Different Takes: Lessons On Values Of A National Testing Plan; Science-Based Strategies For Keeping Schools Open

Stat: The U.S. Needs A National Covid-19 Testing Strategy 
Widespread and accessible testing is an essential component of our nation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet while testing continues to expand across the U.S., with nearly 90 million tests administered to date, the lack of a national Covid-19 testing strategy is standing in the way of the government’s oft-repeated promise that “anyone who wants a test can get a test.” The Trump administration’s decision to shift the responsibility for managing Covid-19 testing to the states has led to a patchwork system with critical issues, including supply chain and logistical challenges, lack of reimbursement, and disparities in which populations should be tested. (Craig Brammer and Tim Elwell, 10/1)

The Washington Post: We Run Cornell. Here’s How We’ve Kept Low Covid-19 Rates On Campus.
At Cornell, science informed our decision to invite students back to campus this fall. Our epidemiological models showed us that by opening our doors for instruction and implementing robust pooled testing and contact tracing programs, we could keep our infection rate lower than if we were strictly online, knowing that many of our students would return to our area anyway. At least so far, the situation on our campus is in hand. We have had an extraordinarily low rate of infection: just 10 cases in all over the past two weeks within our campus community of about 9,000 faculty and staff, and about 19,000 students (out of our normal enrollment of 25,000). Since the beginning of classes at the start of September, we have had fewer than 100 cases in total. And we are not alone. Several peers, including Boston University, Duke University, Colby College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are also managing to keep infection rates low. (Martha E. Pollack and Michael I. Kotlikoff, 9/30)

The Scientist: Scientists Must Battle The Disinformation Pandemic
As COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the world, scientists are making unparalleled, heroic strides to discover the virus’s biology and vulnerabilities. We have learned far more about SARS-CoV-2 than we knew about any pandemic-sparking pathogen in human history within a year of its emergence, and experts are working tirelessly to publicly share this information. These efforts should be bolstered and carefully considered by federal governments to save lives and stem the tide of contagion. In the US, however, the Trump administration has censored scientists, diminished the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s role in leading the pandemic response, politicized tracking and storage of health data, and attempted to undermine the credibility of its own researchers. (Genna Reed, 10/1)

The New York Times: Considering A Coronavirus Divorce? You’re In Good Company 
One of the few good things about a deadly pandemic is that if you are a person who enjoys talking on the phone, as I am, you will now have lots of time to do this, far more time than you did during regular life. When I was a teenager, it was always a challenge to find the time and space for phone calls. Somehow my parents always seemed to have something important to do in the room where I was talking. After I got married, my husband would get annoyed by my phone talking. So it’s only recently that I find myself talking on the phone as much as I want, in part because of Covid-19 and in part because, shortly after our lockdown began, my husband, Pete, moved across the street and we began the process of divorce. (Kim Brooks, 10/1)

CNN: Back To Normal: Why We Must Accept It Won't Happen 
As 2020 slides into and probably infects 2021, try to take heart in one discomfiting fact: Things are most likely never going "back to normal." It has become a well-worn phrase our politicians, officials, experts, even family, like to lean on — an ultimate, elusive prize. Perhaps it's nostalgia for the world of January, a place where daily life more closely resembled our past decades. Perhaps it's a bid to show control, to revert to a time when change was not so universally imposed upon us. (Nick Paton Walsh, 9/30)

The Wall Street Journal: Leave No Country Behind In The Post-Covid Recovery
Developing economies face a decade of stagnation. Their plight poses dangers for the U.S. and the world. During the global financial crisis a decade ago, emerging markets supplied a supportive engine of growth. This time they might throw recovery into reverse. For months, Covid-19 spread slowly in the developing world. Now about 70% of new cases plague poorer countries, and that’s surely an undercount. Developing countries struggle with weak public-health systems and have a hard time implementing social distancing and quarantines. Many people lack basic needs such as soap and water. The economics of the pandemic smashed emerging markets. Remittances fell. Tourists vanished. Exports, including of energy and commodities, tumbled. Governments have less money to help people. Deficits and debts jumped. Long-term foreign investments dropped. (Robert B. Zoellick, 9/30)

Modern Healthcare: Re-Envisioning Healthcare In The COVID-19 Era
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented disruption and poses a threat to long-standing revenue streams. And in the face of a recession to which healthcare was particularly vulnerable, it discovered new agility. Telehealth programs emerged in a matter of days, new programs were started to provide care outside hospital walls, and well-being programs emerged and expanded. Many organizations have viewed these interventions as bridging measures, set up to assist them in returning to their primary focus: elective visits and procedures. (Dan Marchalik and Meena Seshamani, 9/30)