was like a block, there was nothing left,”?
The hospital describes the operation as being “highly complicated” but successful.?
Klepetko added,?“All organs are working and we are very satisfied. But it will still be a long way ahead until we can hopefully discharge her from the hospital.”?
White House economic adviser?Kevin?Hassett said he thinks that the unemployment rate will reach “north of 20%” for the month of May. He said he expects the rate will be even higher in June than in May, but after that “it should start to trend down.”
Hassett, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday, said that he thinks it is possible that the unemployment rate could still be in double digits in November, but he said he thinks “all the signs of economic recovery are going to be raging everywhere.”
Pressed further by CNN’s Dana Bash,?Hassett?doubled down on his prediction for November, saying it would take a while for the unemployment rate to go down and adding that a vaccine breakthrough could change things.
Hassett?said President Trump is “going through all the options” related to another phase of economic stimulus. Bash ticked through a series of potential proposals for future legislation. On extending unemployment insurance,?Hassett?expressed hesitation about incentivizing not working and said the benefit would need reform.
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The political scandal consuming the UK’s government continues to develop, with police officers asked to investigate the facts of a trip made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings.
Cummings is accused of breaching lockdown rules by driving 260 miles across England in March to stay with his parents in Durham while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms. He denies any wrongdoing. Johnson has defended his aide and refused to sack him.
Steve White, the commissioner overseeing Durham Police, said he had written to the police force’s chief constable on Monday, “asking her to establish the facts concerning any potential breach of the law or regulations in this matter at any juncture”.
He added that he believed the police force had responded “proportionately and appropriately” to the issues surrounding Cummings’ visit to Durham.
“It is clear however that there is a plethora of additional information circulating in the public domain which deserves appropriate examination,” he said.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will end the state of emergency across the whole country tonight, he said in a briefing on Monday.
Much of Japan entered the state of emergency on April 7, as the country tried to rein in the coronavirus pandemic.
It has since been lifted across most of the nation and businesses have reopened and social activities have slowly resumed.
The country has recorded 16,550 cases of the virus and 820 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Abe will have a task force meeting Monday night after which the lifting of the state of emergency will take effect.
Abe also announced he would put together a second supplementary budget on Wednesday, to boost the government’s stimulus packages.
The amount provided by the two stimulus efforts comes to over 200 trillion yen ($1.87 trillion).
“The economic revival would be the first priority for my administration,”?Abe said.
Museums and sports facilities will open in Tokyo from Tuesday, the city’s governor Yuriko Koike said, while schools in the capital will reopen with a phased approach.
While taking questions after the briefing Abe also discussed the Tokyo Olympics. He said that the development of a coronavirus vaccine was?“significant”?for the country being able to host the event in its complete form.
The Games are scheduled to begin on July 23 2021, after being postponed for a year due to the pandemic.
The Japanese leader was also asked about the dispute between the US and China over the origins of Covid-19.
Abe said in response that he believed the coronavirus started in China.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “trashed” the recommendations of scientific advisers by refusing to sack his embattled chief aide Dominic Cummings, according to one of the professors working with the government on Covid-19.
Johnson has stood by Cummings, who is accused of breaking the UK’s lockdown restrictions by driving 260 miles across England in March to stay with his parents while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms.
Professor?Stephen Reicher, a member of the UK Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), responded on Twitter to Johnson’s defense of Cummings.
In an interview with BBC on Sunday, Reicher added:?“I’m not particularly concerned what happens to Dominic Cummings – it’s what happens to the rest of us.”
“If we undermine the unity between the population and the government, if people lose trust and lose adherence, if they stop complying with the measures which have contained the infection, then all of us will lose out because the infection will spike again and many more people will die.”
Reicher’s comments have been echoed by his SPI-B colleagues.
“People have to feel that everyone’s doing the same thing and pulling their weight in the same way. And once you start to see that crumble, that’s a problem,” said University College London health psychology professor Robert West, another government adviser.
“But even more problematic, I think, unfortunately, in relation to the prime minister’s statement on it, is that in interpreting the rules he seemed to be blurring the boundaries,” West said.
“And another very important principle with this kind of behavior change is that the rules have to have very clear boundaries.”
“As soon as they start to get leaky, then people start to say, ‘Okay I’m sure I must be in this exceptional case.’”
Russia reported?8,946?new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the country’s coronavirus headquarters said in a statement Monday.
The nation has the?third-highest number of confirmed cases globally, with 353,427 recorded cases according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
?Officially,?Russia?has recorded?3,633?deaths caused by the virus.
At least?97,722?people have died in the US from coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The country has record at least 1,643,499?cases of the disease, the most anywhere in the world.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.?
CNN is tracking Covid-19’s spread across the US here.
The number of active coronavirus cases in Germany has fallen below 10,000, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national agency for disease control and prevention.
There are 9,113 active cases in Germany, which has recorded a total of 178,570 cases.
Among the total number of confirmed cases, 161,200 people have recovered, while 8,257?have died.
Far from hospitals and often lacking access to basic infrastructure, Brazil’s indigenous people are dying from Covid-19 at an alarming rate – and there’s little help in sight.
The mortality rate is double that of the rest of?Brazil’s?population, according to advocacy group Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), which tracks the number of cases and deaths among the country’s 900,000 indigenous people.
APIB has recorded more than 980 official cases of coronavirus and at least 125 deaths, which suggests a mortality rate of 12.6% – compared to the national rate of 6.4%.
While the Health Ministry’s Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health has reported only 695 cases of coronavirus in indigenous communities and 34 deaths, the group monitors a smaller group of people – only those living in traditional villages and registered at local health clinics, and not indigenous people who have moved to towns and cities.
Indigenous people who have moved to larger towns or urban areas to study or work can end up in precarious living conditions with few public services, increasing their vulnerability to health issues.
Meanwhile, those living in remote areas may not have basic sanitation and health facilities – a 15-year-old?Yanomami boy?from a remote village in the Amazon was one of the first indigenous Brazilians to die of Covid-19, in April.
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Austria’s president Alexander Van der Bellen has apologized after breaking the country’s coronavirus curfew.
Van der Bellen remained at a restaurant on Saturday night after the 11 p.m. curfew time put in place by the Austrian government, according to the AFP news agency which cited Austria’s Kurier newspaper.
“I went out for the first time since the lockdown with two friends and my wife,”?Van der Bellen said Sunday on Twitter, in reference to the Kurier report.
“We then lost track of time while chatting. I’m sincerely sorry. It was a mistake.”
Restaurants in Austria were allowed to reopen from May 15 but have to observe a number of social distancing restrictions and the 11 p.m. closing time.
The restaurant Van der Bellen visited could be fined for the curfew breach. The Austrian president said he would “take responsibility” if the owner incurred any losses from a fine.
Several Church of England bishops have criticized UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he refused to sack?his chief aide Dominic Cummings, who is accused of breaking lockdown restrictions multiple times.
Cummings drove 260 miles across England in March to stay with his parents while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms.
His movements, during a time when most of the UK was in lockdown, have sparked a political scandal in Britain. Johnson claimed on Sunday that his chief aide acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity.”
The prime minister’s decision to stand by Cummings has opened up a rare public rift between the UK government and the Church of England.
“Unless very soon we see clear repentance, including the sacking of Cummings, I no longer know how we can trust what ministers say sufficiently for [the Church of England] to work together with them on the pandemic,” Bishop of Manchester David Walker said on Twitter on Sunday evening.
Bishop of Bristol Vivienne Faul?accused Johnson of having “no respect for the people.”
“The bonds of peace and our common life… have been dangerously undermined this evening,” she added.
“I find myself deeply worried by the [prime minister’s] judgement call on this one,” said Bishop of Reading Olivia Graham.
“Not from a political perspective but a moral one. His response lacks both integrity and respect and he has just made his task of leading us through this crisis much, much harder.”
The bishops of Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Ripon and Truro also voiced dismay on Twitter over Johnson’s decision to retain Cummings.
Production has begun on a rapid saliva-based coronavirus test that delivers readings in under an hour, it was announced today.
The French consortium, formed by biotechnology company SKILLCELL, laboratory CNRS SYS2DIAG and digital company VOGO, said in a press release that the test would be available from mid-June for European markets.
The test – named “EasyCov” – is performed by healthcare professionals and involves collecting less than 1?millilitre of saliva from under a patient’s tongue.?
Earlier this month, the US?Food and Drug Administration?authorized a Covid-19 saliva test in which a patient can collect a saliva sample at home but would need to mail it to a lab and wait for the results to be processed.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the country should aim to reduce its Covid-19 alert level from 2 to 1 by June 22.?
Alert level 1 means no restrictions on domestic transport or gatherings, and all schools and workplaces can open.?
If measures were relaxed to this level, the government risk assessment would be that “the disease is contained in New Zealand,” and only “isolated household transmission could be occurring,” according to the country’s alert system website.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was abused by onlookers in the capital Brasilia after going out for a hotdog and drink on Saturday, in a video seen by CNN.
In the video, Bolsonaro eats and drinks while onlookers yell “killer” and “trash” in the background. The President is surrounded by a security team and at one point turns and wags his finger at the crowd.
Brazil became the country with the second-highest number of cases in the world over the weekend, with daily five-figure increases pushing it above Russia and the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, Brazil reported 15,813 new cases of the coronavirus – pushing its total to at least 362,000. So far, at least 22,000 people have died in the country.
Bolsonaro?has frequently dismissed the coronavirus threat, calling it a “fantasy” or “little flu.” He claims the economic impacts of shutdowns and quarantine measures will have a much more negative effect on the country.?
A total of 20,634 new coronavirus cases were reported in the US on Sunday, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University, with another 633 deaths.
The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.?
The new infections took the country’s total to 1,643,246?cases, with least?97,720?people killed.
You can follow CNN’s total count here, updated every 15 minutes:
South Korea will adopt a cell phone QR code-based logging system for patrons of entertainment venues from June to aid contact tracing, it was announced Monday.?
Places like clubs, karaoke bars and restaurants must use the system, having been designated as high-risk facilities by authorities.?
Customers will need to receive a QR code at venue entrances using an app, with their information then logged by management.
People who refuse to use QR code downloading, or who don’t have cell phones, must still log their identification details with staff.?
According to the government, the information provided will be available for epidemiological investigation purposes only, and automatically discarded after four weeks.?
The system will be used when the country’s infectious disease alert level is at its two highest levels, health official Yoon Tae-ho said at a briefing.
Domestic flight operations resumed in India today after two months of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.?
Flights to and from all states, except for southern Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal in the east, will restart in a limited capacity.
Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will resume flights on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, according to a?tweet?from Hardeep Singh Puri, the country’s Minister for Civil Aviation.?
Only asymptomatic passengers are allowed to fly and must wear a face mask and carry sanitizer.
Passengers must arrive at the airport two hours before their departure, having already checked in online as physical check-in services will not be provided.?
Travelers will also have to fill in self-declaration forms and download the government’s contact tracing app, Aarogya Setu.
A new Trump administration ban announced Sunday for passengers coming to the US from Brazil won’t undermine “important” cooperation between the two countries, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said today.
In an email to CNN, the ministry emphasized examples of collaboration between the two countries to fight the virus and similar travel measures taken by Brazil to restrict travelers, including Americans.
The ministry also mentioned earlier announcements of US donations which they said were valued at about $6.5 million in support of Brazilian efforts to mitigate the health and socioeconomic impacts of the virus.
On March 27, Brazil barred all non-resident foreigners from entering the country by airplane due to the coronavirus pandemic.?
Brazil had already closed all of its land borders and restricted entry to foreigners arriving from countries and regions with a high level of coronavirus infection.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health announced on Sunday 15,813 new coronavirus infections over the previous 24 hours – taking the country’s total to 362,211.
Another 653 deaths were also confirmed over the previous 24 hours, meaning 22,666 people have now died of coronavirus in Brazil.
Brazil is behind only the United States for total coronavirus infections.
China has reported 11 new imported coronavirus cases, including 10 from Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region bordering Mongolia. The other is in Sichuan province.
China’s National Health Commission said the total number of confirmed cases in the country is now 82,985, with 83 still active.
It comes after China reported no new symptomatic coronavirus cases on Saturday for the first time since the global pandemic began.
In addition, 40 new asymptomatic cases were reported today. A total of 396 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation.?
No new deaths were reported, leaving China’s death toll at 4,634.
To date, 78,268 confirmed coronavirus patients have recovered and been discharged.
The UK Cabinet Office is investigating how an “unauthorised tweet” was sent from the official Civil Service Twitter account that appeared to be critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.?
The?tweet –?sent just after Johnson?gave a?televised press briefing – said: “arrogant and offensive. Can you imagine having to work with these truth twisters?”
The tweet went viral before it was deleted, with screenshots shared widely on social media and the post liked by thousands of people.
While it is not confirmed?what prompted the tweet, many have speculated that it was directed at Johnson after he defended the actions of his senior adviser, Dominic Cummings.
Cummings has come under fire for allegedly breaching national lockdown regulations after traveling to Durham – more than 250 miles (402 kilometers) from his home in London – on two separate occasions.
During his briefing on Sunday, Johnson said that while he acknowledges why people may feel “offended” by Cummings’ apparent disregard for the government’s emergency restrictions, he believes “most people will understand” his adviser’s actions.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, Cummings acted “in line with coronavirus guidelines” and traveled to “ensure his young child could be properly cared for” after his wife became infected with suspected coronavirus.
The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals across France has increased by seven over 24 hours, to 17,185 – the first rise since April 15, according to the French Health Agency.
An agency spokesperson told CNN on Sunday that the additional hospitalizations “could be explained by a delay in record keeping due to the public holiday weekend,” which began on Thursday.?
According to the spokesperson, the holiday weekend “could also have led to the prolongation of some hospitalization cases” across the country.?
Meanwhile, agency data shows the number of patients in ICU continues to decrease, with a total of 1,655 now in intensive care in the country – down by 10 since Saturday.?
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attended a pro-government rally Sunday in the capital Brasilia, where he greeted supporters without wearing a mask.
Bolsonaro was flanked by a cabinet minister and two conservative lawmakers.?
In a video taken by the Brazilian presidency, Bolsonaro can be seen surrounded by his security team – who were wearing masks – as the President waves to supporters.
Although the President was seen wearing a mask when he arrived at the event, it had been removed by the time he got closer to the crowds. According to CNN Brasil, his in-person appearance was unexpected.?
During the walk, the?Chief Minister of the Cabinet of Institutional Security, Gen. Augusto Heleno, can be heard saying: “We will win this war.”
Brazil cases spike: It came as the US announced it will deny entry to anyone who has been in Brazil in the previous 14 days.
The country now has 363,211 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University – making it the worst-affected country in the world after the US.
Schools in the Australian state of New South Wales will fully reopen Monday, according to a news release from the state’s education department.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said a return to full-time, face-to-face teaching and learning was both safe and “crucial for the educational progress of every child in NSW from Kindergarten to Year 12.”
Schools will need to maintain safety precautions, including no assemblies and excursions, Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said.
As of Saturday, New South Wales had 3,087 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
There has been a spike in coronavirus cases in Washington, DC, according to data from the DC Department of Health.The increase could pose a setback for the criteria Mayor Muriel Bowser is using to decide when the city will begin stage one of its reopening.
Until this weekend, Washington had 11 days of declining community spread of the coronavirus. The city said 14 days of decline were needed as one of the measurements necessary before moving to stage one of reopening.?Sunday would have been the 13th?day of decline – but instead there was a small spike over the last two days.
Since the spike was small, the DC Department of Health said Sunday it would consider this a reset back to day 11 of the decline because the number of cases was fewer than the department’s calculation of the standard deviation for the number of cases.
“We don’t have to go to day zero,” Director of the DC Department of Health, Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, said in?a news conference call.
Bowser said last week that Washington could begin stage one of its reopening on Friday, May 29, barring any spikes in cases.
With this increase in cases, DC could still have 14 days of decline before potentially reopening this Friday. Nesbitt would not comment on whether this reset affects when Washington could begin reopening.
There are two other factors for reopening: A less than 20% positivity rate and hospital capacity less than 80%. As of Sunday, the positivity rate is 19%, and the hospital capacity is 74%.??
President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a proclamation suspending entry to the US for any individual who has been in Brazil within the 14 days immediately prior to their arrival.?
The policy is aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus. As of Sunday evening, Brazil had more than 347,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the second-most of any country,?according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Some context:?Coronavirus has yet to peak in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest and worst-affected city, but the health care system is already beginning to break down.
As the crisis deepens and the number of deaths continues to rise, President Jair Bolsonaro is urging businesses to reopen. He opposes many governors who are stressing social distancing measures to slow the spread.
Far from hospitals, Brazil’s indigenous people are dying at an alarming rate. The death toll is double that of the rest of Brazil’s population, according to the advocacy group Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.
New York state reported an additional 1,589 Covid-19 cases over 24 hours, bringing the statewide total to 361,515, according to a news release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.
Earlier Sunday, Cuomo said intubations and hospitalizations were down.
New coronavirus cases are up slightly on the rolling average but generally, “all part of the decline,” Cuomo said.
The commissioner of the?US Food and Drug Administration on Sunday?urged Americans observing Memorial Day weekend to follow federal guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, saying the deadly virus “is not yet contained.”
Some context:?The commissioner’s Memorial Day warning comes as some states begin to reopen, allowing people to go to beaches, cookouts and bars as they observe one of the more popular holidays taking place amid the pandemic. But as social activities increase, health experts like Hahn warn the US is not out of the woods.
“Even as states and some state officials rush to reopen it’s on us to make smart and safe decisions,” Dr. Seema Yasmin, a former disease detective at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN Saturday night.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told the public last week that going outside was fine, with cautious measures.
“Go out, wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from anyone so you can have the physical distancing,” he told a CNN coronavirus town hall. “Go for a run. Go for a walk. Go fishing. As long as you’re not in a crowd and you’re not in a situation where you can physically transmit the virus.”
Chile’s Ministry of Health reported 3,709 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a single day, taking the country’s total to 69,102.
Health authorities also reported 45 new deaths, with 718 people in the country now killed by coronavirus.
