Coronavirus pandemic in the US

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory to thousands of doctors across the country Thursday, advising them to be on the lookout for a troubling new syndrome that may be associated with Covid-19 infection.

The syndrome, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), has been seen in children across Europe and in at least 18 states, plus Washington, DC.

"CDC is requesting healthcare providers report suspected cases to public health authorities to better characterize this newly recognized condition in the pediatric population," the advisory said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released six “decision trees” Thursday aimed at helping businesses, communities, schools, camps, daycares and mass transit decide on whether it’s safe to reopen. 

The "decision trees" are not part of a much-anticipated, lengthy and detailed document that has been delayed at least once.

The six documents posted on the CDC’s website Thursday provide step-by-step guidance advising employers, for instance, to encourage social distancing, hand washing and intensified cleaning.

The "decision trees" are very similar, with small adjustments to account for the differences between school, for example, and restaurants.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said state will allow gatherings of 10 people or less starting May 22.

He recommended gatherings take place outside whenever possible. Beshear added that people should remain six feet apart from anyone who is not a part of their household.

The governor also said Kentucky will let its travel ban expire on May 22.

“The travel ban has been very important to where we are and to flattening the curve, and we still need to be very careful about where we travel to,” Beshear said.

As it prepares to loosen more economic restrictions Saturday, Idaho will make personal protective equipment available to any business that needs it to reopen.

“We don’t want the lack of access to PPE to inhibit small businesses from opening,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement Thursday.

The state set up a website where businesses can order the supplies at cost. The state warned businesses that they can’t guarantee how quickly an order can be filled, but hopes to get materials faster by buying in bulk. Items that can be ordered include disposable masks, medical-grade gloves and hand sanitizer.

Idaho’s stage two reopening begins March 16.

Restaurants will be allowed to return to dine-in services. Gyms and salons can open with social distancing. 

Theaters will remain closed, and gatherings are limited to 10 people.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said the trading floor will look different when it reopens to a subset of floor brokers on May 26.

Floor brokers will return in smaller numbers, wear protective masks and follow “strict social-distancing requirements, enforced by a new choreography” that defines spaces where each person may work on the floor, according to an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal from Stacey Cunningham, the president of the NYSE.

Cunningham wrote that “designated market makers” will largely continue to do their jobs away from the floor. 

NYSE will require all visitors to avoid public transportation, Cunningham said, adding that floor brokers and visitors will be screened and have their temperatures taken as they enter the building. Those who do not pass the check will not be allowed to enter until they test negative for Covid-19, or self quarantine, Cunningham wrote.

The NYSE will not resume its regular schedule of events and most of the rest of the building will remain “largely empty” as many employees will continue to work remotely, Cunningham said.

A daily regimen of “thorough cleaning and sanitation” of the floor will be implemented, Cunningham said.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to return to his office in Springfield next week after self-isolating when a staffer tested positive for Covid-19.

“Well right now my staff and I are isolating at home, and we’re working with (Illinois Department of Public Health) to determine how long we’ll have to do this. I’d like to return to Springfield probably mid-late next week, for the opportunity to be there during session, but I just need to get sign off from the experts, from the doctors,” Pritzker said Thursday during a virtual news conference. 

Pritzker tested negative for Covid-19 on Monday, according to a statement from his office.

He said he plans to follow the same safety precautions Covid-19 as he did before self-isolating.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) has processed six times more unemployment claims during the period of March 1 through May 9, 2020 than “the equivalent time period of the 2008-2009 great recession,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday.

Pritzker said during a news conference that more than 1,076,000 claims have been filed in Illinois between March 1 and May 9, as the coronavirus pandemic swept through the state.

In addition to regular unemployment services, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program opened on Monday in Illinois.

Pritzker said IDES processed more than 50,000 applications under the umbrella of this program, which includes self-employed and independent contractors. Official filing numbers for the PUA program will be reported starting May 21.

The governor also announced that Illinois will partner with Coursera, an online training website, to offer free virtual job training and professional certificate programs through the end of 2020 for unemployed individuals in the state. 

A religious rights group headed by the pastor of a North Carolina church has filed a lawsuit against restrictions put in place in the state by executive orders signed by Gov. Roy Cooper. 

In the complaint, the group alleged the executive orders are unconstitutional because they treat religious gatherings less favorably than similar secular gatherings, which they say is a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The complaint said “absent emergency relief from this court all members and/or attendees of the Plaintiff’s entities will suffer immediate and irreparable injury form the threat of civil and criminal prosecution for the mere act of gathering for free exercise of region and in assembling for worship.”

The lawsuit is asking for a temporary restraining order.

Asked about the lawsuit during a news conference Thursday, Cooper responded, “We don’t want churches to become hotspots for this virus.”

It is about 5:15 p.m. ET in New York and a lot has happened with the coronavirus pandemic. Read up on the biggest headlines below: