First Edition: Oct. 27, 2020

KHN: Savvy Patient Fought For The Price She Was Quoted − And Didn’t Give Up 
When Tiffany Qiu heard how much her surgery was going to cost her, she was sure the hospital’s financial department had made a mistake. Qiu, who already knew from a breast cancer scare earlier that year that her plan required a 30% coinsurance payment on operations, pressed the person on the phone several times to make sure she had heard correctly: Her coinsurance payment would be only 20% if she had the procedure at Palomar Medical Center in Poway, California, about 38 miles south of where Qiu lives. “I was kind of in doubt, so I called them a second time,” said Qiu. “They gave me the exact same amount.” (Almendrala, 10/27)

KHN: ‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: In Rural America, Cancer Care Is Often Far From Home 
Sixty-five-year-old Karen Endicott-Coyan is living with a blood cancer.  Her chemotherapy takes less than 30 minutes. Before the hospital closed, it was just a short drive into the small town of Fort Scott, Kansas, for her to get treatment. But these days getting to chemo means a trek on rural roads and narrow highways, driving help from her sister-in-law and some Ritz crackers tucked into her purse to steady her stomach on the way home. The whole trip should take less than three hours. Endicott-Coyan puts on her makeup, her diamond earrings and powers through. (Tribble, 10/27)

KHN: Telemedicine Or In-Person Visit? Pros And Cons
As COVID-19 took hold in March, U.S. doctors limited in-person appointments — and many patients avoided them — for fear of infection. The result was a huge increase in the volume of remote medical and behavioral health visits. Doctors, hospitals and mental health providers across the country reported a 50- to 175-fold rise in the number of virtual visits, according to a report released in May by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. (Wolfson, 10/27)

KHN: For People With Visual Impairments, Truly Secret Ballots Are Elusive
Norma Crosby remembers when she relied on blind faith to cast her vote. The 64-year-old Texan was born virtually without sight, a side effect of her mother catching rubella while pregnant with her. Friends and relatives stood beside her and filled out her ballot at polling precincts for more than half of her voting life. Then, accessible voting machines rolled out around the year 2000, enabling her to vote in person on her own. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic makes going to the polls a risky proposition for Crosby. She also has a condition called sarcoidosis that requires her to take immunosuppressant drugs, she said. However, the state does not have a mail-in voting system that accommodates Crosby’s visual impairment. (Heredia Rodriguez, 10/27)

KHN: If Trump Wins, Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For That ACA Replacement Plan
If President Donald Trump wins reelection next week, it seems unlikely he will unveil the health plan he’s been promising since before his election in 2016. Still, other aspects of health care could be featured in his second-term agenda. Not having a replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act may be just fine with many of his supporters and conservatives. Most Republicans don’t want the federal government to remake the nation’s health system, said Grace-Marie Turner, of the conservative Galen Institute. “It’s a different philosophy from Democrats, who think it needs to be a big program,” she said. “Conservatives, we think of it in a more targeted way.” (Rovner, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Hospitals In Nearly Every Region Report A Flood Of Covid-19 Patients 
Hospitals in many regions of the country — the Upper Midwest, the Mountain West, the Southwest and the heart of Appalachia — are seeing record levels of patients suffering from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. More than 42,000 people were hospitalized nationally with the virus Monday, a figure that is steadily climbing toward the midsummer peak caused by massive outbreaks in the Sun Belt. In the places hit the hardest, this is nudging hospitals toward the nightmare scenario of rationing care. (Achenbach, Brulliard, Shammas and Dupree, 10/26)

AP: Coronavirus Deaths Are Rising Again In The US, As Feared
Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in practically every state, despite assurances from President Donald Trump over the weekend that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.” With Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34. (Pane and Stobbe, 10/26)

The Washington Post: As The Coronavirus Surges, It Is Reaching Into The Nation’s Last Untouched Areas 
Few places would seem better able to ride out an infectious-disease pandemic than Petroleum County, Mont., whose 500 people spread over 1,656 square miles, much of it public lands and cattle ranches. For most of this year, it did just that, becoming the last county in the state and one of the final few in the nation to have logged no cases of the novel coronavirus. Then came October. Three residents tested positive, knocking Petroleum off zero-case lists, forcing the county’s lone school to close for a week and proving, as Sheriff Bill Cassell put it, that “eventually we were going to get it,” and that the virus “ain’t gone yet.” (Brulliard, 10/26)

The Hill: Pediatricians Say Nearly 800K Children Have Had Coronavirus 
Almost 800,000 children in the U.S. have been infected by COVID-19 this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Monday, adding that current cases among children are rising. In their latest state-level data report, the AAP shared statistics that demonstrate a growing prevalence of coronavirus among youth. Currently there are about 8.4 million cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., with children now making up 11 percent of that number — about 1,053 cases per 100,000 kids. (Polus, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett To Supreme Court, Cementing Its Conservative Majority 
Barrett solidifies a 6-to-3 conservative majority on the court and will be in a position to immediately hear contentious cases on elections and health care. A centerpiece of the Democrats’ strategy against Barrett was the pending case on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, set for oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Nov. 10. The Trump administration and Republican attorneys general argue that the entire 2010 health-care law and its protections for millions of Americans with preexisting medical conditions should be invalidated. (Min Kim, 10/26)

AP: Barrett Confirmed By Senate For Supreme Court, Takes Oath
Barrett, a federal appeals court judge from Indiana, is expected to take the judicial oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in a private ceremony Tuesday at the court to begin participating in proceedings. Underscoring the political divide during the pandemic, the Republican senators, most wearing masks, sat in their seats as is tradition for landmark votes, and applauded the outcome, with fist-bumps. Democratic senators emptied their side, heeding party leadership’s advice to not linger in the chamber. A Rose Garden event with Trump to announce Barrett’s nomination last month ended up spreading the virus, including to some GOP senators who have since returned from quarantine. (Mascaro, 10/27)

NPR: Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed To Supreme Court 
President Trump spoke at the event, thanking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and calling today a "momentous day" for America, the constitution and the rule of law. He also praised Barrett's intellect and poise during the confirmation process. Several Republican senators were also in attendance. Barrett must still take the judicial oath. (Sprunt, 10/26)

The New York Times: In Swearing In Barrett, Trump Defiantly Mimics ‘Superspreader’ Rose Garden Ceremony 
President Trump, who loves to boast of doing anything his predecessors have never done, pulled off such a historic first on Monday. He won confirmation of a Supreme Court justice only eight days before a presidential election, rushing his choice through the Senate before voters decide whether to give him four more years or kick him out of office. Mr. Trump then did something else no other president has done. He hosted a nighttime ceremony on the White House lawn to swear in Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a virtual do-over of the superspreader event blamed for infecting multiple people with the coronavirus a month ago to the day, including the president himself, who was forced to spend three nights in the hospital. (Baker, 10/26)

AP: Barrett Swearing-In Differs Markedly From 'Superspreader'
This time they mostly wore masks. It’s been only a month since President Donald Trump’s Rose Garden event to announce he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. That packed celebration for friends and allies of the president and his high court nominee turned into a coronavirus superspreader event. When the just-confirmed Barrett returned to the White House on Monday to take her constitutional oath, the celebration was moved to the broader South Lawn, chairs for more than 200 guests were spread about 6 feet apart, and the mask-wearers greatly outnumbered those who declined to cover their faces. (Madhani and Jalonick, 10/27)

The Washington Post: Trump, Biden Both Campaign In Pennsylvania As Supreme Court Pick Confirmed 
After being sworn in Monday night, Barrett delivered remarks to the assembled crowd, an unusual move for a new Supreme Court justice. She spoke at length about the importance of judicial independence, saying "it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. It would be a dereliction of duty for her to give in to them.” (Sonmez, Wagner and Firozi, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Angry Democrats Try To Focus On Health Care As They Watch Barrett Confirmation 
Democrats ended their opposition to the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett exactly as they began it 30 days ago, warning that her confirmation as a Supreme Court justice could overturn the Affordable Care Act. They focused their final speeches Monday on warning voters that millions would suffer if the ACA were tossed aside, choosing to make a political argument rather than going down the rabbit hole of fighting process issues that do not resonate with many voters. (Kane, 10/26)

The Hill: Murkowski Predicts Barrett Won't Overturn Roe V. Wade 
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) just before the Senate vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court predicted the Trump nominee will not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case establishing a right to an abortion, once she is on the Supreme Court. “I don’t see her overturning the decision in Roe v. Wade, based on — based on the weighting of the reliance factors,” Murkowski, a GOP moderate who is voting for Barrett, said Monday evening. (Bolton, 10/26)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Won’t Extend Wisconsin’s Deadline For Mailed Ballots 
The ruling was considered a victory for Republicans in a crucial swing state, which polls have shown Mr. Trump trailing in after winning by about 23,000 votes in 2016.The Democratic Party of Wisconsin immediately announced a voter education project to alert voters that absentee ballots have to be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. “We’re dialing up a huge voter education campaign,” Ben Wikler, the state party chairman, said on Twitter. The U.S. Postal Service has recommended that voters mail their ballots by Oct. 27 to ensure that they are counted. (Liptak, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Rejects Request To Extend Wisconsin's Deadline For Counting Mail-In Ballots 
The Supreme Court on Monday night rejected a pandemic-related request from Democrats and civil rights groups to extend the deadline for counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the key battleground state of Wisconsin. The vote was 5 to 3, with the Republican-nominated conservatives in the majority and the Democratic-nominated liberals in dissent. The court’s order showed the deep division within the court about the series of pandemic-related election cases that have come to dominate its agenda. (Barnes, 10/26)

Politico: In Wisconsin Decision, Supreme Court Foreshadows Election Night Cliffhanger 
As a divided Supreme Court on Monday resolved a fight over absentee voting rules in Wisconsin, the justices exchanged warnings about a troublesome scenario: the possibility that next week’s presidential election leads to days or even weeks of legal maneuvering and uncertainty about the winner. Justice Brett Kavanaugh conjured up the specter of such a protracted battle as he argued in favor of allowing states to maintain firm deadlines requiring absentee ballots to be received by election officials on Election Day. (Gerstein, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Cases Are Surging Again. These States Have Refused To Loosen Rules On Who Can Vote By Mail. 
Coronavirus cases are rising again in Texas, but most voters fearful of infection are not allowed to cast ballots by mail. For the limited number who qualify with a separate excuse, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott restricted drop-off locations to one per county. And when the Democratic stronghold of Harris County took steps to make voting easier, GOP leaders sued local officials. Texas is one of five red states that emerged as conspicuous holdouts this year as the rest of the country rushed to loosen voting rules because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the roughly 30 million registered voters who live there and in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee have no choice but to cast ballots in person this fall, even as the rate of coronavirus infection in the United States approaches its third peak. (Viebeck and Hernandez, 10/26)

AP: Ex-Postal Worker Charged With Tossing Absentee Ballots
A former U.S. Postal Service worker was charged with tossing dozens of absentee ballots and other mail that was found in a dumpster in Kentucky, the U.S. attorney’s office said. DeShawn Bojgere, 30, of Louisville, was charged with delay or destruction of mail, a news release from U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman’s office said in a news release Monday. (10/27)

Politico: Caution And Confidence Keep Biden Close To Home In Final Days 
The last 10 days of a presidential campaign is typically a frenzied spectacle of barnstorming candidates hitting multiple swing states daily. That is not the type of campaign Joe Biden has been running. On Sunday, he held no campaign events. On Monday, he stayed close to home in Wilmington, Del. making only a brief local stop where he signaled he’d travel to swing states between then and Election Day. And that was after spending much of last week off the trail as he prepared for the final debate. (Korecki and Caputo, 10/26)

The Washington Post: As Cases Soar, Trump Declares Pandemic Ending And Biden Criticizes His Handling Of It. 
Faced with record levels of U.S. coronavirus infections and a new White House outbreak, President Trump declared Monday that the pandemic was “ending anyway,” further tying his reelection bid to his ability to convince voters, including those at large rallies that defy health authorities, that the viral danger is fading. Financial markets fell as he spoke, with investors reacting to the growing infection rates and dwindling hope of a pre-election stimulus package. Vice President Pence canceled a planned appearance at the U.S. Senate for the expected confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court justice, after Democrats objected because he has been in close contact with at least one of the five staff members who tested positive for the disease in recent days. (Scherer and Dawsey, 10/26)

Politico: Twitter Labels Trump Post About Mail Ballots As ‘Disputed’ And ‘Misleading’
Twitter blocked a post by President Donald Trump on Monday that claimed, without evidence, there were “problems and discrepancies” with mail-in ballots “all over the USA.” “Must have final total on November 3rd,” Trump wrote at the end of his post. The social media company said the tweet was “disputed and might be misleading about how to participate in an election or another civic process.” (Ward, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Twitter Will Push Notices About Potential Misinformation To Users’ Timelines 
Twitter launched prominent new reminders warning people to be wary of potential misinformation on the social media site — the company’s latest effort to try to tamp down swirling rumors and potential misinformation during the election. Twitter started pushing two different prompts to the top of people’s main timelines Monday. One tells users, “You might encounter misleading information about voting by mail,” and directs to a page to find out more about mail-in voting, including tweets from outside sources. The other reminds users that election results might be delayed because of the increase in voting by mail. (Lerman, 10/26)

Politico: ‘A Mass Exodus’: HHS Staffers Jumping Ship Amid Pandemic, Fears Of Trump Loss
At least 27 political appointees have exited the embattled Health and Human Services department since the start of the Covid-19 crisis in February, according to a POLITICO review, and senior leaders are bracing for dozens more officials to depart swiftly if President Donald Trump loses re-election. Such a wave of departures would leave only a shell staff shepherding the department through a uniquely challenging winter of coronavirus outbreaks and drug and vaccine authorizations until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, according to interviews with 17 current and former HHS officials, some of whom requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. (Diamond, 10/26)

AP: US Health Official Says Pandemic Clearly Can Be Controlled
A day after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said “we’re not going to control the pandemic,” a top Trump administration health official said Monday that Americans have already proven they can do that through basic safeguards shown to work. “I think we can control the pandemic,” Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said on a call with reporters. “I want to be clear that what we have done — what the American people have done — has been able to put out very significant outbreaks ... all across the Deep South,” Giroir said. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/26)

Stat: WHO Warns Giving Up On Efforts To Control Covid-19 Would Be 'Dangerous'
The World Health Organization on Monday warned countries against giving up on efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic, with the head of the agency saying doing so would be “dangerous.” “Giving up on control is dangerous,” said Tedros Adhamon Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general. “Control should … be part of the strategy.” (Branswell, 10/26)

The Hill: Fauci On Latest Surge: 'No Matter How You Look At It, It's Not Good News' 
Top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Monday that “no matter how you look at” the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., “it’s not good news.” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Yahoo Finance during an interview said the U.S. is “at the highest baseline we’ve ever been” for coronavirus cases, calling the situation “quite precarious.” (Coleman, 10/26)

The Hill: Meadows Doubles Down On White House Pandemic Response: 'We're Not Going To Control It' 
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Monday rejected the notion that the Trump administration has given up on fighting the spread of the coronavirus, but then doubled down on his controversial remarks that the U.S. will not control the virus. "We're going to defeat the virus; we're not going to control it," Meadows told reporters outside the White House. "We will try to contain it as best we can, but ... we need to make sure that we have therapeutics and vaccines." (Weixel, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Meadows Under Fire As Trump Chief Of Staff Amid Of Pandemic And Other Crises 
When touting his chief of staff Mark Meadows onstage in North Carolina this month, President Trump gave an unusual compliment for a risky move. “He follows me,” Trump said of his helicopter ride to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after testing positive for the coronavirus. “I said, ‘You know what? I just tested positive.’ He didn’t care. He was in that helicopter.” (Dawsey, 10/26)

The New York Times: Kushner, Employing Racist Stereotype, Questions If Black Americans ‘Want To Be Successful’ 
President Trump has repeatedly bragged about what he has done for Black America, pointing to his administration’s funding for Black colleges and universities, the creation of so-called opportunity zones and criminal justice reform. But on Monday, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, played into a racist stereotype by seeming to question whether Black Americans “want to be successful” despite what he said Mr. Trump had done for them. (Karni, 10/26)

Politico: Medicare And Medicaid To Cover Early Covid Vaccine 
The Trump administration this week will announce a plan to cover the out-of-pocket costs of Covid-19 vaccines for millions of Americans who receive Medicare or Medicaid, said four people with knowledge of the pending announcement. Under the planned rule, Medicare and Medicaid will now cover vaccines that receive emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, the people said, which is a change from current policy. The regulations, which have been under development for weeks, are likely to be announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday or Wednesday. (Diamond and Cancryn, 10/26)

The Hill: Trump Admin To Announce Coronavirus Vaccine Will Be Covered Under Medicare, Medicaid: Report 
The administration has reportedly been working on the initiative for weeks and expects to announce the change in policy on Tuesday or Wednesday. At least two vaccine developers have said they intend to apply before the end of the year for an emergency use authorization, which allows the vaccine to be distributed before official FDA approval during a state of emergency. (Coleman, 10/26)

The Hill: Pelosi Blasts Trump For Not Agreeing To Testing Strategy 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday blasted the Trump administration for declining to sign on to Democrats' plan for a COVID-19 testing strategy, despite earlier public statements from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicating that there was an agreement. "Today, we are waiting for an important response on several concerns, including on action to crush the virus. Ten days after Secretary Mnuchin went on CNBC to declare that he was accepting our testing plan, the Administration still refuses to do so," Pelosi wrote. (Marcos, 10/26)

Politico: Trump Fights In Court To Block Pandemic Food Aid For Lowest-Income Americans 
The Trump administration is fighting in federal court to block states from giving billions of dollars in emergency food stamps to the lowest-income Americans during the coronavirus crisis. Residents of Pennsylvania and California have sued President Donald Trump’s Agriculture Department over a policy that has kept roughly 40 percent of households who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from receiving any emergency benefits during the pandemic. After being ordered by a federal judge last week to proceed with the payments in the Pennsylvania case, the department is continuing to appeal. (Bottemiller Evich, 10/26)

NPR: Eli Lilly Ends Antibody Trial In Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients, Other Trials Go On 
Eli Lilly & Co. is ending a clinical trial of its antibody drug bamlanivimab in hospitalized COVID-19 patients after federal researchers concluded the therapy produced no marked improvement. The study of the monoclonal antibody called bamlanivimab was initially paused by the company on Oct. 13 out of "an abundance of caution," because of a potential safety concern. For this particular study the therapy was being used in combination with remdesivir, an antiviral with emergency use authorization for the virus. (Romo, 10/26)

AP: Lilly Antibody Drug Fails In A COVID-19 Study; Others Go On
U.S. government officials are putting an early end to a study testing an Eli Lilly antibody drug for people hospitalized with COVID-19 because it doesn’t seem to be helping them. Independent monitors had paused enrollment in the study two weeks ago because of a possible safety issue. But on Monday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsors the study, said a closer look did not verify a safety problem but found a low chance that the drug would prove helpful for hospitalized patients. (Marchione, 10/26)

The Hill: AstraZeneca Says Its Vaccine Produces Immune Response In Older Adults 
AstraZeneca said Monday that its potential coronavirus vaccine provokes an immune response in older adults, which it touted as a positive development as clinical trials proceed. The immune response in older adults was similar to that in younger people, the company said, and adverse responses to the vaccine, known as reactogenicity, was lower in older people. (Sullivan, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Study Shows Covid-19 Antibodies Waning Over Time, Suggesting Immunity Might Wear Off
A large English study showed the number of people with Covid-19 antibodies declined significantly over the summer, suggesting that getting the virus might not confer long-lasting immunity from future infection. The survey of 365,000 adults in England who tested themselves at home using a finger-prick test showed the proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 antibodies declined by 26.5% between June 20—12 weeks after the peak of infections in the country—and Sept. 28. (Fidler, 10/26)

The New York Times: CDC Says Nurses Are At High Risk For Covid-19 
Among health care workers, nurses in particular have been at significant risk of contracting Covid-19, according to a new analysis of hospitalized patients by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings were released Monday as a surge of new hospitalizations swept the country, with several states hitting record levels of cases. (Abelson, 10/26)

NPR: They Work In Several Nursing Homes To Eke Out A Living, And That May Spread The Virus
To make ends meet, Martha Tapia works 64 hours a week at two Orange County, Calif., nursing homes. She is one of thousands of certified nursing assistants who perform the intimate and physical work of bathing, dressing and feeding the nation's fragile elderly. "We do everything for them. Everything you do for yourself, you have to do for the residents," Tapia says. (Fortier, 10/26)

The Hill: Nursing Homes Prepare For Third COVID-19 Surge 
Nursing homes, long in the spotlight as a key battleground in the fight to prevent the spread of COVID-19, are making key structural changes to prepare for an expected third surge of the disease. Facilities have implemented increased testing, promoted mask use and changed clinical practices in an effort to protect older Americans who are at higher risk of complications from the coronavirus. (Gangitano, 10/26)

Stat: Covid-19 Expert Akiko Iwasaki Fights A Different Virus: Sexism In Science
Even for one of the most high-profile virologists in the midst of the pandemic, it was not an event that will be easily forgotten. For nearly 10 hours on a recent Saturday, Akiko Iwasaki was feted at a virtual gathering celebrating her 50th birthday and the 20th anniversary of her Yale lab. Former and current colleagues showered her with gifts, reminisced about outings to bars, Six Flags, and campsites, and answered trivia questions (her favorite color is purple — Iwasaki is a huge Prince fan). (Chakradhar, 10/27)

AP: New Guidelines Address Rise In Opioid Use During Pregnancy
Opioid use in pregnancy has prompted new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, aimed at improving care for women and newborns affected by their mothers’ drug use. The number of affected women and infants has increased in recent years but they often don’t get effective treatment, and the pandemic may be worsening that problem, said Dr. Stephen Patrick, lead author of the academy report released Monday. (Tanner, 10/26)

AP: North Carolina To Get Nearly 3.2M BinaxNOW Virus Tests
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday it’s sending nearly 3.2 million rapid coronavirus tests to North Carolina. The Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 point of care antigen tests can diagnose coronavirus infection in as little as fifteen minutes. (10/26)

The Washington Post: D.C. Says 190,000 Have Activated DC CAN Coronavirus Contact-Tracing Tool 
About 190,000 D.C. residents have activated the contact-tracing option on their smartphones since the city joined a new program last week. The pace of residents joining the program, operated by Apple and Google, places D.C. among a group of cities that have most quickly embraced the technology, said city Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt. It comes as several states nationwide are recording a surge in coronavirus infections, while numbers in the greater Washington region have mostly held steady in recent days. (Zauzmer, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Balance Covid-19 Care With More-Lucrative Services During Latest Virus Surge 
Hospitals are holding off as long as possible before halting procedures to make room for fresh waves of Covid-19 patients, a reversal from earlier this year when facilities postponed care, leading to steep financial losses and public-health risks. National hospital chain Tenet Healthcare Corp. pushed ahead with procedures as states permitted, such as knee and hip replacements, colonoscopies, and surgery to implant pacemakers, through recent surges in Alabama, California and elsewhere. In southeast Wisconsin, where already rising Covid-19 hospitalizations jumped 35% in the first two weeks of the month, Advocate Aurora Health continues nonessential surgery across a dozen hospitals. (Evans, 10/26)

AP: Sanford Health, Intermountain Agree To Merge Organizations
Sanford Health and Intermountain Healthcare said Monday they plan to merge companies. If the deal is approved, it would unite Salt Lake City-based Intermountain with operations in Utah, Nevada and Idaho, with Sioux Falls-based Sanford, which operates in 24 states. (10/26)

NPR: More And More Colleges Testing Student Poop For Coronavirus
Twice a week, mathematics professor Andrea Bruder squats in the sewage tunnels below South Hall, a mostly freshman dorm at Colorado College. She wears head-to-toe protective gear and holds a plastic ladle in one hand and a to-go coffee cup in the other. Bruder hovers above an opening in a large metal pipe and patiently waits for a student to flush. That flush will flood the pipes with just enough water to carry human waste down to her ladle, then to her coffee cup and eventually to a lab for processing. (Nadworny, 10/26)

USA Today: Los Angeles Lakers Title Run May Have Contributed To COVID-19 Surge
The Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Finals coincided with a spike in COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, and it’s "highly likely" watch parties held by Lakers fans and the victory celebration outside of Staples Center contributed to the spike, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said.  That has fueled concerns of another potential spike in COVID-19 transmission rates because the Los Angeles Dodgers are one victory away from winning their first World Series title in 32 years. (Peter, 10/26)

The Hill: Fox News Directs Some Employees To Work Remotely Following Multiple COVID-19 Cases 
Fox News executives told employees on Monday that some would be directed to work from home over the next week in response to several cases of COVID-19 confirmed at the network. A companywide memo provided to The Hill notified employees of "recent developments of a few positive COVID-19 cases at Fox News Media," and stated that some employees working at the company's headquarters in midtown Manhattan would work virtually. (Bowden, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: Why The Time Change Is Trickier When Working From Home 
After clocks turn back an hour Nov. 1, David K. Welsh, who works from home, plans a few changes. “I will make more of an effort to see daylight in the morning,” says Dr. Welsh, who studies the body’s internal clock as a professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego. His reasoning? Going outside to take advantage of the extra hour of sunlight earlier in the morning can boost alertness and help synchronize circadian rhythms. The first clock shift since the pandemic’s arrival in earnest in the U.S. is coming at 2 a.m. Nov. 1—and for those no longer working in offices, the effects could be more intense than usual. (Smith, 10/26)

The Wall Street Journal: How Covid-Safe Is Dining In A Restaurant’s Outdoor Tent? 
As restaurants try to keep business afloat, many are putting up exterior structures for patrons. But dining tents and other temporary outdoor setups offer a false sense of security and pose just as many risks as indoor eating, professors say. Poor air circulation, proximity to other unmasked diners and time in a poorly ventilated enclosed outdoor space can heighten Covid risks. On the other hand, the transmission risk is higher inside a restaurant than in outdoor structures that are heated yet partially open, or in separate igloos for patrons. (Dizik, 10/26)

Politico: ‘It’s A Desperate Moment’: Newark Mayor Imposes New Covid Restrictions As Cases Surge
New Jersey’s largest city is starting to wind back the clock on its economic reopening, the clearest indication yet the Garden State’s recovery from the pandemic’s first wave is at risk of regressing. “We have to do whatever we need to do to drop those numbers now,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said during a press conference Monday afternoon. “It seems desperate but it’s a desperate moment. We got through this before, so we'll get through it again.” (Sutton, 10/26)

The New York Times: Silverado Fire In Irvine Prompts Thousands Of Californians To Evacuate 
Two firefighters were gravely injured and tens of thousands of Californians were forced to flee their homes on Monday as two new fires ripped through Orange County. About 90,800 residents in Irvine were put under mandatory evacuation orders because of the Silverado Fire and the smaller Blue Ridge Fire, said Shane Sherwood, a division chief for the Orange County Fire Authority. High winds and low humidity fueled the fires’ rapid growth. (Facio-Krajcer, Wright and Diaz, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Boston Ballot Box Burned; Man Arrested And Charged, Police Say 
Worldy Armand, 39, was taken into custody after officers on patrol in the area concluded that he matched the description of the suspect, according to Boston police. Armand, who had an active arrest warrant for receiving stolen property, will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court for willful and malicious burning, police said. (Elfrink and Villegas, 10/26)

The Washington Post: Women Testify Of Trust Placed In Gynecologist Who Prosecutors Say Performed Unnecessary Procedures 
Over nearly 15 years, M.C., as she was identified in court, had annual checkups with Javaid Perwaiz, the obstetrician/gynecologist on federal trial on fraud charges. Again and again, she left with a date for surgery. She first came under his care in 2006 when she was 42, an immigrant from South Korea with a seventh-grade education and a limited understanding of English. (Morrison, 10/26)

Fox News: Listeria Outbreak In Deli Meats Linked To Hospitalizations, 1 Death
A recent rash of illnesses involving contaminated deli meats has resulted in at least 10 hospitalizations and one death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The health agency said that 10 infected adults had been hospitalized as of Oct. 22 after ingesting listeria bacteria in New York, Florida and Massachusetts. The death involved a patient in Florida. (Rivas, 10/26)