May 23 coronavirus news

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported that there have been 84 coronavirus-related deaths in New York over the past 24 hours, he said at a news briefing today.

First lady Melania Trump addressed a group of graduates Friday at the White House along with President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

The first lady tweeted a video of part of her speech with shots of the graduation ceremony.

Graduates walked across the stage, were handed a scroll by the President, and posed for a photo with the Trumps and DeVos, the video shows.

The President, the first lady, Devos, the graduates and other guests were not wearing masks, but some people in the furthest corner of the room were wearing them.

Watch the video:

Spain will dedicate its longest official mourning period to Covid-19 victims starting Tuesday. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced during a news conference Saturday that "starting Tuesday, when the entire national territory is in phase one, the government of Spain will approve a formal declaration of official mourning throughout our country in memory of the victims of COVID-19. The mourning will last 10 days, the longest official mourning in history of our democracy."

Sanchez explained that "with this official mourning we want to show our pain, our regret and our appreciation to the victims." He highlighted that "those who died in this epidemic deserve to be remembered."

Sanchez also announced that “next week our parliament will approve the Minimum Vital Income. This will be a permanent benefit to reduce poverty in our country that already exists in other European countries. It will benefit 850,000 homes, half with children under their care, who will start receiving it from mid-June."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to allow 10 people or less to gather as long as they are practicing social distancing protocols, according to an order on the governor’s website.

The order was signed, Friday, in time for the Memorial Day holiday.  

The full order can be read here.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced during a news conference Saturday that "starting in July, we will reactivate the entry of foreign tourism under safe conditions. As of now, foreign tourists can begin to plan their vacation in our country."

Sanchez announced that “there will be a tourist season this year” and invited all establishments in Spain to get ready to receive national clients at the end of June and foreigners in July.

Sports to return: Sanchez also said “La Liga will return from the week of June 8."

Sanchez explained that "of course, the ball will roll again under conditions that guarantee maximum health safety for all participants in the competition. Spanish football, we all know, has a massive following in and out of our borders. But it will not be the only recreational activity that we will recover in the coming weeks: museums, cinemas, concerts, theaters and all sports activities will gradually restart."

There were 95 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the Navajo Nation as of Friday, the nation reported in a news release.

The new cases bring the total number of positive cases to 4,529. A total of 149 deaths were reported Friday. 

Some context: The updates came as the Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, went into another 57-hour weekend lock down. During the lockdown, all residents are required to remain at home, with the exception of essential workers, first responders and health care workers. 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings says he “behaved reasonably and legally” when he travelled from London to Durham during the quarantine lockdown in March.

Cummings is accused of breaching the coronavirus restrictions by making the journey while showing symptoms of the virus.

Speaking outside his home in London, Cummings told journalists to move back to abide by social distancing rules.

Responding to a question about it not being a "good look" for the prime minister’s adviser to travel to Durham, Cummings replied: “Who cares about good looks. It’s a question about doing the right thing – not what you guys (journalists) think."

It's not just that hydroxychloroquine doesn't help Covid-19 patients. The drug makes them sicker.

A comprehensive study published yesterday in the medical journal The Lancet found that seriously ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine were more likely to die or develop irregular heart rhythms.

It's not the first study to highlight the potentially harmful effects of the medication, but it is by far the largest. It analyzed data from more than 96,000 patients across six continents.

The study comes just days after US President Donald Trump revealed that he has been taking the medication himself, despite the Food and Drug Administration's stark 1,000-word warning about the risks.

Today's other developments

Latin America is the new hot spot: Brazil reported more than 20,000 cases yesterday in the previous 24 hours, as hospitals struggle to cope. President Bolsonaro continues to dismiss the threat, saying quarantines and lockdowns could have a worse impact on his country's battered economy.

In Peru, the government announced it was extending its state of emergency until the end of June. The Andean country has the second-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Latin America after Brazil. In Mexico, health officials announced the highest single-day surge in deaths.

80 million babies at risk: The WHO warns that 80 million babies worldwide could be at risk of preventable diseases like measles and polio because of missed vaccinations. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted immunization programs in at least 68 countries.

Apples and oranges: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged yesterday it had combined results from viral and antibody coronavirus tests on its website.

Experts say this is unhelpful and potentially misleading, because antibody tests aren't used to diagnose current infections or determine whether someone is potentially contagious. Instead, they indicate whether someone has been exposed to the virus in the past.

Information wars: Fighting misinformation is just as important as fighting the virus itself, says Dr. Mike Ryan of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program. Ryan says the WHO has invested heavily in myth-busting videos, infographics and cartoons.

Coronavirus conspiracy theories have spread rapidly on social media. But researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that nearly half the accounts propagating the Covid-19 conversations on Twitter could be automated bots.

Africa tops 100,000 cases: The coronavirus has spread to every country on the continent. But Africa's mortality rate is low compared to other parts of the world. Its young population might explain the low numbers. The WHO points to another possible explanation: Many governments there were quick to impose confinement measures, which helped slow the spread.

But lockdowns have spurred other hardships. In Ghana, bodies have piled up in morgues since a ban on public gatherings. Many families have opted to store corpses in morgues for longer than usual, until they can hold a traditional funeral with many mourners, Zaina Adamu reports

A version of this story appeared in the May 23 edition of CNN's Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.

Senior ministers in Boris Johnson's government have rallied behind a top aide after it was reported he breached the country's coronavirus lockdown.

Dominic Cummings traveled across England to stay at his family's home while suffering from coronavirus symptoms, it has emerged.

His decision to travel out of London was “most unwise,” the acting Durham Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner, Steve White said on Saturday.

“Given the whole ethos of the guidance and regulations issued from the Government was to reduce the spread, regardless of reason, by traveling to County Durham when known to be infected was most unwise,” he said in a statement.

“Incidents such as this do not help, and I can appreciate that the longer this goes on the harder it gets.”

Cummings made the trip despite Johnson urging people to stay at home and banning people from visiting family members. The UK's self-isolation guidelines also state people with symptoms must not leave their home.

But Downing Street has nonetheless insisted that the aide did not breach lockdown guidelines, and a number of senior members of Johnson's Cabinet leapt to his defense on Saturday.

“Caring for your wife and child is not a crime," Michael Gove tweeted.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab added: “It’s reasonable and fair to ask for an explanation on this. And it has been provided: two parents with Coronavirus, were anxiously taking care of their young child. Those now seeking to politicise it should take a long hard look in the mirror.”

“Taking care of your wife and young child is justifiable and reasonable, trying to score political points over it isn’t," Chancellor Rishi Sunak added.

Pressure is nonetheless mounting on Johnson to sack Cummings. Days before he made the tip, the Prime Minister sent the UK into lockdown and gave the public "a very simple instruction -- you must stay at home."

"The British people do not expect there to be one rule for them and another rule for Dominic Cummings," the Labour Party said in a statement.

The leaders of the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats meanwhile called on Cummings, who played a senior role in the pro-Brexit campaign in 2016 and joined Boris Johnson in Downing Street last year, to resign or be sacked.