Coronavirus pandemic in the US

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she worked with President Trump and the Department of Interior to ensure that a July 3 fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial would happen.

"I want to thank the President and the Department of Interior for working with us to make it happen," she added.

When asked about implications of a large gathering during the nationwide Covid-19 pandemic, Noem was unconcerned.

"We’ll continue to evaluate what the crowd looks like and how we'll be able to facilitate that event but regardless of how many people will be there, the fireworks will go off and I can't think of a better way for us to celebrate America’s birthday," Noem said.

The White House coronavirus task force did not meet for a third day in a row, a source familiar with the schedule tells CNN.

This is rare given that until this weekend, the task force had met nearly every day since it was assembled, though there was a brief break on Easter weekend. 

This change could be an indication of what's to come.

CNN reported Monday that White House intends to scale back the large meetings. Smaller groups of members on the task force are still meeting, the source added. 

The task force has its first meeting this week scheduled tomorrow. 

Major League Baseball will allow teams to offer refunds on tickets for missed games beginning Wednesday, a source familiar with the league's decision tells CNN.

This is not a league mandate, and each team will be free to make its own decision regarding ticket refunds. 

MLB still considers all games missed so far this season as being postponed, not canceled.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned Americans could be in for "a bad fall and a bad winter" if the United States isn’t prepared for the return of the coronavirus.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged tonight a lack of coronavirus testing needed in order to safely reopen businesses across the country.

He continued: “We don’t yet have treatment, and we don’t yet have a vaccine. We've allocated $25 billion at that whole area of testing and treatment and vaccine in the bill that we just passed last week. That's all part of reassuring everyone that they can safely go back to work.”

There are at least 1,008,066 coronavirus cases in the US, and at least 58,126 people have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

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

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said businesses must continue to try to telework where possible as part of a list of rules they must follow if they plan to reopen in the weeks to come.

He said there must be a phased return to work for businesses and they must be able to provide onsite temperature or health checks. Masks and any other necessary personal protective equipment will also be mandatory.

Beshear said businesses must close common areas such waiting rooms, cafeterias and break rooms, and will need to enforce social distancing, limit face-to-face meetings, and provide sanitizer or hand washing stations.

Businesses will be required to make special accommodations for those especially at risk and there will need to be testing plans in place if an employee starts showing symptoms, he added.

Bank of America sent 184,000 Payroll Protection Applications to the Small Business Administration on behalf of clients, but only 1,000 of those loans have been approved so far, according to a letter the bank shared with CNN.

Although the SBA didn’t immediately return CNN’s request for comment, a senior administration official defended the agency by citing the number of applications approved across all lenders. 

The SBA has approved over 500,000 loans valued at over $55 billion as of Tuesday afternoon, the official told CNN.

Bank of America has “another 48,000 client applications ready for the SBA,” Athanasia wrote in the memo.

“On Monday – after a 10-day delay waiting for additional funding from Congress, and then developing the additional guidelines for the program – the SBA began accepting PPP applications again,” Athanasia wrote.

The memo added, “since they reopened at 10:30 am on Monday, we have been uploading these to the SBA through their slower, more manual process."

The board of governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issued new guidelines on Tuesday to make films that are only distributed digitally or on streaming platforms eligible for Academy Awards for the first time.

The change will apply to the 93rd Academy Awards, scheduled for February 27, 2021, only.

Previously, the Academy has required films to have a commercial theatrical run in order to be eligible for Oscars.

"The Academy supports our members and colleagues during this time of uncertainty. We recognize the importance of their work being seen and also celebrated, especially now, when audiences appreciate movies more than ever," the statement continued.