US coronavirus death toll tops 100,000

SeaWorld has proposed to reopen its Orlando parks for employees on June 10 and to the public on June 11.

Here are more details on the reopening plan:

Field inspections by Orange County staff happened on May 26.

Staff inspected employee health screening and best practices, guest arrival and ticketing, restaurant operations, queue management, signage and communications and sanitation protocols.

More details: After the economic recovery task force votes today on whether to approve the plan, the Orange County, Florida, mayor will make his decision likely in between 12 to 24 hours.

If Mayor Jerry Demings approves the plan, he will then give his support with a recommendation to the state of Florida for ultimate approval.

As France banned the use of hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus treatments, Dr. Anthony Fauci said its lack of efficacy is evident in data even though he’s not sure if it should be banned.

Dr. Dara Kass, an emergency medicine physician at Columbia University Medical Center, says she’s seeing cardiac effects exacerbate in some coronavirus patients due to hydroxychloroquine. 

“Which is why we always need to have really good studies before we introduce even an older medication into a new clinical scenario,” she said, adding that’s why France is banning the drug when treating Covid-19.

The Food and Drug Administration has previously issued warnings about the potentially harmful side effects of using hydroxychloroquine.

American Airlines is announcing new plans to inform passengers when flights are getting full and give them options to switch flights. 

Some context: Unlike the United Airlines program that specifies customers will be informed when planes are more than 70% full, American does not specify what the threshold will be for notification. 

Likewise, American says it will continue to limit the number of passengers on each aircraft. Unlike Delta, which caps capacity at 60% or JetBlue, which promises not to sell middle seats, American is not being more specific about how and when it is limiting capacity. 

American is among the airlines that have been criticized on social media for flights that were full enough that customers did not feel there was sufficient social distancing. 

American is also extending the waiving of change fees that were set to expire at the end of May through June. 

New York City Mayor de Blasio said the city and the bar and restaurant industry are exploring how to safely engage in outdoor dining in the wake of the pandemic.

De Blasio added that he has been speaking to people in the bar and restaurant industry about outdoor dining and there is “a lot of excitement about this possibility.” 

He noted it is “not in phase one as it's structured now.”

“It’s a very very encouraging possibility to lean to the outdoors," de Blasio said.

Social distancing, face coverings, protocols and what amount of capacity can be created to make it worthwhile, continue to be a concern, de Blasio said, noting that restaurants need a certain amount of capacity to be economically viable.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said today that the daily number of people admitted to the hospital for suspected Covid-19 as well as the percent of people who test positive are under the desired thresholds, however the daily number of people in intensive care units continue to be above the threshold.

Here are the latest numbers: The daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected Covid-19, which the mayor would like to see under a 200 threshold, is at 55.

The daily number of people in Health and Hospitals intensive care units, which the mayor would like to see under a 375 threshold, is at 431.

“We have a little more work to do,” de Blasio said, but it’s on the right track and he is confident it will continue to go down.

The percent of New York City residents who tested positive for the virus, which the mayor would like to see under a 15% threshold, is at 8%.

“That is so good to see every day we’re in single digits," de Blasio said.

“Don’t let up,” the mayor said as he said the success is due to the work people are doing to mitigate the virus. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said today that the city is “9 billion dollars in the hole” between the current fiscal year and the next, and additional lost revenue is anticipated beyond the next fiscal year, in the wake of the city’s response to the pandemic.

“While they’re not acting in the Senate, while the President remains silent, our fiscal situation has gotten worse,” de Blasio said.

He continued: “There is literally no way that we can solve this problem without federal help or without having to make very very painful choices that will affect the quality of life in this city our ability to provide basic services and how many people we’re able to employ to support you in the middle of a pandemic!” de Blasio said raising his voice. “We are getting to a point of really tough choices.” 

The city has about 4 weeks to pass a new budget, he added. 

De Blasio asked New York state for a “fall back” or borrowing authority as a last resort if the federal government does not step up. The state granted itself the same borrowing authority in April.

Earlier de Blasio said “of course it should be the responsibility of the federal government first and foremost to address this and yet here we are waiting once again for action.”

The mayor said he spoke to Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday and there is “literally no schedule for the fourth stimulus bill to be voted on,” de Blasio said, the stimulus that would “actually” help cities and states.

Reopening is expected to come with an uptick in Covid-19 cases — and that uptick might not emerge immediately, the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on CNN Newsroom on Wednesday.

With reopening, "when you do that and you see no negative effect in one week, please don't be overconfident," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio divulged plans to help ensure what he called safe separation as the contact tracing for Covid-19 increases.

For those safely separating at home, a resource navigator will make sure an individual has meals delivered, medications and mental support.

There are 200 staff from 15 community based organizations who will support anyone who safely separates at home starting next week as contact tracing starts to grow, the mayor said.

For those who cannot safely separate at home, there are 1,200 health and hospitals hotel rooms available with free medical monitoring, local calls, and laundry. 

The city has formed a community advisory board with members from 60 organizations around the city that will meet two times a week with “our test trace and take care team," the mayor said.

Marriott International said today that the coronavirus is "having a more severe and sustained financial impact on Marriott’s business than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis, combined."

The world's largest hotel chain said it's extending its furloughs and reduced work week that began in March until at least October, according to a news release Wednesday.

The company also warned of a "significant number" of layoffs later this year because it doesn't anticipate bookings to return to pre-pandemic levels until "beyond 2021."

By the numbers: Marriott employs 130,000 people in the United States.

The chain manages nearly 2,000 properties and 560,000 rooms across the world. Combined with its franchisees, Marriott has 7,300 properties globally.

It owns 30 brands including W Hotels, Courtyard and the Sheraton among others.