Coronavirus pandemic in the US

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said the coronavirus could “reground” itself in the northern hemisphere in later this year, and he does not rule out the possibility of new lockdown measures and restrictions.

“We’ve seen evidence that the concerns it would go south in the southern hemisphere like flu [are coming true], and you’re seeing what’s happening in Brazil now,” Redfield told the Financial Times in an exclusive interview.

Remember: Brazil just saw its biggest single-day increase in the number of cases, adding to the concern is that the flu virus also begins to spread in the fall.

Redfield said he could not guarantee that another lockdown in the United States would not be needed. If the country experiences a bad flu season and is also forced to contend with a resurgence of coronavirus, Redfield said that could put a lot of stress on the health system.

Redfield raised similar concerns about a fall resurgence of the virus in an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta in February. 

Restaurant owners in New York are getting creative as they prepare to welcome customers back into their businesses for dine-in services.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz explained some of the things you might see when you go to eat at a restaurant:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the state will be reopened in phases. While some regions have already entered phase one, phase two will use more of a business-by-business analysis and a matrix that determines each business's overall importance and risk in reopening.

Restaurant owners say they expect it to be about two months before they feel like they can reopen safely, Prokupecz reported.

Macy's released its preliminary earnings for the first quarter and said it expects it lost as much as $1.1 billion between February and May, blaming its losses on lockdown measures that governments imposed because of coronavirus.

The company was forced to close stores on March 18 because of the coronavirus outbreak, causing sales to plunge by as much as 45%, the company said Thursday.

Macy's began reopening stores on May 4 — just a couple days after its first fiscal quarter came to a close. As of this week, it has about 190 Macy's and Bloomingdale's stores open. The company hopes to have more than 500 stores open by mid-June. 

Macy's is limiting the number of customers allowed inside stores that are reopening and installing social distancing signs and markers. 

Customers will be required to use hand sanitizer before trying on jewelry or watches. And Macy's has suspended ear piercings, bra fittings and tailoring services.

Vice President Mike Pence will lead a coronavirus task force meeting at the White House today, according to his official schedule.

The meeting will be at 2:30 p.m. in the Situation Room. This is the first task force meeting since Friday, according to a review of Pence’s schedule. The meeting is closed to press.

US stocks opened mostly flat on Thursday, following the prior session’s rally that propelled the S&P 500 to its highest level since early March.

The market once again paid little attention to dire news from America’s labor market, where another 2.4 million people filed for first-time unemployment claims last week.

Here's where things opened this morning:

Ahead of President Trump's visit to a Ford motor plant in Michigan today, the state's attorney general Dana Nessel sent Trump an open letter urging him to wear a face covering during his visit, saying he has both a "legal" and "moral" responsibility to do so. 

Some context: Executive Order 2020-91 requires manufacturing facilities to suspend all tours, and Executive Order 2020-92 requires anyone who is medically able to wear a facial covering when in an enclosed space, according to the letter. 

"Anyone who has potentially been recently exposed, including the President of the United States, has not only a legal responsibility, but also a social and moral responsibility, to take reasonable precautions to prevent further spread of the virus," Nessel wrote. 

San Francisco nurse Mike Schultz lost at least 50 pounds while hospitalized with coronavirus. 

Schultz posted shocking before-and-after photos of the impact the virus had on his body.

He said he flew to Boston in March to see his boyfriend, and after he got back home, he developed a high fever and was struggling to breathe. He was on a ventilator for 4.5 weeks. 

“I was probably like a lot of people. I didn't realize how serious it was,” he said.

Schultz said that he is recovering, but still experiencing some health issues. 

“I have a little lingering cough and I can't breathe in all the way without feeling like I need to cough,” he said. “… Doctors say … lung capacity is one of the slowest things to come back. So it's going to be a while.” 

Watch more:

Some passengers will arrive at the airport and find their flight is too full to allow for the neighboring seat to remain empty, according to data from a US airline industry group.

However, the group, Airlines for America, maintains that the vast majority of flights continue to allow for many open seats, even as the average number of passengers on each plane is growing. 

 About 8.5% of flights are more than 70% full, according to the group Airlines for America.  

That means about 482 daily flights are above the 70% mark. The group said US carriers are currently conducting about 5,670 passenger flights daily — even after slashing thousands of flights from their schedules. 

Why this matters: The 70% mark is significant because on narrow body aircraft where most seats are in groups of 3, social distancing typically means using only two thirds of seats, or 67%. When factoring in other types of aircraft and different seating arrangements, the International Air Transport Association says social distancing would mean using a maximum of 62% of seats fleet-wide.  

There is no federal standard requiring airlines to leave empty seats and allow customers to socially distance, and the Department of Transportation recently instructed airlines that “if the passenger wishes to change or cancel due to concerns related to the COVID-19 public health emergency,” the customer is not entitled to a refund or voucher.

Here's how flight capacity breaks down:

In January and February, the average flight carried between 85 to 100 passengers. Now, the average flight carries about 39 passengers. That number has climbed significantly from as low as 10 passengers per flight in April and 23 passengers per flight in early May.  

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is calling on President Trump to wear a mask ahead of his visit to a Ford manufacturing plant in the state today. 

Some background: As auto plants reopened on Monday, there was an agreement between the United Auto Workers union and manufacturers that has become law. It specifies that there should be no outside visitors — which has been waived for the President, Nessel said — social distancing, temperature screening and wearing a face covering. 

“We are just asking that President Trump comply with the law of our state, just as we would make the same request of anyone else in those plants,” Nessel said. 

Ford on Tuesday said it had communicated its safety policies to the White House, including that everyone wear a mask. But a company spokesman said, "The White House has its own safety and testing policies in place and will make its own determination.” 

When the President was asked on Tuesday whether he would wear a mask to the Michigan plant, Trump said he hadn't thought about it yet.

"I don't know. I haven't even thought of it. It depends. In certain areas I would, in certain areas I don't. But I will certainly look at it," Trump said.