First Edition: July 23, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Ever Heard Of A Surgical Assistant? Meet A New Boost To Your Medical Bills
Izzy Benasso was playing a casual game of tennis with her father on a summer Saturday when she felt her knee pop. She had torn a meniscus, one of the friction-reducing pads in the knee, locking it in place at a 45-degree angle. Although she suspected she had torn something, the 21-year-old senior at the University of Colorado in Boulder had to endure an anxious weekend in July 2019 until she could get an MRI that Monday. (Hawryluk, 7/22)
Kaiser Health News:
States Search For Ways To Deal With COVID-19 Testing Backlogs
States frustrated by private laboratories’ increasingly long turnarounds for COVID-19 test results are scrambling to find ways to salvage their testing programs. Montana said Wednesday that it is dropping Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest diagnostic testing companies. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based company had done all the state’s surveillance COVID-19 testing — drive-thru testing that moves from community to community to help track COVID’s spread. But it told state officials last week that it was at capacity and would be unable to accommodate more tests for two or three weeks. (Volz and Galewitz, 7/23)
Kaiser Health News:
Adjunct Professors: Jobs Are Low On Pay And Health Benefits With High COVID Risk
David Chatfield feels he transitioned from an unstable career in graphic design to what is becoming an even more unpredictable one in academia. The 42-year-old teaches art history as an adjunct professor at two community colleges in Aurora and Fort Lupton, Colorado. He loves teaching, even when last semester the COVID-19 pandemic doubled his workload by forcing him to teach his seven classes online and figure out how to record and upload his lectures to YouTube. (Heredia Rodriguez, 7/23)
Kaiser Health News and The Guardian:
COVID Runs Amok In 3 Detroit-Area Jails, Killing At Least 2 Doctors
When Diana Trueblood visited the Wayne County Jail’s medical unit in Detroit in early March, she encountered a gentle and kind physician, Dr. Angelo Patsalis. Halfway through her incarceration for a probation violation, Trueblood remembered sitting “knee to knee” with Patsalis, who pulled down his face mask to speak to her about a tuberculosis skin test. She and other inmates were not provided with face masks, she said, and they pulled up their T-shirts to shield their mouths. (Megas, 7/23)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: How The Pandemic Further Politicized Public Health
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies on “The Source” call-in show to discuss her recent reporting on how politics is shaping the public health response to the coronavirus pandemic. Weber has been reporting on the issue in collaboration with the Associated Press for the ongoing “Underfunded and Under Threat” series. (Weber, 7/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Near Four Million
Total coronavirus cases in the U.S. approached four million, while state governments and federal health officials rolled out measures aimed at curbing the virus’s spread. Texas reported 197 additional deaths Wednesday, a single-day record, bringing its total to 4,348 dead, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The nation’s overall death toll topped 143,000, and new cases surged by more than 71,000, the sharpest daily rise since July 16, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Hall, 7/23)
Reuters:
U.S. Records Over 1,100 New Coronavirus Deaths For A Second Day In A Row
The United States has not seen back-to-back days with over 1,100 lives lost since late May. Weeks after cases began to surge, 23 states are now seeing fatalities also rise, according to a Reuters analysis of deaths for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. Deaths rose by 1,101 on Wednesday to a total of over 143,000 after climbing 1,141 on Tuesday. ...Among the 20 countries with the largest outbreaks, the United States ranks sixth highest globally for deaths per capita, according to a Reuters analysis. (Shumaker, 7/22)
Reuters:
California Sees Record 12,000 New Coronavirus Cases, Surpasses New York As Worst-Hit State
California on Wednesday overtook New York, the original epicenter of the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak, as the worst-hit state for cases, according to a Reuters tally of county data. ... California deaths also set a one-day record, rising by 159. New York has recorded by far the most deaths of any U.S. state at more than 32,000 with California in fourth place with over 8,000 deaths. (Maan and Ahluwalia, 7/22)
Los Angeles Times:
California Sets Record For Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that 12,807 new coronavirus infections had been reported statewide in the past 24 hours — a record high — bringing California’s total to 413,576. “It’s just another reminder … of the magnitude of impact that this virus continues to have,” he said during a press briefing.The sustained surge in cases comes as coronavirus-related hospitalizations have continued to hit or approach record-breaking levels in the state. (Money, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
Pfizer, BioNTech Make $1.95 Billion Covid-19 Vaccine Deal With U.S. Government
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology firm BioNTech will supply the federal government with 100 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine under a $1.95 billion deal announced Wednesday, the administration’s largest investment yet in a vaccine that has not been proved effective. The government also has an option to acquire an additional 500 million doses of BNT162, as the vaccine candidate is called. It still must secure regulatory approval or authorization that Pfizer projects it may seek as early as October. (Denham and Johson, 7/22)
AP:
US Signs Contract With Pfizer For COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
The agreement is part of President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, under which multiple COVID-19 vaccines are being developed simultaneously. The program aims to deliver 300 million doses of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021. Under the initiative, the government will speed development and buy vaccines — before they are deemed safe and effective — so that the medication can be in hand and quickly distributed once the FDA approves or authorizes its emergency use after clinical trials.Trump, during a Wednesday briefing, described the agreement as “historic." (Superville, 7/22)
The New York Times:
The U.S. Commits To Buying Millions Of Vaccine Doses. Why That’s Unusual.
The Trump administration’s commitment on Wednesday to purchase 100 million doses of a not-yet-finished vaccine is unusual in two ways. The private sector buys most vaccines in the United States, not the government. The drug industry has lobbied to keep things that way; private payers usually pay more for vaccines than the government does. And when the government does buy vaccines — typically on behalf of low-income children — it is almost always vaccines that have already received safety and efficacy approval from the Food and Drug Administration. (Kliff, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Republicans, Deeply Divided On Coronavirus Stimulus, Near Agreement On Opening Offer
After three marathon days of talks, Senate Republican leaders and White House officials expressed confidence on Wednesday evening that they had reached an agreement in principle on a proposal that would dole out more than $100 billion to schools, send additional checks directly to Americans and provide $16 billion for states to conduct testing and contact tracing. But some of the biggest issues, including what to do with enhanced unemployment insurance and Mr. Trump’s payroll tax cut idea, were not finalized. (Cochrane, Fandos and Tankersley, 7/22)
The Hill:
Senate GOP And White House Strike Deal On $16 Billion For Coronavirus Testing
The White House and a key group of Senate GOP negotiators struck a deal on Wednesday for new coronavirus testing funds. The forthcoming proposal, text of which is expected to be released Thursday, will provide $16 billion in new funding for coronavirus testing, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), one of the negotiators, told reporters. In addition to the new funds, another $9 billion from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March will be designated for testing. (Carney, 7/22)
AP:
White House, GOP Agree On Virus Testing In New Aid Bill
Facing a GOP revolt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was preparing a “handful” of separate COVID-19 aid bills, according to a top lawmaker involved in the negotiations. McConnell is set to unveil the package on Thursday, according to a Republican unauthorized to discuss the private talks and granted anonymity. “Very productive meeting,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said while exiting a session late Wednesday at the Capitol. A key holdup remains President Donald Trump’s push for a payroll tax cut, according to a Republican granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. Hardly any GOP senators support the idea. (Mascaro, 7/23)
The Hill:
Trump Administration To Give Additional $5B To Nursing Homes
The Trump administration will provide nursing homes with $5 billion as they continue to deal with mounting COVID-19 infections, administration officials said Wednesday. President Trump first made the announcement at the White House, and the official policy will be announced in a forthcoming rule, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma said. (Weixel, 7/22)
AP:
White House Scrambles On Nursing Homes As COVID-19 Surges
The move follows Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s recent unveiling of a family caregiver plan that aims to greatly expand and subsidize alternatives to institutional care for frail older adults. Both men are competing for seniors’ votes against a backdrop of eroding political support for Trump among older Americans. “I want to send a message of support and hope to every senior citizen,” Trump said at the White House. “The light is starting to shine and we will get there very quickly.” (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/23)
The Washington Post:
Trump Says He’s ‘Comfortable’ Sending His Son And Grandchildren Back To School Amid Pandemic
President Trump said Wednesday he would be comfortable sending his school-age son and grandchildren to in-person school this fall even as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Trump suggested during a news briefing that children have strong immune systems to ward off the virus and pointed to some evidence that has shown young children transmit it less easily. “Yeah, I am comfortable with that,” Trump said when asked about his own family. (Itkowitz, 7/22)
The Hill:
Cafeteria Worker On White House Grounds Tests Positive For COVID-19: Reports
Administration officials were alerted Wednesday that a cafeteria employee on White House grounds tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple reports. Ike's Eatery, located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the New Executive Office Building's cafeteria have been temporarily shut down, NBC News and CNN reported. (Klar, 7/22)
The Hill:
Almost 3,500 Public Health Experts Sign Letter In Support Of Fauci
More than 3,000 public health experts have signed a letter in support of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci following attacks on him from some within the Trump administration, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Signers of the letter include former Food and Drug Administration Associate Commissioner Peter Lurie, Yale School of Public Health assistant professor Gregg Gonsalves, New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. (Budryk, 7/22)
The Hill:
Fauci On Coronavirus: 'I Don't Really See Us Eradicating It'
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Wednesday he doesn’t think COVID-19 will ever be fully eradicated but noted it can be controlled. “I don’t see this disappearing the way SARS 1 did,” Fauci said during a livestreamed event hosted by the TB Alliance, a nonprofit focused on finding better tuberculosis treatments. (Hellmann, 7/22)
AP:
Fauci To Testify Next Week To House Panel On Coronavirus
Dr. Anthony Fauci and two other top public health officials will testify next week to a House subcommittee that’s been investigating the federal response to a coronavirus pandemic still inflicting a relentless toll on Americans, officials with the panel said Wednesday. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has become the government’s most visible face in the battle against the virus, and polls show him as its most trusted authority as well. That’s in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who gets low marks from the public after ceding much of the U.S. response to the nation’s governors, resulting in an inconsistent hodgepodge of restrictions and a resurgence of the disease in many states. (Fram, 7/22)
The Hill:
Gottlieb Says US Could Hit 300K COVID-19 Deaths By End Of Year
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb signaled Wednesday that the U.S. could reach 300,000 COVID-19 deaths by the end of 2020 if the country's death rate doesn't improve. "Right now, we have close to 1,000 casualties a day, so if we don’t change that trajectory, you could do the math and see where we are towards the end of the year," Gottlieb, who served as President Trump's FDA chief, told MSNBC's "Squawk Box." (Johnson, 7/22)
The Hill:
FEMA Head: 'We Have A Ways To Go' On Having Enough PPE
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Congress on Wednesday the country has “a ways to go” on getting enough protective equipment for health workers fighting coronavirus, though he said the situation has been improving. “I want to be clear: We have a ways to go on making sure we have enough PPE,” Administrator Pete Gaynor said at a congressional hearing, referring to personal protective equipment. “This is not as simple as just throwing a light switch and we just magically make more.” (Sullivan, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
Trump Keeps Boasting About Passing A Cognitive Test - But It Doesn't Mean What He Thinks It Does
As President Trump and his team began attacking former vice president Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness this summer, Trump began pondering his own cognitive abilities. As part of his annual physical two years earlier, the president had taken the Montreal Cognitive Assessment — a 10-minute test designed to detect mild cognitive impairment such as the onset of dementia — and he believed he could weaponize his performance against Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Parker and Wan, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Trump Defends His Cognitive Testing Results On Fox News. Again.
“Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” President Trump again sought to showcase his mental fitness on television by reciting, over and over again in an interview broadcast on Wednesday evening, what he said was a sample cognitive testing sequence. For the better part of a month, Mr. Trump, 74, has made repeated appearances on Fox News to brag about acing a cognitive test he said he recently took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, first with Sean Hannity and again with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” All the while, the White House has not disclosed details about when the president underwent the testing or why. (Rogers, 7/22)
Politico:
Biden: Trump Is The First Racist Elected President
Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that Donald Trump is the first racist elected president. Speaking during a virtual town hall, Biden made the claim in response to racist remarks that the president has made to characterize the coronavirus pandemic. Trump and others in his circle have repeatedly referred to the virus as the “China virus,” the “kung flu” and the “Wuhan virus.” Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said, "We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed, and they’ve tried to get elected president. But he’s the first one that has.” (Choi, 7/22)
Politico:
Trump’s End Run Around CDC Brings Threat Of Fewer Drugs For Hospitals
A Trump administration change in the way hospitals report coronavirus data is bringing confusion and more work to medical centers and states as cases explode across the country. And hospitals that don’t get it right every day could end up receiving fewer critical drugs like remdesivir. The Trump administration uses data on coronavirus hospitalizations, drug supplies and ICU beds to allocate scarce Covid-19 treatments, as well as supplies of plasma and protective gear. But last week, the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly changed the reporting process, bypassing a long-used Centers for Disease Control system with an alternative designed to more quickly help track the virus’ spread. (Tahir and Roubein, 7/22)
The Hill:
Nurses Place Shoes On Capitol Lawn For Every Colleague Who Died Of Coronavirus
Members of a national nurses union laid pairs of shoes representing their colleagues who have died while treating coronavirus patients on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. The demonstration, organized by National Nurses United (NNU), was designed to encourage Congress to invoke the Defense Production Act and mandate that U.S. manufacturing plants switch production to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves and masks. (Bowden, 7/22)
Stat:
NIH To Start 'Flurry' Of Large Studies Of Potential Covid-19 Treatments
The National Institutes of Health is preparing to launch a “flurry” of large clinical trials to test new approaches to treating Covid-19, according to the agency’s director, hoping to expand what for now remains a limited arsenal of therapies to help people with the disease. In an interview, NIH Director Francis Collins characterized the studies as “really well-powered, rigorously designed clinical trials.” (Herper, 7/23)
CIDRAP:
Study: COVID-19 Antibodies Decay Quickly After Mild Illness
Levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, dropped dramatically over the first 3 months of infection in 34 people recovered from mild illness, University of California at Los Angeles researchers have found. Their research letter, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that antibody levels against the novel coronavirus decreased by about half every 73 days and, if that rate were sustained, would be depleted within about a year. (Van Beusekom, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Can You Become Reinfected With Covid-19? It's Very Unlikely, Experts Say
The anecdotes are alarming. A woman in Los Angeles seemed to recover from Covid-19, but weeks later took a turn for the worse and tested positive again. A New Jersey doctor claimed several patients healed from one bout only to become reinfected with the coronavirus. And another doctor said a second round of illness was a reality for some people, and was much more severe. These recent accounts tap into people’s deepest anxieties that they are destined to succumb to Covid-19 over and over, feeling progressively sicker, and will never emerge from this nightmarish pandemic. And these stories fuel fears that we won’t be able to reach herd immunity — the ultimate destination where the virus can no longer find enough victims to pose a deadly threat. (Mandavilli, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Spike in U.S. Cases Far Outpaces Testing Expansion
As coronavirus cases have surged in recent weeks, President Trump has repeatedly said the growing case count is a result of increased testing, not a worsening outbreak. An analysis by The New York Times, however, shows the rise in cases far outpaces the growth in testing. About 21,000 cases were reported per day in early June, when the positive test rate was 4.8 percent. As testing expanded, the positive test rate should have fallen. Even if it had stayed the same, there would have been about 38,000 cases reported each day. Instead, the positive test rate has nearly doubled, and more than 66,000 cases are now reported each day. (7/22)
NPR:
How An At-Home Test For COVID-19 Could Help Control The Pandemic
Anybody who has waited for hours in line for a coronavirus test, or who has had to wait a week or more for results, knows there has to be a better way. In fact, the next generation of tests will focus on speed. But what should the Food and Drug Administration do with a rapid test that is comparatively cheap but much less accurate than the tests currently on the market? A test like that is ready to go up for FDA approval, and some scientists argue it could be valuable despite its shortcomings. (Harris, 7/22)
The Associated Press:
US Labs Buckle Amid Testing Surge; World Virus Cases Top 15M
Laboratories across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are actually undercutting the pandemic response. With the U.S. tally of infections at 3.9 million Wednesday and new cases surging, the bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while awaiting results, nursing homes struggling to keep the virus out and for the labs themselves, dealing with a crushing workload. (Perrone, Webber and Sedensky, 7/22)
Reuters:
Roche Says Military Planes Load Up COVID-19 Test Gear As Demand Soars
Swiss drugmaker Roche’s testing head said on Thursday that orders for equipment to process COVID-19 tests have soared to levels it would normally see over four to five years, as some governments dispatch military aircraft to pick up gear. “The orders we’ve gotten is as high as what we would normally sell in four to five years,” Diagnostics head Thomas Schinecker said. “We even had governments that flew in with military planes to pick up instruments, because they were in such need.” (7/23)
The Washington Post:
Novavax Executives Stand To Collect Millions Even If Covid-19 Vaccine Doesn’t Work
The top executives at Novavax, one of the biotechnology companies racing to develop a coronavirus vaccine, stand to collect tens of millions of dollars in compensation even if their treatment never makes it to market. The stock options earmarked for CEO Stanley Erck and three other company officials — first reported by Reuters — are worth more than $100 million based on Tuesday’s closing stock price. They’re contingent on the vaccine making it to a Phase 2 clinical trial, which is said to be imminent, though executives would have to wait a year before taking that step. (Shaban, 7/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Measures Have All But Wiped Out The Flu In The Southern Hemisphere
For the past two months, as winter descended on Chile, infectious-disease specialist Claudia Cortés worked tirelessly to keep a wave of critically ill Covid-19 patients alive in the hospital where she works. At the same time, she worried about what would happen when the usual wave of influenza patients arrived. They never came. (Luhnow and Uribe, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Gut Microbes Might Keep Malnourished Children From Growing
Long-term malnutrition might at first seem like a medical condition with an easy fix: access to a wholesome diet rich in calories and nutrients. But many of the children on the receiving end of such interventions still struggle to grow. Even when given enough to eat, they end up shorter than their peers and are saddled with cognitive deficits, weakened immune systems and other long-term consequences that tax their brains and bodies alike. The result is a paradox that continues to vex researchers worldwide. (Wu, 7/22)
AP:
Oregon Expands Virus Mask Order To Children, Lowers Venue Size
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Wednesday that she is expanding the state’s current COVID-19 mask order to also apply to children 5 years and older and that she is decreasing the capacity of indoor venues from 250 people to 100. The governor said these new mandates, which go into effect Friday, are necessary to help slow the increasing spread of coronavirus. On Tuesday, the total number of confirmed and presumptive virus cases in the state topped 15,000.“When we see the numbers rise, we must respond,” Brown said. (Cline, 7/22)
Politico:
Republican Governors Of Indiana And Ohio Issue Mask Mandates, Joining More Than Half Of U.S. States
The Republican governors of Indiana and Ohio on Wednesday announced statewide mask mandates a day after President Donald Trump threw his support behind facial coverings as a tactic to stop the spread of coronavirus. More than half of U.S. states now have mask mandates in place, as top health officials plead for universal mask wearing amid a rise in coronavirus cases and deaths. (Cohen, 7/22)
The Hill:
Ohio Governor Issues Mandatory Statewide Mask Order
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Wednesday that all citizens would be required to wear masks while out in public beginning Thursday evening. The announcement, which DeWine mentioned on Twitter, follows a previous mandate earlier this month that imposed mask regulations on specific counties experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. (Deese, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Expands Face Mask Requirements As City Records More Than 100 New Cases
D.C. and Baltimore expanded mask requirements Wednesday in an attempt to stave off the growing spread of the novel coronavirus in the region. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said her order requires people older than 2 to wear a mask when they leave the house and are likely to come into contact with others. It’s one of the strictest mask ordinances in the country — and came on the same day the city recorded 102 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily number since early June. (Zauzmer, Wiggins, Hedgpeth and Chason, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Government To Investigate Trump's No-Mask Appearance At Trump Internation Hotel
The president’s maskless appearance at the Trump International Hotel this week — in apparent defiance of D.C. coronavirus regulations — caught the attention of local authorities, who inspected the hotel on Wednesday to check for compliance with city rules. The investigator found no violations at the time of the visit, but the agency pledged to continue monitoring the hotel. (Nirappil and Zauzmer, 7/22)
The Hill:
Indiana Joins Growing List Of States With Mask Mandates
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) joined a growing list of state leaders announcing mandatory mask orders as a measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The statewide order Holcomb signed on Wednesday will require residents wear a mask at all times in public indoor spaces, on public transportation and in outdoor public spaces where they can’t socially distance from people not within their household. (Klar, 7/22)
The Hill:
Minnesota Governor Issues Statewide Mask Mandate
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) issued a statewide mask order Wednesday that will require people to wear face coverings at all times when in indoor public settings and businesses. Walz said the requirement, which many states have already put in place, is the cheapest and most efficient way to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and allow businesses to reopen. (Klar, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Miami Mayor Wants Florida To Mask Up, Too
When Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami contracted the coronavirus in March, schools offered in-person classes, churches held worship services and restaurants were packed with diners. A very prominent patient No. 2 in Miami-Dade County, Mr. Suarez entered isolation just hours before declaring a state of emergency in his home city. More than four months and 90,000 cases later, Mr. Suarez now finds himself overseeing a city in crisis, as Florida emerges as a new epicenter of the pandemic. (Lerer, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
Banks Urged To Require Masks Despite Industry Concern About Robbery Risk
Face masks are mandatory at Walmart, Target and a growing number of retailers. President Trump, who long resisted being photographed in a mask, now encourages the public to wear them and said he carries one with him. But for U.S. banks, widespread adoption has been trickier. The small pieces of cloth public health officials consider one of the best defenses against the growing novel coronavirus threat could double as a handy disguise for would-be bank robbers, they say. Face-mask requirements “create the very real risk of increases in bank robberies,” a top financial regulator said recently. (Merle, 7/22)
Politico:
Bipartisan Majority Supports Statewide Mask Mandates, Poll Finds
A bipartisan majority of registered voters strongly support state mandates that would fine or jail individuals if they fail to wear a mask in public, a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll finds. The broad approval for such mandates comes as statewide mask orders aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus are under effect in more than half of U.S. states. Increasingly, Republican governors in states like Alabama and Arkansas have issued mask mandates, while top health officials are pleading with the public to cover their faces. (Cohen, 7/22)
CIDRAP:
Salmonella Newport Outbreak Sickens 125 People In 15 States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday reported an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections that has sickened 125 people, 24 of them hospitalized, in 15 states as of Jul 20. The outbreak was first identified on Jul 10, when 13 people became ill from Salmonella Newport in three states. Infected people reported starting to feel sick from Jun 19 to Jul 7.No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, which has not been linked to a specific food, grocery store, or restaurant chain. But after analyzing specimens from those infected, investigators determined the bacteria causing the illnesses are closely related genetically, meaning that there is likely a common source of infection. (7/22)
AP:
Wisconsin Opioid Overdoses More Than Double During Pandemic
There have been more than twice as many suspected opioid overdoses in Wisconsin during the coronavirus pandemic than during the same period last year, which likely can be attributed at least partially to the added stress and isolation many are feeling, health officials said Wednesday. Preliminary figures from Wisconsin emergency departments show that there were 325 suspected overdoses from March through July 13, compared with 150 during the same time span in 2019, according to the state Department of Health Services. (Richmond, 7/22)
The New York Times:
Play Therapy Can Help Kids Speak The Unspeakable
Dee Ray doesn’t learn how children feel by listening to their words. Ray, a researcher and counselor in Texas, learns by watching them play. She directs the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas and often works in schools, where she sections off a 10 feet by 10 feet area in a classroom and fills the space with toys — a child sized kitchenette, puppets, a bop bag that a child who needs to work out some aggression can punch. (McClain, 7/21)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Could Push 250,000 Into Hunger In D.C. Region, Capital Area Food Bank Says
Up to a quarter of a million people in the Washington area could be thrown into hunger because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by the Capital Area Food Bank, even as the amount of donated food and the number of distribution sites plummet precipitously. About half of the food bank’s 450 partner groups and food pantries are closed because of the pandemic — mostly because of building closures, a loss of elderly volunteers or a lack of funding. With hundreds of thousands newly out of work, the distribution sites that remain are reporting dramatic increases in demand, ranging from 30 percent to 400 percent. (Swenson, 7/22)
AP:
Official: Arizona Schools Need Virus Data To Reopen Campuses
Arizona’s school districts should be empowered to reopen campuses for the new school year based on public health data instead of committing now to specific reopening dates, the state’s top education official said. Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said Tuesday evening that she outlined her priorities to Gov. Doug Ducey, who is expected to announce the next steps for school reopenings this week. Ducey, a Republican, previously delayed the start of the school year until at least Aug. 17, weeks after most Arizona schools typically reopen following the summer break. (Cooper and Christie, 7/23)
AP:
More Coronavirus Testing Planned As College Students Return
North Dakota plans increased statewide testing for the coronavirus in the days leading up the reopening of the state’s 11 colleges and universities this fall, officials said Wednesday. North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott said he was optimistic face-to-face and online classes could resume on the planned Aug. 24 school start. “We’re confident we can move forward in about a month,” Hagerott said during Gov. Doug Burgum’s weekly COVID-19 briefing. (MacPherson, 7/22)
AP:
Seattle Superintendent Urges No In-Person Schooling For Fall
Seattle’s school district superintendent has decided against having students return to the classroom in the new year school, saying the prospect of in-person learning is impossible amid rising coronavirus infection rates. Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau announced Wednesday that she’s recommending a fully remote learning model when school resumes in the fall. The school board is expected to vote on how to proceed during the pandemic at its next regularly scheduled board meeting on August 12. (Ho, 7/23)
The Hill:
Georgia's Largest School District To Start School Year Online
Georgia’s largest school district said it will start the school year next month with full virtual instruction. Gwinnett County Public Schools’ announcement Monday reversed a plan the district had previously announced to open with a combination of in-person and digital instruction. The district said the current COVID-19 situation required it to change plans. (Klar, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
D.C. Area Parents Brace For More All-Virtual School In Coming Months
Thousands of D.C. area families that had pinned their hopes on school buildings reopening this fall must grapple with a stunning new reality: Their children will not step inside a classroom for who knows how many months to come. The announcements came rapid-fire over the course of the day Tuesday: First, Fairfax County Public Schools and Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia said they were switching to all-virtual schooling in the fall. Hours later, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland followed suit. The districts’ decisions will cumulatively shape the fate of more than 438,000 children and their families. (Natanson, Balingit and Stein, 7/22)
The Washington Post:
DeVos’s Claim That Children Are ‘Stoppers’ Of Covid-19
Could children actually be “stoppers” of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus? That would be great news — if true. The interruption of school threatens to create a learning deficit — and many parents may find it difficult to return to work if children are not in classes. Let’s examine DeVos’s evidence that children do not transmit the coronavirus, as it appears to be influencing administration policy. (Kessler, 7/23)
Politico:
How The Child Care Crisis Is Magnifying Racial Disparities
The collapse of the child care industry is hitting women of color the hardest, threatening to stoke racial and gender inequities and putting pressure on Congress to address the crisis in its new round of coronavirus aid. Black and Latina women are suffering a double-barreled blow as coronavirus-induced shutdowns batter the industry, since they dominate the ranks of child care providers and have long struggled to gain access to the services for their own kids. (Mueller, 7/21)