Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Latinos account for 44% of Rhode Island’s coronavirus cases, despite only making up about 16% of the state’s overall population, Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said Monday.

Gov. Gina Raimondo faced criticism in a news conference that her administration’s outreach to the Latino community has been insufficient. Raimondo disagreed, arguing that her team has “doubled down” on outreach with targeted radio, TV and Facebook interviews.

“We are working overtime to communicate to the Latino community,” Raimondo said. “To suggest that it’s just a small effort isn’t true.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said that her state received its first shipment of possible coronavirus treatment remdesivir over the weekend.  

She said there has already been a call with doctors and pharmacists, and there will be a second call this afternoon between the State Medical Director and Epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati and the Department of Public Health to discuss distribution throughout the state.  

"So they will put the parameters together and agree to what that distribution looks like based on who benefits the most from the drug," the governor said.   

Reynolds also said the state is working to make sure doctors on the frontlines of fighting the virus are able to consult with "someone who has experience with the drug." 

About the drug: Remdesivir is the first and only drug shown to be effective against the novel coronavirus in a rigorous trial. Its effects are modest but significant — shortening a patient's hospital stay by about four days. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease specialist, has called it the new "standard of care" for Covid-19.

As it stands now, there's only enough remdesivir in the world for about 200,000 patients, according to the drug's maker, Gilead Sciences. 

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) are starting conversations aimed at beginning the 2020 MLB season with the approval of local governments and health officials, according to a source with knowledge of MLB operations. 

The MLB source tells CNN that league and team leadership are gathering for their weekly meeting today to discuss plans to get back on the field and the safety and economic conditions that would need to be met to do so.  

However, lines are already being drawn regarding key financial terms previously outlined in a March agreement on how much players would be paid in a shortened season. The potential financial snag could create a public relations nightmare for the sport at the worst possible time. As unemployment hits depression era levels, and the world economy struggles to reopen, this is not the kind of game that the fans want to see being played.

Under the terms of the March agreement, MLB players received a $170 million salary advance. In exchange for that advance, the MLBPA agreed not to challenge the loss of their 2020 salaries if the season were to be canceled and to accept prorated salaries if a partial season is played.

An excerpt of that March agreement provided to CNN indicates that if MLB games cannot be staged in teams' home stadiums in front of spectators, the MLB and MLBPA agree to hold good faith discussions about the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at neutral sites. MLB's position is that those discussions could include asking players to take further salary reductions. 

The MLB Players Association is balking at the idea of reopening the discussion of players' salaries. 

A separate source with knowledge of the MLBPA's position tells CNN that MLB owners are in no need of a financial bailout from MLB players. The source echoes Clark's position that the salary issue was previously settled in the March agreement, which provided the owners with flexibility to adjust their revenue sharing this season.

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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, speaking at a news conference today, said that of the 470 deaths in the parish associated with Covid-19, 360 are African American and 99 are white.

Orleans Parish currently has 6,693 cases, with 11 new cases and two new deaths reported on Monday. 

Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the director of the New Orleans Health Department, spoke about the milestones the city needs to meet in order to reopen, including a decline in new cases and testing capacity. 

Avegno said that the city has seen at least 28 days of sustained decline in new cases. With a threshold of low numbers set at around 50, which is 90% below peak, the city has met that milestone for weeks now. 

She said that roughly 3% of those tested through the mobile testing being conducted by the city are positive. This is down from a high of 20%. Avegno said the city has met that milestone as well.

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Summer camps in Connecticut will be able to reopen on June 29, but with strict public health guidelines, according to Beth Bye, commissioner of the state's Office of Early Childhood.

Bye talked about summer camps during a roundtable discussion Monday held by members of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group. The discussion covered a wide array of education topics for the state.

Bye said summer camps will provide parents with much needed child care. A number of camps have been opening already to provide child care.

Schools that are traditionally used for summer camps are also being encouraged to make the space available due to a critical need for families, it was announced during the online discussion.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced today the framework for reopening the state, which is expected to begin next week.

There will be a four-phase reopening plan for businesses starting on May 18.

“The goal of the phased reopening, based on public health guidance, is to methodically allow certain businesses, services, and activities to resume, while protecting public health and limiting a resurgence of new COVID-19 cases," the governor's office said in a statement. 

There has been at least 1,337,541 cases of coronavirus in the US, and approximately 79,825 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Johns Hopkins reported today 7,750 new cases and 297 deaths due to the virus.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

There are 1,453 new cases of Covid-19 bringing the total number of cases in the state to at least 139,945, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a press conference.

There were 59 new deaths reported bringing the total to 9,310 total deaths in the state, according to Murphy.

“We are seeing real progress in declining positivity rates,” Murphy said.

Murphy stressed that deaths reported on Mondays tend to be lower after a weekend.