Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
All 11 Million Wuhan Residents To Be Tested Over Next Week After New Cases Reported In Virus Epicenter
Reuters: China's Wuhan Plans City-Wide Testing For Coronavirus Over Period Of 10 Days: Sources
The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, plans to conduct city-wide nucleic acid testing over a period of 10 days, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and two sources familiar with the situation. Every district in the city has been told to submit a detailed testing plan by Tuesday for their respective area, the document showed. (5/11)
The Washington Post: After Six New Cases, Wuhan Plans To Test All 11 Million Residents For Coronavirus
The all-encompassing mission — announced Monday and paid for by district governments — contrasts with shortages of testing kits in some other countries, including the United States, where people have complained about not being able to get a test despite having coronavirus symptoms. But the scope of the endeavor underscores official sensitivities about any new flare-up in Wuhan, where the virus emerged in a market late last year. It comes after officials reported six new coronavirus cases in two days, confounding health experts after a 35-day streak without infections. (Fifield, 5/12)
The Associated Press: Doctors And Nurses Suffered As Iran Ignored Virus Concerns
They are regarded as heroes, their fallen colleagues as martyrs. But for doctors and nurses still dealing with Iran’s growing number of coronavirus infections, such praise rings hollow. While crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. government left the country ill-equipped to deal with the fast-moving virus, some medical professionals say government and religious leaders bear the brunt of the blame for allowing the virus to spread -- and for hiding how much it had spread. (Michael, 5/12)
The Associated Press: 'Express Burials' Cast Doubt On Nicaragua's Virus Figures
Roger Ordoñez was hospitalized with breathing problems last week. When his son Enrique came to visit the next morning, the 69-year-old retiree was already being buried by government workers in protective white full-body suits in a cemetery on the outskirts of Chinandega, a city of 133,000 people in northwest Nicaragua. (Selser, 5/12)
Politico: Europe Fears Coronavirus Second Wave
Europeans fed up with lockdowns and dreaming of a beach vacation hold the key to how big the next wave of coronavirus infections will be. For experts, the question isn't whether this wave will come, but how citizens and governments can be better prepared than the first time around. (Paun, 5/12)
Reuters: South Korea Investigators Comb Digital Data To Trace Club Coronavirus Cluster
South Korean authorities were combing through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage on Tuesday to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital’s biggest novel coronavirus clusters. (Cha and Smith, 5/12)
The Washington Post: Tracing South Korea’s Latest Virus Outbreak Shoves LGBTQ Community Into Unwelcome Spotlight
The infection tally from the Itaewon clubs and bars is expected to grow as officials track down thousands of visitors there during the holiday week. What complicates this search is that many among those clubgoers may not want to be identified because of the stigma attached to the Itaewon establishments catering to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer clientele. (Kim, 5/11)
The Associated Press: As Nations Reopen, Warning Emerges About Virus Tracing Voids
A top world health official Monday warned that countries are essentially driving blind in reopening their economies without setting up strong contact tracing to beat back flare-ups of the coronavirus. The warning came as France and Belgium emerged from lockdowns, the Netherlands sent children back to school, and many U.S. states pressed ahead by lifting business restrictions. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the company’s 10,000-worker electric car factory near San Francisco was operating Monday in defiance of coronavirus health orders that closed nonessential businesses. (Mustian, Cassidy and Hinnant, 5/12)
The Washington Post: In India's Dharavi Slum, Coronavirus Fight Has Turned Into Struggle To Survive
They did the best they could — a family of seven crammed into a single room in one of Asia’s largest slums — but a month after India imposed a nationwide lockdown, the money ran out. Ejaz Ahmed Chowdhary turned to his 11-year-old nephew and opened the red plastic box that contained the boy’s childhood savings: $10. It would buy food for another week. After that, there would be nothing. (Slater, Masih and Parth M.N., 5/110
