Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced today that 24 counties will reopen on May 8.

Those counties are: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, and Warren.

Counties with larger urban centers, such as Philadelphia and Allegheny, are not included on the list.

Massachussetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order today mandating the use of face coverings in the state.

"This order does not apply to children under the age of two or to people who are unable to wear a face mask or face covering due to medical conditions or other DPH-issued exemptions," Baker added.

The public is required to wear a face covering at all times in grocery stores, retail stores, and on public transportation. The order also applies to employees and staff with businesses open to the public.

The order will go into effect May 6, the governor said.

White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany defended President Trump’s Friday tweets siding with Michigan protesters, some whom were armed.

Asked if she had any response to images of protesters facing off with law enforcement, McEnany repeated that protesters must demonstrate within the bounds of the law.

CNN previously reported that Trump sided with protesters for their effort to reopen parts of the state after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended her emergency declaration keeping some businesses shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire," Trump wrote on Friday. "These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal."

See scenes of protests throughout the US: 

Asked if any serious consideration was being given to putting new tariffs on China, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany didn't answer. Instead she said President Trump is not happy with Beijing.

Trump on Thursday repeated a regular false claim that, until he took office, "China never gave our country anything. China gave us nothing. Not 10 cents."

Facts First: Study after study has shown that Americans, not China, are paying most of the cost of Trump's tariffs. Aside from that, it's not true that the Treasury had never previously received "10 cents" or had gotten "nothing" from tariffs on China. The US has had tariffs on China for more than two centuries. FactCheck.org reported that the US generated an "average of $12.3 billion in custom duties a year from 2007 to 2016, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission DataWeb."

Watch the moment here:

The Trump administration is distributing $12 billion to 395 hospitals across the county that have been "hardest hit" by the pandemic, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

New Jersey, New York and Illinois receive the most funding by state, she said.

New York, New York; Bronx, New York; and Cook, Illinois, receive the most funding by county she added.

During her first briefing, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany promised that she'd "never lie" to the reporters in the room.

She added that she plans to hold regular briefings, and she will announce timing on that later.

Thursday marked 417 days since the last briefing by a White House press secretary.

Watch the moment here:

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said there were 9,271 coronavirus cases as of yesterday, 216 more than the day before. The city also saw 357 deaths, which is up by 17 from the day before.

Walsh emphasized that there is still a surge in cases today, and people should wear their masks. He also said, the city is working to expand testing. There has been an increase in testing, he said with an average more than 44% last week. East Boston had 86% more testing than the previous week.

However, while the percentage of people testing positive in East Boston has gone down, it still has highest rate in the city of Boston.

Of the 28,000 Bostonians tested, 32% tested positive, a slight decrease from 33% the week before.

The mayor stressed the city must reach benchmarks and protocols before reopening. One of Walsh’s greatest concerns is “making sure people have confidence and feel safe when they go back to work.” 

President Trump announced that he will attend a firework display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite uncertainty about what the coronavirus pandemic might look like that month.

Trump made the announcement while speaking on the Dan Bongino podcast on Friday.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Tuesday that the firework display would go on as scheduled.

"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 amid 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.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the President had floated the idea of heading to South Dakota for fireworks at Mount Rushmore. 

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has locked down the city of Gallup in an effort to "mitigate the uninhibited spread of Covid-19."

Starting at noon today, "all roads into Gallup are closed," the governor's office said in a statement.

Businesses in the city will close from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., and vehicles will only be allowed to have a maximum of two individuals, the statement said.

The move comes after Gallup's former mayor requested that Grisham declare a state of emergency in the city, according to a letter made public by the governor's office.

McKinley County, the home of Gallup, has 1,027 positive cases of Covid-19 as of Thursday. That's more than 30% of the state’s total cases and the most positive cases in the entire state, the governor's statement said.

"Its infection trend has shown no sign of flattening," the statement said.