May 24 coronavirus news

Our coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic has moved to here.

Schools in the Australian state of New South Wales will fully reopen beginning Monday, according to a news release from the state’s education department.

Premier of New South Wales 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.

Two days after he said officials would not enforce capacity limits on businesses, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has changed his mind.

“The reality is that there are too many people who are coming together,” Turner said during a news conference Sunday.

The mayor felt he had to change course after he saw a photo that appeared to show a club “clearly above their occupancy requirements of 25% or less,” he said. Turner also saw images on social media of people gathering without masks or social distancing.

Going forward, the city will be enforcing the 25% capacity requirement for bars and clubs and 50% capacity for restaurants, Turner said. Businesses that don’t comply face a citation or can be closed by the fire marshal.

“The goal is not to be heavy handed at all,” Turner explained of the enforcement. “We want people to voluntarily comply to operate within the rules, the rules that apply to everyone.”

The mayor also asked for compliance on Twitter, writing, “I want us to move forward but this will set us back.”

He also tweeted a request to residents, asking them to social distance and “mask up!”

A healthcare worker administers a coronavirus test at a drive-through testing facility at George Washington University in Washington, DC, last month.

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 Washington 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 conference call with reporters.

Bowser said last week that Washington could begin stage one of its reopening on Friday, May 29, barring any spikes in coronavirus 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%.  

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker released industry guidelines for businesses that will be operating when the state begins Phase 3 of its five-phase reopening plan. Pritzker said last week that Phase 3 could begin on Friday May 29.

Manufacturing facilities, offices, retail stores, salons and barbershops will be allowed to reopen with capacity limits and other restrictions. For example, office employees should maintain 6 feet of distance and wear face coverings when that can’t be done, according to the guidelines.

Meantime, bars and restaurants – which have been limited to takeout and delivery – will be allowed to have outdoor dining. But there should be a minimum of 6 feet between tables, and parties should be limited to 6 people or fewer.

As of Sunday, 5,604 members of the New York Police Department have returned to work full-time after recovering from Covid-19, according to the NYPD’s daily coronavirus report.

To date, 5,739 members have tested positive for Covid-19, the report said. Seventy-four uniformed members are still out sick with Covid-19, along with 18 civilian members.

The number of NYPD personnel out sick each day continues to trend downward, the report said, with 927 members out sick Sunday. That’s about 2.6% of the department’s uniformed workforce, down from a high of 19.8%, per the report.

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. 

Adenilson Souza Costa digs a grave at Vila Formosa Cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 18.

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 worldwide, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Some context: Coronavirus has yet to peak in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest and worst-infected 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 Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference at the Theater at Jones Beach in Long Island on May 24. Cuomo’s office criticized Dublin Deck Tiki Bar and Grill for allegedly easing restrictions on masks and social distancing for its customers because of rainy weather on Friday.

Dublin Deck Tiki Bar and Grill in Patchogue, New York, apologized on Sunday after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office criticized the restaurant for allegedly easing restrictions on masks and social distancing for its customers because of rainy weather on Friday.

“From what I understand, it was raining on Friday evening and so the bar allowed patrons to come inside to pick up their food,” said Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor, adding that was the explanation given to Suffolk County police, who broke up the crowd.

Restaurants in New York state are currently limited to take-out and delivery.

Photos from inside the bar at the time showed people not wearing masks, DeRosa said.

“That’s stupid – stupid for you, it’s stupid for your surrounding patrons, it’s stupid for the bar,” she said. “I take them at their word that that’s what happened, but moving forward, they should be on notice and again, the enforcement is up to the locals.”

The restaurant later posted an apology on its Instagram story, saying “quick rainfall sent guests inside to the bar area.”

“There are no excuses when it comes to public safety. We should not have allowed anybody inside whatsoever,” the statement said.

“We apologize to anybody who may have been offended by the videos that surfaced,” it said.

The Suffolk County Police Department confirmed it responded after “multiple 911 calls” regarding noncompliance at the restaurant. The department is “taking reports of noncompliance very seriously,” it said in a statement.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Sunday that community pools will reopen on June 1, along with beaches.

Beaches and hotel accommodations for tourists are already expected to reopen that same day. The mayor’s announcement also says “pools in condominium and apartment complexes and other private communities” can open as well.

The pool reopenings will be subject to certain restrictions which will be recommended by medical experts and the mayor later in the week, the statement said. 

New York state reported an additional 1,589 Covid-19 cases over the past 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.

New Jersey has reported 1,065 new Covid-19 cases and 52 deaths, according to a tweet from Gov. Phil Murphy.

The state has 2,857 people in hospitals, 760 in critical care and 639 on ventilators, the tweet said.

New Jersey currently has a total of 154,154 Covid-19 cases and 11,133 deaths.

Jodi Akins visited Backwater Jacks Bar & Grill in Osage Beach, Missouri, on Saturday for a pool party.

Akins, from Blue Springs, went with four friends and acknowledged it was hard to social distance but said the bar took their temperatures before going in.

Akins said the bar had bottles of hand sanitizer for patrons to use.

The bar posted on Facebook that this was its of summer launch party called “Zero Ducks Given Pool Party.”  It advertised several DJs and bands performing throughout the event.

Watch here:

FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn speaks at a coronavirus task force briefing on April 4.

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 that’s to take place amid the pandemic. But as social activities increase, health experts like Hahn warn the US is still 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, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 69,102.

Health authorities also reported 45 new deaths, bringing the country’s death tally to 718.

After Brazil and Peru, Chile has one of the highest number of confirmed cases in Latin America.

A customer buys a book at Magic Tree Books in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 1.

South Africa will reopen the majority of its economy starting June 1, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced during a televised address to the nation on Sunday evening.

Most sectors will open under new level three regulations, but with strict observance of social distancing and health safety measures. 

The national borders will remain closed and flights will continue to be grounded, except for cargo. Schools will begin a phased reopening, with grades 7 and 12 beginning on June 1.

All public universities will be expected to begin remote teaching.

The nation’s coronavirus-related alcohol ban will be lifted for home consumption, but its ban on cigarettes continues under level three.

Some context: South Africa has conducted close to 600,000 coronavirus tests and more than 12 million screenings thanks to an army of around 60,000 public health workers deployed at the start of the country’s outbreak. 

Ramaphosa admitted that one third of South Africa’s cumulative cases occurred in the last week alone, adding that modeling shows that “the coronavirus pandemic is going to get much worse before it gets better.”

“We have known all along that the lockdown would only delay the spread of the virus, but it would not be able to stop it,” said Ramaphosa.

The Minnesota Rabbinical Association released an addendum to their statement issued Friday announcing they have agreed to keep the doors to their synagogues closed.

There are 42 rabbis in the association who agreed; all of them released a unanimous statement following guidance issued by Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to continue worshiping at home.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told NBC that wearing a face mask is not about politics.

DeWine said he agreed with the emotional plea made by fellow Republican Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota on Friday.

DeWine urged Ohio residents to wear masks when in public.

“When you go out and interact directly with people, we’re asking Ohioans to do this. And so, it doesn’t — it’s not about politics. It’s not about conservative or liberal. It’s about helping other people,” DeWine said.

Children walk home from school in Altrincham, England, on March 20.

Schools in the United Kingdom will start to reopen on June 1, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a daily briefing on the novel coronavirus Sunday.

“We then intend from June 15 for secondary schools to provide some contact for ear 10 and year 12 students to help them to prepare for exams next year, with up to a quarter of these students in at any point,” Johnson added.

Johnson went on to say, schools would be provided with guidelines on how to reopen in a way that is safe for students, teachers and parents, which would include:

“All children and staff and their families will have access to testing, if they display symptoms,” Johnson added.

Professional sports in New York can open their training camps, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a news briefing.

Other news: Cuomo also said veterinarians practices in all regions can being on Tuesday. 

Campgrounds and RV parks will be open statewide Monday, he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings leave 10 Downing Street on October 28.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stood by his embattled chief aide Dominic Cummings after it emerged that he made at least one journey across England despite the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

Johnson said that Cummings “followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and I do not mark him down for that.”

The prime minister said he has spoken to the aide and decided he had “no alternative” but to make a 260-mile journey to stay at his parents’ property while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms, in order to have his relatives care for his child.