Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Rhode Island is set to become the first state in the northeastern United States to lift the stay-at-home order starting Saturday, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Friday.

“We will be the first in the northeast to lift the stay-at-home order ahead of Massachusetts and Connecticut… We are in a better position, so we can lift our restrictions a little sooner,” the governor told reporters in Providence.

Social gatherings will be limited to up to five people and retail stores can start opening again Saturday, Raimondo said, adding that she is planning executive order later Friday that will lay out the rules around phase one opening.

There were 249 new Covid-19 cases as well as 11 new deaths, according to the governor.

Palm Beach County commissioners voted to reopen beaches to county residents only starting May 18.

The decision passed with a 4 to 3 vote during a special meeting Friday.

Until Friday, the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach had been working on a coordinated effort to reopen beaches. This represents the first time one of those counties decided to reopen beaches on their own.

The meeting included a public comment period and a question and answer session with Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees.

Rivkees advised that Duval County reopened beaches about three weeks ago and did not see an increase in the number of cases.

He also recommended social distancing, only gatherings of 10 people or less, and that seniors refrain from going out in public.

Mount Sinai Health System and Sorrento Therapeutics said Friday they are working together to develop an antibody cocktail they hope will protect people from Covid-19, and they expect to begin human trials in the third quarter of 2020.

The team of scientists has screened about 15,000 people who may have recovered from Covid-19 infections and will look for the most potent antibodies in the plasma of these recovered patients, which can then be cloned to make more.

How it works: Antibodies are proteins the body makes to naturally fight off an infection. Antibody cocktails can be given to a patient to fight an infection or to protect from an infection.

Sorrento said in a statement that each dose of this therapy will likely deliver a cocktail of three antibodies that would recognize three unique regions of the spike protein, the part of the coronavirus that can infect cells.

The goal would be to use this treatment to protect health care workers from infection and in patients who are considered vulnerable to more severe forms of the disease, and in people who have been exposed to the novel coronavirus, according to Sorrento.

Unlike with a vaccine or when the body creates antibodies naturally, these monoclonal antibodies only provide protection for a short time, so a treatment may need to be given more than once.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Friday that a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Asked how regular Americans can be expected to go back to work when even the White House, which has coronavirus detection equipment, isn’t safe, McEnany added, “We have put in place the guidelines that our experts have put forward to keep this building safe, which means contact tracing, all of the recommended guidelines we have for businesses who have essential workers we are now putting into place at the White House.”

Doctor reacts to White House staffers testing positive: 

President Trump this morning attended a World War II event with veterans in their 90s. He did not wear a mask.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was just asked if the President considered wearing a mask at the event, considering one of his personal valets tested positive for coronavirus recently.

McEnany said Trump is being tested for coronavirus frequently, and said the veterans attended the event by choice.

White House asked if Trump considered wearing a mask to VE Day commemoration: 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced today that she is extending the current safer-at-home order and expanding the list of what businesses can reopen in the state. 

The safer-at-home order was set to expire on May 15, but is being amended to continue through May 22. 

Ivey said that social distancing will still be required and she encouraged residents to continue to take all precautions as the state returns to "whatever normal will look like in the near future."

Reopening guidelines: Some of the new guidelines that take effect on Monday will allow for gatherings of all non-related, non-families of any size, if they maintain a consistent 6 feet of distancing. This will allow churches and other houses of worship to begin to hold services as well as funerals and weddings to take place. 

Restaurants will be allowed to reopen at a 50% occupancy rate, with 6 foot of spacing between tables and other guidelines in place. Gyms, athletic facilities and athletic classes will be allowed to open, but must adhere to the strict guidance that includes intense cleaning methods and social distancing.

Barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and other similar types of businesses will be able to reopen with restrictions in place that were developed by the state board of cosmetology. 

Ivey plans to announced Alabama's next phase for reopening next week. 

Gov. Greg Abbott, along with the Texas Education Agency and the Dallas Independent School District, launched Operation Connectivity Friday in an effort to deliver internet to students across the state as schools remain closed due to coronavirus, according to a statement from the governor's office.

A task force has been put together for Operation Connectivity to gather information on where internet is and isn't available, identify best practices for at-home student learning, and "secure technology solutions for broadband and devices," the statement said.

The task force will meet each month to review progress and address issues that arise.

As various states begin to reopen, the federal government has taken a small, but significant step in that direction with the agency that serves a human resources function for the rest of the agencies issuing a new notice on its website about a “phased transition.”

The Office of Personnel Management has updated its operating status for federal agencies on transitioning to normal working operations for government employees.

OPM replaced language about teleworking on Thursday night, now saying the federal government would “begin a phased transition to normal operations in line with the national guidelines to open up American again.” 

The guidance went on to say that agencies would “make operating decisions based on state or locality of duty stations and other factors” and told employees to contact their supervisors with questions. 

Washington, DC calling for extended telework: Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has not yet made a decision on reopening the city, said her administration has been in touch with OPM during the crisis but did not appear aware of the new notice. 

Bowser said that the District’s position is still that “the majority stay on telework as long as possible.”

In an April letter, she told the agency, “we know that a continued federal telework policy will help save lives by allowing more of our region’s 360,000 federal employees to work from home.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said for the first time he feels the state is ahead of the virus, not behind it.

"The good news, on the overall, is we're finally ahead of this virus. For so long we were playing catch up," Cuomo said. "We were behind it."

"We haven't killed the beast, but we are — we're ahead of it," he added.

However, Cuomo warned New Yorkers must continue to follow social distancing restrictions and other safety measures in order to stay ahead.

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