Some North Dakota businesses to open with industry-specific guidelines
From CNN's Chris Boyette
North Dakota Governor's office
Some businesses in North Dakota are set to reopen on Friday, Gov. Doug Burgum announced today.
Qualifying businesses, such as bars and restaurants, recreational facilities, health clubs and athletic facilities, cosmetologists, salons, barber shops, tattoo studios, tanning and massage facilities, will be asked to adhere to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recommendation from the North Dakota Department of Health.
These guidelines include maintaining 6 feet of distance, providing contactless payment systems and informing all employees and customers that they should avoid entering the facility if they have a cough or fever.
6:38 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
Personal protective equipment donated from Turkey arrives in the US
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler, Priscilla Alvarez and Gul Tuysuz
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pictured in Istanbul, on April 23. Turkish Presidency/AP
A Turkish military plane carrying thousands of donated medical supplies landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday evening.
The plane was met by Turkish Ambassador to the US Serdar Kılıç and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker.
In remarks on the tarmac, Kılıç said he would deliver a letter from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to President Trump.
He said the shipment was dispatched upon Erdogan’s instruction and “testifies to the Turkish people’s will to support our longstanding ally, United States, in its ongoing difficult fight against Covid-19.”
“We hope that this aid will help alleviate the enormous burden shouldered by the devoted health workers in the United States who work day and night to save lives of the others at the expense of risking their own life,” he said.
Reeker said the shipment was “an important demonstration of NATO unity and the strength of US-Turkey ties and our strong historic relationship.”
“On behalf of the Secretary, the President and the people of the United States of America, thank you for this generous gift to the United States,” he said.
According to the Turkish Presidency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the cargo contains 500,000 surgical masks, protective coveralls, 1,500 goggles, 400 N95 masks and 500 face shields.
The Turkish Presidency said that there were 2,000 liters of disinfectant also on board.
6:36 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
Gyms in Tennessee will reopen in 89 counties on Friday
From CNN's Raja Razek
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said gyms in 89 of Tennessee's 95 counties will be allowed to reopen on Friday, May 1.
"Restaurants are beginning to open. Retail outlets are set to open tomorrow, and today we are announcing that gyms will be allowed to reopen on Friday," Lee said.
Gyms must reduce capacity to 50%, utilize social distancing, and remove shared equipment, he said.
Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey also spoke at the news conference announcing the state has met the White House's new testing guidance.
"President Trump asked last night for states to do 2% of their population of testing each month. We have already done that in the month of April, and we are making plans to do that going forward," Piercey said.
"About 135,000 tests have been done this month. That's about 2% of our state's population," she added.
6:33 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
South Dakota governor says Mt. Rushmore fireworks on July 3 will happen
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial pictured on April 23, in Keystone, South Dakota. Kerem Yucel/AFP/Getty Images
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.
"We’re excited that this will be happening at Mount Rushmore. We’ve been working on this for quite some time," Noem said.
"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.
6:32 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
Coronavirus task force did not meet for the third day in a row
From CNN's Kaitlan Collins
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.
6:31 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
MLB allows teams to offer ticket refunds
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
A ticket booth at Fenway Park is seen on what would have been the home opening day for the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox on April 2, in Boston, Massachusetts. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
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.
6:37 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
Fauci warns the US could be in for "a bad fall and a bad winter"
From CNN's Amanda Watts
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.
“If by that time we have put into place all of the countermeasures that you need to address this, we should do reasonably well. If we don't do that successfully, we could be in for a bad fall and a bad winter,” Fauci said on Tuesday during an Economic Club of Washington webinar.
6:33 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
McConnell: "We are not there yet on testing"
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with reporters on April 21, at Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Patrick Semansky/AP
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged tonight a lack of coronavirus testing needed in order to safely reopen businesses across the country.
“We are not there yet on testing,” McConnell said in a phone interview on Fox News. “Not only what kind of test but how many of them actually will tell you something other than you don't have it at the moment.”
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.”
6:04 p.m. ET, April 28, 2020
More than 58,000 people have died of coronavirus in the US
Medical workers take in patients outside of a special coronavirus intake area at Maimonides Medical Center on April 28, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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.
