Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Moncef Slaoui — the ex-head of GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccines division who was appointed by President Trump to lead the US's coronavirus vaccine effort — said he is confident a vaccine will be developed by the end of 2020.

In addition to a vaccine, he said operation "warp speed" will also focus on the development of medicines for those who are already infected as well as improving and "optimizing" diagnostic tests.

"It is a great honor to serve our country and the world in this remarkable endeavor," Slaoui said.

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Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, President Trump said his administration and its "Warp Speed" initiative to develop a coronavirus vaccine are working under the assumption of having one "in the relatively near future" adding that he hoped it would be before the end of the year.

Trump continued: "Typically pharmaceutical companies wait to manufacture a vaccine until it has received all the regulatory approvals necessary, and this can delay the vaccine's availability to the public as much as a year, even more than that. Our task is so urgent that under Operation Warp Speed the federal government will invest in manufacturing all the top vaccine candidates before they're approved so we're knowing exactly what we're doing before they're approved." 

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President Trump announced the two leaders of "Operation Warp Speed," the effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

They are Moncef Slaoui, the ex-head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccines division, and four-star Army General Gustave Perna.

Previously, CNN reported that Slaoui, who has been a venture capitalist since leaving the pharmaceutical giant in 2017, will act as the chief adviser to the vaccine effort. Perna will serve as the chief operating officer overseeing logistics, White House officials said. Trump said this week he would "rapidly" mobilize the military to distribute a vaccine when it is ready.

President Trump is speaking now from the White House Rose Garden. He's expected unveil new details about a vaccine effort.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is also at the event, and is wearing a mask.

Iowa is reporting at least 374 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to Gov. Kimberly Reynolds.

The use of ventilators and beds in intensive care units continues to go down, Reynolds said. So far, about 93,556 Iowans have been tested.

Iowan officials also said they have not encountered any case in the state involving the mystery illness tied to Covid-19 that appeared in children in many parts of the country and the globe.

For the first time, personal protective equipment will not be delivered across Iowa as the state’s stockpile is “in a good place right now,” Reynolds said.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced today that he is extending the state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic until June 15.

“We’re also relaxing the ‘Stay at Home, Stay Safe’ order by aligning it with the sectors and social activities were already allowed to open and with our restart strategy," he added.

Scott said the last two months have felt like a year and it is “incredible” to think about all that has happened since early March. He went on to say that emotions are raw as they methodically reopen the state.

The governor said Vermont has the lowest three-day and seven-day growth rates in the country and their data shows they can continue slowly reopening.

“While our trends remain promising, we know we’re not out of the woods yet,” Scott said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his state — along with New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware — will all be opening beaches for Memorial Day weekend beginning Friday next week.

The states will have different, specific rules but “they’re all basically in the same ball park,” Cuomo said.

Here are the restrictions in New York:

With regards to municipal town and county beaches, local government can choose to open or stay closed. If they open, they must adopt the state requirements at a minimum. They are also allowed to impose additional requirements above and beyond, and must report their status by May 20 so the state can plan accordingly.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 132 people died across the state yesterday, adding the number of deaths is down “but still painful.”

The number of deaths has dropped to levels recorded late March, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said total number of hospitalizations and intubations are down, which is the “way we like to see it."

He said the number of new cases is up, but only "a tick.” Cuomo noted that the new cases are mostly coming from people who “are at home.”

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As five regions in New York begin reopening today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that there will be an increase in coronavirus numbers — and officials must be ready to roll back some reopenings if the rate gets too high.

He added: "You will see an increase. We expect to see an increase. But that increase has to monitored and has to be controlled."

Some background: Cuomo announced yesterday that five regions in his state – Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley – can begin “phase one” of reopening today.  

The regions met the state’s seven specific criteria for reopening, including 14-day declines in hospitalizations and deaths, hospital bed availability, testing capacity and contact tracing. 

Here are the industries that will resume operations in those regions: 

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