This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Thursday, May 28th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

Read our guide to understanding New York on PAUSE, NY's stay-at-home order, as well as what the upstate reopening means; 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:

De Blasio Expects More Car Traffic To Be New York's "Short Term Reality"

4:30 p.m. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that New York City could expect to see an increase in motor vehicle traffic in June when the city begins to gradually reopen businesses following the COVID-19 shutdown, a remark that renewed concerns about the progress the city has made in recent years toward becoming less congested and car-reliant.

During his daily press briefing, de Blasio estimated that between 200,000 to 400,000 New Yorkers could return to work once the city reopens, which he expects will occur sometime in the next two weeks. He was later asked about whether the city was prepared to have those workers return to using public transit.

"For the next few months, people are going to make their own choice. Some are going to come on mass transit and some are not," he said, saying that he understood that some workers may still be "uncomfortable" with the idea of taking public transportation.

He added that while the city was still committed to mass transit, the "short-term reality" may be a spike in drivers.

Apart from an overnight cleaning regimen ordered by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this month, the MTA has yet to announce how it plans to ensure the safety of riders, whether it be through increased service or distribution of masks and gloves. De Blasio said he was planning to meet with MTA chairman Pat Foye on Thursday to discuss how much ridership the subways could handle in the first phase.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson once again faulted the mayor for the city's slow recovery planning.

"The city should have a corresponding improvement in bus service and protected bike lanes planned already," said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. "We should have spent the last two months planning for this. Now we're a few weeks away from hundreds of thousands—and eventually millions—of New Yorkers restarting their commutes and not knowing how to get to work safely."

He added: "We need a forward-thinking transit plan that ensures fear of mass transit during this pandemic doesn't led to carmageddon."

Staten Island Tanning Salon Owner Threatened With Jail And Fined For Reopening Business

3:30 p.m. The owner of a Staten Island tanning salon was ticketed for reopening his business on Thursday morning in defiance of the city and state's order to keep non-essential businesses such as his shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He closed his store soon after, and was reportedly warned by police he could be thrown in jail and have his license revoked if he disobeys the order again.

Bobby Catone, owner of Sunbelievable in Great Kills, ripped up his NYPD-issued summons for flouting the order in front of a crowd of supporters who staged a demonstration in favor of reopening. Many held signs urging the city to reopen all small businesses, with one sign reading "unlock New York."

Catone specifically violated administrative code 3-108, a Class B misdemeanor that mandates emergency orders must be followed. Each violation carries a $1,000 fine.

Non-essential businesses have remained closed for more than two months since Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a PAUSE order as a way of reducing the spread of the virus. Small business owners were eligible to qualify for federal loans or grantsto stay afloat.

Reporting by David Cruz

NY Businesses Can Deny Entry To People Not Wearing Masks

1:30 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo will sign an executive order that allows businesses to deny entry to people who are not wearing masks or face coverings. “We talk about reopening stores and places," Cuomo said at a press conference in Brooklyn on Monday. "We’re giving the store owners the right to say if you’re not wearing a mask you can’t come in. That store owner has the right to protect themselves. That store owner has the right to protect other patrons."

Cuomo held his daily briefing at the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in Flatbush, a neighborhood that he said has a coronavirus infection rate of 45 percent—more than twice the city's rate of 20 percent. The governor outlined a number of initiatives to reach the low-income communities in the outer boroughs hit hard by the pandemic, including a partnership with Northwell Health for more testing sites.

He also brought in some surprise star power: Brooklyn natives Rosie Perez and Chris Rock joined Cuomo. After praising the governor's leadership—"You bring me calm," Rock told the Queens boy—the pair revealed they will appear in advertising from the state and explained that they will work to encourage mask wearing.

Masks are about "respecting neighbors, your communities," Perez said. They say "I love you, you love me. I respect you, you respect me back. Let's get out of this pandemic."

Cuomo also reiterated his calls on the federal government to provide more aid to the state—"the semi-responsible thing"—and complained once again about the unfair way COVID aid has been doled out (New York, the epicenter of the crisis, has received the lowest amount of money per infected case).

A woman disinfects a subway car

Vanessa Carvalho/Shutterstock

De Blasio Says Between 200,000 to 400,000 New Yorkers May Return To Work In June

11:30 a.m. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the city expects between 200,000 to 400,000 New Yorkers may return to work in June.

"In other parts of the country, that’s a small city," de Blasio said, during his press briefing.

The mayor sketched out some details for the first phase of the city's reopening, which he said is expected to happen sometime in next two weeks. The mayor declined to provide a more precise timeline.

New York City is now the only part of the state that has yet to reopen. According to state rules, the city is still shy of meeting the required hospital capacity and number of contact tracers. Separately, de Blasio has established his own indicators—on hospital capacity and the number of people now testing positive for the virus—which have shown progress.

Under the first phase, manufacturing and construction activities can resume, along with wholesale suppliers and retail businesses. In accordance with the state's reopening regulations, business operators must comply with social distancing rules and a maximum occupancy of 50 percent.

The city will also require that confined spaces, such as elevators and behind cash registers, be limited to only one person at a time.

Despite the looming reopening, there are still unanswered questions for workers, namely about public transit, which is currently limited to essential workers, and childcare. Mayor de Blasio said the city was working on coming up with plans for both of those issues.

Jobless Claims In New York Now Add Up To More Than 2.4 Million

Another 192,000 New Yorkers filed for unemployment benefits last week, a drop of 32,000 compared to the prior week, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor.

That means that over 10 weeks since the coronavirus crisis began, more than 2.4 million people in the state are now out of work.

Nationwide, a total of 40 million unemployment claims have now been filed, with 2.1 million unemployment claims representing the latest week's tally. It now marks 10 straight weeks where the number of weekly claims in the country has surpassed 2 million.

Kevin Rinz, an economist at the U.S. Census Bureau, tweeted on Thursday that more than one quarter of the U.S. unemployment claims are from freelancers, gig workers and self-employed individuals who are now eligible to file under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

In New York, more than half a million residents have applied to the program, with 250,000 of those filing last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Another federal data release from last Friday showed that New York state's leisure and hospitality industry, which includes restaurants and hotels, bore the brunt of the job losses. In April, there were 640,000 reported jobs in that industry, down from 964,000 last year—a drop of more than 66 percent.

And a weekly economic report issued on Tuesday from Scott Stringer, the city's comptroller, showed that private New York City employers shed 823,500 jobs in April. Dine-in restaurants had the most dramatic job loss, dropping by 119,000 jobs – a staggering 85 percent decline in a single month.

The city's arts, entertainment and recreation sector saw the largest decline after restaurants, losing 67,200 jobs, or 78 percent.