Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Rice University was one of the first universities to announce that it would limit classes after the Thanksgiving break. The Houston school is scheduled to reopen for its fall semester in August, Rice University President David Leebron said, but it will conclude in-person classes before Thanksgiving due to a possibility of a second coronavirus wave. 

“As we thought about it, the important thing was really to be very flexible, very agile and very adaptable. And that meant if we had to make quick decisions to go completely online, we could make a quick decision to do that,” he added. 

Leebron said the university decided to also offer "dual delivery," meaning that every possible class will be taught simultaneously both in person and remotely.

The university hasn’t yet worked out all the details, but Leebron said it wanted to be able to accommodate students with health conditions who are concerned about in-person classes — as well as students who may have a hard time getting to campus, particularly international students. 

Leebron said the coronavirus “will fundamentally change” the university system in some ways.

“I think universities are going to become more nimble, more flexible, more personalized for students … I think it is going to make universities, in that sense, better into the future,” he said. “But, again, I want to emphasize our students made very clear they really do want to be back with each other and on our campus,” he said. 

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For the first time in recent history, President Trump will convene his Cabinet in the East Room rather than the traditional Cabinet Room. They're due to meet at 3 p.m. ET today.

White House Deputy press secretary Judd Deere told CNN the meeting is being held in the larger East Room rather than the traditional Cabinet Room “for social distancing” purposes.

There are no security issues with holding a Cabinet meeting in the East Room, former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst, said.

More context: The only time in recent memory that a Cabinet meeting has been held outside the Cabinet Room was a few years ago, while the Cabinet Room table was being redone and the meeting was held in the Roosevelt Room.

Miami Beach will enter phase one of the reopening plan tomorrow. Here is what is reopening: 

As Connecticut is set to begin the reopening process tomorrow, Gov. Ned Lamont said the state is “taking baby steps.” 

Restaurants, offices, retail stores and outdoor museums and zoos in the state will reopen with certain restrictions tomorrow.

“We're one of the first states to allow outdoor dining here in New England, and I think that's important. You want to get the customers comfortable,” he told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “… Maybe they're hesitant, they don't want to go back to a restaurant at all. But maybe they'll go back if it's outside-only, waiters wearing a mask, waiters wearing gloves. And maybe a month from now, they'll feel more comfortable about going inside, assuming all the protocols have been followed.” 

Lamont said that the coronavirus could change small businesses in the long run. 

Hair and nail salons were slated to reopen Wednesday as well, but their reopenings have been pushed back to June 1. 

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Jayden Hardowar, an 8-year-old from New York, was saved by his 15-year-old brother, who performed CPR he learned as a Boy Scout after Jayden went into cardiac arrest. Jayden tested negative for the coronavirus but positive for antibodies, his dad said.

Doctors are warning parents and health care workers that they should expect to see more cases of a mystery illness, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, which seems to be affecting kids after a round with coronavirus.

Jayden’s father, Roup Hardowar, said his son had a fever, then diarrhea, and then ended up in cardiac arrest. The boy did not have any rashes or inflammation that other children with the syndrome have experienced. 

His father said when Jayden first came home from the hospital a few days ago, he wasn’t able to walk on his own and wasn’t talking much, but now his strength and voice is coming back. 

Doctors diagnosed the boy with Brugada syndrome — a rare but potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disorder — and now he has a defibrillator, according to Roup Hardowar.

Hardowar said his advice for other parents is to be aware of signals that something is wrong in their children, plus have someone in the family learn CPR. 

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By Wednesday, every US state will have started lifting measures enacted weeks ago to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Right now, all states except Connecticut have in some way moved toward reopening — and Connecticut is due to begin its first reopening steps tomorrow.

Here's a look at some states reopening in the coming days:

Read more about where your state stands on reopening here.

Community colleges in Connecticut can return to school now, and graduate students will probably go back next, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told CNN.

The state's education reopening committee will decide in August what other colleges will do about returning in September.  

Lamont said he hopes everything would go back to "normal," giving CNN a picture of what that looks like.

Americans stockpiling groceries and household essentials during the coronavirus pandemic provided Walmart with one of its best quarters in decades, the company said Tuesday.

Walmart announced that sales at stores open for at least a year soared 10% last quarter compared with the year prior, while online sales spiked 74%.

Although Walmart recorded nearly 6% fewer transactions over the past three months, the average receipt soared 16.5%, the company said.

Walmart's stock rose around 4% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

Morehouse College has announced a number of employees will be terminated, face furloughs, and pay cuts due to a budget shortfall. 

These measures are part of a cost-reduction plan to offset an anticipated fiscal year 2020-2021 budget deficit and anticipated impact of the pandemic, according to a press release from the college. 

Some 54 part-time and full-time employees of the Atlanta-based college will be furloughed for at least two months; and 13 full-time employees will be terminated as of June 1. 

Other employees are facing pay cuts from June 1 to at least the end of the year.

"Faculty and staff members who earn more than $55,000 annually will receive a pay reduction of 10 to 15 percent, depending on their income levels. President Thomas’ salary will decrease by 25 percent, a cut that he volunteered to receive," the press release said.

Why now? This comes as leaders of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) say they are being hit by unique challenges as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on communities and finances.

Sending students home meant a loss of room and board fees, while the switch to online learning brought additional costs for colleges.

The reduced income and extra spending were even more significant for HBCUs. They generally have smaller endowments that can be used as a financial buffer and also rely more on in-person experiences.

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