Trump pays tribute at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day as U.S. virus death toll nears 100,000

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump paid tribute to fallen soldiers on Memorial Day by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, which has been closed to the public for months during the coronavirus pandemic.

There were no crowds at the cemetery this year, as visitation has been limited to family members and staff, but elsewhere in America over the holiday weekend, inhibitions - and masks - were shed. Crowds flooded newly reopened beaches, and videos emerged from Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and a pool party in Houston showing revelers ignoring social distancing guidance.

At around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, the president - wearing a dark suite and red tie - entered the grounds at the cemetery, saluting as a military band played "The Star Spangled Banner." Afterward, Trump walked up to the wreath that lay at the tomb, touching it before returning to stand alongside Vice President Donald Pence and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Trump saluted again as a trumpeter played "Taps," which was followed by a moment of silence.

Also in attendance was the vice president's wife, Karen, and a host of Cabinet officials. The first couple is also scheduled to appear at Fort McHenry in Baltimore later Monday afternoon, where Trump will deliver Memorial Day remarks.

Only family members with valid passes to the cemetery and staff are permitted on the grounds this Memorial Day weekend. Since April, visitors and staff have been required to wear masks at Arlington National Cemetery if they cannot maintain the proper six feet of social distancing. Nobody is allowed onto the grounds without first proving they are carrying a mask.

Trump, the first lady, Pence and Esper did not wear masks. Many members of the military and others also did not wear masks.

White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx said Sunday that she is "very concerned" about people neglecting to maintain a safe, six-foot distance. Even before the busy Memorial Day weekend, some experts were warning of a second wave of coronavirus cases across the Midwest and South. A new study estimates the virus, which has infected at least 1.6 million people in the United States, may still be spreading at epidemic rates in 24 states.

The Trump administration has frozen U.S. entry for foreigners who have been in Brazil anytime during the previous 14 days. The South American nation has reported more than 300,000 coronavirus cases and is still struggling to enact social distancing measures.

Trump on Monday threatened to move the Republican National Convention from North Carolina because the state's Democratic governor "is still in Shutdown mood" as critical decisions loom ahead of the scheduled event in August.

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In a string of tweets, Trump pressured Gov. Roy Cooper to "guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena" in Charlotte.

"In other words, we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space," Trump wrote, referring to occupancy rules in place or contemplated for public gatherings as states begin to lift coronavirus restrictions.

Trump demanded to know whether the venue would be allowed to use its maximum capacity, something few large sports and entertainment stadiums are planning to allow this summer.

"Plans are being made by many thousands of enthusiastic Republicans, and others, to head to beautiful North Carolina in August," Trump wrote. "They must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site. This is not something I want to do. Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!"

Trump had earlier suggested that the convention, scheduled for Aug. 24-27, could be moved to Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has begun reopening much of that state. Trump will visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday.

More than 100 partygoers packed into a swimming pool area at a club in Midtown Houston on Saturday and flouted social distancing orders to maintain space or wear masks a day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, eased restrictions on bars and restaurants, according to local media reports.

Complaints poured in over violations of the governor's order. Fire Chief Samuel Peña said late Sunday the fire department had fielded roughly 300 complaints since Friday.

Already, municipalities like Houston are grappling with how to interpret and enforce the order, especially at multifunction venues. Cle, the club that held the pool party, includes "5 different indoor/outdoor lounge areas, pool with daybeds, VIP cabanas and an elevated party deck," according to its website.

Abbott's order allows bars to open at 25 percent capacity and restaurants at 50 percent with specific social distancing and sanitation protocols; there's no occupancy restriction for outdoor seating.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, reacted to videos of the party by stating that Houston's fire marshal will start enforcing the governor's order Sunday, a reversal from remarks he gave Friday saying he would focus only on education and information.

The union representing Houston's firefighters criticized Turner's plan as an "impossible situation." The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association in a statement Sunday claimed Turner made his directive without input from public health professionals or the fire chief and said fire inspectors and investigators were given no guidance on how to deal with angry business owners and customers.

Across the United States, the majority of states relaxed restrictions ahead of the Memorial Day weekend - and prompted a new wave of challenges over public gatherings and enforcement, as well as concerns of community spread. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, told reporters Saturday several people contracted the coronavirus after attending a high school pool party.

Any restrictions on in-person classes and dorm life that the University of Michigan enacts for the fall semester will probably stay in place through the spring, the university's president says.

Mark Schlissel, an immunologist by training, told the Wall Street Journal that the university will decide in the next few weeks whether students can return to campus for classes this fall. Since the advent of flu season could make the winter months even more dangerous, it's unlikely that things will return to normal in the spring, he said.

"Any decision we make for this coming fall is likely going to be the case for the whole academic year. What's going to be different in January?" he said.

Schlissel told the paper that there will be no fall football season if the university doesn't resume on-campus instruction. That isn't a foregone conclusion, though, because university officials are trying to make the campus as safe as weathering out the pandemic at home. That may mean quarantining some students from coronavirus hot spots when they arrive, and introducing widespread testing and mandatory personal protective equipment.

Universities across the country have announced widely differing plans for the fall semester, with some, like the California State University System, moving to entirely virtual instruction. The president of Alabama’s Auburn University, meanwhile, announced earlier this month that students could expect a normal fall semester, complete with football games, fraternity and sorority events and open classes.