Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Duke University announced its plan to cut salaries for highly compensated employees, suspend University-paid retirement contributions, and freeze all new hires, as it estimates a total decline in revenues between $250 million to $350 million in the next fiscal year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Duke University President Vincent Price said in a statement released last week that all of the school's sources of revenue including "tuition, research grants, clinical and patient care services, private philanthropy and income from our investments and endowment – has already suffered large reductions or is expected to be quite substantially diminished in the months ahead."

Starting July 1, the university will suspend employer contributions to Duke faculty and staff retirement plans for 12 months. Price said those cuts will save Duke between $150 million and $200 million over the next fiscal year.

The statement also said university employees who earn more than $285,000 will see a 10% reduction in their salaries for 12 months.

Additional voluntary salary reductions include the provost, vice president and chancellor, who will have a reduction of 15%. Price said he will take a 20% pay reduction.

Some context: Many other schools, like Harvard University, have announced similar cuts as administrators try to solve huge budget deficits.

At least 2,601 workers in the state’s meat processing industry have tested positive for Covid-19 since the outbreak began, Nebraska Chief Medical officer, Dr. Gary Anthone, announced at an afternoon news conference.

Eight of those workers have died as a result of the virus, according to Anthone. 

Those cases account for just more than 25% of Nebraska’s 10,348 cases.

More on this: Earlier this month, Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered health departments to stop reporting how many food processing workers test positive at each individual plant unless the company gives permission, citing concerns over being able to verify the data.

Ricketts first announced the number of cases associated with the meat packing industry on May 7. At that point, the state reported at least 1,005 cases or about 16% of the state’s total cases, according to Ricketts.

Leaders in Missouri say they now have enough capacity to test every staffer and resident at long-term care facilities with a confirmed Covid-19 case.

“We are recommending comprehensive testing, that you go ahead and test everybody,” Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams said in a Monday press conference.

“[That’s] a capability we didn’t have a month ago," he added.

At least 50 long-term care facilities qualify for comprehensive testing because they have had at least one coronavirus patient.

Williams said they hope to be able to do “sentinel testing” soon, where all people associated with hotspot facilities like long-term care, prisons and meat-packing facilities are asked to submit to tests, even in locations that have not reported a coronavirus infection.  

Williams also encouraged all Missourians to consider getting a test if they have felt any possible symptoms.

“If you have any symptoms – muscle aches, fever, cough, anything – we want you to get tested,” Williams said. “We want to see exactly how we’re doing as things change.”

President Trump said today he is taking hydroxychloroquine after asking the White House doctor if he could take it.

“A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it,” Trump said. He later said he’d been taking it every day for a week and a half.

Asked if the White House doctor recommended that, Trump responded, “no.”  

“I asked him what do you think, he said, ‘Well if you’d like it,’” the President told reporters.

Trump said he hadn’t been exposed, he started taking the drug because he had heard from frontline responders who sent him letters saying they were taking it preventatively.

“Here’s my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it,” Trump said. 

The President he said he doesn’t know if it works, but “if it doesn’t, you’re not going to get sick and die.” 

More about this drug: Last week, CNN reported a new study —the largest of its kind —shows that hydroxychloroquine does not work against Covid-19 and could cause heart problems.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It follows a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that also showed the drug doesn't fight the virus.

Even before these reports were published, the US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health issued warnings about using the drugs for coronavirus patients.

"The nail has virtually been put in the coffin of hydroxychloroquine," said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert and longtime adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Watch here:

At least 90,312 people have died from coronavirus in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

There has been at least 1,500,753 cases in the US.

Johns Hopkins reported on Monday 13,996 new cases across the country.

The first known US coronavirus-related fatality was 102 days ago on Feb. 6.

Three more universities – Purdue University, Rice University and Creighton University – plan to cancel fall breaks and end “face-to-face” instruction before Thanksgiving, in part due to health concerns tied to a mass exit and return of students during these breaks.

Here is how each school plans to conduct its fall semester:

Purdue University 

The university in West Lafayette, Indiana is planning to cancel its typical Labor Day holiday and October break, and finish face-to-face instruction (but not the semester) prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Here is Purdue’s planned Fall 2020 schedule:

Rice University 

The Houston, Texas school says it plans to shorten the number of weeks classes will take place during the fall semester.

Specifically, the school will cancel its two-day fall recess (originally scheduled for October 12-13), enabling them to end classes before Thanksgiving. 

The school says all requirements beyond that, such as exams and papers, will be able to be completed remotely.

Creighton University

The Omaha, Nebraska college is starting its fall semester early and will conclude (exams and all) before Thanksgiving, according to a statement.

On-campus fall semester classes will begin on August 17, the last day of classes will be Nov. 17; final semester exams will begin Nov. 19 and conclude at noon on Nov. 25. There will be one break in the semester, for Labor Day, on Sept. 7. 

According to its website, the school decided that ending the semester at Thanksgiving break would reduce the need for students to make multiple trips, should coronavirus cases increase with the start of the winter flu season.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced more developed guidelines that will allow most of California to further reopen.

“Roughly 53 of the state’s 58 counties would be eligible to move into this phase,” Newsom said.

Counties choosing to move forward will be required to meet specific data points, Health Secretary Mark Ghaly said.

As counties continue to reopen, the governor said he is concerned about particular hotspots, like a nursing home outbreak in Tulare County and a meat packing plant in Kings County.

Newsom added that he imagines Los Angeles County, the most populous area in the state, will be particularly cautious when it comes to moving forward.

“Bottom line is, people can go at their own pace and we are empowering our local health directors and county officials that understand their local communities and conditions,” Newsom said.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a news conference today that the state will reopen public beaches in Virginia Beach this Friday ahead of Memorial Day weekend. 

Sunbathing and swimming, as well as fishing and surfing, will be allowed as "defined by the city's ordinance."

 Here are the safety precautions and restrictions that will be implemented: 

The governor warned that residents must comply with the safety measures. 

US stocks rallied into the close on Monday, boosted by hopes for a potential Covid-19 vaccine, as well as further stimulus for the US economy.

The Dow and the S&P 500 recorded their best performances in six weeks.

Here's how the markets did on Monday:

Some more context: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in an interview Sunday that America’s economy might need more help from the Fed and the government to get through the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, drug maker Moderna reported promising early results from a coronavirus vaccine trial on Monday morning. Moderna shares closed up nearly 20%.