States reopen in US as coronavirus pandemic persists

Kentucky will begin the next phase of reopening health care in the state on Wednesday, according to Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack.

This second phase will include outpatient gastrointestinal procedures, radiology procedures, diagnostic non-urgent cardiac procedures, outpatient orthopedic procedures, outpatient ophthalmological procedures, outpatient ear, nose and throat procedures, and outpatient dental procedures, Stack said.

The Battelle system will also be available to all health care providers for use to clean N95 masks.

Gov. Andy Beshear also announced that the state has started a partnership with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Distillers Association. The groups will provide masks and hand sanitizer to small businesses as the state reopens its economy.

Businesses in many smaller communities in Washington state may be allowed to reopen this week under an order signed Monday by Gov. Jay Inslee. 

Counties can ask for an exception to state coronavirus regulations on businesses, which remain some of the strictest in the country.

In order to apply, a county must have fewer than 75,000 people, with no new Covid-19 cases for three consecutive weeks.

Some context: Washington begins “Phase 1” of its reopening plan across the state Tuesday. 

Nonessential businesses will still be prohibited from having customers in their stores, but some non-contact businesses like lawn care and car washes can resume. This phase is set to last for at least three weeks.

Tyson Foods resumed operations at its pork processing plant in Perry, Iowa, today, the company confirmed to CNN.

The new safety protocols include taking the temperatures of workers, conducting wellness checks and screening employees for symptoms and requiring the use of face coverings, according to the statement.

The plant closed down more than two weeks ago to "test team members and conduct deep clean of the entire facility," according to Tyson.

It is not known how many Covid-19 cases are linked directly to the Perry plant, since neither Dallas County Public Health nor Tyson Foods have made that information available. 

The Tyson plant in Waterloo is now the only pork plant with operations fully suspended at this time. 

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly tweeted Monday that the state's "safer-at-home" order has ended.

Libraries and childcare facilities also may open, she said.

Phase Two will occur no sooner than May 18, which includes bars and clubs reopening at 50%, according to Kelly's “Ad Astra: A Plan to Reopen Kansas” website.

Phase Three will take effect no sooner than June 1, which includes schools reopening and nonessential travel resuming, according to Kelly.

Read Kelly's tweet:

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson visited businesses Monday as the state began reopening stores, but he did not wear a mask even when greeting others wearing face coverings. 

When asked why he did not wear a mask at an outdoor store in Springfield and a thrift store in Joplin, the governor responded, “I chose not to.”

Parson went on to say, “If you want to wear a mask when you go into a business, then wear a mask. But if you don’t, I don’t think it’s government’s place to regulate that.”

Parson did wear a mask when visiting a Covid-19 temporary intensive care unit at a Springfield hospital, but he declined to weigh in why many legislators were not covering their faces as they returned to work at the Capitol. 

“The House of Representatives need to make that choice, not the governor’s office for them," he said.

By the numbers: The state Department of Health and Senior Services reported 358 new Covid-19 cases Monday, the highest single day number reported in Missouri since the start of the outbreak. 

Parson downplayed the increase in the one-day total, saying, “The numbers –– you can pick any of them out and make any case you want.”

Massachusetts reported 1,000 new positive cases of coronavirus today, bringing the statewide total to 69,087, according to numbers released by the health department.

The commonwealth reported 86 new deaths, bringing the total to 4,090.

Five percent of all cases across Massachusetts are currently hospitalized.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will have to borrow funds from the federal government to pay unemployment claims.

“This pandemic is bigger that even the state of California,” Newsom said, focusing on the economic damage resulting from the stay-at-home order. “Just like that, conditions have radically changed.”

More than 4 million Californians have filed for unemployment since mid-March, and the state has already paid out $7.8 billion in claims.

“The last time we had to source unemployment at this scale, $10-plus billion during the last great recession, we were able to claw back and pay that back. That would be a process that we would once again engage in to pay back any obligations we have,” the governor said. “We are good for our word.”

Newsom is set to present a revised version of California’s budget on May 14.

The South Dakota Department of Health will conduct a Covid-19 “mass testing event” at the Smithfield Food pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, Gov. Kristi Noem announced Monday. 

The testing will be optional and will include Smithfield employees, their families and household contacts, Noem said.

While the state “encourages every single employee to participate," it is not a requirement for them to return to work. 

She added that she expects it will “just be a matter of a day or two” before operations resume at the plant.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a walkthrough of the Smithfield plant this morning, Noem said.

The governor said the US Department of Agriculture, the CDC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be overseeing operations at the Smithfield plant going forward under the utilization of the Defense Production Act.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he has been in talks with the National Guard to use non-medical members to work in nursing homes.

The governor and Department of Health spokesperson Judith Persichilli are requesting members of the National Guard to work in janitorial, kitchen, security, logistics and general purpose roles, among other non-medical positions, they said.

A statement from the governor's office said they "are in ongoing discussions as to how to best serve New Jersey’s long-term care facilities and keep elderly and vulnerable populations safe during this pandemic."

Murphy said he was hoping to hear something soon on the status of the discussions.