Coronavirus live updates: Trump administration suspends Brazil travel; Health officials urge caution on Memorial Day weekend; 97K US deaths

Health officials, including the commissioner of the FDA, urged caution Sunday as millions of Americans were beginning to emerge from stay-at-home orders and get together with friends and family on the Memorial Day weekend.

Many headed to beaches and parks. President Donald Trump hit the golf course. One photographer commemorated the holiday by using a projector to cast images onto the homes of families who lost veterans to the coronavirus.

More than 97,500 people have died from the virus in the United States, more than a quarter of the 344,000 deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. There are more than 5.3 million confirmed cases around the globe, and 1.6 million in the United States alone.

"As you go out this weekend, understand you can go out. You can be outside," Dr. Deborah Birx said during a press briefing. "You can play golf. You can play tennis with marked balls. You can go to the beaches if you stay six feet apart. But, remember, that is your space, and that's a space that you need to protect and ensure that you're social distanced for others."

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Here are some highlights to know Sunday:

• North Carolina reported its highest number of confirmed cases in a single day as it entered Phase 2 of its plan to reopen.

• New York's sports teams received the go-ahead from the governor to open training camps.

• A growing number of studies and data on COVID-19 deaths confirm the link between obesity and increased risk of hospitalization among coronavirus patients.

• Spain is planning to reopen to international tourism starting in July.

What we're talking about: In race for coronavirus vaccine, will Operation Warp Speed focus the work or politicize it?

Some good news: New York state on Saturday reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths – 84 – since late March, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In April, several daily death tolls surpassed 1,000.

Trump administration suspends travel from Brazil amid coronavirus outbreak

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on Sunday banning individuals who have been in Brazil within 14 days prior to attempting to enter the United States in the latest travel restrictions aimed at containing the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

The president, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent and the Department of Homeland Security, said Brazil was the latest country to face travel restrictions as the country continues to face a surge in cases of COVID-19, according to the order.

Brazil is among the hardest hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 347,000 cases and at least 22,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The country is only second to the U.S. in terms of total positive cases.

– Courtney Subramanian

Georgia reports first COVID-19 child death, a 17-year-old in Fulton County

A 17-year-old boy has died from COVID-19 in Georgia, becoming the first child to die from the virus in the state, according to state officials. The boy was from Fulton County and had an underlying condition, Nancy Nydam with the Georgia Department of Public Health told WSB-TV.

There have been 1,824 coronavirus deaths in the state, with more than 42,800 confirmed cases, according to the state's health department.

– Jessica Flores

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn tweets Memorial Day weekend caution

FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn on Sunday issued a warning ahead of Memorial Day: The coronavirus is not yet contained.

"With the country starting to open up this holiday weekend, I again remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet contained," Hahn tweeted. "It is up to every individual to protect themselves and their community. Social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks protect us all."

Hahn's tweet came hours before President Donald Trump tweeted, "Cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country!" Trump has also called for governors to reopen houses of worship, calling them "essential."

New York sports teams get approval to start training camps

Professional sports without fans took a step forward Sunday as Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the go-ahead for teams in New York to start training camps.

The NBA and NHL seasons were stopped in mid-March, and the MLB season has been on hold after the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, particularly New York, which has the most cases and deaths in the nation.

Other sports leagues have also been on hold, with hopes to resume operations this summer and with efforts by the NHL and NBA to resume their seasons in the coming months. Cuomo said New York teams should be able to start practices in hopes of getting their seasons underway without fans.

The impact of Cuomo's announcement is uncertain. Teams are essentially waiting for directives from their leagues before resuming any official activities.

– Joseph Spector

CDC warns rats are aggressively searching for food during coronavirus

Rats, it seems, haven't been satisfied with curbside pickup or delivery during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that rodent populations – which rely on a banquet of scraps and waste in restaurant dumpsters – are spiking in certain areas. Restaurant trash bins are no longer overflowing, and the famished creatures are scrambling for new sources of food.

"Jurisdictions have closed or limited service at restaurants and other commercial establishments to help limit the spread of COVID-19. Community-wide closures have led to a decrease in food available to rodents, especially in dense commercial areas," the CDC said. "Some jurisdictions have reported an increase in rodent activity."

Environmental and health officials may witness an increase in service requests amid reports of "unusual or aggressive rodent behavior."

– Susan Miller

High school swim party linked to coronavirus cases in Arkansas

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he’s seeing evidence of a second peak of coronavirus cases in his state.

Speaking at a news conference, Hutchinson said a high school swim party has been linked to new COVID-19 cases in the northeast part of the state. The case was an example he used while encouraging people to be “disciplined” in their activities.

“A high school swim party I’m sure everybody thought was harmless,” he said. “They’re young, they’re swimming, they’re just having activity and positive cases resulted from that.”

North Carolina reports highest one-day increase in cases

North Carolina on Saturday reported the highest one-day number of confirmed COVID-19 cases so far during the coronavirus pandemic with 1,107 cases reported in the state.

The state's department of health and human services (NCDHHS) also reported 10% "of total tests were positive among labs that report both negative and positive tests."

“This is a notable and concerning increase, " said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen. "As we head into a holiday weekend, please practice the three Ws – wear a face covering, wait six feet apart and wash your hands frequently. When it comes to our health, we need to work together to protect our families, friends and neighbors.”

North Carolina on Friday entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan. Phase 2 is set to last until June 26. Mass gatherings in the state are still limited, but the second phase loosens restrictions on restaurants, opens pools and child care businesses and allows personal care, grooming, massage and tattoo businesses to open with restrictions.

New York Times front page lists almost 1,000 coronavirus deaths

The New York Times on Sunday published a full page of names of men and women who have died in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic – nearly 1,000 of the almost 100,000 deaths nationwide.

The newspaper drastically altered its typical front-page approach to mark the country inching closer to a grim milestone: 100,000 deaths. More than 96,000 people have died in the U.S. during the pandemic so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Simone Landon, assistant editor of the Graphics desk for the Times, told the newspaper she wanted to mark the moment in time but wasn’t sure about just using graphics and instead came up with the idea to compile obituaries and death notices from newspapers across the nation.

2 Missouri hairstylists may have exposed 140 clients to coronavirus

Two Missouri hairstylists worked while experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus, potentially exposing dozens of people, health officials said.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced Friday the first stylist at Great Clips had served 84 clients. In a Saturday announcement, the department said 56 other clients were potentially exposed by the second stylist.

Clay Goddard, the health department's director, said in a news briefing the first stylist to get sick worked eight days from May 12 to May 20, with only the 18th off. The coworker then worked five shifts from May 16 to 20 while experiencing very mild symptoms.

All of the two stylists’ clients wore masks and will be tested. The owner of Great Clips said in a statement that the salon will be closed until it goes through sanitizing and deep cleaning.

– The Associated Press

Trump administration exempts foreign athletes from entry ban

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf signed an order Friday that exempts certain foreign professional athletes from the ban on entry into the U.S.

"Professional sporting events provide much needed economic benefits, but equally important, they provide community pride and national unity," Wolf said in a press release. "In today’s environment, Americans need their sports. It’s time to reopen the economy and it’s time we get our professional athletes back to work."

The order also exempts the athletes' staff, team and league leadership, spouses and dependents from entry restrictions.

The order applies to Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women's Tennis Association.

Spain to reopen borders in July

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday that the country would be open to international tourism starting in July, Madrid-based newspaper El Pais and Reuters reported.

"Spain needs tourism and tourism needs security," Sanchez said.

According to The Financial Times, tourism accounts for 12% of Spain's gross domestic product. The country welcomes 80 millions tourists each year.

The rest of Europe won't reopen until after June 15 and probably later than that for non-EU citizens.

– Jayme Deerwester

Public remarks led to Florida data curator's firing

The woman who raised questions about Florida’s COVID-19 data after being ousted as the data’s curator had been reprimanded several times and ultimately fired for violating Health Department policy by making public remarks about the information, state records show.

Rebekah Jones’ comments over the past week and a half in emails to researchers, interviews with a handful of media outlets and blog posts have sought to sow doubt about the credibility of the data now that she is no longer in that role.

State health officials strenuously deny any issue with the information’s accuracy as Gov. Ron DeSantis seeks to make a data-driven case for a step-by-step reopening of the state’s battered economy following safer-at-home orders. The Republican governor lashed out at a news conference earlier this week saying Jones had a pattern of “insubordination” and should have been fired months ago.

– The Associated Press

Obesity increases risk of COVID-19 severity, studies show

The chronic conditions that increase the risk of serious illness and death of COVID-19 are by now well known: diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and being older than 65. Obesity is less well known or understood, but a growing number of studies and data on COVID-19 deaths confirm the link.

The extra weight on people in the 40-plus BMI range who contract COVID-19 increases the chance they will require hospitalization, most likely in the intensive care unit. It also hampers the ability of physicians to treat them, especially with ventilators, doctors say. Read more here.

– Jayne O'Donnell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus news: Memorial Day weekend caution from health officials