Unemployment claims hit 41M; NYC reopening
America hit a somber benchmark in the coronavirus pandemic, with the U.S. death toll reaching 100,000.
USA TODAY
A day after the U.S. recorded 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, the Labor Department reported an additional 2.1 million unemployment claims last week, meaning more than 40 million Americans have applied for unemployment in just 10 weeks.
A rebellious Texas bar is banning masks in Texas, and gyms in multiple states are suing for the right to open as frustrations mount at the pace of the nation’s economic awakening.
There are more than 5.9 million confirmed cases around the world, with 1.7 million in the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. More than 358,000 people have died worldwide.
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Here are a few major developments:
- The U.S. reached a grim milestone, with more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths over a span of less than four months. That’s more than the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. These are some of them.
- Depleted sales and income tax revenue is hurting state budgets, and it may cost 300,000 teachers their jobs, according to preliminary estimates.
- Disney is reopening in July, the company announced. Visitors will be required to wear a face mask and will undergo a temperature check.
Your daily dose of good news: A doctor and nurse on the front lines of the coronavirus got married in a hospital. And after the ceremony, the couple held a virtual reception — and sent a bottle of champagne to all of their guests.
What we’re talking about: In 100 days, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. have died. We reached out to experts in various fields to get an assessment of what the new normal may look like in the next 100 days. The consensus: It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Airlines, hotels hope Memorial Day weekend travel kick-starts comeback
The number of people passing through Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoints Memorial Day weekend surpassed 300,000 for the first time in almost two months, it reported on its website. Numbers spiked on Thursday, May 21, and Friday, May 22, leading up to the three-day weekend and again on Monday.
For the week ending May 23, tracking firm STR found that hotel occupancy in the U.S. averaged 35.4%, up by 32.4% from the previous week – though still down by about half from the comparable week in 2019.
While any rise was encouraging, the travel industry still has a long way to climb before it can claim a solid rebound. TSA’s count of 318,449 people passing through checkpoints on May 21 is still paltry compared to almost 2.7 million on that same day a year ago. And with the holiday weekend over, the numbers have settled back into the mid-200,000s.
Travel may pick up as more vacation-oriented cities reopen. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has announced a July 11 opening. And some major Las Vegas hotel resorts, including the Wynn Las Vegas and Caesars Palace, plan to reopen June 4.
— Chris Woodyard and Morgan Hines
Boston Marathon canceled for first time in 124-year history
The Boston Marathon will not be held in 2020, the first cancellation in the event’s 124-year history.
The Marathon was originally postponed from its traditional Patriots’ Day running in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers had hoped to stage it on Sept. 14, but on Thursday it was announced that the in-person event would not take place. The Boston Athletic Association instead announced plans for a virtual race.
“The concern of a second surge made me have some real reservations about can we have the marathon or not,” Boston mayor Marty Walsh said Thursday.
— Eddie Timanus
Post card that featured Trump’s name cost $28 million
A post card mailed to every American household that included coronavirus social distancing guidelines and also prominently featured President Donald Trump’s name cost the U.S. Postal Service $28 million, USA TODAY has learned.
The coronavirus card, which began appearing in U.S. mailboxes in March, drew fire from good-government groups that said it applied a political veneer to the administration’s effort to inform Americans about the pandemic. The cost comes as the U.S. mail service – which Trump has described as “a joke” – is struggling financially.
– John Fritze
Sen. Tim Kaine tests positive for coronavirus antibodies
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and his wife, Anne Holton, tested positive for coronavirus antibodies after experiencing flu-like symptoms in March and April, meaning they could have contracted the novel coronavirus.
Kaine said he had tested positive for the flu earlier in the year and received treatment from his doctors, but at the end of March he experienced new symptoms he thought were flu remnants and a pollen reaction. Holton, the interim president of George Mason University, then “experienced a short bout of fever and chills, followed by congestion and eventually a cough.”
Their doctors thought it was possible they had mild cases of coronavirus, so they stayed home and self-isolated in Richmond, Virginia, until they were symptom-free in mid-April. Neither was tested for coronavirus at the time because of a shortage of tests.
– Nicholas Wu
New York City could begin reopening in early June
Up to 400,000 people could return to work in early June under Phase One of the plan to reopen New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. Construction, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail grab-and-go are included in the first phase, he said.
“I believe all indicators suggest it will be announced in the first or second week of June,” de Blasio said at a news conference. Businesses will be required to follow social distancing guidelines and to reduce occupancy to under 50%. He also warned that, without a federal stimulus package, virtually all city agencies will face “massive cuts.”
New York has been the hardest-hit state in the nation, with almost 30,000 deaths. But deaths and hospitalizations have been declining steadily, and the rest of the state already has begun to ease restrictions.
More discounts, fewer lounging areas: Mall shopping in the era of COVID-19
Malls that have been off-limits for shoppers due to stay-at-home orders are opening the door to a brand-new shopping experience vastly different from mid-March. Shopping in the era of COVID-19 means fewer places to lounge for a break or a bite. Trying on clothes gets complicated, and a strategy is required before entering the vast indoor expanses where families spent their Saturdays, teens experienced first dates and friends roamed for hours on end.
Shoppers will find some good news, experts say. “In apparel, the price for consumers will actually fall,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail consultancy GlobalData. “They will have a lot more discounts and a lot more bargains.”
– Dalvin Brown and Kelly Tyko
300,000 teachers could lose jobs due to tax revenue drop
The country’s unprecedented economic pause to slow the spread of the coronavirus has depleted sales and income tax revenue for states, and, in turn, for schools. Preliminary estimates predict jaw-dropping state budget holes that some education funding experts warn could cost in the range of 300,000 teaching jobs. Districts are scrambling to respond to a double whammy: a reduction in money from states and an increase in costs to operate safely as the pandemic wears on.
“It’s a major challenge,” said Gerald Hill, superintendent of schools in West Bloomfield, Michigan. “If we’re cut by 20%, but it’s costing us 20% more to operate, we’re at a 40% cost difference.”
– Erin Richards
More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAY
More than 40 million people file for unemployment in 10 weeks
About 2.1 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. In just 10 weeks, 40.7 million have sought jobless benefits that represent the nation’s most reliable gauge of layoffs. A record 20.5 million jobs were lost in April, according to the Labor Department, spiking the unemployment rate to 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression and four times the 3.5% unemployment rate reported in February, which represented a 50-year low.
– Charisse Jones
Where does the U.S. stimulus money come from? Here’s how the Federal Reserve is saving the economy from the COVID-19 crisis.
USA TODAY
COVID-19 reignites debate over ‘couch caucus’ lawmakers who sleep in offices
The coronavirus has reignited a years-old debate over the “couch caucus,” with some lawmakers arguing that their colleagues sleeping in their offices is improper and increases the chances of spreading COVID-19 to colleagues and staff at the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California, authored a letter to Congress’ attending physician and the Architect of the Capitol, the agency tasked with maintaining and operating the building, asking that the practice be banned in light of the pandemic.
Rep. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, defends the practice, however: “I wanted my focus to be back here in North Carolina, where I represent the 13th district. I didn’t want it to be a Washington lifestyle.”
– Christal Hayes
Texas bar bans masks
A bar in Elgin, Texas, is banning masks in defiance of COVID-19 guidance set by county, state and federal leaders. “Due to our concern for our customers, if they FEEL (not think) that they need to wear a mask, they should stay at home until they FEEL that it’s safe to be in public without one. Sorry, no masks allowed,” a sign at the Liberty Tree Tavern reads.
The sign then advised that it would adhere to Gov. Greg Abbott’s requirements limiting occupancy of bars to 25% and 6 feet of social distancing between parties. Elgin has recorded more than 50 confirmed COVID-19 cases and one death. “Sorry for the inconveniences please bear with us thru (sic) the ridiculous fearful times,” the sign reads.
– Brandon Mulder, Austin American-Statesman
CDC: Antibody tests can be wrong half the time
COVID-19 antibody tests can be wrong half the time and should not be used to determine who can be grouped together in such settings as schools and dorms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest guidelines. The guidance could have a major impact as schools and universities build program plans for the coming school year. Office workers also could be affected.
“Serologic test results should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace,” the CDC says.
Antibody tests: Here’s why they may provide a false sense of security
California reopening draws criticism
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bold plan to reopen California has some public health experts wondering if it’s too much too soon. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer at the forefront of shutting down the San Francisco Bay Area in mid-March, told her county board the state is moving forward “without a real understanding of the consequences.”
Dr. David Relman, a microbiologist and immunologist at Stanford Medicine, says he questions whether counties are really able to implement the rules and respond to potential outbreaks. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency, countered that the plans provide guidance but that counties are not being pressured to “open sooner or stay closed longer than they themselves feel they should.”
Dems blast ‘pitiful’ COVID-19 report on race
House Democrats are dismissing a federal report on the racial breakdown of cases and deaths from the coronavirus as “pitiful,” saying it hurts efforts to target resources to communities of color. Early data shows communities of color, including African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos, are dying at a disproportionately higher rate compared with whites. The lawmakers complained that a recently released four-page report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fails to reflect the national impact.
The agency said Wednesday it is “leveraging all our available surveillance systems to … protect vulnerable communities.”
“We deserve to know the facts and have quality analysis,’’ said U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, a Democrat from Illinois and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust. “Once again, they are showing us they just don’t care.”
– Deborah Barfield Berry
North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey gym owners file lawsuits to reopen
Gym owners in North Carolina, Michigan and New Jersey have filed lawsuits against state officials in the last two weeks for not allowing them to reopen while other businesses have started to reopen. The owners argue that it’s unconstitutional and a violation of their rights.
“If reopening businesses safely is the goal, then all businesses — including gyms — should be afforded the same opportunity to do so,” attorney Scott M. Erskine, who is representing a coalition of 120 gyms in Michigan, said in a press release.
In North Carolina, a Facebook page was created to raise money for owners to retain an attorney, reports The News & Observer. A group of nine plaintiffs filed the lawsuit Wednesday, asking for a temporary restraining order that would prevent Gov. Roy Cooper from keeping gyms closed.
A gym in New Jersey that reopened last week in defiance of state orders also filed a lawsuit for similar reasons. The lawsuit says the owners took “extraordinary precautions” to implement “health protocols … sufficiently similar to those businesses that were allowed to remain open” when it reopened.
Wyoming cancels Cheyenne Frontier Days, other major rodeos this summer
Wyoming, the self-proclaimed Cowboy State, canceled six major rodeos this summer because of the coronavirus — including Cheyenne Frontier Days, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Wednesday.
“This reality is not an easy one,” Gordon said in a news conference. “In my soul, I know how important those events are to our communities and our citizens.”
It’s the first time Frontier Days has been canceled in its 124-year history. The world’s largest outdoor rodeo draws more than 140,000 people annually. The other canceled rodeos are the Thermopolis Rendezvous, Cody Stampede, Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo in Casper, Sheridan WYO Rodeo and Laramie Jubilee Days.
Tom Hanks donates plasma in California to help fight coronavirus
Tom Hanks is “plasmatic.” The “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” actor, 63, kept his spirits high while donating plasma at the University of California in Los Angeles to help fight against the coronavirus following his own recovery.
He documented his experience on Instagram Wednesday, sharing several photos of his left arm hooked up to a machine and a picture of the end result: Two bags full of plasma.
“Plasmatic on 3! 1,2,3 PLASMATIC!” he captioned the series of pictures.
In March, Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were hospitalized in Queensland, Australia, after being diagnosed with coronavirus, becoming the first major celebrities to test positive. Hanks told NPR in April that he hopes the plasma will be beneficial toward vaccine research.
– Cydney Henderson
Disney World plans July 11 reopening for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom
Walt Disney World plans to reopen July 11, according to a presentation the company made to an economic recovery task force Wednesday. The theme park has been closed since March 15 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and its reopening will follow its Florida rival, Universal Orlando, which is set to reopen June 5.
Disney is planning a phased reopening, with the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening July 11. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are set to reopen July 15.
Disney World visitors will undergo a temperature check and be required to wear a face mask. The park will provide masks to people who do not bring their own.
Social distancing markers will be visible throughout the park. Disney’s “cast members” will enforce the rules, including the mask requirement, as part of a social-distancing squad. Park capacity will also be limited and not all attractions will reopen right away.
– Curtis Tate
Contributing: The Associated Press
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