CNN: The CDC Issues A Dire Warning For The Fall If Coronavirus Measures Are Not Followed
A top federal health official is issuing a dire warning: Follow recommended coronavirus measures or risk having the worst fall in US public health history. Coronavirus has infected more than 5 million people and killed over 166,000 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Wednesday alone, there were 55,910 reported new cases and 1,499 deaths -- the highest number of fatalities since May. (Karimi and Almasy, 8/13)

And the U.S. reports the most daily coronavirus fatalities since May as death rates remain high —

The Washington Post: U.S. Reports Highest Number Of Covid-19 Deaths In One Day Since Mid-May 
On Wednesday, the country reported its highest number of deaths in a single day since mid-May, at nearly 1,500. The country has now seen its seven-day average of newly reported deaths remain above 1,000 for 17 consecutive days. Georgia reported 105 deaths Wednesday, marking its second triple-digit day in a row. North Carolina reported an additional 45 deaths Wednesday, tying its highest daily number, from July 29. Texas reported 324 additional deaths from the disease. (Dennis and Dupree, 8/12)

The New York Times: U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Reflects Sun Belt Outbreaks 
Officials across the United States reported more than 1,470 deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total yet in August, according to a New York Times database, and a reflection of the continued toll of the early-summer case surge in Sun Belt states. The deaths reported on Wednesday were concentrated largely in Sun Belt states that saw the most dramatic case spikes in June and July. Even as case numbers have started to drop in some of those places, deaths have remained persistently high. More than 300 deaths were announced Wednesday in Texas, and more than 200 in Florida. Arizona, California and Georgia all reported more than 100 each. (8/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Records Two Days Of 100-Plus Virus Deaths
Georgia reported more than 100 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday for the second straight day, a death toll that has accelerated following the persistent surge in new coronavirus cases seen since May. On Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) reported a record of 122 net new confirmed deaths, followed by the second-highest daily total Wednesday of 105. To date, 4,456 deaths in Georgia have been attributed to COVID-19. (Trubey, 8/12)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Surge Moves To Midwest, As Young People Fuel US Case Rise
Many states initially spared from the COVID-19 pandemic is March, April, and May, are now reporting increasing transmission rates in non-metropolitan counties fueled by community spread. According to the Wall Street Journal, in Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois, the weekly change in COVID-19 cases has been higher in rural regions compared to metro areas, and outbreaks are linked to social events, rather than workplace exposure or congregate living situations. (Soucheray, 8/12)

CNBC: Accuracy Of U.S. Coronavirus Data Thrown Into Question As Decline In Testing Skews Drop In New Cases
For the first time in months, the daily growth of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. has steadily fallen over the past two weeks, giving some hope to U.S. officials who proclaimed there were “signs of progress” in Southern states that were hit particularly hard. ... But testing shortages in key states and other gaps in Covid-19 data call into question the accuracy of those numbers and whether the outbreak in the U.S. is really improving or whether cases are simply going undiagnosed, epidemiologists say. (Feuer and Rattner, 8/12)

The New York Times: Health Experts Warn About Perils Of New Virus Data Collection System
Nearly three dozen current and former members of a federal health advisory committee, including nine appointed or reappointed by the health secretary, Alex M. Azar II, are warning that the Trump administration’s new coronavirus database is placing an undue burden on hospitals and will have “serious consequences on data integrity.” The advisers, all current or former members of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, issued their warning in a previously unpublished letter shared with The New York Times. (Gay Stolberg, 8/12)

The COVID Tracking Project: Hospitalization Data Reported By The HHS Vs. The States: Jumps, Drops, And Other Unexplained Phenomena
In mid-July the federal government began requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 data to the HHS rather than to the CDC. We compared current hospitalization data reported by the federal government and state health departments since the switch, and found contradictions that suggest the federal data continue to be unreliable, while the state datasets face their own challenges. (Glassman and Ladyzhets, 8/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Data Reporting System Gets Off To Rocky Start 
Public release of hospital data about the coronavirus pandemic has slowed to a crawl, one month after the federal government ordered states to report it directly to the Department of Health and Human Services and bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key indicators, such as estimates of the portion of inpatient beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, are lagging by a week or more, making it harder for citizens and local officials to get a handle on how the pandemic is progressing and for agencies to allocate supplies of antiviral drugs and personal protective equipment, public-health experts say. (Whelan, 8/11)

The Washington Post: Relief Talks Stumble Again As Trump Asserts A Deal Is ‘Not Going To Happen’ 
A new attempt to restart economic relief negotiations between the White House and Democrats ended just minutes after it began on Wednesday, with President Trump appearing to cast doubt on the whole process by announcing a deal is “not going to happen.” Just a few days earlier, he had suggested the he was open to a new round of talks. In declaring the whole process over, Trump used a news conference to criticize Democrats’ proposals for funding election preparations and the Postal Service as part of a broader spending measure. (Werner and Stein, 8/12)

Politico: Standoff Over Covid Relief Could Drag Into September 
White House officials and top Democratic leaders signaled on Wednesday that they can’t agree on what they said to each other, much less forge a compromise, on a Covid-19 relief bill to help the battered U.S. economy or tens of millions of Americans facing financial hardship. The high-stakes stalemate now appears likely to drag on for weeks, or even into September, according to lawmakers and aides in both parties. (Levine and Bresnahan, 8/12)

The Hill: Pelosi, Mnuchin Talk But Make No Progress On Ending Stalemate 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone Wednesday but appeared to make no progress toward breaking the impasse on a fifth coronavirus relief package. The call — initiated by Mnuchin, according to a source familiar with the conversation — is the first time they've spoken since talks collapsed last Friday. (Carney, 8/12)

The Hill: Pelosi Says COVID-19 Aid Can't Wait Until September: 'People Will Die' 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday she hopes negotiations over a coronavirus relief package don't drag on into next month, warning that kind of delay means "people will die." The talks between Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows collapsed last Friday after almost two weeks of near-daily meetings. The stalemate has left both sides still pointing fingers. (Marcos, 8/12)

In related developments —

The Hill: Top Fed Official Says Quick Reopenings Damaged Recovery From Coronavirus 
A top Federal Reserve official said Wednesday that the inability of the U.S. to control the coronavirus pandemic limited the benefit of trillions in fiscal stimulus approved by President Trump and Congress earlier this year. Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said in a Wednesday interview with The Hill that the abrupt peel-back of restrictions imposed to slow the pandemic in the U.S. prevented record-breaking economic rescue efforts from fostering a quick recovery. (Lane, 8/12)

ABC News: As Americans Await Financial Help, Trump's Unemployment Relief Move Confuses States 
The president’s recent executive action designed to bring economic relief to families struggling during the pandemic does not mean a new round of government checks are about to arrive in the mail. Instead, Donald Trump's recent announcement about additional unemployment benefits intended for millions of Americans has more quickly produced confusion among some state officials about where a large portion of the money will be coming from and the financial burden each state may be expected to take on -- all amid some mixed messages from the White House and scant federal guidance on how it all would actually work. (Kim, Romero and Faulders, 8/12)

The Washington Post: Trump Says Postal Service Needs Money For Mail-In Voting, But He’ll Keep Blocking Funding 
President Trump says the U.S. Postal Service is incapable of facilitating mail-in voting because it cannot access the emergency funding he is blocking, and made clear that requests for additional aid were nonstarters in coronavirus relief negotiations. Trump, who has been railing against mail-in balloting for months, said the cash-strapped agency’s enlarged role in the November election would perpetuate “one of the greatest frauds in history.” Speaking Wednesday at his daily pandemic news briefing, Trump said he would not approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service, or $3.5 billion in supplemental funding for election resources, citing prohibitively high costs. (Bogage, 8/12)

Politico: What Kamala Harris Believes: Key Issues, Policy Positions And Votes
A former California attorney general and district attorney, Harris faced criticism over a prosecutorial record that doesn’t always match with the progressive positions she espouses today. On health care, her waffling on “Medicare for All” during the presidential primary revealed a candidate torn between appealing to progressives demanding structural change and moderates favoring incrementalism — and satisfying none in the process. Here are major policy fights that have shaped Harris’ political rise. (Cancryn and Marinucci, 8/11)

The Wall Street Journal: Kamala Harris, Biden Differed On Trade, Medicare For All. Here’s A Guide To Their Positions.
Ms. Harris signed onto Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Medicare for All bill in the Senate. But during her presidential campaign, she tried to find a middle ground between backers of single-payer health care and those who prefer the current system, proposing a government-run health care system that would maintain a limited role for private health plans. Mr. Biden’s plan would expand on Obamacare by offering all Americans a public insurance option. He opposes a Medicare for All system, but he proposed lowering the Medicare age to 60 from 65. (Collins, 8/12)

Self: Where Kamala Harris Stands On 5 Crucial Health Issues 
This week, former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, selected Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. Harris, a former California attorney general, is the first Black woman and the first South Asian American woman to be named a vice presidential candidate by a major party in the U.S. Here’s where Harris stands on a few key health issues today. (Jacoby, 8/12)

In other election news —

The Washington Post: Trump, House Republicans Embrace Candidate Who Believe In QAnon And Has Made Racist Statements 
President Trump and Republican leaders’ embrace of a House candidate who has made racist statements and espoused the QAnon conspiracy theory is again highlighting the party’s willingness to tolerate extreme and bigoted positions. Trump on Wednesday tweeted that Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her Georgia primary Tuesday evening, was a “future Republican Star,” who was “strong on everything and never gives up — a real WINNER!” The office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — who ignored multiple pleas from his members to wade into the primary to stop Greene — has said that he will seat her on congressional committees. (Bade and Stanley-Becker, 8/12)

Boston.com: Ed Markey And Joe Kennedy Spar Over Who Has Led Fight For Medicare-For-All
Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy both agree that the Democratic Party needs a “big, bold agenda.” They just disagree about who’s leading it. During the fifth — and perhaps most fiery — debate of their Senate primary contest Tuesday night, the two Massachusetts Democrats clashed over everything from racial justice to campaign finance. However, it was the issue that Democratic voters have often said they care about most, health care, where the two candidates’ interpretations of reality also notably diverged. (DeCosta-Klipa, 8/12)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Senate: Perdue’s New Ad Features A Pre-Existing Condition Pledge
U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s latest ad opens with a direct-to-camera assertion from the Republican: “Health insurance should always cover pre-existing conditions for anyone. Period.” It’s his latest attempt to play to the middle of the electorate in a tight race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. Libertarian Shane Hazel is also in the contest. (Bluestein, 8/13)

Modern Healthcare: CMS To End National Coverage Determinations For Artificial Hearts
CMS plans to end national coverage determinations for artificial hearts, the agency said Wednesday. It also proposed changing how it decides whether to cover ventricular assist devices. Under the plan, Medicare Administrative Contractors would figure out if Medicare should pay for a beneficiary's artificial heart. (Brady, 8/12)

In other administration news —

Kaiser Health News: Back To The Future: Trump’s History Of Promising A Health Plan That Never Comes
Ever since he was a presidential candidate, President Donald Trump has been promising the American people a “terrific,” “phenomenal” and “fantastic” new health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. But, in the 3½ years since he set up shop in the Oval Office, he has yet to deliver. In his early days on the campaign trail, circa 2015, he said on CNN he would repeal Obamacare and replace it with “something terrific,” and on Sean Hannity’s radio show he said the replacement would be “something great.” (Knight, 8/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Kaiser Sites To Join One Of First Global Coronavirus Vaccine Trials 
Kaiser Permanente in California and Oregon, including sites in Santa Clara and Sacramento counties, has joined a global trial of one of the first coronavirus vaccines to begin large-scale testing in humans, the health care provider announced Wednesday. (Allday, 8/12)

In other vaccine news —

ABC News: COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Less Effective In Obese People, Experts Warn 
As the world waits for a COVID-19 vaccine, concerns are already rising that it may not work in obese patients, arguably one of the groups that needs it most. More than 1 in 3 Americans is obese, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that obese people are among the groups more likely to get sick and die of COVID-19. (Wood, 8/12)

USA Today: COVID Concerns: Doctors Worry As Kids Miss Scheduled Vaccinations
A recent survey serves as a small snapshot of a national problem that some fear may be exacerbated in the fall as children return to school for in-person instruction. The national survey, released Wednesday and conducted by Orlando Health, found the vast majority of parents believe vaccines are the best way to protect their children from infectious diseases, but two-thirds are still nervous to take their kids to their pediatrician’s office due to COVID-19. (Rodriguez, 8/12)

CNN: US Government Slow To Act As Anti-Vaxxers Spread Lies On Social Media About Coronavirus Vaccine 
While anti-vaxxers flood social media with lies about the upcoming coronavirus vaccine -- that it contains monkey brains, that it's a CIA plot to take over the world -- the government's multi-billion-dollar vaccine effort has yet to come up with a public education campaign to counteract that propaganda. "We are behind here," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. "We haven't done a good job of getting [coronavirus vaccine] information out there." (Cohen and Vigue, 8/12)

In global developments —

The Hill: Russia Says Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Ready For Doctors In Two Weeks 
Russia said the first batch of its COVID-19 vaccine will be ready for some medics within two weeks, with Kremlin officials on Wednesday rejecting “groundless” concerns from global health experts about the drug’s speedy approval. “It seems our foreign colleagues are sensing the specific competitive advantages of the Russian drug and are trying to express opinions that in our opinion are completely groundless,” Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said, according to Reuters. (Gstalter, 8/12)

ABC News: For Company Behind Coronavirus Drug, Sharp Questions Over Pricing, Potentially Cheaper Option 
After initial excitement about the discovery of a promising treatment for some coronavirus patients, executives with Gilead Sciences are now facing harsh criticism over the initial business decisions they’ve made in the midst of a pandemic. In recent days, state leaders and a government watchdog group have leveled complaints against the company for the price point it set for its antiviral drug remdesivir, a promising treatment shown to diminish recovery time in hospitalized coronavirus patients, and for allegedly not more quickly pursing a potentially cheaper alternative. Gilead holds exclusive manufacturing rights for remdesivir. (Bruggeman, 8/13)

Stat: A Long-Awaited Report On Orphan Drugs In Europe Suggests Incentives To Pharma Need Change
After being kept under wraps for a year, an expansive review of European regulations designed to spur development of drugs for rare diseases and children found the number of medicines has increased. But at the same time, drug makers often did not address some of the most urgent needs. Instead, the pharmaceutical industry sometimes targeted more profitable therapeutic areas, raising questions about whether incentives offered to the pharmaceutical industry should be changed, according to the long-awaited report from the European Commission. As in the U.S., these incentives include market exclusivity for a period of time. (Silverman, 8/12)

Boston Globe: 'We’re Going To Keep Going': A New Clinical Trials For ALS Gives Patients Hope
As a cardiologist, Dr. Marc Litt has plenty of arrows in his quiver for patients with heart disease: Medications that thin blood. Drug-coated stents that widen blocked arteries. Implants that replace damaged valves in minimally invasive surgery. But when the 63-year-old physician was diagnosed with ALS in March 2019 at Massachusetts General Hospital, he was dismayed to see how little medicine had to offer him. (Saltzman, 8/12)

In other pharmaceutical industry news —

San Jose Mercury News: Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes’ Twice-Delayed Trial To Start In March: Judge
After being delayed twice by the coronavirus pandemic, the criminal trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has been scheduled to start in March. Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who founded her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup in 2003, is charged with a dozen felony counts of fraud, and has denied federal government allegations that she and her co-accused, former company president Sunny Balwani, misled doctors and patients and bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. (Baron, 8/11)

Stat: 4 Questions For Neurology Startups As Investment Surges
As pharmaceutical companies stepped back from developing new drugs for neurological conditions, venture capitalists took a big step forward. Venture investors have poured more than $500 million into early-stage neurology startups this year, according to a recent health care venture capital report from Silicon Valley Bank — more than six times as much money that was invested in the same over the first six months of last year. (Sheridan, 8/12)

CNN: CEO Does 180 Zoom Calls In Three Days To Help Take Company Public 
Being in charge of a health care company during a pandemic is a ton of work — just ask Eric Hobbs, CEO of Berkeley Lights, who met with 180 investors over Zoom over three and a half days — and lost 10 pounds over the process. You don't have to go on a virtual roadshow to work tirelessly in the drug business nowadays. Major drug companies are racing to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. But Hobbs says it won't be easy to come up with one that works right off the bat. (La Monica, 8/12)

Modern Healthcare: Sentara, Cone Health Plan Merger
Two multi-billion-dollar health systems in Virginia and North Carolina—Sentara Healthcare and Cone Health—announced Wednesday they plan to merge to create a 17-hospital system. The CEOs of both not-for-profit health systems shot down the notion that the proposed deal is happening in response to pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they said they believe it will help patients by expanding access to care and adding new insurance options and caregivers by adding stability. Norfolk, Virginia-based Sentara and Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone have signed a letter of intent and hope to close the deal in early to mid-2021. (Bannow, 8/12)

Georgia Health News: Prices On Georgia’s Insurance Exchange Shaping Up To Stay Fairly Stable
People seeking coverage in the Georgia health insurance exchange for 2021 will see moderate price increases and a similar choice of plans. All six insurers that offer health plans in this year’s exchange are returning to the market for 2021 coverage, according to initial filings with the state insurance department. The exchange, created by the Affordable Care Act, is designed to offer insurance for people who do not have job-based or government coverage. (Miller, 8/10)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Health Care Sector Added 8,000 Jobs In June, National Numbers Up In July
Houston added 8,000 jobs in the health care sector in June, recovering from major employment losses for the second month in a row. But analysts said it’s too early to know whether that trend will continue for the rest of the summer. (Wu, 8/12)

Also —

Kaiser Health News: Listen: Will Telemedicine Outlast The Pandemic? 
Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, on Tuesday joined WDET’s “Detroit Today” host Stephen Henderson and Dr. George Kipa, the deputy chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, to talk about the future of telemedicine and whether Medicare and private insurers will continue to pay for those services. (Rovner, 8/12)

International Business Times: Coronavirus Reinfection: Elderly Chinese Woman Tests Covid-19 Positive Again 6 Months After Recovery
An elderly Chinese woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in February but recovered fully has tested positive for the disease again six months after, posing new challenge to the medical fraternity. (Guha Majumder, 8/13)

Stat: Long After A Covid-19 Infection, Mental And Neurological Effects Smolder
Early on, patients with both mild and severe Covid-19 say they can’t breathe. Now, after recovering from the infection, some of them say they can’t think. Even people who were never sick enough to go to a hospital, much less lie in an ICU bed with a ventilator, report feeling something as ill-defined as “Covid fog” or as frightening as numbed limbs. They’re unable to carry on with their lives, exhausted by crossing the street, fumbling for words, or laid low by depression, anxiety, or PTSD. (Cooney, 8/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why Do Some People Get Sick From COVID-19 And Others Don’t? Stanford Study May Unravel The Mystery
Why do some people get extremely sick with COVID-19, while others suffer benign symptoms? Three key molecules appear to play a crucial role, new research revealed this week. These key indicators, all found in the bloodstreams of severely ill patients, can be characterized as specific cytokines, or hormone-like molecules produced by the immune cells in the body that can regulate immune response. When overproduced, cytokines accelerate inflammation and can induce severe results. (Moench, 8/12)

Also —

Los Angeles Times: Teenage Brothers Use 3D Printer To Make Worker Face Shields 
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Zubin and Tenzing Carvalho were on high alert. The two brothers from Hemet, ages 14 and 12, come from a family of healthcare workers, many of them in New Jersey and New York, two of the hardest hit states at the time. Some relatives got COVID-19 and recovered, but their great-uncle and great-aunt, who were older and had underlying health conditions, didn’t make it. So the brothers decided to do something. (Wong, 8/12)

The Washington Post: New, Targeted Treatments For Lung Cancer Are Reducing Lung Cancer Death Rates, Study Finds 
Death rates for the most common type of lung cancer have fallen significantly in the United States in recent years, an improvement resulting in large part from new targeted treatments, according to a study by the National Cancer Institute. The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, said death rates for men with non-small-cell lung cancer declined 6.3 percent per year from 2013 to 2016. The number of cases — the incidence — also decreased but at a much slower rate. That meant, the researchers said, that a reduction in smoking, which reduces the risk of lung cancer, was not the only reason for the decline in death rates. People who developed cancer also were benefiting from better treatments. (McGinley, 8/12)

Stat: Lung Cancer Deaths Are Falling Faster Than New Cases 
For the most common type of lung cancer in Americans, deaths are falling faster than new cases, a new study reports, suggesting  — but not proving — that new therapies targeting genetic mutations are having an outsize effect on survival. Mortality rates for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for three-quarters of cancers originating in the lung, declined for men by 3.2% per year from 2006 to 2013. The drop accelerated to 6.3% per year from 2013 to 2016, when targeted therapies were introduced. (Cooney, 8/12)

In other scientific news —

ABC News: Fatal Surgeries Among Black Youth Force Researchers To Examine Medical Bias
Researchers are pointing to an alarming medical study about fatal surgeries among Black youth, saying the data sheds light on why doctors and hospitals should to do more to confront their own biases. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that Black children are 3.4 times more likely to die within a month of surgery and 1.2 times more likely to develop postoperative complications after both elective and emergency surgeries, than white children. (Allen, 8/12)

The New York Times: Whether You Are A Night Owl Or Early Bird May Affect How Much You Move 
People who are evening types go to bed later and wake up later than morning types. They also tend to move around far less throughout the day, according to an interesting new study of how our innate body clocks may be linked to our physical activity habits. The study, one of the first to objectively track daily movements of a large sample of early birds and night owls, suggests that knowing our chronotype might be important for our health. (Reynolds, 8/12)

CNN: More Than 2,000 Students, Teachers And Staff Quarantined In Several Schools 
For many US schools welcoming students back, a return to in-person learning was abruptly halted after new Covid-19 cases. More than 2,000 students, teachers and staff members across five states have been quarantined after at least 230 positive coronavirus cases were reported. It's a grim start to the school year many hoped could mark the beginning of a return to normalcy, but one experts have long warned would come at a cost. (Walker, 8/13)

AP: 'Impossible': School Boards Are At Heart Of Reopening Debate
Helena Miller listened to teachers, terrified to reenter classrooms, and parents, exhausted from trying to make virtual learning work at home. She heard from school officials who spent hundreds of hours on thousands of details — buses, classrooms, football, arts, special education. She spent countless nights, eyes wide open, her mind wrestling over the safety and education of the 17,000 children she swore to protect. She thought of her own kids, two in high school and one middle-schooler — the reasons she ran for Rock Hill’s school board six years ago. (Collins, 8/13)

Politico: New Jersey Schools Can Begin Year Remotely, But Only If They Prove They Can’t Reopen In-Person
New Jersey schools can begin the academic year remotely, Gov Phil Murphy announced Wednesday, but in order to access the online option, districts will have to prove to the state they cannot reopen safely for in-person learning. “There has to be a rationale associated with not opening at least in hybrid,” Murphy said at his regular coronavirus briefing. “There’s got to be a reason for it.” (Sitrin, 8/12)

The Hill: Rhode Island Pushes Back School Openings By Two Weeks 
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) said she will be delaying the reopening of schools by a couple of weeks as plans are made to accommodate for the coronavirus pandemic. Raimondo said Wednesday the plan may end up being a hybrid of remote and in-person learning. (Klar, 8/12)

CNN: Indiana School District Providing Dozens Of Wi-Fi Buses For Students Without Internet 
A school district in Indiana, trying to ensure all students have access to the internet for virtual learning, said it's sending 35 WiFi-equipped buses across town during school hours. The South Bend Community School Corporation, the fourth-largest school district in Indiana according to its website, last week announced schools would offer digital-only learning for at least the first eight weeks of the school year, which started Wednesday. (Alsharif and Waldrop, 8/12)

The Seattle Times: With Many Details In Flux, Seattle School Board Approves A Fall Online Learning Plan, Possibility Of Outdoor Classes
It’s official: With a unanimous Wednesday vote from the Seattle School Board, the state’s largest school district will begin the academic year remotely, for the most part. (Bazzaz, 8/13)

The Hechinger Report: The Simple Intervention That Could Lift Kids Out Of ‘Covid Slide’
Tutoring is one of the oldest forms of education. A growing body of research shows that, when done right, it’s also one of the most effective means of lifting student achievement. And yet, while broad swaths of U.S. students participate in tutoring, it has historically been reserved for the moneyed elite and is often cost-prohibitive. ... [E]xperts say making tutors available to more kids – especially those least able to afford to hire one themselves – could be vital to combating learning losses that resulted when the coronavirus forced schools to shut down and transition to online-only instruction. (Wong, 8/10)

In higher-education news —

ABC News: How A College With Zero COVID-19 Cases In 3 Months Safely Reopened
A community college in Ohio has had no reported cases of COVID-19 traced to the school since reopening for in-person classes three months ago. As of Wednesday, the school, Stark State College, said it hasn't had any confirmed cases across its multiple locations. (Deliso, 8/13)

Kaiser Health News: Turning Anger Into Action: Minority Students Analyze COVID Data On Racial Disparities 
As the coronavirus swept into Detroit this spring, Wayne State University junior Skye Taylor noticed something striking. On social media, many of her fellow Black classmates who live or grew up in the city were “posting about death, like, ‘Oh, I lost this family member to COVID-19,’” said Taylor. The picture was different in Beverly Hills, a mostly white suburb 20 miles away. “People I went to high school with aren’t posting anything like that,” Taylor said. “They’re doing well, their family is doing OK. And even the ones whose family members have caught it, they’re still alive.” (Landhuis, 8/13)

Also —

Politico: DeVos' Sexual Misconduct Rule Will Take Effect Friday After Legal Blocks Fail 
A federal judge refused a multi-state effort to strike down Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' new Title IX rule, clearing the path for the policy to take effect Friday. A circuit court judge in the District of Columbia released an order Wednesday denying a request to stop the new rule and to block it as legal action continues. Attorneys general in 17 states and the District of Columbia have brought the lawsuit challenging DeVos' policy change, which mandates how colleges and K-12 schools must respond to reports of sexual misconduct. (Quilantan, 8/12)

CNN: University Of Michigan Doctor Scandal: Super Bowl Champ Athletes Leveling New Sex Abuse Allegations 
A two-time Super Bowl champion and a former world-class wrestler came forward on Wednesday alleging that they were sexually abused by a University of Michigan team physician under the guise of physical exams. Dr. Robert Anderson directed the school's University Health Service before eventually becoming the wrestling, football, hockey and track teams' doctor. He worked at UM from 1968 to 2003, before dying in 2008. (Sturla and McLaughlin, 8/12)

Stat: The Trump Administration Haphazardly Gave Away Millions Of Masks
Hundreds of millions of cloth face masks shipped to U.S. agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private companies by the Trump administration appear to have been allocated in a haphazard fashion, raising questions about inequitable distribution in the effort to beat back the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the $675 million program, businesses and other entities were provided with supplies of the free, reusable masks that in some cases far exceeded their needs, according to a STAT review of an administration document identifying more than 60,000 recipients. (Branswell, Sheridan, Ross and Joseph, 8/13)

In other news about masks —

AP: Florida Sheriff Bans Masks For Deputies With Some Exceptions
A central Florida sheriff says his deputies won’t be allowed to wear face masks except under some conditions, and neither will visitors to the sheriff’s office.Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in an email to staff that he had weighed both sides of the issue amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily and I have weighed it out for the past 2 weeks,” Woods said in the message earlier this week. (Lush and Schneider, 8/13)

USA Today: Illinois Coronavirus: Assaulting Worker Enforcing Face Masks Is Felony
Assaulting a worker who is enforcing face mask policies can now be prosecuted as aggravated battery in Illinois – a felony charge. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law Friday that expands the definition of aggravated battery to include attacks against a retail worker who is conveying public health guidance, such as requiring patrons to wear face coverings or promoting social distancing. (Hauck, 8/11)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Coronavirus In Georgia: City Mailing 21K Masks To Residents
Officials in the city of Tucker have gotten their hands on 21,000 masks to fight the spread of the coronavirus, and they plan to ship them out to residents. The city of 36,000 in northern DeKalb County has already distributed about 13,000 face coverings to residents, businesses and health care facilities. (Capelouto, 8/12)

The Hill: Video Shows Arizona Man Carried Out Of Store By Son Trying To Stop Anti-Mask Rant 
An Arizona man was seen being carried out of a store apparently by his son as he went on a rant against mask-wearing in footage that has racked up millions of views on social media. The footage, which was posted to Twitter on Monday and has since notched more than 6 million views, shows the man yelling at others in the store and calling them “idiots” for wearing masks, despite public health guidelines urging people to do so to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Folley, 8/12)

Also —

The Washington Post: Grocery Workers Say Morale Has Hit Bottom: 'They Don’t Even Treat Us Like Humans Anymore’ 
This spring, for the first time, Angel Manners found purpose and pride at the supermarket where she has worked the past decade. Customers praised her as a hero for putting herself at risk during the pandemic. Bosses boosted her hourly pay by $2. Suddenly, her job was essential. Nearly five months in, and it is all gone. “We’ve lost our hazard pay, and people are quitting every day,” said Manners, 43, who processes vendor deliveries at a Meijer store in northern Kentucky. “Those of us who are left are really stretched thin — working so much harder for $11.50 an hour.” (Bhattarai, 8/12)

Reuters: Pandemic Behaviour: Why Some People Don't Play By The Rules
Lockdowns and social distancing measures introduced around the world to try and curb the COVID-19 pandemic are reshaping lives, legislating activities that were once everyday freedoms and creating new social norms. But there are always some people who don’t play by the rules. Rule-breaking is not a new phenomenon, but behavioural scientists say it is being exacerbated in the coronavirus pandemic by cultural, demographic and psychological factors that can make the flouters seem more selfish and dangerous. (Kelland and Revell, 8/13)

ABC News: Majority White Counties Have Significantly Fewer COVID-19 Cases: Study 
U.S. counties predominantly composed of white people have reported the fewest coronavirus cases, while diverse counties have been hit disproportionately harder by COVID-19, new research shows. Researchers analyzed publicly available U.S. Census data and found that while 22% of counties have a predominantly Black population, those counties accounted for 47% of COVID-19 cases and 54% of deaths as of June. That racial disparity held true regardless of geographic region or political affiliation and was the same both before and after reopening the U.S. economy. (Schumaker, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: I Had COVID-19, And These Are The Things Nobody Tells You
My temperature hovered in the upper reaches of 102. It felt like my head was on fire. One night I sweated through five shirts. I shook so much from the chills I thought I chipped a tooth. My chest felt like LeBron James was sitting on it. My fatigue made it feel as if I was dressed in the chains of Jacob Marley’s ghost. I coughed so hard it felt like I broke a rib. ... But still, there are things about this insidious illness that nobody tells you. There are things that surprised me, things that stick with you long after the fever has spiked and the headaches have stopped. (Plaschke, 8/12)

Kaiser Health News and The Guardian: Dying Young: The Health Care Workers In Their 20s Killed By COVID-19 
Jasmine Obra believed that if it wasn’t for her brother Joshua, she wouldn’t exist. When 7-year-old Josh realized that his parents weren’t going to live forever, he asked for a sibling so he would never be alone. By spring 2020, at ages 29 and 21, Josh and Jasmine shared a condo in Anaheim, California, not far from Disneyland, which they both loved. (Gee, 8/13)

The Hill: California Megachurch Draws Thousands At In-Person Services Defying State Coronavirus Orders 
The pastor of a megachurch in Los Angeles defended the church’s decision to allow thousands in for services Sunday, defying California state orders amid the coronavirus outbreak. Grace Community Church held in-person services on Sunday, and Pastor John MacArthur told CNN that six or seven thousand people showed up. (Klar, 8/12)

The New York Times: The Nation Wanted To Eat Out Again. Everyone Has Paid The Price. 
Across the United States this summer, restaurants and bars, reeling from mandatory lockdowns and steep financial declines, opened their doors to customers, thousands of whom had been craving deep bowls of farro, frothy margaritas and juicy burgers smothered in glistening onions. But the short-term gains have led to broader losses. Data from states and cities show that many community outbreaks of the coronavirus this summer have centered on restaurants and bars, often the largest settings to infect Americans. (Steinhauer, 8/12)

In testing and tracing news —

AP: Actors And Disney World Reach Deal After Virus Testing Fight
Walt Disney World and the union for its actors and singers reached an agreement on Wednesday that will allow them to return to work, more than a month after they said they were locked out of the reopening of the theme park resort for publicly demanding coronavirus tests. Disney agreed to have a state-run drive-thru COVID-19 testing site for workers and the public at the Florida theme park resort. That decision encouraged Actor’s Equity Association to sign a memorandum of understanding allowing the actors, singers and stage managers to return to their jobs. (Schneider, 8/13)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Senior Homes Still Scramble For Testing As COVID-19 Cases Rise
For five months, Georgia’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities have operated in lockdown mode. Visitors aren’t allowed. Residents are confined largely to their rooms, with no communal dining or group activities. Only workers can come in and out.In spite of the extreme measures, COVID-19 cases inside the homes have been trending sharply upward in recent weeks. (Teegardin, 8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Is It Hard To Get A Rapid Covid-19 Test? The Machines Are In Short Supply 
Doctors, nursing homes and federal officials are scrambling to get rapid-response Covid-19 antigen testing supplies from the two companies that secured emergency approval to produce them, as cases continue to rise in the U.S. Rapid-response antigen tests make up a small but growing area of Covid-19 testing in the U.S. and are seen as helpful in tamping down outbreaks because they offer faster results than many molecular tests that must be sent to labs for processing. The tests search for virus proteins while other tests look for the virus’s genetic material. (Krouse and Terlep, 8/12)

Kaiser Health News: Helping People Isolate Can Slow Spread Of COVID-19, Experts Say
It’s a familiar moment. The kids want their cereal and the coffee’s brewing, but you’re out of milk. No problem, you think — the corner store is just a couple of minutes away. But if you have COVID-19 or have been exposed to the coronavirus, you’re supposed to stay put. Even that quick errand could make you the reason someone else gets infected. But making the choice to keep others safe can be hard to do without support. (Bebinger, 8/13)

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Virus Testing Slows In State
Daily coronavirus tests logged by the Arkansas Department of Health fell below 5,000 for the second-straight day on Wednesday, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced his intention to join a new coalition of states seeking to strengthen their buying power for tests. The Health Department reported 4,401 test results, along with 703 new cases. That brought the total number of Arkansans who have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic to 51,114. (Moritz, 8/13)

The Hill: Potatoes, Citrus Fruit Recalled Over Listeria Concerns 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week announced a voluntary recall of red potatoes and several varieties of citrus fruits sold by a North Carolina-based company over listeria concerns. An announcement on the FDA's website states that the items, sold by Freshouse II of Salisbury, N.C., including lemons, limes, oranges and red potatoes, could be contaminated with the listeria bacteria found during an inspection of the company's facility. (Bowden, 8/12)

NPR: A New Children's Album Celebrates Kids Who Identify As Transgender And Nonbinary
A lot of summer camps had to close this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including Camp Aranu'tiq in New Hampshire, a camp for transgender and nonbinary children. Julie Be is a music therapist who has helped run the camp since it was founded in 2009 and also one half of the children's musical duo Ants on a Log, alongside Anya Rose. So the stuck-at-home campers would feel connected, Be and Rose put out an open call for songs that reflect the trans and nonbinary experience, use gender neutral pronouns or use humor to talk about gender. Together, they curated an album of children's music called Trans & Nonbinary Kids Mix. (8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Black Mothers In New York Are More Likely To Have Life-Threatening Complications In Childbirth 
Last September, Shamony Makeba Gibson was discharged after the birth of her second child and was in pain. It wasn’t just the caesarean section. She didn’t feel right, wasn’t managing daily activities, and in the evenings felt hot and had difficulty breathing. “It spiraled from there,” said her mother, Shawnee Benton-Gibson. Ms. Gibson, a Black mother who gave birth in a Brooklyn hospital, died of a pulmonary embolism on Oct. 6, 2019, less than two weeks after giving birth to her son Khari. She was 30 years old. (Grayce West, 8/12)

AP: Bat At Grand Canyon National Park Tested Positive For Rabies
A bat collected along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park has tested positive for rabies, authorities said. Park officials said the bat was found Aug. 6 at the Whitmore Helipad and didn’t come in contact with any visitors. (8/13)

AP: Virus-Proofing NFL Facilities Is A Tall, Masked Task
“There are so many steps along the way. You’ve got to fill out your questionnaire on our app when you wake up in the morning,” Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph said. “Then when you come in, you sanitize your hands, do your temperature check, get your COVID tests, put on your lanyard, grab your tracker. So there’s just a lot of things that have now been added to your routine.” (Campbell, 8/13)

The Washington Post: Washington’s NFL Team To Play Home Games Without Fans This Season 
NFL games at FedEx Field this season will be played without fans in the stands, the Washington Football Team announced Wednesday morning. Throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, the team had been hoping to have some fans at its home games this fall, but after working with Maryland and Prince George's County officials to come up with a health and safety plan for the team’s games at the stadium, a decision was made to play in an empty stadium “out of an abundance of caution,” the team said in a statement. (Carpenter, 8/12)

Also —

Los Angeles Times: Bubbles? May Madness? A Delayed College Basketball Season Could Require Both 
One day after learning that his season would be pushed back at least two months because of the relentless novel coronavirus pandemic, UCLA coach Mick Cronin suggested that the limited use of a bubble environment similar to the one that has protected NBA players could help Pac-12 Conference teams safely compete. Cronin proposed the possibility of using a bubble in Las Vegas for challenge games between conferences, the Pac-12 tournament or the NCAA tournament, noting that it was feasible because players were completing virtually all of their schoolwork online and wouldn’t have to be yanked out of classes. (Bolch and Kartje, 8/12)

The New York Times: ‘Fat Talks,’ An Investigation, And A Reckoning: How Collegiate Runners Forced Reform 
In early March, 36 Wesleyan University track and cross-country alumni signed a letter describing a culture of rampant body shaming and eating disorders within the program that they said a prominent coach had fostered. In pleading for major changes, the athletes said the coach, John Crooke, had held “fat talks” with runners, telling them to lose weight to run faster. He told them to keep food diaries and check in with him to review their logs, they said in interviews. Athletes were told to not discuss those meetings with other runners. (Minsberg, 8/12)

ABC News: As Nursing Homes Battle Coronavirus, Study Finds Key Defense: Full Staffs 
At a time when nursing homes continue to be among the hardest hit settings in the coronavirus pandemic, new studies are beginning to offer insight as to why some facilities are seeing more cases than others -- and, according to one, how important nursing home employees themselves are to the fight. A study released on Monday by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), found that across eight states those facilities that were able to maintain more staffing in the homes had fewer COVID-19 cases than staffing in homes the study rated as low-performing. (Romero, 8/13)

In news from California —

Sacramento Bee: Tech Problems Mire Gavin Newsom’s COVID Fight In CA 
Before he became California governor last year, Gavin Newsom built his reputation as a tech-savvy Bay Area politician, who wrote a book arguing government should follow Silicon Valley’s lead and embrace new technology. But five months into the biggest crisis of his governorship, technology problems have become major stumbling blocks to his coronavirus strategy. The state’s unemployment system has been mired in delays, leaving thousands of people desperate for aid checks in limbo. (Bollag and Wilner, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Offering Money To Renters Affected By COVID-19 Pandemic 
Los Angeles County renters who’ve suffered financial setbacks because of the COVID-19 pandemic can soon apply for thousands of dollars in assistance to help them get on top of their payments. The application period for the income-based L.A. County COVID-19 Rent Relief program opens Monday and will remain open until Aug. 31. Up to $10,000 will be given to households that meet the program’s income guidelines. (Cosgrove, 8/12)

USA Today: 'Explosive' Lake Fire In Southern California Burns 10,000 Acres In Just Hours, Forces Evacuations In Los Angeles County
A fast-moving Southern California wildfire forced evacuation orders for about 100 homes and other buildings in northern Los Angeles County on Wednesday. The blaze, dubbed the Lake Fire, had grown to about 10,000 acres as of 8 p.m. PDT between Lake Hughes and Lake Castaic in the Angeles National Forest, about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles. No injuries had been reported. (Childs, 8/13)

Stateline: Struggling Farmers Work With Overwhelmed Food Banks To Stay Afloat 
As the pandemic shut down restaurants this spring, California farmers and ranchers saw their markets drop by half, leaving many with fields full of crops but no buyers. And as millions of people lost their jobs, the state’s food banks needed to triple their food supply. Fortunately for California, the state had a longstanding initiative tailor-made to help with these twin crises. The Farm to Family program, run by the California Association of Food Banks and the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, pays farmers to send surplus produce to food banks. (Brown, 8/13)

In news from New York, Massachusetts, Texas and the Navajo Nation —

Politico: De Blasio: Threat Of 22,000 Layoffs Is 'Painfully Real'
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is moving forward with “painfully real” plans to lay off 22,000 public workers on Oct. 1 unless another source of cash comes through. De Blasio confirmed the layoff plans are progressing after POLITICO first reported Tuesday that agencies have been ordered to come up with a list of employees being considered for job cuts by the end of next week. (Durkin, 8/12)

Boston Globe: Across Massachusetts, Child-Care Shortage Is Growing Dire 
As teachers and parents agonize over final plans to return to school, the state’s early education leaders are sounding the alarm over care for younger children: Only 72 percent of the spots available in Massachusetts child-care centers before the pandemic are expected to be available in September, the Department of Early Education revealed this week. (Ebbert, 8/12)

The New York Times: Inside the Fight to Save Houston’s Most Vulnerable
As coronavirus infections surged in Texas this summer, Houston Methodist Hospital opened one intensive care unit after another for the most critically ill. We had unique access to one of the I.C.U.s, where many patients or their families gave us permission to follow their care. In mid-July, more than 60 percent of the patients on this 24-bed Covid unit identified as Hispanic, compared with just over 20 percent among the hospital’s I.C.U. patients without Covid. (Fink, Rhyne and Schaff, 8/10)

ABC News: Navajo Nation Turns The Corner On Coronavirus 
The Navajo community suffered one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates per capita in the country just three months ago but with the implementation of strict public health measures such as curfews and mandatory mask-wearing, Navajo Nation has curbed the spread of coronavirus. Overall, the number of coronavirus cases have declined in the Navajo community. (Brantley-Jones, 8/13)

In prison news —

Sacramento Bee: Employee Death, 100 COVID-19 Cases At Folsom Prison, CA Says 
More than 100 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus at Folsom State Prison, and a state prison employee who worked there has died, authorities said this week. Folsom State Prison reports 99 inmates with active COVID-19 infections, all of them confirmed within the last two weeks, according to the CDCR coronavirus data tracker as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, an increase from the 56 listed in the morning. Another four inmates at Folsom had lab-confirmed cases that are now classified as “resolved,” and an additional three were released from custody with still-active cases, CDCR reports. No inmate deaths at Folsom have been reported. (McGough, 8/12)

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: 37 Virus Cases Identified At Jail In Saline County
Thirty-seven people recently tested positive for the coronavirus at the Saline County jail in Benton, according to a news release from the county sheriff's office, but authorities said nearly all of the infected individuals have exhibited no symptoms. Officials at the jail tested a total of 186 inmates and employees after a case was introduced into the facility, though the sheriff's office did not elaborate on when and how that occurred. (Flaherty, 8/13)

CNN: New Zealand Coronavirus: Country Acclaimed World Leader In Handling Covid-19 Deals With Fresh Outbreak 
New Zealand reported 13 new community coronavirus cases on Thursday as the country tackles a fresh outbreak that ended an enviable run of more than 100 days without any locally transmitted infections. The new cluster, which now totals 17 cases, has prompted the country to put its most populous city under lockdown as authorities scramble to trace the source of the outbreak. New Zealand now has 36 active infections, including imported cases. In total, the country has reported 1,238 confirmed cases and 22 deaths. (Hollingsworth, 8/13)

NPR: With New COVID-19 Cases, New Zealand Ramps Up Restrictions To Quash Virus 
At noon Wednesday, New Zealand began a three-day period at alert level two, with Auckland at the higher level three. The country had been at level one since June 9 when life had largely returned to normal. Under the tighter level three restrictions, most businesses and schools in Auckland are closed, and bars and restaurants may only offer takeout. Elsewhere in the country, level two measures mean people can still go to work and school but are urged to take safety precautions, including social distancing and the wearing of masks. (Wamsley, 8/12)

In other global news —

Reuters: Germany: Optimistic We'll Have A Vaccine In Coming Months And Certainly Next Year 
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday he expected there to be a COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months and definitely next year, speaking after the public health agency withdrew a report suggesting there would be one in autumn. “I’m optimistic that in the next months, and certainly in the next year, there can be a vaccine,” Spahn told ZDF television. (8/13)

AP: German Coronavirus Tests Backlog: 900 Positive Not Yet Told
German authorities worked through the night to clear a backlog of coronavirus tests from travelers after it emerged 900 people who were positive for COVID-19 had yet to be informed. Bavarian Health Minister Melanie Huml said all people with positive results would be informed Thursday and that systems were being improved to prevent any further delays. (8/13)

CNN: Chinese Officials Say Chicken Wings Imported From Brazil Tested Positive For Covid-19 
A sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, authorities said Thursday, the latest in a series of reports of contaminated imported food products. The coronavirus was detected Wednesday on a surface sample taken from a batch of chicken wings during screening of imported frozen food in Longgang district of Shenzhen, the municipal government said in a statement. Officials did not name the brand. (Gan, 8/13)

AP: Experts Warn Spain Is Losing The 2nd Round In Virus Fight
Not two months after battling back the coronavirus, Spain’s hospitals are beginning to see patients struggling to breathe returning to their wards. The deployment of a military emergency brigade to set up a field hospital in Zaragoza this week is a grim reminder that Spain is far from claiming victory over the coronavirus that devastated the European country in March and April. (Wilson, 8/13)

Reuters: Nearly 6% Of People In England May Have Had COVID-19, Researchers Say 
Nearly 6% of people in England were likely infected with COVID-19 during the peak of the pandemic, researchers studying the prevalence of infections said on Thursday, millions more people than have tested positive for the disease. A total of 313,798 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Britain, 270,971 of which have been in England, or just 0.5% of the English population. (8/13)

CNN: More Than Half Of Mumbai's Slum Residents Might Have Had Covid-19. Here's Why Herd Immunity Could Still Be A Long Way Off 
Last month, researchers in one of India's largest cities made a surprising discovery. Of the nearly 7,000 blood samples taken from people in Mumbai's slums, 57% tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. (Hollingsworth, 8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus’s Long, Deadly Plateau In The Developing World 
The intensive-care units at the Salvador Zubirán hospital in Mexico City have been operating at full capacity for three straight months—their beds filled with unconscious Covid-19 patients, positioned face down and connected to ventilators. Every person who dies or recovers is replaced within hours by another who is critically ill and in need of life support. “It’s a nonstop flow. We have never seen anything like this before,” said Thierry Hernández, the head of emergency services at the Salvador Zubirán hospital, one of the country’s top public hospitals. (Montes and Agarwal, 8/12)

Politico: Mask Rebels, No Tourists And A Heat Wave: Paris’ Coronavirus Summer
Some Paris residents love spending August in the city for a very Parisian reason: Most of their fellow grumpy Parisians are gone. But the coronavirus is making this August a source of anxiety rather than pleasure. There may be fewer tourists around due to Covid-19, but health authorities have warned that the city is already in the early stages of a "pandemic rebound." (Braun, 8/12)

AP: Virus Exposes Economic, Racial Divide In French Health Care
Festering beneath France’s promise of guaranteed health care for all lie deep disparities across economic and racial lines — differences laid painfully bare by the COVID-19 crisis. Two recent studies have documented these gaps, but government officials haven’t issued new proposals in response. However, as France records a new uptick in virus cases, a health advocacy group called Banlieues Santé — Suburbs Health — is trying to help, offering medical care and guidance in poor and migrant-heavy suburbs and neighborhoods. (Pedram, 8/13)

Reuters: North Korea Nuclear Reactor Site Threatened By Recent Flooding, U.S. Think-Tank Says 
Satellite imagery suggests recent flooding in North Korea may have damaged pump houses connected to the country’s main nuclear facility, a U.S.-based think-tank said on Thursday. Analysts at 38 North, a website that monitors North Korea, said commercial satellite imagery from August 6-11 showed how vulnerable the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center’s nuclear reactor cooling systems are to extreme weather events. The Korean peninsula has been hammered by one of the longest rainy spells in recent history, with floods and landslides causing damage and deaths in both North and South Korea. (Smith, 8/12)

Reuters: China, Worried About Food Security, Cracks Down On 'Big Stomach Kings' 
China’s biggest short-video platforms said on Thursday they will punish users seen to be wasting food in their broadcasts, cracking down on so-called “big stomach kings” as the government urges against food wastage in the middle of a pandemic. President Xi Jinping called food wastage “shameful” this week as China also seeks to curb a growing trend among internet celebrities who have gained hordes of fans in recent years by eating large amounts of food in a short time on video. (8/13)

And Lebanon confronts the aftermath of last week's explosion —

The Washington Post: Beirut Explosion: Half Of Beirut's Health-Care Centers Are Out Of Commission 
The massive explosion that devastated swaths of Lebanon's capital last week has severely damaged its health system, officials warned Wednesday, further straining medical facilities that were already wrestling with rising cases of the novel coronavirus. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that three of Beirut’s hospitals were largely out of service and that more were still flooded with the wounded. Following an assessment of 55 health-care centers in Beirut, the WHO’s regional emergency director Richard Brennan said that “just over 50 percent are nonfunctional,” with a deficit of up to 600 beds. (Loveluck, Morris and Cunningham, 8/12)

The New York Times: Beirut’s Youngest Cancer Patients Lose Care Options After Blast 
The children being treated at Beirut’s St. George Hospital built an extended family with each other, painting and dancing together when they had the energy and rubbing each other’s backs when they vomited after chemotherapy sessions. Now, these cancer-stricken children are struggling to keep up with their treatment, and preserve the bonds they developed with each other over sometimes years of treatment, after a powerful blast ripped through Beirut last week and took their hospital — their home away from home — with it. (Abi-Habib, 8/12)

CIDRAP: NIAID Enrolling Participants In Two COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Trials
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) yesterday announced that it is enrolling participants for two phase 3 trials of two different monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19. The trials are enrolling healthy adults at risk for infection due to close contact at work or home, and the investigations are part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network recently established by NIAID, the group said in a news release. Anthony Fauci, MD, NIAID's director, said the network is designed to conduct large-scale trials rapidly and efficiently. (8/11)

Nature Medicine: The Potential Public Health Consequences Of COVID-19 On Malaria In Africa 
In the present study, we attempt to quantify the potential impact of the spread of COVID-19 on Plasmodium falciparum malaria morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and across SSA using mathematical models of COVID-194 and malaria9. We assume that one disease does not directly influence the transmission or severity of the other, but that COVID-19 impacts malaria via the response to the epidemic and its repercussions on health systems. Predictions of the timing and magnitude of COVID-19 epidemics across African countries are highly uncertain and will vary according to how individual countries respond to COVID-19. (Sherrard-Smith et al, 8/7)

American Academy of Pediatrics: Primary Care Autism Screening And Later Autism Diagnosis 
A majority of children were screened for ASD, but disparities exist among those screened. Benefits for screen-positive children are improved detection and younger age of diagnosis. Performance of the M-CHAT can be improved in real-world health care settings by administering screens with fidelity and facilitating timely ASD evaluations for screen-positive children. Providers should continue to monitor for signs of ASD in screen-negative children. (Carbone et al, 8/1)

Nature Medicine: A Peripheral Immune Signature Of Responsiveness To PD-1 Blockade In Patients With Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
PD-1 blockade is highly effective in classical Hodgkin lymphomas (cHLs), which exhibit frequent copy-number gains of CD274 (PD-L1) and PDC1LG2 (PD-L2) on chromosome 9p24.1. However, in this largely MHC-class-I-negative tumor, the mechanism of action of anti-PD-1 therapy remains undefined. We utilized the complementary approaches of T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing and cytometry by time-of-flight analysis to obtain a peripheral immune signature of responsiveness to PD-1 blockade in 56 patients treated in the CheckMate 205 phase II clinical trial (NCT02181738). (Zumla Cader et al, 8/10)

CIDRAP: Molecular Test Targets Ciprofloxacin-Susceptible Gonorrhea
Experts in antibiotic resistance and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have long been worried about the growing resistance to the antibiotics used to treat gonorrhea. And with the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of gonorrhea in recent years, those concerns have taken on a new urgency. (Dall, 8/10)

Stat: Instead Of Lockdowns, Teach People How To Socialize Safely
In response to the rising Covid-19 death toll and case counts in the U.S., calls for a national lockdown have been escalating. In an open letter to America’s decision-makers, more than 150 medical professionals urge them to “shut it down now, and start over.” In the letter, they argue that people should “stay home, going out only to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air. ”I empathize with the urgency in their plea for people to stay home. I felt helpless watching patient after patient die from Covid-19 while working in a New York hospital in April. In the Northern California Covid-19 clinic I work in, I continue to see patients infected with and harmed by the virus. I, too, am desperate for this pandemic to end. But I believe that telling people to stay home and avoid all nonessential social interactions is the wrong way forward. (Jason Bae, 8/13)

Bloomberg: Why Young Adults Are Driving Europe’s Coronavirus Curve
In parts of Europe, new coronavirus cases have been creeping up again. While this is by no means a second wave, and case numbers are still lower than they were before, an interesting demographic pattern has started to emerge.Whereas elderly populations had the greatest share of new cases early in the crisis, younger age groups are now taking the lead. People aged between 20 and 39 account for about 35% to 40% of new cases in England, Belgium and the Netherlands. In Spain, 15- to 29-year-olds account for more than a fifth of new cases. The charts below illustrate the shift, using the date that bars and pubs reopened in each country as the dividing line for gauging how things evolved as restrictions were lifted. (Lara Williams, 8/13)

The Washington Post: Thanks To Coronavirus And Zoom, We’re Looking At The End Stages Of College As A Commodity
A pandemic is an essentializing force; it strips away the frosting of rhetoric and habit and forces us to confront bare realities. Nowhere is this more apparent than in higher education, which over the past few decades has been one of two sectors that have just kept increasing their prices, the share of national income and, of course, the share of our attention they claim. The other one is health care, and in both cases, Americans justified the increased spending in contradictory ways — invoking both pragmatic benefits and airy ideals such as “scholarship” or “caring,” which denied the necessity of even appealing to necessity. (Megan McArdle, 8/12)

Stat: We Need New Drugs To Prevent The Looming Superbug Crisis 
Imagine if scientists had seen Covid-19 coming years in advance yet did little to prepare. Unthinkable, right? Yet that’s exactly what’s happening with another infectious disease crisis — the one caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi. So-called superbugs already kill more than 700,000 people each year. And the World Health Organization warns that by 2050 the annual death toll could reach 10 million if we don’t use the time to get prepared. (Kevin Outterson and John Rex, 8/12)

The New York Times: I Started Khan Academy. We Can Still Avoid An Education Catastrophe. 
It is becoming clear that many of our nation’s children could be attending school from home for this school year and possibly longer. If educators and families aren’t empowered with the right support and tools, this will evolve from an education crisis to an education catastrophe. As the founder of the philanthropically funded nonprofit Khan Academy, which provides free online exercises, videos and software to over 100 million users in 46 languages, I’m something of a poster child for online learning. (Sal Khan, 8/12)

CNN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Why I Am Not Sending My Kids Back To School 
One of the questions I am getting more than any other: Am I going to send my children back to school? As a father of three teen and preteen girls, this has been a constant discussion in our household, and it hasn't been easy. (Dr. Sanjay Gupta, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Why Children Suffer Violence Amid COVID-19
We now know that many schools in California and other states won’t reopen for in-person classes this year. While this is judged necessary to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it has frightening implications for the psychological and physical well-being of vulnerable children. School closures have led to a dramatic fall in reports of child abuse across the country since educators account for more than a fifth of reports of child abuse and neglect — more than any other category of reporter. One analysis found that monthly state totals of child abuse reports were an average of 40.6% lower in April and 35.1% lower in May compared with reports in those same months in 2019. (Angelina Jolie, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: DeVos’s Sexual-Assault Rule Prevails 
One of the stakes in November’s election is the fate of the Trump Administration’s due-process reforms for campus sexual-assault cases. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s new rule goes into effect Friday, and this week it passed its first legal tests. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued to stop the rule and sought a preliminary injunction. Federal Judge John Koeltl, a Bill Clinton appointee, denied the injunction this week on grounds that the department had followed proper procedure in drafting the rule and would likely prevail on the merits. The rule defines sexual harassment under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and requires schools to set up grievance processes for handling complaints. Colleges must allow accuser and accused to choose advisers who can cross-examine witnesses. (8/12)

Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2020: Churchill Downs Is Wrong To Invite 23,000 To Town
Let me be the first to thank the good folks at Churchill Downs for throwing caution to the wind and inviting some 23,000 human coronavirus test tubes to Louisville on the first Saturday in May September to spread their pathogens all over the city. I mean, what better way to usher in fall than by becoming a hot spot for the virus that has already killed 160,000 Americans and infected more than 5 million of them. We know what is important around here. It's the almighty buck, at least as far as Churchill Downs shareholders are concerned. (Joseph Gerth, 8/12)

The Washington Post: No One Wins A Vaccine Race If Public Confidence Is Lost
Russian President Vladimir Putin may have pulled off a good public relations stunt on Tuesday, at least for the short term. He announced that the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is first in the world to win approval for a coronavirus vaccine. The announcement of the new Sputnik V vaccine recalled the glory of the Soviet Union’s pioneering orbital satellite. Let’s hope it works, but given the unknowns, Mr. Putin’s showy launch and promise of rapid distribution are reason for worry.Along with the difficulty of creating an effective vaccine and the challenges of testing, manufacturing and distributing it, it is essential to build and maintain public confidence so enough people will accept inoculation to create herd immunity against the virus, perhaps two-thirds of a population. (8/12)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Coronavirus Vaccine May Not Be The Cure-All 
The pandemic has wreaked havoc in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S., confirmed cases have surpassed 5.1 million and the death toll more than 164,000. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projects almost 220,000 deaths by Nov. 1. Public health experts agree that uniform policies of avoiding large crowds, social distancing, mask wearing, testing and follow-up, and isolation, plus hand washing and not touching one’s face, are essential to reducing spread. They also agree that a safe and effective vaccine is needed before we can go back to daily life as we knew it before the pandemic. However, while being a game-changer, the availability of a vaccine may not be as much of a panacea as many believe. The idea that the coronavirus is “going to disappear one day,” as President Donald Trump suggests, is wishful thinking even if we have a safe and effective vaccine. (Thomas O’Rourke, 8/12)

Fox News: Constitution Bars Trump From Spending Without OK Of Congress — Courts Should Stop It
The House Democrats want to borrow and give away another $3 trillion, much of it to bail out cities and states hard-hit by the loss of tax revenue. The White House wants to borrow and give away $1 trillion, but only in direct payments to businesses and individuals. When it became apparent that a compromise could not be reached and Congress would not vote to extend the federal unemployment compensation to individuals, President Trump ordered the Treasury to pay all unemployed people $300 a week, provided the states pay them $100 a week, in addition to their state unemployment compensation. How can the president spend money that has not been appropriated by law? (Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, 8/13)

The Washington Post: Trump’s Latest Social Security Con
There is a lot wrong with President Trump’s announcement on Saturday that he would order the federal government to cease collecting Social Security payroll taxes for the majority of workers for the rest of the year. The move is quite possibly unconstitutional. It’s a logistical nightmare. Employers could get stuck owing money. Workers almost certainly will. It won’t do a thing to help the unemployed, who obviously don’t have a paycheck. It’s not a permanent suspension, but something more akin to an interest-free loan. As of right now, the money will need to be paid back. All that’s bad. But here is the worst part: When combined with his comments that he would like to “terminate” the payroll tax, which funds Social Security, Trump is revealing yet another con. (Helaine Olen, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Individual Choice Is A Bad Fit For Covid Safety
The U.S. government’s disastrous failure in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is a tragedy in many acts—from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial errors with test kits and masking, to a know-nothing president who confuses magical thinking with thinking, even to craven political considerations when the pandemic was seen as a blue-state problem, and much more. But one of the most important sources of government failure has received comparatively little attention—and it’s economic in nature. (Alan S. Blinder, 8/12)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom Isn't Being Honest About Coronavirus Expert's Exit
It has been four days since California’s top public health official abruptly resigned amid a controversy over the state’s inaccurate coronavirus case counts, and the public still has no idea why she stepped down. It’s not for lack of trying to find out. During a briefing streamed live on social media platforms Monday, reporters repeatedly asked the governor and his top health secretary to provide more details about the Sunday departure of Dr. Sonia Angell, who had led the California Department of Public Health for less than a year. (8/13)

The Oregonian: I Was Freed From Prison Due To COVID-19 Concerns. The Governor Should Release Many More. 
Lying in my bunk in a dorm that holds 80 men at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in North Portland, I could reach my arms out and touch two neighboring bunks. At night, I could hear people coughing, and I wondered if they had COVID-19, and if it would spread to me. There’s nowhere you can go to be at a safe distance in prison, where people have no choice but to be constantly exposed to others. (Luis Polanco, 8/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Getting To Know Kamala Harris
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made their first appearances as a campaign ticket on Wednesday, and Americans still know little about the running mate who may be President sooner rather than later. One way to fill in the gap is to inspect Ms. Harris’s record as California’s Attorney General, and one revealing episode is the way she used her power to blow up a deal to rescue struggling Catholic hospitals. The saga started in 2014 when for-profit Prime Healthcare Services made an $843 million bid for six insolvent hospitals operated by the Catholic Daughters of Charity Health System. The hospitals had been bleeding cash for years due to inflexible labor contracts and miserly Medicaid payments. (8/12)

The Houston Chronicle: Congress Must Regulate COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps To Protect The Privacy Of Americans 
In our rightful rush to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, we should nonetheless be extraordinarily careful to adopt individual contact tracing technology only in ways that protect our civil liberties, privacy and civic discourse. Tracing technology generally works by means of an app downloaded to phones to track who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive. By its nature, that means it is a surveillance system that can track where everyone is located and trace everyone else close to them. Contact tracing apps have the Orwellian potential to invade privacy and stifle the exercise of First Amendment rights, as related incidents of phone tracing and surveillance planes flying over recent protests clearly demonstrate. (Janine Hiller and Kimberly A. Houser, 8/13)

The Detroit News: 'Surprise Billing' Law Would Make Navigating Insurance Harder
Surviving cancer isn’t easy. On even the most routine days, the disease ravages the body, strains the emotions, and drains bank accounts. It dictates schedules and stresses relationships. Patients in Michigan have only found those challenges amplified during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Unfortunately, a set of bills making their way through the legislature in Lansing would make matters worse for patients, and at a time when many are least equipped to add one more massive struggle to the list. (Trudy Ender, 8/12)