Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Frontier is the second US airline to require passengers to wear masks or face coverings on flights beginning May 8.

"This new measure is aligned with CDC recommendations and those of many municipalities within the US that include wearing a face covering when out in public," Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said in a press release.

Customers must wear masks when they're around Frontier ticket counters and gate areas, as well as during flights. Young children will be exempt from the policy.

JetBlue announced a similar policy on Tuesday.

On Monday, American Airlines said its flight attendants would be required to wear face masks during every mainline and regional flight starting May 1.

US stocks finished the last trading day of the month in negative territory. Another bleak look at the US labor market and inaction from the European Central Bank weighed on investor sentiment.

Here's where things ended up:

Despite the pessimistic economic data showing the disruption the coronavirus pandemic is causing the economy, it was a historically good month for stocks.

The Dow climbed 11.1%, while the S&P 500 added 12.7% in April. It was the best monthly gain since January 1987 for both indexes.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.4% for the month, its best performance since June 2000.

Health Department officials in Rock Island County, Illinois have identified a new Covid-19 outbreak at Tyson's meat-packing plant in Joslin, Illinois. 

At least 92 confirmed cases and two deaths have been tied to the plant there, according to the health department's website.

According to Nita Ludwig with the Rock Island County Health Department, the infectious disease team has been working with each patient to minimize the number of infections outside the plant with contact tracing.  

Tyson Foods put up plastic barriers between line workers and staggered shifts and schedules to reduce the number of employees near each other. 

Eliza Paris’ treatment for appendix cancer was disrupted when she was diagnosed with coronavirus.

She said “not being able to catch your breath is a scary feeling,” and she was unable to have her support system around her because she was isolated.

Paris had to stop chemotherapy in order to be treated for coronavirus and said that knowing that there was a risk of the tumors growing was “really upsetting” but that she trusted her oncologist.

“She knew that my body had to get stronger to fight the cancer," she said.

Paris said she’s now ready to fight cancer after beating coronavirus and that it gives her a little more determination.

“If I can beat Covid then I can take down cancer as well,” she said.

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said today the state has 2,633 new cases of Covid-19 for a total of 118,652.

The governor also reported 460 new deaths for a total of 7,228 deaths.

Murphy said he had a "productive and broad discussion" earlier today with President Trump regarding Covid-19. Murphy went on to thank the administration for all their help.

He said the state will receive 550,000 new Covid-19 tests and 750,000 swabs from the federal government. The Trump administration will also send PPE to 358 nursing homes in New Jersey, the governor said. 

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said she hopes the state will be able to open school in September 

Raimondo has asked the presidents of the state's 20 colleges to submit plans on how they can safely reopen in the fall. 

The presidents have been given five or more weeks to develop their plans.

Raimondo said that each of the colleges have been given guidelines on “what a safe plan has to look like; and then they are going to come back to us and we will work with them…to get that plan in shape over the summer so that in the fall, hopefully, they’ll be able to allow students to come back.”

More cleaning, more testing, mask wearing and probably not big lecture halls is what students could possibly expect, Raimondo said. 

Arkansas will lift restrictions on gyms, fitness centers, and indoor athletic facilities so they can resume operations beginning next Monday, May 4, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced on Thursday.

The governor outlined limitations and requirements for the facilities upon reopening including:

There are at least 3,255 cases of coronavirus in Arkansas. At least 61 people have died from the virus. 

A stay-at-home order in Louisiana has been extended until May 15, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference Thursday.

He said he signed the executive order earlier today.

Edwards, who met with President Trump this week, said the President was "extremely supportive" of the efforts made by the state to combat coronavirus.

The governor said they discussed his plan to move forward with reopening efforts using the guidelines provided by the White House.

Federal officials were paying close attention to the steep increase and cases in the state weeks ago and were worried the state might not be able to handle the situation, Edwards said. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he is signing a new executive order that extends the state's stay-at-home order but also loosens some restrictions on businesses.

Walz said that the order is extended until May 18. The governor also "strongly" encouraged Minnesotans to wear masks outside the home.

Starting on Monday, retail businesses may begin to offer curbside pickup, Walz announced. Businesses are required to develop and post a plan on safe operation, use contactless payments, and follow social distanciung and minimize contact with customers, Walz explained.

Walz said that this loosening will put 30,000 Minnesotans back to work.

Steve Grove, Commissioner for the Department of Employment and Economic Development, noted that salons and barbershops cannot provide services, but may conduct retail sales. 

"Under no circumstances can customers enter a business when they're there to pick something up," Grove added.