Coronavirus pandemic in the US

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) updated the number of employees and contract workers testing positive for Covid-19 at Triumph Foods in Buchanan County to 412. This is an increase of 39 more positive cases than were reported over the weekend.

All 412 individuals presented with no related Covid-19 symptoms.

This is out of 2,367 workers who were tested on site April 27- May 1 at Triumph Foods as part of Missouri’s “box in” testing strategy when an outbreak is present among people living or working closely together, according to the DHSS statement. 

Based on an assessment by DHSS and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Triumph Foods has informed its staff that return to work guidelines have been changed from seven days to 10 days.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order today providing a roadmap for the state to safely resume elective surgeries starting on Monday.

Beginning next week, doctors, dentists and veterinarians who create a plan to keep patients and health care professionals safe may begin offering procedures to treat chronic conditions, prevent and cure disease and relieve chronic pain, a statement from the governor’s office read. 

The executive order allows hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and clinics — including veterinary, medical, or dental — to resume many currently delayed procedures.

Police in Holly, Michigan, have arrested a 68-year-old man on assault charges after he entered a Dollar Tree on Saturday and wiped his face on an employee's shirt.

Holly Police Chief Jerry Narsh said the man entered the store at around 1:30 p.m. Saturday without a mask, despite an executive order in the state requiring patrons in enclosed public spaces to wear one at all times.

Rex Howard Gomoll faces misdemeanor charges of assault and battery, Jessica Cooper, the Oakland County prosecutor, told CNN.

Security camera footage inside the store released by police shows a man wiping his face on an employee's shirt. According to police, the employee had told the man he needed to wear a face mask to remain in the store.

He responded by saying, "Here, I'll just use this as a mask," before wiping his nose and face on the shirt, leaving behind "bodily fluids," Narsh said.

The employee was the only person the man came in contact with while at the Dollar Tree, Narsh said, who also said the man made other comments and was loud and disruptive until leaving.

Saturday's incident was the second in as many days involving a store patron not wearing a required face mask in Michigan. On Friday, police in Flint say, a security guard was shot and killed at a Family Dollar in an incident that began when he approached the customer and instructed her to wear a face covering.

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The top US General in the United States said Tuesday that there is not conclusive evidence on where the virus originated in Wuhan, China, saying “we don’t know” whether it began in a Chinese lab or a wet market.   

President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have repeatedly claimed there is evidence that Covid-19 originated in a Wuhan lab.

Milley said, “the weight of evidence is that it was natural and not manmade,” and also said while there was still not “conclusive evidence” on whether or not the virus was accidentally or deliberately released in Wuhan, China, “the weight of evidence is that it was probably not intentional.”

“It would help a great deal if the Chinese government would open up and allow inspectors and investigators to go there in full transparency so that the world can know the actual original source of this so that we can apply the lessons learned and prevent outbreaks in the future,” he said.

Milley made the comments during an on-camera press briefing Tuesday at the Pentagon alongside Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

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At least 1,111 Detroit residents have died due to complications related to Covid-19, Mayor Mike Duggan said today.

There are at least 9,449 cases of the virus in the city. 

Of the roughly 17,000 tests performed so far, Duggan said that 27% of Detroit residents, and 26% of residents in neighboring suburbs have tested positive for coronavirus. 

Duggan also said that budget cuts in the city, beginning at the upcoming end of the fiscal year, extending through June 30, 2021 will total $348 million. Most of that is dipping into Detroit’s reserves that it had developed after the recession, as well as cuts to its urban blight demolition program, Duggan said.

Coronavirus has made it less likely that anyone still flying will be stuck in a middle seat as airlines attempt to help passengers maintain some level of social distance. 

Across the industry, flights are generally sparsely populated, giving the airlines and passengers opportunities to spread out. The average US domestic flight currently carries about 17 passengers, according to the latest numbers from air carrier group Airlines for America. 

Here's how US airlines are handling social distancing on flights:

More than 1,000 inmates in Arkansas prisons have tested positive for Covid-19, according to Dr. Nate Smith, Director of the Arkansas Department of Health.

Smith said that 876 inmates at the Cummins Correctional Facility have tested positive and another 264 inmates at the Federal Correctional Institute in Forrest City have also tested positive.

Additionally, a total of 261 nursing home residents and 148 staff members have tested positive for the virus. There have been 32 deaths connected to nursing homes in the state.

Dr. Smith said that the state is doing more test at the Cummins facility after previously negative inmates have now tested positive.

In total, at least 3,496 cases and 83 deaths have been reported in the state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Maine is reporting 20 additional positive coronavirus cases at a Tyson Foods plant in Portland.

That brings the total number positive cases there to 37, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC, at a news conference on Tuesday.

The Tyson Foods processing plant has been closed since Friday. It will stay closed a few more days so that the Maine CDC can trace the contacts of infected workers, Shah said. 

Approximately 309 full-time employees at Tyson were offered a coronavirus test, according to Shah.

At least 1,226 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Maine and 61 people have died since the pandemic began, according to Shah.

Some shoppers in Texas will be limited on how much meat products they will be able to buy.

"We urge customers to not overbuy meat products, this behavior alone would create a shortage…at this time we have implemented a purchase limit on meat," Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B tweeted.

In another tweet the company said they have a "strong supply of meat."

The company implemented a five-package combined limit per customer for pork, chicken, and beef products on May 1. The limits vary by area.

Houston-area stores were limited to four packages of ground beef, four packages of chicken, and two packages of beef brisket.  

The company noted the limits were temporary and put in place to protect the supply chain in Texas.

Some background: Costco and Kroger have also announced similar limits on meat products in their stores.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union estimated last week that 20 meatpacking and food processing workers have died so far. The union said last week the closures have resulted in a 25% reduction in pork slaughter capacity and 10% reduction in beef slaughter capacity.

Tyson Foods warned Monday that it expects more meat plant closures this year. The company also said it will continue producing less meat than usual, as workers refrain from coming to work during the outbreak.