Here’s what you need to know:
- The U.S. loosens restrictions, even as it nears 100,000 deaths.
- Hong Kong protesters, subdued for months by the virus, are back on the streets.
- U.S. governors and Trump advisers will appear on the Sunday talk shows as states move to reopen.
- The artisans behind Italy’s fashions worry about their future.
- A #ClapForOurCarers organizer in Britain says it may be time to stop.
- The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston is the first major American art museum to reopen.
- The N.B.A. considers resuming its season at Walt Disney World Resort.
The U.S. loosens restrictions, even as it nears 100,000 deaths.
The United States edged closer to 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Saturday, even as overall infections have slowed and the country has moved to loosen restrictions intended to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Medical experts have warned that lifting lockdowns could cause a spike in cases, but governors continued to ease rules in hopes of reviving the economy, while President Trump played golf at his members-only club in Virginia.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz said that he would allow houses of worship to open next week after pressure from church leaders and from Mr. Trump, who demanded that religious institutions be deemed essential.
In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that gatherings of up to 10 people would be allowed anywhere in the state — including New York City — provided that social-distancing protocols were followed. On Saturday the governor reported 84 new deaths from the virus statewide, the first time the daily death toll has fallen below 100 since late March.
And the National Basketball Association said it was in early discussions to restart its season in late July at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The risks of trying to return to normal life were underscored in Missouri, where health officials said that a hair stylist who worked for eight days at a salon while sick with the virus had potentially exposed 84 clients and seven co-workers.
And a new study found that, compared with white or Hispanic patients, black patients seeking care have more advanced cases of Covid-19.
The disparity remained even after researchers took into account differences in age, sex, income and chronic health problems that exacerbate Covid-19, like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
The finding suggested that black patients may have had limited access to medical care or that they postponed seeking help until later in the course of their illness, when the disease was more advanced.
Hong Kong protesters, subdued for months by the virus, are back on the streets.
The antigovernment movement that roiled Hong Kong for much of last year subsided this year as fears of the coronavirus kept many at home. But on Sunday, police officers fired tear gas as hundreds of protesters flouted social distancing rules to demonstrate against China’s plans to impose national security laws on the semiautonomous territory.
Protesters gathered in a downtown shopping district around midday, chanting slogans against the government and the Chinese Communist Party like “Heavens will destroy the C.C.P.” and “Hong Kong independence is the only way out.” As the crowd thickened, public tram cars sat immobilized on the rails.
Dozens of police officers in riot gear swarmed the area, but many protesters pressed around them, ignoring their raised warnings to disperse. Just before 1:30 p.m., the police fired at least four rounds of tear gas, sending protesters scrambling into nearby storefronts, which quickly pulled down their grates.
The protest on Sunday took place days after China’s biggest political event of the year, the annual session of the National People’s Congress, kicked off in Beijing. The ruling Communist Party is trying to project strength amid global criticism of its response to the pandemic.
As protesters gathered on Sunday morning, Tam Tak-chi, an activist from the pro-democracy group People’s Power, held what he described as an open-air “public health lecture” at a streetside stand, distributing masks and social-distancing advice — along with criticism of the Chinese government.
“With the national security law, the people cannot be healthy,” Mr. Tam said. “Stand with Hong Kong; fight for freedom.” After bystanders erupted in antigovernment chants, several dozen riot police officers surrounded Mr. Tam, taking away his loudspeaker and leading him to a nearby police station.
As part of its response to the virus, the Hong Kong government has banned public gatherings of more than eight people until at least June 4.
U.S. governors and Trump advisers will appear on the Sunday talk shows as states move to reopen.
As the United States nears 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus, several members of the Trump administration, which has been pushing states to loosen lockdowns and reopen, will appear as guests on the Sunday talk shows.
Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, will appear on ABC’s “This Week,” while President Trump’s national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, will appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Kevin Hassett, a White House senior adviser, will speak on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Dr. Birx will also be a guest on “Fox News Sunday,” along with Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, who said on Saturday that his state had seen an increase in cases, which he called a “second peak.”
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who took early and bold actions to lock down his state, will appear on “Meet the Press” as he moves to reopen businesses in his state.
Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, whose state has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the country after New York, will appear on “State of the Union,” along with Senator Rick Scott and Representative Val Demings, both of Florida, which has already reopened many businesses.
The race for a vaccine will be discussed on “Meet the Press” by Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, and Dr. Dan Barouch, a virologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who is working with Johnson & Johnson to develop a vaccine that uses a specially modified virus, called Ad26, that he developed.
The artisans behind Italy’s fashions worry about their future.
Italy’s $180 billion fashion industry is known for its glamorous brands, but it is built on a vast and tightly woven network of designers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers, large and small, that help make up the backbone of one of Europe’s largest economies.
For these companies, for this style of doing business, the future has never looked more uncertain.
Production of fashion collections has been either delayed or scrapped by large global fashion retailers and luxury brands. With the July couture shows in Paris canceled, and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the fashion weeks in September, many specialist workshops remain in limbo.
Italy’s fashion manufacturing sector is expected to contract by up to 40 percent this year, said Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner at the consulting firm Bain & Company.
“It is a very worrying situation,” she said, adding that beyond luxury artisans was a vast ecosystem of export-oriented factories producing everything from metal hardware for accessories to rubber footwear soles.
“The big brands are enduring tough times but generally have some liquidity and a strong consumer profile,” Ms. D’Arpizio said. “However, they all have networks of small suppliers scattered all over Italy. Those are the businesses more likely to disappear.”
A #ClapForOurCarers organizer in Britain says it may be time to stop.
On Thursday nights, Britons bang pots and pans and let out hearty cheers of support for doctors and nurses who care for coronavirus patients and for other essential workers amid the pandemic.
But Annemarie Plas, the organizer who started #ClapForOurCarers, said in an interview with the BBC on Friday that next week’s national applause, the 10th, should be the last, pointing to concerns that the act of recognizing the workers had become politicized.
“I think that would be beautiful to be the end of the series, to maybe then stop and move to an annual moment,” Ms. Plas said. “I feel like this had its moment and then we can, after that, continue to something else.”
Ms. Plas said that she believed the ritual was “slowly shifting” and that other opinions had “started to rise to the surface,” referring to some criticism the movement has received. An opinion article in The Independent questioned the point of applauding if health care workers were underpaid. And some National Health Service workers have said they felt “stabbed in the back” by people who ignore public health guidelines.
To date, the United Kingdom has reported more than 250,000 coronavirus infections and over 36,000 deaths. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans for reopening the country have been met with criticism and some confusion.
While Britons have shown their appreciation for health care workers, Ms. Plas said, it’s now time for people in power to “reward and give them the respect they deserve.”
“I think to maintain the positive impact that it’s had so far, it’s best to stop at its peak,” she told the BBC.
The future of nightly clapping rituals in cities like New York, where it began in late March and continues to go strong in some neighborhoods, remains unclear.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston is the first major American art museum to reopen.
They waited patiently in line in 80-degree heat, standing on large blue stickers placed six feet apart, to enter the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — the first major American art museum to reopen since the country went into lockdown in March.
The 20 or so mask-wearing visitors who queued up on Saturday morning had already waited more than two months to visit, so what were a few more minutes? First in line was Joan Laughlin, a nurse who has been coming to the museum since moving to Houston in 1970. She was there to see “Glory of Spain,” an exhibition of works from New York’s Hispanic Society Museum and Library.
“It’s good to be out of the house,” she said. “I’ve been looking for something uplifting, something beautiful.”
It was Sara Patel’s first-ever visit. Ms. Patel, a Houston physician, came with her boyfriend, who was visiting from Chicago. “They’re following all the rules,” she said about the elaborate safety precautions taken by museum staff members. “As long as everyone is complying, I think it’s fine.”
Gov. Greg Abbott allowed museums in Texas to reopen on May 1 at 25 percent capacity, but most cultural institutions in the state have opted to wait. Among the first to come back was the Museum of Fine Arts’s neighbor, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which opened its doors on May 15.
The N.B.A. considers resuming its season at Walt Disney World Resort.
The N.B.A. is in the early stages of discussions with the Walt Disney Company to restart its suspended season in late July at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, a league spokesman said Saturday.
The restart would be at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which would act as “a single site for an N.B.A. campus for games, practices and housing,” the spokesman, Mike Bass, said in a statement.
“Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place,” Mr. Bass said.
The N.B.A. was among the first major sports leagues to suspend its season on March 11 as a result of the coronavirus, beginning a cascade of other leagues doing the same. Since then several players, including the Nets star Kevin Durant, have tested positive for the virus.
Several hurdles remain to a resumed season. One is testing. The league was criticized when some of its teams were able to obtain tests for their players even though there was a nationwide testing shortage, raising questions of greater accessibility for the wealthy.
On Tuesday, Mr. Bass said, “Regular testing will be key in our return to play,” and that the league wanted to ensure that it “does not come at the expense of testing front-line health care workers or others who need it.”
Any return to play must also come with a green light from the players’ union. A union spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is also unclear how many, if any, fans would be allowed into an arena for games.
Drones were ready for this. Are people ready for them?
Drones have been working as police officers, soaring over the banks of the Seine in Paris and the city squares of Mumbai to patrol for social distancing violators.
They’re delivering medical supplies in Rwanda and snacks in Virginia, and hovering over crowds in China to scan for fevers below.
The coronavirus has been devastating to humans but may prove a decisive step toward a time when aerial robots become a common feature of daily life, serving as helpers and even companions.
“Robots are designed to solve problems that are dull, dirty and dangerous,” said Daniel H. Wilson, a former roboticist and the author of the 2011 science fiction novel “Robopocalypse.” “And now we have a sudden global emergency in which the machines we’re used to fearing are uniquely well suited to swoop in and save the day.”
Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker, Sopan Deb, Michael Hardy, Mike Ives, Michael Levenson, Tiffany May, Sharon Otterman, Elizabeth Paton, Roni Caryn Rabin, Luis Ferré Sadurní, Edgar Sandoval, Marc Stein, Matt Stevens, Derrick Bryson Taylor, James Wagner, Vivian Wang and Alex Williams.
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