Another day of reopening for Ohio businesses. Gyms and fitness centers are permitted to reopen today, even though a court ruling last week said they could have reopened immediately. Also, batting cages, mini golf courses, and non contact sports can resume today. The state's BMV offices also reopen today, but state officials urge drivers to take care of as much business as possible online.
The Trump administration delivered a new plan for coronavirus testing to Congress on Sunday that puts most of the responsibility on states, but says the federal government will provide 100 million testing swabs and 100 million tubes of viral transport media. The plan said the states must each set up their own testing program, which will include contact tracing, and the federal government will, quote, "ensure that States have the collection supplies that they need through December 2020." It advises states to aim to test a minimum of two percent of their populations in May and June. Congressional Democrats criticized the plan Monday (May 25th), charging, "President Trump’s national testing strategy is to deny the truth that there aren’t enough tests and supplies, reject responsibility and dump the burden onto the states."
A ban on non-American travelers from Brazil coming into the country because of its high number of confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to the U.S., is going into effect late today (May 26th), two days earlier than had been said on Sunday when the travel ban was announced.
California said yesterday (May 25th) that churches can resume holding in-person services, but the number of worshippers has to be kept to less than 100 people and they should wear masks, avoid sharing prayer books and not use collection plates.
In other developments:
Death Toll Over 98,000:The number of people who've died in the U.S. was more than 98,200 as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and there were more than 1,662,000 confirmed cases.
NYSE Trading Floor to Reopen:The New York Stock Exchange will reopen its trading floor today (May 26th) after two months, but with restrictions. Only 25 percent of the usual number of traders will be allowed on the floor, and they must wear masks, avoid taking public transportation, and follow social distancing guidelines, with Plexiglass barriers set up to help separate them. No visitors will be allowed, and media organizations that usually broadcast from the floor aren't allowed back yet.
Vaccine Now May Have Lower Chance of Being Proven Effective:The University of Oxford's promising potential vaccine may now have a lower chance of being proven effective because of the success in reducing the spread of the coronavirus in the U.K. due to social distancing. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the University's Jenner Institute, toldThe Telegraphthat what was an 80 percent chance of proving success is now down to 50 percent. The problem isn't about the vaccine itself. Instead, the issue is that the spread of the virus in the U.K. might be too low to test effectively if the vaccine protects against getting it.