First Edition: Aug. 26, 2020
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Two Navajo Sisters Who Were Inseparable Died Of COVID Just Weeks Apart
Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were almost joined at the hip. The sisters, both members of the Navajo Nation, shared an office at Arizona’s Tuba City Regional Health Care. Cheryl conducted reviews to make sure patients were receiving adequate care. Corrina was a social worker. Their desks were just inches apart. They lived together, with their mother, Mary Thinn. They helped raise each other’s children. And they died just weeks apart, at ages 40 and 44, after falling ill with COVID-19. (Dobnow, 8/26)
Kaiser Health News and The Guardian:
Many People Of Color, Immigrants Among 1,080 US Health Workers Lost To COVID
More than 1,000 front-line health care workers reportedly have died of COVID-19, according to Lost on the Frontline, an ongoing investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track and memorialize every U.S. health care worker who dies from the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the organizations published a major interactive database. It is the most comprehensive accounting of U.S. health care workers’ deaths in the country. (Renwick and Dubnow, 8/26)
Kaiser Health News:
Prognosis For Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic
Jerome Antone said he is one of the lucky ones. After becoming ill with COVID-19, Antone was hospitalized only 65 miles away from his small Alabama town. He is the mayor of Georgiana — population 1,700. “It hit our rural community so rabid,” Antone said. The town’s hospital closed last year. If hospitals in nearby communities don’t have beds available, “you may have to go four or five hours away.” (Tribble, 8/26)
Kaiser Health News:
LA Hospital Seeks Vaccine Trial Participants Among Its Own High-Risk Patients
The patients at Dr. Eric Daar’s hospital are at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19, and he’s determined to make sure they’re part of the effort to fight the disease. He also hopes they can protect themselves in the process. (Allen, 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)
The Wall Street Journal:
New U.S. Coronavirus Cases Tick Up For Second Straight Day
New coronavirus infections rose slightly in the U.S. for the second day but remained lower than in recent weeks, while Illinois faced a surge in Covid-19 driven by rural areas. The country reported about 38,200 new cases on Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, up a few hundred from Monday but still an improvement from last week, when cases topped 40,000 most days and neared 50,000 on some. (Mendell, 8/26)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Surge In Illinois Is Inflamed By Rural Counties
As new coronavirus cases continue to decline nationally, health officials and business leaders in rural parts of Illinois are raising alarms about rising infection rates that are fueling a steady increase in positive cases statewide. In the past two weeks, eight of the 10 counties in Illinois with the fastest rates of new Covid-19 cases per capita were in smaller nonmetropolitan counties across the state, compared with two metro counties, according to an analysis of data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. (Maher, 8/25)
The New York Times:
New Virus Hot Spots: U.S. Islands From Hawaii To Puerto Rico
The U.S. Virgin Islands is halting tourism for a month, hoping against hope to keep out new cases of the coronavirus. Puerto Rico’s Senate is closed after several high-ranking officials came down with Covid-19. Hawaii is facing a surge in new infections. Guam is enduring its most restrictive lockdown since the pandemic began. For months, United States islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific avoided much of the agony unleashed by the coronavirus across parts of the mainland, due in part to their early mitigation efforts and relative ease in sealing off borders. (Romero and Mazzei, 8/25)
The New York Times:
Melania Trump’s Unique Role At The R.N.C.: Expressing Sympathy On The Virus
Speaking directly to Americans who had lost a loved one to the virus, Mrs. Trump told them, “you are not alone.” She acknowledged that “the invisible enemy swept across our beautiful country and impacted all of us.” The tone of her remarks stood in contrast to her husband’s insistence on defending his own handling of the government response and pinning the blame on China, and only ever mentioning the lives lost as an afterthought. (Karni, Rogers and Haberman, 8/25)
Reuters:
Melania Trump Offers Sympathy On Coronavirus, Racial Suffering In Convention Speech
Trump’s wife acknowledged the pain of the pandemic in sharp contrast to most other speakers at the party’s national convention, notably her husband, assailed by Democrats for his lack of solace during a U.S. health crisis that has killed more than 178,000 people. “I want to acknowledge the fact that since March, our lives have changed drastically,” Melania Trump told a crowd seated in the White House Rose Garden, the president in the front row. (Whitesides and Mason, 8/25)
AP:
Melania Trump Tells Virus Sufferers They’re ‘Not Alone’
Melania Trump went there. While others at the Republican National Convention spoke about the coronavirus largely as a challenge successfully conquered, the first lady on Tuesday night used her address from the Rose Garden to acknowledge the pain of lives lost and families upended by the pandemic. “I want you to know you are not alone,” she said to the tens of thousands of families that have been affected. More than 177,000 Americans have been killed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. (8/26)
The Washington Post:
Trump Uses Republican Convention To Try To Rewrite Coronavirus History, Casting Himself As Lifesaving Hero
Faced with a pandemic that has killed more than 175,000 Americans, President Trump used glitzy video and misleading testimonials to spin a tale of heroism and resolve far removed from the grim reality of a country in the throes of an uncontrolled public health crisis. At the Republican National Convention on Monday, Trump was hailed as a bold and lifesaving leader who “was right” on the novel coronavirus while Democrats, doctors and pundits were wrong from the beginning. One campaign-style video that aired during the convention hailed Trump as the “one leader” who stood up to the virus while quoting Democratic figures who played down the severity of the virus in its early stages. (Olorunnipa, 8/26)
Politico:
GOP Touts Trump As Abortion Foe Amid Graphic Accounts
Republicans showcased President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion achievements and offered a graphic account of the procedure on Tuesday as they sought to mobilize their base of religious conservatives amid signs of wavering support. During the second night of the Republican National Convention, they also held out Trump’s appointment of conservative judges and called Joe Biden and the Democrats extremists on the issue. (Miranda Ollstein, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Natalie Harp Said Trump Saved Her Life. Experts Doubt That’s True.
Under the bright lights of the Republican National Convention on Monday night, California entrepreneur Natalie Harp said President Trump literally saved her life. “When I failed the chemotherapies that were on the market, no one wanted me in their clinical trials,” Harp said in an emotional address. “They didn’t give me the right to try experimental treatments, Mr. President. You did, and without you, I’d have died waiting for them to be approved.” But experts cast doubt on that story: They point out that Harp’s description of the treatment she received and her timeline for receiving it make it unlikely Trump had any effect on her case. (Wan, 8/25)
The Hill:
Trump Administration To Require Nursing Homes Test Staff For COVID-19
The new requirement, issued Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and effective immediately, comes about six months after the virus began circulating in American nursing homes, killing tens of thousands of mostly elderly residents and sickening hundreds of thousands more. (Hellmann, 8/25)
AP:
New COVID-19 Mandates On Health Care Facilities Get Pushback
Threatening fines and funding cut-offs, the Trump administration on Tuesday issued new COVID-19 requirements for nursing homes and hospitals, prompting immediate pushback from beleaguered industries. To check the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it will require facilities to test staff regularly or face fines. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/26)
The Washington Post:
CMS Requires Covid-19 Testing Of All Nursing Home Staff
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will for the first time require the regular testing of nursing home staff for the novel coronavirus, the agency’s administrator said Tuesday. Until now, such testing has only been recommended by federal authorities, in part because the slow turnaround time in getting results has seriously hampered its usefulness. But employees are thought to have played a major role in inadvertently introducing the virus to nursing homes and spreading it among residents, more than 40,000 of whom have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, since March. (Englund, 8/25)
AP:
Ventilation Study Finds No Pattern In Nursing Home Outbreaks
A review of nursing homes that experienced coronavirus outbreaks found no correlation between their ventilation systems and how the virus spread through the facilities, the state health commissioner said Tuesday. The state hired outside investigators to review ventilation at 28 long-term care facilities, including the hourly air exchange rate and how often filters were replaced. The systems varied widely in age and design, but the results showed no patterns in terms of the virus, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette. (Ramer, 8/25)
AP:
FDA Chief Apologizes For Overstating Plasma Effect On Virus
Responding to an outcry from medical experts, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma. Scientists and medical experts have been pushing back against the claims about the treatment since President Donald Trump’s announcement on Sunday that the FDA had decided to issue emergency authorization for convalescent plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in disease-fighting antibodies. (Perrone and Riechmann, 8/25)
The Hill:
Navarro: Experts Call For Randomized Plasma Trials A 'Crazy Talking Point'
Peter Navarro--a White House trade adviser--said that calls for randomized control trials of the convalescent plasma treatments is a “crazy talking point.” Some experts say it should be studied further in randomized clinical trials before widespread use. “I don’t accept that premise. To me that’s a crazy talking point,” the White House economist told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. (Moreno, 8/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
Science Behind Convalescent Plasma For Covid-19 Is Clouded By Politics In FDA Authorization
Scientists who weren’t involved in the recent convalescent plasma studies agreed that there is a case to be made in support of the FDA decision. What’s been missing is an open discussion about the pros and cons of the emergency authorization and its consequences, said Joshua Sharfstein, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former senior FDA official who was involved with EUAs during the swine flu outbreak in 2009. (Marcus and Burton, 8/25)
The New York Times:
Airline Job Cuts Could Pressure Congress And Trump On Stimulus
American Airlines warned employees on Tuesday that it would cut up to 19,000 workers on Oct. 1, saying that there was little sign that the pandemic-induced reluctance to travel was diminishing. While weak demand is spurring these announcements, the airlines are also seeking to put pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to strike a deal on another coronavirus stimulus package. Passenger airlines received $25 billion to help pay workers under a March legislative package, with American alone receiving $5.8 billion. (Chokshi and Casselman, 8/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Attorney General Sues To Stop Changes At Postal Service
The New York attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block the Trump administration from disrupting the operations of the U.S. Postal Service, joining other Democratic-led states and lawmakers in pressuring the federal agency to maintain services ahead of the November election. The suit, which names President Trump, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the Postal Service as defendants, follows changes made by Mr. DeJoy at the struggling agency that postal-union representatives and customers have said substantially slowed mail delivery around the country. (Paul, 8/25)
The Hill:
Less Than Half Say They Trust Trump, Biden On Coronavirus Info: Poll
Less than half of Americans say they trust coronavirus information from either President Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, although more trust Biden, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll. Forty-six percent of respondents said they trust Biden on the issue compared to 31 percent who said they trust Trump. A sharp partisan divide exists for both candidates. (Budryk, 8/25)
The New York Times:
C.D.C. Changes Testing Guidance To Exclude People Without Covid-19 Symptoms, Worrying Experts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly modified its coronavirus testing guidelines this week to exclude people who do not have symptoms of Covid-19 — even if they have been recently exposed to the virus. Experts questioned the revision, pointing to the importance of identifying infections in the brief window immediately before the onset of symptoms, when many individuals are thought to be most contagious. (8/25)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Live Updates: CDC Suggests Not All Close Contacts Need To Get Tested After Exposure, Alarming Experts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance for coronavirus testing this week and now says that many people who have been exposed to the virus by being in close contact with someone who later tested positive “do not necessarily need a test” if they are not experiencing symptoms. Experts are expressing concern about the change, noting that people without symptoms are responsible for a large share of transmissions. (Noori Farzan, 8/26)
The Washington Post:
Elizabeth Warren, Others Seek Details Of Warp Speed Co-Chief Moncef Slaoui’s Contract
Democrats on Capitol Hill have asked an Alexandria consulting company for details about an unusual contract that has allowed the chief scientific adviser to President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to maintain personal investments and avoid making ethics disclosures of his holdings in pharmaceutical companies. In a letter Monday to Advanced Decision Vectors, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and two other lawmakers are asking the firm to explain its role in providing drug company executive Moncef Slaoui’s services as the chief coronavirus vaccine adviser to the Trump administration for $1. (Rowland, 8/25)
AP:
MARCUS Alert Bill Progresses Out Of House Committee
A bill that could reshape how law enforcement responds when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis reported out of the House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 13-9. House Bill 5043, introduced by Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, would create teams of mental health service providers, peer recovery specialists and law enforcement to help individuals in a crisis situation. Formally dubbed the mental health awareness response and community understanding services, or MARCUS, alert system, the proposal is in response to ongoing demands of protesters in Richmond. (Ringle, 8/25)
Reuters:
U.S. Rejects U.N. Rights Panel Upholding Access To Abortions During Pandemic
The United States on Wednesday hit back at a U.N. women’s rights panel that said some U.S. states limited access to abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic, rejecting its interference and the notion of “an assumed right to abortion.” “The United States is disappointed by and categorically rejects this transparent attempt to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to assert the existence of such a right,” the U.S. mission in Geneva said in a release posted on Twitter. (Nebehay, 8/26)
Georgia Health News:
Health Experts’ Letter Slams Proposal That Can Bar Asylum-Seekers
Dozens of health experts in Georgia have signed a letter to federal officials protesting a Trump administration proposal that would place a new obstacle for some people seeking asylum in the United States. The rule aims to bar entry to some individuals based on the threat of spreading diseases. If adopted, it would add to the administration’s effort to tighten border control policies. (Miller, 8/24)
Politico:
Beleaguered Texas Republicans' Latest Threat: Coronavirus
Texas was already one of the nation’s most-watched battlefields this year. Then came the pandemic. Republicans and Democrats are brawling over a dozen House seats in the state's most expansive political landscape in recent memory — swing districts that also happen to encompass some of the worst-hit coronavirus hot spots in Texas. (Ferris and Zanona, 8/24)
The Washington Post:
Cities, States Fear They May Lose Critical FEMA Dollars For Coronavirus Response
City and state leaders expressed fears Tuesday that the Trump administration may cease reimbursing some of their purchases of masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment, a move they said could tear new holes in their budgets while threatening public health. The trouble stems from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically provides funds for disaster relief and has played a central role in the coronavirus pandemic. In calls throughout August, FEMA signaled that it may soon seek to rethink the criteria by which it doles out those dollars, troubling local governments, which say they are desperate for easy-to-access federal cash as the contagion continues to spread. (Romm and Werner, 8/25)
The Hill:
States Say FEMA May No Longer Pay For Protective Gear
State and local governments officials say the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has indicated it might no longer provide reimbursements for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies needed to fight COVID-19. FEMA reimburses state and local governments for 75 percent of the costs for PPE and disinfectants, but that arrangement may soon end, according to state and municipal leaders. (Hellmann, 8/25)
Stat:
Acadia Buys Pain Drug Maker, As It Seeks To Build On Psychosis Treatment
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is purchasing a small Texas startup, CerSci, for $52 million in order to acquire a pain drug in the early stages of development, the company said Tuesday. If the drug succeeds, CerSci could receive an additional $887 million in payments for hitting commercial and development milestones. (Herper, 8/25)
Stat:
STAT+ Conversations: 23andMe CEO Says Spit Kit Sales Are Picking Up During The Covid-19 Pandemic
Last year saw a significant slowdown for 23andMe’s spit kit sales — and while business has picked back up during the pandemic, sales still haven’t rebounded to the level they were at in 2018 or even 2019, the company’s CEO Anne Wojcicki told STAT. In January, 23andMe announced it was laying off 14% of employees — or roughly 100 workers — due to declining sales. The company said at the time that its restructuring would affect its consumer business. (Robbins, 8/25)
Stat:
Cardinal Health Accused Of Running 'Rent-A-Vet' Scheme To Win Contracts
The largest association of independent nuclear pharmacies in the U.S. is accusing Cardinal Health (CAH), a major pharmaceutical wholesaler, of using front companies to win government contracts that are usually set aside for small business owned by disabled military veterans. In a whistleblower lawsuit, United Pharmacy Partners alleged the wholesaler hid behind companies that were designated as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses to illegally avoid competitive bidding for government contracts to supply radiopharmaceuticals. (Silverman, 8/25)
Reuters:
Limited Legal Protection For COVID Vaccine Makers Hampers EU Deals
The European Union is offering only partial protection to vaccine makers against legal risks from side-effects of their potential COVID-19 shots, European officials said, in a move that is hampering deals and contrasts with U.S. policy. With vaccines being developed at record speed during the pandemic, there is potentially a greater risk they may have unexpected consequences or may not be effective. The financial coverage of these liabilities is a key feature of drugmakers’ talks with governments keen to secure vaccine shots in advance. (Guarascio, 8/26)
The Washington Post:
How A Single Superspreading Event Sent Coronavirus Across Massachusetts And The World
None of the biotech executives at the meeting noticed the uninvited guest. They had flown to Boston from across the globe for the annual leadership meeting of the drug company Biogen, and they were busy catching up with colleagues and hobnobbing with upper management. For two days they shook hands, kissed cheeks, passed each other the salad tongs at the hotel buffet, never realizing that one among their number carried the coronavirus in their lungs.By the meeting’s end on Feb. 27, the infection had infiltrated many more people: a research director, a photographer, the general manager for the company’s east division. They took the virus home with them to the Boston suburbs, Indiana and North Carolina, to Slovakia, Australia and Singapore. (Kaplan and Mooney, 8/25)
Boston Globe:
Biogen Conference Likely Led To 20,000 COVID-19 Cases In Boston Area, Researchers Say
An international meeting of Biogen leaders at a Boston hotel in February led to roughly 20,000 cases of COVID-19 in four Massachusetts counties by early May, far more than the 99 previously identified, according to three scientists involved in a new study. After examining nearly all the confirmed early cases of the illness in the area by changes in the genetic makeup of coronaviruses as they pass from one person to another, the researchers were able to assess the broader impact of the “super-spreading event” at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel. (Saltzman, 8/25)
NPR:
Why The Coronavirus Is So 'Superspready'
A person with a high viral load walks into a bar. That, according to researchers who study the novel coronavirus, is a recipe for a superspreading event — where one person or gathering leads to an unusually high number of new infections. And that kind of occurrence is increasingly considered a hallmark of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. "There are some really good estimates out there that suggest that between 10% and 20% of cases are responsible for about 80% of transmission events," said Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Program, at a press conference on Aug. 10. (Huang, 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)
Reuters:
Japan Researchers Say Ozone Effective In Neutralising Coronavirus
Japanese researchers said on Wednesday that low concentrations of ozone can neutralise coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas. Scientists at Fujita Health University told a news conference they had proven that ozone gas in concentrations of 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million (ppm), levels considered harmless to humans, could kill the virus. (Swift, 8/26)
CIDRAP:
12% Of Adults Hospitalized For Flu Have Acute Heart Problems, Study Finds
A study today in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows that acute cardiovascular events, including heart failure and ischemic heart disease, occur in almost 12% of adult patients hospitalized for influenza. The study was based on more than 80,000 US patients whose outcomes were tracked via the US Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network during the 2010-11 through 2017-18 flu seasons. (8/25)
CIDRAP:
Kids Represent 9.3% Of US COVID Cases But Few Serious Ones
In an update today on how the pandemic has affected US children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said about 9.3% of all COVID-19 patients so far are children, representing about 442,000 confirmed cases. The overall rate of pediatric infection is 583 cases per 100,000 children in the population.Though officials confirmed 74,160 new child cases in the second and third week of August, resulting in a 21% increase in child cases over 2 weeks, hospitalizations and fatalities among children are still rare, the AAP said. (Soucheray, 8/25)
CIDRAP:
COVID-19 Spread Noted In 'Healthy' Concertgoers 2 Days After Infection
Seemingly healthy people with COVID-19 can spread the disease to others as soon as 2 days after infection, an analysis of a coronavirus cluster traced to four live music clubs in Osaka, Japan, shows. The study, published today in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, extracted data on club-goers linked to an 108-person cluster from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website. The first case in the cluster was identified on Feb 27, and the outbreak was contained by Mar 17. (8/25)
CIDRAP:
Study Identifies Sex Differences In Levels Of Antibodies Against COVID-19
Concentrations of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 began to decline 4 to 5 weeks after diagnosis in 159 patients who recovered from COVID-19, with men showing a significantly stronger immune response than women—which could account for the poorer outcomes seen in men, according to a Swiss study published yesterday in the Journal of Infection. Researchers analyzed participants' antibody concentrations for 8 weeks, starting 2 weeks after a positive coronavirus test result. After a median of 5 weeks after diagnosis, 4.6% to 6.5% of participants had not developed measurable levels of one of three types of coronavirus antibodies, which the investigators said may be due to a missing or delayed immune response to COVID-19. "We speculate this to be secondary to a suspected virus' ability to modify or suppress innate immune responses," they wrote. (8/25)
The New York Times:
Three People Shot, Two Fatally, On Third Night Of Unrest In Kenosha, Wis.
Three people were shot early Wednesday, and two of them died, law enforcement officials said, during a chaotic night of demonstrations over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black resident whose children were nearby as their father was shot this week by a white police officer. In Kenosha, a third night of protests over the shooting of Mr. Blake stretched into the early morning hours of Wednesday, after demonstrators clashed with law enforcement officials near the county courthouse downtown. (Bosman, 8/26)
NPR:
'Going To Take A Miracle' For Man Shot By Police To Walk Again, Lawyer Says
Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot multiple times at close range by police in Kenosha, Wis., over the weekend, is currently paralyzed from the waist down, according to the family's attorney. "Praying it's not permanent," civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump tweeted Tuesday afternoon. (Booker, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
University Of Alabama, Other Colleges Struggle With Coronavirus Outbreaks
More than 500 cases at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Nearly 160 at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Dozens at the University of Southern California. Colleges and universities that brought students back to campus are expressing alarm about coronavirus infections emerging as classes have barely started, raising the possibility everyone could be sent home. (Knowles, 8/25)
NPR:
University Of Alabama Reports More Than 560 New COVID-19 Cases In 1st Week
The University of Alabama is reporting more than 560 new cases of COVID-19 across its three campuses and medical center less than a week after starting classes. According to data from a university dashboard, students, staff and faculty at the university's main campus, Tuscaloosa, account for 531 of the total confirmed cases since Aug. 19. "The rise we've seen in recent days is unacceptable, and if unchecked, threatens our ability to complete the rest of the semester on campus," University of Alabama President Stuart Bell said at a press conference Monday. "Now is the time for action." (Treisman, 8/25)
NPR:
More Than 200 Ohio State University Students Suspended For Violating Pandemic Rules
Even before fall classes began on Tuesday, The Ohio State University temporarily suspended more than 200 students for violating COVID-19 safety protocols. Member station WOSU was one of several outlets to report that school officials had issued 228 interim suspensions tied to off-campus parties. (Treisman, 8/25)
AP:
Judge Refuses To Close California School Classrooms
A judge on Tuesday refused to immediately order classrooms closed at a private school in California’s Central Valley that has defied state and local health orders aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Immanuel Schools in Reedly reopened its campus on Aug. 13. News reports showed students without masks and not practicing social distancing. (8/26)
The Hill:
Political Divide Looms Over Sending Kids To School: Poll
As President Trump and the White House push for schools to resume full in-person classes this fall, Democrats are more concerned than Republicans about the prospect of their children returning to school or infecting family members. Democrats are also less likely to say teachers should return to in-person work, according to an Aug. 4-8 Morning Consult-The New York Times poll of 1,081 parents. The poll reported a 3 point margin of error. (Budryk, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
With Hurricane Laura Threatening Gulf Coast, Southeast Texas And Southwest Louisiana Officials Urge Residents To Flee
Officials across eastern Texas and western Louisiana issued mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday as Hurricane Laura strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to pummel the U.S. coastline, perhaps as the strongest storm to take aim at the region since 2005. ... Though evacuations were mandatory, not everyone planned to leave, part of a complex web of decisions that face people of all kinds during the coronavirus pandemic. Some have concerns about the virus and its potential spread in shelters, while others simply don’t want to leave their homes behind.(Martin and Cusick, 8/25)
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)
The Hill:
CDC Warns Employees Not To Argue With Anti-Mask Customers
Retail and service industry workers should not argue with anti-maskers, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As part of new guidance for workplace safety, the agency said employees should not attempt to force customers to follow COVID-19 prevention policies if the customers appear to be upset or violent. "Don't argue with a customer if they make threats or become violent," the CDC said. (Weixel, 8/25)
The Hill:
Positive Drug Tests For Employees Hit 16-Year High As Marijuana Legalization Expands: Report
As recreational marijuana legalization has expanded to 11 states plus the District of Columbia, positive workplace drug tests have reportedly climbed to a 16-year high. Positive test rates rose nearly 4.5 percent for the U.S. workforce in 2019, according to one of the largest drug-testing laboratories Quest Diagnostics, which sampled 9 million tests last year for employers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. (Deese, 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)
AP:
The Latest: Hawaii’s Oahu Returns To Stay-At-Home Order
Hawaii’s most populous island is returning to a stay-at-home order while officials strive to conduct 70,000 COVID-19 tests in two weeks. Oahu has seen a surge in daily positive cases. The federal government will help officials test 5,000 people daily for two weeks. (8/26)