Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Missouri's Department of Natural Resources announced a phased approach to reopening state parks during a news conference on Wednesday.

Between May 4 and May 15, park lodging, dining marinas and retail stores will reopen with limited services and locations, Director of the Department of Natural Resources Carol Comer said. 

On May 11, Castlewood State Park, Elephant Rocks State Park, Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Weston Bend State Park will reopen for day-use with limited parking. Some trails in these parks may be closed to ensure social distancing is possible, Comer said. 

On May, 18, the off-road vehicle riding area at St. Joe State Park will reopen with a limited number of one-day permits available. 

Camping in state parks will remain suspended through May 18, after which officials will reassess.

President Trump said he does not think states that have so-called "sanctuary cities" should receive federal bailout funds.

He added that it “will be a subject that will be discussed.”

“I don’t think you should have sanctuary cities if they get that kind of aid. If you’re gonna get aid to the cities and states for the kind of numbers you’re talking about, billions of dollars, I don’t think you should have sanctuary cities,” Trump said.

When asked specifically if he will prevent aid from going to sanctuary states and cities, Trump responded: “We shouldn’t have to pay anything anyway, because all they do is make it very hard for law enforcement.”

He added: “I don’t see helping cities and states if they’re going to be sanctuary, because all sanctuary means to me is that it’s protecting a lot of criminals, and others, many people.”

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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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.