Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Calif. Security Guard Accused Of Killing Man Who Didn't Wear Mask
CNN: A California Security Guard Was Charged With Murder After Fighting With A Customer Over Face Mask Rules
A security guard at a Southern California market is charged with murder after allegedly fighting with a customer who wasn't wearing a face mask. Umeir Corniche Hawkins shot 50-year-old Jerry Lewis on July 5, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Prosecutors say the two men began arguing when Lewis entered the market without wearing a face mask. Lewis then left the market but when he returned the two fought again and Hawkins fatally shot him as he walked away, prosecutors said. (Selva, 7/9)
The Washington Post: Retail Workers Increasingly Being Drawn Into The Stressful Job Of Mask Enforcement
It’s been nearly a week since the city of Mobile, Ala., began requiring masks in public. But inside the discount store where Kae Palmer works, not much has changed. Most shoppers still come in without face coverings. Workers are quick to remove masks when they’re not on the sales floor. Palmer, who brings her own masks from home, worries about her health but doesn’t feel like there’s much she can do about it. Corporate guidance, she says, has been, “Just serve the customer and don’t talk about their lack of a mask.” (Bhattarai, 7/8)
Politico: New Jersey To Require Face Coverings While Outdoors
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that he will sign an executive order requiring residents and visitors to the state to wear face coverings while outdoors if they’re in a location where they can’t maintain at least six feet of separation, the latest effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. (Sutton, 7/8)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta Mayor Requires Face Masks In Public To Fight Coronavirus
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a mandate late Wednesday night requiring people in the city to wear masks in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a move that follows a number of other local governments that are openly defying Gov. Brian Kemp. So far, Kemp has encouraged the use of masks, but not required them, and has said local municipalities can not create stronger provisions than those that are in his emergency order. (Deere, Bluestein and Oliviero, 7/8)
The New York Times: Grave Shortages Of P.P.E. Gear Flare Again As Covid Cases Surge
As coronavirus cases surge across the country, hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices are facing a problem many had hoped would be resolved by now: a dire shortage of respirator masks, isolation gowns and disposable gloves that protect front-line medical workers from infection. (Jacobs, 7/8)
Houston Chronicle: How An Air Filter Made By University Of Houston Researchers Could Trap And Kill COVID-19 Germs
Catch and kill — that’s the mission of a new air filter designed to eliminate COVID-19 virus particles. Heated foam air filters created by University of Houston physics researchers and Medistar, a Houston real estate developer specializing in medical buildings, could be key to disinfecting heating and cooling systems of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, according to a peer-reviewed study in Materials Today Physics, a science journal. (Wu, 7/8)
Stateline: Factory Jobs Catch Bounce From PPE Manufacturing
As factories start bringing back workers laid off at the beginning of the pandemic, some are retooling to meet coronavirus-related demands. Designetics, a firm near Toledo, Ohio, that makes windshield coating systems, now has about half its 73 workers trained to make custom protective barriers to prevent coronavirus transmission. The switch started when a local hospital asked for a particular size barrier for ultrasound sessions with expectant mothers. Orders flowed in from grocery stores, restaurants and beauty salons. Even an Tucson, Arizona, art gallery ordered transparent barriers to keep its artwork visible. (Henderson, 7/9)
