2 US states with strict stay-at-home rules begin to ease up

Two US states, Michigan and California, which have some of the most restrictive stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, started to ease them on Thursday.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that manufacturing — including auto plants — can resume production Monday.

Many plants have already said they plan to restart production May 18. But auto parts suppliers and tool and die shops, who said they needed to get moving ahead of the auto plants, can resume work as soon as Monday.

Whitmer also extended her "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order by two weeks until May 28. The order states that people can't leave their homes except to run critical errands, engage in safe outdoor activities or to go to a specified job.

The order continues to prohibit in-person work that isn't necessary to sustain or protect life, with exemptions for various critical jobs. Restaurants remain closed to dine-in customers under a separate measure, and bars, movie theaters, gyms and other sports facilities also are still shuttered.

California Governor Gavin Newsom outlined the first widespread changes to a stay-at-home order that shut most retail shops in his state. Beginning Friday, retailers such as clothing stores, bookshops, florists and sporting goods stores can reopen for curbside pickup.

The governor has said his order won't include other close-contact businesses such as dine-in restaurants and hair salons.

The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release from jail of Shelley Luther — a salon owner who had violated restrictions against reopening — after Governor Greg Abbott changed his executive orders to remove confinement as a punishment for violating restrictions.

"Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen," Abbott said in a statement.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced Thursday that she will allow her state's stay-at-home order to expire Saturday and that the state will enter "phase 1" of reopening. She said social distancing and facial coverings would remain necessary and that gatherings of all kinds would remain restricted to no more than five people through May 22.

The White House said Thursday it is seeking revisions to a document drafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that gives detailed advice to local leaders on reopenings.

Earlier, The Associated Press reported that the 17-page document, offering step-by-step advice regarding mass transit, day-care centers, restaurants and other types of facilities, had been shelved by the Trump administration.

A coronavirus task force official said the document hasn't been "shelved" and that the White House is seeking revisions because the document was "overly specific".

"Guidance in rural Tennessee shouldn't be the same guidance for urban New York City," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surged past 3.83 million Thursday, with about a third of those in the US, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll stands at more than 269,000, led by the US with more than 75,000 reported fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins.

A member of the US military who works at the White House tested positive for the coronavirus.

"I've had very little contact with this person," President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon.

He said the frequency of testing in the White House would increase to once a day from once a week and that he and Vice-President Mike Pence had tested negative on Thursday.

The Labor Department reported that 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week, a decrease of 677,000 from the previous week's revised level. The total of claims filed since March 21 is about 33.5 million.

On Friday, the department will release employment numbers for April. Forecasters expect the nation's jobless rate, which was at 4.4 percent in March, to skyrocket to an annualized unemployment rate of 15-20 percent for the April period, based on a survey of workers during the week of April 12.

Reuters contributed to this story.