Flying And COVID: Fears Of Infection Could Be Unfounded, Scientists Say

CNN: The Odds Of Catching Covid-19 On An Airplane Are Slimmer Than You Think, Scientists Say 
Sitting squeezed between a number of strangers on board an aircraft might feel like a risky position during these uncertain times. But according to some experts who point to the very few documented cases of in-flight transmission, the chances of catching Covid-19 while on board a flight are actually relatively slim. (Hardingham-Gill, 8/20)

The New York Times: Bryce Hall, TikTok Influencer, Has Power Shut Off By Los Angeles 
The City of Los Angeles cut the power at a Hollywood Hills mansion rented by the TikTok stars Bryce Hall, Noah Beck and Blake Gray on Wednesday in response to parties held at the residence amid the coronavirus crisis. Mr. Hall hosted a party for his 21st birthday on Friday, Aug. 14; footage from the event posted to Instagram shows dozens of attendees crowded together in one room. After neighbors called in noise complaints, the event was shut down by the Los Angeles Police Department. (Lorenz, 8/19)

Stat: As Covid-19 Cases In Prisons Climb, Data On Race Remain Largely Obscured
By mid-August, jails, prisons, and other detention centers accounted for all of the top 10 Covid-19 clusters in the country. This week, the number of Covid-19 deaths among inmates and correctional officers passed 1,000, with more than 160,000 infected. (Guo, 8/20)

In mental health news —

USA Today: COVID Pandemic Is Taking A Toll On Families With Young Children
Birth to age 5 is a critical time for child development, research shows, and new data from the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project) shows caregiver distress is cascading down to young children in ways science shows can be toxic in the short- and long-term. "The national conversation is not focused nearly enough on early childhood and infancy, which is the period that we know is most important for brain development and in which the brain is most effected by what's going on in the world around it," said RAPID project director Phil Fisher. (Dastagir, 8/19)

WBUR: Pandemic Has Taken Mental, Financial Toll On Family Child Care Providers 
Home-based family child care providers in Massachusetts were hit harder, financially and mentally, than other child care providers as the state closed schools and businesses because of the pandemic this spring, according to a new survey. Child care providers reported high levels of stress and anxiety as the pandemic sickened and killed thousands, upended livelihoods and closed physical school and child care facilities, according to a pair of surveys by the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with Abt Associates research and consulting firm. (McNerney, 8/19)

Dallas Morning News: ‘Completely Shook’: Support Groups Form For Restaurant Workers Suffering From Pandemic Depression And Anxiety
Food-service workers have the highest rate of substance abuse of all professions and an above-average rate of suicide. That data is from 2015 and 2016, years before the coronavirus pandemic led to the loss of 700,000 restaurant jobs in Texas, with 250,000 of those in Dallas County.Now, many of those workers are managing new stressors with the pandemic. (Albee, 8/19)

The Washington Post: Time To Ditch ‘Toxic Positivity,’ Experts Say: ‘It’s Okay Not To Be Okay’
In the midst of a raging pandemic and widespread social unrest, these days it can feel as if reassuring platitudes are inescapable. “Everything will be fine.” “It could be worse.” “Look on the bright side.” But as well intentioned as those who lean on such phrases may be, experts are cautioning against going overboard with the “good vibes only” trend. Too much forced positivity is not just unhelpful, they say — it’s toxic. (Chiu, 8 /19)

Also —

NBC News: Cleared By Doctors, But Not By The Public: After COVID-19, Survivors Face Stigma
In the three months since Dashauna Ballard of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, recovered from the coronavirus, she has learned to not mention that she was ever sick. Some people give her suspicious looks when they find out she had COVID-19; some assume she got it because she did not take proper hygiene measures; and, recently, an acquaintance from church implied that Ballard, 29, caught the virus as punishment for sins she committed. (Chuck, 8/19)

MarketWatch: Child-Care Duties Forced Working Moms To Take Time Off Work At The Beginning Of The Pandemic — While Dads Weren’t Affected
Working mothers got hit with a one-two punch in the early days of the pandemic. Because child-care demands fell mostly on their shoulders, moms who were lucky enough to keep their jobs were not so lucky in the domestic sphere as shutdown orders kept children home from school, new research by the U.S. Census Bureau and Federal Reserve suggests. In states with early shutdown orders, mothers took one of two paths, both less than ideal: They temporarily took time off their jobs to care for children, or they worked more hours on nights and weekends while balancing domestic duties, research by U.S. Census Bureau principal economist Misty Heggeness and senior researcher Jason Fields found. (Albrecht, 8/20)