May 16 coronavirus news

Three Disney owned business will reopen on May 27, one week after Disney already announced that third-party operators can reopen at Disney Springs in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 

Beginning with the initial reopenings on May 20, Disney has now updated its guest policy to include temperature screenings and face coverings upon arrival to Disney Springs.

All guests age 3 and older will be required to wear appropriate face coverings on the property. In addition, they will also institute temperature screenings, and any guests showing a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will not be admitted, nor will their party.

More details: On May 27, three Disney-owned and operated stores and venues will reopen: World of Disney, D-Luxe Burger for mobile orders and the Marketplace Co-Op. 

Spraying disinfectants outside or across broad spaces indoors to try to kill coronavirus can do more harm than good, the World Health Organization advised Saturday.

And spraying people is a really bad idea, WHO said in an updated advisory on infection control.

WHO cited studies showing that trying to spray bleach or other chemicals over a wide area is ineffective. The same goes for ultraviolet light disinfecting, the agency said.

Some governments have fogged streets and some groups have been washing down sidewalks, but WHO said it’s probably a waste of effort. 

“Spraying or fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets or marketplaces, is also not recommended to kill the COVID-19 virus or other pathogens because disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris and it is not feasible to manually clean and remove all organic matter from such spaces,” the agency said. 

The New Jersey Department of Human Services has been awarded more than $2.8 million in federal funding for mental health services, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

Not only has the past two months been "a challenging time for all of us in protecting our physical health," it has also been hard "on the mental health of many residents as well," Murphy said.

This funding will help expand access to counseling and other mental health services, he added.

The state has also launched the NJ Mental Health Care’s help line (1-866-202-HELP).

France is reporting 96 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total number to approximately 27,625, the National Health Agency said Saturday.

According to the latest data, about 17,412 patients died in hospitals, while at least 10,213 patients died in nursing homes.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals continues to fall –– now totaling at least 19,432.

New hospitalizations from coronavirus have decreased by 55% across New Jersey in the past two weeks, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a news briefing on Saturday.

The number of overall patients in the hospital has decreased by 36%, the number of patients in the intensive care unit decreased by 36% and the number of patients on ventilators is down 31% since May 1, Murphy said.

Reopening: The governor also announced he will sign an executive order today that will allow fishing charters and other chartered boat services and watercraft rentals to resume effective at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

Specific social distancing and sanitation measures will be required including the implementation of online or telephone payment systems to “further lessen” direct person to person contact among other procedures spelled out in the order, he said. 

All customers and passenger logs must be properly maintained for the purpose of contact tracing should that be required, the governor said.

At least 13 protesters participating in an anti-lockdown demonstration in London have been arrested, the British Metropolitan Police told CNN on Saturday.

Dozens of people who had gathered in Hyde Park to protest against the government’s emergency coronavirus restrictions were met by police officers attempting to control the demonstration.

In videos shared online, protesters were heard chanting “shame on you” as the un-masked police officers ask people move people along.

Some context: The protests come as the country prepares to enter its ninth week of lockdown on Monday, with a total of at least 34,466 deaths recorded across the UK so far.

In videos shared on social media, Piers Corbyn – the brother of former UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn – was seen warning demonstrators of the government’s “lies” about the deadly virus.

"They’re telling us there’s a pandemic. It’s a pack of lies to brainwash you and keep you in order,” Piers Corbyn said.

In the crowd, one protester was seen holding a sign calling on the government to “stop violating our human rights,” while another sign read: “I will not be masked, tested, tracked or poisoned. This will not be my new normal.”

Britain is planning for some students to return to school as early as next month, as long as rates of infection continue to decrease, United Kingdom Education Secretary Gavin Williamson

Only those in kindergarten, grade one and grade six will return but only with smaller class sizes, he said. High schoolers in grades 10 and 12 will go back on a “limited basis” in order to have face to face contact with teachers, Williamson added.

Those students are being prioritized because they have the “most to lose” by staying out of school, he said. 

“We’re asking schools to adopt a number of strict protective measures. This includes reducing class sizes, making sure pupils stay with these small groups, creating a protective and small bubble around them," he said.

Williamson emphasized that schools will be “rigorous about hygiene, cleaning and hand washing.” 

“This approach is based on the very best scientific advice, with children at the heart of everything we do," Williamson added.

New York Health Department Commissioner Howard Zucker said a study of hospitalized patients that had hydroxychloroquine administered showed “there was no benefit or adverse harm.”

“The drug was tested in hospital trials for the FDA,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, adding, “the tests suggested not to go ahead with the drug.”

After spending the past week in Washington largely out of sight, Vice President Mike Pence will hit the road next week, traveling to Florida.

This will be the vice president’s first trip outside of Washington since his press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for coronavirus on May 8. 

Pence will travel to Orlando on Wednesday where he will meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss Florida’s phased economic reopening.

He will also deliver personal protective equipment to a nursing home and hold a roundtable with hospitality and tourism industry leaders to discuss their plans for reopening, according to a news release from the vice president's office.