Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Disney’s Broadway production of "Frozen" will not reopen, according to a statement issued Thursday, which cites the “industry-wide shut down and resulting economic fallout” as the reason behind the decision.

The final performance was on March 11 after having played 825 performances. 

There are at least 1,405,961 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 85,194 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

Johns Hopkins on Thursday reported 15,555 new cases and 1,075 deaths. 

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

As some colleges and universities are announcing their decisions to hold classes virtually in the fall, one school in Maine is exploring a different path: not re-opening at all in the fall, until students can be safely back on campus in January 2021.

David Greene, president of Colby College, a private liberal arts in Waterville, Maine, tells CNN, “I would rather open in January and go into next summer and have two full semesters worth of in person instruction, if it were safer to do it at that time than it were earlier in the fall.”

A definitive decision about reopening is not expected until early July when school officials hope to get more clarity and information from medical officials about the progression of testing and therapeutics.

While Greene is not ruling out the possibility of offering virtual classes for the fall semester, he is torn by the chorus he is hearing from students and faculty who miss the on-campus experience. “From both sides there’s a strong interest in having people back as long as it’s safe to do so,” he said.

Safety protocols could involve “testing members of the community on a regular basis both for antibodies and for infection.” 

Greene said he has set up a task force of 10 different working groups as they focus on what reopening will look like. The groups will focus on testing, supply chain issues, personal protective equipment, cleaning, and housing.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he has approved Miami-Dade County’s reopening plan, which kicks off Monday.

The request included reopening restaurants at 50% capacity. 

The governor said Miami-Dade's proposal will be approved and added that he would make a further announcement on the matter tomorrow from Jacksonville. 

President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida is telling members the club will partially re-open this weekend, and guests will need to maintain social distancing guidelines.

In an email sent to members, guests are told that the main house, where Trump often takes up residence, along with the spa, gym, and tennis courts will remain closed, and the Beach Club will open under new guidelines through June 28.

Mar-a-Lago's staff will be enforcing social distancing guidelines for members who visit the Beach Club and says loungers and tables will be spaced six feet apart and “on the pool deck and in the pool/jacuzzi.” 

The club is also conducting a heightened cleaning regime. Restrooms will be “thoroughly sanitized hourly” and the club will have “sanitizing stations” spread around the pool deck.

It is unclear whether Trump will return to the property before the season ends. He normally visits the club during winter months.

The last time he visited the club was in early March as the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold. 

The President generally stops going to his Florida resort after Mother’s Day, opting for his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey over the summer.

Several Trump Organization golf properties also reopened last week, including the Trump Doral in Florida. The Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, also reopened this month, and the Trump National Golf Club Washington, DC, in Potomac Falls, Virginia, is also open.

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US stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday, bouncing back from steep losses earlier in the day.

Gains in financials and basic materials stocks helped push the indexes higher. Investors continue to be torn between hopes for the reopening of the economy, and a worsening outlook for growth.

Here's where the markets finished the day: 

Mike Bowen, executive vice president with Prestige Ameritech, a medical supply company in Texas, said today the US dependence on foreign masks has been a national security issue for years.   

Bowen made the remarks today before a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

He said the issue of US dependence on China for masks is “not some multi-billion dollar problem.” The issue, he said, amounts to “people trying to save pennies across the whole United States.”

Bowen said to help fix the foreign dependence, the US government should say it is a national security problem. “It requires the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), telling America's hospitals 'you’re dependent on foreign made masks’ and put them in legal liability. They have to protect their patients and staff," he added.

China controls most of the world’s mask supply, Bowen said. China sells a box of masks for $1, he said, while he sells them for about $5. “Their prices are so cheap that they've captured most of the world's mask market,” he said.

“Their masks cost less than the materials. If I take my labor costs totally out, I'm still nowhere near the cost of their products,” Bowen said.

Rep. Anna Eshoo called Bowen's testimony “some of the most important testimony that Congress could be hearing.” 

Eshoo continued: “I think, shame on us. I think, shame on all of us that we've allowed this to happen. And this is powerful testimony, it underscores what we need to do, the position that we're in, our crippling dependence on foreign countries for what is. We all realize now with this pandemic — what has been laid bare."

Massachusetts has nine cases of a Covid-related illness that is appearing in children, state officials announced today.

Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said in a news conference with Gov. Charlie Baker that they issued a public health order requiring the reporting of pediatric inflammatory syndrome cases.

President Trump said he's lost five friends to Covid-19 as he spoke to a crowd of dozens of workers in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

The President, who early in the pandemic often compared coronavirus to the flu, on Thursday used his personal experience to contrast the two viruses. 

Trump said he knew people that got sick with the flu, but "they're fine. Nobody ever said they died." 

"But I’ve lost five people that I know," he said, "two people were very good friends."

"Now they were older," Trump continued, "I wouldn’t say they were in the greatest of health. I wouldn’t say their weight was perfect. Not perfect. But they’re gone."

"It’s just a terrible, terrible thing," the President said. 

Last month, Trump said he'd lost four friends to the virus, including one close friend.