Coronavirus pandemic in the US

South Carolina Gov. McMaster said he wants to “slingshot back around the competition” to get back to business so he's allowing some stores to reopen today.

Retail, department and sporting goods stores, as well as flea markets, will be allowed to open at 5 p.m. today at 20% capacity, or five people per 1,000 square feet.

Speaking at a news conference, he said he’d like to “stomp on the gas” and accelerate as fast and as safely as they can. McMaster announced a group called “Accelerate SC” with 29 participants across various industries.

Beaches will be reopened beginning at noon Tuesday.

There have been at least 776,513 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 41,313 people have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

As states begin to include “probable deaths” in their counts, so will JHU. In the upcoming days, these changes may show as surges of deaths in the United States. 

On Monday, Johns Hopkins reported 17,046 new cases and 636 reported deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases.  

llinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state is beginning to ramp up testing in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Staff in facilities with known Covid-19 cases will be given pre-shift wellness checks, including taking temperatures. Testing will be ramped up as well. 

The state is also working to test all residents and staff at facilities without known Covid-19 outbreaks.

“This testing at non-Covid facilities will allow us to identify early the presence of COVID-19 in a facility and isolate those cases before widespread transmission,” the governor said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed protests over his statewide stay-at-home order at a news conference today.

"I deeply understand the anxiety” of protesters," he said.

Newsom said his administration shares the same desires and goals to reopen the state, but he warned, “The worst mistake we can make is a personal decision based on politics and frustration that puts people’s lives at risk and ultimately sets back the cause of economic grown and economic recovery.” 

Some background: Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday in Huntington Beach, California, to demand the state reopen. Many protesters ignored the state’s social distancing guidelines during the demonstration.

California will send approximately 70,000 laptops and tablets to students in the next week in an effort to close the technology gap that is creating an obstacle in distance learning.

Gov. Gavin Newsom detailed the tech boost, which provides Apple iPads, Google Chromebooks, along with Microsoft Surface Pros and Lenovo devices, to students. He said the need is quadruple what’s currently being done.

Seven buses will also be converted into mobile hotspots as part of a pilot program, Newsom said. If successful, the buses will be rolled out statewide.

US stocks finished lower on Monday, amid a historic selloff in the oil market.

US oil futures settled in negative territory for the first time in history as demand for the commodity remains thin and storage capacity in the US is at its limit. The May futures contract is also about to expire, which made trading more erratic.

Here's where things stand: 

Remember: As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might still change slightly.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced today the order for Tennesseans to remain at home will expire April 30, with the vast majority of businesses in 89 counties allowed to reopen on May 1.

The administration said they will work with individual counties to plan their own reopening strategies.

“While I am not extending the safer at home order past the end of April, we are working directly with our major metropolitan areas to ensure they are in a position to reopen as soon and safely as possible,” said Lee.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that while he respects the rights of protesters rallying against stay-at-home orders, he doesn't agree with them.

“We want people to stay home,” he added, “and to stay away from each other.”

He said based on facts, data, and science the course of direction for the state is “unmistakable” and “unambiguous.” The facts are “overwhelmingly on the side of doing what we’re doing," Murphy said.

Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged anyone gathering to protest to be safe.

When asked about the protesters at the Ohio capitol today, DeWine said, “I have full respect for protesters, but I just ask them to be safe.” 

“My job is to listen to the people of Ohio and guide us in a way that gets us through this, by losing as few people as possible, while trying to put our economy back together,” the governor added.

The number of reported poison exposures to cleaners and disinfectants from January through March this year was higher than in the same period in recent years, according to a report released Monday. 

The data can’t show a definite link between exposures and Covid-19 cleaning efforts, the report said, but there appears to be a “clear” association with the timing of increased use of the products in the United States.

The data, published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, comes from the National Poison Data System, which collects the number of US poison center calls regarding exposures to poisons, chemicals, drugs and medications. From the beginning of January through March, there were 45,550 calls related to cleaners and disinfectants, which is a 20.4% increase from the number of calls from January through March 2019 and a 16.4% increase for the same period in 2018.  

Although the data do not show a definite link between chemical exposures and Covid-19 cleaning recommendations, “the timing of these reported exposures corresponded to increased media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports of consumer shortages of cleaning and disinfection products, and the beginning of some local and state stay-at-home orders,” the report said.

Bleaches accounted for the largest percentage increase in calls from 2019 to 2020, among all cleaner categories. Among exposure routes – or the ways people came into contact with hazardous substances — inhalation had the largest percentage increase from 2019 to 2020. 

The daily number of calls related to both cleaners and disinfectants increased sharply at the beginning of March 2020. The number of reported exposures to cleaners and disinfectants combined increased in all age groups from 2019 to 2020, and children 5 years or younger made up the largest proportion of calls this year.

“To reduce improper use and prevent unnecessary chemical exposures, users should always read and follow directions on the label, only use water at room temperature for dilution … avoid mixing chemical products, wear eye and skin protection, ensure adequate ventilation, and store chemicals out of the reach of children,” the report said.