Coronavirus Watch: Is it safe to go to the pool?

Thinking about heading to the pool this Memorial Day weekend?

There is no evidence that the coronavirus can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water parks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the greatest health risk at pools isn't the water, experts say – it's the other people at the pool, who could spread the virus through respiratory droplets when they cough or sneeze.

That's why the CDC recommends that visitors wear face masks (not underwater), stay six feet apart in and out of the water and avoid sharing pool equipment. Read more about those guidelines here.

Do you have questions about the nation reopening? Submit them through this form, and we'll talk to infectious disease experts to answer them here!

It's Friday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network.

Here's the latest news, as of 1:15 p.m. ET:

• The U.S. accounts for nearly a third of the 5.1 million global coronavirus cases with more than 1.57 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. More than 335,000 people have died globally, including more than 95,000 people in the U.S. See a map of confirmed cases here.
• In a paper released Friday, Chinese researchers revealed that their candidate vaccine has so far been tested in 108 healthy adults ages 18 to 60 in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began. 
• President Donald Trump said he will order U.S. flags to be lowered over federal buildings to honor those who have died from the coronavirus. The order would continue into the Memorial Day weekend.
• Reopening today: Alaska will resume life as it was "prior to the virus," with a full reopening of the economy without restrictions; Iowa will reopen movie theaters, museums and zoos; and Kentucky will allow restaurants to operate at 33% capacity indoors with unlimited outdoor seating. See the latest news in your state.
• The Trump administration is expected to release new guidance soon on reopening churches and other places of worship.
• About 35% of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic, the CDC said in guidance for mathematical modelers and public health officials.
• The pandemic is interrupting immunization against diseases including measles, polio and cholera that could put the lives of nearly 80 million children under the age of 1 at risk, according to the World Health Organization and partners.
• Meatpacking industry crisis: As of May 20, officials have publicly linked at least 15,300 COVID-19 infections to 192 U.S. meatpacking plants, and at least 63 workers have died.
• Federal regulators are investigating a Texas laboratory that a Florida hospital chain dropped last week because of delayed and unreliable COVID-19 test results.

Documenting the pandemic: Smithsonian museums are closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but curators across the institution are hard at work to collect artifacts to best preserve this moment in time. And they need your help. Here's how you can contribute.

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— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter, @grace_hauck