The Rundown: TWH Has A Plan B For Testing

The Trump administration has delivered a new plan for coronavirus testing to Congress that puts most of the responsibility on states, but says the federal government will provide 100 million testing swabs and 100 million tubes of viral transport media.

The plan said the states must each set up their own testing program, which will include contact tracing, and the federal government will, quote, "ensure that States have the collection supplies that they need through December 2020."

It advises states to aim to test a minimum of two percent of their populations in May and June. Congressional Democrats criticized the plan Monday, charging, "President Trump’s national testing strategy is to deny the truth that there aren’t enough tests and supplies, reject responsibility and dump the burden onto the states."

A ban on non-American travelers from Brazil coming into the country because of its high number of confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to the U.S., is going into effect late today, two days earlier than had been said on Sunday when the travel ban was announced.

California said yesterday that churches can resume holding in-person services, but the number of worshippers has to be kept to less than 100 people and they should wear masks, avoid sharing prayer books and not use collection plates.

In other developments:

• Death Toll Over 98,000: The number of people who've died in the U.S. was more than 98,200 as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and there were more than 1,662,000 confirmed cases.
• NYSE Trading Floor to Reopen: The New York Stock Exchange will reopen its trading floor today (May 26th) after two months, but with restrictions. Only 25 percent of the usual number of traders will be allowed on the floor, and they must wear masks, avoid taking public transportation, and follow social distancing guidelines, with Plexiglass barriers set up to help separate them. No visitors will be allowed, and media organizations that usually broadcast from the floor aren't allowed back yet.
• Vaccine Now May Have Lower Chance of Being Proven Effective: The University of Oxford's promising potential vaccine may now have a lower chance of being proven effective because of the success in reducing the spread of the coronavirus in the U.K. due to social distancing. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the University's Jenner Institute, told The Telegraph that what was an 80 percent chance of proving success is now down to 50 percent. The problem isn't about the vaccine itself. Instead, the issue is that the spread of the virus in the U.K. might be too low to test effectively if the vaccine protects against getting it.

➤TRUMP, BIDEN MARK MEMORIAL DAY, BIDEN'S FIRST IN-PERSON APPEARANCE IN TWO MONTHS: President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, both publicly marked Memorial Day on Monday, Biden in his first in-person appearance in more than two months as he's been following stay-at-home guidelines amid the pandemic.


Trump appeared at Arlington National Cemetery, where presidents usually lay a wreath on Memorial Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Because of the pandemic, Trump touched and saluted a wreath already in place. He then went to the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore and spoke there, including praising the tens of thousands of service members and National Guard members involved in the fight against the coronavirus.

Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, laid a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware home, a visit that wasn't announced ahead of time. Both were wearing black face masks. He said afterward, "Never forget the sacrifices that these men and women made. Never, ever forget." Biden has been campaigning from home, doing TV and online appearances.

➤POLICE MANHUNT FOR UCONN STUDENT IN KILLING OF TWO PEOPLE: Police are looking for a 23-year-old University of Connecticut student in connection with the murder of two people. Peter Manfredonia is suspected of killing a 62-year-old man, Ted DeMers, with what police described as a "edged weapon" and seriously injuring a neighbor who tried to help on Friday in the town of Willington. DeMers was driving down a street when he saw a man suspected of being Manfredonia on foot wearing a motorcycle helmet and stopped to speak to him. The man got into his car and fatally attacked him. Manfredonia is also suspected in the killing on Sunday of a 23-year-old male acquaintance, Nicholas J. Eisle, who was found dead in his home in the town of Derby. He then kidnapped another person, stole a car from Eisle's home, and drove to New Jersey, where he freed the captive and abandoned the vehicle. He fled to Pennsylvania, and he was last seen on foot in East Stroudsburg. An attorney for Manfredonia's family, Michael Dolan, last night urged him to turn himself in, saying, "It's time to surrender. You have your parents and your sisters and your family's entire support. So Peter, from your parents, who love you, please turn yourself in." Dolan also revealed that Manfredonia has struggled with mental issues over the past several years and had sought help.

➤EWING OUT OF HOSPITAL, RECOVERING FROM CORONAVIRUS: NBA great Patrick Ewing, who's currently Georgetown's basketball coach, is out of the hospital and now recovering at home from the coronavirus, his son, Patrick Ewing Jr., said Monday. The 57-year-old Ewing announced Friday that he'd tested positive for the virus and was being treated at a hospital. The Hall of Famer was taken by the New York Knicks with the Number 1 overall pick in the 1985 draft, and went on to play 17 seasons in the NBA, 15 of them with the Knicks. He has been head coach at Georgetown, his alma mater, since 2017.

➤BUSCH WINS XFINITY SERIES RACE IN CHARLOTTE: Kyle Busch drove past Austin Cindric on the final lap of overtime last night for an Xfinity Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, the 97th of his career. Busch has won 210 races across NASCAR’s top three series, the most of any driver. As with all NASCAR races since it returned from its 10-week coronavirus shutdown on May 17th, there were no fans in the stands.

➤NHL EYEING EARLY JUNE FOR 'PHASE 2' OF RESTART, ALLOWING SMALL GROUP WORKOUTS: The NHL said in a memo Monday that it's aiming to begin Phase 2 of return to play from its coronavirus shutdown in early June, which will allow practice rinks to open and players to have small, voluntary group workouts. The on-ice sessions would be noncontact and involve up to six players, who'd be expected to main physical distancing at all time. They wouldn't have to wear masks while on the ice or excercising. Phase 1, which is ongoing, advised players to self-quarantine. The final two phases, which would be the opening of training camps and a return to play, weren't mentioned in the memo.

➤NEARLY SIX MILLION WATCH WOODS-MANNING VS. MICKELSON-BRADY GOLF MATCH: Turner Sports announced Monday that an average of 5.8 million people across four of its networks -- TNT, TBS, truTV and HLN -- watched the charity golf match Sunday that teamed up golf and NFL greats Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, making it the most-watched golf telecast in cable TV history. The team of Woods and Manning beat Mickelson and Brady in The Match: Champions for Charity, which raised $20 million for coronavirus relief. The PGA Tour is set to return in two weeks.