Coronavirus Watch: Enough with the parties already

Quit with the partying, officials around the country are warning. 

This weekend in Chicago, officials shut down a handful of events including a "trap warehouse" party that was supposed to rage until 4 a.m. Airbnb, meanwhile, cracked down on 35 "party houses" in New Jersey. And in Michigan, more than 100 teens have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending large graduation parties and prom-like events.

It's Tuesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here is the most significant news of the day, as of 1:15 p.m. ET:

• President Donald Trump, in an interview with Axios that aired Monday night, defended his administration's effort to beat back the U.S. outbreak that has shown little signs of easing. "They are dying, that's true," Trump said. "It is what it is. But that doesn't mean we aren't doing everything we can."
• A handful of states are conducting primaries today, and COVID-19 is playing a major role. More than 2 million voters in Michigan requested absentee ballots. In Missouri, the narrow list of reasons allowed for voting absentee has been tossed aside.
• COVID-19 is ravaging convents: 13 nuns in Michigan and 17 in New Jersey have died after contracting the new coronavirus. 
• A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to invoke a federal patent law to increase supply and lower prices of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir.
• Some schools are already temporarily reclosing because of COVID-19 concerns. In Indiana, one school is shutting down two days after an employee tested positive for the virus. In another, a student tested positive after the first day back to school.
• The United Nations estimates that the pandemic has led to the "largest disruption of education ever," with more than 1 billion students affected by school closures in more than 160 countries.
• In a letter addressed to congressional leaders, more than 100 CEOs in the U.S. expressed the importance of small businesses and called on leaders to provide another round of Paycheck Protection Program relief aid to small businesses.

Today's numbers: There are more than 4.7 million confirmed cases in the U.S. and more than 155,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Worldwide, cases have surpassed 18.3 million with more than 695,000 deaths. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.

What do you want to know about the coronavirus? Submit your questions through this form. J. from Jacksonville, Florida, asks: What is the current science about how long the virus can live on various surfaces?

Health guidance on this topic has been evolving for months. After several early studies on how long the virus could live on surfaces, the CDC clarified in May that the new coronavirus "does not spread easily" on contaminated objects or surfaces but mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.

Here's where CDC guidance on this topic currently stands:

• When shopping, disinfect the shopping cart with disinfecting wipes, only touch products that you plan to purchase, and use touchless payments, if possible.
• After unpacking groceries, accepting deliveries, collecting mail, getting gas or using an ATM, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• At home, regularly clean and disinfect kitchen counters.

As always, thank you for subscribing! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information. Know someone who could benefit from these daily updates? Forward them this email so they can sign up here.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck