Huntington Beach, scene of protests following closures, to reopen
A Southern California coastal community that has been fighting the state over beach closures has been given the green light to begin to reopen beaches, along with two other Orange County cities.
Huntington Beach saw a protest of several hundred people on Friday after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all beaches in the county closedfollowing crowds seen there amid the coronavirus epidemic.
On Tuesday, the California Natural Resources Agency said that Huntington Beach, Dana Point and Seal Beach received approval to reopen beaches after submitting plans that include measures to protect public health.
Newsom issued his order on Thursday, and Huntington Beach's city council the same day voted to authorize legal action. A judge then refused to block Newsom's order.
Huntington Beach said in a statement Tuesday that the beaches and bike pathway would be reopened for active recreation only. People will also have to maintain physical distancing.
Federal judge rules New York must hold June primary election canceled over coronavirus risks
A federal judge ordered Tuesday that New York state hold its Democratic primary in June, which was canceled over coronavirus concerns, which places Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other former 2020 candidates back on the ballot.
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of Manhattan ruled in favor of the law team representing businessman Andrew Yang, who dropped out of the Democratic primary in early February.
Yang’s lawyers brought the lawsuit against the New York State Board of Elections late last month after the board canceled the state’s primary, which already had been postponed two months. Citing coronavirus concerns, the board stripped Sanders' name from the June 23 presidential primary ballot after he dropped out — effectively canceling the primary and making former Vice President Joe Biden the winner.
Dozens of states have postponed their primaries or moved to mail-in or drive-by voting as the pandemic has upended the 2020 election cycle. Some states, however, have gone forward with their usual in-person voting. Wisconsin, for instance, held its April 7 primary with in-person voting after Republicans blocked efforts to move to mail-in ballots, and several cases of the coronavirus have been linked to those who went out to vote.
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Pennsylvania hospital celebrates release of one of first COVID-19 patients
Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania, discharged one of its first coronavirus patients on May 1.
The patient reunited with his wife as dozens of staff members applauded and held signs that said, "Mount Nittany Medical Center Will Miss You" and "Wish You All The Best." The scene was captured in a video released by the hospital this week.
The man, whose name was not released, had been hospitalized for 31 days. He had been on a ventilator and in a coma for two weeks. Four days after being removed from the ventilator, he was able to sit up and breathe on his own.
“I can’t thank all of the doctors and nurses at the hospital enough. I appreciate them so much,” his wife of 46 years said in a statement. “I’ve always believed in miracles, but I’d never had one in my life until now.”
Pennsylvania has had more than 52,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to NBC News' count.
Former Olympian Jenny Thompson joins the fight against COVID-19
Jenny Thompson is best known as the record-holder for the most Olympic medals won by a female swimmer.
However, Thompson, a pediatric anesthesiologist, traded her swim goggles for a face shield and joined the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 in Charleston, South Carolina.
As the number of cases continued to increase, Thompson became concerned about the lack of personal protective equipment needed in order to keep medical professionals safe while treating patients.
Two of her former Stanford swimming teammates, Gabrielle Rose and Lea Maurer, created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Thompson and her colleagues; the page raised almost $11,000.
“I just was so touched by the outpouring of support, from friends and family, the swimming community, even people I didn’t know," Thompson told Team USA. "It brought me a feeling that this is a crisis, but all of these people have my back.”
Thompson won eight gold, three silver and one bronze over the course of her four Olympic appearances.
Americans divided over coronavirus pandemic stay-at-home orders
According to a new poll, 78 percent of Americans are uncomfortable with going out to eat, while 56 percent say they’re comfortable with going to a grocery story. Most believe gyms, theaters and barber shops should not yet be allowed to reopen.
'There'll be more death': Trump says it's time to reopen country despite fears of coronavirus rebound
President Donald Trump said Tuesday “there’ll be more death” related to the coronavirus pandemic as a growing number of states move to slowly relax their stay-at-home mandates in the coming months.
"It's possible there will be some because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is," Trump told ABC News in an exclusive interview while visiting a mask-making factory in Arizona. "But at the same time, we're going to practice social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time.”
Trump has faced mounting criticism, largely from Democrats, about hastily moving to reopen the country as new coronavirus cases emerge in some areas and states, such as Georgia and Texas, move to reopen as cases appear to stabilize. Public health experts have also warned that reopening too soon could lead to more death and economic damage.
In the interview, Trump claimed that the virus is going “to pass” without a vaccine.
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Dallas salon owner gets 7 days in jail for reopening during coronavirus lockdown
A Dallas salon owner on Tuesday was sentenced to seven days behind bars for disobeying coronavirus shutdown orders, doing business well ahead of even the aggressive reopening plans in Texas.
Dallas County Judge Eric Moye held Shelley Luther, owner of Salon a la Mode and her corporate entity "Hot Mess Enterprises," for both criminal and civil contempt.
Moye cited "the refusal of the defendants to cease operation of the salon, despite the clear and unambiguous language of the order."
Rand Paul defends not wearing mask, claims 'immunity' to COVID-19. Experts say he can't be so sure.
Sen. Rand Paul, the only senator known to have contracted COVID-19, defended his decision not to wear a mask on Capitol Hill Tuesday, citing his "immunity" to a disease top scientists are still trying to understand.
“I have immunity. I’ve already had the virus, so I can’t get it again and I can’t give it to anybody,” Paul, R-Ky., told reporters, referring to his March diagnosis. “I can’t get it again, nor can I transmit. So of all the people you’ll meet here, I’m about the only safe person in Washington.”
Paul can't be so sure of any of these claims, according to individual experts and guidance provided by the Trump administration. Medical professionals, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said that while some type of immunity for recovered patients is probably likely, the extent — including the duration of that immunity and whether a recovered person can be reinfected — isn't known.