NEW YORK -- President Donald Trump played golf at one of his courses Saturday during the Memorial Day weekend as he has been urging U.S. states to reopen after coronavirus-related lockdowns. Yet many Americans remained cautious as the number of confirmed cases nationwide passed 1.6 million.
In California, where many businesses and recreational activities are reopening, officials in Los Angeles County said they would maintain tight restrictions until July 4.
Some religious leaders took issue with Trump's declaration that houses of worship are "essential" and should resume in-person services this weekend.
"Being at the epicenter of this pandemic and in order to protect our flock, we advise that congregations remain closed until more accurate and uniform information is provided," said Bishop Paul Egensteiner, who oversees the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's congregations in the hard-hit New York City region.
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Statewide, New York reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths -- 84 -- in many weeks in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo described as a critical benchmark. The daily death tally peaked at 799 on April 8.
"For me, it's a sign that we're making real progress," Cuomo said.
Rain dampened the start of the holiday weekend in the northeastern U.S., where newly reopened beaches were expected to attract throngs of people and test the effectiveness of social-distancing rules. At Orchard Beach in the Bronx, which was crowded a weekend earlier, parking lots were mostly empty except for large puddles.
Parts of New Orleans stirred back to life, with some restaurants and businesses opening for the first time in more than two months. Some remained closed, especially in the French Quarter, which relies largely on tourist dollars.
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At least a few out-of-towners trickled in. Greer Falls of Augusta, Ga., wore a mask as he entered the Royal House restaurant for lunch. After weeks at home, he said he was ready for a change of scenery and didn't want to miss a birthday celebration with friends he's known for decades.
Some amusement parks, such as Mt. Olympus in the Wisconsin Dells and Lagoon amusement park in Farmington, Utah, opened to visitors for the first time in months. The Facebook sites for both parks were flooded with comments from visitors excited to ride go-karts or roller coasters, though some complained about Lagoon's policy of requiring a mask for park entry.
California approved Orange County to open restaurants and shopping malls, setting the stage for wider opening of the region's tourism economy.
The county, home to Walt Disney Co.'s Disneyland and Cedar Fair's Knott's Berry Farm theme parks, is one of the most visited U.S. destinations. Restaurants can open for inside dining, provided guests make reservations, and shopping malls can reopen with stores offering delivery and curbside pickup, according to a statement from the county.
Disney has been opening its resorts in stages and recently opened its Disney Springs mall in Orlando, Fla. The company has not announced a date to open its similar Downtown Disney shopping and dining area in Anaheim, Calif.
CHINA SAYS CASES ZERO
Overseas, there was mixed news. New coronavirus cases in China fell to zero on Saturday for the first time since the outbreak began but surged in India and overwhelmed hospitals across Latin America.
Many governments are easing restrictions as they face a political backlash and historic recessions. In just a few months, the pandemic has killed at least 340,000 people worldwide and infected more than 5.2 million, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. It says more than 96,000 people have died of covid-19 in the United States.
Zambian Information Minister Dora Siliya tested positive for the virus and has gone into self isolation, she said in a video posted on her Twitter account. Siliya said she had no symptoms and didn't feel ill. Zambia reported 920 cases and seven deaths as of Friday.
Turkey, which has recorded more than 155,000 infections, imposed its toughest lockdown measures yet which started Saturday for the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Yemen's Houthi rebels urged believers to use masks and stay inside, as authorities try to contain infections at a time usually marked by multigenerational feasting and collective prayer.
In Germany, which has drawn praise for its handling of the virus, seven people appear to have been infected at a restaurant in the northwest of the country. It would be the first such known case since restaurants started reopening two weeks ago.
In Frankfurt, more than 40 people tested positive after a church service of the Evangelical Christian Baptist congregation on May 10.
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A church leader said the congregation has canceled all gatherings and is now holding services online. Authorities in nearby Hanau called off Muslim prayers planned for a stadium today as a precaution.
BRAZIL, MEXICO HOT SPOTS
In the U.S., Trump on Friday labeled houses of worship as "essential" and urged governors to let them reopen this weekend. Leaders of many denominations have said they plan to move gradually and cautiously.
In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz said he is scrapping his 10-person limit on group gatherings and allowing houses of worship to open at 25% occupancy if safety guidelines are met.
The leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, welcomed the change, but said parish priests should not reopen their churches if they don't feel they can meet safety measures.
France allowed in-person services to resume starting Saturday after a legal challenge to the government's ban on gatherings in places of worship.
One of the world's major pilgrimage sites is reopening today -- the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Latin America is the latest epicenter of the virus, and experts note the limits of government action in a region where millions have informal jobs and many police forces are unable to enforce restrictions.
Brazil and Mexico reported record numbers of infections and deaths almost daily last week, fueling criticism of their presidents for limited lockdowns. But infections also rose and intensive-care units were swamped in Peru, Chile and Ecuador, all lauded for imposing early and aggressive business shutdowns and quarantines.
Concerns are rising in India, where new cases showed another record jump Saturday, topping 6,000 for a second-consecutive day as a two-month lockdown has eased.
While some countries are facing a second wave of infections, badly hit Russia is still struggling with its first, and reported more than 9,000 new cases Saturday.
N.Y. FATALITIES DECLINE
New York had 84 new fatalities as of Saturday.
"What we're doing is working," Cuomo said, almost three months after the state's first coronavirus case was diagnosed on March 1.
At the start of Memorial Day weekend, the governor spoke largely of progress. Friday night he issued an unexpected order allowing groups of up to 10 people to gather anywhere in the state, as long as they maintained social-distancing guidelines.
Cuomo said that Long Island, hard hit by the virus, could begin reopening as early as this week, as could the seven-county mid-Hudson region. New York City is the final area of the state without an indicated opening date, and the city remains under official lockdown until at least Thursday.
The state's daily death toll had been stuck in the 100s for 12 days, and the drop below 100 was the first time since March 24.
New York reported 1,772 new virus cases on Saturday, for a state total of around 360,000. Cuomo said that total and new hospitalizations continued to drop, as did admissions to intensive care.
Trump played golf Saturday for the first time since he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency more than two months ago, leading to the shutdown of much of American society.
The president also planned Memorial Day visits to Arlington National Cemetery and the Fort McHenry national monument in Baltimore, followed by a trip to Florida's coast on Wednesday to watch two U.S. astronauts blast into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center.
It will be the first time since the space shuttle program ended in 2011 that U.S. astronauts will launch into space aboard an American rocket from American soil nearly a decade ago.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is chairman of the National Space Council, also plans to attend Wednesday's launch.
FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF
The golf outing at his private Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., came a day after guidance from Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, that it was OK for people to be outdoors this weekend as long as they took appropriate safety precautions.
Trump has ordered U.S. flags on federal buildings and national monuments to half-staff through today in memory of Americans lost to covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
In Washington, a bipartisan group in the Senate proposed a moment of silence at noon June 1 to honor the almost 100,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic.
"The human toll of the Covid emergency is tragic, and to get through it, we must stand together," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Vermont Democrat, said in a statement. Senate co-sponsors include Republicans Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer and Patty Murray, ranking member of the health committee, vowed on Saturday to scrutinize the Trump administration's national testing strategy that's to be delivered today.
"When it comes to testing, they've failed the American people at nearly every turn," according to their statement. "The Trump administration has been erratic and more focused on cherry-picking facts to fit their narrative than executing a comprehensive plan to protect families and workers."
Chief Justice John Roberts, in a video address to his son's high school graduation, said the pandemic "has pierced our illusion of certainty and control." He urged students to confront challenges with humility, compassion and courage.
"I think the pandemic is the world's way of saying to mankind, 'You're not in charge,'" Roberts said in a video recorded at the Supreme Court for graduates of Westminster School, a private boarding school in Simsbury, Conn., attended by his son, Jack.
He touched briefly on how the outbreak affected the court, noting he'd been asked whether the justices wore their robes during telephone arguments -- dodging the question by saying he didn't know whether it referred to robes of the "judicial or bath" variety.
Information for this article was contributed by David Crary, Geir Moulson, Angela Charlton and Darlene Superville of The Associated Press; and by Ian Fisher of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 05/24/2020