June 2 coronavirus news

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order today that will allow the state to enter into its second phase of its reopening plan starting Friday. 

This order will not apply to Northern Virginia and Richmond, which will continue to remain in phase one, according to a statement.

Under phase two, the release said, recommendations for social distancing, teleworking, and requiring individuals to wear face coverings in indoor public settings will continue. However, the maximum number of individuals permitted in a social gathering will increase from 10 to 50 people.

In addition, restaurant and beverage establishments may offer indoor dining at 50% occupancy. Fitness centers may also open indoor areas at 30% occupancy, and certain recreation and entertainment venues without shared equipment may open with restrictions. These venues include museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and outdoor concert, sporting, and performing arts venues. Swimming pools may also expand operations to both indoor and outdoor exercise, diving, and swim instruction. 

The current guidelines for religious services, nonessential retail, and personal grooming services will largely remain the same in phase two. Overnight summer camps, most indoor entertainment venues, amusement parks, fairs, and carnivals will also remain closed in phase two.

The College Board is no longer preparing an at-home SAT test this year, the American organization announced Tuesday, as it continues to navigate testing in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic.

When the May and June SAT test dates were cancelled earlier this spring due to safety concerns amidst the pandemic, the organization made clear that an at-home test option would be available if schools did not return to in-person instruction in the fall. 

The organization said it is working to expand availability of the SAT at in-person test facilities starting in August, with test dates every month and into January 2021, if there is demand for it.

The College Board also addressed the issues people have been having with registering for fall SAT test dates by calling on member colleges to accept scores as late in their processes as possible, consider students who have not taken the test on the same playing field on those who have, and keep in mind that students may not have been able to take the test more than once.

“We know demand is very high and the registration process for students and families under this kind of pressure is extremely stressful,” College Board CEO David Coleman said in a statement. “There are more important things than tests right now. In making these difficult decisions we focused on reducing the anxiety that students and families are experiencing this year. We therefore are asking our member colleges to be flexible toward students who can’t submit scores, who submit them later, or who did not have a chance to test more than once.” 

On May 28, the College Board opened registration for students most in need of a testing date, namely rising high school seniors, to reserve for fall SAT. 

Due to the high volume of registrations shortly after the registration window opened, the College Board tweeted that “students can expect interruptions and delays online,” as people continued to try and register.

US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, holding on to their gains as investors chose to focus on the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Despite a race crisis fueling protests across America and worries about US-China tensions, stocks have been heading higher.

Here's how things closed today:

 It was the third day of gains for both the S&P and the Nasdaq.

At least 20 journalists have died and more than 50 are currently infected with Covid-19 in Peru, according to Peru’s National Journalists Association (ANP).

Many of the victims were working in the country’s most affected regions, Zuliana Lainez, ANP's secretary general, told CNN on Tuesday. 

These journalists were also more at risk due to their employment conditions, Lainez added. Eight of the 20 victims were not full-time workers.

“Our colleagues based in the regions and not in the capital don’t have an organization behind them to provide (personal protective equipment), many of them have been going to hospitals and markets just with home-made masks,” Lainez explained

ANP has asked the government to supply freelance journalists with PPE equipment so they can continue their work in the field. 

In Peru’s capital, Lima, larger media organizations improved conditions for media workers just a few weeks ago, Lainez claimed.

“Even a month after the lockdown, our colleagues were still interviewing people half-meter away from the interviewee in crowded markets. Now they have finally started to use long microphones for example, but this is only after a photographer from a TV station died,” Lainez said.

But the former president of Peru’s Public TV and Radio institute (IRTP) and journalist Hugo Coya estimates that the figures of journalists among Covid-19 victims could be much higher.

“There are a lot of them who don’t belong to any union and work as freelancers, so they are not officially accounted for anywhere," Coya argues.

Some background: Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications approved a health protocol for TV and Radio employees at the end of May.

The protocol establishes measures related to disinfection and use of PPE equipment for TV and radio employees, according to a statement released by Peru’s Radio and Television Advisory Council (ConcorTV). 

The document also states that radio and television companies are responsible for monitoring the health condition of their workers, while the Ministry is responsible for monitoring any breaches to the guidelines.

But the directive does not include print journalists as the ministry is in charge of regulating only the radio and television industry, a member of the council’s communications team clarified.

Peru has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in Latin America, following Brazil.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This post has been updated to remove a photo of a cemetery near Lima that was used in error.

The topic of the protests spanning across the US came up at today's coronavirus task force meeting, a source familiar with the discussion said.

Members of the task force discussed the "increasing" risk that the virus is spreading among protesters at the demonstrations across the US.

"It came up briefly in the context of increasing the risk of spreading infection," the source said.

Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Senate GOP leadership, said the Senate is not likely to move ahead with another recovery package in June and will likely wait until July to act to see what the economy needs. 

As Blunt detailed the June schedule today, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn't mention plans to take up another recovery package this month.

While the fresh produce does not transmit the new coronavirus, the people who are picking and processing this food could be at higher risk of infection, according to guidelines published Tuesday by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Farm workers often have to be in prolonged, close contact both in fields and indoors, the CDC noted. They often share tools and transport, the CDC noted, and can live in close quarters. “Farmworkers may have limited control over their environment in some employer furnished housing,” the CDC noted.

Agricultural workers also often have poor access to clean water throughout the day. Migrant workers who move from region to region could also carry the virus and the possibility that migrant workers moving from farm to farm could be spreading the virus to other communities, the CDC said.

Employers should clean and disinfect shared equipment, vehicles and housing, the CDC said. They should provide areas for safe isolation and care of sick workers and consider workplace health checks. They should provide soap and water and protective equipment including gloves, face masks and shields. Adequate ventilation is also important, the CDC said.

Employers should not penalize workers for taking sick days, think about staggering work shifts and reduce crew sizes. 

The CDC also offered guidelines on how to make shared housing and transportation safer, including providing supplies for cleaning shared surfaces and objects and increasing the number of vehicles or frequency of trips when transporting workers.

The CDC has been posting new targeted pandemic guidance for various groups almost daily on its website.

Covid-19 cases are increasing rapidly in parts of Latin America. Yet, some countries in the region now are easing movement restrictions and moderately reopening their economies while others stand firm.

On Tuesday, WHO director for the Americas, Dr. Carissa Etienne, warned about epidemiological curves in the region sharply rising, and urged governments to "not open too fast," or "risk a resurgence of Covid-19 that could erase the advantage gained over the past few months."

Here's a look at some countries that are standing firm on restrictions:

Argentina: Continues on mandatory lockdown until June 7.

Chile: The country's main cities remain under quarantine. Chile never declared a full quarantine.

Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua have not and are not announcing any easing of restrictions yet. 

And here are how some countries are easing restrictions:

Bolivia: Some districts across the country started a "dynamic quarantine" on Monday, allowing citizens to go out near their homes during specific times for weekdays and weekends. Religious services are also allowed with a maximum 30% capacity. Industries such as agriculture, mining, lumber, and construction can now resume their activities and domestic flights will resume on June 3.

Brazil: Parts of Brazil have begun reopening nonessential businesses and activities, such as churches, car shops, furniture and decoration stores. In the state of São Paulo, shopping malls, commerce, offices and real estate reopened on Monday. However, quarantine in the city of São Paulo — which is inside the state — has been extended until June 15.

In the state of Rio de Janeiro, some restrictions were lifted on Tuesday, allowing individuals to exercise on the city's promenade and to swim in the ocean. Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza and Manaus have also lifted some of the restrictions.

Colombia: A gradual reopening started on Monday for hairdressers, shopping malls, museums, libraries and real estate. Outdoor exercise is also allowed for people over 70 and children over 6 three times a week, 30 minutes per day. Those between 18 and 69 years-old can exercise outdoors for two hours every day.

Costa Rica: The country entered phase 2 of reopening procedures on Monday, allowing national parks, museums and restaurants to operate with up to 50% capacity. Hotels can also reopen up to 50% capacity.

Dominican Republic: "Covidianidad" (COVID-19 life), a reopening measure will start on Wednesday. Churches will be allowed to host services on Sundays, small companies can resume work and big companies can resume activities with 50% of the staff. Businesses will be allowed to open in shopping malls and private passenger transport will also be allowed.

Ecuador: Airports in Quito and Guayaquil are resuming local and international flights at only 30% of the regular flight frequency. The government has reduced the stay-at-home number of hours ordered, while the use of masks is mandatory. Restaurants can reopen in most cities with 30% maximum capacity. The strict quarantine in Quito will be relaxed starting Wednesday.

Guatemala: The country begins phase one of its reopening by allowing people to be outside for a period of 13 hours a day.

Honduras: Companies enter phase zero of preparation for reopening on June 8.

Mexico: On Monday, some industries in parts of Mexico, such as mining, construction, auto parts, and tourism were allowed to reopen as part of the country's "new normal" reopening measures.

Panama: On Monday, the country entered phase two of the "new normality." Public construction and mining can resume, and places of worship, sporting and social areas, can reopen with a maximum 25% occupancy.

Paraguay: The country remains in phase two until June 11. Civil construction and corporate offices have resumed activities. Cultural and sporting events have resumed without audiences and some shops have also reopened.

Peru: The country enters phase two of reopening measures, allowing hairdressers, clothing, shoe and book stores to reopen. Specialty health services, dentists, fertility clinics, veterinaries, food delivery, IT companies, electrical services, carpentry, laundry, and repair services, are also ok to reopen.

Uruguay: The country continues to be praised by its virus prevention strategy and low number of cases; as it began easing restrictions in early May. On Monday, at least 403 schools resumed their activities, in addition to special-ed schools and universities, except in capital city of Montevideo.

Venezuela: The government announced a "flexibilization" of the restriction measures for five days, followed by a new 10-day quarantine. Municipalities bordering Colombia and Brazil, as well as Maracaibo, San Francisco and Zulia, are not included. During this five-day reopening, banks, doctors’ offices, dentists, the construction sector, blacksmithing and hairdressers, among other businesses, can resume operations during specified times of the day.

The number of active coronavirus cases in Italy has dropped to 39,893, a decrease of 1,474 since Monday, the country's Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.

There have been 318 more patients diagnosed with Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases, including deaths and recoveries, to 233,515.

At least 55 people have died with the virus, raising the total number of fatalities to 33,530.

There are 408 people with coronavirus currently in intensive care, 16 fewer than on Monday. 

The number of people who recovered from coronavirus is now 160,092, an increase of 1,737 people since Monday.