Live updates: FDA grants emergency authorization to drug for coronavirus; White House blocks Fauci from testifying before House subcommittee

Here are some significant developments:

May 1, 2020 at 10:10 PM EDT

Malls are reopening, with masks, social distancing and hand sanitizer-spritzing doormen

Americans began trickling back into shopping malls Friday, wearing masks and facing new rules.

Only two customers at a time at a Vitamin World in San Antonio. No shoe-sizing services at a Skechers in Gulfport, Miss. Mandatory hand sanitizer, spritzed on by a mask-wearing doorman at a Louis Vuitton in Houston.

“It wasn’t that different from a typical shopping experience,” said Peyton Burrows, 24, who went to the upscale Galleria in Houston in search of a designer handbag and, like countless others, some measure of normalcy.

By Abha Bhattarai, Arelis Hernández and Peter Holley

May 1, 2020 at 9:47 PM EDT

Some Kroger stores limiting ground beef and pork purchases, report says

Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain, will set purchase limits on ground beef and pork in some stores as supplies run short amid plant shutdowns and high demand during the coronavirus pandemic, CNN reported.

With 22 processing plants having closed at some point in the past two months, production has fallen 25 percent for pork and 10 percent for ground beef, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said.

On Tuesday, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to force meat processors to remain open, despite union estimates that 20 workers have died from covid-19. About 6,500, the union said, have been directly affected by the virus through a positive test, missed work, hospitalization or illness.

A Kroger spokeswoman did not reply to a Friday message from The Washington Post seeking comment.

“We feel good about our ability to maintain a broad assortment of meat and seafood for our customers because we purchase protein from a diverse network of suppliers,” a Kroger representative told CNN. “There is plenty of protein in the supply chain. However, some processors are experiencing challenges.”

By Steven Goff

May 1, 2020 at 9:25 PM EDT

Trump expresses support for angry anti-shutdown protesters as more states lift coronavirus restrictions

President Trump expressed support Friday for armed protesters who had stormed the Michigan State Capitol, demanding the state lift coronavirus restrictions, as researchers estimated that the pandemic could stretch on for two more years.

Trump tweeted Friday that “these are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely!” He said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “should give a little, and put out the fire.”

Hundreds of people, including a militia group armed with military-style rifles, rushed the State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, with some forcing their way into the building and facing off with law enforcement. An angry crowd screamed, “Lock her up!” and insults about Whitmer.

Trump’s “very good people” language recalled his wording nearly three years ago, when he said there were “very fine people on both sides” at a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

By Anne Gearan and John Wagner

May 1, 2020 at 9:11 PM EDT

We aren’t piling on pounds in lockdown, digital scale maker finds

Good news from the Internet of flab: Data from connected scales suggests Americans aren’t piling on lots of pounds while in coronavirus isolation.

Withings, the maker of popular Internet-connected scales and other body-measurement devices, studied what happened to the weight of some 450,000 of its American users between March 22 â€" when New York ordered people home â€" and April 18. Despite concerns about gaining a “quarantine 15,” the average user gained 0.21 pounds during that month. Some 37 percent of people gained more than a pound.

How you view those numbers, however, is a matter of perspective. In a typical year, Americans gain one to two pounds.

By Geoffrey Fowler

May 1, 2020 at 9:01 PM EDT

Trump uses White House events to project return to normalcy while relying on testing that public lacks

At the White House this week, President Trump sat less than six feet from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in the Oval Office. He invited small-business owners to crowd behind the Resolute Desk for a photo shoot. His vice president toured a medical research center without a face mask in defiance of the company’s policy.

The daily images projected a sense of confidence that life, at least for the nation’s most prominent resident, is returning to a semblance of normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic â€" a visual cue to the public that conditions are improving as Trump pushes to restart sectors of the economy.

Yet even as Trump aides have signaled that he could soon begin regular travel, the reality is that the White House has created a picture of security that is propped up by special access to the kind of wide-scale coronavirus testing that most of the nation remains without.

By David Nakamura

May 1, 2020 at 8:46 PM EDT

Costa Rica is a coronavirus success story â€" so far

Costa Rica has long stood out in Latin America for its low levels of violence (it abolished the army in 1948) and relatively generous social spending. Now it has earned another distinction: success in containing the coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, the government started to lift some of the lockdown measures it imposed in mid-March. Gyms, cinemas and theaters can reopen with strict social-distancing requirements. Gyms, for example, are limited to operating at 25 percent capacity, according to the Tico Times.

The number of known, active coronavirus cases has declined for two weeks. As of Friday, there were 725 confirmed cases of the virus, but roughly half of those infected had recovered, officials said. Sixteen people remained hospitalized with covid-19.

Only six deaths linked to the virus have been confirmed in the Central American nation of 5 million people. In contrast, Panama has reported 178 deaths from covid-19; Honduras 71; and Guatemala 16.

Costa Rica suspended mass gatherings on March 9 and urged employees to work from home. The popular tourist destination has barred foreigners, except for residents, and closed parks and beaches. Most residents have observed the orders to stay home, officials say.

The country has also benefited from a strong universal health-care system. Authorities have done extensive contact tracing to identify those infected.

But the country is taking no chances. The ban on foreign tourists will probably be extended past the initial date of May 15, officials said.

“We’ve done things well and we have to double our efforts,” Health Minister Daniel Salas told reporters on Thursday.

By Mary Beth Sheridan

May 1, 2020 at 8:29 PM EDT

New York state suspends Brooklyn funeral home’s license after police say it filled U-Haul trucks with dozens of bodies

The New York State Department of Health has suspended the license of a Brooklyn funeral home after police say they discovered dozens of bodies inside two U-Haul trucks parked near the building Wednesday. Officials say they uncovered the bodies after residents noticed a smell coming from the trucks.

The bodies, which police told The Washington Post were also recovered from two refrigerated trucks near Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services, were discovered as New York morgues struggle to find room for all the state’s covid-19 victims.

Health Commissioner Howard Zucker called the funeral home’s actions “appalling, disrespectful to the families of the deceased and completely unacceptable.”

“We understand the burden funeral homes are facing during this unprecedented time,” Zucker wrote in the statement. “That’s why the state previously issued an order allowing out of state funeral home directors to assist during this crisis and took steps to ease administrative hurdles. But a crisis is no excuse for the kind of behavior we witnessed at Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home, and we are holding them accountable for their actions.”

“This is exactly what I spoke about over the weekend regarding the urgent need for reform in the handling of bodies and burial processes,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said in a tweet Wednesday. “We demand decent treatment of our deceased.”

The funeral home did not return messages left by The Post on Wednesday night.

By Michael Brice-Saddler and Katie Mettler

May 1, 2020 at 8:06 PM EDT

771 lawsuits â€" and counting: Wave of virus litigation hits businesses across the U.S.

NEW YORK â€" Hundreds of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus pandemic are rapidly amassing in state and federal courts, the first wave of litigation challenging decisions made early during the crisis by corporations, insurance companies and governments.

Claims have been filed against hospitals and senior-living facilities, airlines and cruise lines, fitness chains and the entertainment industry â€" 771 as of Friday, according to a database compiled by Hunton Andrews Kurth, an international law firm tracking cases that emerge from the pandemic. The volume and variety make it painfully clear that the virus has caused widespread devastation and hardship throughout the United States and that the full scope of its economic toll remains to be seen.

Complaints reach across industries and state lines. Some seek significant monetary damages. Others ask for a judge to correct actions alleged to be harmful or in violation of contractual agreements. Leaders in Washington are contemplating action.

By Shayna Jacobs

May 1, 2020 at 7:50 PM EDT

Calif. governor optimistic about loosening restrictions in ‘many days, not weeks’

Amid crackdowns on beach crowds and protests at the state Capitol, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sounded an optimistic tone Friday by hinting that he is inching closer to loosening stay-at-home restrictions.

“We said ‘weeks, not months,’ about four or five days ago,” Newsom said during his daily briefing in Sacramento. “I want to say ‘many days, not weeks.’ As long as we continue to be prudent and thoughtful in certain modifications, I think we’ll be making some announcements."

Newsom said he is getting “very, very close” to making announcements concerning health and safety guidelines tied to the novel coronavirus pandemic. He cited possible changes in the retail, hospitality and restaurant sectors, though with “serious modifications” to prevent further outbreaks.

“I’m looking forward to next week, to making some very constructive announcements,” he said. “I don’t want to over-promise. I just want to assure you that if we can continue to hold the line and continue do good work and avoid the temptation to congregate … we can get there much sooner than maybe people perhaps think.”

California passed 50,000 confirmed cases and 2,000 deaths related to the coronavirus Friday.

A day earlier, Newsom announced the closure of beaches in Orange County after thousands flocked to the coast last weekend, raising concerns about proper social distancing. Subsequent legal action against that decision “doesn’t surprise me, and we’ll see what happens,” Newsom said.

Later Friday, a judge sided with the state, declining to issue a temporary restraining order that would have reopened the beaches this weekend.

By Steven Goff

May 1, 2020 at 7:34 PM EDT

Washington state extends stay-at-home orders through end of May

While many states are letting stay-at-home orders expire, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday announced he would extend his state’s order through May 31. The current restrictions were to expire Monday.

Earlier in the week, Inslee said he would not lift the order but did not say at the time how long he would keep it in place.

“We have not won this fight against this virus,” Inslee said Friday at his daily briefing in Olympia, adding: “I would like to tell you that you can make reservations for June 1, but I can’t. We will have to monitor, assess and adapt.”

The first state to announce a fatality from the novel coronavirus, Washington has reported more than 14,000 cases and 800 deaths.

Inslee did, however, announce a four-phase plan to further loosen restrictions and said rural counties that have not been hit hard by the pandemic would be able to apply to the state’s health department to progress more quickly through the process.

Inslee has relented on a few restrictions in the past week. Some construction projects and medical procedures, as well as hunting and fishing on state lands, have been allowed to resume.

By Steven Goff

May 1, 2020 at 7:24 PM EDT

Outdoor dining begins in most of Louisiana while protesters demand protections for hospitality workers

The first cautious exception to Louisiana’s statewide stay-at-home order took effect Friday, with outdoor dining permitted in most of the state â€" with the notable exception of by far the state’s largest restaurant market, New Orleans.

Statewide, customers cannot be served at their tables and are allowed only to pick up food and eat it in outdoor areas. But New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) has said it is too soon to allow even outdoor dining in her city, which was once the epicenter of the pandemic before seeing the spread of the virus slow significantly. Her stay-at-home order for the city continues in full force until May 15.

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) is leaving the bulk of the state’s economic shutdown in place until May 15 as well.

Asked by a reporter at his daily media briefing in Baton Rouge whether he would feel safe eating outdoors at a restaurant, Edwards said he would.

Employees of any establishment who have contact with the public must wear masks, and residents 2 or older are strongly encouraged to wear them outside the house.

In recognition of May Day, a caravan of 40 cars and nearly as many bicycles proceeded through New Orleans honking horns and chanting through megaphones for better pay, benefits and protective equipment for hospitality workers.

“Mayor Cantrell and Governor Edwards are conspiring to end the shutdown and send us back to work when it’s not safe,” said Ashlee Pintos, who is one of the organizers with the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Alliance and said she works in a restaurant.

In a city where restaurants generate $3 billion in economic activity, according to restaurant trade groups, the protesters demanded “hazard pay” during the pandemic and condemned a wage system that depends on tips rather than a guaranteed living wage.

By David Montgomery

May 1, 2020 at 6:53 PM EDT

Trump leaves White House for working weekend at Camp David

President Trump will spend the weekend at Camp David, where he told reporters he would practice social distancing.

“Yes, I will,” he said when directly asked.

The president left directly after a White House ceremony recognizing “Hard Work, Heroism, and Hope” during the coronavirus crisis. He stood shoulder to shoulder with recipients for individual photos.

He took a few questions from reporters before boarding Marine One, restating that tariffs on China is “an option” as retaliation for the country’s lack of transparency around the coronavirus.

The president said over the weekend that he would be “spending a lot of time with meetings and phone calls and some foreign leaders,” before returning Sunday for his Fox News town hall at the Lincoln Memorial.

By Colby Itkowitz

May 1, 2020 at 6:49 PM EDT

Protesters rally against stay-at-home orders in California

Hundreds of protesters convened at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Friday in opposition to the state’s stay-at-home orders, according to local news reports. Photos and images circulating on social media showed protesters defying social distancing guidelines â€" some chanting “U.S.A.!” and “Open up!” as they confront California Highway Patrol officers, according to the Sacramento Bee.

CBS Sacramento reported that event organizers initially said protesters would stay in their cars, but the demonstration ended up mirroring similar protests organized in states such as Pennsylvania, Washington, Maryland, Texas and Wisconsin, where people were seen gathered in large groups.

A similar protest took place in California on April 22, prompting the CHP to ban gatherings on state property, including the Capitol.

At least three people were detained Friday, the Bee reported.

The rally came one day after similar protests at Michigan’s State Capitol, where demonstrators were seen carrying firearms and wearing bulletproof vests in protest of how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has handled the coronavirus. Michigan’s House decided against extending the state’s emergency declaration Thursday.

By Michael Brice-Saddler

May 1, 2020 at 6:26 PM EDT

States continue to take steps toward reopening

A number of U.S. governors detailed new developments Friday in their plans to reopen, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), who announced that the state’s “work-or-home” order will be lifted Monday.

Some states’ moves were more incremental. In Indiana on Friday, Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) detailed his step-by step framework for loosening stay-at-home orders in the state. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also said his state was “many days, not weeks” away from easing restrictions.

Also Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) extended the state’s stay-at-home measures to May 15, but said some previously suspended forms of work â€" including construction, real estate and work that is typically performed outdoors (such as forestry services) â€" can start back up May 7. Whitmer has faced growing resistance from protesters; President Trump joined the pressure earlier in the day with a tweet urging the governor to “give a little, and put out the fire.”

Along with lifting the order that in early April called on the state’s residents to limit movements beyond their homes and for essential business, McMaster also said restaurants may provide outdoor, dine-in service in addition to take out and delivery, beginning Monday. The new guidelines limit table groups to eight people and instruct restaurants to sanitize tables and chairs between customers, in addition to other measures.

Despite lifting some restrictions, McMaster emphasized Friday that the virus still presents a threat to the state.

“Our goal from the onset of this deadly pandemic has been to protect South Carolinians, but as we all know, the state’s economic health is a major component of the state’s public health,” McMaster said in a statement. “South Carolinians, now more than ever, should be vigilant in protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their communities by practicing social distancing and continuing to follow the advice and recommendations from our public health experts.”

By Michael Brice-Saddler

May 1, 2020 at 6:11 PM EDT

Government investigators changed yardstick for coronavirus drug remdesivir during clinical trial

In an unusual move, government clinical trial investigators changed the primary metric for measuring the success of Gilead’s experimental drug remdesivir as a coronavirus treatment two weeks before Anthony S. Fauci’s announcement that the drug would be the new “standard of care.”

Instead of counting how many people taking the drug were kept alive on ventilators or died, among other measures, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it would judge the drug primarily on a different outcome: how long it took surviving patients to recover.

Death and other negative outcomes were moved to secondary status: They would still be tracked, but they would no longer be the key measure of remdesivir’s performance.

By Christopher Rowland

May 1, 2020 at 5:51 PM EDT

Congress’s attending physician offers guidelines ahead of Senate’s return next week

With the Senate poised to return Monday, the top congressional medical office issued a seven-page recommendation for how senators and their top aides should conduct business to try to safely work during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Senate has not had a full session, with a formal roll call vote, since the night of March 25, when it passed a more than $2 trillion rescue package to fight the health and economic crises set off by the deadly virus. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has declared Congress an essential branch of government and is bringing the Senate back to begin work on presidential nominees and other business, prompting objections from some Democrats who want to follow the House’s decision to delay returning to session while Washington faces what might be the peak of the outbreak in the city.

The advice, sent from Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician of Congress, includes establishing a monitor in each office who will oversee daily checkups such as temperature-taking of any staff who come to the Senate or its office buildings. Visitors will still be allowed into Senate offices, although limitations are encouraged.

Offices are strongly advised to limit the number of aides who return to their desks.

“It is critical that an emphasis be placed on establishing the minimum necessary personnel to be physically present,” Monahan wrote.

As was the case last week in the House, when almost 400 lawmakers showed up to approve a stimulus bill, masks are encouraged but not mandated.

Monahan’s guidance went to all 100 Senate offices. There is no mention of safety steps that will be taken to protect the hundreds of other workers in support staff positions such as cafeteria and custodial positions; those workers have largely been home since late March.

On Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) warned that those workers, particularly from heavily hit communities in the District, would be putting themselves at risk by returning to work. But McConnell on Friday maintained that the Senate could and should safely return to work.

By Paul Kane

May 1, 2020 at 5:37 PM EDT

White House blocks Fauci from testifying before House panel, committee spokesman says

The White House is blocking Anthony S. Fauci from testifying before a House committee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, the panel’s spokesman said Friday.

Evan Hollander, spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, said that the panel had sought Fauci’s testimony for a hearing next week but that Trump administration officials denied the request. The committee was told by an administration official that the denial came from the White House, Hollander said.

Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been a prominent face in the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus as a lead scientist on the coronavirus task force.

By Erica Werner and Mike DeBonis

May 1, 2020 at 5:15 PM EDT

Michael Cohen finishes two weeks in quarantine, but release from prison not likely until month’s end

Attorneys for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen thought their client would be released from federal prison Friday as part of the Justice Department’s efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus among inmates. By that time, the attorneys thought, Cohen would have served his two weeks of mandatory, prerelease quarantine â€" the last hurdle to his getting out.

But now, according to the attorneys and two other people familiar with the matter, Cohen will have to wait until at least the end of the month, as he is caught up in the latest in a series of evolving Bureau of Prisons directives on who should be first in line to get out.

The delay came to light Friday afternoon, when Jeffrey K. Levine, one of Cohen’s attorneys, wrote to the Rev. Al Sharpton asking him for help in getting Cohen released sooner rather than later.

“As I write this letter Mr. Cohen remains in solitary with no change of clothing, showers once every three days, drinking dirty water from a rusty faucet in his cell, inedible food and his blood pressure/hypertension is not well controlled by medication prescribed by the prison physician,” Levine wrote.

Two people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal details of a particular inmate’s situation, said Cohen is still on track to get released but not until the end of May. That is because the Bureau of Prisons last month said inmates must first have served 50 percent of their sentence to get priority for release, or have served 25 percent and have 18 months or less left.

Cohen, who reported to prison last May to begin serving a three-year sentence for financial crimes and lying to Congress, will cross that latter threshold later this month and would likely be eligible for release then, the people said. One of the people said Cohen would remain in quarantine.

Inmates in several institutions have complained that the Bureau of Prisons’ shifting guidelines have caused significant distress â€" and even now, it is unclear if the rules are being applied consistently. Cohen’s case has attracted particular attention because of his high-profile affiliation with President Trump and his notable break from the commander in chief.

Roger Adler, another attorney for Cohen, said, “I am disappointed, but remain hopeful that he will be possibly released later this month.” The Justice Department declined to comment, and a Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman did not immediately return a message.

By Matt Zapotosky and Josh Dawsey

May 1, 2020 at 4:41 PM EDT

FDA approves emergency use of remdesvir for coronavirus

The agency’s nod Friday, which was announced by President Trump, came two days after Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, announced that trial data showed the drug had a “clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.”

“That is really quite important,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is overseeing a study of more than 1,000 patients in the United States and around the world.

The FDA said Friday that the emergency use authorization allows for remdesivir to be distributed in the United States and administered intravenously by health care providers to treat covid-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. Severe disease is defined as patients with low blood oxygen levels or needing oxygen therapy or more intensive breathing support such as a mechanical ventilator.

“Today’s action is an important step in our efforts to collaborate with innovators and researchers to provide sick patients timely access to new therapies where appropriate, while at the same time supporting research to further evaluate whether they are safe and effective,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn.

Trump announced the first authorized therapy for covid-19 during a meeting in the Oval Office with Hahn, other officials and Daniel O’Day, chief executive of Gilead, the company that developed the drug to treat Ebola. The FDA then immediately released a statement formally announcing the decision.

Trump called it a “promising situation” to treat “people who are not doing well.”

O’Day said in a television interview Friday that the company is prepared to get the medicine to as many patients as possible as soon as possible.

“We’re all focused on making sure that we make this accessible and affordable to patients around the globe,” O’Day said on NBC’s “Today” show.

By Laurie McGinley, Colby Itkowitz and Mark Berman

May 1, 2020 at 4:13 PM EDT

Indiana governor lays out extensive framework for reopening state, with goal of normalcy by July 4

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on Friday unveiled a detailed framework for reopening the state, a step-by-step loosening of restrictions beginning Monday and continuing in the weeks ahead â€" with a goal of resuming normalcy by July 4.

Holcomb (R) stressed that the plans are not set in stone, saying that “this road map is subject to change,” depending on new information.

“We are ready to move ahead in a measured way,” Holcomb said. Later, he added: “This is why we call it a road map. … There’s a lot of different ways to get to a point. If a road washes out, you’ve got to take a detour.”

Hours before Indiana’s stay-at-home order was set to expire, Holcomb detailed what he said were principles for determining reopening, including hospitalizations, hospital capacity, testing and contact-tracing ability.

Under the timetable Holcomb announced, some restrictions would relax for most of the state Monday. Slightly larger gatherings would be allowed, travel restrictions would be lifted and retailers would be able to open at 50 percent capacity. (The changes will take effect in Indiana’s two most populous counties a week later, while a third county will wait another week because of an outbreak, he said.)

A few weeks later, the goal is to let larger social gatherings resume, allow gyms and playgrounds to reopen and allow a larger capacity inside retailers. By mid-June, the hope is for even larger social gatherings, full capacity at stores and to have bars, nightclubs and museums open at 50 percent capacity. By July 4, the plan says, the aim is to see sporting events resume and to lift restrictions on amusement and water parks.

The plan will require “constant vigilance from all of us,” Holcomb said. “In other words, this is up to each and every one of us.”

By Mark Berman

May 1, 2020 at 3:59 PM EDT

Clues to coronavirus infection may be in your toilet

A growing number of scientists are looking to sewage to help track the spread of the novel coronavirus in communities around the world.

S*** is a great source of information,” said David Hirschberg, a founder of a nonprofit biotech firm and professor at the University of Washington Tacoma.

Researchers say the virus can be detected in untreated wastewater within days of infection and as much as two weeks before a person grows ill enough to seek medical care â€" a kind of early warning system for public health officials.

By Brady Dennis

May 1, 2020 at 3:27 PM EDT

The last time the government sought a ‘warp speed’ vaccine, it was a fiasco

The federal government has launched “Operation Warp Speed” to deliver a covid-19 vaccine by January, months ahead of standard vaccine timelines. The last time the government tried that, it was a total fiasco.

Gerald Ford was president. It was 1976. Early that year, a mysterious new strain of swine flu turned up at Fort Dix, N.J. One Army private died. Many others became severely ill. The nation’s top infectious disease doctors were shaken.

Ford raced to come up with a response, consulting with Jonas Salk and Alfred Sabin, the scientists behind the polio vaccine, and in late March he announced an audacious plan for the federal government to both produce the vaccine and organize its distribution.

By Michael Rosenwald

May 1, 2020 at 3:06 PM EDT

Two Trump properties are reopening their golf courses

Two of President Trump’s best-known properties â€" in Doral, Fla., and Bedminster, N.J. â€" are reopening their golf courses after local lockdowns were relaxed.

In Doral, Trump’s huge resort had closed down in late March, by order of local authorities. But after the order was loosened, Doral announced that it had reopened Friday, for golf only. But the main resort will remain closed, and â€" even outdoors â€" golfers would be required to maintain social distancing.

“Do not shake hands before or after your round,” the club warned on its website. Unlike most other Trump courses, the Doral course is open to the public. On its website, the club also said that golfers should not touch flagsticks or share golf carts. The rest of the resort, which also includes restaurants, ballrooms and a hotel, remains closed.

In Bedminster, Trump’s private club told members that it would reopen Saturday, after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) loosened the state’s lockdown on some outdoor facilities, according to an email sent to club members.

But the email, obtained by The Washington Post, showed that Bedminster will still be operating under new rules. Players were told not to show up more than 20 minutes before their tee time, and not to congregate on the course or in the parking lot. The indoor facilities at the club remain closed, the email said.

Trump owns two other golf courses in New Jersey. The Trump Organization did not respond to a question asking whether they would reopen Saturday as well.

By David Fahrenthold

May 1, 2020 at 2:55 PM EDT

What VA isn’t saying about hydroxychloroquine â€" and everything else

The Department of Veterans Affairs has sidestepped questions about its response to the coronavirus, veteran advocates have said, even as the number of deaths at VA hospitals attributed to covid-19 eclipsed 500 on Friday.

That includes the department's continued use of hydroxychloroquine, which in a study was linked to higher rates of death among veterans.

“We request the immediate halt of this drug for our veterans until further information on its true impact is determined,” said William Schmitz, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

VA has also not released demographic data on patient deaths and has not warned veterans who may be at higher risk of infection, advocates said, including black veterans and those exposed to Agent Orange and burn pits while in combat.

By Alex Horton

May 1, 2020 at 2:52 PM EDT

Deaths in Italy, Spain and France decline, while U.K. is still hit hard

The latest developments from Western European countries with major coronavirus outbreaks:

· Italy’s Civil Protection Agency reported an additional 269 deaths Friday, down slightly from 285 on Thursday. The country tallied 1,965 new infections over the previous 24 hours, compared with 1,872 cases confirmed the day before. In addition, 1,578 people remained in intensive care Friday, a figure that has also sharply declined as Italy’s outbreak has slowed.

Despite Italy’s overall progress in containing coronavirus cases, the country is still reeling from an official death toll that stood Friday at 28,236, the second-highest in the world behind the United States, according to the available data.

· The United Kingdom confirmed 739 deaths related to covid-19 in the previous 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 27,510 as the country ominously inches toward overtaking Italy in fatalities. U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock reported an additional 6,201 confirmed coronavirus cases. Overall, 177,454 people in the United Kingdom have tested positive and 15,111 are hospitalized as the country has struggled to ramp up its testing capacity.

· Spain reported an additional 281 deaths, a slight increase from Thursday but an overall decline from the peak of the country’s outbreak, in which 24,824 people have died. Spain, which is beginning to loosen parts of its strict lockdown, also confirmed an additional 1,781 people testing positive for the coronavirus.

· France on Friday had its lowest daily increase in deaths since the end of March: 218 people died, raising overall fatalities to 24,594. For the 23rd consecutive day, France also reported a decline in people in intensive care: 3,878 people compared with 4,019, Health Ministry chief Jérôme Salomon announced. France has 25,887 people hospitalized with covid-19, though that figure has been steadily decreasing.

By Miriam Berger

May 1, 2020 at 2:51 PM EDT

Romney calls for hazard pay for workers on the front lines of the pandemic

Sen. Mitt Romney is proposing a plan to better compensate health-care workers, grocery store employees and other essential personnel working through the coronavirus pandemic as the issue of hazard pay becomes a growing flash point in the next round of emergency relief negotiations.

Romney (R-Utah), the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, wants to boost the pay of qualifying essential workers by up to $12 per hour for the next three months, a bonus that could add up to as much as $1,920 a month.

“This is a proposal which I think is fiscally responsible but also recognizes the additional risk that people are taking,” Romney said in a phone interview with The Washington Post on Friday.

By Seung Min Kim

May 1, 2020 at 2:24 PM EDT

Britain says it provided 100,000 tests a day, marking a promised milestone

LONDON â€" Early in April, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock set out what he called an “audacious goal” to provide 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of the month. It appears Britain has met that target, more or less.

Hancock said the United Kingdom had provided 122,347 coronavirus tests on the last day of April and that widespread testing across all sectors of society “will help us unlock the lockdown.”

The health secretary boasted that reaching the 100,000 mark represented “an unprecedented expansion” and “incredible achievement” â€" not just for himself, he demurred, but for the public and private sector teams who delivered the results.

The British news media has been obsessed, day-to-day, with whether officials could reach the target â€" as a kind of demonstrable benchmark of their competence. Just a couple of days ago, the number of tests carried out was about 50,000.

After the announcement, made at a news conference Friday evening, local time, reporters noted that tens of thousands of the tests in Hancock’s total were kits that had just now been mailed to homes â€" and that it was unclear if those tests had even been taken or produced results. The Guardian newspaper reported the 100,000 figure may have been “artificially boosted.”

The exact numbers provided Thursday may not really matter, say infectious disease specialists. What is important is for a country to have enough reliable antigen and antibody tests to confirm who is sick; who can work and who should isolate; who has been infected in the past and how widely the virus has spread; what the mortality rate really is; and which lockdown measures might be safely lifted.

By William Booth

May 1, 2020 at 2:07 PM EDT

Infections confirmed in thousands of meat and poultry plant workers, more than 100 facilities, CDC says

Coronavirus cases were confirmed among thousands of workers in meat and poultry processing facilities across the country in April, impacting more than 100 plants in upward of a dozen states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a report released Friday, the CDC said it examined data from 115 meat or poultry facilities in 19 states. These plants employed more than 130,000 workers, more than 4,900 of whom had confirmed cases. At least 20 coronavirus deaths were reported.

These numbers are likely an undercount, because the CDC report says not all states with coronavirus cases in such facilities contributed data. The prevalence of testing also likely played a role, the CDC found, with more infections reported in places with more testing.

President Trump earlier this week signed an executive order forcing meat plants to remain open to avoid food supply shortages. Industry analysts say pork and beef processing has fallen 25 percent because of outbreaks, while workers say companies are not doing enough to keep them safe.

The CDC said it reached out to every state with at least one confirmed coronavirus case in a meat or poultry plant after learning of cases in early April.

But the report acknowledges other gaps in the data it received, saying four states with at least one infection in such a facility reported no data. Two states â€" Pennsylvania and Tennessee â€" did not report the number of workers in their affected plants. And the number of deaths in Iowa facilities, where nearly 1 in 5 workers in two affected plants tested positive, was not available, the report said.

The CDC said that facilities should keep workers at least six feet apart when feasible, screen people and encourage symptomatic workers to stay home without losing seniority or pay. The report also suggested employers avoid trying to incentivize people with symptoms to show up.

By Mark Berman

May 1, 2020 at 1:35 PM EDT

WHO says virus is natural, but investigation is needed to show how it spread to humans

The World Health Organization is convinced that the novel coronavirus is natural, but it is still working to understand how the virus jumped to humans, officials told a daily briefing on Friday.

“We have listened again and again to numerous scientists who have looked at the sequences and looked at this virus. We are assured that this virus is natural in origin,” said Mike Ryan, WHO emergencies chief.

“What is important is that we establish what that natural host for this virus is,” Ryan said.

Ryan and other officials had been asked about the idea that the virus could have accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak. On Thursday, President Trump told reporters he had seen evidence that suggested this was the case, though many scientific researchers say this is unlikely.

Without directly addressing that idea, Ryan said it is important to understand how the virus spread to humans and that the WHO would be supporting research into that field.

“The primary purpose of [learning the natural host] is to ensure we understand the virus more, we understand the animal-human interface and we understand how the animal human species barrier was breached,” Ryan said. “The purpose of understanding that is that we can put in place the necessary prevention and public health measures to prevent that happening again anywhere. We are pursuing that.”

The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the organization was investigating the virus’s origin at the advice of its expert committee. “We accept the committee’s advice that WHO works to identify the animal source of the virus through international scientific and collaborative missions,” Tedros said.

A number of world leaders have said there should be an international investigation into the outbreak. On Friday, the WHO’s representative in China told Sky News that while China was investigating the cause of the outbreak, international experts were not involved.

By Adam Taylor

May 1, 2020 at 12:57 PM EDT

Guatemalans deported from U.S. face backlash at home amid rising virus fears

Guatemalan authorities say nearly one-fifth of the country’s confirmed coronavirus cases can be traced to over 100 people deported from the United States and then found to be infected with the virus.

That has led to a particularly painful homecoming for deportees, even if they tested negative: Denied the safety they sought in the United States, many upon return are facing ostracization, suspicion and even violence over fears that they are vectors for the virus, Reuters reported.

In Guatemala’s indigenous Maya communities, home to many migrant workers in the United States, villagers have warned recent returnees that their house could be burned if they do not heed the community and leave. In one town, residents tried to set fire to a shelter for migrants, according to Reuters. Another Maya village has prohibited deportees from entering after a neighboring town found that two recent returnees from United States tested positive.

“Only a few months ago, most people were very happy (with migrants) because they came bringing remittance checks, but now they treat them like criminals,” President Alejandro Giammattei said during a national broadcast last month, Reuters reported.

Guatemala suspended flights from the United States this month after finding that three different planes since March carried deportees who tested positive for the virus after disembarking. On Thursday, one flight took off after Washington agreed to test passengers before boarding them, though Guatemalan authorities said it was not an official resumption, the Associated Press reported.

The U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Agency (ICE) has said it is screening passengers. But migrants returned in recent weeks from the United States to Colombia, Mexico, Haiti and Jamaica have also tested positive for the virus causing the disease covid-19.

By Miriam Berger

May 1, 2020 at 12:42 PM EDT

New York schools to remain closed for the rest of the year

Schools in New York will remain closed for the rest of the academic year with students expected to continue distance learning for the final two months of the semester, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said Friday. The decision affects roughly 2.6 million children, including in the United States’ largest school district in New York City.

“We must protect our children. Every parent, every citizen feels that we must protect our students,” Cuomo said, noting it is not possible, given the challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, to bring students, teachers and staff back to school safely.

Cuomo said a decision on whether to hold summer school will be made by the end of May, but noted it was too early to make a determination on plans for in-person classes resuming in the fall.

“The fall is a long time away,” Cuomo said.

Friday’s decision caps what had been at times a tense standoff between the governor and his longtime political rival, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D). The mayor said April 11 that New York City schools would close for the year only to be contradicted by Cuomo hours later. The two spent days locked in a dispute over who had authority over the nation’s largest school district.

New York joins 43 other states and the District in ordering schools closed for the remainder of the year.

By Kim Bellware

May 1, 2020 at 12:33 PM EDT

Senate Democrats unveil ‘Paycheck Security Act’

A group of Senate Democrats unveiled a proposal Friday to pay businesses up to $90,000 for furloughed or laid-off workers for at least six months.

The “Paycheck Security Act” would apply to businesses that have suffered at least a 20 percent drop in revenue, and businesses of all sizes would be eligible. That would allow businesses that were not covered by the small-business Paycheck Protection Program to apply.

And since the PPP is designed to last only two months, the new proposal could supplement it once it runs out, the senators said.

The proposal was written by a coalition of liberal and moderate members of the Senate’s Democratic caucus: Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats.

The idea of the program is to “simply say to virtually all workers in America: You will continue to receive the paycheck you’ve previously received, and with that, by the way, you will continue to receive the health care,” Sanders said.

Companies receiving the grants would have to commit to not cutting the pay and benefits of rank-and-file workers, offering to bring back workers laid off since Feb. 1 and capping executive compensation, among other requirements.

Similar proposals have been introduced by House Democrats, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has suggested she is open to the approach. There’s also a similar piece of legislation from a Senate Republican, Josh Hawley of Missouri.

By Erica Werner

May 1, 2020 at 12:08 PM EDT

Trump campaign ordered red face masks for supporters, WSJ reports

Out: “Make America Great Again” baseball caps. In: Trump campaign face masks.

The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump campaign to control the narrative of the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign, beginning Sunday, will also be airing television ads portraying President Trump “as a strong leader during the pandemic,” the newspaper reported.

Trump is often seen donning his red MAGA hats, but it’s unclear if he would wear a face covering emblazoned with his name or slogan since he has refused to wear one of any kind thus far.

By Colby Itkowitz

May 1, 2020 at 11:45 AM EDT

Apple might make it less annoying to unlock your phone while you’re wearing a face mask

Apple knows when you’re wearing a face mask â€" and the company might make it easier to unlock your phone when it sees one.

Apple is reportedly testing a feature that checks to see if you are wearing a mask, then sends you directly to the screen to enter a passcode on iPhones. Developers who are part of Apple’s beta testing program reported seeing the feature in the newest tests for iOS 13.5.

As masks become required or strongly recommended across the country amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, many people have felt the now familiar frustration. While users fumble at a grocery store or out on a run to unlock their device, the phone gets confused until finally presenting a keypad to unlock it.

The new Apple feature sends the phone directly to the passcode screen while checking the face, rather than making people wait for the facial unlock to fail a few times.

By Rachel Lerman

May 1, 2020 at 11:32 AM EDT

India extends lockdown, but parts of the country are set to reopen

NEW DELHI â€" India will extend its nationwide lockdown for another two weeks, while also allowing significant relaxations in parts of the country less impacted by the coronavirus.

The lockdown â€" one of the harshest in the world â€" was due to end Sunday, and the government is still struggling to contain the growing outbreak. While coronavirus cases have steadily risen to over 35,000 with more than 1,100 deaths, the rate of doubling has slowed considerably, which officials attribute to the strict lockdown.

Some restrictions will continue nationwide. Travel by air, rail and rapid transit, and interstate movement on roads is still prohibited. Educational institutions, restaurants, hotels, cinema halls and gyms will continue to remain shut. All religious and social gatherings are banned.

Districts that have reported zero cases or no fresh cases in 21 days, mostly in rural areas, have been allowed to open for all other activities. Some economic activity is also permitted in areas marked as red zones, which are identified based on the rate of increase in cases and include cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

Manufacturing units â€" such as those for IT hardware, export products and pharmaceuticals â€" and construction work in which employees live on-site will be allowed to function. Private offices can open with one-third capacity. While all shops besides those in malls will be allowed to open, e-commerce sites will only be allowed to deliver essential items in the red zones.

The strictest measures, such as no movement, will remain in place in containment zones marked in hot spots.

By Niha Masih and Joanna Slater

May 1, 2020 at 11:32 AM EDT

Singapore to house migrant workers who recovered from virus on cruise ships

Singapore, once considered a model for containing the coronavirus, has been struggling to suppress a second wave of infections among migrant workers housed in dense dormitories â€" the kind of crowded and contained environment in which the virus thrives.

As part of efforts to stave off this outbreak, authorities have been moving workers, who largely hail from South Asian countries, to empty military barracks and apartment buildings, as well as building new facilities.

Now the government has another idea: Housing people who have recovered from the virus on cruise ships, even though similar vessels have themselves been sites of massive coronavirus outbreaks.

In the most notorious incident, more than 700 people contracted the virus and 13 people died while quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.

Singaporean authorities said they are taking every precaution to ensure workers are safe, such as housing people in twin suites with private bathrooms and maintaining a healthy air flow and social distancing measures, Agence France-Presse reported.

The two ships designated as alternative dormitories can together house 2,000 people, according to AFP.

Singapore has over 17,000 confirmed cases, and nearly all recent infections have been among the country’s migrant working class whom, critics say, authorities overlooked in its initial response.

By Miriam Berger

May 1, 2020 at 11:23 AM EDT

Top E.U. official backs international probe of virus’s origins

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has voiced support for an investigation of the origins of the novel coronavirus, lending European Union backing to a suggestion that Chinese officials have opposed.

Asked if she wanted China to work with the E.U. and other nations on an investigation of how the virus started, von der Leyen told CNBC: “Yes, I think this is for all of us important. I mean for the whole world it is important.

“You never know when the next virus is starting, so we all want for the next time, we have learned our lesson and we’ve established a system of early warning that really functions, and the whole world has to contribute to that,” Von der Leyen said in the Thursday interview.

The head of the E.U.’s executive branch also said she did not think that such a move should cause problems in relations between Europe and China. “It’s in all our own interests,” said von der Leyen, a former German defense minister.

How the coronavirus spread to humans is one of the most controversial questions of the pandemic. Some U.S. officials have promoted the idea that the outbreak may have been started inadvertently through a leak at a bioresearch facility in Wuhan, although researchers say this is unlikely and not supported by any public evidence.

President Trump said Thursday that he had seen evidence that supports the lab-leak theory, but he did not provide any details. His remarks contradicted other accounts.

Critics of the Chinese government say China has not been transparent about the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province. U.S. officials have discussed retaliatory measures against China for its handling of the outbreak, The Post reported Thursday.

This week, Sweden’s health minister said her government plans to ask the E.U. for an international investigation of the source of the coronavirus.

“When the global situation of Covid-19 is under control, it is both reasonable and important that an international, independent investigation be conducted to gain knowledge about the origin and spread of the coronavirus,” Lena Hallengren wrote Wednesday to parliament.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also called for a global inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak, although he said Friday that he had no evidence to suggest the virus could have leaked from a laboratory.

Chinese officials have pushed back against calls for an inquiry. This week, Beijing’s ambassador to Australia hinted that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian products if Canberra continues to call for an investigation, which he described as “pandering” to Washington.

By Adam Taylor

May 1, 2020 at 11:20 AM EDT

The U.S. wants Mexico to keep its defense and health-care factories open. Mexican workers are getting sick and dying.

For years, the United States outfitted its armed forces and hospitals with products made partially in Mexican factories, trusting that the world’s busiest cross-border supply chain could withstand any crisis. But as the first coronavirus cases hit Mexico, workers here began raising concerns that they were risking their lives to provide for the U.S. defense and health-care industries, along with other sectors north of the Rio Grande. Demonstrators fanned out to factories across Mexico’s industrial corridor.

In a statement to The Washington Post, the Mexican government said it was aiming “to strike a balance between the measures necessary to mitigate the health crisis and seek to maintain essential economic activities in operation.”

By Kevin Sieff

May 1, 2020 at 11:11 AM EDT

As states reopen, cities are staying shut. That could mean more coronavirus in rural America.

As America’s piecemeal reopening gathers pace, states are each making their own choices about how quickly to move toward what passes for the new normal in the age of the novel coronavirus. But there are major divisions inside many of those states: Even as rural and suburban areas open, cities are staying firmly shut.

Around Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday, restaurants and shops were starting to reopen. But not in the city itself, home to the fastest-growing coronavirus infection rate in the country.

“Now’s not the time,” said Bob Scott, Sioux City’s mayor. “We’re not even close to being ready.”

By Griff Witte

May 1, 2020 at 10:57 AM EDT

Amazon, Instacart workers plan May Day strike to protest treatment during the coronavirus pandemic

U.S. workers at a handful of major companies plan to walk off the job Friday, protesting treatment during the coronavirus outbreak.

Warehouse workers and grocery employees at Amazon and its subsidiary Whole Foods and gig workers for Instacart and Target-owned Shipt are banding together for the protest on May Day, or International Workers Day. The workers â€" whose jobs have become ever more critical during the age of coronavirus quarantines and stay-at-home orders â€" are calling for more personal protective equipment, professional cleaning services and hazard pay from their employers.

Those groups of workers have each previously waged individual protests since March, with what companies described as little impact on operations. But Friday marks the first time that workers classified as essential will combine their efforts.

By Rachel Lerman and Nitasha Tiku

May 1, 2020 at 10:32 AM EDT

Trump touted Google as a solution to testing. Verily has barely made a dent.

President Trump’s announcement in March that Google was developing a tool to screen and schedule people for covid-19 tests heralded the yet-to-be-launched website as a way to streamline testing.

But seven weeks later, that tool is available in only a handful of cities, and Google sister company Verily â€" which was really behind the effort â€" says it has facilitated slightly more than 30,000 tests as of Wednesday. That’s a small portion of the more than 5.8 million estimated tests taken across the nation since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Verily’s slow expansion across the United States underscores just how complicated coronavirus testing remains. Mass testing is key to lifting stay-at-home orders, health experts say, and has not been implemented widely enough.

By Rachel Lerman

May 1, 2020 at 10:22 AM EDT

Why the IRS sent $1,200 to a wealthy British woman who lives in London and says she doesn’t need it

Tens of millions of Americans are still waiting for their $1,200 stimulus checks â€" but some payments have already gone out to people who don’t even remotely qualify as Americans in need.

Elizabeth B., a British national who asked that her last name not be used for fear of backlash, was shocked to find that her U.S. bank account had received a direct deposit from the IRS for $1,200. She received the payment on April 15.

The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or Cares Act, provides a $1,200 refundable tax credit for qualified individuals and $2,400 for qualified joint filers. There is an additional payment of $500 for every dependent child younger than 17.

In an effort to quickly disburse the stimulus money, the IRS used people’s tax returns from 2018 or 2019. If you got a refund in those years, you were among the first to receive money. Nearly 90 million Americans received their $1,200 stimulus payments, including people who received payments meant for deceased spouses, parents and siblings â€" and Elizabeth.

By Michelle Singletary

May 1, 2020 at 10:08 AM EDT

Experimental coronavirus drug not a cure, but ‘a very, very significant’ treatment, firm’s CEO says

Amid speculation that the Food and Drug Administration will seek authorization for doctors to prescribe the experimental drug remdesivir to coronavirus patients, the company behind the drug said it was poised to get more of the product out if that happens.

Daniel O’Day, chief executive of Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company that invented the drug, said Friday morning that he expects the FDA to “act very quickly.”

“And we are prepared as a company to make sure we get this medicine to as many patients as possible as soon as possible after that approval,” O’Day said on NBC’s “Today” show.

The drug is being examined as a coronavirus treatment to speed up the recovery time for people with the virus. Anthony S. Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases â€" which is overseeing a study of its impact â€" said data showed the drug had “a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery.”

The study found that patients treated with the drug were ready to be discharged within 11 days on average, lower than the 15-day average for patients who received a placebo. Fauci said this week that while the accelerated recovery time “doesn’t seem like a knockout 100 percent, it is a very important proof of concept.”

O'Day said Friday that the drug is “really for the most severe patients,” specifically those who are hospitalized and seriously ill.

“What we see here is really of course not a cure, but a very, very significant and important treatment for patients,” he said.

He was also asked Friday about the affordability of the drug if its use expands.

“Our responsibility is to get this medicine in the hands of as many patients as possible and really try to make a difference in this pandemic,” he said. “We’re all focused on making sure that we make this accessible and affordable to patients around the globe.”

By Mark Berman

May 1, 2020 at 10:04 AM EDT

Was the new coronavirus accidentally released from a Wuhan lab? It’s doubtful.

President Trump suggested Thursday that he had seen evidence that the new coronavirus emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China â€" just hours after the director of national intelligence issued a statement saying the matter is under investigation.

At least two labs in Wuhan research bat coronaviruses: the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have become a focal point of suspicion, in part because of their proximity to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where a cluster of the first cases of the new coronavirus appeared. Speculation has also been heightened because of the actions of Chinese officials. Before the Chinese government had even alerted the World Health Organization to the growing epidemic, scientists were told to destroy early samples of the virus, according to the Straits Times, making it difficult to find the virus’s origins.

While technically possible, no direct evidence has emerged to support the lab leak theory. The Fact Checker found that the balance of the scientific evidence strongly supports the conclusion that the new coronavirus emerged from nature â€" be it the Wuhan market or somewhere else. Too many unexpected coincidences would have had to take place for it to have escaped from a lab. But the Chinese government has not been willing or able to provide information that would clarify lingering questions about any possible role played by either Wuhan lab.

By Meg Kelly and Sarah Cahlan

May 1, 2020 at 9:49 AM EDT

Mnuchin says private schools with large endowments should return business loan funding

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that private schools with large endowments should return federal funds received under a new loan program to aid businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

His pronouncement, in a morning tweet, comes amid reports that a number of elite schools throughout the country have secured assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program, including one in West Los Angeles attended by two of Mnuchin’s children.

“It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans,” Mnuchin tweeted, referring to the program, which is intended to help keep employees on the payroll. “They should return them.”

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Brentwood School, an elite K-12 institution, received a loan, according to an April 24 newsletter it sent to parents that said the federal funds would “help us enormously as we move forward into a financially ambiguous future.” At least two of Mnuchin’s children attend the school, according to The Times.

Monica Crowley, assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs, said in a statement to the paper that Mnuchin “has no knowledge if the school has taken out a PPP loan.”

“He saw in the press today that private schools with endowments have taken out these loans and he does not think it’s appropriate,” she added.

Among the other private schools that have secured money through the program is St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., which is attended by President Trump’s son, Barron. In a statement to CNN on Thursday, the school said it intends to keep the money, which it said would help “ensure retention of our full faculty and staff, including hourly employees and coaches, during this very challenging and uncertain time."

By John Wagner

May 1, 2020 at 9:38 AM EDT

The coronavirus spreads fast. Dangerous conspiracy theories about it spread faster.

Since the novel coronavirus pandemic began, misinformation has proliferated on the Internet â€" par for the course during a crisis. People took to social media in droves to share false claims that covering your body in chlorine or eating garlic were effective methods of fighting the virus, both of which were disproved by the World Health Organization.

The pandemic has also sparked a wave of more insidious conspiracy theories such as the false claim that 5G mobile networks spread and worsen the coronavirus, which has led to dozens of instances of arsonists setting fire to cell towers across Europe.

Misinformation spreads online much like a virus itself. Though various types spread slightly differently, the transmission of the 5G conspiracy theory offers some insight into how false claims grow online.

By Travis Andrews

May 1, 2020 at 9:18 AM EDT

Coronavirus lockdowns in Afghanistan trigger rise in food prices, put more than 7 million children at risk of hunger

More than 7 million children in Afghanistan are at risk of hunger as the price of food has soared because of lockdowns imposed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a Save the Children report Friday.

The report stated that border closures have caused the price of food to skyrocket, and lockdown restrictions have deprived many Afghans of income. The price of wheat flour and cooking oil in markets of Afghanistan’s main cities increased by up to 23 percent in the past month, according to United Nations data.

“For many Afghans, the biggest impact of the pandemic will not be the virus itself, but the hunger caused by lockdown measures and a breakdown in supply lines,” said Timothy Bishop, Save the Children’s Afghanistan country director.

“We are facing the very real risk that children could die from starvation,” he said. He called on the international community to “fly in food supplies to be distributed to some of the most vulnerable communities.”

Afghanistan had recorded over 2,300 cases of the coronavirus as of Friday morning, according to the Health Ministry, but officials fear the true number is much higher, as testing remains limited.

Decades of violence and poor funding have left Afghanistan with one of the weakest health-care systems in the world. More than half the country’s population lives below the poverty line. Before the coronavirus outbreak, Save the Children estimated that more than 5 million children in Afghanistan would need aid or support this year.

The U.N. World Food Program recently warned that more than a quarter-billion people worldwide could be affected by a global hunger pandemic triggered by the coronavirus lockdowns.

David Beasley, WFP’s executive director, said that if funding is cut or assistance is blocked by border closures, “300,000 could starve to death every single day for the next three months,” according to a WFP analysis.

By Susannah George

May 1, 2020 at 9:03 AM EDT

China threatened Australia with a boycott if it pushed a coronavirus investigation, reigniting a debate over economic ties

SEOUL â€" Soon after Australian officials called in April for a joint international investigation of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the Chinese government ratcheted up pressure on Canberra to drop a proposal that it believed would unfairly target China.

In an interview last weekend, Ambassador Cheng Jingye hinted that Beijing held a trump card: a boycott. Persist with the inquiry, Cheng said, and “ordinary people might ask: “Why should we drink Australian wine? Why eat Australian beef?”

Cheng hoped to quickly squelch the investigation. Instead, he sparked a furor â€" and reignited a years-long debate in Australia over how a self-described “middle power” in China’s shadow should balance its economic and other national interests.

By Gerry Shih

May 1, 2020 at 8:54 AM EDT

Sports leagues really want to play games again. They just can’t figure out how.

After the novel coronavirus brought athletic competitions to a screeching halt in mid-March, the organized sports world in the United States is no closer today than seven weeks ago in determining how and when to resume play.

Amid mounting economic pressure for the sports world to recommence â€" with everything from eight-figure player salaries to stadium workers’ minimum-wage paychecks hanging in the balance â€" the American sports leagues have considered a variety of options, but every possibility presents obstacles, many insurmountable.

Interviews with league and union officials across the United States’ major sports reveal that no league is prepared to cancel its suspended season, but with the clock ticking â€" in a normal year, the NHL and NBA playoffs would be well underway â€" none is close to announcing definitive return-to-play plans either. League officials have mulled adjusting schedules, realigning divisions, staging games at neutral sites, and sheltering an entire league and isolating players in a single city. But as state restrictions change and the understanding of the virus evolves, no option has risen above the speculative.

By Rick Maese

May 1, 2020 at 8:42 AM EDT

End of federal social distancing guidelines ‘a very, very bad idea,’ Schumer says

Schumer made his comments during a remote appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” where the host posed the question in a colorful fashion: “Do you think ending the federal guidelines now is a good idea? I mean, is it over? Can we go start licking doorknobs?”

“It’s a very, very bad idea,” Schumer replied. “We should be listening to the medical experts, and they all tell us we should not go too soon, because it could come back with a vengeance.”

Administration officials say the distancing measures in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak have been replaced by White House guidance on how states should reopen â€" which include less-stringent social distancing recommendations.

During his appearance with Colbert, Schumer also repeated criticism that President Trump has not been aggressive enough in implementing testing.

Trump subsequently attacked Schumer, claiming he was “using a false talking point over & over again” and calling him a “totally overrated loser.”

By John Wagner

May 1, 2020 at 8:39 AM EDT

Pandemic could last two years, researchers say

The coronavirus pandemic could stretch on for two more years with recurring spikes until roughly two-thirds or more of the population is immune, researchers estimate in a new report.

In the report released Thursday by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, researchers warned that the United States should prepare for a dip in cases followed by a sharp resurgence this fall or winter that is even more severe than the current spike.

The late-season spike is among three scenarios researchers predict for the Northern Hemisphere. The other two include a series of smaller waves following the current spring 2020 peak and a “slow burn” of repeated, smaller waves for the next 18 to 24 months.

In all three scenarios, people will continue to die. A vaccine is not predicted to significantly change the projections because one will realistically not be available until after the worst of the outbreak, the report says. It says the novel coronavirus remains hard to contain since people don’t immediately, if ever, show symptoms, so they spread it before they realize they’re infected.

Experts advise governments to plan for the worst-case scenario and prioritize protecting health-care workers, crafting clear communication of the risk and duration of the threat and planning strategies to repeatedly undergo restrictions.

Mike Osterholm, who directs CIDRAP, told CNN that all indications for now point to a longer and harder road ahead.

“The idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology,” he said.

By Kim Bellware

May 1, 2020 at 8:17 AM EDT

Justice Dept. scrutinizes White House-connected doctor linked to hydroxychloroquine

Federal prosecutors are examining the communications of a New York family doctor who appears frequently on Fox News and has been in touch with the White House to tout an anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a treatment for the novel coronavirus, according to people contacted as part of the inquiry.

The examination of Vladimir “Zev” Zelenko’s records began when an associate, conservative commentator Jerome Corsi, accidentally sent an email intended for Zelenko to another “Z” name in his address book â€" federal prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, who as a member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team had spent months scrutinizing Corsi’s activities during the 2016 presidential election.

During episodes of his daily podcast this week and in a YouTube video he posted late Thursday in response to questions from The Washington Post, Corsi said that Zelinsky responded to the unexpected email by reaching out to Corsi’s lawyer and requesting all of Corsi’s communications with Zelenko.

Corsi said he and Zelenko are collaborating on a website designed to connect people with doctors. They have acted lawfully, Corsi added, but he plans to cooperate with the request and has handed over his communications.

By Rosalind Helderman and Matt Zapotosky

May 1, 2020 at 7:54 AM EDT

After a day of armed protesters and a GOP lawsuit threat, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extends state of emergency

Confronted with armed protesters at the state capitol and a lawsuit threat from GOP lawmakers over her executive orders, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was unmoved, deciding to extend Michigan’s state-of-emergency declaration against the legislature’s wishes and without its approval.

Whitmer’s Thursday executive actions, which extend various business closures and the emergency declaration to May 28, capped a remarkable day at the Michigan Capitol building, complete with gun-toting protesters and impassioned speeches on the House floor by Republican lawmakers trying to curtail Whitmer’s power.

Outside the House chamber, protesters crammed into the hallway and stairwell, periodically chanting, “Lock her up!” and “Let us in!” Their chanting could be heard faintly from the House floor â€" and, ultimately, the Republicans gave the protesters what they wanted: a refusal to extend Whitmer’s emergency declaration. It didn’t stop Whitmer from extending it anyway.

By Meagan Flynn

May 1, 2020 at 7:32 AM EDT

Reopened restaurants reveal dining’s ‘new normal’: masked waiters, e-menus and booth dividers

The waiters wear plastic gloves and masks. The menus might be disposable, or even on customers’ phones. Diners might not be allowed to sit with anyone who doesn’t live in their household. Perhaps there’s a faint whiff of bleach in the air, or dividers between booths. The dining rooms can look mostly empty, with six feet or more between tables and restaurants limited to as little as 25 percent of their capacity.

This is what’s not normal about the dining scene this week in Georgia, Tennessee and Alaska, where restaurants were given the go-ahead to resume serving patrons in-house, weeks after the coronavirus shuttered eateries, from farm-to-table bistros to greasy-spoon diners.

But here’s what is: patrons settling into tables and booths, ordering the “Summertime Setback” cocktail at Hugo’s Oyster Bar in Roswell, Ga., the chiles rellenos at Chapultepec in Tyrone, Ga., or the burgers at Matanuska Brewing in Anchorage. They’re greeting servers they haven’t seen in weeks.

By Emily Heil and Tim Carman

May 1, 2020 at 7:17 AM EDT

Stranded in the United States, with no way home or health insurance: ‘We’re just trapped’

She was supposed to stay in New York for a month, exploring the city and swapping business cards. Then the pandemic struck, and her country shuttered its airports. Now, Nuong Faalong, a broadcast journalist from Ghana, is trapped on a friend’s pullout couch.

“This is a terrible nightmare,” said Faalong, 33, who doesn’t have American health insurance â€" or any idea when she can leave.

Thousands of Africans are thought to be stranded in the United States after borders tightened around the world, thrusting them into coronavirus limbo in the nation with the world’s highest death toll. Getting back to an African country is particularly hard when 34 of the continent’s 57 international airports have closed or dramatically cut flights. Panicked people are calling embassies, diplomats say, but national budgets are strained from fighting outbreaks â€" and repatriation flights are astronomically costly.

By Danielle Paquette

May 1, 2020 at 6:42 AM EDT

Trump prepares to leave White House for first time in a month, head to Camp David

President Trump on Friday is scheduled to head to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Western Maryland, in what will be his first travel outside the White House compound in more than a month.

Trump has been eager to resume travel around the country to tout what he sees as his administration’s progress in combating the novel coronavirus and highlight efforts to reopen the country’s economy.

On Tuesday, Trump is scheduled to travel to Phoenix, where he plans to visit a Honeywell facility that is manufacturing N95 respirator masks at an existing aerospace facility to meet increased demand during the pandemic, according to the White House. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) recently extended a stay-at-home order in the state until May 15.

It is not clear how long Trump will stay at Camp David, a trip that was announced late Thursday by the White House. He is scheduled to depart at 5 p.m. Friday. The last time Trump left Washington was March 28, when he traveled to Norfolk to see off the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship that was deployed to New York.

Meanwhile, Kayleigh McEnany is scheduled Friday to hold her first briefing from the podium since becoming the new White House press secretary. Such briefings had long been commonplace under presidents of both parties but had been phased out under Trump. McEnany’s appearance comes as the White House continues to search for ways to better publicize what Trump is doing in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

By John Wagner

May 1, 2020 at 6:33 AM EDT

Fauci warns states rushing to reopen: ‘You’re making a really significant risk’

With the White House’s social distancing guidelines expiring Thursday, leaving states largely in charge of deciding how to move forward, Anthony S. Fauci warned local leaders to avoid “leapfrogging” critical milestones in an effort to reopen their economies amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Obviously you could get away with that, but you’re making a really significant risk,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday evening on CNN.

Fauci, who has repeatedly cautioned against prematurely easing restrictions, said he already noticed that some states and cities are not adhering to the steps laid out in the White House’s recently issued guidance on reopening â€" a plan that administration officials say will now replace the expired federal social distancing measures.

By Allyson Chiu

May 1, 2020 at 6:27 AM EDT

Countries step up police presence as they monitor May Day activities

Authorities around the world were closely monitoring public gatherings on Friday, a day that in normal years is dominated by mass rallies for workers’ rights and has triggered clashes between activists and police in the past.

Concerns over May Day, or International Workers’ Day, rallies prompted an increased police presence in a number of countries on Friday, with one top police official in the Philippines saying authorities were preparing for “mass actions” by militant groups. There were reports of several arrests. In Hong Kong, additional riot police officers were deployed, as well.

In Germany and Greece, some activists had also vowed to ignore bans on gatherings ahead of May 1, but it remained unclear on Friday morning if those plans would result in any major disruptions. The vast majority of events on the continent have been moved online; virtual protests were scheduled to take place in numerous countries, including France and Finland.

This year’s May Day activities come as millions of jobs worldwide are at risk from the coronavirus pandemic, with workers in nations without functioning welfare systems being hit particularly hard.

In Europe, initial figures published Thursday showed that seasonally adjusted unemployment in the euro zone rose by only 0.1 percentage point in March, to 7.4 percent from 7.3 percent in February â€" a relatively slight uptick compared to the far steeper rise in the United States. But some European workers’ rights advocates argue that the numbers do not fully reflect the threat the current crisis poses, because many governments in Europe currently subsidize the salaries of employees to prevent mass layoffs and keep employment figures up.

By Rick Noack

May 1, 2020 at 5:19 AM EDT

Ventilators sent to Britain from China could kill or cause ‘significant patient harm,’ doctors warn

LONDON â€" British doctors have warned that 250 ventilators that arrived in the United Kingdom from China to help treat people infected with the novel coronavirus may actually kill or cause “significant patient harm,” according to a letter reviewed by NBC News.

The document, dated April 13, highlights a string of concerns and notes that the Shangrila 510 model ventilators cannot be cleaned thoroughly and have a “variable and unreliable” oxygen supply. The letter, which was addressed to a senior National Health Service official, also states that the machinery is of “basic” quality and is not suitable for the current crisis.

“We believe that if used, significant patient harm, including death, is likely,” the doctors, who represent a group of health-care workers operating in and around the city of Birmingham, wrote. “We look forward to the withdrawal and replacement of these ventilators with devices better able to provide intensive care ventilation for our patients.”

As the crisis on British soil accelerated and the infection and death rates surged, hospitals struggled to treat patients due to a severe shortage of beds, ventilators and personal protective equipment for staff, with at least one hospital running out of oxygen. Officials appealed to car manufacturers to create breathing devices, while other countries such as Turkey and China flew aid into a country that was scrambling to contain the disease.

In early April, the British government confirmed it had purchased 300 ventilators from China, with senior minister Michael Gove thanking the Chinese government for its support during the crisis.

The coronavirus has so far claimed at least 26,000 lives in the United Kingdom, making it the second worst-hit country in Europe. Italy is currently the most badly affected, with at least 27,967 recorded deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalized with the infection himself, has faced widespread criticism in recent months, including accusations that the country was not adequately prepared for the outbreak. A recent BBC investigation uncovered that the government failed to include crucial items of personal protective equipment, such as gowns, swabs, body bags and visors, in its pandemic stockpile.

By Jennifer Hassan

May 1, 2020 at 5:12 AM EDT

NASCAR will return this month, but without fans in the stands

NASCAR will resume its season midway through this month, it said on Thursday, although fans will not be allowed in the stands.

A 400-mile Cup Series race on May 17 will mark one of the first major U.S. sporting events in more than two months, after the coronavirus pandemic shut down racing and every other professional league in the country. So far, only UFC professional mixed martial arts said it will return sooner, on May 9.

The competition at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway will kick off a slate of seven races across NASCAR’s top three series, and all events will employ strict social distancing measures, the sanctioning body said.

Below the empty grandstands, anyone present at the track will be required to wear a face mask, while garages and team motor coaches will be spread out to avoid any possibility of spreading the virus.

Besides Darlington, most of NASCAR’s other regular venues will remain closed. After three races in South Carolina, its May schedule will also include the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, a much-hyped race scheduled to take place there on Memorial Day weekend this year, as it has for almost six decades.

The event will be staged with the blessing of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who said earlier this week the event would probably be held if health conditions did not deteriorate.

Last week, the state classified NASCAR teams as “essential businesses,” allowing race shops in Charlotte and beyond to resume preparing for the season.

Despite the body’s announcement, the outlook for most other sporting events is not as optimistic. The Little League World Series will not be played this year for the first time since the tournament began in 1947, its governing body said Thursday.

By Teo Armus

May 1, 2020 at 5:09 AM EDT

Teens in Georgia will be able to get a driver’s license without a road test

Teenagers in Georgia have a brief window to get their driver’s licenses without ever taking a road test, thanks to the global pandemic.

Because driving tests aren’t exactly compatible with social distancing, the rite of passage has been on hold for weeks. That has created a backlog of roughly 30,000 people who are otherwise qualified to get their licenses but have yet to take the test, WSB-TV reported.

While Georgia started to loosen many restrictions last Friday, allowing businesses such as nail salons and gyms to reopen, driving tests are still suspended. In an executive order issued last week, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) attempted to address the backlog by waiving the road test requirement for teens who already have learner’s permits.

The waiver will remain in place until May 15, when Kemp’s statewide emergency order expires. Teens still have to meet all the other requirements, such as completing 40 hours of supervised driving with a parent or an instructor, and they can’t have any violations on their driving record.

Still, the change is making some parents nervous.

“I have mixed feelings because I do feel we need to keep social distancing,” Alicia Wiggins, whose 15-year-old has a learner’s permit, told WSB-TV. “But I also feel nervous about having drivers on the road that haven’t actually passed a road test.”

By Antonia Farzan

May 1, 2020 at 4:22 AM EDT

Analysis: Brazil’s Bolsonaro sits on a ticking coronavirus time bomb

The president could only muster an impatient shrug Tuesday when confronted by reporters about the country’s more than 5,500 confirmed coronavirus deaths. “So what?” he said. “I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?”

By Ishaan Tharoor

May 1, 2020 at 3:54 AM EDT

U.S. officials crafting retaliatory actions against China as President Trump fumes

Senior U.S. officials are beginning to explore proposals for punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to four senior administration officials with knowledge of internal planning.

The move could splinter already strained relations between the two world powers at a perilous moment for the global economy.

President Trump has fumed to aides and others in recent days about China, blaming the country for withholding information about the virus, and has discussed enacting dramatic measures that would probably lead to retaliation by Beijing, these people said.

By Jeff Stein, Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey and Gerry Shih

May 1, 2020 at 3:15 AM EDT

Anderson Cooper announces birth of his son, urges people to ‘hold on to moments of joy’

Toward the end of his weekly coronavirus town hall on Thursday night, Anderson Cooper broke some good news and offered a moment of reprieve from the pandemic: “I am a dad.”

Cooper, 52, announced that a surrogate gave birth to Wyatt Morgan Cooper, who was born on Monday at 7.2 pounds.

The anchor, whose interviews during the pandemic have seen him clash with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and console a woman whose husband had died of covid-19, was emotional in announcing Wyatt’s birth on a day in which the U.S. coronavirus death toll approached 63,000.

By Timothy Bella

May 1, 2020 at 3:06 AM EDT

Malaysia will allow businesses to reopen on Monday

Malaysia will allow most businesses to reopen starting next week, the nation’s prime minister said Friday, the country’s first major step to loosen restrictions meant to contain the novel coronavirus.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address that the Southeast Asian country was ready to carefully reopen its economy, according to Reuters. After Malaysia was shut down for more than six weeks and leading the region in infections, cases have started to slow.

But the move is only a first step. Schools and universities, as well as cinemas, nightclubs and other businesses involving close contact, will remain closed, as will religious events and other large gatherings, Muhyiddin said.

The country’s largest cluster of infections was linked to a Muslim prayer event in late February, when at least 12,500 people congregated in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. Some of the summit’s foreign attendees carried the virus across Southeast Asia.

Muhyiddin said Malaysians would have to continue wearing masks and practicing social distancing, and he encouraged employers to let workers stay home or come into the office on alternate days.

Restaurants can open under strict guidelines, while all travel between states or outside the country remains prohibited.

By Teo Armus

May 1, 2020 at 3:04 AM EDT

3.8 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, extending pandemic’s grip on the national workforce

More than 3.8 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department, as the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll burrowed deeper into the American workforce.

The outbreak and subsequent recession have wiped away all jobs created since the Great Recession. Economists estimate the national unemployment rate sits between 15 and 20 percent, compared to about 25 percent at the peak of the Great Depression.

For comparison, 4.4 million people applied for benefits for the week ending April 18, and 30.3 million have sought benefits in the past six weeks alone. That figure represents roughly 1 in 5 American workers.

By Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam

May 1, 2020 at 2:51 AM EDT

Federal judge orders release of hundreds of immigration detainees in Florida

The U.S. government must release hundreds of immigrants detained in three facilities in South Florida, a federal judge in Miami said Thursday.

Her order, which said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acted with “deliberate indifference” toward the health of its detainees, comes amid growing concerns about outbreaks inside the detention centers.

“There is record evidence demonstrating that ICE has failed in its duty to protect the safety and general well-being of the petitioners,” U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke wrote.

Nationwide, at least 490 detainees have contracted the virus, according to ICE data, although none have died in custody.

But with hunger strikes emerging at some facilities, advocates fear it may be only a matter of time. One of the Florida lockups grouped together a hundred people who had been exposed in large, crowded dormitories with no masks or hand sanitizer, the Miami Herald reported.

Under Cooke’s order, the agency must provide new face masks each week to detainees in three facilities and report on steps to release detainees who are deemed medically vulnerable and not facing criminal prosecution â€" a group that includes hundreds of people.

Similar cases to release migrants are being argued across the country. In Louisiana, a magistrate judge recommended the release of more than a dozen detainees across five facilities.

“People who are detained are right now being exposed to risks to their health and safety that are completely disproportionate with whatever interest the government might have in detaining them,” said Sirine Shebaya, director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, which is arguing the Louisiana case.

Previous legal rulings have ordered ICE to disclose its efforts to release parents and children held at three family detention centers, as well as adults detained in some Southern states who are considered at higher risk of dying from the virus.

By Teo Armus

May 1, 2020 at 2:48 AM EDT

‘People need these procedures’: Beverly Hills votes to end moratorium on plastic surgeries

Nose jobs and facelifts will be allowed to resume in Beverly Hills, Calif., following a City Council vote Wednesday that ended a six-week moratorium on cosmetic surgeries.

The amended ordinance allows medical clinics to resume all elective procedures, including colonoscopies and heart valve replacements. But it also permits doctors to perform surgeries that aren’t quite so crucial. John Mirisch, the only member of the City Council to vote against the change, argued that Beverly Hills should have drawn a distinction between medically necessary procedures, such as angioplasties, and those that are purely cosmetic, like breast augmentation.

“I think it would be extremely irresponsible of us, and it would send a terrible message to the world, if the first thing we do is to allow boob and butt jobs to happen again,” he said, according to KTLA.

One Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Arash Moradzadeh, argued that it was possible to perform cosmetic procedures safely despite the pandemic. He plans on limiting appointments, banning patients from the waiting room, screening all staff and patients with infrared thermometers and recommending a seven-day quarantine period before surgeries, he told Fox 11 Los Angeles.

“People need these procedures because it helps them feel better, and feeling better is very important right now when we’re taking such a psychological impact of being stuck at home or losing our jobs,” Moradzadeh told the station.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced last week that hospitals would be allowed to resume scheduled surgeries, but he emphasized that the goal was to prevent further delays for essential procedures such as tumor removals. Beverly Hills city officials on Wednesday noted on Facebook that cosmetic procedures, although technically legal, “are still not recommended by the State, LA County Health or the City of Beverly Hills during the covid-19 pandemic.”

By Antonia Farzan

May 1, 2020 at 2:35 AM EDT

Boeing raises $25 billion in massive bond sale, turns down bailout funds

Boeing has raised $25 billion in a massive debt sale, allowing it to avoid tapping a $17 billion coronavirus bailout fund meant to shore up businesses critical to national security.

The company announced Thursday that it would not accept any additional funding from private or government sources before the bond sale closes Monday. The announcement came ahead of the Friday deadline to accept federal funding through the $2 trillion Cares Act. Federal funds could still filter through to the company’s 17,000 suppliers; Boeing has suggested the broader aerospace manufacturing industry should receive at least $60 billion to see it through the crisis.

By Aaron Gregg and Christian Davenport

May 1, 2020 at 1:51 AM EDT

China wasn’t wild about Mike Pompeo before the virus. It’s really gunning for him now.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is, according to the official Chinese narrative, an “enemy of humankind” practicing “highly venomous” diplomacy. He’s a “super-spreader” of a “political virus.” He’s a “rumor monger” with a “dark mind.”

This past week, the organs of the Chinese state have unleashed surprisingly personal salvos against America’s top diplomat in a manner reminiscent of the way North Korea used to speak about then-national security adviser John Bolton.

In response to Pompeo’s relentless attacks on Beijing over the coronavirus outbreak â€" including unsupported claims that the virus could have leaked from a Wuhan lab â€" China’s most-watched nightly news broadcast has devoted prime airtime to lambasting the secretary of state.

By Anna Fifield

May 1, 2020 at 1:42 AM EDT

France will encourage cycling post-lockdown by paying for some bike repairs

In an effort to cut down on car traffic and avoid overcrowding on public transit, France will help cover the cost of bike repairs when the country’s nationwide lockdown ends May 11.

Worried that people will start driving to work when restrictions are lifted, leading to a massive increase in air pollution, France’s environmental ministry on Wednesday announced a 20 million euro (roughly $22 million) plan to encourage cycling instead. As part of the package, the government is offering a stipend of about $55 per person that can be used for new chains, brakes, tires or whatever else they need to get their bikes street-ready.

The funds will also be used to create temporary parking spots for bicycles, and make free lessons available to adults who have never learned how to ride a bike. A separate initiative, which is still in the works, aims to subsidize up to roughly $438 in travel costs for people who commute to work by bike.

By Antonia Farzan

May 1, 2020 at 1:29 AM EDT

Amazon sales soar as worried consumers shop from home, but costs rise

SEATTLE â€" The massive shopping surge fueled by the coronavirus pandemic caught Amazon unprepared, even as it drove a 26 percent jump in first-quarter revenue, the company said Thursday.

Now, Amazon plans to spend at least $4 billion in the current quarter to add warehouse and delivery workers, test its staff and provide them with personal protective gear so it can unclog its network that still struggles to meet customer demand for household staples such as toilet paper and bleach. (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

By Jay Greene

May 1, 2020 at 1:03 AM EDT

A Japanese aquarium wants you to FaceTime with its lonely eels

If you’ve ever wanted to video chat with an eel, the coronavirus lockdown could provide your chance.

In one of the stranger requests to come out of the global pandemic, Tokyo’s Sumida Aquarium is inviting people to take part in a “face-showing festival” for the benefit of its slippery residents, who appear to have forgotten how to behave around humans.

“Let us make an emergency plea,” the aquarium wrote on Twitter this week, according to Agence France-Presse. “Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?”

The aquarium has been closed for two months, and during that time, the eels have gotten used to a world where visitors aren’t constantly peering into their tanks. They’re now so unaccustomed to people that they burrow into the sand and hide whenever their keepers walk by â€" which makes it hard for the keepers to check up on their health.

To help the wary eels become reacquainted with humans, aquarium staff are setting up five tablets outside the tanks and inviting people to call the eels on FaceTime. Waving and talking to the eels is encouraged, but shouting is not, due to the animals’ sensitive nature.

The “face-showing festival” will take place from May 3 to May 5, during the peak of Japan’s Golden Week holiday. Typically, the holiday is a busy time for travel, but authorities have urged people to help contain the spread of the coronavirus by staying at home instead â€" giving them plenty of time to call up some eels.

By Antonia Farzan

May 1, 2020 at 1:01 AM EDT

Coronavirus hits European economies but governments help shield workers

BRUSSELS â€" The coronavirus pandemic has dealt Europe an economic wallop on par with that in the United States, but Europe has more successfully managed to shield workers, according to data released Thursday.

The European economy shrank by 3.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, the sharpest decline on record. The U.S. economy contracted by an annualized 4.8 percent during the same period.

The contrast shows the effect of Europe’s starkly different approach to fighting the economy-busting effects of the pandemic, with many governments intervening to subsidize private-sector salaries.

By Michael Birnbaum

May 1, 2020 at 12:44 AM EDT

How 10 Americans are navigating the coronavirus economy

An artist wakes before 4 a.m. to report to her new job at a grocery store. A restaurant manager tearfully lays off his staff and gives away meals. A personal trainer begins making his own plastic face shields.

These Americans are among 10 people whose journeys The Washington Post will follow over the coming months, as they and millions of others navigate the trail of economic devastation the coronavirus pandemic has left in its wake. They are telling their stories to Post reporters, and The Post is publishing excerpts, edited only for length, from those conversations.

By Rachel Siegel, Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn, Renae Merle, Julie Vitkovskaya and Jena McGregor

May 1, 2020 at 12:34 AM EDT

Democrats question McConnell’s decision to return Senate to business

A prominent Democrat suggested Thursday that the Senate’s return to work next week would put support workers on Capitol Hill â€" many of them racial minorities â€" at undue risk of contracting covid-19.

The comment from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a former presidential candidate, was an implicit criticism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to convene the chamber after a month-long hiatus prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, and it highlighted significant discomfort on Capitol Hill over a return to legislative business â€" even with social distancing precautions in place.

By Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane

May 1, 2020 at 12:26 AM EDT

Analysis: Betsy DeVos finds new pot of cash to push education agenda: federal relief money

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has found a new pot of cash with which to pursue her school “choice” agenda: money from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package Congress passed to boost the economy as it deals with the pandemic.

DeVos, who has made it her top priority as education secretary to find alternatives to traditional public school districts, announced this week that she is starting a competition for states to apply for “rethinking” education grants.

By Valerie Strauss

May 1, 2020 at 12:22 AM EDT

As White House’s social distancing guidelines expire, health experts worry mixed messages will spur public complacency

As the federal government’s social distancing guidelines expire Thursday to be replaced by less stringent advice, health officials worry some governors may relax the measures prematurely and the public will become complacent â€" even as an estimated 20,000 new cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus are reported daily.

By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Rachel Weiner

May 1, 2020 at 12:13 AM EDT

More airlines move to make masks mandatory for travelers

Momentum is growing behind the push to require passengers to wear masks when they fly, in hopes of providing an extra layer of protection against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

On Thursday, American, Delta, Frontier and United announced that starting this month, passengers would be required to wear masks or facial coverings when they fly. The shift comes after JetBlue announced a similar policy Monday.

Crew members also will be required to wear masks, the airlines said.

By Lori Aratani

May 1, 2020 at 12:10 AM EDT

Administration describes a dash for a coronavirus vaccine that would be available in January

The Trump administration is racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine that could be fielded nationwide by January, U.S. officials said Thursday, as national stay-at-home guidance expired.

The January timeline represents a fast pace for vaccine development but still means there would be no fail-safe protection from the novel coronavirus until long after most Americans are likely to have returned to work or school and until after the November presidential election.

Anthony S. Fauci, the United States’ top infectious-disease specialist, said the goal is production of hundreds of millions of doses by January, an effort dubbed “Operation Warp Speed.”

By Anne Gearan, Felicia Sonmez and Erica Werner