Axios

Governors in Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina have announced plans to ease their coronavirus lockdowns.

The latest: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced plans on Monday to allow some nonessential businesses to reopen on Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

A state prison in Marion, Ohio, is now the United States' largest known source of COVID-19 infections, according to a New York Times database.

Why it matters: With poor sanitary conditions and close quarters for inmates, U.S. prison and detention systems are dangerously susceptible to the coronavirus. Prisons around the country have become vectors for infection, prompting authorities to either release inmates or take other steps to mitigate the spread of the virus.

U.S. oil futures prices plummeted into negative territory for the first time ever in trading Monday, a stunning sign of how the glut of unwanted crude is filling up storage infrastructure as the coronavirus pandemic crushes global demand.

The state of play: May futures prices for West Texas Intermediate settled at -$37.63 on NYMEX before recovering somewhat. But prices still remain deep in negative terrain, meaning that holders of oil delivery contracts need to pay to get rid of them.

JBS, the world's largest meat processor, will temporarily shut down a plant in southwestern Minnesota due to a coronavirus outbreak among workers, the company announced Monday.

The big picture: Meat plants have been hit hard by the virus, spiking prices across the country as a result of similar shutdowns. Labor unions have filed safety complaints as a result, claiming workers aren't being protected due to their confined working spaces and lack of personal protective equipment.

The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Monday to hold another pro forma session Tuesday afternoon, giving the White House and Congress another day to hammer out the details of the interim coronavirus spending package.

Why it matters: A vote on the bill is expected tomorrow, but the Trump administration and House and Senate leadership were hopeful they would reach a deal this morning to replenish the small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and deliver billions of emergency funding for hospitals and testing.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday that South Korea is sending the state 5,000 coronavirus kits, which can be made into 500,000 tests, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Why it matters: A lack of reliable testing supplies has hindered efforts to understand how widespread the virus is both in Maryland and across the country. Increasing testing is also a key requirement states must reach before they can relax stay-at-home orders.

House and Senate Republicans received an email from the White House Office of Legislative Affairs Monday morning telling them that "the president wanted to make sure that you saw" his tweet of the video of Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) defending the administration's response to the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Trump is looking to set coronavirus messaging for the entire party and is pointing to Crenshaw, a 36-year-old freshman lawmaker, as the model to follow.

New York City has cancelled all non-essential events during the month of June, Mayor Bill De Blasio announced on Monday.

Why it matters: The order will cancel iconic annual city events, like the Pride, Puerto Rican Day and Celebrate Israel parades. De Blasio said the city is working with event organizers to reschedule for later in the year.

• "We're going to miss all three of them in June, but they will be back," De Blasio said, adding, "We're going to do it when it's the right time."

Axios Markets Reporter Dion Rabouin breaks down the coronavirus’s effect on daily life from the empty streets of New York City: “Everything we know is going to be different from ... the past. And they may be very different from the way we expect them to be in the future.”

United Airlines said Monday that it expects to report a pretax loss of about $2.1 billion in the first quarter, as it grapples to conserve cash and borrow money amid a sharp drop in travel demand from the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The Chicago-based airline says federal grants and loans, along with creative financing for planes on order, will help keep the company afloat through September — but with travel demand uncertain for the remainder of the year, it has warned employees to brace for layoffs.

The Secret Service provided a first look at the physical coronavirus stimulus checks bearing President Trump's name on Monday.

The state of play: The agency released the preview as part of a campaign, alongside the Treasury Department, to help Americans identify counterfeits. It cited Trump's name as a "genuine security feature," together with watermarks and microprinting.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing states to consider postponing their summer bar exams, upending the career plans of around 46,000 graduating law school students, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Why it matters: A person must pass the bar before they can practice as an attorney in most states — and the bar exam is often only offered twice a year.

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the return of sports and the constant updates from leagues about when play might resume, don't lose sight of the most important factor of all: a second wave is almost certainly coming.

Driving the news: Based on league statements, more sporting events than ever are temporarily scheduled for the fall, which could result in the most action-packed sports calendar imaginable.

Chair Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve reacted with unprecedented speed to the coronavirus pandemic, but the central bank's actions could unleash a Pandora's box of unintended consequences.

Why it matters: The Fed is an unelected institution whose head is chosen by the president and its new programs have paved the way for its powers to be significantly amplified and politicized.

Reactions to the coronavirus pandemic and "stay at home" orders have varied greatly across the U.S., but new data from CivicScience shows that a plurality of Americans are leaving their homes just once a week.

Between the lines: "Those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or know someone who has been are more likely to cap their trips out at 1-2 times per week," CivicScience analysts note. "The fact that those further removed from the virus are going out upwards of three to four times a week suggests that for many, it takes a personal connection for some to change their behavior."

Marc Andreessen, a tech pioneer who is cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is out with a rare window into his thinking, "It's Time to Build," arguing that Western institutions' failure to prepare for the coronavirus pandemic "will reverberate for the rest of the decade."

The takeaway: "Every step of the way, to everyone around us, we should be asking the question, what are you building?"

Facebook unveiled Monday county-by-county maps of people with coronavirus symptoms, and says they'll be updated daily throughout the crisis.

Why it matters: "I think providing aggregate data to governments and health officials is one of the most important tools tech companies can provide to help respond to COVID," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tells Axios.

Some officials fear that the launch of antibody tests may become as problematic as the U.S.'s diagnostic testing effort, as fears rise about the tests' reliability and availability, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The tests show who has had the virus based on antibodies in their blood, even if they were asymptomatic. These people may have immunity from getting it again, although this is still unproven.

The coronavirus is shriveling the businesses of doctors' practices, which serve as the home base for most patients.

The big picture: Small and independent groups that are facing the most severe cash crunches eventually may be forced into two less-than-ideal options: sell the practice, which would further consolidate the industry and expose patients to higher costs, or close their doors for good.

Zipline, a Silicon Valley-based drone delivery service, is helping government officials in the African country of Ghana monitor the spread of the coronavirus by delivering test samples collected in rural areas to medical laboratories in two major cities.

Why it matters: It's the first time that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas, and it's the first time that drones have been used to deliver COVID-19 test samples.

Nursing homes are now required to report all novel coronavirus cases directly to the CDC, and families and patients at the facilities must also be informed, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma said Sunday.

Why it matters: Except for inpatient health care settings, the largest amount of COVID-19 deaths the CDC has recorded has been in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Thousands of residents have died of the virus in long-term care facilities; however, the agency had not previously formally tracked the number of cases inside the homes.