 Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Health Care. There are 1.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., including 68,000 deaths. And we could see more deaths into the summer, according to an internal Trump administration report. Still, more states are preparing to reopen, as governors face political and economic pressure. Meanwhile, the FDA tightened its rules on antibody tests, which most experts say will be helpful in finding out who has been exposed to the virus. We'll start with some numbers: Eye-popping prediction: 3,000 daily coronavirus deaths by June The Trump administration is projecting that the United States could see up to 3,000 deaths per day from the coronavirus by June 1, a person familiar with internal documents confirmed to The Hill on Monday. The New York Times, which was the first to report on the projections, posted the documents, which show the CDC and Federal Emergency Management Agency forecast a steady increase in the number of new cases per day. The projections show the U.S. reaching 200,000 new cases daily by June 1 with a daily death toll of roughly 3,000. The number of daily cases peaked in late April at just over 30,000. The current daily death toll varies, but typically falls between 1,500 and 2,000. White House pushback: A White House spokesman said the document had not been presented to the coronavirus task force or gone through interagency vetting. "This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the Coronavirus Task Force or data that the task force has analyzed," deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement. Takeaway: The stark numbers highlight the risks of cases spiking even as states start to reopen. Read more here. Speaking of reopening... Virginia governor expects to begin lifting restrictions May 15 Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said coronavirus restrictions in the state will remain in place through May 14 but that he will consider beginning to roll them back the following day. “Everything you have done has truly made a difference — we flattened the curve [of infections] and our hospitals have not been overwhelmed,” Northam said in his daily press briefing Monday. “I am keenly aware that it has come with a tremendous cost. Now we can start to move into a new phase of our response.” Northam said he will keep in place the state's stay at home order, which doesn't expire until June 10. But on May 15, he said, businesses could reopen with enhanced safety measures in place. This would include customers needing to make appointments for haircuts and reduced capacity for restaurants, gyms and retailers. After about three weeks, Northam said, institutions and businesses could begin another, slightly relaxed phase of reopening. Grim numbers: Northam said the rate of new infections appears to have slowed, But like neighboring Maryland and D.C., Virginia has seen a steady increase in cases week to week. Friday was the state's worst day yet, with 1,055 new cases. The state is now up to 18,671 total cases and 660 deaths. Read more here Related: California will begin to reopen some businesses Friday Also itching to get back to business? House Republicans McCarthy lays out plan to reopen Congress GOP leader disagrees with Pelosi, McConnell on WH testing offer This will be controversial: White House prohibits coronavirus task force from testifying in May Whenever the House does get back to business, whether remote or in person, they won't be able to call White House coronavirus task force members as witnesses in any oversight investigations. New guidance issued by the Trump administration Monday prohibits White House coronavirus task force members from testifying before Congress this month, and only chief of staff Mark Meadows is allowed to sign off on exceptions. Task force members and key deputies have been instructed not to accept invitations to participate in congressional hearings in May, while other agencies responding to the pandemic are being advised to limit the number of hearings they attend. Top administration officials argue the coronavirus task force and the primary agencies responding to the pandemic need to focus their attention and resources on response efforts, and that having them testify could use up critical hours. “We’re telling agencies that during this unprecedented time our resources need to be dedicated toward the coronavirus. At this stage we really need everybody manning their stations and prioritizing coronavirus response work,” a senior administration official told The Hill. Read more here FDA changes policy, requires manufacturers to submit antibody test data The FDA on Monday reversed a controversial policy allowing companies to validate their own antibody tests. Now, commercial manufacturers will be required to submit data to the agency proving the accuracy of their antibody tests. Manufacturers must apply for an emergency use authorization, with their validation data, within 10 business days from the date their products are available. If commercial manufacturers that are currently marketing tests fail to apply for the approvals, the FDA said it intends to share that information publicly. Antibody tests determine whether has had the coronavirus in the past by testing for the presence of antibodies in the blood, making them different from tests that determine whether someone is currently infected with the virus. The controversy: In the rush to get tests to the public quickly, the FDA allowed companies to market tests with little to no oversight, raising the potential for a surge in inaccurate results. The original policy, which allowed companies to self-verify their tests, had been in place since mid-March. More than 150 tests are on the market that have not been FDA authorized. Read more here WHO says US hasn't shared any evidence linking coronavirus to Chinese lab The U.S. government has not provided the World Health Organization (WHO) with any data or information linking the coronavirus to a laboratory in China, senior WHO officials said Monday, just days after President Trump claimed to have seen such evidence. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he had seen evidence that made him confident the virus was tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. He refused to offer any details. "I can't tell you that. I am not allowed to tell you that," Trump said. At a press briefing Monday, WHO officials said evidence based on nearly 15,000 fully sequenced samples of the coronavirus suggested it is of natural origin, and that they had seen no evidence that a laboratory was involved. "We have not received any data or specific evidence from the United States government relating to the purported origin," said Mike Ryan, director of the WHO's emergency program. "From our perspective, this remains speculative." "If that data and evidence is available, it will be for the United States government to decide when it can be shared," Ryan added. Read more here What we’re reading: The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental health crisis (The Washington Post) Routine cancer screenings have plummeted during the pandemic (STAT) 3 hospital workers gave out masks. Weeks later, they all were dead. (New York Times) State by state: Los Angeles clinic puts underprivileged community at greater risk of contracting coronavirus, health care workers say (NBC News) With DACA down to the wire, immigrant health care workers fight the pandemic as possible deportation looms (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Colorado Democrats abandon 2020 effort to pass public health insurance option (The Colorado Sun) Op-eds in The Hill: The science behind COVID-19 — and how to guard against infection | 
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