Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday that she is lifting restrictions that limit gatherings to 10 people, effective Monday.  

Reynolds said her proclamation extends to youth and adult sports as well.  

She also announced many large scale venues can also reopen June 1 –– including speedways, racetracks, outdoor performance venues, amphitheaters, grandstands, casinos, amusement parks, bowling alleys, pool halls and arcades.  

The governor emphasized these venues may only reopen at 50% capacity and people "also must follow social distancing hygiene and public health measures," Reynolds said.  

It's just after 1:30 p.m. ET in New York. If you're just joining us, here are the top US coronavirus headlines you need to know.

Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Tuesday that the District has had 13 days of sustained decline in community spread of coronavirus and on track to report 14 days of decline. This is one of the previously outlined metrics listed in order to begin a phased reopening. 

The mayor said she hopes the downward trends would continue and that she could announce next steps tomorrow. Bowser also noted local officials would continue to track community spread and follow science and data in determining when to reopen.

Some context: The mayor announced last week that — barring any spikes in community spread — the District could begin the first phase of its reopening this Friday.

Here's what would reopen:

Looking ahead to the summer, Bowser said the District would not be issuing permits for parades on July 4 if the city is still in phase one at that time.

Bowser said there is potential for future upticks in cases, but she expressed confidence in the District's plan for reopening.

The numbers: There are 109 new positive cases of Covid-19 and no new deaths, according to Bowser.

With regard to contact tracing, Bowser said the district will onboard approximately 50 new tracers today and should have 200 contact tracers enlisted by June 1.

Beaches, restaurants, hotels and gyms in Broward County reopened this morning but with strict guidelines, Mayor Dale V.C. Holness said.

Holness said the reopening was in part due “to the efforts of the people of Broward county working together with our cities, state and with the county.” 

The mayor noted that the reopening comes with guidelines, including “social distancing of six feet apart, 15 feet between groups and no groups larger than 10." Residents must also continue to wear masks and wash hands frequently.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said deputies "will be here to enforce" and educate the community. He added that deputies will issue warnings and citations if people are not complying with the orders.

The mayor warned that arrests could be made and fines could be issued.

"We don’t want to go to the extreme but we must make sure we’re protecting the people of Broward County," Holness said.

Boston Hope Medical Center, the 1,000-bed field hospital at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, will suspend admission of new patients, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said.

The facility will remain running until all patients are safely discharged, and its bed capacity will remain through the summer in case it is needed, Baker said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Boston Hope has treated more than 700 Covid-19 patients on the hospital side and has served as a respite site for the city's homeless population, he said.

The latest numbers: As of yesterday, at least 8,188 tests were conducted in Massachusetts, bringing the state total to 540,561, Baker said. 

At least 2,179 residents are currently hospitalized, Baker said, calling it a “significant decrease” compared to the state’s data a few weeks ago. He said the state’s numbers are trending in the right direction.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross believes there will be a 2020 NFL season this fall and plans to have fans at Hard Rock Stadium.

"I think there definitely will be a football season this year," Ross said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday.  

He continued: "The real question is, will there be fans in the stadium? Right now — today — we're planning on having fans in the stadium. But I think the NFL is looking at, and is very flexible, so that we will be able to start on time and really bring that entertainment that really is so needed for all of us in this country."

Some context: Earlier this month, the Dolphins released plans in wake of the coronavirus pandemic to adhere to social distancing. 

“We’ve done a lot of things down in Miami here. We’re prepared, either way, and hopefully there will be fans in the stadiums,” Ross said.

Hard Rock Stadium became the first public facility to earn the Global Biorisk Advisory Council's STAR accreditation, an initiative that served "as the gold standard for facilities to implement cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention work practices to control risks associated with infectious agents."

Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, has returned to work after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. 

Miller tweeted today that she returned to work after testing negative three times for Covid-19.

Some background: Earlier this month, Trump confirmed that Miller had tested positive for the virus. She was the second White House staff member known to test positive for coronavirus. One of Trump's personal valets had tested positive earlier.

At that time, the President said that Miller had not come into contact with him but noted that she had been in contact with Pence.

Miller is married to Trump's senior adviser, Stephen Miller.

University of Colorado Boulder plans to welcome students back to campus for the fall 2020 semester, with changes including on-campus testing for students and faculty, classes being divided into multiple sessions, and a unique plan to keep first-year students in small groups. 

There will also be no tuition increase for undergraduate students for the 2020-21 academic year.

The university's classes in the fall semester are scheduled to begin on August 24 and to finish in-person classes before Thanksgiving.

Courses will be provided in a variety of in-person, distance, and hybrid formats, according to a letter from Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano and university leadership sent to the campus community Tuesday.

More details on the school's plan: For academic instruction of the university's 35,000 students, the school plans to split single classes into multiple sessions and use larger spaces to reduce the number of students in classrooms.

It also plans to extend the class schedule to Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., to decrease student density on campus.

Approximately 7,000 first year students will have a slightly different experience. Their housing assignments and class enrollment will be done by dividing students into "small cohort groups." Those groups of around 10 people will live together and have all their classes together. The plan did not specify how the university will enforce these groups not co-mingling.

The university said in order to be a "Covid-19-ready campus" it will have testing capability and rapid response teams for tracking and isolation on infected individuals to meet public health guidelines.

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Reps. Marcia Fudge, Jim Costa, and Stacey Plaskett asked for more details to be released on how $1.2 billion in contracts for the United States Department of Agriculture's Farmers to Families program were awarded earlier this month.  

The lawmakers wrote in the letter that they "share USDA’s goal of providing effective and timely assistance to families, farmers, and food supply businesses like food distributors."

Some background: The USDA announced the "Farmers to Families Food Box" program would distribute $3 billion worth of produce and other farm products that might have gone to waste to nonprofits and local food banks across the country.

More than 200 companies nationwide were awarded contracts by the USDA to provide boxes of fresh produce, meat and dairy products.   

The letter comes amid questions surrounding some of the less experienced companies that won contract bids.

Earlier this month the United Fresh Produce Association, which represents over 1,500 fresh produce companies in the country, wrote a letter to the USDA to ask why companies that have been awarded USDA contracts in the past were passed over.

A spokesperson for the USDA previously told CNN, “More than 550 proposals were received for the Farmers to Families Food Box program. Successful proposals included many small businesses and those that will support local and regional farmers, which was part of the evaluation criteria for contract award.”