Retail businesses and salons to reopen in Kentucky in May, governor says
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks about the novel coronavirus during a news conference at the state Capitol on April 26 in Frankfort, Kentucky. Ryan C Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/AP
Manufacturing, construction, vehicle or vessel dealerships and dog grooming and boarding businesses in Kentucky will be allowed to reopen May 11, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
This guidance also includes professional services operating at 50% capacity. Horse racing can also happen with no spectators, Beshear said.
On May 20, retail and houses of worship will be allowed to reopen, the governor said.
As a final step in the state’s first phase of reopening, starting May 25, social gatherings of 10 people will be permitted again. Barber shops, salons, cosmetology businesses and similar services will be allowed to reopen as well, according to Beshear.
Restaurants, movie theaters, campgrounds, youth sports, summer camps and daycares will be part of a possible June reopening, Beshear said.
5:59 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Maryland governor says nation's food supply chain could be gravely impacted by Covid-19 cases in state
From CNN’s Pamela Wessmann
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan talks at a news conference on April 29, in Annapolis, Maryland. Brian Witte/AP
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he has warned the federal government the nation’s food supply chain could be gravely impacted by Covid-19 cases in his state.
The governor said he just completed a call with the White House, the governors of Delaware, Virginia, and 15 other states, that have meat processing plants.
"This is a serious public health concern and a threat to Maryland’s agricultural industry and to the nation’s food supply chain," he said during his daily news conference.
Hogan said he is receiving federal assistance and is grateful to the Trump administration, particularly Vice President Mike Pence and theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention for their swift response.
The governor said the issue has become a multi-agency and multi-state effort.
5:48 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Trump says he'll start traveling again next week
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
President Donald Trump speaks about reopening the country, during a roundtable with industry executives, in the State Dinning Room of the White House, on April 29, in Washington DC. Alex Brandon/AP
President Trump said he will travel to Arizona next week, after weeks of staying in Washington because of Covid-19.
The comments came during a meeting with industry leaders at the White House on Wednesday.
Asked if he is going to start traveling soon, Trump responded, “I think so.”
“I think I’m going to Arizona next week, and we look forward to that, and I’m going to I hope Ohio very soon,” Trump said. "[W[e’re going to start to move around.”
Trump said he hopes that “in the not-too-distant future we’re going to have some massive rallies.”
“And people will be sitting next to each other,” he added. “I can’t imagine a rally where you have every fourth seat full. Every six seats are empty for everyone you have full, that wouldn’t look too good.”
5:47 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
All nursing home residents and staff in Maryland will be tested for Covid-19, governor says
From CNN’s Pamela Wessmann
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announces that all nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in the state must conduct universal coronavirus testing of all residents and staff, whether they have symptoms or not, during a news conference on April 29, in Annapolis, Maryland. Brian Witte/AP
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he signed an executive order today, requiring universal testing of all residents and staff at nursing homes.
Hogan emphasized that it was mandatory for all facilities to comply, whether or not the residents or staff are symptomatic.
He went on to say that all nursing homes are required to have a doctor, physician’s assistant, or a nurse evaluate all residents daily. Hogan said they expect they will see the numbers of cases significantly rise.
Hogan said any staff that tests positive will be “discharged into isolation.” He also said that all the nursing facilities would be required to have emergency staffing plans to ensure continuity of care.
5:39 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Rural business owners urge California governor to take regional approach on reopening
From CNN’s Dan Simon
Jim Bernardini, owner of Lefty's Sports Cards, was forced to lay off three salaried employees at his shop in Burlingame, California due to the coronavirus. Jeff Chiu/AP
Some California businesses operators, including restaurant and salon owners in rural parts of the state, are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to begin easing stay-at-home orders aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus.
“The one size fits all” approach isn’t warranted given the disparity in cases between rural areas and cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, they argued.
“Sutter County and San Francisco can’t be treated the same. In a much more rural area like ours we haven’t seen the same impact,” said Chris Drowns, owner of the Happy Viking Restaurant in Yuba City. “The restrictions need to be eased on us.”
Drowns and other business owners gathered in front of the capitol in Sacramento this week to share the economic hardship their companies and employees are facing.
“I think the conversation needs to be how do we balance the economic and safety portions,” said Sarina Paulson, the owner of three salons in the state.
Newsom has laid out a vision for reopening California businesses, saying it is “weeks away.” However, he has not indicated whether restrictions will be lifted in some areas before others.
5:34 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Salons and barbershops in Tennessee to reopen May 6 in most counties
From CNN’s Raja Razek
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visits a drive-through Covid-19 testing location on April 18, in Franklin, Tennessee. Mark Humphrey/AP
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced that close contact services like salons and barbershops would be allowed to reopen on May 6 in 89 of the state's 95 counties.
"We know for these businesses things like masks are especially important because of the close contact that employees have with customers," Lee said today during a news conference. "We will have guidance for these businesses before the end of the week."
The governor went on to say that he signed an executive order yesterday, which was predominantly about reopening the economy.
"The situation there is that we had to issue an updated order yesterday in order to allow retail to open today. But as we said in the order, there are some places that we anticipate opening before the end of May. The first example of this, as you may have heard, is close contact services like salons and barbershops," Lee said.
The governor also announced that "in the next several weeks, the Unified Command Group is embarking on widespread testing of all long term facilities in Tennessee."
"We have 700 long-term care facilities in our state, and 70,000 of our Tennessee residents are in long-term care facilities," Lee said. "So for this initial push, we are partnering with the National Healthcare Corporation to test all residents and staff in each of their 38 Tennessee facilities."
Tennessee today reported a 3.1% increase in its total number of coronavirus cases since yesterday. The state has a total of 10,366 cases, with 195 deaths.
5:30 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Remdesivir "is not the end of the story," says researcher behind key clinical trial
From CNN's Elizabeth Cohen
One vial of the drug Remdesivir lies on a table during a press conference in Hamburg, Germany on April 8. Ulrich Perrey/AFP/Getty Images
The researcher behind a key clinical trial for remdesivir – which Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed at the White House – told CNN on Wednesday that the drug is “not the end of the story” when it comes to treatments for Covid-19.
“We have work to do. We are looking for other therapies, this trial is going to continue,” said Dr. Andre Kalil, the principal investigator for the clinical trial, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
“In medicine, it’s never ending. We can always do better. And we want to do better," Kalil said.
5:30 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Trump says amount of tests being produced might not be necessary
From CNN's Jason Hoffman
President Trump seemingly downplayed the need for testing on Wednesday.
Trump said over the next coming weeks, “you will see some astonishing numbers” on testing before adding, “I don't know that all of that is even necessary.”
He claimed that not all governors feel they need tests to reopen their states.
“You have some governors that love the tests, you have others that like doing it a different way, an old fashioned way with some testing. But we’re going maximum testing,” Trump said.
5:28 p.m. ET, April 29, 2020
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg cautions against reopening too soon
From CNN’s Brian Fung
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a panel talk at the 2020 Munich Security Conference on February 15, 2020 in Munich, Germany. Johannes Simon/Getty Images
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off the company’s Wednesday earnings call by expressing concerns about reopening the economy too soon, striking a sharp contrast with tech billionaires such as Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla.
“I worry that reopening certain places too quickly before infection rates have been reduced will almost guarantee future outbreaks and worse future economic and health outcomes,” Zuckerberg said.
The remarks come a day after Musk compared state stay-at-home orders to “de facto house arrest” and urged policy makers to “FREE AMERICA NOW."
And they also show how Facebook has been one of the rare companies to thrive during the global pandemic, as millions of people have turned to the company’s services during lockdown.
On Wednesday, Facebook reported an average of 1.73 billion daily users for the month of March, an 11% increase compared to the same month a year ago.
Facebook grew its ad revenue by 17% compared to the year-ago quarter, even as many investors feared an advertising slump driven by the pandemic.
On the call, Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook expects lower profits this year. But despite that guidance and a quarterly earnings miss, Facebook shares surged roughly 10% after-hours.
