The Trump administration has shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak.

As some states move to jump-start economies shut down by the coronavirus, most are keeping their school buildings shuttered. What makes schools such an outlier?

The president said he'd "like to see schools open" where possible, although most states have closed them for the academic year, and said children seem to be doing relatively well during the coronavirus pandemic.

As Montana's governor pursues a plan to gradually reopen the state, the state education department is relying in part on public opinion to decide whether to reopen schools this year.

Montana Superintendent Elsie Arntzen offers practical advice to schools that could open as early as May 7, even as she says "how they open schools and how learning takes place is up to them."

Five of the 12 schools in the Pac-12 expect to reopen their campuses this fall, a key step to the return of college sports. The football season begins Aug. 29 with a slate of games that include three Pac-12 schools. Both Arizona schools, both Washington schools and Oregon anticipate holding in-person classes in the fall, but that leaves seven others still mulling whether to follow suit or continue holding online classes.

Nine of the 14 football-playing members of the Atlantic Coast Conference are making plans for reopening campuses this fall while three others have publicly said they are exploring scenarios for a return following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Reopening campuses for in-person instruction is a crucial step toward restarting college sports, which were shut down in March. Commissioners of the nation's major football conferences told Vice President Mike Pence last month that college sports couldn't return until campuses have reopened, while the NCAA's chief medical officer said last week that widespread testing for COVID-19 would be critical to restarting sports.

A look at school reopenings around the world, as school leaders imagine what the new school year may bring.

A private pre-K-12 school in Idaho welcomes students back after its coronavirus shutdown, but with shortened days, a closed cafeteria, no bus service, and other signs that things aren't back to normal.

The San Jose Sharks are considering different scenarios in how to handle the return of hockey. The questions the Sharks are asking themselves are likely the same ones the Caps are as everyone waits for the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wednesday's collection of links.

Built nearly 4,700 years ago as a tomb for the pharaoh Djoser, the structure underwent more than a decade of on-and-off restorations

Many retailers are eager to hear more details from the province about when and how they should reopen after weeks of being closed to the public. The next phase of recovery is expected to start Friday.

Retail stores in Fort William First Nation (FWFN) reopened to the general public on May 5, but they are under new operating requirements, the band council announced Friday. However, the residential area of the First Nation remains accessible only to people who live in the community.

Green Depots will begin to reopen across the province on Monday, according to the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, though dates and hours of operation may vary between sites. 

The province is still on track to move to a lower alert level Monday, which would ease some of the public health measures in place aimed at curbing COVID-19.

As the province of Ontario starts to relax some COVID-19 restrictions, one Sudbury business owner says it feels great to be opening back up.

Quebecers, like the rest of the world, are growing accustomed to the uncertainty that's accompanied the pandemic. But they may not appreciate their government adding to that already hefty burden.

The provincially appointed trustee of the English Montreal School Board says the Quebec government made the “right decision” when it postponed the reopening of Montreal-area elementary schools to May 25.

While the STM is strongly urging passengers to wear a face mask or face covering at all times, it won't be mandatory, said chair Philippe Schnobb.

The NBA has pushed back plans that would allow teams to reopen their practice facilities for at least one week, and cautioned that the new target is far from set in stone.

The NBA gave its approval for teams to reopen their practice facilities on a limited basis on Friday, but only three teams have confirmed they will. And Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is in no hurry for his team to join the list.

"We don't have the big hospitals and specialized care. Should COVID-19 spread, we don't have the capacity or the resources to deal with it," said Cree Grand Chief Abel Bosum.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says big public events, including professional sports, will be on the back burner when the province announces plans to reopen sectors of its economy that were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dentists in B.C. are trying to figure out how they might reopen by May 19 as the province begins to loosen restrictions after flattening the infection curve during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toronto officials reported 180 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, a figure that represents a dip when compared to the more than 200 cases announced daily this week. 

Documents created by the top disease investigators in the U.S. meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centres and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic have been shelved by the Trump administration.

On cronies, cranks and the coronavirus.

Apple has reopened all of its operational Apple Stores in Australia, following their closure because of the coronavirus outbreak. Each of the stores has introduced social distancing and temperature checks.

Apple is to reopen at least three of its stores in Germany on May 11, in line with the country's newly-announced measure for allowing shops to open with extra hygiene measures.

Apple has just declared that it is opening up a handful of Apple Stores in the US cautiously, with more to follow as conditions warrant.

Apple's upcoming reopening of some U.S.-based retail locations will be based around guidelines that the company developed for and refined at its open South Korea Apple Store.

Apple is preparing to reopen all four of its Apple Stores in Switzerland on May 12, as part of the iPhone maker's bid to slowly return its retail efforts back to normal around the world.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 7, 2020 / 02:40 pm (CNA).- The governor of Illinois has said he will continue to ban public gatherings of more than 50 people—including religious services—until a vaccine or treatment for coronavirus is available.

The announcement comes as the White House is reported to have shelved guidance from the Centers for Disease Control on gradually reopening sections of the American economy and society.

Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday that gatherings of more than 50 people in the state would not be allowed until a coronavirus vaccine “or highly effective treatment” is “widely available.”

Public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have cautioned that a COVID-19 vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months from being developed and made available.

According to Pritzker’s five-part plan for reopening the state, gatherings of ten or fewer people are not even allowed until phase 3, the “recovery” phase that can begin, at earliest, May 29. However, following a lawsuit last week, the governor has allowed citizens to leave their homes for religious services as long as ten or fewer people are gathered for worship.

Previously, religious services of any kind in the state—including drive-in and in-person services—were curtailed during the pandemic, and even other forms of sacramental practice such as drive-in confessions were not allowed.

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced on May 1 that public Masses with 10 or fewer people would resume.

Other dioceses across the United States have already begun rolling back total suspensions on the public celebration of Mass. 

Last week, CNA reported that the White House Domestic Policy Council held a series of conference calls with bishops who had begun the process of reopening churches in line with local public health orders.

During the calls, administration officials expressed their hope to be able to support faith communities with “sensitive and respectful guidance” to help restore public worship “as soon as it is feasible.”

The bishops were told that the Centers for Disease Control hoped that issuing guidance could help inform state and local leaders about the “essential” nature of religious practice, while still allowing for localized responses to the coronavirus and provide “helpful parameters” for state and local governments who are trying to safeguard public health. But, on Thursday, AP reported that the Trump administration had shelved a 17-page report titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework.”

That document included a section on “Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith.”

According to AP, CDC officials expected the guidance to be released at the end of last week but were instead told it “would never see the light of day.” 

Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society,  told CNA that “policymakers that are making plans based on the development of a vaccine or other cure to this coronavirus are engaging in magical thinking.”

“While there is always a possibility that some miracle cure may emerge, that is entirely uncertain and should not be the basis for setting policy, especially policy in relation to our communities of faith,” Breen stated.

On April 30, the Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit on behalf of The Beloved Church in Lena, Illinois, and by that night, attorney Peter Breen told CNA, a paragraph had been added to an executive order of Pritzker’s allowing for people to leave their home for religious services.

“He [Pritzker] has at least brought churches out of the abyss of ‘non-essential,’ but he has not fully elevated them to the heights of being an ‘essential’ business or operation,” Breen told CNA on Wednesday, noting that businesses deemed “essential” to remain open were not subject to the 10-person rule.

Veracruz, Mexico :: Visitors to Logos Hope are delighted to learn they have longer to visit the ship than originally scheduled.

Scottish Golf today revealed that no date has been set for the sport in this country to restart and stressed that lockdown restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

EDUCATION Secretary John Swinney does not expect schools to reopen overnight as he stressed they would only do so when it was safe for public health.

Schools in Wales could be allowed to reopen their doors next month in a phased approach, the first minister has said.

The precious metal eased for a third day after US equities hit the highest in almost seven weeks as states including Florida took steps toward easing restrictions.