This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Monday, June 15th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 1 of reopening now. Here's a look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

FDA Revokes Approval For Malaria Drugs Trump Promoted For Preventing Covid

2:30 p.m. The Federal Drug Administration has withdrawn its emergency approval for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two malaria drugs that President Donald Trump has recommended, without proof, as a way to prevent coronavirus, despite scientists and public health experts warning about their dangerous side effects.

In a letter on Monday, Denise Hinton, a chief scientist at the FDA, wrote that the decision to revoke its authorization was at the request of a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. New information had led federal authorities to believe that "this drug may not be effective to treat COVID-19 [Coronavirus Disease 2019] and that the drug’s potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks," she said.

She added that the suggested dosing for the two drugs were "unlikely to produce an antiviral effect."

The drugs have been approved for malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and Monday's decision will not impact their ability to be prescribed for those illnesses.

During a press conference on May 19th, Trump said he was taking hydroxychloroquine once a day, shocking the media as well as doctors, who noted that the drugs could cause heart arrhythmias.

"I'm taking it for about a week and a half now and I'm still here, I'm still here," he told reporters.

Trump made the statements even after the first large study of the drug on nearly 1,400 covid patients published in early May showed that those who received hydroxychloroquine did not do any better than patients who did not receive the drug. 

Two More NY Regions Will Enter Phase Three As Deaths Reach New Low

12:30 p.m. Western New York and the Capital region have been cleared to enter phase three of reopening from the state's COVID-19 PAUSE this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

The two areas will join five other parts of the state that are now in phase three. Under phase three, restaurants can begin serving patrons indoors at half capacity while personal services like nail salons and spas can also resume operation as long as they follow the state's safety guidelines.

The mid-Hudson and Long Island regions are currently in phase two, while New York City began phase one last Monday.

Cuomo on Monday also announced that under phase three, gatherings can increase to 25 people. Under prior phases, they are capped at 10.

Speaking from Westchester prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a pedestrian and bike path on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Cuomo began his briefing by noting that New York on Sunday recorded 27 deaths, the lowest tally since the coronavirus crisis began.

Yet even amid the encouraging news that virus cases have continued to decline, the governor once again castigated local governments for failing to enforce social distancing rules. Cuomo did not mention any officials by name, but on Sunday he specifically noted the large numbers of people gathering outside bars and restaurants in Manhattan and the Hamptons.

"People have been cooped up for a long time and people want to do what they do," he said. "If local governments don’t enforce compliance, they're not doing anyone a favor."

"They need to do their job," he added.

In response to Cuomo's criticisms, a spokesperson for City Hall said that the city "must balance safety with people’s need to reopen their businesses" and maintained that social distancing ambassadors were out all weekend.

The spokesperson added: "These businesses are allowed to be open per the Governor’s guidelines and we don’t believe imprisoning people or taking away their livelihood is the answer.”

Over the weekend, scores of people across parts of Manhattan were spotted drinking and socializing on city sidewalks, open streets, and in some cases, at outdoor tables. While bars and restaurants are allowed to serve takeout food and beverages, outdoor dining is not allowed under phase one, and the state's law prohibiting open containers of alcohol in public remains in effect.

Cuomo, who said he called some of the businesses personally over the weekend, has threatened to strip violators of their liquor licenses, which the state controls.

Asked about how owners responded to his phone calls, the governor said they did not deny the abuses but argued that they had communicated the rules to customers. He said simply telling people was not sufficient.

"They're your patrons. It’s your establishment, you’re responsible," he said.

As Cases Rise, Some State Officials Say Another Shutdown May Be Necessary

Almost half of the the states in the U.S. are experiencing a resurgence in coronavirus cases, causing officials in New York and other states to say that they would consider implementing another shutdown to stop the spread of the virus.

Speaking from the New Jersey boardwalk on the Today Show on Monday morning, Governor Phil Murphy was asked whether he would follow Governor Andrew Cuomo, who on Sunday threatened to roll back the reopening in New York City if he sees an uptick in cases. Cuomo cited 25,000 complaints statewide about businesses failing to comply with reopening rules, most of them bars and restaurants in Manhattan and the Hamptons.

“You have to leave that on the table as a consideration,” Murphy said. “I hope to God that we don’t have to.”

New Jersey and New York are among the states that have seen the number of infections continue to fall, although experts warn that spikes will be inevitable as reopenings expand and as more people flout social distancing rules. State officials across the country are also still waiting to see the impact on virus infections from the massive protests against police violence.

"It is the perfect set-up for the spread of the virus, in the sense of creating some blips which might turn into some surges," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said recently.

According to an analysis by the New York Times, virus cases were rising in 22 states as of Saturday.

The United States recently surpassed two million confirmed cases. Although Americans have largely flattened the curve, with about 21,000 new known cases reported each day, there are still between 800 to 900 people in the U.S. dying from coronavirus every day.

On Friday, Jay Butler, the Centers for Disease Protection and Prevention's deputy director for infectious diseases, acknowledged that more shutdowns could be necessary.

“If cases begin to go up again, particularly if they go up dramatically, it’s important to recognize that more mitigation efforts such as what were implemented back in March may be needed again,” he said.

Officials in Oregon and Utah last week said they would place a temporary pause on the reopening of their states after seeing new record highs in the daily number of virus cases.

Arizona, Texas and Florida have also reported record high case numbers.

In Texas, where the number of hospitalized reached a new peak, the state's Governor Greg Abbott nonetheless said Friday that there’s “no real need to ratchet back the opening of businesses in the state," adding that the state had a sufficient number of hospital beds.