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Coronavirus pandemic in the US

By Elise Hammond and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 8:03 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

83 Posts

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6:55 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

NFL teams may reopen facilities Tuesday if qualifications are met, commissioner says

From CNN's Jill Martin

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium on February 2 in Miami, Florida. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

NFL teams may reopen their facilities beginning Tuesday provided they fit all requirements to do so, league commissioner Roger Goodell outlined in a memo dated Friday.

“Clubs may reopen their facilities beginning on May 19 if they are permitted to do so under governing state and local regulations, are in compliance with any additional public health requirements in their jurisdiction, and have implemented the protocols that were developed by Dr. Sills and distributed to all clubs on May 6,” Goodell wrote in the memo, which CNN obtained. “Clubs unable to meet these criteria on May 19 may reopen their facilities on the earliest date thereafter on which they are able to meet the criteria.”

The ”Dr. Sills” that Goodell references is NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills.

Goodell also writes that a certain amount of players may be permitted to return next month.

6:50 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

Amtrak and Greyhound say they will deny boarding to passengers who refuse to wear a mask

From CNN's Pete Muntean

An Amtrak employee wearing a protective face mask walks alongside a nearly empty southbound Amtrak train as it arrives on April 15 in Orlando, Florida. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Travelers who refuse to wear a mask will not be allowed to travel by train on Amtrak or by bus on Greyhound.

Representatives from Amtrak and Greyhound Bus told CNN on Friday that passengers will be denied boarding if they are not wearing a face covering.

Greyhound says it has given drivers prepackaged face masks to give to riders who do not already have a mask, but those who refuse to wear one “will be denied boarding if they do not wear a face covering.”

Amtrak is requiring that all customers on trains and inside stations wear masks.

This week, CNN obtained internal memos detailing major airlines’ mask policies. Most airlines said that passengers would not be allowed to board without a face covering. Most policies said that once on board, the job of flight attendants is to strongly encourage the use of masks and avoid confrontation.

It’s unclear how strictly Amtrak and Greyhound will enforce their mask policies once people are on board.

6:41 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

More than 5,300 NYPD members have returned to work after testing positive for coronavirus

From CNN's Rob Frehse

NYPD patrols Central park to assure people keep to social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic on May 2. John Lamparski/Getty Images

More than 5,300 members of the New York Police Department have returned to work full duty after testing positive for coronavirus, the NYPD announced.

There are 205 member of the NYPD still out sick with Covid-19. This figure includes 150 uniformed members and 55 civilian members of the NYPD.

So far, 5,552 members of the department have tested positive for Covid-19.

Roughly 1,157 uniformed members of the NYPD are still out sick, accounting for 3.2% of that force, the NYPD said.

6:14 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

Catch up on the latest coronavirus news from around the US

Owner Paul Furrer cuts the hair of Jeff Jones at Rich's Barber Shop on Thursday, May 14 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Morry Gash/AP

It is almost 6:15 p.m. ET in New York and a lot has happened with the coronavirus pandemic. Catch up on the biggest headlines below:

Read this before you venture out in public: The best way to curb the spread of Covid-19 is to stay home if you can. That's true even now that more than half of US states will start reopening nonessential businesses like salons, restaurants and gyms. This isn't an immediate return to normalcy — health officials have warned that reopening now could mean a resurgence of the virus.
Health officials raise concerns about how the CDC is counting deaths: The public health system by which Covid-19 deaths are reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is "antiquated" and "not timely," often lagging by up to three weeks, causing senior leaders at the agency to believe the current death count in the US could be significantly higher, two federal health officials tell CNN.
Some states that took the lead in reopening see drops in cases: In all, 28 states have seen a downward trend, including several that took steps toward reopening relatively early, like Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Colorado. A notable exception is Texas, where case numbers are up between 20% and 30% since the state began lifting stay-home restrictions on May 1.
Trump campaign rallies could go virtual: Three campaign officials tell CNN that no concrete plans are in place to a return to in-person campaigning, but a variety of scenarios are being discussed. That includes the possibility of the President appearing as part of a virtual rally before he appears at an in-person event.

6:11 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

Poll workers in New Mexico will wear masks

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

Poll workers will be wearing masks at polling centers throughout the state in June and voters who arrive at centers without masks will be provided one and asked to wear it, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said Friday.

Voters are encouraged to cast their votes either by mail or ballot drop off, Oliver said.

People who have to vote at a center will be provided sanitized pens and masks. Each voting booth will be sanitized between uses, she said.

The state's primary election is set for June 2.

6:00 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

Kentucky state parks will reopen June 1

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky. Shutterstock

State parks in Kentucky will be allowed to reopen on June 1, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

The reopening includes lodging, cabins and golfing, he said.

The plan excludes state parks that have been designated to help provide temporary housing for some Covid-19 patients.

“Obviously tourism is an incredibly important business in Kentucky. We're taking a big revenue hit from it, but that's not the reason that we're reopening it now,” he said. “It's that we believe we can do it safely with social distancing, as long as Kentuckians continue to buy into the rules, to know that this virus is still out there. Then we've got an opportunity, especially this summer, for people to travel in state, where it's safest.”

The state will also be resuming auto or dirt track racing, fishing tournaments, and reopening aquatic centers and bowling alleys on June 1, he said.

5:50 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

CDC director forecasts 100,000 US coronavirus deaths by June 1

From CNN's Ben Tinker and Maggie Fox

CDC Director Robert R. Redfield speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus on April 8 in Washington. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, said the department's forecasting models predict deaths from Covid-19 exceeding 100,000 by June 1.

He tweeted: “CDC tracks 12 different forecasting models of possible #COVID19 deaths in the US. As of May 11, all forecast an increase in deaths in the coming weeks and a cumulative total exceeding 100,000 by June 1.”

His tweet comes after researchers at the University of Washington revised the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model on Tuesday — often cited by the White House — upward to 147,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by August 4.

As of 5:40 p.m. ET on Friday, Johns Hopkins University counts 87,184 coronavirus deaths in the United States.

5:44 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

More than 87,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US

There are at least 1,439,231 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 87,184 people have died, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Johns Hopkins on Friday reported 21,457 new cases and 1,286 deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.

5:51 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020

Michigan governor stresses the importance of a vaccine before live sports can return

From CNN's Raja Razek

In a photo provided by the governor's office, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks in Lansing, Michigan, on Monday, May 4. Michigan Office of the Governor via AP

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said today that sports are not over, but watching the games on television may last a while.

"I think we are going to be a new normal for quite a while," the governor said. "People can watch the games on television, not in person. That may have to be how we operate for a while."

Whitmer also stressed the "need a vaccine."

"And we need to have mass quantities available, or we need to be able to test and acknowledge that we've got some immunity that's built up. We're not there yet," she said.

The governor said the organizers of leagues understand how important it is to act responsibly.

"We can have sports, just the way we observe them may look a little different," Whitmer added.

The governor also addressed recent threats against her, saying, "It is never acceptable to make threats of violence to anyone, but our officeholders as well. And so we take them very seriously."

"I've never felt unsafe because I know that the State Police is a serious organization that is incredibly professional and has got my safety at the center of some of the work that they do," Whitmer added.

By the numbers: Michigan has a total of 50,079 Covid-19 cases and 4,825 deaths.