The Trump administration is permitting state and local governments to exert their traditional power to draft and enforce health and safety regulations. This has led to a variety of responses across the country and even within the same state.

Catholic bishops from South America are warning that the pandemic will engender "a humanitarian and environmental tragedy" is something is not done to alleviate conditions particularly in the Amazon basin.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported May 18 that 68% of 600 colleges and universities were planning to reopen with in-person education in the fall, while 10% were waiting to decide. An online format was the choice for 7% of schools.

During Sunday Mass on May 17, Pope Francis publicly thanked all those workers who help sanitize hospitals and neighborhoods during the pandemic and offered prayers for their work and safety.

Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the tomb of his sainted predecessor, John Paul II, on the occasion of the centenary of the Polish pope's birth. For the first time since the pandemic started, the general public was admitted into St. Peter's Basilica, but with sanitary protocols observed.

In an exclusive interview conducted over email with America, Archbishop Azevedo criticized Brazilian politicians “in different stances of power” who have “minimized the effects of the pandemic.”