The Riley County Emergency Operations Center has released a chart covering what can be open during the different phases of the COVID-19 reopening plan in that county.

The Riley County Emergency Operations Center has released a chart covering what can be open during the different phases of the COVID-19 reopening plan in that county.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589665238665.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Chart covers different COVID-19 reopening phases

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the House on Friday, an election-year measure designed to brace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e95a6d2d0a721fcffb4efb9435b84f4f">a U.S. economy in free fall</a>&nbsp;and a health care system struggling to contain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/8ab8ee4bdac227eb98804d3200d7d9e7">a pandemic still pummeling the country</a>.

The 208-199 vote, over strong Republican opposition, advances what boils down to a campaign-season display of Democratic economic and health-care priorities. It has no chance of becoming law as written, but will likely spark difficult negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. Any product would probably be the last major COVID-19 response bill before November’s presidential and congressional elections.

The enormous Democratic measure would cost more than the prior four coronavirus bills combined. It would deliver almost $1 trillion for state and local governments, another round of $1,200 direct payments to individuals and help for the unemployed, renters and homeowners, college debt holders and the struggling Postal Service.

“Not to act now is not only irresponsible in a humanitarian way, it is irresponsible because it’s only going to cost more,” warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “More in terms of lives, livelihood, cost to the budget, cost to our democracy.”

Republicans mocked the bill as a bloated Democratic wish-list that was dead on arrival in the GOP-led Senate and, for good measure, faced a White House veto threat. Party leaders say they want to assess how $3 trillion approved earlier is working and see if some states’ partial business reopenings would spark an economic revival that would ease the need for more safety net programs.

Republicans are also sorting through internal divisions and awaiting stronger signals from President Donald Trump about what he will support.

“Phase Four is going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, using Washington insider-speak for the measure. “But it’s going to happen in a much better way for the American people.”

Trump and top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are insisting the next measure should protect reopening businesses from liability lawsuits. The president is also demanding a cut to payroll taxes, but GOP leaders are not yet onboard.

The daylong debate painted a Capitol scene that’s become common in the era of coronavirus, even as it remains disconcerting. The sparsely populated House floor was dotted with lawmakers and aides wearing protective masks and even gloves, though some Republicans lacked them.

Many members looked shaggier and sported beards they had not worn weeks ago. Roll call votes lasted over an hour each because lawmakers were voting in small groups to limit crowding.

To enhance&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/95f4b1ce45413f5e6b162221a456894a">the bill’s political impact</a>, Democrats named their measure “The Heroes Act” for the payments it would provide front-line emergency workers. With more than 86,000 Americans dead, 1.4 million confirmed infections and 36 million filing unemployment claims in an frozen economy, Democrats saw GOP opposition as an easy campaign-season target.

“Are you kidding me?” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, of Republican assertions that it was time to stop spending more money. “Where do you guys live? Food lines at our food banks around the block? In the United States of America?”

Republicans saw the bill as a Democratic political blunder. They said overly generous unemployment benefits discouraged people from returning to work, and attacked language helping immigrants in the U.S. illegally get federal benefits. They also singled out provisions helping states set up voting by mail and easing the marijuana industry’s access to banks.

“It may help the cannabis industry, but it won’t help Main Street,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Clearly, the bipartisan consensus that produced four previous coronavirus bills is crumbling quickly. Polls show GOP voters are satisfied with the federal response and aren’t agitating for more. Self-branded deficit hawks are citing the massive increase in the spiraling $25 trillion national debt.

Some congressional aides said the Democratic bill’s real price tag could breach $3.5 trillion. A partial estimate of tax provisions alone revealed eye-popping costs: $412 billion to renew $1,200 cash payments to individuals, more than $100 billion to pay health insurance premiums for the unemployed and $164 billion to make an “employee retention” tax credit for businesses more generous.

Republicans leaders faced disunity between conservatives who feel enough has been done and pragmatists who back rescuing the Postal Service from looming insolvency and delivering cash to revenue-starved state and local governments. The huge price tag and a lack of consultation with Republicans by Pelosi cemented GOP opposition.

“This bill is nothing more than the Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. He said the bill is “going nowhere, and is going nowhere fast.”

Pelosi overcame party divisions of her own. Some moderate Democrats opposed the package for its price tag and politically fraught provisions like assisting marijuana businesses. A few progressive Democrats were upset because it did not do more, such as guaranteeing workers’ salaries and bolstering their health insurance coverage.

Those for whom the vote was most politically risky were the 30, mostly freshmen, from House districts that backed Trump in 2016. One, Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, labeled the measure “bloated” and said she’d vote no.

Liberal Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told reporters that she’d also oppose the bill. She said if constituents ask her if the bill would put money in their pockets or preserve their health care, “I can’t tell them yes.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589593696332.png" alt="Moments after the U.S. House passed a new $3 trillion coronavirus aid package, which includes money for state and local governments, coronavirus testing, and cash payments to individuals. Members will also take up a House rules change to allow proxy voting-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Moments after the U.S. House passed a new $3 trillion coronavirus aid package, which includes money for state and local governments, coronavirus testing, and cash payments to individuals. Members will also take up a House rules change to allow proxy voting-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats powered a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill through the House on Friday, an election-year measure designed to brace&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/e95a6d2d0a721fcffb4efb9435b84f4f">a U.S. economy in free fall</a>&nbsp;and a health care system struggling to contain&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/8ab8ee4bdac227eb98804d3200d7d9e7">a pandemic still pummeling the country</a>.The 208-199 vote, over strong Republican opposition, advances what boils down to a campaign-season display of Democratic economic and health-care priorities. It has no chance of becoming law as written, but will likely spark difficult negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans. Any product would probably be the last major COVID-19 response bill before November’s presidential and congressional elections.The enormous Democratic measure would cost more than the prior four coronavirus bills combined. It would deliver almost $1 trillion for state and local governments, another round of $1,200 direct payments to individuals and help for the unemployed, renters and homeowners, college debt holders and the struggling Postal Service.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589593817267.png" alt="House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her news conference Thursday" />
 <figcaption>House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her news conference Thursday</figcaption>
 </figure>“Not to act now is not only irresponsible in a humanitarian way, it is irresponsible because it’s only going to cost more,” warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “More in terms of lives, livelihood, cost to the budget, cost to our democracy.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I’m in Washington to vote against Speaker Pelosi’s $3 trillion spending bill. This is a partisan attempt to take advantage of a crisis to pass a socialist wish list &amp; reckless spending. Instead, Congress needs to work together on meaningful legislation for Kansans and Americans. <a href="https://t.co/eTl3QiKMWw">pic.twitter.com/eTl3QiKMWw</a>&mdash; Rep. Ron Estes (@RepRonEstes) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepRonEstes/status/1261414271788826624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Republicans mocked the bill as a bloated Democratic wish-list that was dead on arrival in the GOP-led Senate and, for good measure, faced a White House veto threat. Party leaders say they want to assess how $3 trillion approved earlier is working and see if some states’ partial business reopenings would spark an economic revival that would ease the need for more safety net programs.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerPelosi</a>’s 1,800 page, $3 trillion boondoggle: -Funds Planned Parenthood -Bails out fiscally irresponsible states -Hands out millions to the “arts” -Discourages people from going back to work This socialist wish list is a sham, and a waste of time.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1261378054900920321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Republicans are also sorting through internal divisions and awaiting stronger signals from President Donald Trump about what he will support.“Phase Four is going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, using Washington insider-speak for the measure. “But it’s going to happen in a much better way for the American people.”Trump and top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are insisting the next measure should protect reopening businesses from liability lawsuits. The president is also demanding a cut to payroll taxes, but GOP leaders are not yet onboard.The daylong debate painted a Capitol scene that’s become common in the era of coronavirus, even as it remains disconcerting. The sparsely populated House floor was dotted with lawmakers and aides wearing protective masks and even gloves, though some Republicans lacked them.Many members looked shaggier and sported beards they had not worn weeks ago. Roll call votes lasted over an hour each because lawmakers were voting in small groups to limit crowding.To enhance&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/95f4b1ce45413f5e6b162221a456894a">the bill’s political impact</a>, Democrats named their measure “The Heroes Act” for the payments it would provide front-line emergency workers. With more than 86,000 Americans dead, 1.4 million confirmed infections and 36 million filing unemployment claims in an frozen economy, Democrats saw GOP opposition as an easy campaign-season target.“Are you kidding me?” said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, of Republican assertions that it was time to stop spending more money. “Where do you guys live? Food lines at our food banks around the block? In the United States of America?”Republicans saw the bill as a Democratic political blunder. They said overly generous unemployment benefits discouraged people from returning to work, and attacked language helping immigrants in the U.S. illegally get federal benefits. They also singled out provisions helping states set up voting by mail and easing the marijuana industry’s access to banks.“It may help the cannabis industry, but it won’t help Main Street,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.Clearly, the bipartisan consensus that produced four previous coronavirus bills is crumbling quickly. Polls show GOP voters are satisfied with the federal response and aren’t agitating for more. Self-branded deficit hawks are citing the massive increase in the spiraling $25 trillion national debt.Some congressional aides said the Democratic bill’s real price tag could breach $3.5 trillion. A partial estimate of tax provisions alone revealed eye-popping costs: $412 billion to renew $1,200 cash payments to individuals, more than $100 billion to pay health insurance premiums for the unemployed and $164 billion to make an “employee retention” tax credit for businesses more generous.Republicans leaders faced disunity between conservatives who feel enough has been done and pragmatists who back rescuing the Postal Service from looming insolvency and delivering cash to revenue-starved state and local governments. The huge price tag and a lack of consultation with Republicans by Pelosi cemented GOP opposition.“This bill is nothing more than the Democratic policy agenda masquerading as a response to the coronavirus crisis,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. He said the bill is “going nowhere, and is going nowhere fast.”Pelosi overcame party divisions of her own. Some moderate Democrats opposed the package for its price tag and politically fraught provisions like assisting marijuana businesses. A few progressive Democrats were upset because it did not do more, such as guaranteeing workers’ salaries and bolstering their health insurance coverage.Those for whom the vote was most politically risky were the 30, mostly freshmen, from House districts that backed Trump in 2016. One, Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, labeled the measure “bloated” and said she’d vote no.Liberal Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told reporters that she’d also oppose the bill. She said if constituents ask her if the bill would put money in their pockets or preserve their health care, “I can’t tell them yes.”

House approves new $3T coronavirus relief bill

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — The state Department of Corrections says all inmates at a work release facility in downtown Wichita have been moved to another Kansas facility after 38 of them tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Department spokeswoman Rebecca Witte says about 100 inmates at the Wichita Work Release Facility were moved Thursday to the Lansing Correctional Facility, where 88 staff members and 750 inmates have tested positive for the virus. 

Witte said the dormitory set-up at the Wichita facility doesn't allow for the separation of the sick and healthy, but that Lansing is better able to quarantine and isolate.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589573025096.png" alt="Inmates during the relocation from Wichita on Thursday -photo by Nolan Roth&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kake.com/story/42131508/all-wichita-work-release-inmates-moved-to-lansing-after-discovery-of-covid-19-cluster">courtesy KAKE</a>" />
 <figcaption>Inmates during the relocation from Wichita on Thursday -photo by Nolan Roth&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kake.com/story/42131508/all-wichita-work-release-inmates-moved-to-lansing-after-discovery-of-covid-19-cluster">courtesy KAKE</a></figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — The state Department of Corrections says all inmates at a work release facility in downtown Wichita have been moved to another Kansas facility after 38 of them tested positive for the coronavirus. Department spokeswoman Rebecca Witte says about 100 inmates at the Wichita Work Release Facility were moved Thursday to the Lansing Correctional Facility, where 88 staff members and 750 inmates have tested positive for the virus. Witte said the dormitory set-up at the Wichita facility doesn't allow for the separation of the sick and healthy, but that Lansing is better able to quarantine and isolate.

Kan. inmates relocated after coronavirus cases increase

Governor Laura Kelly will hold a&nbsp;press briefing Friday afternoon to answer questions on her decision to slow the reopening of the Kansas economy.

Dr. Lee Norman, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will also answer questions.

Governor Laura Kelly will hold a&nbsp;press briefing Friday afternoon to answer questions on her decision to slow the reopening of the Kansas economy.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F280569762984055%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Dr. Lee Norman, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will also answer questions.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589490713721.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

🎥 Governor on Phase 1.5 of plan to reopen Kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump named a former pharmaceutical executive to lead his administration’s all-out effort to produce and distribute a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.

Moncef Slaoui, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive, will lead “Operation Warp Speed,” Trump’s push to accelerate the vaccine development process for COVID-19.

Slaoui is to serve in a volunteer capacity, and will be assisted by Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the commander of United States Army Materiel Command. 

The move comes as the president and White House aides hope to produce vaccines for the coronavirus faster than what many scientists believe is realistic.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump named a former pharmaceutical executive to lead his administration’s all-out effort to produce and distribute a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Operation Warp Speed is &quot;a massive scientific, industrial, and logistical endeavor unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/dkfU3vPnnA">pic.twitter.com/dkfU3vPnnA</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1261354450259763200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Moncef Slaoui, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive, will lead “Operation Warp Speed,” Trump’s push to accelerate the vaccine development process for COVID-19.Slaoui is to serve in a volunteer capacity, and will be assisted by Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the commander of United States Army Materiel Command. The move comes as the president and White House aides hope to produce vaccines for the coronavirus faster than what many scientists believe is realistic.

🎥 Trump names virus vaccine development team

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday slowed<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-adds-new-phase-to-ad-astra-plan/"> down the reopening</a> of Kansas’ economy, ordering bars and bowling alleys to remain closed through the end of the month and keeping some coronavirus-inspired restrictions in place until near the end of June.

Top Republican legislators already have moved aggressively to take control of the reopening by extending a disaster declaration Kelly issued only through Memorial Day, May 25, to give lawmakers a chance to rewrite their own law guiding the process. State law gives Kelly broad power under an emergency declaration, and she had wanted the current one extended into mid-June.

The governor had expected to <a href="https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopen-Kansas-Framework-v5-2.pdf">lift some restrictions Monday, </a>but her new order modifies that plan to reflect her administration’s concern that the spread of the novel coronavirus is not yet decreasing. A limit on public gatherings of 10 or fewer people will remain in place, rather than being increased to 30 on Monday.

<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-adds-new-phase-to-ad-astra-plan/">Kelly’s new order</a> will allow barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tattoo parlors, tanning salons, gyms and fitness centers to reopen as planned Monday. Owners of such businesses had been among the loudest critics of Kelly’s reopening plan, saying they could resume operations safely with deep cleaning and social distancing.

Under the governor’s new order, salons still will have to take customers by appointment only, while gym and fitness centers won’t be allowed to have group classes or use their locker rooms for anything other than bathroom facilities.

Bars, night clubs, bowling alleys would remain closed until at least June 1 under Kelly’s new order, and summer camps, fairs and festivals would not be allowed until at least June 15.

The governor is allowing high school and college graduations to go forward, but only if indoor ceremonies are limited to 10 people at a time. Outdoor ceremonies are allowed, either with people 6 feet apart in a large space or as “drive-through” events in which families drive up to a stage, the graduate gets out, walks across and gets back into a car.

The changes mean that public gatherings of up to 30 people won’t be allowed until June 1, and gatherings of up to 90 people won’t be allowed until June 15. The last restrictions wouldn’t be lifted until June 29 — two weeks later than previously planned.

Meanwhile, an eastern Kansas county is defending a policy that directs business owners to collect information about their customers as an effort to help trace the contacts of infected people.

Attorneys for Linn County, its county commission and its health director filed a response Thursday to a federal lawsuit from two business operators. The county’s attorneys said a May 1 order by the local health director does not violate rights against unreasonable searches that are protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The county said in its filing that the business operators wrongly suggest that the county would make blanket demands for information when the local health department would ask only for data about specific customers in contact with infected people over the previous month.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589486982029.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly during her press briefing Wednesday in Topeka" />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly during her press briefing Wednesday in Topeka</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday slowed<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-adds-new-phase-to-ad-astra-plan/"> down the reopening</a> of Kansas’ economy, ordering bars and bowling alleys to remain closed through the end of the month and keeping some coronavirus-inspired restrictions in place until near the end of June.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589490713721.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Top Republican legislators already have moved aggressively to take control of the reopening by extending a disaster declaration Kelly issued only through Memorial Day, May 25, to give lawmakers a chance to rewrite their own law guiding the process. State law gives Kelly broad power under an emergency declaration, and she had wanted the current one extended into mid-June.The governor had expected to <a href="https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopen-Kansas-Framework-v5-2.pdf">lift some restrictions Monday, </a>but her new order modifies that plan to reflect her administration’s concern that the spread of the novel coronavirus is not yet decreasing. A limit on public gatherings of 10 or fewer people will remain in place, rather than being increased to 30 on Monday.<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-kelly-adds-new-phase-to-ad-astra-plan/">Kelly’s new order</a> will allow barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tattoo parlors, tanning salons, gyms and fitness centers to reopen as planned Monday. Owners of such businesses had been among the loudest critics of Kelly’s reopening plan, saying they could resume operations safely with deep cleaning and social distancing.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588354883549.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Under the governor’s new order, salons still will have to take customers by appointment only, while gym and fitness centers won’t be allowed to have group classes or use their locker rooms for anything other than bathroom facilities.Bars, night clubs, bowling alleys would remain closed until at least June 1 under Kelly’s new order, and summer camps, fairs and festivals would not be allowed until at least June 15.The governor is allowing high school and college graduations to go forward, but only if indoor ceremonies are limited to 10 people at a time. Outdoor ceremonies are allowed, either with people 6 feet apart in a large space or as “drive-through” events in which families drive up to a stage, the graduate gets out, walks across and gets back into a car.The changes mean that public gatherings of up to 30 people won’t be allowed until June 1, and gatherings of up to 90 people won’t be allowed until June 15. The last restrictions wouldn’t be lifted until June 29 — two weeks later than previously planned.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588354966337.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Meanwhile, an eastern Kansas county is defending a policy that directs business owners to collect information about their customers as an effort to help trace the contacts of infected people.Attorneys for Linn County, its county commission and its health director filed a response Thursday to a federal lawsuit from two business operators. The county’s attorneys said a May 1 order by the local health director does not violate rights against unreasonable searches that are protected by the U.S. Constitution.The county said in its filing that the business operators wrongly suggest that the county would make blanket demands for information when the local health department would ask only for data about specific customers in contact with infected people over the previous month.___

Kansas governor slows reopening; limits to go into late June

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Thursday released some of their long-delayed guidance that schools, businesses and other organizations can use as states reopen from coronavirus shutdowns.

<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html">Click here</a> to read the guidelines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted six one-page “decision tool” documents that use traffic signs and other graphics to tell organizations what they should consider before reopening.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;are for schools, workplaces, camps, childcare centers, mass transit systems, and bars and restaurants. The CDC originally also authored a document for churches and other religious facilities, but that wasn’t posted Thursday. The agency declined to say why.

Early versions of the documents included detailed information for churches wanting to restart in-person services, with suggestions including maintaining distance between parishioners and limiting the size of gatherings. The faith-related guidance was taken out after the White House raised concerns about the recommended restrictions, according to government emails obtained by The Associated Press and a person inside the agency who didn’t have permission to talk with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, a Trump administration official also speaking on condition of anonymity said there were concerns about the propriety of the government making specific dictates to places of worship.

And Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, said “protections against religious discrimination aren’t suspended during an emergency. This means the federal government cannot single out religious conduct as somehow being more dangerous or worthy of scrutiny than comparable secular behavior.”

President Donald Trump has championed religious freedom as a way to connect with conservative evangelical voters and has shown eagerness for in-person religious services to restart. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97d56433ec9ece3f8a74ec8ab2b32abf">consulted</a>&nbsp;interfaith leaders last month for suggestions on how to reopen and said on a recent Fox News town hall that “we have to get our people back to churches, and we’re going to start doing it soon.”

The CDC drafted the reopening guidance more than a month ago and it was initially shelved by the administration, the AP&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7a00d5fba3249e573d2ead4bd323a4d4">reported</a>&nbsp;last week.

The agency also had prepared even more extensive guidance — about 57 pages of it — that has not been posted.

That&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6889330-Guidance-for-Opening-Up-America-Again-Framework.html" target="_blank">longer document</a>, which the AP obtained, would give different organizations specifics about how to reopen while still limiting spread of the virus, including by spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and closing break rooms and cafeterias to limit gatherings. Many of the suggestions already appear on federal websites but they haven’t been presented as reopening advice.

Some health experts and politicians have been pushing for the CDC to release as much guidance as possible to help businesses and organizations decide how to proceed.

“They want to be able to tell their own employees the guidance of the federal government,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, said at a congressional hearing Wednesday. “They want to be able to tell their customers, ‘We’ve done everything that’s been asked of us.’”

The guidance relates to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/" target="_blank">another document</a>&nbsp;released by the Trump administration on April 17. That phased-in reopening plan broadly outlines how to move away from stay-at-home orders, school closures and other measures designed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus that has caused more than 1.3 million reported U.S. illnesses and more than 80,000 deaths.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, on Wednesday offered a resolution — blocked by Republicans — to encourage release of all the documents.

“America needs and must have the candid guidance of our best scientists unfiltered, unedited, uncensored by president Trump or his political minions. The CDC report on reopening the country is an important piece of that guidance,” Schumer said.

The decision tools have been undergoing review by different federal officials, and they’ve been edited from earlier versions.

For example, an earlier draft of the one-page document on camps obtained by the AP asked organizers if their program would limit attendance to people who live nearby. If the answer was no, the camp was advised not to reopen. That local attendance limitation was dropped and was not in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/Camps-Decision-Tree.pdf" target="_blank">the version</a>&nbsp;posted Thursday.

And in that document and others, language has been dropped that asked if the organization is in a community that is still requiring significant disease mitigation. If the answer was yes, the organization was advised not to reopen.

Many of the changes provide more wiggle room than what was in the initial versions.

For example, in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/Childcare-Decision-Tree.pdf" target="_blank">document</a>&nbsp;for people who run child care centers, the older version obtained by the AP stated that CDC recommended “checking for signs and symptoms of children and staff.” The new guidelines add “as feasible” to the end.

Similar new language about feasibility appears in sections about promoting healthy hygiene such as hand washing and employees wearing cloth masks.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589540522116.png" alt="CDC image" />
 <figcaption>CDC image</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Thursday released some of their long-delayed guidance that schools, businesses and other organizations can use as states reopen from coronavirus shutdowns.<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html">Click here</a> to read the guidelinesThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted six one-page “decision tool” documents that use traffic signs and other graphics to tell organizations what they should consider before reopening.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;are for schools, workplaces, camps, childcare centers, mass transit systems, and bars and restaurants. The CDC originally also authored a document for churches and other religious facilities, but that wasn’t posted Thursday. The agency declined to say why.Early versions of the documents included detailed information for churches wanting to restart in-person services, with suggestions including maintaining distance between parishioners and limiting the size of gatherings. The faith-related guidance was taken out after the White House raised concerns about the recommended restrictions, according to government emails obtained by The Associated Press and a person inside the agency who didn’t have permission to talk with reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.On Thursday, a Trump administration official also speaking on condition of anonymity said there were concerns about the propriety of the government making specific dictates to places of worship.And Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, said “protections against religious discrimination aren’t suspended during an emergency. This means the federal government cannot single out religious conduct as somehow being more dangerous or worthy of scrutiny than comparable secular behavior.”President Donald Trump has championed religious freedom as a way to connect with conservative evangelical voters and has shown eagerness for in-person religious services to restart. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/97d56433ec9ece3f8a74ec8ab2b32abf">consulted</a>&nbsp;interfaith leaders last month for suggestions on how to reopen and said on a recent Fox News town hall that “we have to get our people back to churches, and we’re going to start doing it soon.”The CDC drafted the reopening guidance more than a month ago and it was initially shelved by the administration, the AP&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7a00d5fba3249e573d2ead4bd323a4d4">reported</a>&nbsp;last week.The agency also had prepared even more extensive guidance — about 57 pages of it — that has not been posted.That&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6889330-Guidance-for-Opening-Up-America-Again-Framework.html" target="_blank">longer document</a>, which the AP obtained, would give different organizations specifics about how to reopen while still limiting spread of the virus, including by spacing workers or students 6 feet apart and closing break rooms and cafeterias to limit gatherings. Many of the suggestions already appear on federal websites but they haven’t been presented as reopening advice.Some health experts and politicians have been pushing for the CDC to release as much guidance as possible to help businesses and organizations decide how to proceed.“They want to be able to tell their own employees the guidance of the federal government,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, said at a congressional hearing Wednesday. “They want to be able to tell their customers, ‘We’ve done everything that’s been asked of us.’”The guidance relates to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/" target="_blank">another document</a>&nbsp;released by the Trump administration on April 17. That phased-in reopening plan broadly outlines how to move away from stay-at-home orders, school closures and other measures designed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus that has caused more than 1.3 million reported U.S. illnesses and more than 80,000 deaths.U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, on Wednesday offered a resolution — blocked by Republicans — to encourage release of all the documents.“America needs and must have the candid guidance of our best scientists unfiltered, unedited, uncensored by president Trump or his political minions. The CDC report on reopening the country is an important piece of that guidance,” Schumer said.The decision tools have been undergoing review by different federal officials, and they’ve been edited from earlier versions.For example, an earlier draft of the one-page document on camps obtained by the AP asked organizers if their program would limit attendance to people who live nearby. If the answer was no, the camp was advised not to reopen. That local attendance limitation was dropped and was not in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/Camps-Decision-Tree.pdf" target="_blank">the version</a>&nbsp;posted Thursday.And in that document and others, language has been dropped that asked if the organization is in a community that is still requiring significant disease mitigation. If the answer was yes, the organization was advised not to reopen.Many of the changes provide more wiggle room than what was in the initial versions.For example, in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/Childcare-Decision-Tree.pdf" target="_blank">document</a>&nbsp;for people who run child care centers, the older version obtained by the AP stated that CDC recommended “checking for signs and symptoms of children and staff.” The new guidelines add “as feasible” to the end.Similar new language about feasibility appears in sections about promoting healthy hygiene such as hand washing and employees wearing cloth masks.___

U.S. officials release edited coronavirus reopening guidance

One person from Riley County died this week from COVID-19 related problems. According to health officials the man in his 30's sought help for an underlying condition and then tested positive for COVID-19.

Wednesday, Health Officer Julie Gibbs, issued a statement concerning the death of the resident. "He remained in isolation at Via Christi Hospital for several days before being transferred to a hospital in Wichita last week. Our hearts go out to his friends and family. Please know that we are thinking of you during this difficult time. On behalf of Riley County, our deepest condolences are with you."

As of Wednesday there had been a total of 59 positive COVID-19 cases in Riley County.

One person from Riley County died this week from COVID-19 related problems. According to health officials the man in his 30's sought help for an underlying condition and then tested positive for COVID-19.Wednesday, Health Officer Julie Gibbs, issued a statement concerning the death of the resident. "He remained in isolation at Via Christi Hospital for several days before being transferred to a hospital in Wichita last week. Our hearts go out to his friends and family. Please know that we are thinking of you during this difficult time. On behalf of Riley County, our deepest condolences are with you."As of Wednesday there had been a total of 59 positive COVID-19 cases in Riley County.

Health Officer issues statement on the recent death of a COVID-19 patient

Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) — Republican attorneys general in 14 states asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to form a state-federal partnership to hold China accountable for damages caused by the spread of the new coronavirus.

The letter to the president says “the Chinese communist government” may have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bf685dcf52125be54e030834ab7062a8">failed to provide information or provided misinformation&nbsp;</a>about the virus that led to its spread.

“The spread of COVID-19 has grievously harmed each of our States. Many of our citizens have suffered and died from this virus. Our economies have been effectively shut down. Businesses, big and small, have been devastated to the point that many will not reopen,” the letter said.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson are taking the lead on the coalition. The letter is also signed by attorneys general in Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.

While the coalition is made up of Republicans, Moody said in a phone interview that she wants to add more attorneys generals, including Democrats, as part of an effort to make China pay in some way for the pandemic.

“I don’t see this as a partisan issue. Holding a country accountable for misinformation or lack of action that could have mitigated the spread of this devastating virus is something of concern to all of us regardless of party,” she said. “Seeking damages is of concern to all of us.”

The letter is part of a growing call among state elected officials pointing blame at China for economic loss and deaths caused by the coronavirus, joining dozens of patients and businesses looking to sue China over the outbreak that has killed more than 83,000 people in the United States.

Trump is clearly not happy with China’s role in the spread of the virus. While not a response to the attorneys general letter, he criticized the country on Twitter on Wednesday, saying the virus began spreading just after the U.S. and China reached a trade deal.

“The ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference - and all those innocent lives lost!,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1260578860992737285" target="_blank">tweeted.</a>

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis began calling for China to be held accountable in March, saying, “How Americans view them will never be the same. They’ve never been terribly popular as a country here, but I think that we have got to hold China accountable.”

Since then, he has almost weekly criticized China and called for less U.S. reliance on the country for goods, particularly medical equipment.

Moody said the attorneys generals are examining state and federal laws to determine the best course of action against China and whether steps need to be modified to be more successful in their pursuit of accountability.

“What is the mechanism that we may utilize based on the facts that we have and based on the laws that exist or as they are modified ... that we could see success at true accountability from China?” Moody said.

The letter to Trump says state and federal governments need to look at legal, economic, diplomatic and security measures that could be taken against China.

“This will allow us to share information and resources and ensure that any remedy sought takes into consideration our legal capabilities and the devastating impact the virus has had on our States,” it said.

China informed the World Health Organization of the outbreak on Dec. 31 of last year. It contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Jan. 3 and publicly identified the pathogen as a novel coronavirus on Jan. 8.

Chinese officials muffled doctors who warned about the virus early on and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the outbreak. However, many of the Chinese government’s missteps appear to have been due to bureaucratic hurdles, tight controls on information and officials hesitant to report bad news.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589452633094.png" alt="President Trump during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month in the Rose Garden -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month in the Rose Garden -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) — Republican attorneys general in 14 states asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to form a state-federal partnership to hold China accountable for damages caused by the spread of the new coronavirus.The letter to the president says “the Chinese communist government” may have&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/bf685dcf52125be54e030834ab7062a8">failed to provide information or provided misinformation&nbsp;</a>about the virus that led to its spread.“The spread of COVID-19 has grievously harmed each of our States. Many of our citizens have suffered and died from this virus. Our economies have been effectively shut down. Businesses, big and small, have been devastated to the point that many will not reopen,” the letter said.Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson are taking the lead on the coalition. The letter is also signed by attorneys general in Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.While the coalition is made up of Republicans, Moody said in a phone interview that she wants to add more attorneys generals, including Democrats, as part of an effort to make China pay in some way for the pandemic.“I don’t see this as a partisan issue. Holding a country accountable for misinformation or lack of action that could have mitigated the spread of this devastating virus is something of concern to all of us regardless of party,” she said. “Seeking damages is of concern to all of us.”The letter is part of a growing call among state elected officials pointing blame at China for economic loss and deaths caused by the coronavirus, joining dozens of patients and businesses looking to sue China over the outbreak that has killed more than 83,000 people in the United States.Trump is clearly not happy with China’s role in the spread of the virus. While not a response to the attorneys general letter, he criticized the country on Twitter on Wednesday, saying the virus began spreading just after the U.S. and China reached a trade deal.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">As I have said for a long time, dealing with China is a very expensive thing to do. We just made a great Trade Deal, the ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference - and all those innocent lives lost!&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1260578860992737285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“The ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference - and all those innocent lives lost!,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1260578860992737285" target="_blank">tweeted.</a>Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis began calling for China to be held accountable in March, saying, “How Americans view them will never be the same. They’ve never been terribly popular as a country here, but I think that we have got to hold China accountable.”Since then, he has almost weekly criticized China and called for less U.S. reliance on the country for goods, particularly medical equipment.Moody said the attorneys generals are examining state and federal laws to determine the best course of action against China and whether steps need to be modified to be more successful in their pursuit of accountability.“What is the mechanism that we may utilize based on the facts that we have and based on the laws that exist or as they are modified ... that we could see success at true accountability from China?” Moody said.The letter to Trump says state and federal governments need to look at legal, economic, diplomatic and security measures that could be taken against China.“This will allow us to share information and resources and ensure that any remedy sought takes into consideration our legal capabilities and the devastating impact the virus has had on our States,” it said.China informed the World Health Organization of the outbreak on Dec. 31 of last year. It contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Jan. 3 and publicly identified the pathogen as a novel coronavirus on Jan. 8.Chinese officials muffled doctors who warned about the virus early on and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the outbreak. However, many of the Chinese government’s missteps appear to have been due to bureaucratic hurdles, tight controls on information and officials hesitant to report bad news.___

AG in Kansas, 13 other states to Trump: Let's hold China accountable

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are joining a broader effort to shield doctors, hospitals and businesses from lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus, with business and medical groups pushing them to act quickly.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ZhwJRwvbg">Click here to watch</a> Wednesday's Kansas House judiciary committee hearing on the issue. It begins at 3:30p.m.

The effort faces strong opposition from labor unions, trial lawyers and some Democrats. They fear that such measures could be too broad and keep patients, consumers and employees from using the court system to hold businesses and medical providers accountable for negligence or misconduct.

Similar efforts are underway&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/349c07ce4b3e6321b0d5f1c2a706a67c">in Congress,</a>&nbsp;with Derek Schmidt of Kansas joining other GOP state attorneys general in calling for legislation to head off “frivolous” lawsuits. Legislators&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2e91a7747f673558df1abf8e9e802d1a">in multiple states,</a>&nbsp;including Mississippi, North Carolina and Utah, are considering their own laws.

In Kansas, the state House Judiciary Committee planned to have the first of three Zoom meetings on the issue on Wednesday.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ZhwJRwvbg">Click here to watch</a> and listen to the meeting that begins at 3:30p.m.

The Senate counterpart is expected to meet on the topic next week. 

The full GOP-controlled Legislature plans to meet May 21 for its last remaining day in session this year.

“What about a company who re-purposes their facilities because they’re closed as nonessential but they have the equipment to manufacture masks?” said Eric Stafford, a Kansas Chamber of Commerce lobbyist. “Somebody who’s trying to do a good deed, should they be punished, for liability for failure to prevent someone from getting sick?”

Groups pushing for quick legislative action said they fear businesses that reopened after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">lifted a statewide stay-at-home order</a>&nbsp;on May 4 will face lawsuits if customers or employees get sick, or that customers or employees will sue businesses that were deemed essential and remained open while others closed.

Stafford said the chamber wants to ensure that businesses are protected if they followed health officials’ guidelines for operating safely.

The debate also comes after President Donald Trump directed meatpacking plants to stay open despite the spread of the coronavirus among workers. Kansas has seen seven large outbreaks at such plants, accounting for nearly 1,300 confirmed cases, or 18% of the state’s total, with two COVID-19-related deaths.

Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwestern Kansas, said she thinks businesses should face legal liability if, for example, they won’t provide proper protective equipment for employees. But, she said, it could be “a bad precedent” to allow lawsuits when one customer of a business following health guidelines gets the virus from another customer.

She also said in nursing homes, even with aggressive steps to contain the virus if there’s one case, “It’s going to be exceptionally difficult to prevent the spread of any cases.”

Health care providers worry that they could face lawsuits if a patient’s health declined or a patient dies after providers delayed surgeries or other care because of concerns about spreading the virus.

Chad Austin, the Kansas Hospital Association’s executive vice president, said the group wants to protect medical providers “who did what they were asked to do” by focusing on combating the coronavirus.

“They were focused probably where they were instructed to be focused for sure, but you never know, there could be somebody forgoing care at that time who ended up having an issue,” added Cindy Samuelson, the association’s membership vice president.

David Morantz, a Leawood attorney and the Kansas Trial Lawyers’ Association president, said medical providers already aren’t subject to paying damages for injuries if they can show they followed generally accepted standards of care. He said adhering to government recommendations or directives to cancel elective surgeries because of the pandemic would qualify.

While Kelly has been open to proposals for protecting medical professionals, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and key ally of the governor’s, said the issue is too big, too complex and too contentious for lawmakers to tackle before adjourning May 21.

And labor unions have been quick to object to the proposals to prevent lawsuits, both in Kansas and nationally. The Working Kansas Alliance, a coalition of union groups, called it a “dangerous agenda” that would put workers at risk for “saving a buck on the corporate balance sheet.”

Morantz said he fears that any new law could be “pushed beyond what anybody ever intended” to cover actions or cases not directly involving the coronavirus. He also said shielding businesses from lawsuits will give them an incentive not to be as safe and would make consumers wary.

“If it’s safe reopen the economy, why is immunity needed?” Morantz said. “If immunity’s there, it’s going to make people scared and it’s going to delay rebooting the economy.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589403059623.png" alt="Members of the House Judiciary committee meet online Wednesday" />
 <figcaption>Members of the House Judiciary committee meet online Wednesday</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are joining a broader effort to shield doctors, hospitals and businesses from lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus, with business and medical groups pushing them to act quickly.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ZhwJRwvbg">Click here to watch</a> Wednesday's Kansas House judiciary committee hearing on the issue. It begins at 3:30p.m.The effort faces strong opposition from labor unions, trial lawyers and some Democrats. They fear that such measures could be too broad and keep patients, consumers and employees from using the court system to hold businesses and medical providers accountable for negligence or misconduct.Similar efforts are underway&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/349c07ce4b3e6321b0d5f1c2a706a67c">in Congress,</a>&nbsp;with Derek Schmidt of Kansas joining other GOP state attorneys general in calling for legislation to head off “frivolous” lawsuits. Legislators&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2e91a7747f673558df1abf8e9e802d1a">in multiple states,</a>&nbsp;including Mississippi, North Carolina and Utah, are considering their own laws.In Kansas, the state House Judiciary Committee planned to have the first of three Zoom meetings on the issue on Wednesday.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ZhwJRwvbg">Click here to watch</a> and listen to the meeting that begins at 3:30p.m.The Senate counterpart is expected to meet on the topic next week. The full GOP-controlled Legislature plans to meet May 21 for its last remaining day in session this year.“What about a company who re-purposes their facilities because they’re closed as nonessential but they have the equipment to manufacture masks?” said Eric Stafford, a Kansas Chamber of Commerce lobbyist. “Somebody who’s trying to do a good deed, should they be punished, for liability for failure to prevent someone from getting sick?”Groups pushing for quick legislative action said they fear businesses that reopened after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">lifted a statewide stay-at-home order</a>&nbsp;on May 4 will face lawsuits if customers or employees get sick, or that customers or employees will sue businesses that were deemed essential and remained open while others closed.Stafford said the chamber wants to ensure that businesses are protected if they followed health officials’ guidelines for operating safely.The debate also comes after President Donald Trump directed meatpacking plants to stay open despite the spread of the coronavirus among workers. Kansas has seen seven large outbreaks at such plants, accounting for nearly 1,300 confirmed cases, or 18% of the state’s total, with two COVID-19-related deaths.Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Rooks County in northwestern Kansas, said she thinks businesses should face legal liability if, for example, they won’t provide proper protective equipment for employees. But, she said, it could be “a bad precedent” to allow lawsuits when one customer of a business following health guidelines gets the virus from another customer.She also said in nursing homes, even with aggressive steps to contain the virus if there’s one case, “It’s going to be exceptionally difficult to prevent the spread of any cases.”Health care providers worry that they could face lawsuits if a patient’s health declined or a patient dies after providers delayed surgeries or other care because of concerns about spreading the virus.Chad Austin, the Kansas Hospital Association’s executive vice president, said the group wants to protect medical providers “who did what they were asked to do” by focusing on combating the coronavirus.“They were focused probably where they were instructed to be focused for sure, but you never know, there could be somebody forgoing care at that time who ended up having an issue,” added Cindy Samuelson, the association’s membership vice president.David Morantz, a Leawood attorney and the Kansas Trial Lawyers’ Association president, said medical providers already aren’t subject to paying damages for injuries if they can show they followed generally accepted standards of care. He said adhering to government recommendations or directives to cancel elective surgeries because of the pandemic would qualify.While Kelly has been open to proposals for protecting medical professionals, Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and key ally of the governor’s, said the issue is too big, too complex and too contentious for lawmakers to tackle before adjourning May 21.And labor unions have been quick to object to the proposals to prevent lawsuits, both in Kansas and nationally. The Working Kansas Alliance, a coalition of union groups, called it a “dangerous agenda” that would put workers at risk for “saving a buck on the corporate balance sheet.”Morantz said he fears that any new law could be “pushed beyond what anybody ever intended” to cover actions or cases not directly involving the coronavirus. He also said shielding businesses from lawsuits will give them an incentive not to be as safe and would make consumers wary.“If it’s safe reopen the economy, why is immunity needed?” Morantz said. “If immunity’s there, it’s going to make people scared and it’s going to delay rebooting the economy.”___

 🎥 Kan. lawmakers look to prevent lawsuits over coronavirus

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has notified the Riley County Health Department (RCHD) of one new positive COVID-19 case. The new patient is a 30 year-old woman who is associated with an outbreak in another county. She is recovering in isolation at her home.

Riley County’s total number of positives is now 59. Of that total, 12 cases are active, 46 people have recovered, and there has been 1 fatality.&nbsp;



The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has notified the Riley County Health Department (RCHD) of one new positive COVID-19 case. The new patient is a 30 year-old woman who is associated with an outbreak in another county. She is recovering in isolation at her home.Riley County’s total number of positives is now 59. Of that total, 12 cases are active, 46 people have recovered, and there has been 1 fatality.&nbsp;

Riley County positive COVID-19 cases now total 59

TOPEKA Kan. (AP) —&nbsp;A Kansas plant that makes sausage has shut down after five employees tested positive for the coronavirus amid continued problems at meatpacking plants in the state and across the country. 

The shutdown at the Johnsonville plant in Holton took effect Wednesday.

“It’s a tough decision to halt production, but we appreciate Johnsonville for doing this to help us stop the spread of COVID-19,” says Angie Reith, Jackson County Health Officer. “The Johnsonville team has implemented aggressive safety measures and did so early on to protect their workforce, and those efforts have helped immensely in identifying the virus in the facility as quickly as possible. We’ll continue our collaboration to minimize the spread of the virus.”

Johnsonville said all employees will continue to get paid, and downtime will be used to implement even more aggressive safety protocols before reopening. Some new safety protocols include placing additional barriers between workstations where social distancing is not possible.

Meanwhile, counties in southwest Kansas with plants continue to deal with outbreaks among employees. Ford, Seward and Finney counties together had more than 2,700 cases as of Monday, or 38% of the state’s total. They had the highest rates of cases per 1,000 residents in the state.

But some neighboring counties also are seeing higher-than-average rates of cases as well. Kearney County has 30 cases, for a rate of 7.61 for every 1,000 residents -- far above the state’s figure of 2.44.

Dr. Drew Miller, a family physician in Lakin, said the cases there are tied to the meatpacking industry.

“We’re seeing community spread, or household spread and community spread, from those that were initially affected in the meatpacking plants, and I guess that’s the part that concerns us more than the young, healthy workforce population,” Miller said in a Zoom interview. “They expose their parents or others living in their house that have other chronic illnesses to the virus.”

He expects to Kearny County to diverge with the state when it reaches the second phase of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">Kelly’s plan to reopen the economy</a>&nbsp;on May 18.

“It is an eerie thought, but as everybody else talks about reopening, it still feels like we’re looking COVID-19 straight in the eyes,” he said

Johns Hopkins University has reported 184 deaths and 7,200 cases in Kansas, although the actual number is thought to be higher in part because of the initial limits in testing.

For most people,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">the coronavirus</a>&nbsp;causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, or death.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589389305635.png" alt="Johnsonville Plant in Holton Google image" />
 <figcaption>Johnsonville Plant in Holton Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA Kan. (AP) —&nbsp;A Kansas plant that makes sausage has shut down after five employees tested positive for the coronavirus amid continued problems at meatpacking plants in the state and across the country. The shutdown at the Johnsonville plant in Holton took effect Wednesday.“It’s a tough decision to halt production, but we appreciate Johnsonville for doing this to help us stop the spread of COVID-19,” says Angie Reith, Jackson County Health Officer. “The Johnsonville team has implemented aggressive safety measures and did so early on to protect their workforce, and those efforts have helped immensely in identifying the virus in the facility as quickly as possible. We’ll continue our collaboration to minimize the spread of the virus.”Johnsonville said all employees will continue to get paid, and downtime will be used to implement even more aggressive safety protocols before reopening. Some new safety protocols include placing additional barriers between workstations where social distancing is not possible.Meanwhile, counties in southwest Kansas with plants continue to deal with outbreaks among employees. Ford, Seward and Finney counties together had more than 2,700 cases as of Monday, or 38% of the state’s total. They had the highest rates of cases per 1,000 residents in the state.But some neighboring counties also are seeing higher-than-average rates of cases as well. Kearney County has 30 cases, for a rate of 7.61 for every 1,000 residents -- far above the state’s figure of 2.44.Dr. Drew Miller, a family physician in Lakin, said the cases there are tied to the meatpacking industry.“We’re seeing community spread, or household spread and community spread, from those that were initially affected in the meatpacking plants, and I guess that’s the part that concerns us more than the young, healthy workforce population,” Miller said in a Zoom interview. “They expose their parents or others living in their house that have other chronic illnesses to the virus.”He expects to Kearny County to diverge with the state when it reaches the second phase of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">Kelly’s plan to reopen the economy</a>&nbsp;on May 18.“It is an eerie thought, but as everybody else talks about reopening, it still feels like we’re looking COVID-19 straight in the eyes,” he saidJohns Hopkins University has reported 184 deaths and 7,200 cases in Kansas, although the actual number is thought to be higher in part because of the initial limits in testing.For most people,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">the coronavirus</a>&nbsp;causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, or death.

Kansas sausage making plant shuts down amid COVID-19 cases

Fort Riley will host a Virtual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25 from 11:30 a.m. until 12 p.m.&nbsp; Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the fallen warriors who their lives in defense of the nation. The military said the ceremony will be streamed live from the Fort Riley Cemetery.

Fort Riley confirmed this virtual ceremony will replace the traditional in-person ceremony this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589382326529.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Fort Riley will host a Virtual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25 from 11:30 a.m. until 12 p.m.&nbsp; Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the fallen warriors who their lives in defense of the nation. The military said the ceremony will be streamed live from the Fort Riley Cemetery.Fort Riley confirmed this virtual ceremony will replace the traditional in-person ceremony this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fort Riley plans Virtual Memorial Day ceremony

LONG BEACH, CA. —The&nbsp;<a href="http://calstate.edu/">California State University</a>, the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 53,000 faculty and staff and 482,000 students announced Tuesday will continue with online classes this fall.

According to a media release, Chancellor Tim White said,&nbsp;“This approach to virtual planning is necessary for many reasons. First and foremost is the health, safety and welfare of our students, faculty and staff, and the evolving data surrounding the progression of COVID-19 – current and as forecast throughout the 2020-21 academic year. 

This planning approach is necessary because a course that might begin in a face-to-face modality would likely have to be switched to a virtual format during the term if a serious second wave of the pandemic occurs, as forecast. Virtual planning is necessary because it might not be possible for some students, faculty and staff to safely travel to campus.&nbsp;

Said another way, this virtual planning approach preserves as many options for as many students as possible.

Consequently, our planning approach will result in CSU courses primarily being delivered virtually for the fall 2020 term, with limited exceptions for in-person teaching, learning and research activities that cannot be delivered virtually, are indispensable to the university's core mission and can be conducted within rigorous standards of safety and welfare. There will be hybrid approaches and there will be variability across the 23 campuses due to specific context and circumstances.

Some possible examples of potential exceptions&nbsp; - and only when there are sufficient resources available and protocols in place to assure that rigorous health and safety requirements are in place - include clinical classes with training mannequins for our nursing students such that we keep students on track for licensure and entry into the state's healthcare workforce; essential physical and life science laboratory classes enabling degree completion and entry into the energy and bioscience fields; access to kilns and other unique facilities to enable students in the performing and creative arts to explore and express the depth, breadth and beauty of humanity; hands-on experience with unique instrumentation and senior capstone projects for engineering, architecture and agriculture students; and access to the blue-water hands-on interactive simulator for boat and ship handling, to provide students with knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for the maritime industry and required for licensure by the US Coast Guard and UN International Maritime Organization.

The granting of limited exceptions to permit in-person activities will continue to be informed by thoughtful consultation with academic senates, associated students, staff councils and union leadership, and will be based on compelling educational and research needs, while continuing to meet safety benchmarks. Any exceptions may be permitted only in the continued presence of the aforementioned rigorous safety measures and training, and only in consideration of resource availability and other matters of local context, and be in accordance with the guidance of local and state public health agencies, the repopulation directives of governmental authorities along with other relevant regulatory agencies.

This combination, really a myriad of factors, will result in variability across the 23 campuses due to specific context and circumstances, but predominately there will be limited in-person experiential learning and research occurring on campuses for the fall 2020 term. On some campuses and in some academic disciplines course offerings are likely to be exclusively virtual."

​​​​​​<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1585958389195.jpeg" alt="Classes will continue online for all 23 campuses in the California State University system this fall." />
 <figcaption>Classes will continue online for all 23 campuses in the California State University system this fall.</figcaption>
 </figure>LONG BEACH, CA. —The&nbsp;<a href="http://calstate.edu/">California State University</a>, the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 53,000 faculty and staff and 482,000 students announced Tuesday will continue with online classes this fall.According to a media release, Chancellor Tim White said,&nbsp;“This approach to virtual planning is necessary for many reasons. First and foremost is the health, safety and welfare of our students, faculty and staff, and the evolving data surrounding the progression of COVID-19 – current and as forecast throughout the 2020-21 academic year. This planning approach is necessary because a course that might begin in a face-to-face modality would likely have to be switched to a virtual format during the term if a serious second wave of the pandemic occurs, as forecast. Virtual planning is necessary because it might not be possible for some students, faculty and staff to safely travel to campus.&nbsp;Said another way, this virtual planning approach preserves as many options for as many students as possible.Consequently, our planning approach will result in CSU courses primarily being delivered virtually for the fall 2020 term, with limited exceptions for in-person teaching, learning and research activities that cannot be delivered virtually, are indispensable to the university's core mission and can be conducted within rigorous standards of safety and welfare. There will be hybrid approaches and there will be variability across the 23 campuses due to specific context and circumstances.Some possible examples of potential exceptions&nbsp; - and only when there are sufficient resources available and protocols in place to assure that rigorous health and safety requirements are in place - include clinical classes with training mannequins for our nursing students such that we keep students on track for licensure and entry into the state's healthcare workforce; essential physical and life science laboratory classes enabling degree completion and entry into the energy and bioscience fields; access to kilns and other unique facilities to enable students in the performing and creative arts to explore and express the depth, breadth and beauty of humanity; hands-on experience with unique instrumentation and senior capstone projects for engineering, architecture and agriculture students; and access to the blue-water hands-on interactive simulator for boat and ship handling, to provide students with knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for the maritime industry and required for licensure by the US Coast Guard and UN International Maritime Organization.The granting of limited exceptions to permit in-person activities will continue to be informed by thoughtful consultation with academic senates, associated students, staff councils and union leadership, and will be based on compelling educational and research needs, while continuing to meet safety benchmarks. Any exceptions may be permitted only in the continued presence of the aforementioned rigorous safety measures and training, and only in consideration of resource availability and other matters of local context, and be in accordance with the guidance of local and state public health agencies, the repopulation directives of governmental authorities along with other relevant regulatory agencies.This combination, really a myriad of factors, will result in variability across the 23 campuses due to specific context and circumstances, but predominately there will be limited in-person experiential learning and research occurring on campuses for the fall 2020 term. On some campuses and in some academic disciplines course offerings are likely to be exclusively virtual."

Virus will keep nation's largest public university system closed this fall

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned bluntly Tuesday of “really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly, even as President Donald Trump pushes them to act to right a free-falling economy.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;a replay&nbsp;the Senate hearing.

Fauci’s testimony before a Senate committee that included Kansas Senator Pat Roberts came as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns as a first step toward economic recovery.

Underscoring the seriousness of the pandemic that has reached Congress and the White House, Fauci and other experts testified by video from their homes. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chaired the hearing by video from the study in his cabin in Tennessee, though several members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee did attend at the Capitol.

Fauci and other health officials stressed that pandemic danger persists, even as testing increases and work toward a vaccine and treatments continues.

More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound is, Fauci told the senators.

“There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear,” Fauci said.

And if there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he said. “The consequences could be really serious.”

In fact, he said opening too soon “could turn the clock back,” and that not only would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”

Fauci was among the health experts testifying Tuesday to the Senate panel, as Trump has been praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus’s spread.

Committee chairman Alexander said as the hearing opened that “what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.”

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 287,000 — more than 80,000 in U.S. alone. Asked if the U.S. mortality count was correct, Fauci said, “the number is likely higher. I don’t know exactly what percent higher but almost certainly it’s higher.”

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, testified via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been anxious to reopen states for business.

<a href="https://apnews.com/4aca168a247602a2573ba94347045b30">A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark&nbsp;</a>for loosening restrictions — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.

Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — both in self-quarantine—and Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus “testing czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The event Tuesday got underway in the committee’s storied hearing room, but that’s about all that remained of the pre-pandemic way of conducting oversight. The senators running the event, Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, were heads on video screens, with an array of personal items in the background as they isolated back home.

A few senators, such as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, personally attended the session in the hearing room. They wore masks, as did an array of aides buzzing behind them.

The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump did not control the agenda.

Eyeing the November elections, the president has been urging on protesters who oppose their state governors’ stay-at-home orders, while expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.

The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are “driving blind” into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems — South Korea, Germany and China — have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.

U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.

WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations — which he did not name — have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.

“Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.”

Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon, "the consequences could be really serious.”

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.

Fauci is among the experts testifying to a Senate panel as its hearing opened on Tuesday. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring states to reopen after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus’ spread. 

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump wants to restart the economy.  Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000. Some countries that have relaxed lock-down rules have seen new outbreaks.

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19.

“We have many candidates and hope to have many winners,” he told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. “In other words, it is many shots on goal.”

Despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees. He says, “The big unknown is efficacy.”

Fauci heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the government’s leading expert on the pandemic. He says he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.

WASHINGTON — The government’s leading infectious disease expert says he intends to warn the nation Tuesday that “needless suffering and death” will result from a rushed reopening of the economy.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a> the Senate hearing that begins 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee at a hearing assessing reopening plans.

In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his major message will concern the danger of trying to open the country.

“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci wrote. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”

This puts Fauci at odds with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged governors to lift business closings and stay-at-home orders.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589293349894.png" alt="First ever U.S. Senate hearing with witnesses and chairman appearing via video conference. Those in attendance practice social distancing on Tuesday moring. The public is not in attendance at the hearing-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>First ever U.S. Senate hearing with witnesses and chairman appearing via video conference. Those in attendance practice social distancing on Tuesday moring. The public is not in attendance at the hearing-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned bluntly Tuesday of “really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly, even as President Donald Trump pushes them to act to right a free-falling economy.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;a replay&nbsp;the Senate hearing.Fauci’s testimony before a Senate committee that included Kansas Senator Pat Roberts came as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns as a first step toward economic recovery.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589299908069.png" alt="Kansas Senator Pat Roberts wore gloves and&nbsp; participated in Tuesday's first ever Senate hearing via video conference. Roberts referred to the dramatic number of virus patients identified in his hometown of Dodge City. -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Senator Pat Roberts wore gloves and&nbsp; participated in Tuesday's first ever Senate hearing via video conference. Roberts referred to the dramatic number of virus patients identified in his hometown of Dodge City. -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Underscoring the seriousness of the pandemic that has reached Congress and the White House, Fauci and other experts testified by video from their homes. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chaired the hearing by video from the study in his cabin in Tennessee, though several members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee did attend at the Capitol.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589296928199.png" alt="Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday's video conference before the U.S. Senate committee" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday's video conference before the U.S. Senate committee</figcaption>
 </figure>Fauci and other health officials stressed that pandemic danger persists, even as testing increases and work toward a vaccine and treatments continues.More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound is, Fauci told the senators.“There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear,” Fauci said.And if there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he said. “The consequences could be really serious.”In fact, he said opening too soon “could turn the clock back,” and that not only would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”Fauci was among the health experts testifying Tuesday to the Senate panel, as Trump has been praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus’s spread.Committee chairman Alexander said as the hearing opened that “what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589293586428.png" alt="Missouri Senator Roy Blunt watched the opening of the hearing Tuesday morning-image CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Senator Roy Blunt watched the opening of the hearing Tuesday morning-image CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 287,000 — more than 80,000 in U.S. alone. Asked if the U.S. mortality count was correct, Fauci said, “the number is likely higher. I don’t know exactly what percent higher but almost certainly it’s higher.”Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, testified via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been anxious to reopen states for business.<a href="https://apnews.com/4aca168a247602a2573ba94347045b30">A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark&nbsp;</a>for loosening restrictions — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — both in self-quarantine—and Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus “testing czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.The event Tuesday got underway in the committee’s storied hearing room, but that’s about all that remained of the pre-pandemic way of conducting oversight. The senators running the event, Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, were heads on video screens, with an array of personal items in the background as they isolated back home.A few senators, such as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, personally attended the session in the hearing room. They wore masks, as did an array of aides buzzing behind them.The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump did not control the agenda.Eyeing the November elections, the president has been urging on protesters who oppose their state governors’ stay-at-home orders, while expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are “driving blind” into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems — South Korea, Germany and China — have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations — which he did not name — have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.“Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.”Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work.-----------WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon, "the consequences could be really serious.”<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.Fauci is among the experts testifying to a Senate panel as its hearing opened on Tuesday. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring states to reopen after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus’ spread. With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump wants to restart the economy. Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000. Some countries that have relaxed lock-down rules have seen new outbreaks.-----------WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589292074301.png" alt="Members of the U.S. Senate gather ahead of Tuesday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Members of the U.S. Senate gather ahead of Tuesday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>“We have many candidates and hope to have many winners,” he told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. “In other words, it is many shots on goal.”Despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees. He says, “The big unknown is efficacy.”Fauci heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the government’s leading expert on the pandemic. He says he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.___WASHINGTON — The government’s leading infectious disease expert says he intends to warn the nation Tuesday that “needless suffering and death” will result from a rushed reopening of the economy.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a> the Senate hearing that begins 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee at a hearing assessing reopening plans.In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his major message will concern the danger of trying to open the country.“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci wrote. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”This puts Fauci at odds with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged governors to lift business closings and stay-at-home orders.___

Coronavirus Update