Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
COVID-19 Cases Rising Across Globe As Nations Ease Lockdowns
Reuters: Coronavirus Cases Soar In Big Countries, Especially Brazil, WHO Says
Coronavirus cases are soaring in several major countries at the same time, with “worrying increases” in Latin America, especially Brazil, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. The world recorded more than 183,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the most in a single day since the outbreak started in December, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. (Nebehay and Revill, 6/22)
CIDRAP: Global COVID-19 Total Quickly Tops 9 Million
Fueled by surges in countries with large populations such as Brazil, the United States, and India, the global COVID-19 total jumped to 9 million cases today, as the world registered its highest 1-day total of 183,000 cases. It only took 6 days for the pandemic total to rise from 8 million to 9 million cases, 2 days less than it took for the number to rise from 7 million to 8 million. The total now stands at 9,015,582, and 469,378 people have died from their infections, according to the Johns Hopkins online dashboard. (Schnirring, 6/22)
The Associated Press: Virus Numbers Surge Globally As Many Nations Ease Lockdowns
The number of global coronavirus cases continued to surge Tuesday in many large countries that have been lifting lockdowns, including the U.S., even as new infections stabilized or dropped in parts of Western Europe. India has been recording about 15,000 new infections each day, and some states Tuesday were considering fresh lockdown measures to try to halt the spread of the virus in the nation of more than 1.3 billion. The government earlier lifted a nationwide lockdown in a bid to restart the ailing economy, which has shed millions of jobs. (Perry, 6/23)
The Washington Post: Experts Abroad Watch U.S. Coronavirus Case Numbers With Alarm
As coronavirus cases surge in the U.S. South and West, health experts in countries with falling case numbers are watching with a growing sense of alarm and disbelief, with many wondering why virus-stricken U.S. states continue to reopen and why the advice of scientists is often ignored. “It really does feel like the U.S. has given up,” said Siouxsie Wiles, an infectious-diseases specialist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand — a country that has confirmed only three new cases over the past three weeks and where citizens have now largely returned to their pre-coronavirus routines. (Noack, 6/22)
The Hill: US COVID-19 Cases Rise, Marking Ugly Contrast With Europe
New U.S. coronavirus cases are rising again in a worrying new sign for the country’s outbreak. The number of new cases nationally climbed above 30,000 per day over the weekend, after having leveled off at around 20,000 per day for weeks. The new spike is even more striking given the contrast with major European countries that were hit hard by the virus but are now doing much better and have so far been able to keep new cases low. (Sullivan, 6/22)
NPR: Saudi Arabia Announces This Year's Hajj Will Be 'Very Limited'
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah cited the lack of an available vaccine and the risks of crowded gatherings. "This decision is taken to ensure Hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective while observing all preventative measures and the necessary social distancing protocols to protect human beings from the risks associated with this pandemic and in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings," the statement said. (Treisman, 6/22)
NPR: Barcelona Opera Reopens With An Audience Of Plants
When Barcelona's Liceu opera opened on Monday for its first concert since mid-March, it did so to a full house — of plants. The Gran Teatre del Liceu filled its 2,292 seats with plants for a performance by the UceLi Quartet, which it called a prelude to its 2020-2021 season. The string quartet serenaded its leafy audience with Giacomo Puccini's "Crisantemi," in a performance that was also made available to human listeners via livestream. (Treisman, 6/22)
NPR: Johnson & Johnson To Stop Selling 2 Lines Of Skin-Lightening Products Popular In Asia
Johnson & Johnson has announced it will discontinue two lines of skin-lightening products popular in Asia, making it one of the latest major companies to change business tactics seen as racist amid the global debate over racial inequality. "Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names or claims on our Neutrogrena and Clean & Clear dark spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement emailed to NPR. "This was never our intention – healthy skin is beautiful skin." (Westerman, 6/22)
The Washington Post: Britain Coronavirus: Can London's The Eagle Pub Survive Pandemic?
Michael Belben paces the wooden floor of The Eagle, trying to imagine pub life in a coronavirus world. Chairs are stacked in a dusty jumble. A box of blue latex gloves sits on a ledge. A worn, green leather sofa, a choice seat at Sunday brunch, has been shoved aside, under a window bearing a message in jaunty script: “We’ll Be Back!” Belben, gray hair flopping, is focused on making that happen. (Spolar, 6/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Train Drain: How Social Distancing Is Transforming Mass Transit
As coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted around the world with the reopening of economies, authorities face a new challenge: how to enforce social distancing and prevent new outbreaks while allowing more people to return to mass transit. Asian cities like Hong Kong and Seoul have decided against imposing strict social-distancing measures to facilitate a return to pre-pandemic passenger traffic. (Morenne and Ngo, 6/22)
The Washington Post: Two Meters? One Meter Plus? Social Distancing Rules Prompt Fierce Debate In U.K.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being asked to answer one of the most devilish questions of the pandemic: What's the difference between two meters and one meter of social distancing, for public health and for saving the economy? Or, asked another way, how much does it matter if restaurant diners or pub crawlers are required to be separated by six feet vs. three feet, more or less, with one meter being equal to 3.28084 feet? (Booth, 6/22)
The New York Times: Sweden Tries Out A New Status: Pariah State
Every summer for the past 13 years, fans of Nordic culture have gathered on the Norway side of the border with Sweden for the outdoor festival Allsang pa Grensen, which translates roughly to, “Singsong Along the Border.” But this summer, there will not be any Swedish singers in the live broadcast event, nor will there be any Swedish fans in the audience, singing and clapping along. This year, Swedes are forbidden to enter Norway. And Norway isn’t the only Scandinavian neighbor barring Swedes from visiting this summer. (Erdbrink, 6/22)
The Washington Post: Carnival Cruise Ship Nurses Delivered A Baby Girl — On A Plane
When a woman went into labor on an Emirates flight from London to Manila, there were two fellow passengers well equipped to help: nurses heading home from their jobs on a Carnival cruise ship.The drama unfolded Saturday at 37,000 feet, according to Carnival Cruise Line, when the unidentified expectant mother went into labor. It was not clear how far along she was in her pregnancy; Emirates did not immediately respond to questions about the birth Monday. (Sampson, 6/22)
