Coronavirus pandemic in the US

President Trump said he disagreed "strongly" with Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to open up parts of Georgia's economy while the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the state.

Some context: Kemp, a Republican and staunch ally of Trump, on Monday announced Georgia would allow nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms to open Friday.

In-person church services can resume. And restaurants and movie theaters can open Monday. His order also bars cities from imposing their own restrictions on businesses.

It's the most aggressive move yet to reopen a state's economy as Trump optimistically pushes for a May 1 end to some statewide lockdowns. It also came as a surprise to mayors and some members of Kemp's own coronavirus task force.

Watch the moment here:

President Trump defended the decision to reopen states amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying the virus will not "be coming back" in as many cases as the US saw earlier this year.

"And if it comes back, though, it won't be coming back in the form that it was. It will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain. What (CDC Director Robert Redfield) was saying and I spoke to him at great length, he was saying if it should come back together, now you have the flu and you have the embers of corona," Trump said.

He continued: "But in my opinion, from everything I've seen, it can never be like anything we've witnessed right now. What we've just gone through, we will not go through. You could have some embers of corona, and you could have a big flu system ... We will not go through what we went through for the last two months."

Reporter to Trump: How can you say the virus will not come back at the same level? 

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clarified comments he made to the Washington Post about how the second coronavirus outbreak could emerge this winter in conjunction with the flu season to make for an even more dire health crisis.

"There's a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through," CDC Director Robert Redfield said in a story published Tuesday. "And when I've said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don't understand what I mean."

Speaking moments ago at the White House, Redfield said that the second wave "could be more difficult, more complicated" and not "worse."

Watch here:

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that 150,000 Covid-19 tests will arrive in Colorado from South Korea by the end of the week, plus 150,000 swabs coming in May.  

The state is partnering with Colorado State University to expand testing at skilled nursing facilities, including asymptomatic workers. Officials are also working to deploy “hundreds of thousands of antibody tests,” Polis said. 

Polis said he will relax the stay-at-home order due to expire on April 26, and Colorado will move to a “safer-at-home” phase starting on April 27.

There are at least 846,982 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 46,609 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

As states begin to include “probable deaths” in their counts, so will JHU. In the upcoming days, these changes may show as surges of deaths in the United States. 

On Wednesday, Johns Hopkins reported 22,093 new cases and 1,567 reported deaths. 

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday he will likely not extend the state’s shelter-in-place order, which is set to expire Monday.

Reeves suggested he might narrow the directive to apply only to the state’s high-risk population, such as the elderly and those with preexisting conditions.

He said steps to fully reopen the state’s economy might take weeks, and could happen incrementally by region or county. He promised the process would be cautious and gradual.

Reeves signaled a final decision on Mississippi’s shelter-in-place order will come by the end of the week.

Montana's stay-at-home order will be lifted Sunday, as part of a gradual and phased reopening of the state, Gov. Steve Bullock tweeted today.

His phase one measures outlined in a statement include giving local school districts the option to return to in-classroom learning beginning May 7.

Places of worship can become operational on April 26 in a manner consistent with social distancing between people who are not members of the same household.

Main street and retail businesses can become operational on or after April 27 if they can adhere to requirements to limit capacity and maintain strict physical distancing. Employers are directed to develop policies to keep employees and customers safe including teleworking when possible, enforcing social distancing protocols, and other measures.

Restaurants, bars, breweries, and distilleries can begin providing some in-establishment services beginning May 4.

Businesses where groups gather without the ability to social distance including movie theaters, gyms, and other places of assembly will remain closed.

Montana’s travel quarantine will remain in effect.

“Our new normal is going to look different. This virus isn’t gone from Montana. So as we turn to support our main street businesses and get more families back to work during this time – as we should – we must also be sure to continue looking out for those around us and protecting everyone around us,” Bullock said. 

“Once we begin to reopen, we want to be able to stay open. Our personal responsibility to protect those around us – particularly those most vulnerable – remains just as important as any time during this pandemic.”

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has put out guidelines for the reopening of gaming establishments in the state once the temporary closures end. 

Nevada operations are currently closed under the state's stay-at-home order. The guidelines would go into effect once that order is lifted or changed by the governor.

Establishments must send a reopening plan to the audit and enforcement divisions at least seven days before reopening, or as soon as possible, the memo said.

The board also listed 18 procedures that licensees should follow and have in place when reopening including that the establishment must comply with all prescribed local, state and federal Covid-19 heath requirements.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced Wednesday that she will require people to wear face coverings in public to combat the spread of Covid-19 in her county, which includes Houston, Texas.

The order will go into effect April 27 and will last for 30 days, said Hidalgo who emphasized that this new measure is “not a substitute for social distancing.”

Turner will announce a plan tomorrow to distribute 70,000 face coverings "to vulnerable communities," the mayor's office tweeted today.