The Monday morning, May 11, 6:32 a.m.  Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard:

Worldwide cases 4,142,970         Worldwide deaths  283,861

U.S. cases  1,334,951        U. S. deaths  79,699

The virus has now entered the White House, with two staffers testing positive for COVID-19–a military valet for President Trump, and Vice President Pence’s press secretary.  Three of the nation’s top health officials have entered self-quarantine because of exposure to these staffers–Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Stephen Hahn of the FDA, and Dr. Robert Redfield of the CDC.

New York has been one of the hardest-hit states, with more than 337,000 cases and at least 21,640 deaths, according to the New York State Department of Public Health.    Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his Monday morning briefing, said he is planning for the state to begin reopening businesses on May 15, on a regional basis within the state.  He says the number of deaths is declining as are new hospital admissions.   He is basing his reopening on following White House guidelines, which includes continuing increased testing and having adequate contact tracers–30 per each 100,000 of population.  He stressed that he needs everybody in the state needs to understand that physical distancing and mask wearing are critical and to participate in keeping themselves and others safe.

He has posted the reopening guidelines online and is urging those in the state to understand them.  He says each region may reopen when certain conditions are met:

• The infection rate is sufficiently low;
• The health care system has the capacity to absorb a potential resurgence in new cases;
• Diagnostic testing capacity is sufficiently high to detect and isolate new cases; and
• Robust contact-tracing capacity is in place to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Over the weekend, Dr. Tom Inglesby of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health warned that with the country’s case count increasing at a rate of at least 20,000 per day right now, the country as a whole is reaching a plateau but still has inadequate testing and inadequate contact tracing.

In Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health reports that as of Sunday, May 10, the state has 632 cases and 17 deaths.  Of the 632 cumulative cases, 561 are no longer being monitored by DOH.

Hawaii Island has 75 cases, with 74 released from isolation.

Both Governor Ige and Mayor Kim have issued guidelines for reopening certain businesses.  They both stress that people are safer at home, and if out, must practice physical distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing.

The state is facing at least a $1 Billion shortfall in revenues, and the State Legislature is reconvening today to discuss the options for addressing the budget.