Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Urges Store Workers Not To Argue With People Who Aren't Wearing Masks
CNN: Don't Argue With Anti-Maskers, CDC Warns Stores
When in doubt, don't argue with anti-maskers. That's the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to retail and service employees. This week, the health agency issued new guidance to limit workplace violence that could be aimed at workers when enforcing their companies' Covid-19 safety procedures. (Goodwin, 8/25)
NPR: Kentucky Man Accused Of Breaking Canada's COVID-19 Rules Faces $569,000 Fine
A Kentucky man accused of breaking Canada's coronavirus rules — twice — could be forced to pay a $569,000 fine ($750,000 Canadian), spend up to six months in prison, or both. John Pennington of Walton, Ky., was initially fined $910 ($1,200 Canadian) on June 25 after an employee at a Banff hotel where he was staying suspected he was violating Alberta's coronavirus regulations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Tammy Keibel told NPR. (Raphelson, 8/25)
Stat: A Dilemma For 'Long-Haulers': Many Can't Prove They Had Covid-19
As the coronavirus pandemic rolls on, an unknown number of seemingly recovered patients are experiencing what is being called post-Covid syndrome — weeks or months of profound fatigue, fevers, problems with concentration and memory, dizzy spells, hair loss, and many other troubling symptoms. Among these “long-haulers,” as they have become known, a significant number face a very specific challenge: convincing others they had Covid-19 in the first place. (Tuller, 8/26)
Kaiser Health News: Feeling Anxious And Depressed? You’re Right At Home In California.
It’s official, California: COVID-19 has left us sick with worry and increasingly despondent. And our youngest adults — ages 18 to 29 — are feeling it worst. Weekly surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau from late April through late July offer a grim view of the toll the pandemic has taken on the nation’s mental health. By late July, more than 44% of California adult respondents reported levels of anxiety and gloom typically associated with diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, a stunning figure that rose through the summer months alongside the menacing spread of the coronavirus. (Reese, 8/26)
In developments from the travel industry —
The Washington Post: Princess Cruises, Cunard Cancel Sailings Into 2021
Princess Cruises announced Tuesday that it’s canceling sailings in early 2021 “due to limitations with border and port access.” The company also cited the “uncertainty of airline travel” as a reason for the cancellations, which will impact 29 sailings on two ships. The Carnival-owned cruise line made headlines earlier this year after hundreds of passengers became infected with the novel coronavirus on multiple ships. (McMahon, 8/25)
The Washington Post: MSC Cruises Denied Family Re-Embarkation When They Broke The ‘Social Bubble’
When the MSC Grandiosa set sail from Genoa, Italy, on Sunday — with only citizens of Europe’s Schengen-area countries and below its 70 percent capacity limit — it became the first ship in MSC’s fleet to return to cruising since spring coronavirus lockdowns halted cruising in Europe. But it wasn’t long before the cruise line’s stringent covid-19 guidelines were breached by a family on a shore excursion in Naples, which MSC says led to them denying those passengers reentry to the liner. “In line with our health and safety protocol, developed to ensure health and well-being of our guests, crew and the communities we visit, we had to deny re-embarkation to a family who broke from their shore excursion [Tuesday] while visiting Naples,” an MSC Cruises spokesperson said in an email. “By departing from the organized shore excursion, this family broke from the ‘social bubble’ created for them and all other guests, and therefore could not be permitted to re-board the ship.” (McMahon, 8/21)
