Reuters: Speed Of Coronavirus Deaths Shock Doctors As New York Toll Hits New High
New York state, epicenter of America’s coronavirus crisis, set another single-day record of COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, as veteran doctors and nurses voiced astonishment at the speed with which patients were deteriorating and dying. The number of known coronavirus infections in New York state alone approached 150,000 on Wednesday, even as authorities warned that the official death tally may understate the true number because it omits those who have perished at home. “Every number is a face, “ said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ordered flags flown at half-staff across New York in memory of the victims. (Brown and Borter, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: New York Sees Another Day Of Record Coronavirus Deaths
For the fourth day in a row, more people died from the virus in New York than were admitted to hospitals for treatment. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 779 people died on Tuesday from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the pathogen. They include Richard Brodsky, a former state assemblyman from Westchester County. Mr. Cuomo said the rate of new hospitalizations has continued to slow, and that 586 people were admitted to hospitals in the state on Tuesday. The total death toll rose to 6,268, and nearly 150,000 people had tested positive for the virus. “We’re flattening that curve, and if anything, we double-down now on our diligence,” the Democratic governor said. (Vielkind, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Another Grave Milestone: More Than 10,600 Cases In D.C., Maryland And Virginia
The District, Maryland and Virginia surpassed another grave milestone in the coronavirus crisis Wednesday, as the tally of confirmed cases surged beyond 10,600, and Maryland reported more than 20 deaths in a single day for just the second time. So far, 227 people had died in the two states and the District combined as of Wednesday morning, as hospitalizations for covid-19 continued to rise and experts said the area has yet to reach the peak of the pandemic. (Cox, Harden, Nirappil and Vozzella, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus In D.C.: What The First Month Tells Us About Its Spread
On March 7, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced the first known coronavirus case in the nation’s capital. As of April 6 — one month after the first diagnosis — the city had more than 1,200 cases and more than 20 fatalities. With more infections reported each day, the District is one of many urban centers bracing for the possibility of becoming the next covid-19 hot spot. Over the past week, the city has been reporting about 100 cases every day, with a spike of more than 200 cases Wednesday alone. (Fowers and Nirappil, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Countries World-Wide Log Record Coronavirus Cases
The U.S. total is now more than the totals of Italy, Spain and Germany combined, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The national death toll rose above 14,800 Thursday, a day after New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Illinois reported their highest daily tallies. Globally, the number of confirmed cases approached 1.5 million, according to revised data from Johns Hopkins University. (Yoon, 4/9)

The Washington Post: As Social Distancing Shows Signs Of Working, What’s Next? Crush The Curve, Experts Say.
Most of us hadn’t heard the term “flatten the curve” before mid-March, and just a few weeks later, it’s already out of date. The new catchphrase in this coronavirus pandemic is “squash the curve.” Or “quash.” Or “crush.” Pick your verb, the idea is the same: We should not end social distancing and reopen the economy until we know the infection rate is nearly zero. Many infectious-disease experts are publishing research showing that, to limit the number of deaths from covid-19, the disease the virus causes, it’s not enough to slow the spread of new infections — the process known as flattening the curve. (Achenbach, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: How California Has Avoided A Coronavirus Outbreak As Bad As New York’s…So Far
Despite having the nation’s largest population, frequent travel with China and the first confirmed case of community spread in the country, California has only 15,865 cases of Covid-19 and 374 deaths as of Tuesday, compared with 138,863 cases and 5,489 deaths in New York state, according to their public health departments. Experts attribute the relatively low numbers to California taking some of the earliest and most aggressive social-distancing measures in the country, as well as to its cities having less dense populations than New York’s. But they caution that the state is still far from its projected peak in cases, which state officials currently put at mid-May, and that, if the situation takes a turn for the worse, the death toll in a state with 40 million people could be astronomical. (Lazo and Mai-Duc, 4/8)

The New York Times: Optimism Is Less Distant As Global Coronavirus Battle Rages On
The world began this week to see small but encouraging signs that concerted efforts to drastically change human behavior — to suspend daily routines by staying at home — are slowing the insidious spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed tens of thousands and sickened more than a million others across several continents. But — a simple word that epidemiologists say cannot be emphasized enough — these early indications, while promising, must not be interpreted to mean that all will be well by summer’s first days. Although President Trump tweeted on Monday about a light at the end of a tunnel, the cautions of scientists and other government officials conjure one very, very long tunnel. (Barry, 4/8)

The Hill: Key Coronavirus Model Revised Downward, Predicts 60K Deaths In US By August 
A key forecasting model used by the White House has revised its prediction of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., now estimating a peak of 60,415 by early August. The model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington had predicted a peak of 81,766 deaths in an update on Sunday. Public health experts, including Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have previously estimated that as many as 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die from the novel coronavirus. (Klar, 4/8)

The Hill: Washington, Oregon Show Promising Coronavirus Trends
Two states at the forefront of the coronavirus outbreak that has infected hundreds of thousands of people across the country are beginning to see infection rates slow as strict social distancing requirements show early results of paying off. Officials in Washington, the first state to see a confirmed COVID-19 case in the country, and neighboring Oregon say they are cautiously optimistic that the case curves in their states are beginning to bend downward. The number of new cases in both states has dropped for four consecutive days, and the most recent data shows new cases are just a fraction of what they had been at each state’s peak. (Wilson, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: In Washington, Why The Predicted Coronavirus Surge Hasn’t Hit
When coronavirus cases began mounting in Seattle in early March, Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine’s hospitals and clinics, asked a colleague for projections on how many more patients she should plan for. His estimate came in several days later: More than 900 in a health system whose roughly 1,550 beds were almost always full. Ms. Brandenburg was stunned. Nearly a month later, the projected tidal wave of sick patients hasn’t materialized in the Seattle area or anywhere else in Washington. (Frosch and Parti, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Surpasses 430,000 Coronavirus Infections
In another heartening sign, an emergency field hospital in Seattle meant to treat non-Covid-19 patients will be dismantled and sent to a state with a greater need, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said. “Don’t let this decision give you the impression that we are out of the woods,” Mr. Inslee said Wednesday. “We have to keep our guard up and continue to stay home unless conducting essential activities to keep everyone healthy.” (Ansari, Lin and Norman, 4/9)

The Washington Post: CDC Officials Trace Large Chicago Outbreak To Family Gatherings
In February, family members gathered for a Chicago-area funeral. A family friend who had been out of state attended and was just a bit sick with mild respiratory symptoms. Before long, 16 people between the ages of 5 and 86 had been infected with the novel coronavirus (seven confirmed and nine probable), and three had died. The case study, published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of the most detailed looks at how covid-19 moves through communities and shows how a single person can set off a chain reaction of infections. (Cha, 4/8)

NBC News: Dr. Birx Sees Encouraging Signs But Warns People Of Second Wave If They Start Going Out
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Wednesday that there are encouraging signs that parts of the U.S. may be flattening their curves, but she warned that people shouldn't start going out and socially interacting. In an interview with Savannah Guthrie on the "TODAY" show, Birx said that California and Washington state began social distancing very early and that their "curves" — the lines on graphs projecting the number of people who will contract COVID-19, the disease associated with the virus, over time — are "persistently flat, and that's very encouraging." (Shabad, 4/8)

ABC News: Federal Government Needs 18-Month Plan For Life To Return To Normal: Dr. Zeke Emanuel 
Dr. Zeke Emanuel, one of the key architects of the Affordable Care Act and a special adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, said on ABC News’ "Powerhouse Politics" podcast that he doesn’t anticipate life fully returning to normal for another 18 months, based on guidance from health professionals in the Trump administration. "The kind of normal where we go traveling, we go to restaurants, we go to concerts, we go to religious services, we go on cruises, until we have a vaccine that protects everyone. That's 18 months, it's not going to be sooner," Emanuel told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and Political Director Rick Klein. (Cunningham, 4/8)

CNN: What Matters: US Coronavirus Predictions Are Changing. Here's Why 
Things are still getting worse. The US death toll crossed 14,000 on Wednesday, with a record 1,858 deaths reported just on Tuesday... But the main model used by the White House and pretty much everyone else was updated Wednesday to show far fewer projected US deaths from Covid-19 -- down to 60,415 people by August, from the 82,000 the model showed on Tuesday (which was already lower than previous projections). (LeBlanc, 4/9)

PBS NewsHour: U.S. Officials Urge Adherence To Social Distancing As NY Infections Slow 
The human cost of the novel coronavirus pandemic is still rising worldwide, but infections may be leveling off in Italy, Spain and New York, which lost nearly 800 people to the disease Tuesday. U.S. officials at both the state and federal levels are urging people to remain vigilant about social distancing even as its adoption appears to be flattening the curve of new cases. (Yang, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Nation's Only Doctor Governor Offers Sober Voice On Virus
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his top aides were having a meeting about the coronavirus when the discussion turned to neckties. The governor said he had read a study in a medical journal showing that ties worn by doctors at hospitals can host harmful germs and help spread disease. So Northam issued an informal edict to his staff: Keep the ties in the closet until further notice. (Suderman, 4/9)

The Washington Post: 6.6 Million Americans Filed For Unemployed Benefits Last Week, Bringing The Coronavirus Total To Over 17 Million
The surge of job losses continued last week with 6.6 million Americans applying for unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said Thursday. More than 17 million new jobless claims have been filed in the past four weeks, a rapid and unprecedented escalation in unemployment in the United States since the week that President Trump declared a national emergency due to the deadly coronavirus. (Long and Van Dam, 4/9)

The Associated Press: 16.6 Million Have Sought U.S. Jobless Aid Since Coronavirus
The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating to 1948. They paint a picture of a job market that is quickly unraveling as businesses have shut down across the country because of the coronavirus outbreak. More than 20 million American may lose jobs this month. The viral outbreak is believed to have erased nearly one-third of the economy’s output in the current quarter. Forty-eight states have closed nonessential businesses. Restaurants, hotels, department stores and small businesses have laid off millions as they struggle to pay bills at a time when their revenue has vanished. (4/9)

CNN: Unemployment Benefits: Another 6.6 Million Americans Filed For Initial Unemployment Benefits Last Week
Economists are expecting job losses will continue, with the unemployment rate peaking in the double digits sometime in the next few months, up from 4.4% in March. Bank of America economists predict employers will cut between 16 million and 20 million jobs, with the unemployment rate peaking at 15.6% between now and June. If that's the case, it could take at least a couple years for unemployment to return to its pre-pandemic levels. (Tappe and Kurtz, 4/9)

The New York Times: Tally Of Unemployed Workers Surges By 6.6 Million
With astonishing swiftness, the pandemic has shut down both longstanding and new businesses, leaving veteran workers and recent hires in nearly every type of industry without a paycheck. In just three weeks, more than 16 million Americans have lost their jobs — more losses than the most recent recession produced over two years. It’s as if “the economy as a whole has fallen into some sudden black hole,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics. Many Wall Street analysts concede that at this point, forecasts are not much more than gussied-up guesses: The purposeful and sudden halt in economic activity has no precedent, and no one knows when the restrictions on movement and commerce will be lifted. (4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Unemployment Claims Total 6.6 Million Last Week
Each additional week of historically high jobless claims dims the prospects for a rapid economic recovery once the new coronavirus is contained in the U.S. and businesses start reopening. “The biggest direct impact of the loss of jobs is going to be the loss of income and therefore the loss of spending,” said Jacob Robbins, assistant professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Chaney and Harrison, 4/9)

Politico: Unemployment Claims Reach 16 Million In Three Weeks As Coronavirus Ravages Economy 
The claims, for the week ending April 4, flooded in as confirmed coronavirus cases approached 300,000 and as nearly every state ordered its citizens to stay at home. Economic forecasts are becoming routine that predict unemployment will exceed its historic 25 percent peak during the Great Depression, and the number of jobs lost in a mere three weeks now exceeds the 15 million that it took 18 months for the Great Recession to bulldoze in 2007-2009. (Rainey, 4/9)

ProPublica: Inside The Union Where Coronavirus Put 98% Of Members Out Of Work
Last June, D. Taylor, the president of the union Unite Here, stood before a throng of hotel, casino and food service workers. They’d packed into a giant ballroom at the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas to hear their leader celebrate the accomplishments of one of the few success stories in private-sector union organizing. To thunderous applause, Taylor ticked off the victories. The union, he said, was pulling thousands of members and their families into better existences, winning contracts with generous health care plans and pensions and safer, fairer working conditions. (Bandler, 4/9)

NBC News: Library Workers Fight For Safer Working Conditions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
In Hennepin County, Minnesota, 220 library workers face a dilemma: take unpaid leave or get reassigned to work in hotels housing homeless people, including some with COVID-19 symptoms, with no extra pay. The offer came last week from county Administrator David Hough, who told staff that there wasn’t enough work for them to do from home while the libraries were closed. Workers who don’t want to move to the higher-risk jobs — of which there are only 50 positions — can use their remaining paid time off or eat into future paid leave allocations that they will owe the county. (Solon, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: A Month Ago, They All Had Stable Jobs. Now They Want To Work For Amazon.
One was an executive chef in Milwaukee. One was a small-business owner in Oregon. One managed merchandise for touring musicians. These three newly out-of-work Americans have one thing in common: They are all recently applied to work at an Amazon warehouse. Amazon’s 100,000 job openings in its warehouses and delivery network are a rare bright spot in a U.S. economy that has been wracked by the shutdown of ordinary life, causing about 10 million people to apply for unemployment in March due to coronavirus-related layoffs. (Mattioli, 4/9)

ABC News: Walmart Hit With Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Employee Dies Of COVID-19 Complications
A relative of a Walmart employee in Illinois who died from COVID-19 complications filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the retail giant, alleging the store did not do enough to protect employees from the novel coronavirus. Wando Evans, who worked at a Walmart store in Evergreen Park for 15 years, was found dead in his home on March 25. He had first mentioned symptoms consistent with the novel coronavirus to management at his store two weeks prior but was largely ignored, according to court documents filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court. (Hill and Thorbecke, 4/8)

State House News Service: Report: Mass. Jobless Rate Could Hit Unparalleled 25% 
The Massachusetts unemployment rate could race up to more than 25% by June, according to a new policy brief that suggests large federal block grants are the state's best hope for staving off a severe budget crisis. The Pioneer Institute brief noted that 8.6% of the state's civilian workforce made an unemployment claim during the week ending March 28, ranking the state sixth by that metric. In February, before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the United States, the state's unemployment rate was 2.5%. (Norton, 4/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Gig And Contract Workers Can Apply For Georgia Benefits Monday
Georgia state officials said Wednesday that their systems will be ready next week: gig and contract workers as well as the self-employed can start applying for jobless benefits starting Monday. Those workers – tens of thousands of them without paychecks since the virus-linked shutdowns began several weeks ago – have been told not to apply yet, even though they are now entitled to jobless benefits. (Kanell, 4/8)

Reuters: Coronavirus Crisis Could Plunge Half A Billion People Into Poverty: Oxfam
The fallout from the coronavirus spread that has killed more than 83,000 people and wreaked havoc on economies around the world could push around half a billion people into poverty, Oxfam said on Thursday. (Strohecker, 4/9)

Politico: Oversight Sputters As Trump Starts Doling Out Billions In Coronavirus Aid
Congress assured America that its frenzied rush to deliver $2 trillion in coronavirus relief wouldn't lead to waste, fraud or abuse because they packed the sprawling law with powerful safeguards. Yet, as the Trump administration begins pumping billions of taxpayer dollars into the economy, none of the built-in oversight mechanisms are even close to functional. And their absence will soon be glaringly obvious as the gusher of cash and extraordinary new power granted to the administration fuels massive logjams, headaches and fear across overburdened hospitals, overcrowded unemployment offices and many sectors of the ailing economy. (Cheney, 4/8)

Politico: Recovery Bill Allows The Fed To Spend Billions Without Keeping Records
Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing its meetings or keeping most records about them, according to a POLITICO review of the legislation. The provision, the existence of which has not been previously reported, further calls into question the transparency and oversight for the biggest bailout law ever passed by Congress. (Severns and Guida, 4/9)

NPR: IRS Scrambles To Get Out Cash Payments But Faces Staffing And Systems Challenges
The Internal Revenue Service is under huge pressure to quickly disperse the $1,200 payments promised to most people in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. Experts say it could take months for everyone to get checks — with some people possibly waiting until after they file their taxes next year. Over the past 10 years the IRS budget has been reduced by roughly 20%, leaving the agency with aging technology and forcing it to cut back on staff and training, according to experts. The added stress of the coronavirus is already causing customer service headaches. (Snell, 4/9)

Politico: Unemployed Still Waiting For Checks As States Struggle To Pay Out Stimulus Funds
States are pleading for help from the Trump administration as they struggle to handle a torrent of unemployment claims that continues to swell as businesses remain shuttered across the country. In the three weeks since President Donald Trump signed legislation allocating $1 billion to help states process jobless claims, the number of laid-off Americans applying for benefits has already surged past 10 million — and millions more are likely to be added to the total when new data is released on Thursday. (Cassella, Kullgren and Landergan, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Hurry Up And Wait? Why Relief To Small Businesses Has Lagged
Speed is of the essence if a federal relief program for small businesses is going to be effective in combating the damage wrought by the coronavirus lockdowns. Yet, days into the program, many Main Street businesses are still waiting for the cash infusion necessary to stay alive. Others say they haven’t even been able to apply for loans under what’s called the Paycheck Protection Program. The problems range from the technical to the bureaucratic, although the Small Business Administration says it has corrected those on its end. (Rosenberg and Sweet, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Another Challenge For Small Businesses: Higher Card Fees Could Be On The Way
Many small businesses could have another thing to worry about when they come out of a coronavirus coma: higher credit-card fees. Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. had planned to raise swipe fees on many merchants this year, and the changes in some cases would be hardest on small businesses, according to people familiar with the situation. It is unclear if the fee changes, in the works for months, will be rolled out if the pandemic persists. (Andriotis, 4/9)

Politico: Pandemic-Linked Rollbacks Spark Concern Banks May Shake Off Hated Rules
Federal agencies are easing rules on banks to ensure they can keep lending to households and businesses during a recession, but that's triggering concern among lawmakers that the lighter regulations will continue even after the emergency ends. The Federal Reserve and other regulators in recent weeks have allowed banks to hold less loss-absorbing capital on their books, delayed rules that would require them to start preparing earlier for potential losses on new loans and made it easier for smaller banks to operate under a higher debt load, among other moves. (Guida, 4/9)

Politico: Farmers Vie Among Themselves For Slice Of Rescue Funds
The rush is on for farmers looking to stake their claim on a new trove of stimulus funds earmarked for agriculture. Congress authorized the Agriculture Department to spend billions to help struggling producers, with few strings attached. USDA officials are scrambling to figure out how to disperse aid across the vast farm economy as quickly and evenly as possible. (McCrimmon, 4/9)

KQED: Even With New Federal Coronavirus Bill, Most Workers Get No Additional Sick Leave 
The United States is one of the few wealthy nations that does not guarantee paid sick leave for all workers. The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” was potentially going to change that by guaranteeing 14 paid days off for all workers, plus additional leave time for issues relating to the coronavirus outbreak. But after congressional Republicans pushed for exemptions for businesses with less than 50 employees or more than 500 employees, the law — which passed in March — now only covers about 25 percent of all workers. (Harnett, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Congress In Standoff On Virus Aid, But First Checks Coming
Congress is rushing headlong into a conflict over the next coronavirus aid package as the White House wants to pump $250 billion into a small business fund but opposes Democrats’ proposal to tack on billions for protective gear, food stamps and support to state and local governments. An attempt for a Thursday vote in the Senate will pose a first test. (Mascaro, 4/9)

The Washington Post: Showdown Heats Up Between White House, Pelosi And Schumer Over Coronavirus Small Business Funds
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said any package that included $250 billion in new small-business funding would need to include more than $250 billion in extra money for hospitals, state and local governments and food stamp recipients. President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are seeking the extra small-business money after banks fielded more than 400,000 loan requests in less than a week for firms trying to navigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Mnuchin told Democrats on Wednesday that already $100 billion in loans had been approved, and the program was authorized for $349 billion in funding as part of the $2 trillion law that passed last month. (Werner, DeBonis and Kim, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Pelosi Urges GOP To ‘Come To The Table’ And Continue Talks On Small-Business Funds
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) nonetheless plans to move ahead on Thursday and will attempt to approve Mnuchin’s plan by unanimous consent, a dynamic by which legislation can pass as long as individual senators do not object. When asked whether Senate Democrats should object, Pelosi said she always avoids meddling in the affairs of the other congressional chamber but reiterated that she finds Mnuchin’s request deeply flawed. (Costa, 4/8)

Politico: McConnell Boxes In Democrats On Latest Coronavirus Relief
McConnell is betting Democrats will face criticism for stopping the money. "If we want to act fast, Congress has to focus. There is no realistic chance that another sprawling bill which allocates half a trillion dollars to a number of priorities, even important ones, will be able to pass the Senate or the House by unanimous consent this week," McConnell said, referring to Democrats' counteroffer on Wednesday. "I hope none of my colleagues object to my request for these urgently-needed funds. There is no reason why this bipartisan job-saving program should be held hostage for other priorities." (Everett and Caygle, 4/8)

ABC News: Democrats Want $500B More In Crisis Relief, Setting Up Senate Showdown 
It’s also unclear what House Democrats will do should the Senate approve the $250 billion request on Thursday. An aide to House Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told ABC News that the House could pass a bill as early as Friday, “assuming the Senate passes something Thursday that there is unanimous consent for.” (Khan, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare: Democrats Want To Double CARES Act Provider Grants In Fast-Moving Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday said they want to give providers an extra $100 billion in grant funds to fight COVID-19 in a funding package Republicans hope to pass as soon as this week. Senate Republicans and the Trump administration plan to infuse an extra $250 billion into a small business loan program created in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hoped to pass the additional funding on Thursday. (Cohrs, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Bid To Give More Aid To Business Runs Into Democrats’ Push For Broader Relief
The severity of the human and financial toll has repeatedly pushed lawmakers to redouble their aid efforts, while delaying expected talks on stimulus, including potential infrastructure spending or tax cuts. Congress passed and President Trump signed a massive $2.2 trillion relief package less than two weeks ago in the latest in a series of rescue packages a divided Washington has rushed into law. “I don’t think anyone two weeks ago imagined that we would need to move so quickly to augment” the last package, said Rep. Jared Huffman (D., Calif.). “Everyone assumed we would be moving on to the broader economic package, including infrastructure. But this crisis is just a lot more acute than we previously imagined.” (Duehren and Peterson, 4/8)

CNN: Kentucky Republican Again Threatens To Halt Quick Passage Of Coronavirus Aid Package
Rep. Thomas Massie indicated Wednesday that he will oppose any attempt to pass new funding for small business loans through the House by unanimous consent or voice vote, a threat that follows his previous objection to quick passage of a $2 trillion Covid-19 stimulus deal. The Kentucky Republican's comments complicate the path forward for the next coronavirus aid package under consideration by Congress, which has already been bogged down by disagreements between top Democrats and Republicans. (Byrd and Raju, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Sidelined By Coronavirus Exit Quarantine
By the time Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R., Fla.) recovered from the new coronavirus and emerged from his quarantine, he had six bags of accumulated trash piled up in his Capitol Hill apartment. Mr. Diaz-Balart, one of the first members of Congress to test positive for the virus that causes the respiratory disease known as Covid-19, stayed home for three weeks to avoid spreading the illness. He said he hand-washed T-shirts and underwear in his sink, rather than trek downstairs to his building’s washing machine. During the day, he would take phone calls, then pause to rest. (Peterson and Andrews, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Point Of Order: Congress Weighs How To Govern From Afar
“Congress” literally means to gather together. But the coronavirus pandemic and election-year politics are forcing lawmakers to consider ways of governing from afar, some for the first time in U.S. history. The virus’ continuing spread is raising doubts among lawmakers and aides that the House will reconvene in Washington as scheduled after April 20. Democrats are increasingly annoyed that President Donald Trump gets a daily platform to rebut unflattering stories and update Americans on his administration’s response to the crisis. (Kellman, 4/9)

The Associated Press: HHS: Federal Stocks Of Protective Equipment Nearly Depleted
The Strategic National Stockpile is nearly out of the N95 respirators, surgical masks, face, shields, gowns and other medical supplies desperately needed to protect front-line medical workers treating coronavirus patients. The Department of Health and Human Services told the Associated Press Wednesday that the federal stockpile was in the process of deploying all remaining personal protective equipment in its inventory. The HHS statement confirms federal documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee showing that about 90% of the personal protective equipment in the stockpile has been distributed to state and local governments. (Biesecker, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: States With Small Coronavirus Outbreaks Get Disproportionate Shares Of Federal Supplies
The distribution of scarce medical equipment has emerged as a key point of controversy in the administration’s response, as states have been left to scramble on their own to get what they need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have refused to divulge details of what equipment was going to what states. Government officials told The Times that FEMA and HHS considered the populations of states and major metropolitan areas as well as the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in determining how to allocate supplies. (Levey and Wilber, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Restrict Mask, Glove Exports For Four Months During Coronavirus Pandemic
The Trump administration is planning to restrict for four months the export of certain face masks and gloves designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as the demand for personal protective equipment soars in the U.S. along with the number of cases. Under the temporary regulation, unveiled Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will have to grant explicit approval for exports of the masks and gloves, with certain exceptions. The restriction shows that the U.S. is seeking to keep personal protective equipment, or PPE, available to U.S. citizens despite existing private contracts and international trade rules designed to protect global supply chains. (Mauldin, 4/8)

Colorado Public Radio: After Feds Grab Colorado Order Of 500 Ventilators, Trump Tweets State Will Get 100 From Stockpile
Colorado will be getting 100 ventilators “immediately” from the federal government, according to a tweet from President Donald Trump. He said it was at the request of fellow Republican, Sen. Cory Gardner. Appropriately in the age of Trump, Gardner tweeted back his thanks. The state has been on the hunt for ventilators for weeks. Gardner told Fox News that he brought up the issue with Trump during a Tuesday night phone call. “We’re going to continue to work with the president for more and continue to meet Colorado’s needs. But I think it’s just a sign that we are making sure we’re fighting for Colorado, we’re standing up for all of our states in this COVID-19 response,” he said in the interview. (Kim, 4/8)

NPR: Critical Medical Supplies Need Approval Before Being Exported From The U.S.
The White House and FEMA have faced fierce criticism from some governors and others for not doing more, faster to get critical supplies into the hands of frontline medical workers. In a statement, CBP said the agencies are "working together to prevent domestic brokers, distributors, and other intermediaries from diverting these critical medical resources overseas." (Westervelt, 4/8)

CNN: Colorado Democrat Believes Trump Awarded Ventilators As Political Favor To Vulnerable GOP Senator 
Rep. Diana DeGette, a veteran Democrat, said that President Donald Trump's announcement that he would send 100 ventilators to Colorado smacks of a political favor to vulnerable GOP Sen. Cory Gardner after the federal government had not fulfilled the delegation's request for the devices. "I think this thing that happened with Sen. Gardner and President Trump is very disturbing," the Colorado Democrat told CNN Wednesday evening. "What is the process here?" DeGette said that while she wants the state to get every ventilator it can -- after initially requesting 10,000 -- the process employed by the White House shows that the President appears to be doling out the ventilators to his allies at a time when the virus is affecting people of all political persuasions. (Raju, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: California Counties Scramble For Ventilators
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to lend 500 state-owned ventilators to New York and other coronavirus hot spots outside California has caught some local officials in his own state off guard as they scramble to acquire the much-needed medical equipment, particularly in Riverside County. Riverside County officials said the state recently denied their request for an additional 500 ventilators, even though the county expects demand for the breathing machines at county hospitals and medical centers to exceed the supply in less than three weeks. (Willon and Shalby, 4/8)

ProPublica: A Company Promised Cheap Ventilators To The Government, Never Delivered And Is Now Charging Quadruple The Price For New Ones
The Dutch company that received millions of taxpayer dollars to develop an affordable ventilator for pandemics, but never delivered them, has struck a much more lucrative deal with the federal government to make 43,000 ventilators at four times the price. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that it plans to pay Royal Philips N.V. $646.7 million for the new ventilators — paying more than $15,000 each. The first 2,500 units are to arrive before the end of May, HHS said, and the rest by the end of December. (Callahan and Rotella, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: As Coronavirus Peaks, New York City’s Hospitals Prepare ‘Live Or Die’ Guidance
A surge in critically ill patients in New York City is forcing major hospitals to make worst-case scenario plans for who will live and die, as the coronavirus peaks and stretches emergency supplies. Some hospitals and state health leaders have drawn up guidelines for which patients get ventilators should hospitals run short, according to interviews with hospital officials and memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Adamy, Evans and Palazzolo, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare: Alabama Agrees To End Ventilator Rationing Guidelines
Alabama agreed to eliminate its ventilator rationing guidelines after HHS' Office for Civil Rights found that they could result in patient discrimination based on age or disability, OCR said Wednesday. Following a complaint from the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and The Arc of the United States, the agency investigated and found concerns that the state's 2010 criteria for ventilator triage might discriminate against older adults and people with intellectual disabilities. (Brady, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: With Ventilators In Short Supply, Here Are Some Alternatives
With the coronavirus still spreading and cases of COVID-19 still mounting, mechanical ventilators are in notoriously short supply. That has physicians scrambling to find alternatives for patients so weakened by the respiratory disease that they can no longer breathe without assistance. It won’t be easy. The modern mechanical ventilator has been a workhorse in hospital intensive care units since the 1950s, when better breathing assistance was needed for the most stricken polio patients. (Healy, 4/8)

The Associated Press: As Pandemic Deepens, Trump Cycles Through Targets To Blame
First, it was the media that was at fault. Then, Democratic governors came under fire. China, President Barack Obama and federal watchdogs have all had a turn in the crosshairs. And now it’s the World Health Organization that’s to blame. President Donald Trump is falling back on a familiar political strategy as he grapples with the coronavirus pandemic: deflect, deny and direct blame elsewhere. As he tries to distance his White House from the mounting death toll, Trump has cycled through a long list of possible scapegoats in an attempt to distract from what critics say were his own administration’s missteps in slowing the spread of the coronavirus on American shores. (Lemire, 4/9)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Crisis Highlights Trump’s Resistance To Criticism — And His Desire For Fervent Praise
President Trump has lambasted governors whom he views as insufficiently appreciative. He has denigrated — and even dismissed — inspectors general who dared to criticize him or his administration. And he has excoriated reporters who posed questions he did not like. The coronavirus pandemic has crystallized several long-standing undercurrents of the president’s governing ethos: a refusal to accept criticism, a seemingly insatiable need for praise — and an abiding mistrust of independent entities and individuals. (Parker and Gearan, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Trump Preparing To Unveil Second Coronavirus Task Force, Officials Say
President Trump is preparing to announce as soon as this week a second, smaller coronavirus task force aimed specifically at combating the economic ramifications of the virus and focused on reopening the nation’s economy, according to four people familiar with the plans. The task force will be made up of a mix of private-sector and top administration officials, including chief of staff Mark Meadows — whose first official day on the job was last week — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and national economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a senior administration official said. (Parker, Dawsey and Abutaleb, 4/8)

Politico: The Briefings Aren’t Working: Trump’s Approval Rating Takes A Dip
Donald Trump isn’t benefiting from what political scientists refer to as a “rally ‘round the flag” effect — a traditional surge in popularity as the nation unites behind its leader during an emergency situation. Even as the country confronts the greatest disruption to daily life since World War II, a series of new polls released this week show Trump’s approval ratings plateauing in the mid-40s, roughly where his approval rating stood a month ago, before the coronavirus shuttered much of the nation’s economic and social activity. (Shepard, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Resistance To Independent Oversight Draws Bipartisan Scrutiny
President Trump is coming under bipartisan scrutiny in Congress after he ousted two inspectors general and publicly criticized a third — actions that have left lawmakers wrestling yet again with an administration that has repeatedly flouted efforts at independent oversight since Trump took office. His resistance to the watchdog system established after the ­Watergate scandal come on two fronts that have largely defined the Trump presidency: His impeachment, which was triggered by his attempts to pressure Ukraine into conducting a political investigation of one of his domestic rivals; and his administration’s management of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in which trillions of taxpayer dollars are being disbursed. (Kim, Dawsey, Hamburger and DeBonis, 4/8)

Politico: Verma-Azar Feud Extends Into Coronavirus Era
Even in the midst of coronavirus, the Trump administration's top health officials are competing for attention. Medicare administrator Seema Verma announced on Tuesday night that hospitals could tap $30 billion in “no-strings-attached” coronavirus grants — a move that won her plaudits from health care providers but also one that her rival, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, had planned to make, according to three people close to the situation. Azar, however, was away from Washington because of the death of his father, and two of his advocates in the agency insist Verma should have waited for his return the next day. (Diamond, 4/8)

In other news from the administration —

Politico: How The CDC Director Became The MAGA Whisperer On Coronavirus
Since his agency bungled the coronavirus testing rollout, CDC Director Robert Redfield has rarely been seen at the White House podium or on national television. Normally the leader of the Centers for Disease Control would be the face of a global public health response. But his agency’s stumbles early in the pandemic — on testing, the Diamond Princess cruise ship evacuation and blunt messaging on the worsening outbreak that got ahead of the White House — sidelined him. He does few national interviews, and while he attended Wednesday's White House coronavirus briefing, he's been a sporadic presence in that venue. (Tahir, 4/9)

Kaiser Health News: What’s Missing In The Coronavirus Response
In the age of coronavirus, Americans are being told to stay home and wear masks outside. The federal government has made way for hospitals to treat patients in repurposed hotels and dormitories. Private companies are working to push out new diagnostic tests. But the national effort has been disorganized, relying heavily on state action, said health systems experts and public health researchers. That approach has fallen short, they assert. ... So what else should the United States be doing? (Luthra, 4/9)

The New York Times: Trump Slammed The W.H.O. Over Coronavirus. He’s Not Alone.
President Trump unleashed a tirade against the World Health Organization on Tuesday, accusing it of acting too slowly to sound the alarm about the coronavirus. It was not the first time in this pandemic that the global health body has faced such criticism. Government officials, health experts and analysts have in recent weeks raised concerns about how the organization has responded to the outbreak. In Japan, Taro Aso, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, recently noted that some people have started referring to the World Health Organization as the “Chinese Health Organization” because of what he described as its close ties to Beijing. (Hernandez, 4/8)

Stat: WHO's Coronavirus Response Guided By Rules The U.S. Helped Write 
Once again, the World Health Organization finds itself in the crosshairs — the target of harsh criticism this week from President Trump. It is a position the global health agency has found itself in frequently. Sometimes it has deserved criticism, as when it was slow to recognize the seriousness of the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014. But more often, it draws blame because it’s an easy target – an international body that seems to have more power than it actually does. (Branswell, 4/8)

NBC News: White House Working On Plan To Cut Aid To WHO
The White House's Office of Management and Budget is working on a possible plan to cut U.S. aid to the World Health Organization, administration officials said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to deflect blame for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Administration officials said they also plan to look into the timeline of the WHO's reaction to the coronavirus after it first appeared in China, as well as "links" to China. "What the WHO knew and how it reacted to that knowledge is relevant to the U.S. government's response to the crisis," a senior administration official said. (Welker, Lee, Williams and Mitchell, 4/8)

The Associated Press: UN Health Agency On Defensive After Trump Slams It On Virus
In a heartfelt plea for unity, the World Health Organization’s chief sought Wednesday to rise above sharp criticism and threats of funding cuts from U.S. President Donald Trump over the agency’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The vocal defense from the WHO director-general came a day after Trump blasted the U.N. agency for being “China-centric” and alleging that it had “criticized” his ban of travel from China as the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading from the city of Wuhan. (Keaten, 4/8)

Politico: The United Nations Goes Missing
It took more than three months, a death toll above 87,000 and cases in more than 180 countries, repeated pleas from smaller nations, and a growing sense of shame among senior diplomats — but the United Nations Security Council is finally going to meet to discuss the coronavirus. That is, in a private session unlikely to yield any serious action. (Toosi and Heath, 4/8)

The Hill: CDC Issues New Guidance For Essential Workers Exposed To Coronavirus 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday issued new guidelines aimed at getting workers who have been exposed to the coronavirus in critical fields back to work faster. Under the old guidance, workers were told to stay at home for 14 days if they were exposed to someone who had tested positive for coronavirus. The new guidelines will allow critical workers who have been exposed go back to work as long as they are asymptomatic and follow conditions like taking their temperature before going to work, wearing a face mask at all times and practicing social distancing at work as much as possible. (Sullivan, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Feds Loosen Virus Rules To Let Essential Workers Return
The new guidelines are being issued as the nation mourns more than 14,000 deaths from the virus and grapples with a devastated economy and medical crises from coast to coast. Health experts continue to caution Americans to practice social distancing and to avoid returning to their normal activities. At the same time, though, they are planning for a time when the most serious threat from COVID-19 will be in the country’s rear-view mirror. President Donald Trump said that while he knows workers are “going stir crazy” at home, he can’t predict when the threat from the virus will wane. (Miller, Riechmann and Stobbe, 4/9)

Politico: Trump Administration Says Front-Line Workers Can Go Back To Work Sooner After Virus Exposure
The new guidance includes three main conditions: Essential workers who have been exposed to the virus must take their temperature before going to work, wear a face mask and practice social distancing at all times. It's unclear if the CDC guidance advises health workers to wear a specific kind of mask, like an N95, which has been in short supply in many parts of the country. Redfield also said the CDC is advising people returning to work after coronavirus exposure to avoid congregating in break rooms, lunch rooms or crowded places, and he said employers should increase air exchange in offices and more frequently clean surfaces in communal spaces. (Ehley, 4/8)

NPR: White House Issues New Guidelines For Critical Employees Returning To Work
The CDC defines a potential exposure as "being a household contact or having close contact within 6 feet of an individual with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The timeframe for having contact with an individual includes the period of time of 48 hours before the individual became symptomatic." The new guidance apply only to workers in critical infrastructure jobs. That category has been defined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (part of the Department of Homeland Security), but only as an advisory list, not a federal standard. (Wamsley, 4/8)

ProPublica: Democratic Senators Demand Answers On Trump’s Secretive Border Expulsions
Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding information about what they call an “unprecedented expansion of executive power” by the Trump administration at the the U.S.-Mexico border, after a ProPublica story revealed how the administration has used emergency powers to bypass asylum law and summarily expel thousands of migrants. In a letter written by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., he and nine colleagues give the Department of Homeland Security until April 15 to explain why it believes it can use one section of U.S. law — which gives emergency powers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prohibit the entry of people or things that might “introduce” infectious disease — to preempt the government’s obligation under another section of federal law protecting migrants fearing persecution in their home countries. (Lind, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: ICE Releases 160 Migrants Over Coronavirus Risk
Federal immigration authorities have released more than 160 migrants from detention and are reviewing the cases of other detainees who could be at risk to contract the new coronavirus, the Trump administration said Tuesday. As of March 30, 600 migrant detainees had been identified as vulnerable to the virus, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. (Hackman, 4/7)

Los Angeles Times: ICE Says It Will Review Cases For Release Nationwide As The Coronavirus Spreads At San Diego Detention Center
As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus creeps up at Otay Mesa Detention Center, the agency responsible for immigration detention has announced that it will review detainees for release because of health conditions believed to place people at higher risk. But for some high-risk detainees, that may be too late because of the way people in custody are grouped under quarantine. The facility holds detainees in immigration custody for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as inmates for federal criminal cases for the U.S. Marshals Service. (Morrissey, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Trump Quietly Shuts Down Asylum At US Borders To Fight Virus
A U.S. Border Patrol agent wouldn’t let Jackeline Reyes explain why she and her 15-year-old daughter needed asylum, pointing to the coronavirus. That confrontation in Texas came just days after the Trump administration quietly shut down the nation’s asylum system for the first time in decades in the name of public health. “The agent told us about the virus and that we couldn’t go further, but she didn’t let us speak or anything,” said Reyes, 35, who was shuttled to a crossing March 24 in Reynosa, Mexico, a violent border city. (Verza, Spagat and Galvan, 4/9)

Politico: DHS Warns Pandemic 'Stressors' Could Trigger Attacks On Houses Of Worship
The Department of Homeland Security has warned the faith-based community that the threat of attacks against houses of worship may be higher once religious services resume due to “stressors” caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “When you begin efforts to reconstitute services and welcome congregants back into your houses of worship, please also review your security plans and ensure procedures are in place to protect your facilities and visitors,” Brian Harrell, assistant director for infrastructure security at DHS, wrote in a letter to the community that was obtained by POLITICO. (Bertrand, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: For Christianity’s Holiest Week, Churches Seek Communion From Afar
For the past several weeks, the Rev. Sam Rodriguez has replaced normal Sunday services at his Sacramento church with online versions. But for Easter, he wanted to do something more. So Mr. Rodriguez has invited worshipers to attend a drive-in service that he likens to the experience of an old-fashioned drive-in movie. While the minister speaks from inside the church this Sunday, his flock will remain in their vehicles, watching on outdoor screens or their smartphones. (Rocca, Lovett and Montes, 4/9)

ABC News: DHS To Houses Of Worship: Start Planning Now For Life After COVID-19 Crisis 
As many Americans prepare to celebrate Easter or Passover while separated from their families and friends, the Department of Homeland Security is asking churches, synagogues, mosques and other temples across the country to start planning for life after the novel coronavirus crisis, when worshippers can be together again. "Although many people undoubtedly continue to practice their faith, including through remote services and prayer, most are inevitably eager to return to normalcy and join their fellow congregants in practicing their faiths," the assistant director for infrastructure security at DHS, Brian Harrell, said in a letter to leaders of faith-based communities. "The American people are resilient, and we will achieve this goal soon." (Levine, 4/8)

The Hill: Louisiana Pastor Who Refuses To Stop Holding Church Services Says 'True Christians' View Death As A 'Welcome Friend' 
A Louisiana pentecostal pastor who is refusing to abide by the state's “stay at home” order said “true Christians” see death as a “welcome friend.” “Like any zealot or like any pure religious person, death looks to them like a welcome friend. True Christians do not mind dying. They fear living in fear,” Rev. Tony Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church, told TMZ. Spell said attending church from home — like millions of Americans have — “doesn’t work.” (Moreno, 4/8)

NBC News: Hopes For At-Home Finger-Prick Coronavirus Test Dashed After Accuracy Is Questioned
It was promoted as a potential coronavirus game changer, a breakthrough that would allow millions of people to resume their daily lives within a matter of days. Governments and companies around the world put great faith in the idea of an "antibodies test" — a home-administered finger-prick kit designed to detect whether someone has had the coronavirus in the past and, crucially, has built up immunity. (Smith, 4/8)

ABC News: Unprecedented Coronavirus Antibody Testing Hits Roadblock In Colorado
The effort to test every resident of San Miguel County, Colorado, for coronavirus antibodies -- including the mountain community of Telluride -- hit a snag after health officials said the private company conducting the tests couldn't handle the workload. Last month, biotech company United Biomedical Inc. offered to pay to test every resident of San Miguel County for COVID-19 antibodies. Company founders Mei Mei Hu and her husband, Lou Reese, are part-time residents of Telluride. About 6,000 people were tested during the first round, according to the county. (Sandell and Cook, 4/8)

NPR: SEC Suspends Trading Of Company That Sold 'At-Home' COVID-19 Tests
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has temporarily suspended trading of shares of Wellness Matrix Group, citing statements "made through affiliated websites and a company consultant about selling at-home COVID-19 testing kits that had been approved by the FDA." The suspension lasts until April 22. (Dreisbach, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare: Experts Debate Whether Point Of Care COVID-19 Testing Can Help Flatten The Curve
Providers and public health officials hope that more COVID-19 testing will help contain spread of the disease. But efforts to get tests done faster and results quicker are hindered by how many tests can be quickly deployed and how accurate they prove to be. Three decentralized tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have been granted Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the past 10 days. (Johnson, 4/8)

CIDRAP: Point-Of-Care Tests For Respiratory Infections Could Save UK Millions, Study Finds
Comprehensive use of currently available point-of-care tests (POCTs) to diagnose respiratory infections could save England's National Health Service (NHS) up to £89 million ($110 million US) a year, according to a cost analysis published yesterday in the Journal of Medical Economics. The savings would result from fewer antibiotics being prescribed for the type of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) that are most likely caused by viruses, fewer return trips to the doctor, and fewer antibiotic-related adverse events (AEs). And the savings could rise significantly if more accurate diagnostic tests were available, the authors of the analysis suggest. (Dall, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare: Driverless Shuttles Transport COVID-19 Tests At Mayo's Florida Campus
A Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Fla., is testing a new way to transport COVID-19 tests from a drive-thru site to its processing laboratory: driverless shuttles.Mayo Clinic deployed four shuttles last week. They travel from the drive-thru site to the lab without drivers or other people on board. The sites are less than a mile from one another, as they're both located on the campus, and collaborators on the project selected routes with limited pedestrians and traffic. (Cohen, 4/8)

The Hill: Some Coronavirus Testing Sites Delayed Due To Lack Of Personal Protective Equipment 
The National Guard said a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) might be hindering its ability to administer coronavirus tests. “There have been cases where they have said they have to delay the opening of the sites until they have the PPE,” National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel said at a Pentagon press briefing Wednesday. “Nobody’s doing any testing right now without the appropriate PPE.” Lengyel noted that 349 guardsmen — on and off duty — have tested positive for the virus, though he didn’t say how many of those guardsmen were activated at the time. (Moreno, 4/8)

The New York Times: More Coronavirus Vaccines And Treatments Move Toward Human Trials
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads at unprecedented rates, invading the lungs of people of all ages, ethnicities and medical histories, companies are ratcheting up their efforts to fight the disease with accelerated schedules for creating new vaccines, and beginning clinical trials for potential treatments. On Wednesday, Novavax, a Maryland-based biotech company, said it would begin human trials in Australia in mid-May for its vaccine candidate. Novavax is one of more than two dozen companies that have announced promising vaccine programs that are speeding through the early stages of testing unlike ever before. (Sheikh and Thomas, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Second US Study For COVID-19 Vaccine Uses Skin-Deep Shots
U.S. researchers have opened another safety test of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine, this one using a skin-deep shot instead of the usual deeper jab. The pinch should feel like a simple skin test, a researcher told the volunteer lying on an exam table in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday. (Neergaard, 4/8)

The New York Times: Hydroxychloroquine And Coronavirus: Fact-Check On The Malaria Drug Trump Keeps Pushing
There is no proof that any drug can cure or prevent infection with the coronavirus. But in the face of an exploding pandemic with a frightening death toll, people are desperate for a bit of hope, a chance to believe there is something that will help. The drug that has received the most attention is hydroxychloroquine, which President Trump has recommended repeatedly, despite warnings from his own health officials that there is little data to support its widespread use as a treatment against the virus. (Grady, Thomas and Lyons, 4/8)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Releases Early Demographic Snapshot Of Worst Coronavirus Cases
On March 1, there were 88 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States. By month’s end, there were more than 170,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled data on people who were hospitalized from the virus during that month to get a clearer demographic picture of infected patients who have required the most serious medical care. Approximately 90 percent of the 1,482 hospitalized patients included in the study released Wednesday had one or more underlying medical conditions. (Waldstein, 4/8)

ABC News: CDC Releases New Data As Debate Grows Over Racial Disparities In Coronavirus Deaths 
The White House coronavirus task force is seeking to get ahead of the growing debate over how it's responding to racial disparities in coronavirus deaths -- particularly the much higher numbers and percentages in black communities compared to states as a whole. The disturbing development in the crisis has become more apparent -- and controversial -- as states and cities begin to release data showing deaths by race -- data that has continuously been requested on a national scale from members of Congress, leaders in the black community and members of the press. (Haslett, 4/8)

ProPublica: We Still Don’t Know How Many People Are In The Hospital With COVID-19
Late last month, Vice President Mike Pence sent a letter to administrators of the nation’s 6,000 hospitals requesting a favor. He asked them to complete a form each day with data on the patients they are treating with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and submit it to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The data will help us better understand disease patterns and develop policies for prevention and control of health problems related to COVID-19,” Pence wrote. (Ornstein, 4/9)

The Associated Press: Outcry Over Racial Data Grows As Virus Slams Black Americans
As the coronavirus tightens its grip across the country, it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — black Americans. Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the virus killing African Americans at a higher rate, along with a lack of overall information about the race of victims as the nation’s death toll mounts. (Stafford, Hoyer and Morrison, 4/9)

The New York Times: Virus Is Twice As Deadly For Black And Latino People Than Whites In N.Y.C.
The coronavirus is killing black and Latino people in New York City at twice the rate that it is killing white people, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday by the city. The disparity reflected longstanding and persistent economic inequalities and differences in access to health care, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday morning. “There are clear inequalities, clear disparities in how this disease is affecting the people of our city,” Mr. de Blasio said. “The truth is that in so many ways the negative effects of coronavirus — the pain it’s causing, the death it’s causing — tracks with other profound health care disparities that we have seen for years and decades.” (Mays and Newman, 4/8)

NBC News: African Americans 'Disproportionately Affected' By Coronavirus, CDC Report Finds
"We don't think African Americans are more susceptible to getting infected," Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said Wednesday on NBC's "TODAY" show. But she said her group was "very concerned" when it became clear that pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and asthma were associated with worse outcomes of the coronavirus. Those underlying conditions tend to be more prevalent in communities of color, a finding that's been well documented in recent years.(Edwards, 4/8)

Boston Globe: Men And Black People Are More Likely To Be Hospitalized By Coronavirus, CDC Says
Findings were based on a review of 1,482 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States in March, the report said. Cases were tracked though the COVID-NET tracing system that’s active in 99 counties in 14 states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah, the report said. (Andersen, 4/8)

Houston Chronicle: Black Houstonians ‘Suffering Worst Consequences’ Of Virus, But Lack Of Data Obscures Full Picture Across Harris County 
A disproportionate number of African Americans are suffering the worst consequences of the new coronavirus in Houston, the city’s top doctor said Wednesday, though the details remain hazy as local officials have yet to release a breakdown of cases by race and ethnicity. In response Wednesday to questions from City Councilwoman Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Houston Health Authority David Persse said COVID-19 has had an acute impact on black Houstonians because of “social disparities” in health care and their high rates of chronic illnesses, which typically worsen the effect of the disease. (Scherer, Despart and Morris, 4/8)

The Hill: Cuomo Vows To Investigate Racial Disparities In COVID-19 Deaths: 'Why Do The Poorest People Always Pay The Highest Price?' 
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Wednesday vowed to ramp up coronavirus testing in minority communities and investigate the racial disparities in deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. “Why are more African Americans and Latinos affected?” Cuomo asked at his daily press briefing Wednesday. He noted that black New Yorkers comprise 28 percent of deaths in New York City and 18 percent of deaths in New York state, despite being 22 percent and 9 percent of the population, respectively. (Budryk, 4/8)

WBUR: New York City's Latinx Residents Hit Hardest By Coronavirus Deaths 
In New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S., no ethnic group has been harder hit by the deadly disease it causes than the Latinx community. Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out the preliminary data during a briefing Wednesday, offering one of the first detailed glimpses yet into the breakdown of patients' race and ethnicity. (Dwyer, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Death Rate Among Latinos Appears Low, But Experts Say The Data Are Thin
Preliminary data released this week by Los Angeles County appeared to offer a glimmer of hope for the county’s largest ethnic group: Latinos, who make up nearly half the county’s population, represent just over a quarter of its coronavirus deaths. But experts warn that the early, and incomplete, information may paint a murkier picture. (Mason, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Hundreds Of Young Americans Have Now Been Killed By The Coronavirus, Data Shows
For the very young — people under the age of 20 — death is extremely rare in the current pandemic. But it happens: The Post identified nine such cases. The risk appears to rise with every decade of age. The Post found at least 45 deaths among people in their 20s, at least 190 deaths among people in their 30s, and at least 413 deaths among people in their 40s. Determining a precise number for each category is difficult because of the divergent ways states present age groups. But The Post found at least 102 other deaths that occurred among people younger than 50. (Mooney, Deenis and Kaplan, 4/8)

Stat: Doctors Fume At Government Response To Coronavirus Pandemic 
Even before the pandemic, burnout, anxiety, and disillusionment were already endemic in the medical community. Then came the hit-or-miss response to Covid-19, which has left U.S. health workers exposed to infection — and ill-prepared to care for thousands of vulnerable patients. Now, there’s simmering anger, and a deep sense of betrayal among health professionals who say they feel forsaken by their government. (Keshavan, 4/9)

NPR: Health Care Workers Stressed By Equipment Shortages, Infection Threat
At one New York City hospital a doctor's used mask tore as she performed CPR on her infected patient. In Seattle, a nurse compares walking into her intensive care unit to bathing in COVID-19. And in St. Louis, a nurse slips her used N95 mask into a paper bag at the end of her shift and prays that it's disinfected properly. (Stone and Fadel, 4/9)

Reuters: U.S. Nurses Who Can't Get Tested Fear They Are Spreading COVID-19
In New York City, an intensive care nurse treated patients for three days after she started displaying symptoms of COVID-19 - but couldn’t get a test from her hospital. In Georgia, a nurse was denied a test after treating an infected patient who died. In Michigan, one of the few hospital systems conducting widespread staff testing found that more than 700 workers were infected with the coronavirus - more than a quarter of those tested. (Borter, 4/8)

The New York Times: Volunteers Rushed To Help New York Hospitals. They Found A Bottleneck.
When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo called for medical workers around the country to come to New York last month and join the fight against the coronavirus, Bevin Strickland was ready to help. Ms. Strickland, a former pediatric intensive care unit nurse in High Point, N.C., spent hours trying to submit her volunteer application online, and then emailed city and state representatives. She never heard back. Frustrated, she reached out directly to Mount Sinai Queens hospital in New York City. A manager told her to use a private recruiting agency, which the hospital had used for years to bring in temporary staff. (Hong, 4/8)

The Washington Post: Medical Volunteers For New York City Hospitals Wait For Assignments
Every day, he goes online and checks his messages again and again, and every day is the same: no response. George Weinhouse, a 67-year-old retired anesthesiologist, answered the call weeks ago for volunteers with medical experience to help New York weather the worst pandemic since 1918. Weinhouse stepped out of his comfortable post-career life, submitted his registration and credentials, and waited. Even as the coronavirus crisis approaches its peak in New York, straining the medical system like no other previous disaster, he’s still waiting. (Babb, 4/8)

Reuters: Young Doctors Brave Overwhelming Coronavirus Crisis
For young doctors like 26-year-old Christian Vigil, battling on the frontline against the new coronavirus is a journey back in time to an era they can scarcely imagine. “We feel like doctors a century ago when we didn’t have antibiotics,” said Vigil, who works in intensive care at Madrid’s overloaded October 12 Hospital. He, like other doctors and nurses of his generation, trained in an age when medicine is at the peak of its powers, with a huge arsenal of life-saving treatments and equipment. (Landauro, 4/9)

Politico: New York City's Medical Examiner Goes On A Mortuary Hiring Spree
New York City’s economy may have all but vanished in the age of coronavirus, but there remains at least one bright spot in the job market: mortuary work. Since March 23, New York City has posted at least 44 job openings for mortuary technicians and medicolegal investigators, the latter a job that entails conducting “death investigations.” (Rubinstein, 4/8)

The New York Times: Eight U.K. Doctors Died From Coronavirus. All Were Immigrants.
The eight men moved to Britain from different corners of its former empire, all of them doctors or doctors-to-be, becoming foot soldiers in the effort to build a free universal health service after World War II. Now their names have become stacked atop a grim list: the first, and so far only, doctors publicly reported to have died after catching the coronavirus in Britain’s aching National Health Service. For a country ripped apart in recent years by Brexit and the anti-immigrant movement that birthed it, the deaths of the eight doctors — from Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Sudan — attest to the extraordinary dependence of Britain’s treasured health service on workers from abroad. (Mueller, 4/8)

ABC News: Making 'PPE' At Home: Families Use 3D Printers To Address Coronavirus Shortages 
In basements and garages across America, a cottage industry of 3D printing is gaining steam to fight the novel coronavirus. Entire families, from Louisiana to Montana, are forming in-home production lines for personal protective equipment for hospital workers and public safety officers that’s been in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic. (Dwyer and Yoo, 4/9)

NBC News: Coronavirus: 9 Ways To Help Doctors, Nurses And Hospital Workers Right Now
As hospital employees and care providers on the front lines battle the coronavirus pandemic, the rest of us search for ways to help provide the supplies and support they need. “We’re in uncharted waters,” Dr. Kate Tulenko, the CEO of Corvus Health, says. “The U.S might be able to do heart transplants and other great things, but our doctors can’t get masks right now. Hospitals are completely unprepared for this pandemic and are begging for help.” While the average person cannot provide the things hospitals in the thick of COVID-19 most desperately need, such as intensive care unit beds and ventilators, physicians on the front lines insist that there are still steps we can take to be of service. (Spector, 4/8)

CNN: Detroit Hospital Workers Describe Working Conditions During Covid-19 Crisis 
A Detroit hospital has been so overwhelmed by the influx of Covid-19 patients that at least 2 people have died in its emergency room hallways before help can arrive, health care workers there told CNN. CNN spoke with five hospital workers at Sinai-Grace Hospital, part of the Detroit Medical Center system, who said staff members feel they don't have enough coworkers or supplies to deal with the crisis. (Murphy and Waldrop, 4/9)

State House News Service: Lawmakers To Field COVID-19 Liability Legislation
Gov. Charlie Baker is filing legislation Wednesday afternoon that would extend liability protection to health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic to address a fear of some front-line medical personnel who are being asked to work in abnormal conditions, according to an administration source. (Murphy, 4/8)

PBS NewsHour: This ER Doctor Survived COVID-19. Here’s Her Advice 
New York state has roughly 150,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That's more than any country in the world other than the United States. Health care workers in New York are feeling the pressure of the pandemic -- as well as concerns for their own wellbeing. (Nawaz, 4/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: EMS Shortage A Growing Concern As Georgia Cases Surge
While EMS agencies say they are doing their best to protect their crews, they say they are not getting resources provided to other health care providers to help respond to the crisis. As a result, concerns are rising to a fever pitch that so many medics will become sick or ordered into isolation that there won’t be enough left to respond to emergency calls. (Berard, 4/8)

WBUR: Frontline Health Care Workers, Bracing For A Surge, Issue Another Plea For Help To Gov. Baker 
More than 900 doctors, nurses, physician assistants and other caregivers have signed a second petition to Gov. Charlie Baker demanding more help as the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 climbs and more hospital staff test positive for the coronavirus. There are over 1,000 such cases among hospitals reporting their staff infection numbers to WBUR. (Bebinger, 4/8)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Some Hotels Opening Doors To Health Care Workers, First Responders Amid Virus Spread
As hotel rooms across the country sit empty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some operators are offering their properties to health care workers and first responders looking for a place to rest away from home. Las Vegas-based Diamond Resorts announced late last month that all open, Diamond-managed properties would offer complimentary accommodations to medical personnel and first responders. That offer includes Polo Towers, Cancun Resort and Desert Paradise Resort in Las Vegas. (Schultz, 4/8)

Stat: With Diving Gear And Plumbing Supplies, Labs Respond To Covid-19 
In early March, Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash was attending a conference in southern France and becoming increasingly concerned about the coronavirus outbreak, which was then already sweeping through Europe. “I’d seen what was happening in Italy. Coming back to the U.S., it dawned on me that we were not ready,” he said. Once home, Prakash developed Covid-19 symptoms severe enough that he spent a day in the emergency room. (He was not tested and has since recovered.) (McFarling, 4/9)

Modern Healthcare: Medicare For All Champion Bernie Sanders Drops Out Of Presidential Race
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a fierce advocate for Medicare for All, dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary Wednesday. Sanders' (I-Vt.) exit leaves former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Biden has advocated bolstering the Affordable Care Act and creating a public insurance option. (Cohrs, 4/8)

The Washington Post: For Generation Z, The Coronavirus Crisis Is Validation Of Its Liberal Politics
High school senior Emma Rehac can’t help but feel resentful as leaders across the country scramble to keep families afloat through mounting unemployment and an unprecedented public health crisis. She hears politicians looking for emergency cures to problems she and other activists were talking about long before anyone had heard of covid-19: affordable housing, utility shut-offs and health-care access among them. Now Rehac, 18, is trying to get unemployment benefits after losing her part-time teaching job at a school closed during the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Knowles, 4/8)

The New York Times: Republicans Pursue Limits On Voting By Mail, Despite The Coronavirus
President Trump and his Republican allies are launching an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the deadly spread of Covid-19: the expanded use of mail-in ballots. The scene Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote, after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party. Republican leaders said they were pushing ahead to fight state-level statutes that could expand absentee balloting in Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and elsewhere. (Rutenberg, Haberman and Corasaniti, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Tweet Highlights Divide Over Voting By Mail
A political battle over voting by mail is building, as Democrats push for the option to reduce public gatherings in response to the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump vocally opposes such a shift in election practices. The president has criticized voting by mail multiple times recently, claiming it allows for fraud. Researchers have found rare instances of absentee voter fraud, but studies show it isn’t widespread. “Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it,” Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday. “Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” (Corse, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Small Tennessee Hospital Faces Crunch Time As Coronavirus Hits
Keeping federal money away from small hospitals that have survived against the odds isn’t a smart move during the coronavirus crisis, bankruptcy lawyers say. Lauderdale Community Hospital in Ripley, Tenn., is one of many rural medical centers trying to figure out what to do next amid the pandemic. The hospital has made a turnaround since its March 2019 bankruptcy filing, climbing out of a financial hole that had forced it to close its emergency room. Several bidders were preparing to show up for a bankruptcy auction this March, but the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to that. (Brickley, 4/9)

Modern Healthcare: A Quarter Of Rural Hospitals Are At Risk Of Closing
A quarter of U.S. rural hospitals are at high risk of closing as operating margins wane and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to erode their finances, according to new research. More than 350 rural hospitals across 40 states are vulnerable, particularly those in the South, according to updated research by Guidehouse (formerly Navigant) that analyzed operating margins, days cash on hand, debt-to-capitalization ratios and inpatient census. Those hospitals represent more than 222,350 annual discharges, 51,800 employees and $8.3 billion in total patient revenue. (Kacik, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Rural Hospitals Unsure Coronavirus Aid Is Coming
Embattled rural hospitals, some on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, stand to lose out on billions of dollars in federal aid, with industry experts worried that financial lifelines could come too late—or not at all. A lack of clarity on what the government will pay for, and when, means that money isn’t available for the hospitals that need it right now, said Andrew Helman, a bankruptcy lawyer and co-chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s health-care committee. Bankruptcy lawyers across the country are badgering lawmakers, wooing creditors and asking banks to take risks to keep small hospitals alive until aid money comes through. (Brickley, 4/9)

ABC News: Amid Global Pandemic, Global On-The-Fly Innovation In Some Hospitals 
With hospitals fighting over limited supplies of equipment to combat the coronavirus pandemic, some doctors and nurses working in the most sensitive settings are getting creative to protect themselves and their teams from the deadly disease, and finding help from an idea hatched half a world away. ABC News previously reported on some hospitals using baby monitors to check in on their patients while limiting their exposure, and now some critical care workers said they are innovating again to solve a particularly tricky problem: how to intubate and extubate coronavirus patients -- meaning inserting a tube down a sedated patient's throat to give them oxygen and later removing it -- while still shielding themselves from exposure to the virus. (Siegel, 4/9)

Modern Healthcare: HHS To Give $1.3 Billion To Community Health Centers
HHS Wednesday announced that it would grant $1.3 billion to 1,387 community health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration."Increasingly, people are turning to health centers for the first line of defense in combating emergency public health priorities like the novel coronavirus," HSRA Administrator Tom Engels said. "Health centers will put these resources to immediate use to respond to emerging and evolving local needs and continue to deliver high-quality primary health care services to their patients." (Brady, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: Objection Raised To Soon-Shiong Bid To Buy L.A. Hospital
After California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra raised objections Wednesday to the proposed sale of a closed Los Angeles hospital, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong said he would seek to purchase the medical campus personally rather than use a foundation controlled by him and his wife, Michele B. Chan. Becerra said in a court filing that the proposed sale of St. Vincent Medical Center by Verity Health System, a nonprofit in bankruptcy, to the Soon-Shiong foundation is subject to review and consent by the attorney general. (Smith, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: Georgia Hospital Battles Intense Coronavirus Outbreak
Before Mandy Hall lined up to have her temperature taken, don a surgical mask and step through the glass doors of the hospital, she recited a line from the Old Testament. Perhaps this is the moment for which you were created. It was not yet 7 a.m., and the small emergency room was already crammed with dozens of COVID-19 patients struggling to breathe. (Jarvie, 4/8)

Stateline: Border Checkpoints Discourage Travelers Between States 
Americans have long held the open road as integral to their freedom. But with the coronavirus pandemic, the once unthinkable has begun to happen: States have set up checkpoints to discourage other states’ residents from crossing their borders. Texas, Delaware, Florida and Rhode Island are stopping drivers with out-of-state license plates and ordering them to quarantine for two weeks, if they intend to stay in the state. Those entering the state for “essential” business reasons, such as commercial traffic, appear to be exempt. (Povich, 4/8)

The Associated Press: Rural Indiana Virus Worry: ‘What More Could I Have Done?'
The coronavirus pandemic surged into Sean Durbin’s farm-speckled Indiana county much faster than most other parts of rural America, contributing to at least 10 deaths and dozens of serious illnesses. Decatur County and two other counties in southeast Indiana have among the highest per-capita infection rates in the country, topping the Seattle area and some counties near hard-hit Detroit. As Decatur County’s public health preparedness coordinator, Durbin is working to stem the spread of the virus, even as he grieves the loss of a close friend to COVID-19 and stays apart from his wife so she can help with their new grandchild. (Davies and Cummings, 4/9)

Boston Globe: Mass. Reports 1,588 New Coronavirus Cases, 77 New Related Deaths; Baker Says State Still On ‘Upward Slope’ Of Pandemic 
Governor Charlie Baker said Wednesday that Massachusetts is still “on the upward slope" of the coronavirus pandemic and a period of “serious strain” on the health care system is still ahead. But he also held out some hope that the steps that officials have taken to blunt the impact of the pandemic are working. (Finuane and Andersen, 4/8)

WBUR: Mass. Preparing For Spike In Coronavirus Cases By End Of Week
Massachusetts continues to prepare for an expected spike in coronavirus cases. The State Department of Public Health has issued guidelines intended to help health care provider prioritize who gets care, if there are too many intensive care patients, and not enough ventilators. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases, and COVID-19 related deaths continues to rise. (Walters, 4/8)

WBUR: Helping East Boston’s Most Vulnerable Residents, Block By Block 
For some Eastie neighbors, staying home means missing pay, without the promise of an unemployment check. Leila, my first-generation student, has been moving between three houses each day, following the ebb and flow of her parents’ work schedules. Sometimes we catch her in the car for our Zoom calls, writing notes in the condensation on the windshield. She comes to every call but says it's hard to do her school assignments because she’s always on the go. (Thomas, 4/9)

Boston Globe: Pop-Up Hospitals In Massachusetts Set To Open This Week To Handle Influx Of Coronavirus Patients
This city’s convention center typically draws vibrant crowds for trade shows and exhibitions, but seemingly overnight it now looks ready to handle a pandemic. Row after row of hospital beds line the 50,000-square-foot floor. Cabinets along the perimeter hold critical drugs and medical supplies. A trailer of portable showers stands at one end of the room, a movable X-ray machine at another. This MASH-style field hospital in the DCU Center will be ready to accept its first patients Thursday — one of three pop-up hospital sites to treat the fast-rising numbers of people in Massachusetts sickened by coronavirus. (McCluskey, 4/8)

Politico: Newsom: California's Enormous Mask Order Won't Disrupt Supply Chain For Others
After California ordered 200 million masks a month to protect essential workers from coronavirus, will states and nations elsewhere lose out? Gov. Gavin Newsom says no. Newsom announced Tuesday night that California — which boasts the fifth largest economy in the world — will channel nearly $1 billion toward obtaining 200 million masks a month for California’s healthcare personnel, grocery store clerks, homeless outreach teams and other frontline workers at heightened risk for the coronavirus. (White, Murphy and Marinucci, 4/8)

Kaiser Health News: Newsom’s Ambitious Health Care Agenda Crumbles In A ‘Radically Changed’ World
This was supposed to be a big health care year for California. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in January unveiled ambitious proposals to help him achieve his goal of getting every Californian health care coverage. Though it was far less than the single-payer promise Newsom had made on the gubernatorial campaign trail, his plans, if adopted, would have expanded the health care system as no other state has. (Hart, 4/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Plans To Lease 7,000 Hotel Rooms To Isolate Homeless People From The Coronavirus 
San Francisco now plans to lease 7,000 hotel rooms to provide shelter for homeless people as well as first responders and health care workers battling the spread of the coronovirus, city officials said Wednesday. This would more than triple the rooms now under contract. The city already has committed $35 million for the next three months to lease the first batch of units. The overall effort would cost San Francisco roughly $105 million — some but not all of which would be reimbursed by the federal and state governments. (King, 4/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Innovates In Crisis: UC Berkeley Engineers Convert Sleep Apnea Machines To Ventilate Coronavirus Patients 
Hospitals in New York City, where more people have died of COVID-19 than in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, are critically low on ventilators, which help patients breathe through a tube in their throat. California is amassing thousands of ventilators to meet an expected demand in May, but doesn’t need them all yet. In fact, the state lent hundreds of them to harder-hit areas this week. (Moench, 4/8)

ABC News: Over 90,000 Cruise Ship Crew Members Stuck At Sea Amid Coronavirus Outbreak 
Even as the last passengers disembarked the Coral Princess, the latest cruise ship in the U.S. with reported cases of COVID-19, the U.S. Coast Guard said over 100 cruise ships and 90,000 crew members are still stuck at sea in or near U.S. ports and waters. Last week, two cruise ship crew members had to be medically evacuated from Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas and one from the Celebrity Infinity, who later passed away “due to undetermined medical reasons.” The Coast Guard confirmed that all three crew members had "COVID-19 like symptoms." (Kaji, Benitez and Maile, 4/8)

The Hill: 10,000 More Guardsmen To Be Added To Coronavirus Fight 
Another 10,000 National Guard troops are expected to be activated to help deal with the coronavirus in the next week or two, the National Guard Bureau chief said Wednesday. “We’ve been accelerating at sort of more than 1,000 a day. ... We could easily get this up another [10,000] or more than that in the next week or two,” Gen. Joseph Lengyel told reporters at the Pentagon. About 28,400 Guardsmen are deployed throughout the United States, with Lengyel saying that figure will reach well over 30,000 “in the next couple of days.” (Mitchell, 4/8)

Colorado Sun: Charlotte Figi, The Colorado Girl Who Inspired The CBD Movement, Dies From Coronavirus
Charlotte Figi, the Colorado Springs girl who, as a gleeful and fragile child, launched a movement that led to sweeping changes in marijuana laws across the globe, has died from complications related to the new coronavirus. She was 13. ... Charlotte had Dravet syndrome, a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy that first appears when children are young. From the time she was just 3 months old, Charlotte suffered hundreds of small and large seizures a day. Pharmaceutical treatments proved ineffective .... Paige Figi said Charlotte’s seizures reduced dramatically when she began taking CBD oil. (Ingold, 4/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kemp Extends Shelter In Place Order In Georgia Through April
Gov. Brian Kemp extended Georgia’s shelter in place order through the end of April and imposed new restrictions on senior care facilities Wednesday as he faced criticism from local officials who urged him to take more drastic steps to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The governor extended the stay at home orders hours after he renewed a public health emergency declaration that grants him unprecedented authority to curb the pandemic. He said it gives him the “tools we’re going to need” to combat the highly contagious disease.  (Bluestein, 4/8)

Kaiser Health News: Retiree-Rich Palm Beach County Leads Florida In COVID-19 Deaths
No place in Florida has recorded more deaths from COVID-19 than Palm Beach County, the tropical vacation and retirement destination that bills itself — chutzpah notwithstanding — as “The Best of Everything.” As of Wednesday afternoon, 69 people in the South Florida county of 1.5 million had died after being infected with the novel coronavirus. The death toll outpaces the state’s two more populated counties, including Miami-Dade, which has nearly twice the population and 49 deaths. (Galewitz, 4/8)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Hotel Hosting New Orleans Homeless A 'Time Bomb For Coronavirus,' Medical Staff Say
A downtown New Orleans hotel where nearly 200 homeless people have been housed during the coronavirus pandemic is failing to follow basic health protocols, including the use of masks and gloves and social distancing, and is ill-equipped to deal with a rash of drug overdoses and other health emergencies, according to medical staff who have volunteered there. (Baurick, 4/8)

Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus Curve In Detroit 'Beginning To Flatten,' Mike Duggan Says
Detroit's number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise, but Mayor Mike Duggan said the city is trending in the right direction. The city reported 247 total deaths on Wednesday, a daily increase of 26. The total number of cases was 5,834, up 333 from Tuesday. (Guillen, 4/8)

Detroit Free Press: Blake's Hard Cider Producing Hand Sanitizer At Its Distillery
Blake's Hard Cider is the latest distillery to jump into the hand sanitizer arena. The Armada-based and family owned and operated craft distillery is utilizing its cannery operations to produce hand sanitizer. Blake's said it is producing the sanitizer according to World Health Organization standards in gallon size for $30 to distribute to hospitals, health care facilities and large companies. They are making it available for shipping throughout Michigan. (Selasky, 4/8)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: For Families With Developmentally Disabled Members, Coronavirus Presents New Challenges, Fears
Like many Louisiana residents with developmental disabilities, the Gritters receive a Medicaid waiver to pay for that help. But the fear of exposure and the need for social distancing is making life even more challenging for families like the Gritters who care for vulnerable members. (Pagones, 4/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coronavirus In Wauwatosa: Children's Hospital Doctor Donates Plasma
A doctor who tested positive for coronavirus in March was the first person to donate plasma to a new program designed to help COVID-19 patients. Dave Lal, a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, donated plasma to the Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin's convalescent plasma program on Monday. The donation will be provided to hospitals participating in the program, which could help those who are severely ill with coronavirus. One plasma donation can be used to treat multiple patients, according to Versiti. (Casey, 4/8)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Coronavirus Cases Hit 103; Unemployment Leveling Off
Wisconsin passed a grim milestone on Wednesday.As the state recorded the 100th coronavirus death and the number of cases climbed, sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles fell, election results won't be known until next week and Milwaukee County bus passengers may have to wait longer for a ride because of limits to the number of people on board. Plus everyone wants to know — how much longer will this last? (Jones, 4/8)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: North Las Vegas Approved Coronavirus Enforcement Ordinance
North Las Vegas City Council members unanimously passed an ordinance Wednesday that will put teeth into emergency directives from the governor or city manager. The immediate goal of the ordinance is to levy civil and criminal penalties against landlords and property managers who evict commercial or residential tenants during the coronavirus pandemic. Though Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an order on March 29 that puts a moratorium on evictions, some tenants still face lockouts. (Apgar, 4/8)

Indianapolis Star: Indiana Coronavirus: Marion County Opens Morgue Overflow Facility
The Marion County Emergency Operations Center announced Wednesday morning that a temporary morgue facility has been secured for use, if needed, during the anticipated surge of coronavirus patients in the coming weeks. (VanTryon, 4/8)

Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Crime: Drop In Homicides May Be Temporary, Data Shows
Overall crime might have dipped recently due to coronavirus restrictions, but the number of homicides in Indianapolis has not. The city has seen 45 criminal homicides, of 54 total homicides that include self-defense and accidental deaths as of April 6, according to an IndyStar analysis and data provided by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. That's higher than the amount of criminal homicides at this time last year — 34 — and in 2018 — 35 — when Indianapolis set a new record for homicides. (Hill, 4/9)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus-Wracked California Nursing Home Evacuated After Staff Didn’t Report For Work
A California nursing home where dozens have tested positive for the novel coronavirus was forced to evacuate Wednesday after a majority of its staff failed to show up to work for the second consecutive day, according to public health officials. People decked out in masks, gloves and protective gowns could be seen wheeling residents of the Magnolia Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Riverside, Calif., one by one on stretchers to ambulances that would take them to other care facilities in the area. (Chiu, 4/9)

CNN: A California Nursing Home Was Evacuated After Its Staff Didn't Show Up 
Dozens of patients from a nursing home in Southern California were evacuated to other centers Wednesday after employees stopped showing up for work, officials say. Magnolia Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Riverside, California has been hit hard by coronavirus, with at least 34 of 84 patients and five staff members testing positive, according to a news release from Riverside County Public Health Department. Wednesday is the second day in a row employees didn't show up to care for patients. (Mossburg, 4/8)

CNN: Nursing Homes In New Jersey, California Reporting Clusters Of Coronavirus Cases
Members of the New Jersey National Guard were deployed to two New Jersey nursing homes this week after both facilities reported deaths of residents due to coronavirus. About 40 members were dispatched to the New Jersey Veterans Home in Paramus, which houses 285 residents and has reported 10 deaths from the virus. At least 23 residents have tested positive and are isolated and another 47 are awaiting test results, New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs spokesman Kryn Westhoven told CNN. (Frehse, Sturla and Silva, 4/9)

CBS News: Coronavirus Cases Surge In Nursing Homes Across The Country
Across the country, we're seeing an alarming rise in coronavirus cases in nursing homes. More than half of the nursing homes in New Jersey have at least one case. Three patients have died at a nursing home in Missouri. At a home near Richmond, Virginia, 33 have died. This is the system at a breaking point. (Vigliotti, 4/8)

Houston Chronicle: COVID-19 Outbreaks At Nursing Homes Raise Questions About Transparency, Safety Of Elderly Residents 
When the news flashed on the television screen on April 2 about a coronavirus outbreak at a Texas City nursing home, Jessica Ticas immediately picked up the phone, panicked. Ticas’ grandmother, Maria Rivas, is a resident at The Resort at Texas City, a 135-bed long-term care facility where 68 residents and employees tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Ticas wanted answers: Is her grandmother one of the infected residents? Is she showing symptoms? (Powell, Godlenstein and Foxhall, 4/8)

Reuters: Nursing Home Deaths Rise In Maryland With Tests, Protective Gear Scarce
Retired firefighter Gary Holmberg was only supposed to be at the Pleasant View nursing home in Maryland for a little while, recovering from a fall at his assisted living center. But about a month after he arrived, Holmberg, 77, became one of more than a dozen of the nursing home’s residents who died from the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. (Brice and Ross, 4/8)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Coronavirus Deaths In Louisiana Nursing Homes Up To 130; At Least 93 Facilities Have Cases
Coronavirus has continued to take a deadly toll on Louisiana's nursing homes, claiming 130 lives and infecting more than 550 residents, according to numbers released Wednesday by the state. Moreover, coronavirus cases have been confirmed in 93 of the state's 436 nursing homes and long-term care facilities, the state's numbers show. (Roberts III, 4/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Veterans Affairs Hospitals Facing ‘Serious’ Shortage Of Protective Gear, Internal Memos Show
The Department of Veterans Affairs is experiencing serious shortages of protective gear for its medical workers treating patients infected by the new coronavirus, according to excerpts of internal memos shared with The Wall Street Journal. The memos’ concerns are mirrored by VA doctors and nurses working in several of the agency’s hospitals around the country. In Kansas City, Mo., doctors have to store their used N95 protective masks in paper bags in between shifts. (Kesling, 4/8)

NBC News: Nevada Man Charged With Stealing Boxes Of Surgical Masks From VA Center
A Reno, Nevada, man is accused of stealing around 200 surgical masks from a Veterans Affairs medical center last month, prosecutors said. Peter Lucas, 35, of Reno stole at least four boxes of masks — each containing 50 masks — from the Ioannis A. Lougaris VA Medical Center from March 19 to March 23, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada said in a statement. (Helsel, 4/8)

The New York Times: Food Banks Are Overrun, As Coronavirus Surges Demand
In Omaha, a food pantry that typically serves as few as 100 people saw 900 show up on a single day. In Jonesboro, Ark., after a powerful tornado struck, a food bank received less than half the donations it expected because nervous families held on to what they had. And in Washington State and Louisiana, the National Guard has been called in to help pack food boxes and ensure that the distributions run smoothly. Demand for food assistance is rising at an extraordinary rate, just as the nation’s food banks are being struck by shortages of both donated food and volunteer workers. (Kulish, 4/8)

GMA: Day Of Hope: How To Help Food Banks On The Front Lines Of The COVID-19 Crisis
The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 400,000 people and killed at least 13,000 in the United States so far. Another serious consequence of the outbreak: food insecurity. (Bernabe and Vollmayer, 4/9)

The Associated Press: Celeb Chefs Unite To Feed Hungry, Help Bleeding Restaurants
When Jose Andres first came to New York City, the wide-eyed sailor in the Spanish navy docked on West 30th Street full of ambition. Decades later, the award-winning chef has an upscale food hall on that very street and will serve 40,000 meals this week across the city where he built his dreams, and which is now the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus. Andres, whose restaurants in the United States include The Bazaar, Jaleo and the two Michelin-starred Somni, founded World Central Kitchen in 2010. It has served over 15 million meals worldwide after hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. (Kennedy, 4/8)

The Washington Post: The Nationals And Jose Andres's World Central Kitchen Have Teamed Up To Feed Needy Communities
If there weren’t a deadly virus making the rounds, the Washington Nationals would have been wrapping up a home series with the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, with a World Series banner flapping in the breeze somewhere in the outfield bleachers. Fans would have been lined up at concessions stands, waiting on their chili dogs and Shack burgers with a cold beer in hand. Life would’ve been grand in the nation’s capital. (Carman and Allen, 4/8)

The Associated Press: DC Activists Team Up To Feed The Needy Under Lockdown
A line begins forming as a van pulls into the parking lot of a senior living center in Southeast Washington. By the time the half-dozen masked volunteers set up the folding table and start pulling out plastic bags filled with fruits, vegetables and canned goods, about 15 people stretch down the block. (Khalil and Martin, 4/9)

The New York Times: In Scramble For Coronavirus Supplies, Rich Countries Push Poor Aside
Crates of masks snatched from cargo planes on airport tarmacs. Countries paying triple the market price to outbid others. Accusations of “modern piracy” against governments trying to secure medical supplies for their own people. As the United States and European Union countries compete to acquire scarce medical equipment to combat the coronavirus, another troubling divide is also emerging, with poorer countries losing out to wealthier ones in the global scrum for masks and testing materials. (Bradley, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: IMF, World Bank Face Deluge Of Aid Requests From Developing World
The health of the global economy comes down to a race between money flooding out of emerging markets amid the coronavirus pandemic and the efforts of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to pump money back in. The two Washington-based finance institutions find themselves facing the greatest challenge since they were established as the heart of the international monetary system at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. The IMF’s seminal mission was to safeguard global financial stability to prevent a repeat of the Great Depression, while the World Bank’s was to rebuild the war-ravaged economies of Europe. (Zumbrun and Harrison, 4/9)

The New York Times: While The World Spends On Coronavirus Bailouts, China Holds Back
The world is opening its wallet to fight the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. The United States unveiled a $2 trillion rescue package. European countries have announced their own spending blitz, and Japan approved a nearly $1 trillion economic stimulus plan. Then there’s China. The country that famously helped kick-start the world economy after the 2008 global financial crisis with a half-a-trillion-dollar spending splurge has been relatively restrained this time around. While it is helping companies keep workers and pushing its state-run banks to lend more, China has held back from spending on big packages or flooding its financial system with money. (Bradsher, 4/9)

The New York Times: As Europe Confronts The Coronavirus, What Shape Will Solidarity Take?
As a poorer, battered south asks a richer, frugal north for solidarity, you’d be forgiven for thinking the coronavirus is throwing Europe back into last decade’s economic catastrophe. You’d be wrong. This time is set to be far worse. The pandemic and the havoc the coronavirus is wreaking on European economies has echoes of the eurozone debt crisis, but this calamity is hitting everyone, not just smaller wayward nations, and it goes well beyond the economy. It presents a watershed moment for the future shape of the European project. (Stevis-Gridneff, 4/8)

Reuters: PM Johnson 'Getting Better' In Intensive Care As UK Extends Overdraft
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was getting better on Thursday in intensive care where he is battling COVID-19 as his government extended its overdraft facility and reviewed the most stringent shut down in peacetime history. Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough and was rushed to intensive care on Monday. He has received oxygen support but has not been put on a ventilator. (Faluconbridge, Holton and Milliken, 4/9)

Politico: France Struggles With ‘Chilling’ Covid-19 Data From Nursing Homes
Even though older people are most at risk of developing COVID-19, French health authorities have struggled to get data on the spread of the coronavirus from a key source: nursing homes. Weeks into the epidemic and shortly after a new reporting system was implemented, health officials raised concerns with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe's office about the difficulties they face with private care facilities for the elderly, according to internal emails seen by POLITICO. (Braun, 4/8)

Reuters: From Fine To Flailing - Rapid Health Declines In COVID-19 Patients Jar Doctors, Nurses
One medical worker called it “insane,” another said it induces paranoia - the speed with which patients are declining and dying from the novel coronavirus is shocking even veteran doctors and nurses as they scramble to determine how to stop such sudden deterioration. Patients “look fine, feel fine, then you turn around and they’re unresponsive,” said Diana Torres, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, where the virus has infected more than 415,000 people. “I’m paranoid, scared to walk out of their room.” (Brown and Beasley, 4/8)

The New York Times: ‘It’s Hit Our Front Door’: Homes For The Disabled See A Surge Of Covid-19
The call came on March 24. Bob McGuire, the executive director of CP Nassau, a nonprofit group that cares for the developmentally disabled, received a report from a four-story, colonnaded building in Bayville, N.Y., that houses several dozen residents with severe disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to autism. For many of them, discussions of social distancing or hand washing are moot. “Bob, we’re starting to see symptoms,” Mr. McGuire was told. Fevers were spreading. Within 24 hours, 10 residents were taken to the hospital. Now, little more than two weeks later, 37 of the home’s 46 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus. (Hakim, /48)

The New York Times: Don’t Expect A Coronavirus Quarantine Baby Boom
Any time people are stuck at home for blizzards, shutdowns and blackouts, the speculation seems to start: Will there be a baby boom in nine months? This time, with quarantine orders keeping millions of people inside to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the answer is clear, demographers say. Don’t expect a lot of newborns in the next year. That may disappoint those who are worried about the United States’ birthrate, which has steadily declined since the Great Recession and put the country close to an overall population decline. (Yuhas, 4/8)

The New York Times: Most New York Coronavirus Cases Came From Europe, Genomes Show
New research indicates that the coronavirus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case, and that travelers brought in the virus mainly from Europe, not Asia. “The majority is clearly European,” said Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-wrote a study awaiting peer review. A separate team at N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine came to strikingly similar conclusions, despite studying a different group of cases. Both teams analyzed genomes from coronaviruses taken from New Yorkers starting in mid-March. (Zimmer, 4/8)

CNN: Study Shows New York's Outbreak Came From Europe And Other Parts Of The United States 
A Mount Sinai study shows the first cases of coronavirus in New York City most likely originated in Europe and other parts of the United States, the health system said. With more than 80,000 cases and 4,260 coronavirus deaths, according to the city's website, New York is one of the major epicenters for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. (Holcombe, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: A Cop Skilled In Tracking Mobsters Is Now Focused On The Coronavirus
Police Superintendent Ævar Pálmi Pálmason usually tracks mobsters. Since late February, he has been on the trail of people who may be infected with the new coronavirus. Mr. Pálmason, who serves the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police force, heads a team of so-called contact tracers in Iceland, deployed to try to keep anyone potentially infected from spreading the virus. Contact tracers use traditional detective methods—from online sleuthing to pounding the streets and knocking on doors—to sniff out anyone who could have been infected and send them into quarantine at home. (Marson, 4/9)

ABC News: Confined In A Small Space Due To COVID-19? Here's Some Tips From An Astronaut 
As much of the nation has been asked to stay at home to help stop the devastating spread of the novel coronavirus, a former astronaut and his team of researchers released self-help tools for how to battle emotional stress and stay sane while in confinement. "Outer space and your own living room might be drastically different physically, but emotionally the stressors can be the same," Dr. Jay Buckey, a professor at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, said in a statement. "There is no reason why people who suddenly find themselves stuck at home for long periods of time -- alone or with others -- shouldn’t find this research to be helpful." (Thorbecke, 4/9)

Kaiser Health News: What Does Recovery From COVID-19 Look Like? It Depends. A Pulmonologist Explains.
Reports of recovery from serious illness caused by the coronavirus have been trickling in from around the world. Physicians are swapping anecdotes on social media: a 38-year-old man who went home after three weeks at the Cleveland Clinic, including 10 days in intensive care. A 93-year-old woman in New Orleans whose breathing tube was removed, successfully, after three days. A patient at Massachusetts General Hospital who was taken off a ventilator after five days and was doing well. (Graham, 4/9)

The New York Times: How NOT To Wear A Mask
Almost overnight, masks in a variety of colors, styles and materials have appeared on the faces of people around us. While it’s good news that many people are doing their part to slow the spread of coronavirus, the bad news is that many people are wearing their masks wrong. “Wearing a mask takes some getting used to, for sure,” said Dr. Scott Segal, chairman of anesthesiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health. “You are probably wearing it exactly right if it’s a little stuffy.” (Parker-Pope, 4/8)

CNN: Allergies And Coronavirus: What You Need To Do Now To Protect Your Lungs 
Achoo! At the same time a deadly disease is terrorizing the world, allergy season is beginning or already in full swing across many parts of the UK, Europe and the United States. Experts say allergies may impact your respiratory system and make it more fragile, thus possibly making it easier to catch the novel coronavirus, or worsening any Covid-19 symptoms once you did. (LaMotte, 4/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: Domestic Violence Rises In Bay Area During Coronavirus Shutdown, Victim Advocates Say 
Domestic violence is believed to be on the rise as shelter-in-place orders are keeping nearly everyone home to combat the spread of COVID-19, according to Bay Area law enforcement and advocates for survivors and victims. Feeling stressed and frustrated is to be expected during the pandemic, and prolonged proximity to partners or children at home all day can additionally fray nerves. (Cabanatuan, 4/8)

NBC News: 'Cardiac Calls' To 911 In New York City Surge, And They May Really Be More COVID Cases
Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, residents of hard-hit New York City have been talking about ambulance sirens and how the wailing never seems to stop. They're not imagining things — but the reality is even grimmer than some may have guessed. A huge number of those ambulances are responding to fatal or near-fatal heart attacks suffered by New Yorkers whose true health issue may be COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus. (Winter, 4/8)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Questions And Answers With A Virologist
What’s safe and what isn’t these days? With coronavirus, it’s hard to know. But an expert on viruses has some insights. We posed a selection of burning questions from our readers to Paula Cannon, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. (Roy and Potts, 4/8)

The New York Times: For H.I.V. Survivors, A Feeling Of Weary DÉJà Vu
Three weeks ago, a spring breaker in Miami became a symbol of Gen Z denialism when he spoke to CBS News and said that coronavirus wasn’t going to get in the way of his partying. Outrage was swift, but one person who felt a touch of recognition was Peter Staley, one of the country’s most respected AIDS activists. Mr. Staley, 59, remembers what it was to be young and dumb. (Bernstein, 4/8)

The New York Times: Feeling Down? Anxious? Hostile? A 4-Day-A-Week Exercise Regimen May Help
During these trying times, exercise could provide indispensable mental-health support for many of us, according to a timely new study. The study finds that among a generally healthy but sedentary group of adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s, working out lowers levels of depression, hostility and other negative feelings. The study also finds that the mood benefits of exercise can linger for weeks after people stop working out, offering another compelling reason for us to try to move, whenever and wherever we still can, during this coronavirus crisis. (Reynolds, 4/8)

ABC News: Human Impact On Biodiversity Loss May Fuel Future Pandemics 
As the war against COVID-19 brings entire countries to a screeching halt, the planet is beginning to see a glimpse into a world without the damaging effects of daily human impact. And that glimpse is startling. With fewer planes in the sky, cars on the roads and foot traffic across our cities, air quality is improving dramatically around the world -- in some places by as much as half in just the first week of lockdown. It's a visual reminder of the toll humans take on this planet. (Rulli and Griswold, 4/8)

Boston Globe: The Surreal Experience Of Giving Birth During The Coronavirus Crisis
The surreal experience of giving birth during the coronavirus crisis is one that has already been shared by more than 700 mothers in Rhode Island, and something thousands more will undoubtedly face in the coming months. (McGowan, 4/9)

PBS NewsHour: The Challenge Of Protecting Homeless Populations Amid COVID-19
In order to protect themselves and their communities from the novel coronavirus outbreak, Americans across the country are staying home. But what happens to those who don’t have one? (Sy, Jackson and Kuhn, 4/8)

Reuters: Cats Can Catch Coronavirus, Study Finds, Prompting WHO Investigation
Cats can become infected with the new coronavirus but dogs appear not to be vulnerable, according to a study published on Wednesday, prompting the WHO to say it will take a closer look at transmission of the virus between humans and pets. (Joseph, 4/8)

NBC News: You Can Still Run Outside During The Coronavirus Pandemic. Here's How To Do It Safely.
After competing in a few triathlons, Erika Hall started running regularly 10 years ago, even going so far as trekking trails in a couple of marathons. "Running keeps me sane," Hall told NBC News. "If I have to write something or if I'm worried about something, I go for a run and it automatically boosts my mental health and helps me think more clearly." Yet as news of the coronavirus outbreak worsened and more stringent measures were undertaken to ensure social distancing took hold in areas around the United States, including in her home city of San Francisco, Hall stopped running altogether out of concern that she wouldn’t be able to remain adequately distant from fellow joggers and pedestrians. (Aviles, 4/8)

The Hill: States Move To Protect Prisoners From Coronavirus Outbreaks
State and local corrections departments are taking steps ranging from sequestering inmates to releasing low-level offenders in efforts to prevent the deadly coronavirus from spreading through prisons and jails. Prisoners are among the most vulnerable groups at risk of both a widespread outbreak and of suffering severe symptoms, experts said. Incarcerated populations tend to be older, many inmates have underlying health conditions and there is little social distancing to be achieved in confined spaces. (Wilson, 4/9)

The New York Times: Chicago’s Jail Is Top U.S. Hot Spot As Virus Spreads Behind Bars
It started small. On March 23, two inmates in the sprawling Cook County jail, one of the nation’s largest, were placed in isolation cells after testing positive for the coronavirus. In a little over two weeks, the virus exploded behind bars, infecting more than 350 people. The jail in Chicago is now the nation’s largest-known source of coronavirus infections, according to data compiled by The New York Times, with more confirmed cases than the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, a nursing home in Kirkland, Wash., or the cluster centered on New Rochelle, N.Y. (Williams and Ivory, 4/8)

NPR: Inmates In Washington State Protest After Fellow Prisoners Test Positive For COVID-19
Dozens of inmates at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington state have staged a brief protest after several fellow prisoners tested positive for the novel coronavirus in recent days. In a statement issued late Wednesday, the Department of Corrections Washington State said that around 6 p.m. local time more than 100 men at the prison's minimum-security unit (MSU) "began engaging in a demonstration in the recreation yard." (Neuman, 4/9)

CBS News: Crisis At Oakdale: Coronavirus Cripples Federal Prison In Louisiana
A federal prison in Louisiana has come into focus after five inmates housed at the facility died after contracting the coronavirus. Attorney General William Barr has urged the Bureau of Prisons to allow vulnerable inmates who qualify at FCI Oakdale I and other federal prisons to serve the rest of their sentences from home. Oakdale, a low-security facility located about 200 miles west of New Orleans, typically houses 971 male inmates. The prison has reported 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff and inmates. (Hymes, 4/8)

NBC News: Jails Are Releasing Inmates Because Of Coronavirus. New York Just Took A Step To Lock More People Up.
Last week, as law enforcement officials around the country were cutting jail populations to blunt the spread of the coronavirus, New York lawmakers did something that could lead to more people getting locked up. The state Legislature changed course on a 2019 law that restricted the use of cash bail, tucking new caveats into a last-minute budget bill signed Friday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (Schuppe, 4/8)

CNN: Coronavirus Cases In California Prisons Multiplied In Days And Inmates Fear Further Spread 
The number of inmates infected with coronavirus in the California prison system grew by more than seven times in a little more than a week, while staff cases nearly tripled, leaving some behind bars fearful that cases will explode even as officials have begun taking steps to slow the spread. Twenty-nine inmates and more than 60 staff members have now tested positive for the virus, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Wednesday. (Maxouris, 4/9)

Houston Chronicle: Reports: Children Are In 23½ Hour-A-Day Lockup At Harris County Juvenile Facility Amid COVID-19
Harris County’s juvenile detention center has been following guidance from the CDC and local health authorities in dealing with COVID-19, a spokesperson said Wednesday after a lawsuit alleging near solitary confinement was filed. Legal action filed this week by the public defender’s office alleged that teenagers have been confined to their rooms 23½ hours per day at Harris County’s juvenile detention center. The facility says that youth are allowed out for 1½ hours a day and that it plans to increase that time. (Banks, 4/8)

The New York Times: Summer Heat May Not Diminish Coronavirus Strength
The homebound and virus-wary across the Northern Hemisphere, from President Trump to cooped-up schoolchildren, have clung to the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic will fade in hot weather, as some viral diseases do. But the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, in a public report sent to the White House, has said, in effect: Don’t get your hopes up. After reviewing a variety of research reports, a panel concluded that the studies, of varying quality of evidence, do not offer a basis to believe that summer weather will interfere with the spread of the coronavirus. (Gorman, 4/8)

CIDRAP: Experts: COVID-19 Pandemic Unlikely To Ebb As Weather Warms
In the paper, the National Academies' Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats said that the number of well-controlled studies showing reduced survival of the coronavirus in elevated temperatures and humidity is small and urged caution not to over-interpret these results because of varied and questionable data quality. Even if warmth were unfavorable for COVID-19, "given the lack of host immunity globally, this reduction in transmission efficiency may not lead to a significant reduction in disease spread without the concomitant adoption of major public health interventions," they wrote. "Given that countries currently in 'summer' climates, such as Australia and Iran, are experiencing rapid virus spread, a decrease in cases with increases in humidity and temperature elsewhere should not be assumed." (Van Beusekom, 4/8)

The New York Times: High-Fiber Foods Linked To Lower Breast Cancer Risk
A diet high in fiber may help reduce the risk for breast cancer, researchers report. The analysis, in the journal Cancer, pooled data from 20 prospective studies of fiber consumption and breast cancer incidence. Some examined total fiber intake; others looked at the varying types of fiber from cereal, fruit, vegetables and legumes; none involved fiber supplements. (Bakalar, 4/6)

JAMA Psychiatry: Changes Over Time In The Differential Mortality Gap In Individuals With Mental Disorders
People with mental disorders have increased mortality rates and reduced life expectancies.1,2 The life-years lost (LYLs), which estimates life expectancy for people with a disorder compared with the general population,1,3,4 have been estimated to be 10 and 7 years, respectively, for men and women with any mental disorder.1,2 For schizophrenia, LYLs related to suicide and unintentional deaths (ie, external causes) had fallen over a 20-year period, but these gains were offset by worsening LYLs related to deaths from general medical conditions (ie, natural causes).5 The aim of this Research Letter is to examine changes in mortality rate ratios (MRRs) and LYLs for both external and natural causes over 20 years for specific mental disorders. (Plana-Ripoll et al, 4/8)

CIDRAP: Hospital Prescribing Algorithm Shows Promise, UK Study Finds
An algorithm designed to augment antibiotic prescribing in secondary care provided appropriate recommendations that were narrower in spectrum than current clinical practice, UK researchers reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) algorithm was developed using locally sourced data and designed for use in general medical and surgical settings at three London hospitals, with implementation and integration into the hospitals' clinical decision support systems starting in July 2017. (4/6)

Urban Institute: COVID-19: Policies To Protect People And Communities
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread and people are forced to stay home, workers are losing their jobs, health care systems are being stressed, local businesses are at risk of closing permanently, and the country is bracing for recession. The crisis has laid bare the inequities and injustices that threaten people’s well-being, safety, and lives. Amid these uncertain and challenging times, we are asking and answering: How can the nation respond in the short term to keep all people safe and the economy afloat? What policies could help all of us recover in a way that is inclusive and equitable? And how can families and communities become more resilient to global health, economic, climate, and other shocks, even as we seek to prevent them from happening again? (3/31)

The Washington Post: Time To Plan For A Phase-Two Battle Against The Coronavirus 
Glimmers of hope are emerging that the coronavirus pandemic is slowing. Washington state and California have flattened the curve with social distancing to such an extent that they are offering spare ventilators to stricken New York, where Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) says hospital admissions are plateauing, and other signs show the pandemic will be more manageable than the worst-case projections. An earlier estimate of 100,000 or more deaths nationwide has been scaled back considerably, assuming social distancing continues through May. No one should draw the conclusion that it is time to let up. On the contrary, the changing dynamics of infection and hospitalization show that social distancing to break the virus transmission is working where attempted and ought to be redoubled. (4/8)

The Star Tribune: Iowa, Dakotas Should Join Minnesota In COVID-19 Fight
We’re all in this together, aren’t we? At least in the Upper Midwest, that pandemic rallying cry doesn’t quite hold true. North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa have not yet joined the 42 other states — including Minnesota — that have mandated stay-at-home policies. (On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz extended Minnesota’s order to May 4.)To their credit, these neighboring states have undertaken many mitigation measures, and their leaders are no doubt just as concerned for their residents as Walz is about Minnesotans. But despite hundreds of coronavirus cases — and, tragically, some deaths — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, all Republicans, have rejected the kind of stay-at-home order that Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci urges for the entire country. (4/8)

WBUR: My Sickest COVID-19 Patients Are Alone, Unable To Breathe Or Speak English 
This week, I have witnessed coronavirus afflicting Hispanic people in East Boston too many times. This scenario repeats itself in my daily clinical practice: A middle-aged, Spanish-speaking patient arrives in the Emergency Department. They have multiple sick contacts in apartments that are multi-generational and shared with many other people. They work in industries with high community exposure and must continue to do so or they will lose their jobs. I see them when coronavirus has ravaged their lungs and they need intensive care. (Anita Chary, 4/9)

The Detroit News: Pandemic Forces America To Confront Black Health Disparities
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing the nation to reckon with the reality of racial disparities in our health care system. This much is clear from reports of how major urban centers like Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans are COVID-19 killing fields. And people are dying largely because of chronic illnesses that are the result of longstanding health inequities. Even though there are no publicly available numbers currently on the racial makeup of people dying in Detroit from the virus, the statistics from the state show that while blacks make up 14% of the population, they account for 40% of COVID-19 deaths so far. (Bankhole Thompson, 4/8)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Leaders Fear Coronavirus Leads To Teen Despair
Two high-school age kids from Natomas have died and their cases are officially being investigated as suicides, causing officials to react with the deep sadness we all feel for the loss of life and the despair that led to it. They’re also worried about something else. They’re worried about students isolated, removed from each other in school, alone. They’re worried about collateral damage to a pandemic. They don’t know the why, but they didn’t have to take a great leap to land on this troubling thought: Could these teens one day be viewed as the first young people in Sacramento County to be victims of COVID-19, even if indirectly? (Marcos Breton, 4/8)

New England Journal of Medicine: Emerging Tools In The Fight Against Covid-19
The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that emerged in late 2019, and the resulting Covid-19 disease has been labeled a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. In this audio interview conducted on April 8, 2020, the editors discuss preventive and therapeutic tools we can hope to see in the weeks ahead, as well as the current situation in U.S. hospitals. (Drs. Eric Ruben and Lindsey Baden, 4/9)

The New York Times: Amid Coronavirus, America Needs A More Just Society
From some of its darkest hours, the United States has emerged stronger and more resilient. Between May and July 1862, even as Confederate victories in Virginia raised doubts about the future of the Union, Congress and President Abraham Lincoln kept their eyes on the horizon, enacting three landmark laws that shaped the nation’s next chapter: The Homestead Act allowed western settlers to claim 160 acres of public land apiece; the Morrill Act provided land grants for states to fund universities; and the Pacific Railway Act underwrote the transcontinental railroad. (4/9)

The Hill: Use The COVID-19 Crisis To Train The Workforce Of The Future 
With the stunning, whirlwind pace of COVID-19’s destruction ripping through America, congressional leaders and the Trump administration have already begun pledging a follow-on relief package to the historic $2 trillion CARES Act. A critical focus of the economic provisions in a follow-on package must be placed on fulfilling the relief pledges to small businesses and the millions of unemployed and furloughed workers. But the next package should also begin to prepare the American workforce for the post COVID-19 economy. (Lori Esposito Murray, 4/8)

Stat: I Am Far More Than 'Just A Nurse' 
I inspect my patient from head to toe and then left to right across her body, noting ridges of scar tissue. “His machete,” she says. Dime-sized wounds are scattered across her thighs. “His cigarettes,” she explains. (Jennifer Breads, 4/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Wasted Briefings
A friend of ours who voted for President Trump sent us a note recently saying that she had stopped watching the daily White House briefings of the coronavirus task force. Why? Because they have become less about defeating the virus and more about the many feuds of Donald J. Trump. (4/8)

Fox News: Trump Right To Attack WHO On Coronavirus – UN Agency Deserves Even Harsher Criticism
President Trump was right this week to sharply criticize the inexcusable conduct of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic and to threaten to cut U.S. funding for that United Nations organization. The U.S. contributed over $400 million to the WHO last year – far more than any other nation. China contributed $44 million.WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attacked Trump on Wednesday. “If you don’t want many more body bags, you refrain from politicizing it,” Tedros told reporters. (Gordon G. Chang, 4/9)4/9)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Coronavirus Failures? Thank Ronald Reagan 
A few days ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci called for a nationwide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. “I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” said the country’s leading expert on infectious disease, although he did acknowledge “the Trump administration’s hesitance to encroach upon local authorities.” Many Americans share the good doctor’s confusion. Why won’t President Trump use his authority to issue a national stay-at home order? Or use his influence to persuade governors to do so? And, above all, why did President Trump downplay the threat of the coronavirus and refuse to act on the advice of his experts while there was still a chance of containing the virus and saving tens of thousands of American lives? (Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, 4/9)

The Washington Post: Colorado Has Proved Vote-At-Home Works. We Need To Do It Nationally. 
The election chaos in Wisconsin on Tuesday sent a clear message: The nation can’t afford a repeat in November. Poll workers, many of them vulnerable senior citizens, and voters were forced to risk covid-19 infection to participate in American democracy, with scandalously long lines at the few polling places that were open in some areas. Gov. Tony Evers (D) had issued an executive order to reschedule the election, but Republicans fought against it and the state’s Supreme Court blocked it.Republicans also attacked a sensible proposal by Evers to essentially turn the election into one conducted by mail, with absentee ballots sent to every registered voter. President Trump has lately chimed in with criticism that mail-in balloting is “horrible,” “corrupt” and invites “fraud.” (John Hickenlooper, 4/8)

Dallas Morning News: The Disconnect Between Trump And His Coronavirus Advisers Gets Wider
It was one of many days that U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus hit a new peak, but President Donald Trump seemed determined to maintain a positive tone. “It’s a beautiful day in Washington, D.C., and we’re getting better every day,” the president told last Friday’s daily briefing on the virus that has crippled the nation. “You’ll see bad things and then you’re going to see some very good things.” Two days later, Trump was even more optimistic. “We see a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. But earlier Sunday, the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on CBS’ Face the Nation, “We are struggling to get it under control.” (Carl P. Leubsdorf, 4/9)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Science Is The Key To Winning War Against The Coronavirus
On Feb. 28, when the first person died of the novel coronavirus in the United States, the virus launched its “surprise” attack on America. This is not a drill. This coronavirus is a parasite, and we are its host. President Donald Trump is learning, albeit slowly, that in a pandemic, you can’t warp reality with bluster and lies and ignorant assertions that suit your political interests. You can’t gaslight a virus. It doesn’t care — it just replicates. And the way the virus replicates is through humans, no matter who we are or where we live. (Charlie Walch, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: China’s Coronavirus Statistics Aren’t The Problem 
As the coronavirus spreads around the world, U.S. officials who downplayed the risk have repeatedly blamed China’s fake data and deceptive practices for the outbreak. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said in March that poor information from China has “put us behind the curve.” Last week, several House Republicans sent a letter to Pompeo stating that “misinformation from China over the past several months has severely crippled global action to combat the global pandemic.” (Jeremy L. Wallace and Jessica Chen Weiss, 4/9)

Boston Globe: To Fight Coronavirus, America Needs Leaders Who Are First Followers 
Americans typically hate being told what to do. Autonomy and individualism are hallmarks of the US Constitution and are embedded in our national culture. We take pride in being unique, in doing the impossible, in being a leader. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders and followers across the country share a sense of anxiety and uncertainty. The way we approach leadership today will define our place in world history.Leaders must know how to follow. (Jason Pradarelli and Gerard Doherty, 4/8)

The Detroit News: Response Contributes To Coronavirus Confusion
In the United States, the current “ball of confusion” starts, of course, with President Donald Trump. Careening from hope to fear, mutating from Neville Chamberlain one moment to Winston Churchill the next, spewing an endless stream of useful and useless information — Trump is the worst leader for the worst time. (James Rosen, 4/8)