State Highlights: New York Ventilator Deal With Untested Vendor Raises Concerns; Massachusetts Reports ‘Reasonably Positive’ Trends

The New York Times: He Had Never Sold A Ventilator. N.Y. Gave Him An $86 Million Deal.
The offer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency sounded promising: A Silicon Valley engineer said that he could deliver thousands of ventilators from manufacturers across China to help hospitals treat coronavirus patients. The engineer was asked for more details. Within 12 hours, he responded with a 28-page digital catalog of medical supplies at his disposal, including protective masks and goggles. (Ferre-Sadurni and Kaplan, 5/8)

The New York Times: A Quarantine Hospital So Unwelcome That New Yorkers Burned It Down
President Trump tweeted in late April that because of the coronavirus pandemic, he sought to halt immigration “in light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy.” This followed earlier assertions that concerns over the virus’s spread legitimized a crackdown at the southwestern border. While this particular coronavirus may be novel, there is nothing new about the use of a pathogen to justify hostility to foreigners, as disease and anti-immigrant sentiment have periodically been fevered bedfellows in America. (Gill, 5/8)

Politico: Warren Joins NYC Council To Push For Increased Protections For Essential Workers
Former presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren joined a slate of city officials on Thursday to push increased protections for essential workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. "If these essential workers are willing to get out there and put their own health at risk — sometimes putting their families' health at risk — then the very least the rest of us can do is make sure that they have some genuine protection,” Warren said during a virtual town hall. “That means both medical protection and it means economic protection.” (Muoio, 5/7)

State House News Service: 'Reasonably Positive' Trends For Mass. Go The Other Way 
Every metric that Gov. Charlie Baker has said must show improvement before the economy and society is allowed to restart took a step in the wrong direction in the last day. The latest COVID-19 update from the Department of Public Health showed that the state conducted fewer tests than any day in the last two weeks, the percent of those tests that came back positive shot up to 28% after hovering in the high teens for several days, and more people were hospitalized for COVID-19 on Wednesday than were on Tuesday. (Young, 5/7)

Boston Globe: Pastors Across Massachusetts Sign Letter Asking Baker To Reopen Churches 
About 260 pastors from churches across the state called on Governor Charlie Baker in a letter Thursday to allow them to reopen their doors later this month. As the state prepares to ease some restrictions imposed in March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the ministers say churches should be among the first wave of establishments allowed to reopen after the governor’s order expires May 18. (Fox, 5/7)

WBUR: Judge: Bristol Sheriff And ICE Likely Violated Rights Of Detainees; Orders COVID-19 Testing
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) likely violated the constitutional rights of ICE detainees, according to a federal judge in Boston. U.S. District Court Judge William Young found both the sheriff and ICE have deliberately disregarded the health of detainees in their care amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Young ordered immediate, widespread testing — at ICE's expense — of ICE detainees, as well as staff who may have come in contact with them. (Dooling, 5/7)

Des Moines Register: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Says State Is 'Leading By Example' On Coronavirus
Iowans “can be proud” of how the state is responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a Thursday news conference. Her statement follows a Wednesday afternoon proclamation further easing restrictions on some businesses and activities and a trip to the White House where she discussed the state’s response and outbreaks at meatpacking plants here. The state avoided having its hospitals overwhelmed and now has ample available beds and equipment, Reynolds said. (Coltrain, 5/7)

The Washington Post: As Iowa Reopens, Workers Are Being Forced To Choose Between A Paycheck And Their Health
Terrie Neider loves to be around people. “I’m chatty,” she said. “Customer service is my thing. It’s what I’m good at.” So when she was looking to supplement her monthly Social Security check, the 64-year-old took a part-time job at the Casey’s General Store off the main strip in this rural southeastern Iowa town. She worked three shifts, about 24 hours a week, running the cash register and occasionally making pizza, earning just enough to make ends meet. (Bailey, 5/7)

Boston Globe: Raimondo To Lift Stay-At-Home Order Saturday; R.I. Sees 18 More Coronavirus Deaths 
Governor Gina Raimondo said Thursday she will lift Rhode Island’s stay-at-home order this weekend, but the state will still prohibit social gatherings of more than five people as it seeks to avoid a spike in coronavirus cases in the coming days. Raimondo said the state is moving forward with its plan to begin a limited reopening of the economy, but she indicated that residents should not expect significant changes during the first phase. While non-essential retailers will be allowed to open under capacity restrictions, she encouraged people to continue to work from home if they can. (McGowan, 5/7)

Modern Healthcare: NYC Insurer Partners With Amazon, Bain & Co. To Connect Members To Social Services
A new collaboration between the insurer MetroPlus, Amazon Web Services, Bain & Co. and the nonprofit AirNYC has helped the health plan rapidly connect with its most vulnerable members to check on their needs and keep them out of the hospital. In March MetroPlus set out to identify all of its members who were at high risk of being hospitalized during the Covid-19 pandemic so it could connect them to medical and social services. (Lamantia, 5/7)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Metro Governments Taking Baby Steps Back To Work
Across Georgia, local governments are trying to decide if the time is right to go back to the office — and if so, how to do it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have recommended guidelines, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution, leaders say. And as the number of Georgia deaths from the virus grows, and new infections increase with more testing, a wrong move could have fatal consequences. (Stafford and Kass, 5/8)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Metro Atlanta Public Pool Openings Delayed In Summer Of COVID-19
Those planning to beat summer of COVID-19 heat with a cool dip in the pool will need to take a chill pill; public pools will probably open later than usual this year  — if they open at all. Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter-in-place order, set to expire May 14, prevents public pools from opening — including those in subdivisions, apartments, condominiums, fitness centers, hotels and parks. (Coyne, Habersham and Murchison, 5/7)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Revisits Lessons Of Great Recession As New Downturn Looms
Brenda Simmons had been working for the state agency that investigates child abuse cases and helps the poor sign up for food stamps for more than 20 year when the Great Recession hit Georgia’s economy like a sledgehammer in 2008. Georgians lost their jobs, homes and businesses. State government, which provided salaries to about 300,000 teachers, university staffers, state patrol officers, prison guards, park rangers and meat inspectors, saw tax collections plummet. That brought layoffs, pay cuts, furloughs, the elimination of programs and closing of facilities. (Salzer, 5/7)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Concerns Grow About Returning Children To Schools, Daycare
The COVID-19 epidemic arrived with an important silver lining: Fewer children seemed to catch the disease, and with many who did, you could barely tell. But as Georgia inches back to work, that is starting to pose a big problem. The scarce tests have gone to the more seriously ill, most often meaning adults, and research on how the new virus works has just started. (Hart and Oliviero, 5/7)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Officials Place More Than 150 Homeless Residents In Hotels Thursday Morning
An additional 150 homeless New Orleanians were relocated to temporary housing at local hotels this morning as part of officials' ongoing efforts to help this at-risk community during the COVID-19 pandemic. City and state officials, along with UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit that works to provide housing and services to those without shelter in Jefferson and Orleans parishes, facilitated the move. (Ravits, 5/7)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: CCSD Distance Learning Attendance Numbers Improve  
The Clark County School District improved its distance learning attendance numbers for the week of April 20, with approximately 30,000 more students reached by teachers than the week prior, according to an update presented to board members Thursday night. The district reached 241,555 of its 325,081 students during the week of April 20, with another 9,376 documented instances of students not being able to access distance learning for lack of a computer or transportation to packet distribution sites. (Appleton, 5/7)