President Donald Trump on Friday announced that governors need to make houses of worship essential businesses. Trump said the guidance, which the CDC was releasing Friday, encouraged governors to change how they were classifying churches, synagogues and mosques. The president said he expected places of worship to be able to reopen this weekend. Trump said governors were welcome to call him if they disagreed, but that he would override any governor who resists. It was not clear Friday afternoon if the president has the authority to override a state’s decision on essential businesses.
Here’s what else you need to know about COVID-19 around the world:
• There have been more than 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 94,000 deaths in the U.S.
• About a third of coronavirus infections have no symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new guidance issued this week.
• The virus is accelerating through Latin America, as Brazil has officially become the third-worst hit country.
• If the U.S. had encouraged people to stay home just a week earlier, more than half the number of deaths and infections could possibly have been prevented, according to new research from Columbia University. |
