【常速英语广播5分钟】2020-04-19

VOA NEWS

April 19, 2020

This is VOA news. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that Texas and Vermont will allow certain businesses to reopen on Monday while still observing coronavirus-related precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Texas and Vermont will allow certain businesses to open on Monday, while still requiring appropriate social distancing precautions. Montana will begin lifting restrictions on Friday. Ohio, North Dakota and Idaho have advised non-essential businesses to prepare for a phased opening starting May 1."

Some state governors have warned, however, that they will not act prematurely to reopen their economies until there is more testing for the virus.

The state of Florida has reopened some of its beaches in the northern city of Jacksonville. Local officials have imposed strict time limits on who can be on the beaches in Jacksonville. They are also asking that people stay at least two meters apart and observe other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday a recent drop in hospitalizations and other improving metrics indicated the state could be past the peak of its coronavirus crisis and on a path toward stabilizing the health care system.

Cuomo's cautiously upbeat report at a daily briefing came as the daily death toll across the state dropped to 540 on April 17. Cuomo said that his state will continue to need help from the federal government as it begins to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

"I'm not asking for the federal government to come in and do any more than they need to do, but we do need their coordination and we do need their partnership."

The 540 deaths was the lowest since April 1.

This is VOA news.

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It is not clear how many of them are still in custody.

That's Reuters Olivia Chang.

With the staggering loss of jobs in the retail sector because of virus shutdowns, a trade group is asking that furloughed employees be able to work part-time and still receive full unemployment benefits. AP's Jackie Quinn has details.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a group that includes Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart and the Gap, is asking Congress to allow furloughed and laid off retail workers to accept part-time assignments without facing reduction in their state unemployment benefits.

Meanwhile, Walmart says it plans to hire another 50,000 people to meet the surging demand for essentials on top of 150,000 jobs already added.

With people desperate for work, Walmart says it's received more than one million applications for the new temporary and part-time jobs.

I'm Jackie Quinn.

One of the most sacred Easter symbols of the Christian Orthodox faith - the Holy Fire - arrived in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday. But the coronavirus outbreak meant only a top group of Eastern Orthodox clerics were able to receive it.

In normal times, Bethlehem's Manger Square would be packed with thousands of pilgrims and worshippers who would pass the holy fire to each other to light their candles. This year, crowds have been banned in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Holy Fire ritual marks the belief that a fire appears spontaneously every year from the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem.

For more on these stories, visit our website. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd.

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