Coronavirus pandemic in the US

More than two dozen California counties have reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office to talk about lifting even more restrictions in order to reopen further.

Newsom plans to make more reopening announcements on a consistent basis, he said, and that will begin with subsequent guidelines coming on Tuesday.

Those guidelines will be issued by sector, with a frame of flexibility, and will provide clarification hand washing, sanitation, addressing need for pickups and how to make that safer for employees and customers.

Acknowledging deep anxiety people are feeling and a desire to reopen, Newsom said, “We will move through phase two together as a state.” 

Today, 70% of the state’s economy can reopen with modifications, Newsom indicated. It’s not 100% and won’t deliver the same revenue that companies are used to, and says “businesses may not thrive, but will survive” with the state’s support, the governor said.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced the five-phase "Protecting Chicago" plan for reopening the city during a news conference Friday afternoon.

The five-phase outlines how and when businesses can safely reopen, employees can return to work and residents can resume recreational activities.

The first four phases require people to continue to social distance and wear face masks to help, Lightfoot said.

Here's a look at the phases:

All parades and festivals in Boston are canceled for the summer, up to and including Labor Day on Sept. 7, due to coronavirus concerns, Mayor Marty Walsh announced today.

Smaller events will be looked at by a “case by case basis,” Walsh said at a news conference Friday.

The city is looking for “creative alternatives” for the large-scale events that the city hosts, he continued.

"This is a hard public health decision, but it's the right one. I encourage people to rethink their events, and thank them for their work to inspire us, and help our communities get through this difficult time," he continued.

The city is encouraging organizers to host virtual events instead.

The investigative office reviewing the whistleblower complaint of former vaccine chief Dr. Richard Bright has determined there is reason to believe he had been removed as retaliation and is recommending he be reinstated during the investigation, Bright’s lawyers said Friday.

The Office of the Special Counsel “advised that in light of this determination, it would contact the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS”) to request that it stay Dr. Bright’s removal as Director of BARDA for 45 days to allow OSC sufficient time to complete its investigation of Bright’s allegations," Bright’s lawyers said in a statement.

President Trump confirmed that Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, is the staffer who tested positive for coronavirus. 

Trump never used Miller's last name in his remarks but later confirmed it was “a press person.”

The President said that Miller has not come into contact with him but noted that she has been in contact with Pence.

Watch CNN's latest reporting: 

President Trump predicted Friday that the coronavirus pandemic could kill “95,000 people ultimately” across the US — again subtly adding to the numbers he has been using.

More than 76,000 people have died due to the virus in the US already, according to a daily tally tracked by Johns Hopkins University. 

Speaking with Republican members of Congress, Trump said that mitigation efforts helped limit the number of deaths from the outbreak but, “We may be talking about 95,000 people ultimately, we may be talking about something more than that."

He added that one death from coronavirus is unacceptable “let alone perhaps a 100,000.”

Some context: Trump projected between 50,000 to 60,000 US deaths from the coronavirus at a White House press briefing on April 20.

During a Fox News town hall on Sunday, Trump suggested the number would be closer to 80,000 to 90,000 people.

There have been at least 14,389 confirmed coronavirus deaths and at least 5,313 probable coronavirus deaths in New York City, according to the city website.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is at least 19,702.

What that means: The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “COVID-19” or an equivalent.

There have been at least 176,089 coronavirus cases in the city, and at least 43,913 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.

A new select committee in the House is asking five companies to return Paycheck Protection Program money they received or to produce documents explaining all conversations they had with the Small Business Administration and the US Treasury.

The committee "sent letters demanding that large, public corporations immediately return taxpayer funds that Congress intended for small businesses struggling to survive during the coronavirus crisis," according to a statement.

Some of the companies returned the funds, but others refused, the statement said.

“Since your company is a public entity with a substantial investor base and access to the capital markets, we ask that you return these funds immediately,” the panel wrote in the letters. 

The panel asked the companies to let them know by May 11 if they will return these funds. If not, the panel asked the CEOs to produce a range of documents no later than May 15, the statement said.

Childhood vaccinations have plunged since the Covid-19 pandemic started hitting the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The CDC reported a “notable decrease” in the number of vaccines ordered through a federal program that immunizes half of all kids in the US.

Unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children will be at risk of other infectious diseases besides coronavirus, the CDC cautioned.

“The decline began the week after the national emergency declaration; similar declines in orders for other vaccines were also observed,” the CDC’s Dr. Jeanne Santoli and colleagues reported.

The American Academy of Pediatrics sounded an alarm about the report.

“Immunizing infants, children and adolescents is important, and should not be delayed,” Dr. Sally Goza, president of the AAP, said in a statement.

“I’m also concerned that children who have missed vaccines have also missed other health care that occurs during those visits, including physical exams, developmental screenings, and other important care that should not be delayed," Goza said.

The group said pediatricians should be doing all they can to encourage parents to bring children in for vaccinations and other important visits, including separating sick children from well children and reaching out to remind families to make appointments.