<p>One pool party was a crowded bedlam of collective joy and release with no social distancing, while others heading to the beach wore masks: America getting used to scaled-back lockdowns on a big holiday weekend was a study in contrasts.</p>.<p>An estimated 10 million people have now viewed video footage of a jam-packed swimming pool Saturday at a bar and restaurant at Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri, as people enjoying a sunny day stood feet or even inches from each other in the water and poolside as music played, despite eased lockdown orders mandating social distancing measures.</p>.<p>"Scenes such as this one in Missouri yesterday are inconceivable during the pandemic. Do they all have death wishes?" one woman tweeted.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-in-india-news-live-updates-total-cases-deaths-covid-19-tracker-today-worldometer-update-flights-trains-schedule-lockdown-4-latest-news-838583.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow live updates on coronavirus here</strong></a></p>.<p>"Just Americans being free and making their own decisions and enjoying life," someone else countered.</p>.<p>Along the East Coast, in other scenes of Americans trying to get used to the new pandemic reality, people enjoying a day at the beach during the three-day Memorial Day weekend diligently wore masks.</p>.<p>Some officials tried to lead by example: President Donald Trump went golfing for a second straight day, while in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his daily coronavirus briefing not from a stuffy office but from popular Jones Beach on the state's Long Island.</p>.<p>But notions of normality collided with the grim message that the country, harder-hit by the coronavirus than any other, is just 3,000 deaths short of the 100,000 milestone.</p>.<p>In a striking editorial choice, The New York Times dedicated its entire Page 1 and more inside space to listing the names of 1,000 of the dead, with short phrases describing some.</p>.<p>Some examples: "Dale E. Thurman, 65, Lexington, Ky., tailor known for his exacting work and strong opinions; Ellis Marsalis, 85, New Orleans, jazz pianist and patriarch of a family of musicians."</p>.<p>Along much of the Atlantic coast, cool and cloudy weather held down beach attendance, a day after huge crowds hit beaches in some warmer areas.</p>.<p>But those who did pull on their sandals expressed relief at being finally able to escape the months-long lockdown.</p>.<p>At New York's Coney Island, the beach was closed to swimmers, but people strolled cheerfully along the boardwalk under the watchful eye of patrolling police, some of whom handed out masks.</p>.<p>Lisa Sklar, a men's apparel stylist who had come with her husband and their grown daughter from nearby Westchester County, said it was a huge relief to be outdoors.</p>.<p>"We have been homebound for 70 days -- 10 weeks," she said, wearing sunglasses and a mask. "It is great for our mental health to be here."</p>.<p>Judith, a 37-year-old sales worker who has been furloughed for 90 days, was not wearing a mask, citing guidelines saying it is not necessary outdoors so long as people maintain a safe distance.</p>.<p>"I wish the reopening would go faster," she said as she walked with her four-year-old daughter, "for the jobs and for everybody's mental health." She declined to give her last name.</p>.<p>Some beachgoers said they were glad the cool weather was making it easier to observe social distancing.</p>.<p>Earlier Sunday, Dr Deborah Birx -- who heads the White House coronavirus task force -- said she was "very concerned when people go out and don't maintain social distancing."</p>.<p>Scenes from some beaches Saturday showed hundreds of vacationers crowding onto boardwalks, few of them in masks.</p>.<p>Governor Cuomo, briefing reporters under a canopy at beach's edge, was again able on Sunday to cite a far lower one-day death rate in New York: 109, which was up from Friday's 84 but still far below the 1,000-plus days as COVID-19 hammered the state several weeks earlier.</p>.<p>His beachside appearance, in a white short-sleeved shirt, seemed clearly designed to underscore the message that the state is, at least, starting to move back toward normality.</p>.<p>The same seemed true of the president's first back-to-back golf outings in months. Trump again traveled by motorcade to one of his golf courses in suburban Virginia.</p>.<p>He tweeted that "cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country!"</p>.<p>That was not true in every state. Arkansas, for one, has seen its case numbers rebound.</p>
<p>One pool party was a crowded bedlam of collective joy and release with no social distancing, while others heading to the beach wore masks: America getting used to scaled-back lockdowns on a big holiday weekend was a study in contrasts.</p>.<p>An estimated 10 million people have now viewed video footage of a jam-packed swimming pool Saturday at a bar and restaurant at Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri, as people enjoying a sunny day stood feet or even inches from each other in the water and poolside as music played, despite eased lockdown orders mandating social distancing measures.</p>.<p>"Scenes such as this one in Missouri yesterday are inconceivable during the pandemic. Do they all have death wishes?" one woman tweeted.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-in-india-news-live-updates-total-cases-deaths-covid-19-tracker-today-worldometer-update-flights-trains-schedule-lockdown-4-latest-news-838583.html" target="_blank"><strong>Follow live updates on coronavirus here</strong></a></p>.<p>"Just Americans being free and making their own decisions and enjoying life," someone else countered.</p>.<p>Along the East Coast, in other scenes of Americans trying to get used to the new pandemic reality, people enjoying a day at the beach during the three-day Memorial Day weekend diligently wore masks.</p>.<p>Some officials tried to lead by example: President Donald Trump went golfing for a second straight day, while in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his daily coronavirus briefing not from a stuffy office but from popular Jones Beach on the state's Long Island.</p>.<p>But notions of normality collided with the grim message that the country, harder-hit by the coronavirus than any other, is just 3,000 deaths short of the 100,000 milestone.</p>.<p>In a striking editorial choice, The New York Times dedicated its entire Page 1 and more inside space to listing the names of 1,000 of the dead, with short phrases describing some.</p>.<p>Some examples: "Dale E. Thurman, 65, Lexington, Ky., tailor known for his exacting work and strong opinions; Ellis Marsalis, 85, New Orleans, jazz pianist and patriarch of a family of musicians."</p>.<p>Along much of the Atlantic coast, cool and cloudy weather held down beach attendance, a day after huge crowds hit beaches in some warmer areas.</p>.<p>But those who did pull on their sandals expressed relief at being finally able to escape the months-long lockdown.</p>.<p>At New York's Coney Island, the beach was closed to swimmers, but people strolled cheerfully along the boardwalk under the watchful eye of patrolling police, some of whom handed out masks.</p>.<p>Lisa Sklar, a men's apparel stylist who had come with her husband and their grown daughter from nearby Westchester County, said it was a huge relief to be outdoors.</p>.<p>"We have been homebound for 70 days -- 10 weeks," she said, wearing sunglasses and a mask. "It is great for our mental health to be here."</p>.<p>Judith, a 37-year-old sales worker who has been furloughed for 90 days, was not wearing a mask, citing guidelines saying it is not necessary outdoors so long as people maintain a safe distance.</p>.<p>"I wish the reopening would go faster," she said as she walked with her four-year-old daughter, "for the jobs and for everybody's mental health." She declined to give her last name.</p>.<p>Some beachgoers said they were glad the cool weather was making it easier to observe social distancing.</p>.<p>Earlier Sunday, Dr Deborah Birx -- who heads the White House coronavirus task force -- said she was "very concerned when people go out and don't maintain social distancing."</p>.<p>Scenes from some beaches Saturday showed hundreds of vacationers crowding onto boardwalks, few of them in masks.</p>.<p>Governor Cuomo, briefing reporters under a canopy at beach's edge, was again able on Sunday to cite a far lower one-day death rate in New York: 109, which was up from Friday's 84 but still far below the 1,000-plus days as COVID-19 hammered the state several weeks earlier.</p>.<p>His beachside appearance, in a white short-sleeved shirt, seemed clearly designed to underscore the message that the state is, at least, starting to move back toward normality.</p>.<p>The same seemed true of the president's first back-to-back golf outings in months. Trump again traveled by motorcade to one of his golf courses in suburban Virginia.</p>.<p>He tweeted that "cases, numbers and deaths are going down all over the Country!"</p>.<p>That was not true in every state. Arkansas, for one, has seen its case numbers rebound.</p>