Coronavirus Watch: The pandemic is changing this holy festival

Millions of Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate one of their biggest religious festivals, Eid al-Fitr, beginning this evening. But instead of gathering at mosques, visiting friends and relatives, hosting parties and sharing sweets, families isolated at home will miss communal traditions this year.

Meanwhile, flags around the country are at half-staff for victims of the virus this Memorial Day weekend as the death count in the U.S. approaches 100,000.

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

Here's the latest news, as of 2 p.m. ET:

• Americans itching to get out of the house this weekend "can be outside" if they take proper social distancing precautions, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx advised Friday. "You can play golf. You can play tennis with marked balls. You can go to the beaches" while keeping at least six feet apart, she said.
• In time for Memorial Day weekend, New York will allow all gatherings of up to 10 people with proper social distancing and mask-wearing.
• There have been more than 1.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and more than 96,000 deaths. See a map of confirmed cases here.
• The Justice Department has warned state and local officials that stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus may be illegal if they become too strict.
• More than one-fourth of Nevada’s workers don’t have jobs as the state’s unemployment rate hit 28.2% in April — the highest rate in the U.S. and the worst in Nevada history. The previous record for Nevada unemployment was estimated at 25% during the Great Depression.
• Federal officials have reassigned the warden of a Louisiana prison ravaged by the coronavirus, leaving eight inmates dead and infecting dozens of other prisoners and staffers.
• Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, unable to withstand the pandemic that has crippled global travel and with it, the heavily indebted, 102-year-old car rental company.
• Macy's, which shuttered its stores nationwide March 18, expects to reopen 80 stores for Memorial Day weekend.

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! Lydia from Newburgh, New York, asks: Is it safe to open windows at home, or can you become infected by the air outside?

The CDC recommends increasing ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning. Opening windows to let in fresh air and sunlight is good for your physical and mental health, experts say.

"If you live in New York City and your next-door neighbor's window is three feet away, that's a different story," said Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.

Remember: The main way scientists think the virus spreads is through close contact with another person, mainly through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

As always, thank you for subscribing!

— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter, @grace_hauck