[Link]
ms/2TwOejj
Latest Updates Global
LIVE UPDATES Updated 2 hours ago
Coronavirus Live Updates: Pandemic Swells in
South America, as the U.S. Nears 100,000
Deaths
Gaza reports its first coronavirus death. New York is allowing gatherings
of up to 10.
RIGHT NOW Minnesota, pressured by religious leaders and President
Trump, is allowing churches to open next week.
Hereʼs what you need to know:
As the U.S. death toll nears 100,000, infections are rising in Latin America.
Gaza reports its first pandemic death, underscoring its success and vulnerability.
Trump goes golfing for the first time since shutdowns began.
Black Covid-19 patients have more advanced cases, study finds.
Gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed in New York.
Minnesota, under pressure, is opening churches next week.
If youʼre gathering for Memorial Day weekend, hereʼs how to do it safely.
The Higienópolis neighborhood of São Paulo on Tuesday. Brazil overtook Russia in reporting the second-highest count of infections worldwide. Victor Moriyama for The
New York Times
As the U.S. death toll nears 100,000, infections are rising in Latin America.
Since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China, the world has tracked a pandemic that rapidly spread west, proliferating across
Asia and Europe, seeding hot spots across Africa and exploding in North America. For weeks, the United States has been the global
epicenter, confirming more than 1.6 million cases, and the number of deaths nearing 100,000.
And now the pandemic appears to be arriving at new milestones. China on Saturday reported no new coronavirus deaths or
symptomatic cases for the first time since the virus emerged. And surges of Covid-19 in several of South America’s most populous
countries are raising concerns of a new front.
On Friday, Brazil overtook Russia in reporting the second-highest count of infections worldwide, reaching more than 330,000 to date.
Peru and Chile rank among the hardest-hit countries in the world in terms of infections per capita, around 1 in 300. And data from
Ecuador indicate that the country is suffering one of the worst outbreaks in the world.
Brazil is home to several of the world’s largest metropolises, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. While other countries around the
world began sounding the alarm as the virus arrived in February and March, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, largely played down
the threat, urging people to continue working and keeping businesses such as gyms and beauty salons open.
Worldwide, the pace of new infections is still climbing with over 100,000 new cases reported daily since Thursday. These numbers are
among the very worst since the pandemic began, second only to a single day in April, according to data compiled by The New York
Times.
The list of countries seeing sharp increases is not limited to those in Central and South America. In India, infections have surged to
over 125,000 people, and Iran, which experienced one of the earliest and most significant outbreaks, is undergoing a resurgence of new
cases.
Over all, infection rates are slowing in the United States, but they remain steady in about 25 states. Six — North Carolina, Alabama,
Arkansas, North Dakota, Maine and Wyoming — have reported rises in newly reported cases over the last 14 days, in part because
some have recently ramped up testing.
Gaza reports its first pandemic death, underscoring its success and vulnerability.
A mural of coronavirus in Gaza City in April. Even though Gaza has been largely unscathed by the virus, experts continue to warn that its health infrastructure could
collapse in the face of a large-scale outbreak. Mohammed Abed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Officials in Gaza announced on Saturday that a 77-year-old woman had died after contracting the coronavirus, becoming the first
known pandemic death in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The woman, identified as Fadila Abu Raida, was found to have Covid-19 on Tuesday, said Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Health
Ministry run by Hamas, the militant movement that controls Gaza.
She had diabetes and high blood pressure, and died while receiving intensive care at a field hospital on the Palestinian side of the
Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Mr. Qidra said.
Gaza, just 25 miles long and less than eight miles across at its widest, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, but so
far has reported only 55 infections in a population of some two million.
That appears to be the result of tight Israeli and Egyptian restrictions on the movement of people in and out of Gaza, as well as
Hamas’s decision to isolate all returning residents in quarantine facilities.
Hamas officials have said that all known carriers of the disease have been individuals returning from abroad and have not mixed with
the territory’s broader population.
Still, the death underscored Gaza’s vulnerability were its outbreak to grow.
“It would be a very problematic situation,” said Gerald Rockenschaub, the head of the World Health Organization’s mission to the
Palestinians. “The health system suffers from many chronic weaknesses.”
There are currently only 87 ventilators in Gaza, most of which are already in use, he said.
Trump goes golfing for the first time since shutdowns began.
President Trump leaving the White House on Saturday. Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times
President Trump spent Saturday at his members-only golf club in Virginia, his first outing there since the coronavirus pandemic led to
government restrictions on business and social activity across the country.
The trip comes as the administration has encouraged reopening, and a day after Mr. Trump announced that he was ordering states to
allow churches and other places of worship to reopen, threatening to overrule any governor who defied the order. Some of his health
experts also appeared to give him the green light to carry on with his normal weekend activity, which has been suspended for weeks.
“You can play golf. You can play tennis with marked balls,” Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator,
said at a news conference on Friday. “You can go to the beaches” if you maintain distance from other beachgoers, she told Americans
heading into a holiday weekend.
The White House did not provide any details about what Mr. Trump was doing at his golf club, or whom he was playing with. Reporters
spotted him leaving the White House residence dressed in a white polo shirt and a white baseball cap.
Black Covid-19 patients have more advanced cases, study finds.
Black patients were hospitalized at nearly three times the rate of white and Hispanic
patients, California researchers found. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times
As the coronavirus spread across the United States, sweeping through low-income, densely populated communities, black and
Hispanic patients have been dying at higher rates than white patients.
Crowded living conditions, poorer overall health and limited access to care have been blamed, among other factors. But a new study
suggests that the disparity is particularly acute for black patients.
Among those seeking medical care for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, black patients were hospitalized at nearly three
times the rate of white and Hispanic patients, according to an analysis of patient records from a large health care system in Northern
California.
The disparity remained even after researchers took into account differences in age, sex, income and the prevalence of chronic health
problems that exacerbate Covid-19, like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
The finding suggests that black patients may have had limited access to medical care or that they postponed seeking help until later in
the course of their illness, when the disease was more advanced.
Black patients were also far less likely than white, Hispanic or Asian patients to have been tested for the virus before going to the
emergency room for care.
Black patients “are coming to us later and sicker, and they’re accessing our care through the emergency department and acute care
environment,” said Dr. Stephen H. Lockhart, the chief medical officer at Sutter Health in Sacramento and one of the authors of the new
study.
The study, which was peer reviewed, was published in Health Affairs.
Gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed in New York.
The Kirkland family celebrated the birthday of Nichole, left, and the high school
graduation of KJ, top, in Brooklyn on Friday. Calla Kessler/The New York Times
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York slightly loosened coronavirus restrictions, saying that gatherings of up to 10 people would be
allowed “for any lawful purpose or reason” anywhere in the state — including New York City — provided that social-distance protocols
were followed.
The revision, issued Friday night in an unexpected executive order, was swiftly condemned by Councilman Mark D. Levine, who
represents Upper Manhattan and is chairman of the City Council’s health committee. He stressed that the order had not been made by
health professionals.
“No one should interpret this as advice to change their behavior,” he added.
The new orders come as the daily number of coronavirus-related deaths dipped below 100 for the first time since late March. Mr.
Cuomo reported 84 deaths on Saturday, the lowest daily death toll since March 24.
He called the number of new casualties on Saturday “a tragedy, no doubt,” but he said he could not ignore that the downward trend
was a positive sign. “For me, it’s just a sign that we are making real progress.”
Minnesota, under pressure, is opening churches next week.
St. Paul Cathedral in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday. Leaders of Catholic and Lutheran
churches in the state said earlier this week that they planned to hold services in defiance
of Gov. Tim Walz’s orders. Jim Mone/Associated Press
Minnesota’s governor said Saturday that he will allow houses of worship to open their doors next week after pressure from some
church leaders and a day after President Trump demanded that religious institutions be deemed essential.
Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said religious leaders could hold in-person services beginning on Wednesday, but that they would need to
limit indoor crowds to 25 percent of their building’s capacity, up to a maximum of 250 people. The move follows pressure from the
leaders of Catholic and Lutheran churches in the state, who said earlier this week that they planned to hold services in defiance of Mr.
Walz’s orders.
Many are expected to gather to worship in person across the United States on Sunday. Mr. Trump said he would override governors if
they did not allow worshipers to do so, although legal experts said he does not have that authority.
In California, a federal appeals court, in a two-to-one decision on Friday, declined to block the restrictions on religious services in the
state’s emergency orders. A Pentecostal church in San Diego had sued Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, arguing, among other things,
that his orders had violated their right to freely practice their religion. Mr. Newsom has said he will provide more guidance regarding
religious gatherings on Monday.
In Minnesota, Mr. Walz said Vice President Mike Pence had called him on Thursday to discuss reopening religious institutions and
given him a heads up that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be releasing new guidelines for houses of worship this
past Friday.
Even as he announced the looser restrictions at a news conference on Saturday, Mr. Walz seemed pained at the thought of the large
gatherings that would be allowed under his new executive order, which also permits weddings, funerals, scripture studies and other
planned events to be held at ceremonial venues, with restrictions.
“To be candid, the 250 terrifies me,” Mr. Walz said of the maximum number of people who would be allowed to gather for ceremonies
under his new guidelines.
There have been nearly 20,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Minnesota and about 860 deaths, but health officials believe the state
has not yet hit its peak.
“The thing that frustrates me is when I see elected leaders stand in front of places, celebrating and demanding they be open,” Mr. Walz
said. “They’re not with me when I have to open the new morgue.”
Jan Malcolm, the state’s health commissioner, said religious leaders must thoroughly clean their buildings and ensure that
congregants stay six feet apart. She and Mr. Walz said that although the state was loosening restrictions, they still recommended that
services be held remotely.
If youʼre gathering for Memorial Day weekend, hereʼs how to do it safely.
Groups at a beach in Seaside Heights, N.J., on Friday. Bryan Anselm for The New York Times
It’s Memorial Day weekend in the United States, when beaches and backyard barbecues beckon. While dozens of states are cautiously
allowing small gatherings in public spaces, restrictions and closings may still be in effect.
Many of New York City’s beaches are open, but swimming, grilling and organized sports are prohibited. Strict social-distancing
guidelines are being enforced across much of New Jersey’s coastline. Many California beaches are open only for “active uses” like
running, swimming and surfing, but not sunbathing or extended stays.
Away from the shores, many parks across the country are open, but some are capping the number of people allowed inside and
encouraging brief visits.
As many places continue to reopen, here is guidance on lowering the coronavirus risk and managing anxiety while being out during
the pandemic.
The F.D.A. bars nearly 30 antibody tests, many made overseas, from the U.S. market.
A medical worker taking a blood sample for an antibody test in Los Angeles this on Wednesday. Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press
The Food and Drug Administration has barred the sale of nearly 30 coronavirus antibody tests because the manufacturers, many of
them based overseas, failed to prove that they were accurate.
A number of the manufacturers are based in China, including Bioscience (Chongqing) Diagnostic Technology Company, Hangzhou
Clongene Biotech Company and Zhengzhou Fortune Bioscience Company. Other affected companies are LifeAssay, based in South
Africa, and Promedical, based in Australia.
The tests are devised to detect whether an individual has antibodies to the virus, which would show whether they had been infected
previously. Many people are getting tested on the assumption that the antibodies confer some immunity to the virus, though
researchers are not yet certain how long any immunity might last or how strong it might be.
Earlier this year, all of the manufacturers had notified the F.D.A. that they had validated the tests, but in one study scientists found that
only three of 14 tests they examined gave consistently reliable results. A federal study also concluded that “a concerning number” of
the tests, also known as serology tests, yielded invalid results.
The F.D.A. then gave the manufacturers until May 18 to prove the tests worked as advertised.
The F.D.A.’s announcement on Thursday did not specify whether the manufacturers had neglected to submit an application, provided
faulty data or otherwise failed to meet the requirements, thought it did note that a half-dozen had voluntarily stopped sales.
The volunteers included Diazyme Laboratories, BioMedomics and Shenzhen Landwind Medical Company.
Abhijit Datta, the vice president for operations at Diazyme Laboratories, said the company had never actually sold the rapid antibody
detection test listed on the F.D.A.’s website, but was continuing to sell a high-throughput antibody test used in labs around the country.
The N.B.A. considers resuming its season at Walt Disney World Resort.
The Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., after the game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans was called off on March 11, when the N.B.A.
became the first major American sports league to suspend operations. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
The N.B.A. is in the early stages of discussions with the Walt Disney Company to restart its suspended season in late July at the Walt
Disney World Resort in Florida, a league spokesman said Saturday.
The restart would be at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which would act as “a single site for an [Link]. campus for games,
practices and housing,” said the spokesman, Mike Bass.
“Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government
officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place,” Mr. Bass said
in a statement.
The N.B.A. was among the first major sports leagues to suspend its season on March 11 as a result of the coronavirus, beginning a
cascade of other leagues doing the same. Since then several players, including the Nets star Kevin Durant, have tested positive for the
virus.
Several hurdles remain to a resumed season. One is testing. The league was criticized when some of its teams were able to obtain tests
for their players even though there was a nationwide testing shortage, raising questions of greater accessibility for the wealthy.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bass said, “Regular testing will be key in our return to play,” and that the league wanted to ensure that it “does not
come at the expense of testing front line health care workers or others who need it.”
Any return to play must also come with a green light from the players’ union. A union spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. It is also unclear how many, if any, fans would be allowed into an arena for games.
As of Friday, unions representing athletes in major North American team sports were still negotiating specific plans for returning to
play, including extra protection for the most vulnerable employees. For some athletes and team staff members with conditions that put
them at greater risk from the coronavirus, balancing health needs against the zeal to play is an especially delicate matter.
A Missouri hair stylist may have exposed 91 people by working while sick.
A hair stylist in Missouri worked for eight days at a salon while sick with the coronavirus, health officials said, potentially exposing 84
clients and seven co-workers.
The possible spread was an extreme example of what health officials warn is likely to be the cost of reopening businesses. Gov. Mike
Parson of Missouri, a Republican, allowed many businesses, including salons, to reopen on May 4.
While symptomatic, the stylist showed up for eight shifts at the Great Clips hair salon in Springfield between May 12 and Wednesday,
after getting sick following travel within the state, health officials said.
“I’ll be honest — I’m very frustrated to be up here today, and maybe more so I’m disappointed,” Clay Goddard, who leads the
Springfield-Greene County Health Department, said at a news conference on Friday.
Mr. Goddard said that the 91 clients and co-workers who were potentially exposed would all be tested, and that health officials would
begin contact tracing.
He said that while the stylist had not exercised enough personal responsibility, he hoped the salon’s strict enforcement of health
policies had prevented many possible infections. The stylist and all of the clients had worn masks, he said, and Great Clips kept
detailed records that allowed health officials to contact the clients who might have been exposed.
Mr. Goddard said that the stylist had also visited a fitness center, a Dairy Queen and a Walmart in the last 10 days.
“I’m going to be honest with you: We can’t have many more of these,” he said. “We can’t make this a regular habit, or our capability as
a community will be strained, and we will have to re-evaluate what things look like going forward.”
Federal scientists finally publish remdesivir data.
Nearly a month after federal scientists claimed that an experimental drug had helped patients severely ill with the coronavirus, the
research has been published.
The drug, remdesivir, was quickly authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of coronavirus patients, and
hospitals rushed to obtain supplies.
But until now, researchers and physicians had not seen the actual data.
The long-awaited study, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared on The New England Journal
of Medicine’s website on Friday evening. It confirmed the essence of the government’s assertions: Remdesivir shortened recovery
time from 15 days to 11 days in hospitalized patients. The study defined recovery as “either discharge from the hospital or
hospitalization.”
The trial was rigorous, randomly assigning 1,063 seriously ill patients to receive either remdesivir or a placebo. Those who received
the drug not only recovered faster but also did not have serious adverse events more often than those who were given the placebo.
In a nervous America, the car becomes a safe space.
A showing of “Trolls World Tour” at the Four Brothers Drive-In in Amenia, N.Y. John Minchillo/Associated Press
The role of the automobile has been reinvented in the coronavirus era.
Once simply a way of getting from one place to another, the car has become a mini-shelter on wheels, a cocoon that allows its
occupants to be inside and outside at the same time.
When people pack up their families and friends, they can still adhere to social distancing rules. They remain under a roof, within closed
doors, sealed off and separated from the rest of their fellow human beings.
Mobile safe distancing has generated a new way of life — a society on wheels.
Reporting was contributed by Julfikar Ali Manik, Ian Austen, Peter Baker, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, José María León Cabrera, Stephen Castle, Damien Cave, Michael
Cooper, Steven Erlanger, Tess Felder, Jacey Fortin, Jeffrey Gettleman, Abby Goodnough, Denise Grady, Maggie Haberman, Christine Hauser, Mike Ives, Jennifer Jett,
Yonette Joseph, Sheila Kaplan, Annie Karni, Gina Kolata, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Mark Landler, Judith Levitt, Ernesto Londoño, Louis Lucero, Sarah Mervosh, Raphael Minder,
Zach Montague, Sharon Otterman, Richard C. Paddock, Tariq Panja, Elian Peltier, Daniel Politi, Suhasini Raj, Adam Rasgon, Stanley Reed, Luis Ferré Sadurní, Edgar
Sandoval, Choe Sang-Hun, Marc Stein, Matt Stevens, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sabrina Tavernise, Katie Thomas, Anton Troianovski, Hisako Ueno, Shalini Venugopal, James
Wagner, Sui-Lee Wee, Noah Weiland, Jin Wu and Elaine Yu.