Category: Corona Virus

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Gov. Tim Walz is expected to extend the peacetime emergency order through June 12, according to WCCOs Esme Murphy.

Both Republican and DFL Party legislative leadership say they fully expect the peacetime emergency order to be extended on Wednesday. However, Walzs office is not commenting on the proposed extension.

The states peacetime emergency was set to expire on May 13. The peacetime emergency gives the governor power to issue executive orders, stay-at-home orders and close businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would also allow him to keep schools closed.

This is not to be confused with the stay-at-home order. That is currently set to expire on May 18.

In late April, Walz relaxed the rules for businesses slightly, allowing up to 20,000 companies to resume operations, impacting about 80,000 to 100,000 workers. Curbside pickup for retail stores was also allowed, as long as certain guidelines were followed.

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Coronavirus In Minnesota: Gov. Walz Expected To Announce Extension On Emergency Order - CBS Minnesota

David Edwards was the team mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa. David Edwards hide caption

David Edwards was the team mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa.

David Edwards thought he'd be spending this baseball season prowling the ballpark in Davenport, Iowa, trading high-fives and cheering the home team.

After all, it would be his second season playing mascot for the Quad Cities River Bandits.

"I am the big raccoon," Edwards says. "It's the most fun I've ever had."

But there's no joy in Davenport the River Bandits aren't playing ball this year because of the pandemic. While major league teams hope to revive their season for a TV-only audience later this year, Single-A clubs like the River Bandits depend on in-person ticket sales and concessions to pay the bills.

David Edwards (left) and Ray Hernandez, manager of the Quad City River Bandits. David Edwards hide caption

David Edwards (left) and Ray Hernandez, manager of the Quad City River Bandits.

Edwards lost a second job, showing visitors around a regional zoo, when that also closed to the public.

"All the plans for this year went out the window," Edwards says. "Guest relations aren't essential when nothing is open."

Edwards, who majored in music at Iowa State University, also planned to audition for classical singing gigs this summer. But with most big cities under lockdown, that's on hold, too. That's three strikes, and Edwards is worried.

"I feel very scared about my future," he says. "I just don't know what funding is going to be, what festivals or programs are going to survive."

For now, Edwards is living off savings, trying to figure out what life's going to look like after the summer and keeping a positive attitude.

"Just trying to do what's right and what's recommended and what's healthy," he says. "I just don't want to be part of the problem."

Read more stories in Faces Of The Coronavirus Recession.

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This Baseball Mascot Was Struck Out By The Coronavirus Pandemic - NPR

ALBUQUERQUE Tribal nations around the United States are facing their most severe crisis in decades as they grapple simultaneously with some of the deadliest coronavirus outbreaks in rural America and the economic devastation caused by the protracted shutdown of nearly 500 tribally owned casinos.

The Navajo Nation, the countrys largest Indian reservation, now has a higher death rate than any U.S. state except New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Across Indian Country, more than 5,200 cases have been confirmed in communities from Arizona to Minnesota a number that might seem small compared with those in major urban centers in New York and Los Angeles, but which in many cases represents significant local clusters that are challenging the limited resources of tribal clinics and rural hospitals.

On reservations in the Dakotas and Montana where good housing is scarce, extended families have been forced to shelter together in tiny homes with no clean water and no internet. On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, the Northern Arapaho Tribe opened its casino as a quarantine site.

The collective perils fragile health care systems, large numbers of people with pre-existing conditions and the collapse of tribal economies have prompted Native American leaders to warn that serious havoc may be ahead, especially if closed casinos prevent tribes from battling to recover on their own.

Life and death, said Bryan Newland, tribal chairman of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigans Upper Peninsula, who estimated that about two-thirds of tribal employees were out of work. Were just going to write off 2020. Theres no sense in trying to work under the delusion that well be able to claw back to normal life this year.

The closure of the tribal casinos, which have emerged as one of the largest new sources of employment of any economic sector in the United States in recent decades, is eviscerating the revenues many tribal nations use to provide basic services. In one of the most important shifts toward increasing self-determination since the start of the century, more than 40 percent of the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States now operate casinos.

Now these operations are hemorrhaging jobs. After the entire industry shut down in the early days of social-distancing measures, more than 700,000 people were left out of work, according to Meister Economic Consulting, which specializes in the tribal gaming industry.

In Michigan and Indiana, almost 1,500 workers were laid off at casinos owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Up and down California, tribal nations have laid off or furloughed casino workers. In Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Nation announced last week that it was laying off the majority of its nearly 5,000 workers, while the Mohegan tribe has furloughed thousands of its casino employees.

Non-Native Americans account for about 70 percent of workers in tribally owned casinos, reflecting the economic importance of such operations in many rural parts of the country. Altogether, tribal gaming enterprises generated $17.7 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue in 2019, according to a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in April by members of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

In an interview, the Harvard scholar Joseph Kalt likened the far-reaching devastation caused by shutdowns of tribal businesses around the country this year to the demise of the bison herds in the 19th century and the contentious attempt in the 1950s to disband tribes and relocate Native Americans to cities.

Youd have to go back to the 50s for something of this magnitude, said Mr. Kalt, a co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

What youre seeing right now is simply a symptom of a much deeper problem facing tribal nations for over a century, said Fawn R. Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians. The failure to fund us has left us incredibly vulnerable.

It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that tribal gaming began to gather considerable momentum, providing tribal nations a crucial source of funding that could not collect taxes.

Some tribes have continued paying their employees despite the closures, in attempts to stave off the economic pain. But after federal authorities delayed providing tribes with their portion of $8 billion in assistance from federal stimulus measures, the losses are accumulating.

But the Treasury Department has been slow to disperse the aid, and tribal leaders have expressed exasperation over the delays at a time when the virus is hitting them hard.

In Michigan, the closure of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Communitys casino has already produced monthly losses of about $2 million, depleting funds for police patrols and the health clinic serving the 3,600-member tribe. As a result, fewer people are receiving basic health care and authorities have had to cancel daily lunches for tribal elders.

In the meantime, tribes are trying to plan for the uncertain weeks ahead.

In Oklahoma, where Gov. Kevin Stitt was already demanding more money from tribal casinos before the pandemic as part of a simmering feud, the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribal nation in the United States, is still paying its employees and planning to open parts of their gaming operations in early June.

But what that will look like remains unclear, said Brandon Scott, director of communications for the tribe. I think it would be irresponsible of us to open the doors and go back to exactly the way we were, he said.

Tomorrow if we saw a huge spike in incidents in the state of Oklahoma, our plan would change dramatically.

Already, the Navajo Nation has seen a serious spike, with a rate of 62 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people. In New Mexico, which includes part of the Navajo reservation, Native Americans account for 57 percent of confirmed cases in the state, though they comprise only about 11 percent of the population.

A lack of basic infrastructure has further complicated thoughts of reopening. A business incubator on the Navajo Nation once offered internet access, tax-education seminars and work space to dozens of tiny start-ups before being forced to shut down in March. Now, the lack of plumbing or running water in the groups shared work space poses a huge obstacle to its future.

The virus is really showing years and years of neglect, said Jessica Stago, a director of the incubator Change Labs. Everythings sort of collapsing at this point.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates on some reservations that were 50 percent or higher during normal times have now soared to catastrophic levels, and tribal leaders worry that their budgets will be the last places in America to recover economically.

Scott Russell, a former tribal secretary of the Crow in eastern Montana, said the throngs of summertime tourists who come to boat and watch re-enactments of the Battle of Little Bighorn were a critical source of revenue and jobs on the reservation. He said the tribe was preparing to open up, but it was unclear whether people would return.

Its a ripple effect we feel right down to our cafe, Mr. Russell said.

The economic pain has been getting worse as people lose even the odd jobs and piecework that helped them pay bills. Cedar Rose Bulltail survived by selling handmade beadwork at indigenous art fairs, cooking fry bread for neighbors and making yarrow balm in the kitchen of her tiny rural home with no running water on the Crow Reservation.

Now, the festivals and fashion shows that were an economic lifeline have been canceled. Her 18-year-old daughter is back home from boarding school and straining to keep up with her schoolwork without any reliable internet connection. And with hand washing now an urgent health need, Ms. Bulltails hopes of saving enough money this summer to buy a new well pump to bring reliable, clean water into her house have been dashed.

I just feel robbed, Ms. Bulltail said.

As tribes measure the economic fallout, some leaders are hitting back at pressure from state and federal authorities to reopen. The demand by Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, that tribes remove checkpoints on roads has flared tempers around the country, showcasing how tension is building over what happens next in many tribal nations.

Heads would roll if that kind of discussion were to happen in New Mexico, said Rep. Derrick Lente, a Democratic state legislator and member of Sandia Pueblo, which operates a large casino and hotel complex on the outskirts of Albuquerque that has been closed for weeks.

Tribal sovereignty needs to be respected if were to get back on our footing, Mr. Lente said, citing the reach of tribal gaming operations. You dont do that by disrespecting tribal nations that have created thousands of jobs.

Simon Romero reported from Albuquerque and Jack Healy from Denver. Reporting was contributed by Graham Lee Brewer from Norman, Okla., Mitch Smith from Overland Park, Kan., and Alex Schwartz from Sarasota, Fla.

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Tribal Nations Face Most Severe Crisis in Decades as the Coronavirus Closes Casinos - The New York Times

The "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" actor revealed the news on the new Peacock web series, "The At-Home Variety Show," and compared his real life experience to playing germaphobe detective Adrian Monk, who lives with obsessive compulsive disorder on the TV series "Monk."

"I hope you are all being careful and following the protocol. We really are all Monk now," he said. "Last month, my wife Brooke and I came down with the virus, and it was a pretty rough few weeks. But we realize that so many other people have and had it a lot worse."

Now recovered, Shalhoub remains hunkered down in New York City, he said. He participates in city's nightly ritual of cheering for the frontline workers.

"Time to go out and show our appreciation to all our heroes -- the health care workers, the first responders. Let's go. Stay safe and stay sane," he said.

The show, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, is aiming to bring awareness and raise money to support essential workers and communities most in need.

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Tony Shalhoub reveals that he and his wife have recovered from coronavirus - CNN

We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility. Our staff and residents are following the recommended preventative actions including N95 masks while in the building and gloves when in resident rooms, said Patricia Cokingtin, Senior Vice President of Americare. As of March 13, we restricted visitors from entering our facility, and cancelled all group activities until the virus has been eradicated.

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LIVE UPDATES: Coronavirus in the Mid-South: Gov. Lee working with TNs major cities to provide additional test - FOX13 Memphis

They left Turkey on one of the last flights out to London in March. My son, Alex, is used to me traveling so our goodbyes were relaxed and I was content, sure that if I needed to, I'd be able to just jump on a plane and catch up with them.

In the days after they left, I kept convincing myself that it would be fine, that there was no way Turkey would just stop all flights.

But it did.

After a couple of weeks of separation and self-isolation, I had to get back with my family. But with shut borders and airports it seemed impossible. Until my hours on Twitter proved fruitful, with advisories from the UK and US embassies about commercial flights still operating out of Istanbul for those who wanted to leave.

Qatar Airways was up and running with a #Takingyouhome campaign. Ticket prices were significantly higher than usual but I booked my route to London via Doha.

The thought of going through airports and sitting on planes at a time like this was terrifying, so I packed my carry-on with the essentials for traveling during a global pandemic: several masks, hand sanitizer, gloves and surface wipes.

The night before the flight I woke up several times, and nervously took my temperature, knowing that there were already fever checks in place at Istanbul airport.

Then the next morning I woke again to a message that the flight has been delayed. And from there it went from bad to worse. Another delay, then another, then what I really did not want to hear -- the flight was canceled.

Mentally, I was prepared for the trip, the risks, the restrictions, the unknown -- but I was not ready for this. I just wanted to see my family and the weeks of bottling up all the anxieties and emotions came rolling out with a flood of tears.

My booking was moved to the next scheduled flight. My husband, Matt, on the other end of the phone kept saying, "It's OK, it's just another five days."

But it wasn't. Before the next flight, Qatar Airways suspended its services out of Istanbul. Months of separation from my family was suddenly a very real possibility.

I was too emotional to think clearly, but thankfully colleagues in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi helped me look up different options. We found one way out, on Belarus' national carrier via its capital, Minsk.

I'll confess I had never heard of the Belavia airline before but some research and reassurance from coworkers in Moscow who'd flown with them made me decide to take the flight.

I fly regularly on one of the many three and a half hour daily flights to London from Istanbul. But this journey was scheduled for 28 hours -- 22 hours of them a layover in Minsk Airport.

The flight to Minsk was almost like being in the pre-coronavirus days. Many passengers wore masks and regularly used hand sanitizer, but the flight crew seemed pretty relaxed. They didn't all wear masks and gloves, and it did not seem like there were any attempts to enforce social distancing on board.

It was a similar story at Minsk Airport -- no temperature checks or social distancing guidelines, a far cry from the strict measures of Turkey where masks are mandatory.

But Belarus does impose 14 days of compulsory quarantine for anyone entering the country, so remaining in the airport was the only option for transiting passengers like me.

In the transit area, people were spaced out simply because there weren't that many passengers around. But there was no way I was going to sit in a communal area for 22 hours. I am a journalist and I usually enjoy exploring new places even if it's just a country's airport. But this time, all I wanted to do was find a corner and hide.

So I rented a "sleep box" -- a little wooden cabin in the middle of the airport. It offered a bed, an electrical outlet and social distancing -- all that I needed!

The bed had disposable linens, but I still covered the pillow with my scarf.

It was a long 22 hours. I was counting the hours to seeing my family and trying not to think of all the things that could still go wrong. A Turkish friend joked I could become stranded like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" but I didn't want to even think of that. There was always the possibility my onwards flight would not materialize, so Matt and I had decided not to tell Alex I was coming until I landed in the UK.

I sat around the corner from the gate long before other passengers or airline staff showed up. Anxiously I watched the information board and almost burst into tears when it was time to get on.

The flight was pretty empty but again seemed to be business as usual, with the exception of a "Public Health Locator Form" we were given to fill out, to allow health officers to contact you if a communicable disease was later found to have been on board.

We touched down at Gatwick, the airport south of London that hosts many holiday charter flights. I used to fly into there regularly when I was based in Libya and I remember the long waits for baggage surrounded by hundreds of British holidaymakers in flip flops and shorts and children running around screaming and laughing.

This was a very different Gatwick. A desolate place. As we got off the plane, we were greeted by armed police officers spread out across the terminal. Elevators and escalators were turned off, ATMs were out of service and currency exchange shops shuttered. With no other flights, our baggage was straight out.

But finally, more than 30 hours after I left my Istanbul apartment, there was my husband, waiting for me in a stunningly quiet arrivals hall. We have had no airport pick-up like this one -- no hugs, not even a touch. I had been in public places and on planes for two days. The hugs and surprising Alex would have to wait until after a shower and change of clothes.

As we walked out to the car, down deserted stairwells and through empty parking lots, I realized I was still holding my pandemic tracing form. No one had asked me for it.

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I negotiated canceled flights, an unknown carrier and a 'sleep box' to get to my son - CNN

Illustration by Joo Fazenda

When an Ebola epidemic erupted in West Africa, in 2014, the United States and China, the worlds two largest economic powers, responded in starkly different fashions. The Obama Administration dispatched the 101st Airborne and other troops to build treatment hospitals, and donated more than half of the $3.9 billion in relief funds collected from governments worldwide. Within six months, the outbreak was under control, and the U.S.-led effort was hailed as a template for handling future epidemics.

Chinese mining and construction firms had big businesses in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, but Beijing struggled to mount a humanitarian response. Between August and October of that year, nearly ten thousand Chinese nationals fled those countries in a panic. China, unaccustomed to such missions, sent medical teams and supplies, but, over all, it contributed less than four per cent of the relief funds.

Six years later, however, neither nation can claim to have led the way in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far killed more than a quarter of a million people around the world. The efforts of both have been marred by denial, coverup, and self-deception. President Donald Trumps trade war and President Xi Jinpings hostility to Western influence had already frayed the countries relationship to its most fragile point in decades. Now, in a bid to deflect criticism, they are turning against each other in perilous ways.

For President Xi, containing the disease, which first emerged in Hubei Province four months ago, has been a race against both a public-health and a political calamity. After initially silencing doctors who reported the virus, Beijing gained control of the outbreak by locking down Hubei, testing millions of people, and quarantining suspected cases, even if it required forcibly removing residents from their homes. By mid-March, China was reporting nearly no new cases, a claim that outside experts considered doubtful but in the neighborhood of truth.

Shaping the narrative of Chinas role in the pandemic will be more difficult. In April, the Associated Press obtained government documents showing that leaders in Beijing knew the potential scale of the threat by January 14th, but Xi waited six days before warning the publica catastrophic interlude of dinners, train rides, and handshakes that helped unleash the pandemic. The government staged a public-relations offensive, touting Chinas exports of medical gear to other nationsa tactic dubbed mask diplomacy. It also suggested, with no evidence, that the source of the virus was a delegation from the United States that had participated in the Military World Games in Wuhan in October. The offensive backfired: buyers complained of faulty or undelivered shipments, and U.S. officials accused China of using social media to promote divisive and false information.

The Trump Administration, for its part, has cut off funds to the World Health Organization and declined to join the European-led fund for vaccine research. Trumps delusionsthat the virus would vanish in a miracle, that an antimalarial drug would shortcut science, that ingesting disinfectant could helphave further reduced the Administrations reputation to a baleful farce. Last week, Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister of Australia, wrote in Foreign Affairs that the Administration had left an indelible impression around the world of a country incapable of handling its own crises, let alone anybody elses. In Rudds view, the uncomfortable truth is that China and the United States are both likely to emerge from this crisis significantly diminished.

The Administration could credibly have criticized Chinas early mishandling of the virus, and its efforts to control international scrutiny of the viruss origins. Instead, the White House seized on a blame-Beijing strategy to undermine Chinas growing global power and shore up Trumps bid for relection. (An ad from a pro-Trump super PAC says, To stop China, you have to stop Joe Biden.) Unnamed Administration officials floated revenge fantasies to reporters, such as abandoning U.S. debt obligations to China, an act that, investors noted, would gut Americas financial credibility. As Adam Posen, the president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told the Washington Post, In economic terms, this is worse than telling people to drink bleach.

In the riskiest line of attack, members of the Administration, conservative lawmakers, including Senator Tom Cotton, and Fox News have promoted an unverified theory that the coronavirus may have originated in an accidental leak from a Chinese virology lab. On April 30th, Trump said that he had seen convincing evidence of this, but gave no details. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed up three days later, claiming simply that there was enormous evidence to support the theory. More credible voicesincluding those of Anthony Fauci, the governments top expert on infectious diseases, and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffhave declined to endorse that view.

Yet Trump and Pompeos rhetoric has some in the intelligence community concerned that the Administration may try to push on the origins of the virus much the way that, in 2002, Vice-President Dick Cheney and his chief of staff, Scooter Libby, pressured intelligence agencies to provide material that might support the theory that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Chris Johnson, a former China analyst at the C.I.A. who now heads the China Strategies Group, said, If we have a smoking gun, the Administration would have leaked it. There are specters of Libby and Cheney, and it worries me.

More worrying, perhaps, this month in Beijing the Ministry of State Security presented to Xi and other leaders an assessment that reportedly describes the current hostilities as creating the most inhospitable diplomatic environment since the Tiananmen Square massacre. According to Reuters, some members of Chinas intelligence community regard the assessment as a Chinese version of the Novikov Telegram, a 1946 dispatch that the Soviet Ambassador to Washington, Nikolai Novikov, sent to Moscow, forecasting the advent of the Cold War.

To John Gaddis, the dean of Cold War historians, Americas advantage over the Soviet Union hinged less on aggression than on competent governance. The country can be no stronger in the world than it is at home, he said. This was the basis for projecting power onto the world scene. Weve lost that at home right now. If the Trump Administration uses the coronavirus to heighten its conflict with China, it will not only have ignored a basic lesson of U.S. history; it will expose America to yet another crisis for which it is plainly unprepared.

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The Folly of Trumps Blame-Beijing Coronavirus Strategy - The New Yorker

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport appeared nearly empty Thursday with one traveler calling it 'surreal.'The U.S. is offering airlines a $25 billion aid package, but analysts say it could be five years before the industry fully recovers. (April 16) AP Domestic

A photo of a crowded flight posted on Twitter by a cardiologist returning from the New York City area may hint at the difficulties of social distancing as air travel picks up again.

Dr. EthanWeiss tweeted a photo Saturday showing what appears to be a full United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco. Though passengers are wearing masks, he said the crowded cabin runs counter to United's assurancesthat it wouldleave middle seats empty in order to promote social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"I guess @united is relaxing their social distancing policy these days? Every seat full on this 737," tweetedWeiss along with the photo. He is both a physician and a scientist at the University of California San Franciscowho had been in New York working to aid withthe coronavirus crisis.

In a separate tweet, Weiss included a statement from United's chief customer officer, sent to all passengers, saying, "We're automatically blocking middle seats to give you enough space on board."

He said in a tweet he was among the medical workers who had been flown to New York for free by United to help care for the flood of patients due to the pandemic. He addedthat "people on this plane are scared/shocked."

Weisstold USA TODAYhe had no further comment beyond his tweets.

Reached for response, a United spokeswoman said the airline has taken steps to address the coronavirus.

Weve overhauled our cleaning and safety procedures and implemented a new boarding and deplaning process to promote social distancing," spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs said in an email. "Our flight to San Francisco had an additional 25 medical professionals on board who were flying for free to volunteer their time in New York. Weve provided complimentary flights for more than 1,000 doctors and nurses in the past few weeks alone and all passengers and employees were asked to wear face coverings, consistent with our new policy.

A passenger flying from Newark to San Francisco says his flight was packed, with little opportunity for social distancing.(Photo: Julio Cortez, AP)

United is among several airlines that have established policies of trying to keep middle seats open,though for some it appears more of a goal than a guarantee. Airline passenger traffic has plunged to levels not seen since the 1950s and recentlydomestic flights averaged 17passengers, Nicholas Calio, CEO of the industry trade group Airlines for America, told a Senate Committee last week.

But as the nation starts to reopen, airline traffic is starting to pick up and thereis more pressure to fill middle seats.

The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 215,444 people passing through checkpoints Friday as the usually busy Mothers Day weekend began, the highest daily number since March 25 and more than double the low of 87,534 on April 14. Airline executives have repeatedly said this month that they believe travel demand bottomed in mid-April.

Fridays figure is still down nearly 92% from the same Friday a year ago, however, when 2.6 million passengers, crew members and airport employees were screened at TSA checkpoints.

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Packed United flight leaves passengers 'scared,' 'shocked' amid fears of the coronavirus - USA TODAY

See the latest coronavirus updates in Idaho as we work together to separate facts from fear.

BOISE, Idaho BOISE, Idaho (Scroll down for the latest news updates.)

Idaho's number of deaths and cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continue to climb amid a worldwide pandemic.

Latest Idaho coronavirus updates

Sunday, May 10

ICYMI:A Boise mother and son graduated from Boise State together during the university's first virtual commencement ceremony.Read the full story here.

Saturday, May 9

Boise State University held its first ever virtual commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.

In case you missed it, you can watch the ceremony online or on the school's Facebook page.

5:17 p.m. - Idaho adds only 19 confirmed cases, 3 probable cases, no new deaths

Health departments are Idaho updated their data on the coronavirus in Idaho. For Saturday, May 9, Idaho only added 19 confirmed cases, which brings the statewide confirmed number of coronavirus cases to 2,049. Idaho's number of cases in which the patient recovered from COVID-19 increased to 1,473.

Friday, May 8

5:11 p.m. - Idaho adds 22 new confirmed cases, no new deaths

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and public health districts across Idaho updated their daily totals on the coronavirus pandemic in the Gem State. Statewide, Idaho added 22 confirmed cases, bringing the Gem State's confirmed cases total to 2,030, and no new deaths. The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 increased to 1,442.

3:07 p.m. - Emmett Cherry Festival canceled

The Gem County Chamber of Commerce announced the 86th annualEmmett Cherry Festival has been canceled due to the stage 4 COVID-19 restrictions. The festival was scheduled for June 17-20, 2020.

3 p.m. - Boise State University to hold virtual commencement Saturday

Boise State University will hold its first-ever virtual celebration for graduates on Saturday morning.

In all, 2,785 students are eligible for more than 3,000 degrees and almost 800 are students that are eligible for honors.

If you would like to tune in, you can watch the ceremony online or on the school'sFacebook page at 10 a.m.

2:20 p.m. - Idaho Power announces updated plan to open campgrounds, boat ramps

Idaho Power could reopen some campgrounds as soon as May 29. Other recreational sites such as boat ramps and day-use areas may open sooner.

The company owns more than 60 recreational sites along the Snake River, including campgrounds in Hells Canyon and at C.J. Strike and Swan Falls reservoirs. All were closed in mid-March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, a handful of boat ramps and day-use areas have reopened, and the company hopes to open additional outdoor recreation sites May 15.

A full list of open sites is available atidahopower.com. Visitors should check the website to make sure their destination is open before traveling, as dates could change.

8:40 a.m. - Western Idaho Fair still making preps for a 2020 fair

The Western Idaho Fair posted on itsFacebook page that no decision has been made whether the fair will go on as planned for August 21-30 or be canceled for 2020. Organizers say they are optimistically planning and making preparations for a 2020 fair and continuing to monitor the facts regarding COVID-19.

They are working with government officials, local health officials and community partners to modify plans with the priority of keeping patrons, partners, and employees safe. And are working hard to create an experience people want and love. They will provide updates as information becomes available.

At KTVB, were focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: http://www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.

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Live coronavirus updates: 67 deaths and 2049 confirmed cases; 1473 recovered - KTVB.com

Some retails stores in Los Angeles will be able to open starting Friday, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced in a news conference Wednesday.

Garcetti said he plans to modify the safer at home order in the city of Los Angeles.

Florists, toy stores, music stores, book stores, clothing stores and sporting goods stores in Los Angeles may offer curbside pickup, he said. Car dealerships will also be able to open.

Some context: This is in line with what Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said in an earlier news conference.

He clarified that stores will only able to offer curbside pickup and that people will not able to go inside the stores.

Starting Saturday, the city will open its trails, parks and golf courses.

Face coverings will be required at all city trails and golf courses, Garcetti said. Runyon canyon will remain closed.

Friday May 8 marks the beginning of phase two, a slow and gradual loosening of some of the restrictions, he said.

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The US coronavirus outbreak has altered daily life in almost every way. - CNN