Previous coronavirus daily briefing updates, May 6-9

This coronavirus daily briefing is no longer being updated. For the latest live updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

The coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a halt in the early part of 2020. After emerging in China's Hubei province in late 2019, the number of cases skyrocketed and infected more than 3.5 million worldwide over a four-month span with the epicenter shifting from Asia to Europe and, as of late March, the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak a pandemic on March 11. The virus, called SARS-CoV-2, causes a disease known as COVID-19, and as the number of cases escalated, government officials took drastic measures to slow the spread, ordering various forms of travel restrictions including total lockdowns in some places.

As residents stayed shuttered indoors, major metropolitan areas from Los Angeles to New York City to Paris and Rome have transformed into ghost towns. Infectious disease experts have stressed there is much to be learned about the virus, including whether there will be a seasonal correlation to a rise or decline in confirmed infections or how weather and UV radiation can impact the spread.

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The U.S. government will spend $3 billion buying dairy, meat and produce from farmers, ranchers and specialty crop growers. The announcement was made on Saturday by President Donald Trump, who said the program will begin next week. The purchased food will go toward food lines and kitchens, Trump said.

After being exposed to a person in the White House who tested positive for COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield announced he will be working from home for the next two weeks. The CDC told The Washington Post his exposure to the person who tested positive was "low-risk." One day prior, the Director for the Food and Drug Administration Stephen Hahn began self-isolating for two weeks after he was also exposed to someone who tested positive.

Rhode Island lifted its statewide stay-at-home order on Saturday, making it the first state in the Northeast to lift a statewide COVID-19 restriction, according to CNN. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo posted on Twitter a reminder to residents to be cautious of large gatherings, especially on Mother's Day. "I know it's hard to be apart from our loved ones, but I encourage everyone to find other ways to celebrate our moms this year," she said. On Friday, an executive order went into effect in the state that every person must wear a face covering while in a public space, regardless if it is indoors or outdoors.

Global confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 4 million on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On April 2, the global count reached 1 million, but as testing increased worldwide the number of cases grew rapidly each day. By April 15, there were over 2 million confirmed cases with the 3 million mark being surpassed less than two weeks later on April 28. The U.S. has the most confirmed cases of the virus with 1.3 million, making it the only country so far to surpass 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to an antigen test, which can be used to detect COVID-19. The emergency use was granted by the FDA on Saturday, NPR reported. According to a statement from the organization, the test is done in a nasal swabbing format and searches for proteins that are associated with COVID-19. The results can be ready in just minutes. The test has only been approved for Quidel in Las Vegas, but the FDA said the tests could "potentially scale to test millions of Americans per day" once more widespread.

Wilhelmenia Brown, a resident of senior housing, is tested for COVID-19 in Paterson, N.J., Friday, May 8, 2020. The Paterson Housing Authority spent the week making testing available in all of their senior housing buildings with the aim of stopping the spread of the virus amongst their residents. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New coronavirus cases in a day in New York dropped to 572, making it the lowest number since March 20. The news come just after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he feels like the state is "finally ahead" of the virus, Forbes reported. "We have the beast on the run, there's no doubt about that," Cuomo said. "We haven't killed the beast, but we're ahead of it."

Dairy farms in Blair County, Pennsylvania, will be giving away 4,800 gallons of milk on Saturday. Because of schools and restaurants being closed, dairy farms have an excess amount of milk. 1,000 gallons will be given away to local food pantries, and the rest will be handed out in the parking lot of DelGrosso's Park in Tipton. "Dairy farmers of America, those co-op members are picking up the cost of this milk by a reduction in their pay," Regional Director of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Joseph Diamond said. "And again, as producers, they don't want to see milk get dumped out, they want consumers to have access to this milk." According to WJAC, the farmers are taking a pay cut in order to make the donations possible.

Social distancing has disrupted birthdays, weddings, graduations and more, but one school is planning to work around the restrictions to honor their graduating class while maintaining a safe distance. Hanover Area Schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania will host a commencement ceremony in a local drive-in movie theater, AccuWeather's Maria Antonieta Valery Gill reported. Students will be able to decorate their cars and participate in a parade of vehicles with their families. The local fire and police department are on board with the unique commencement ceremony, and will block off the roads between the school and the drive-in theater. Superintendent Nathan Barrett said the ceremony will be "a massive event that would probably be more memorable and bigger and larger than life, than if it were a normal, traditional ceremony."

Airlines report that passengers arriving in the U.K. from any country apart from the Republic of Ireland are set to face a two-week quarantine period. U.K. visitors will have to fill in a digital form and declare an address where they will then be expected to self-isolate for 14 days, Government and aviation sources told BBC News. "We have written to government asking for clarification and outlining the serious effect this would have not only on our business but also, and more importantly, on the economy of Northern Ireland," a spokeswoman for Belfast International Airport said.

Some beachgoers in Spain will have to book a spot on the sand at the beach this summer. Canet d'en Berenguer, a Mediterranean town located just north of Valencia, will only allow 5,000 daily sunbathers on its local beach, around half the usual number, in order to maintain social distancing. Sunbathers can reserve any available area, much like selecting seats online at a movie theater, and arrival times will be staggered to avoid crowds, according to the mayor. Beachgoers will be allowed to book a sunbathing session for either the morning or afternoon, but not all day. "This summer will be very different," Pere Joan Antoni Chordá, the town's mayor, told CNN. "There'll be more space between your neighbor. Like a 'business-class' beach."

A man wearing a face mask rests on a beach in Badalona, near Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The 100th anniversary Miss America pageant that was originally scheduled for December is now delayed until next year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the organization announced. The Miss America Board of Directors has unanimously voted in favor of postponing the Miss America 2021 Competition for the safety, health and welfare of the Miss America community and has advised the 51 qualifying competitions across the country to do so as well. "As we all know, this moment in our history is one that will change the course of many programs, businesses, and institutions, and the Miss America Organization is not alone in navigating these challenges," Board Chair Shantel Krebs said. "At this time, as an organization, our greatest concern is to make sure the thousands of people who are involved in or volunteer for our program are safe. This coming year will be our 100th anniversary for this iconic American institution, and we want to make sure that we take the time to ensure our annual broadcast and the surrounding experiences reflect our time-honored tradition."

Families looking for a new activity to try out while social distancing can step into their backyards and take up stargazing. You don't need any special equipment like a telescope to enjoy the night sky, the only thing you need is cloud-free weather. Be sure to dedicate at least 30 minutes to allow your eyes adjust to the dark. This means that you should try to focus on dark areas of the sky and avoid looking at light sources such as street lights and cell phones. Here are some tips for people planning to stargaze for the first time.

Here are the latest updated totals from around the world, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University:

• Total confirmed cases: 3,954,897

• Total deaths: 275,179

• Total recovered: 1,331,733

Seattle will close 20 miles of streets permanently to turn them into bike and walking paths. The paths, which have been referred to as "Stay Healthy Streets," were originally created as a way to create outdoor space for residents amid COVID-19 social distancing, but Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Thursday that the Stay Healthy Streets will remain even after stay at home orders end.

"Safe and Healthy Streets are an important tool for families in our neighborhoods to get outside, get some exercise and enjoy the nice weather," Durkan said in a news release. "Over the long term, these streets will become treasured assets in our neighborhoods." The streets were chosen due to limited outdoor space in the surrounding areas, low car ownership numbers and their connection to essential services, CNN reported. Delivery drivers, first responders, sanitation crews and residents will still be allowed vehicular access to the roads.

The NBA will be expanding their testing capabilities to allow asymptomatic players and staff members to be tested for COVID-19. The testing expansion comes as some NBA teams are reopening their facilities to allow for optional workouts, according to ESPN. "We have been assured we are not taking any [antiviral or coronavirus] tests from health care workers, first responders or anyone, whether they are experiencing symptoms or asymptomatic," a spokesperson for the Orlando Magic said. "As we have been told, the general public in our community can go to numerous locations to receive a coronavirus test."

Hong Kong International Airport tests a full-body booth that can disinfect a person in 40 seconds. With air travel dramatically disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, air carriers and airports are looking for ways to making flying safer for passengers and airline workers. The Hong Kong International Airport recently began testing a product known as CleanTech, which is "a full-body smart disinfection channel facility" that also applies "an antimicrobial coating application." The disinfecting procedure takes all of 40 seconds, the airport said in a statement, and is able to remove viruses from the skin and clothes. The airport released video of the booth in action, which so far is only being used to disinfect employees who come in close contact with passengers. Watch it in action here.

Despite social distancing regulations, NFL ticket sales are in high demand. In the first 12 hours, this year's ticket sales are up over 234% from last year, CNBC reported. Communications official for SeatGeek, Chris Leyden, said the company is surprised by the large demand so early, considering the current climate surrounding COVID-19. According to SeatGeek, the Las Vegas Raiders, who recently moved from Oakland, are the team experiencing the highest demand, as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who acquired superstar quarterback Tom Brady. While ticket sales are up, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is "prepared to make adjustments as necessary" in the event that COVID-19 causes delays or interferes with the season.

Some local authorities in Germany are reimposing lockdown orders amid an uptick in cases and some smaller outbreaks. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel began slowly lifting some stay-at-home measures, and said that the "first phase of the pandemic" was over. Germany reported a rise in daily cases on May 6, 7 and 8 after bottoming out with just 488 new cases on May 5, according to a Bloomberg tally of stats kept by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The overall numbers over the last three days are well below what Germany was reporting each day a month ago at its peak. The 1,300 new cases reported on May 8 is a far cry from the nearly 7,000 cases reported on April 3. As of Friday, Germany counted just shy of 170,000 cases and nearly 7,500 fatalities.

Still, new hotspots are flaring up, thanks in part to an outbreak at a slaughterhouse in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country's most populous state. Some 150 of the 1,200 employees at the slaughterhouse have tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak has prompted local leaders to roll back the start of the eased lockdown restrictions. According to AFP, the reopening of paces like restaurants, gyms, tourist attractions and retail stores, which was set to take place on May 11, will be postponed. Schools and daycare centers will reopen as scheduled. Weather in the North Rhine-Westphalia region has been pleasant lately, but after a chance of showers on Sunday, temperatures will drop dramatically, according to the AccuWeather forecast.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country had made it through the first phase of the pandemic on Wednesday, but as the country has slowly tried to reopen, it has reported a small uptick in new cases, prompting some local leaders to maintain the lockdown measures. (Kay Nietfeld/pool via AP)

Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, has tested positive for COVID-19. Miller frequently travels with Pence's team and attends meetings with him, but she has not been in direct contact with Trump or Pence recently, Politico reported. This comes just one day after it was reported that one of President Trump's personal valets tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, Trump said that both he and Pence would be tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis, a step up from the weekly tests that were being conducted.

COVID-19 has spread rapidly throughout the U.S. in the past months, but one U.S. territory has reportedly managed to remain completely free of the virus. American Samoa, a group of Polynesian islands, is the only U.S. territory to have not reported a single case of the virus, The New York Times reported. Once the virus was detected, officials in the territory worked urgently to stop all incoming flights to the islands, increase capacity for testing and continue social distancing measures already put in place due to a recent measles outbreak.

While the rest of the country stays at home and closes down businesses, those in American Samoa have been able to carry on living with fewer restrictions in place. "Life in our bubble is somewhat unique compared to the rest of the world," Bishop Peter Brown told The New York Times, explaining that besides closures of churches and schools and a scarcity of supplies due to shipping restrictions, "life is pretty normal."

NASCAR has provided an update to the Cup Series schedule for the 2020 season beyond May. "Due to the current pandemic, NASCAR has faced several difficult decisions, including realigning race dates from several race tracks," the NASCAR statement read. The races scheduled this year at Chicagoland Speedway and Sonoma Raceway will be moved to Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. This spring's planned race at Richmond Raceway is also being moved, but the race being held at the track in September is still on the schedule.

"We will miss the roar of the engines at Chicagoland Speedway this season, but we will be rooting for and supporting our NASCAR colleagues at Darlington Raceway as competition returns on Sunday, May 17," Chicagoland Speedway president Scott Paddock said. "We work all year for this event, so this is a huge disappointment for us, for our fans and our sponsors, but we realize it's part of a larger challenge facing our nation and everyone in the live events business," Sonoma Raceway president and general manager Steve Page said. Ticket holders will be eligible for a full refund of a 120% credit toward a future event at the tracks.

Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, has tested positive for COVID-19. Miller frequently travels with Pence's team and attends meetings with him, but she has not been in direct contact with Trump or Pence recently, Politico reported. This comes just one day after it was reported that one of President Trump's personal valets tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, Trump said that both he and Pence would be tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis, a step up from the weekly tests that were being conducted.

Some Facebook and Google employees will be allowed to keep working from home through the rest of the year, according to the BBC. The companies are also going to be opening up their offices in the coming weeks to allow those who need to work from the office to return, but are still allowing some to work from home to maintain some flexibility. Google employees that do return to the office will find enhanced safety measures in place, CEO Sundar Pichai said, according to the BBC. A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC that the company is still determining which employees will be asked to return to the office.

A child from New York has died of an unknown inflammatory disease that is believed to be caused by COVID-19. Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said it is still being assessed if the child had any underlying conditions, according to WABC. New York Hospitals have reported potential cases of the condition in children, known as Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome. A health advisory has been put into place to inform healthcare providers of the condition and to provide guidance for tests and reports on the condition. The possible connection between the condition and coronavirus has also been reported in other countries such as the United Kingdom.

Shanghai Disneyland is set to reopen on Monday, and people are eagerly awaiting to return to the park after it was forced to close on Jan. 25, 2020 due to the coronavirus. Ticket sales for the opening day began on Friday and sold out within three minutes, according to Reuters.

"During this initial reopening phase, the park will institute new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and required advanced ticketing and reservations, accommodating social distancing in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of sanitation and disinfection," Shanghai Disneyland said in a press release. Guests will also need to have their temperature checked before admission and will be required to wear a mask during their time in the park.

Pennsylvania has started to relax orders in rural counties but for parts of the state that are seeing the worst of the virus, stay at home orders are being extended. Gov. Tom Wolf has announced that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will remain under stay-at-home orders until at least June 4, along with all other counties still in red. Pennsylvania introduced a color system where red means stay-at-home ordered, yellow means restrictions lighten and gatherings of up to 25 are permitted, and green means clear. Currently, 24 counties moved into a yellow stage while the rest remain in a red stage. No counties are currently in a green stage.

The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that 20.5 million jobs were lost in April and the unemployment rate in the country rose to 14.7 percent. That is the highest percentage since the days of the Great Depression. All major industries were affected, but the leisure and hospitality industry suffered particularly heavy losses.

"The number of unemployed persons rose by 15.9 million to 23.1 million in April. The sharp increases in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it.," the labor department's report stated. According to CNBC, the highest unemployment rate during the Great Depression was 24.9% while the highest during the financial crisis was 10% during 2009.

The federal tax deadline may be extended again as the White House continues to consider ways to boost the economy and grant struggling Americans economic relief. In March, officials shifted the the deadline from April 15 to July 15. However, NBC News is now reporting that the deadline could be pushed back to Sept. 15 or even into December. The White House is also reportedly considering a proposal on if the president can take executive action to protect businesses from a lawsuit if an employee contracts the virus during work. These measures continue to be discussed as unemployment continues to reach staggering heights with the latest report from the Department of Labor showing an unemployment rate near over 14%.

A new study from Trinity College Dublin drew a link between vitamin D deficiency and severity of COVID-19 impacts, suggesting implications such as mortality rate may simply depend on a country's latitude. According to the study's findings, countries that lie above 35 degrees North have comparatively higher mortality rates than countries below that line, which also happens to be the latitude above which people do not receive sufficient sunlight to retain adequate vitamin D levels during the winter, Dr. Eamon Laird told AccuWeather.

Employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are now required to wear masks at screening checkpoints at airports across the country. This policy will be rolled out in the coming days to help protect workers and to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. More than 500 TSA screeners have tested positive for COVID-19, Bloomberg reported. "TSA is making this change to protect our employees and travelers as social distancing cannot always be maintained in the screening process." said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. While masks are not required for passengers, the TSA is urging people to wear them while traveling. Those that do elect to wear a mask will have to temporarily remove it so that TSA officers can confirm the person's identity.

Some airlines are also stepping up to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Starting on June 1, all people flying on Frontier Airlines will have their temperature checked before boarding the plane, USA Today said. "This new step during the boarding process, coupled with face coverings and elevated disinfection procedures, will serve to provide Frontier customers an assurance that their wellbeing is our foremost priority and we are taking every measure to help them travel comfortably and safely," Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said in a statement late Thursday. The temperature checks will be conducted with touchless thermometers, and if the reading is higher than 100.4 F, the person will not be allowed to board the flight.

The 75th anniversary of VE Day in Europe was a quiet one throughout the continent due to the current lockdown restrictions in place due to the pandemic. The Associated Press reported that street parties were banned in Britain, while Russian President Vladimir Putin had to cancel a planned celebratory parade for Saturday in Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron laid a wreath at the Arc de Triomphe with a barren Champs-Elysees Avenue in the background. "The flame of the Unknown Soldier is still burning for the heroes who brought us Peace. 75 years later, women and men are fighting to live this Peace. For them, raise our colors high," Macron wrote on Twitter.

VE Day marks the unconditional surrender of the Germany army to the Allied forces, and as AccuWeather's John Roach reports, weather forecasting had a significant impact on the outcome of the war.

The empty Champs Elysee avenue is pictured before VE Day ceremonies Friday May 8, 2020 in Paris. The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe should be all about parades, remembrances, and one last great hurrah for veteran soldiers who are mostly in their nineties. Instead, it is a time of coronavirus lockdown and loneliness spent in search of memories both bitter and sweet. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool)

A restaurant in the Netherlands has found a way to incorporate strict social distancing practices but still welcome guests. Mediamatic ETEN, a vegan restaurant located in Amsterdam, will seat diners in their own mini greenhouses so they can remain quarantined from other parties, according to the NL Times. The greenhouses are said to seat about two to three guests at most, and the initiative is still in the experimental phase. "This was one of the most feasible ideas from a large list of ideas we had when brainstorming," Mediamatic's founding partner Willem Velthoven told the NL Times. Velthoven added that the public reception has been positive. A look at their website shows all reservations sold out for the immediate future.

Velthoven said they have bigger greenhouses and could welcome larger groups in the future, but decided against it for the time being. "For now, bigger groups are being discouraged because, from our experience, they are just louder and then you get the excited behavior causing spittle to fly and so on, and that's the kind of behavior that would make the virus spread faster, he said. Click here to watch a video that takes you inside the restaurant.

Staff at the Mediamatic restaurant serve food to volunteers seated in small glasshouses during a try-out of a setup which respects social distancing abiding by government directives to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Here are the latest updated totals from around the world, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University:

• Total confirmed cases: 3,861,697

• Total deaths: 269,867

• Total recovered: 1,290,364

In an effort to keep parks from growing overcrowded as warm weather beckons people outside, New York City may limited entry to some parks,The New York Times reported. "We can't let that happen and we have to limit the number of people going in," Mayor Bill de Blasio said, though noting that any efforts to limit people in the parks would require "experimentation." De Blasio didn't name any parks he would try to limit access to.

Ford has begun to shipping "urgently needed powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), the company announced Wednesday. The automotive manufacturer has been collaborating with 3M, one of the leading providers of personal protective equipment, since late March to create the PAPRs. The two companies have moved swiftly, working to develop the new PAPRs from "idea to product in fewer than 40 days."

"Ford could not stand by while health care workers in this country placed their lives on the line to help others without even having proper protection," said Jim Baumbick, vice president, Ford Enterprise Product Line Management. "That's why we kicked off an all-out sprint to protect those who are so selflessly helping patients afflicted with this terrible virus." Ford has separately been working to create reusable medical gowns, and the company said it will soon send 500,000 to the state of New Jersey. It has already shipped more than 400,000 to medical workers across the U.S.

New research indicates that a series of COVID-19 outbreaks across the U.S. stemmed from travel out of New York City. Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and parts of the West Coast experienced outbreaks that came from New York prior to social distancing and stay at home orders were put in place, The New York Times reported. The research tracked travel history of infected people, mutations of the virus and models created by infectious disease experts.

People walk in Maxwell Place Park in view of midtown Manhattan, background, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Hoboken, N.J., during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

"We now have enough data to feel pretty confident that New York was the primary gateway for the rest of the country," Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said. Findings of the research also shows that Seattle could have been the epicenter of over a dozen states' outbreaks as well.

COVID-19 antibody tests should only be taken with caution, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The organizations issued a joint statement warning against using the tests, which are referred to as serologic tests, as evidence of immunity to the virus, as it has not yet been determined if a person can contract the virus more than once, CNN reported. "Until more evidence about protective immunity is available, serologic test results should not be used to make staffing decisions (return to work), decisions regarding the need for personal protective equipment or need to discontinue social distancing measures," a statement from the organizations read.

Restrictions in France are beginning to ease up, but Paris and the surrounding areas will still remain in lockdown, according to The BBC. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the country will be split in two based on the infection rate in terms of easing lockdown restrictions. The northeastern region of the country, which includes the capitol, will remain locked down as the remainder of the country begins to open up, beginning Monday. In both sections of the country, some businesses and primary schools will be allowed to reopen, but in June restaurants and secondary schools will be allowed to open in the "green zone," which does not include the northeastern part of the state. "It's good news for France and for the French people," Philippe said.

Professional baseball may be on hold in the U.S., but one team has gone to work to thank healthcare workers. The grounds crew at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox, mowed the outfield in a special way to pay thanks to nurses, doctors and all those stepping up to the plate to do what they can to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tribute is so large that helicopters and planes can see it when flying over the stadium.

Columbia University Irving Medical Center has conducted a large study on the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to help determine how effective it is at treating people who have COVID-19. "A study of nearly 1,400 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease at a single New York hospital found that patients who received the drug fared no better than patients who did not receive the drug," the university said on Thursday. This is the first study of hydroxychloroquine that has included more than 100 patients. "Given the observational design of the study, our results cannot completely exclude the possibility of either modest benefit or harm of hydroxychloroquine treatment, but the findings do not support its use outside of randomized clinical trials," says Neil Schluger, MD, chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

One of President Donald Trump's personal valets, who is also a member of the U.S. Navy, has tested positive for COVID-19. "The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said. The unnamed valet began to exhibit symptoms on Wednesday morning, and later that day Trump received word that the valet had tested positive. CNN reported that Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the senior staffers who are in close contact with the two are tested weekly for the virus.

Hawaii is cracking down on tourists violating their quarantine orders. There have been at least 20 people arrested in Hawaii for breaking quarantine, and many more who have received citations, The Associated Press reported. "The people that are coming don't care about us. They're coming to Hawaii on the cheap and they obviously could care less whether they get the virus or not," Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine said. "So they obviously could care less about that mom and dad who have no job and no food."

Despite the state's economy largely relying on tourism, their quarantine regulations are stricter than any other state. Tourists are not allowed to leave their hotel rooms for anything other than a medical emergency, including grocery shopping or outdoor activities, for 14 days, according to Forbes. Violators of the emergency regulations risk a $5,000 fine or up to a year in jail."We're just not going to demonstrate that spirit of aloha that you've heard so much about,"Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, said. "So to me, it's just crazy for someone to still want to come here."

Three members of the Kaua'i Police Department pose for a photo while wearing face masks on Monday, April, 20, 2020. (Photo/Kaua'i Police Department)

As non-essential businesses prepare to reopen, retailers will be implementing new changes to keep their employees and customers safe, Business Insider reported. Nordstrom, Best Buy, Macy's and Gap are among the retailers making some changes, including:

• Limiting the number of customers in stores

• Closing fitting rooms temporarily, if applicable

• Holding items returned for 24 hours

• Adding plexiglass guards at the registers

• Implementing new cleaning routines

If you've found yourself often wondering what day of the week it is during the pandemic, you're not alone. Viewership data compiled by Comcast indicates that the days of the week are blurring together. The COVID-19 pandemic is altering TV habits across the country, the company reports. "We are seeing new behaviors we haven't seen before, e.g., shifts in daily viewing patterns, changes in when programming is being watched, and ways content is being accessed," the cable provider said. Since early March, the company reports viewership per household has surged from 57 hours a week to 66 hours. The cable behemoth revealed several other trends that have emerged in the stay-at-home era:

• More viewers are tuning into their news channels, with a 64% increase in consumption of news programming.

• There has been a 6% drop in viewing during the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., a sign some are sleeping in longer.

• There isn't as much lighthearted fare being watched. The percentage of dramas being viewed has risen from 27% to 30% with news and comedy, 29% and 28% respectively, coming in second and third among most-watched programming.

The second-known COVID-19 patient in the U.S. has finally left the hospital after over two months, The Oregonian reports. Hector Calderon, 46, a school custodian in Hillsboro, Oregon, received a rousing sendoff from a mariachi band after he was discharged on Monday. Calderon, who tested positive on Feb. 28 and required the use of a ventilator, reportedly was treated with the experimental drug Remdesivir, which was said to benefit his recovery, according to The Oregonian. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization on the drug due to its promising effects in clinical trials. Calderon left the hospital this week to huge cheers from hospital staff who treated him, many of whom were emotional about him overcoming the illness. Watch the video below to hear Hector's thankful address as well as messages from the doctors who helped him recover.

The United Kingdom, now the epicenter of the virus outbreak in Europe with more than 30,000 deaths, is reportedly set to ease lockdown restrictions. CNN reports that the country's stay-at-home message is likely to be eased this weekend and the changes would allow Britons to expand their social groups. The BBC reports that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce lockdown plans for England on Sunday. The prime minister has said the government will use "maximum caution" when considering how to ease the lockdown.The country's lockdown was first announced March 23.

As the coronavirus outbreak stretches into its fifth month, researchers worldwide continue to frantically work on developing a vaccine that will help neutralize the disease. Earlier this week, a team of Chinese researchers published a study in the journal Science that revealed testing of their developmental vaccine in macaque monkeys revealed positive results. "Three immunizations using two different doses provided partial or complete protection in macaques against SARS-CoV-2," the researchers stated. The research group said it hopes to use the data to begin human testing later this year.

The U.S. Department of Labor's latest weekly report on unemployment showed over 3.1 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending May 2. This figure was down from the previous week's revised level of over 3.8 million total unemployment filings. Since the start of the pandemic's damaging effects on the U.S. economy in early March, over 33 million people have filed for unemployment. Even though the numbers are dramatic, this is the lowest number of weekly filings since the second week of March, CNBC reported.

Earlier this week, health officials in Walla Walla County, Washington, indicated in a press release that they were hearing reports of groups of individuals holding COVID-19 parties, in order to deliberately infect themselves with the virus. However, on Wednesday night, those claims of deliberate parties to spread the virus were walked back. According to The New York Times, Meghan DeBolt, the director of community health for the county, said officials were still hearing reports of parties where infected people were present, but didn't have evidence that people who became ill after attending had attended out of a desires to be infected. The Times reported that the parties were discovered officials traced the paths of the infected individuals.

Poland presidential election postponed due to pandemic. Voters in Poland were set to head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential election, but the vote has been postponed, according to BBC News. As for when the vote will be held, it's not entirely clear, though officials have said it will happen "as soon as possible" and will be done only by mail-in ballot. As of Thursday, Poland had reported nearly 15,000 cases of COVID-19 and 737 fatalities.

President Donald Trump reversed course on disbanding the White House coronavirus task force. The president tweeted on Wednesday that he's no longer considering winding down the task force and that it "will continue on indefinitely." Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, "I had no idea how popular it is," until Vice President Mike Pence announced earlier this week that the plans were in the works to dissolve the group. Trump also said that three new members would be added to the task force sometime next week.

President Donald Trump listens during an event to sign a proclamation in honor of World Nurses Day, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 6, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Here are the latest updated totals from around the world, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University:

• Total confirmed cases: 3,768,535

• Total deaths: 264,109

• Total recovered: 1,249,987

Airbnb plans to lay off nearly 1,900 employees, or about 25% of employees, the company said in a note. Prior to the layoffs, Airbnb had 7,500 employees, Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky said. "We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill," Chesky told employees. "Airbnb's business has been hit hard, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019." The CEO said Airbnb will halt projects related to hotels, a transportation division and luxury stays. "U.S. employees laid off will receive 14 weeks of base pay plus an additional week for every year they worked at Airbnb. Airbnb will also provide 12 months of healthcare for laid off U.S. employees," Chesky said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Wednesday that he is extending the public health emergency for another 30 days. Murphy signed an executive order that will keep the declaration in place through at least June 6. "I want to make it absolutely clear that this action does not mean that we are seeing anything in the data which would pause our path forward and it should not be interpreted by anyone to mean we are going to be tightening any of the restrictions currently in place," Murphy said at a daily briefing. As of Wednesday, New Jersey has 128,000 cases and 7,910 deaths. The only state with more COVID-19 deaths and confirmed cases is New York.

Tanzania President John Magufuli is questioning coronavirus test kits after fruit and animal results came back positive. Magufuli has dismissed the imported kits as faulty, saying they returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a fruit called pawpaw. In the United States, federal officials confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent states tainted test kits in early February, according to the New York Times. Two of the three CDC laboratories in Atlanta that created the coronavirus test kits had violated their own manufacturing standards, resulting in the agency sending faulty tests to nearly all of the 100 state and local public health labs, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Airlines have been ratcheting back the number of flights they're operating per day and the number of planes being used due to the sharp decrease in demand for air travel. Airline Reporter has crunched the numbers showing the fleets of many of the major airlines in the U.S., and the numbers are staggering. Spirit Airlines is one of the most notable airlines in the analysis with the number of planes in operation nose-diving from around 150 to fewer than 50 over the course of a few weeks. JetBlue has seen a similar drop, cutting the number of aircraft in use by more than half. "The full impact of the crisis on aviation, and the economy at large, still isn't known," Nick Benson from Airline Reporter said.

The European Union forecasts "a recession of historic proportions this year" due to the pandemic. Coronavirus has impacted jobs, consumer spending, industrial output, investment, trade, capital flows and supply chains. "It is now quite clear that the EU has entered the deepest economic recession in its history," EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told reporters in Brussels. As the virus hit, "economic activity in the EU dropped by around one third practically overnight," Gentiloni said. More than 1.1 million people have contracted the virus across Europe and over 137,000 have died, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports, according to The Associated Press. People in most European countries are starting to venture into public and gradually return to work since the spread is slowing, but strict health measures remain in place amid concern of a second wave of outbreaks.

For the first time in its 115-year history, New York City deliberately shut down the entire subway system for cleaning Wednesday morning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) planned the shut down for deep-cleaning to prevent the spread of the virus. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures," MTA Chairman Patrick Foye said late Tuesday. The cleanings will be done on a nightly basis, from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. "This is critical to ensure the health and safety of our employees and customers," said Foye. To accommodate for travel, the MTA is adding several hundred buses to its usual overnight routes to make sure essential workers have access to transportation. The only other time the New York City subway has been shut down was due to weather - Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and the blizzard of 2015 - however this is the first planned shutdown.

The New York Democratic presidential primary is back on after it was canceled last month in an effort help prevent the spread of COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan made the ruling to put the election back on the calendar, which is now scheduled for June 23, according to The Associated Press. Canceling the presidential primary "deprived Democratic voters of the opportunity to elect delegates who could push their point of view in that forum," Torres said. While the primary is back on the calendar, Joe Biden is still destined to become the Democratic nominee after Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign.

Malls reopen in Florida as pandemic-weary shoppers seek "a sense of normalcy." The International Plaza mall in Tampa opened its doors Wednesday for the first time in weeks and drew a smattering of curious shoppers wearing face masks and some just looking to experience life as it was before the pandemic, according to a report by Fox13. Many of the stores in the mall didn't open for business, which is why one woman said she was there. "Actually we just came in to walk, to see if everything was open," Valerie Flavors told Fox13. "Haven't been to the mall in a couple months, Matt Nyman remarked. "It feels good to walk around, have a sense of normalcy." A mall representative said management was "thrilled to be open again."

If nothing else, walking around the mall may have been an escape from some steamy weather. The AccuWeather RealFeel in Tampa Wednesday reached 91 F on Wednesday. Farther down the Gulf Coast, in Sarasota, the University Town Center mall also reopened, according to Fox13.

Shoppers wear protective face masks to avoid the coronavirus at the International Mall Wednesday, May 6, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. Twenty percent of the stores were operating when the mall reopened, with more to follow later in the day. The mall is taking an active approach to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

University of Chicago epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon commented in a livestream that hugging your mom on Mother's Day might be a gamble."I think a hug or two done in a very safe way with your fabric mask on and your hands clean and after you've been very careful, may be OK, but I can't promise that it's going to be OK for everyone,"Landon said, the Chicago Sun Times reported. "But I can tell you that for me, it may be worth the gamble." During a press conference in March, Landon spoke alongside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to announce the state's first stay-at-home orders. Some of the restrictions were relaxed on May 1. With new guidelines coming into play, Landon said it is a sign people should slowly "expand their quarantine family," though with an understanding that cases are still on the rise.

As states look to reopen, an Associated Press analysis found Tuesday that most of the U.S. continues to carry a trend of a rising infection rate. The AP analysis found that, while including the data of the locked-down New York metropolitan area of nearly 20 million people, new infection rates across the U.S. appeared to be declining. The five-day rolling average for new cases had decreased from 9.3 per 100,000 people on April 13 to 8.6 on Monday. However, when the New York metropolitan area was excluded from the data, U.S. infection rate numbers had actually increased during the same time period from 6.2 per 100,000 people to 7.5. Public health officials are warning that not flattening the curve before reopening states could lead to possibly tens of thousands of deaths. Although testing in the U.S. has expanded, public health researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles, Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, told the AP there is more to the rise than just the testing. "This increase is not because of testing. It's a real increase," Zhang said.

The White House's coronavirus task force will begin to wind down in coming weeks President Trump said on Tuesday, but the fight against the virus is far from over. The task force may come to an end as early as Memorial Day, Reuters reported. The focus of the White House will shift from the initial response to the virus to the aftermath of the spread and how the country will eventually reopen. "Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job," Trump said during a visit to a mask factory in Arizona. "But we're now looking at a little bit of a different form and that form is safety and opening and we'll have a different group probably set up for that." As of early Wednesday afternoon, there have been over 1.2 million cases and more than 71,500 deaths across the U.S.

One of the many theme parks under the Walt Disney Company's umbrella forced to close due to the pandemic is set to reopen next week. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shanghai Disneyland will reopen on May 11 after being closed since late January. Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday it was too early to discuss when the company's parks in Anaheim, California, and Orlando, Florida, could reopen, but he discussed what new protective measures are taking place in Shanghai, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"During this initial reopening phase, the park will institute new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and required advanced ticketing and reservations, accommodating social distancing in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of sanitization and disinfection," a statement on the park's website read. The weather on May 11 looks promising for folks in Shanghai looking to visit the park with temperatures in the 80s and partly sunny conditions.

One of Europe's major soccer leagues is preparing to start back up after pausing play due to the coronavirus. Germany's Bundesliga is set to resume play before the end of May, but the exact start date has yet to be announced, according to ESPN. Despite play resuming, it may be some time before fans can cheer on their favorite team in person. Germany has a nationwide ban on mass gatherings through the end of August, which includes large events such as soccer matches. "Games without spectators are not an ideal solution for anyone. In a crisis threatening the very existence of some clubs, however, it is the only way to keep the leagues in their current form," said Christian Seifert, chief executive of the German Football League.

A new model from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania found that the full reopening of states could lead to 350,000 deaths in the U.S. by the end of June, with half a million job losses, CBS Philly reported. On the other end of the spectrum, should states continue stay-at-home orders, the model predicts about 117,000 deaths nationwide from May 1 through the end of June. The data shows that in this scenario, there would be about 18.6 million job losses. The partial reopening of states would result in both additional deaths and 14 million jobs lost. "We are not trying to put a value on the lives, we cannot do that, but we do want to give people and policy makers some scale of what the tradeoffs are," Alex Arnon, senior analyst at The Penn Wharton Budget Model, told CBS Philly.

Another sign of the coronavirus times has emerged, this time in a flower field in the Netherlands that is a popular tourist attraction during the springtime. The owners of the family farm lamented the loss of this year's crowds by placing a hopeful message for its visitors in a tulip field. "We hope that this brighten[s] your day a bit and we hope to see you next year! ❤️" the owners wrote on Twitter about the message, which was dazzling and visible in an aerial video. Check it out below.

One of the pandemic's first socially-distanced concerts will be hosted in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on May 15, according to Billboard. The country rock band Bishop Gunn will be taking the stage at TempleLive and performing for a limited audience. The venue's 1,100-person capacity will be reduced to 229 available seats, or to just 20% capacity. Guests will be required to wear face masks and will have assigned seats in what Ticketmaster has called "fan pods," in a grouping of two to twelve seats. These pods will be at least six feet apart from others. Guests will also have their temperature taken at the door of the venue. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced on Monday that indoor venues would be allowed to resume on May 18. The concert is scheduled for May 15, three days before the directive says venues are allowed to open, but Billboard says TempleLive is confident the show will go on.

COVID-19 cases eclipse 10,000 mark in Philippines. Health officials in the Philippines said Wednesday that more than 300 additional cases of COVID-19 were recorded, bringing the total in the country to more than 10,000 and making it the latest nation to reach that milestone. The death toll there also hit 658 and recoveries topped 1,500. As coronavirus fears have escalated in the Philippines, the country's Supreme Court this week ordered the nation's over-capacity prison system to release 10,000 inmates in an effort to reduce the spread of the disease in jails and prisons, according to NPR. Meanwhile, strict quarantine measures have been in place in Manila, the capital city, and elsewhere in the country. Drive-thru testing sites have been prevalent in Manila and health workers running one site last week were seen spraying each other down with disinfectant amid the enhanced quarantine measures.

Workers spray disinfectants on another as they man a COVID-19 drive thru testing area during a continuing enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A new daily record for COVID-19 deaths has been reported in Brazil, according to Reuters. The country's health ministry said Tuesday that there were 600 new deaths and another 6,935 confirmed cases since Monday evening, but Health Ministry Subsecretary Wanderson Oliveira cautioned that the latest death figures weren't necessarily from Monday, but just had been reported during that time period, Reuters said.

Brazil has nearly 116,000 total cases and the country's total death toll was approaching 8,000 early Wednesday. Brazil has more deaths and confirmed cases than any other country in South America. As the virus continues to spread, the city of Sao Luis, located in the northeastern part of the country, became the first major city in Brazil to institute a full lockdown, Reuters reported. The lockdown covers a total of about 1.3 million people in the city and surrounding areas.

People walk in an empty street during a lockdown imposed by the government to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus in the historic district of downtown Sao Luis, in the northeastern state of Maranhao, Brazil, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (Douglas Junior/Futura Press via AP)

As traditional commencement ceremonies have been postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, former President Barack Obama is stepping in to honor graduating seniors. In celebration of the achievements made by the class of 2020, Obama will be giving commencement speeches in three different graduation ceremonies in the coming months, according to ABC News. On May 16, the former president will be holding a televised commencement ceremony, "Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020." That same day, Barack and Michelle Obama will be hosting another virtual ceremony in which they will honor graduating seniors from HBCU. Finally, on June 6, the Obamas will join YouTube's "Dear Class of 2020" event, where they will each deliver a speech to all graduating seniors. "I've always loved joining commencements - the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice," Obama said on Twitter. "Even if we can't get together in person this year, Michelle and I are excited to celebrate the nationwide Class of 2020 and recognize this milestone with you and your loved ones."

Here are the latest updated totals from around the world, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University:

• Total confirmed cases: 3,680,376

• Total deaths: 257,818

• Total recovered: 1,206,218

Previous coverage:

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from May 2-5.

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 28 - May 1

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 25-27

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 22-24

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 18-21

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 12-15

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 12-14

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 8-11

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 5-7

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from April 1-4

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from March 29-31.

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak from March 26-28.

Click here for previous daily briefings on the coronavirus outbreak.

Reporting by Lauren Fox, John Murphy, Brian Lada, Mark Puleo, Maria Antonieta Valery Gil, Kevin Byrne, Chaffin Mitchell, Adriana Navarro, John Roach, Dexter Henry, Bill Wadell, Jonathan Petramala, and Monica Danielle

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