May 24 coronavirus news

Schools in the United Kingdom will start to reopen on June 1, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a daily briefing on the novel coronavirus Sunday.

“We then intend from June 15 for secondary schools to provide some contact for ear 10 and year 12 students to help them to prepare for exams next year, with up to a quarter of these students in at any point," Johnson added.

Johnson went on to say, schools would be provided with guidelines on how to reopen in a way that is safe for students, teachers and parents, which would include:

“All children and staff and their families will have access to testing, if they display symptoms,” Johnson added.

Professional sports in New York can open their training camps, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a news briefing.

Other news: Cuomo also said veterinarians practices in all regions can being on Tuesday. 

Campgrounds and RV parks will be open statewide Monday, he said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stood by his embattled chief aide Dominic Cummings after it emerged that he made at least one journey across England despite the country's coronavirus lockdown.

Johnson said that Cummings "followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and I do not mark him down for that."

The prime minister said he has spoken to the aide and decided he had "no alternative" but to make a 260-mile journey to stay at his parents' property while his wife was sick with Covid-19 symptoms, in order to have his relatives care for his child.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported an increase in coronavirus-related deaths in New York over the past 24 hours.

The state recorded 109 deaths, Cuomo said at a news briefing today.

There were 84 lives lost from Covid-19 on May 22, Cuomo said yesterday. Saturday was the first day since March that deaths had creeped below 100 in New York.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Sunday warned that key employees — including health care workers, firefighters, police officers and teachers — could be laid off if the state does not receive additional funding from the federal government.

The dire prediction from Murphy reflects what many governors across the country fear as states grapple with budget shortfalls from the economic calamity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Democrat and other governors have called for additional federal assistance while the White House is reluctant to provide additional funds to states. On Friday, Murphy announced the state is estimated to have a revenue loss of $10 billion.

Some context: White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday in an earlier interview with CNN that there should be an analysis on state budget shortfalls and that some state's requests are "radically more money than the expected shortfall for the year."

"I thought Kevin (Hassett) was reasonable, but on this one I have to say I'm going to say time out," Murphy said. "We don't need a data crunch."

The last thing New Jersey needs to do is "lay any of those folks off and increase the unemployment rate and underserve our residents," the governor added.

"So we need it, and it's not just New Jersey, it's not just blue states, it's American states up and down the country," Murphy said.

As of Sunday morning, New Jersey had more than 153,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the second-highest rate in the country, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. At least 11,080 people have died from the virus in the state.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said on Sunday that there is “clear scientific evidence” masks work.

When asked whether President Trump should wear one, Birx said she assumes he is able to keep 6 feet of distance “in a majority of cases.”

“Well the President did wear a mask while he was less than 6 feet in an occasion where that was important – I think when he was traveling last week,” Birx added. “I’m not with him every day and every moment, so I don’t know if he can maintain social distance.” 

Regarding the large crowds who were not socially distancing seen on some beaches Saturday, Birx said on ABC: “ I think it's our job as public health officials every day to be informing the public of what puts them at risk. And we have made it clear that there's asymptomatic spread. And that means that people are spreading the virus unknowingly."

Figures released Sunday by the Spanish Health Ministry show a small increase again in the number of deaths due to coronavirus.

The statement reported 70 additional deaths, bringing the total to 28,752. The number of patients in intensive care rose by three across the nation, for a cumulative total of 11,477 since the crisis began. 

The Ministry also announced 246 new coronavirus cases nationwide in the last 24 hours, reaching a total of 235,772 in the country. This is a decrease from Saturday's 361 confirmed cases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lead the UK government’s news briefing in the next hour, amid growing criticism over his chief aide Dominic Cummings reportedly breaking lockdown measures on multiple occasions.

Johnson has stepped in to deliver the 5 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) briefing after a weekend where his government came under intense pressure to sack Cummings.

Some context: Cummings drove across England to stay at his parents’ property in late March while his partner was sick with Covid-19 symptoms. He also reportedly made subsequent trips to Durham in April.

Earlier on Sunday, a video screen showing Johnson instructing people to stay at home was set up outside Cummings’ London home by protesters.

Argentina has extended its mandatory coronavirus lockdown until June 7, according to a televised announcement made by President Alberto Fernandez Saturday night.

The president said that although quarantine measures are working and 19 provinces have not reported coronavirus cases, much work still needs to be done.

Highly-populated areas such as Buenos Aires continue to see a spike in cases since the country relaxed restrictions more than two weeks ago, Fernandez said.

The president has asked those living in provinces with a high concentration of people to stay under lockdown. The remaining part of the country currently in stage four of the reopen phase will remain working towards gradually reopening the country.

Argentina reported 11,353 coronavirus cases and 445 deaths as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health officials.