First Edition: June 2, 2020

Kaiser Health News/The Guardian: Lost On The Frontline
A recreational aide who brought a "calming presence" to nursing home residents. An ER nurse who worked at his dream job. A radiology technician due to get married on June 27. These are some of the people just added to “Lost on the Frontline,” a special series from The Guardian and KHN that profiles health care workers who die of COVID-19. (6/2)

Kaiser Health News: Hiring A Diverse Army To Track COVID-19 Amid Reopening
As a contact tracer, Teresa Ayala-Castillo is sometimes asked whether herbal teas and Vicks VapoRub can treat COVID-19. These therapies aren’t exactly official health guidance, but Ayala-Castillo isn’t fazed. She listens and then suggests other ideas — like getting rest and drinking plenty of fluids. “I don’t want to call them old wives’ tales, but these remedies are things that I’m 100% familiar with because my mom used them on me,” said Ayala-Castillo, a bilingual first-generation Ecuadorian American who works for the city of Long Beach, California. (Heredia Rodriguez and Almendrala, 6/2)

Kaiser Health News: Pandemic Presents New Hurdles, And Hope, For People Struggling With Addiction
Before Philadelphia shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Ed had a routine: most mornings he would head to a nearby McDonald’s to brush his teeth, wash his face and — when he had the money — buy a cup of coffee. He would bounce between homeless shelters and try to get a shower. But since businesses closed and many shelters stopped taking new admissions, Ed has been mostly shut off from that routine.He’s still living on the streets. “I’ll be honest, I don’t really sleep too much,” said Ed, who’s 51 and struggling with addiction. “Every four or five days I get a couple hours.” (Feldman, 6/2)

Reuters: U.S. Health Experts, Officials Warn Protests May Add To Virus Spread
Public health experts and government officials, including New York’s governor, are warning that large street protests over racial inequities and excessive police force could worsen the spread of the novel coronavirus. The protests over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis last Monday, have spread to cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. (Humer, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Officials Fear U.S. Protests Will Spread Coronavirus; No New Cases For Spain
New York: Leaders in the state said they were concerned about a possible resurgence of coronavirus stemming from the protests, but acknowledged the significance of the demonstrations sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. “It’s very hard to say to people, when there’s such pain, such anger, that you say don’t come out because of the pandemic,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “For those who have made either presence felt, made their voices heard, the safest thing from this point is to stay home, obviously,” he added. “We don’t want people in close proximity to each other.” (Calfas and Rasmussen, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Concerns Mount As Protesters Pack L.A. Streets
Black communities continue to bear the brunt of the virus’ impact. The disease has devastated the lives of black people at a higher rate than most other races, accounting for a disproportionate number of deaths, and has placed an incredible economic toll on workers who have lost jobs and hours. It’s impossible not to connect this fact with the current protests and outrage, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday. She pointed to racism and unequal access to healthcare as a root case of the inequities that put a larger strain on minority communities, noting that the health issues in the black community can be attributed to a “lifetime of stress” connected with oppression and daily fears. “When I report each week that we have seen elevated numbers of black deaths in this county due to COVID-19, I am reporting on the consequences of these long-standing inequities,” she said. (Shalby, 6/1)

NPR: Anti-Racism Protests Versus COVID-19 Risk: 'I Wouldn't Weigh These Crises Separately'
Tens of thousands of people, masked and unmasked, have thronged the streets of Minneapolis, Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., and other cities in the week since George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. They are the largest public gatherings in the U.S. since the pandemic forced widespread shutdowns, and many local officials warned of a possible spike in new cases in one or two weeks. "Risk of transmission is lower in open spaces, but wherever there is a gathering there is still the risk of transmitting the virus," said Dr. Elaine Nsoesie, an assistant professor of global health at Boston University. (Chappell, 6/1)

Politico: Mass Protests Could Undo Hard-Won Progress In Pandemic
Mass protests over police brutality have shuttered coronavirus testing sites, complicated efforts to track people who have been exposed and set off fears among local officials that the unrest could spark fresh waves of virus infection. Testing sites in Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Illinois closed after violence broke out over the weekend, limiting cities’ ability to track the virus just as thousands of people participate in crowded demonstrations across the country. (Ollstein, Ehley, Goldberg and Lim, 6/1)

The Hill: Health Groups Call Police Brutality A Public Health Issue
Several leading health groups are speaking out against police brutality, calling it a public health issue that leads to poorer health outcomes for communities of color, especially during a pandemic. “Police brutality in the midst of public health crises is not crime-preventive — it creates demoralized conditions in an already strained time,” American Medical Association President Patrice Harris and Board Chair Jesse Ehrenfeld said in a statement. (Hellmann, 6/1)

Politico: Surgeon General: 'You Understand The Anger' 
There will likely be a new rash of coronavirus cases following widespread protests this weekend over racism and the death of George Floyd — but people’s concerns need to be heard, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said in an interview. “I remain concerned about the public health consequences both of individual and institutional racism [and] people out protesting in a way that is harmful to themselves and to their communities,” Adams said in a phone call. (Owermohle, 6/1)

The New York Times: Black Workers, Already Lagging, Face Big Economic Risks
The coronavirus recession has hit black Americans particularly hard, amplifying racial inequalities that may worsen as the economy begins what is expected to be a slow climb back to where it was before the crisis. Black Americans have been slightly more likely to lose jobs or income in the recession that took root as states locked down their economies. They are more worried about the financial toll from the virus than white Americans and have far fewer resources available to ride it out, given that they earn less money and have had less ability to build wealth. And they are dying at higher rates from the virus than whites. (Smialek and Tankersley, 6/1)

NPR: Protests Put Spotlight On Economic Divide, As Blacks Lag In Jobs, Homeownership
The death of a black man at the hands of white police officers has sparked days of civil unrest in the United States. Those sparks have landed in a tinderbox assembled over decades of economic inequality, now made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Minneapolis police officers initially confronted the man — George Floyd — on suspicion that he'd used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. The viral video of what followed captured an individual tragedy. But it's set against a backdrop of poverty and discrimination that have long colored relations between law enforcement and the African American community. (Horsley, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Black Female Mayors In Spotlight Amid Protests And Pandemic
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms captured the nation’s attention when she addressed the civil unrest occurring in her city after George Floyd’s death. “I am a mother to four black children in America, one of whom is 18 years old,” Bottoms said Friday in a rousing speech. “When I saw the murder of George Floyd, I hurt like a mother.” Bottoms and other black female mayors, including Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, are leading some of the nation’s largest cities during an unprecedented moment of challenge as protests against police brutality overlap with the coronavirus pandemic and an economic collapse. (Stafford, 6/2)

The New York Times: ‘We Need Help’: Coronavirus Fuels Racism Against Black Americans In China
Jeff Remmington, an American professional basketball player trying his hand in China, had already been through xenophobic hell: ostracized in Guangzhou, where he was once celebrated for his acrobatic dunks, denied service at a restaurant with his 4-year-old son because of his skin color, quarantined for two weeks, though he showed no signs of coronavirus infection, he said. But the breaking point came in May when he tried to find a new apartment. He had finally found a landlord who would rent to a “foreigner,” signed a lease, and was preparing to move when neighborhood officials stepped in. (Williamson and Wang, 6/2)

The Associated Press Fact Check: Trump’s Move To Quit WHO Cites Flawed Facts
President Donald Trump spread a number of false and misleading claims about the World Health Organization in announcing his decision to cut U.S. ties with the agency over the coronavirus epidemic. Trump last week said he would halt funding and a decades-long U.S. relationship with WHO, accusing it of being effectively controlled by China and misleading the world about the virus. The president referenced his May 18 letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that laid out specific allegations and demanded changes. (Yen, 6/2)

The Associated Press: China Delayed Releasing Coronavirus Info, Frustrating WHO
Throughout January, the World Health Organization publicly praised China for what it called a speedy response to the new coronavirus. It repeatedly thanked the Chinese government for sharing the genetic map of the virus “immediately,” and said its work and commitment to transparency were “very impressive, and beyond words.” But behind the scenes, it was a much different story, one of significant delays by China and considerable frustration among WHO officials over not getting the information they needed to fight the spread of the deadly virus, The Associated Press has found. (6/2)

NPR: WHO's Measured Response To Trump's Pledge To Sever Ties And Funds
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said he learned of President Trump's intentions of "terminating" the decades-long U.S. relationship with WHO through Trump's press briefing on Friday. "The U.S. government's and its people's contribution and generosity toward global health over many decades has been immense, and it has made a great difference in public health all around the world. It is WHO's wish for this collaboration to continue," Tedros said at a press conference Monday, offering no further comments when pressed. (Huang, 6/1)

CNN: Dr. Anthony Fauci Hasn't Spoken With Trump In Two Weeks 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the most prominent members of the White House coronavirus task force, said on Monday that he has not spoken to or met with President Donald Trump in two weeks. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added that that his contact with the President has become much less frequent. Their last interaction was May 18, when Trump invited Fauci to provide medical context during a teleconference with the nation's governors. The Task Force last met on May 28 and last held a White House press briefing on May 22. (Sciutto and LeBlanc, 6/1)

The New York Times: Republicans Fear Trump’s Criticism Of Mail Voting Will Hurt Them
President Trump has relentlessly attacked mail voting, calling it a free-for-all for cheating and a Democratic scheme to rig elections.None of the charges are true. But as eight states and the District of Columbia vote on Tuesday in the biggest Election Day since the coronavirus forced a pause in the primary calendar, it is clear that Mr. Trump’s message has sunk in deeply with Republicans, who have shunned mail ballots. Republican officials and strategists warned that if a wide partisan gap over mail voting continues in November, Republicans could be at a disadvantage, an unintended repercussion of the president’s fear-mongering about mail ballots that could hurt his party’s chances, including his own. (Gabriel, 6/2)

The Washington Post: As Trump Attacks Voting By Mail, GOP Builds 2020 Strategy Around Limiting Its Expansion
The strategy, embraced by Trump’s reelection campaign, the Republican National Committee and an array of independent conservative groups, reflects the recognition by both parties that voting rules could decide the outcome of the 2020 White House race amid the electoral challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Helping drive the effort is William Consovoy, a veteran Supreme Court litigator who also serves as one of Trump’s personal lawyers. Consovoy’s Virginia-based law firm is handling a battery of legal actions on behalf of the RNC, several state GOPs and an independent group called the Honest Election­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­s Project, which is connected to a Trump adviser. (Gardner, Boburg and Dawsey, 6/1)

The New York Times: What Pennsylvania’s ‘Dry Run’ Election Could Reveal About November
Every weekend since Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania issued a statewide stay-at-home order, on April 1, millions of cellphones across the commonwealth have buzzed with text messages from the state Democrats, checking on the status of voters’ mail-in ballots. During that period, state Republicans called two million phones around the state to try to mobilize support, and the Republican National Committee sent applications for mail-in ballots to thousands of targeted voters there. (Corasaniti, 6/2)

The Washington Post: In Pa., Officials Prepare For Coronavirus, Civil Unrest To Disrupt Tuesday Primary
Election officials across Pennsylvania are bracing for a chaotic day of voting in Tuesday’s primary, as the convergence of the coronavirus pandemic and protests over the death of George Floyd threaten to close in-person polling locations, even as thousands of voters who requested mail-in ballots still haven’t received them. In Philadelphia, city officials said they were working with police and other emergency personnel to prevent violence from disrupting voting. (Gardner, 6/1)

Politico: Mass Upheaval And Pandemic Spell Trouble For Tuesday's Mega-Primary
With widespread curfews keeping residents in their homes and some ballot-return locations shuttered, some voters could end up disenfranchised, voting rights activists warned. "We are particularly concerned about how the protests, and particularly the response to the protests, are going to affect voting," said Suzanne Almeida, the interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. She cited two particular stress points: curfews and an increased police presence. "If you look at the genesis of the protest that we saw over the weekend, it is police violence toward people of color," Almeida said. "Then asking people to walk through, or near, or around police or National Guard who are armed can feel dangerous. Particularly voters of color, but other voters as well." (Montellaro, 6/2)

The Associated Press: 'Hate Just Hides': Biden Vows To Take On Systematic Racism
Joe Biden vowed to address institutional racism in his first 100 days in office as he sought to elevate his voice Monday in the exploding national debate over racism and police brutality. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee offered emotional support and promised bold action during an in-person discussion with black leaders in Delaware and a subsequent virtual meeting with big-city mayors who are grappling with racial tensions and frustrated by a lack of federal support. (Jaffe, Peoples and Weissert, 6/2)

Politico: 'The Scar Is Apparent': Biden Links Coronavirus Pandemic To Push For Racial Justice
The pandemic, which in America has affected minorities at disproportionate rates, had helped expose “institutional cracks across the board,” Biden argued. In doing so, the former vice president suggested the pandemic may have helped prime a new set of voters for the kinds of systemic changes he and fellow Democrats have called for. Biden argued Monday that such inequities may have awakened Americans who had previously been indifferent or passive to the struggles of minorities in America. (Oprysko, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Nearly 26,000 COVID Deaths In Nursing Homes Spur Inspections
Nearly 26,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19, the government reported Monday, as federal officials demanded states carry out more inspections and vowed higher fines for facilities with poor infection control. The partial numbers released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are certain to go higher, as only about 80% of nursing homes have reported. Also, the federal data does not include assisted living facilities, which some states count in their coronavirus totals. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Choi, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Tally Identifies 26,000 Nursing-Home Deaths From Covid-19
The CMS rule that mandated the data collection, issued May 8, didn’t require nursing homes to report deaths and cases that occurred before early May. Also, assisted-living facilities, which aren’t regulated by CMS, didn’t have to submit any information, though they could do so voluntarily. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the agency believed that the “vast majority” of nursing homes had provided data from before May 8, though CMS said about 20% of the nation’s 15,400 nursing homes had not reported required data by May 24. Ms. Verma said CMS couldn’t require the facilities to report information from before the rule took effect. (Kamp and Wilde Mathews, 6/1)

NPR: Nearly 26,000 Nursing Home Residents Have Died From COVID-19, Federal Data Show
CMS also announced Monday that it will be stepping up fines for nursing homes that fail to sufficiently control infections. Nursing homes that have previously been cited for lax infection control could receive fines ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. (Jaffe, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Masks And Social Distancing Work, New Analysis Finds
Masks and social distancing can help control the coronavirus but hand washing and other measures are still needed, a new analysis finds. Researchers concluded single-layer cloth masks are less effective than surgical masks, while tight-fitting N95 masks provide the best protection. A distance of 1 meter (more than 3 feet) between people lowers the danger of catching the virus, while 2 meters (about 6 1/2 feet) is even better. (Johnson, 6/1)

Reuters: Distancing And Masks Cut COVID-19 Risk, Says Largest Review Of Evidence
“Our findings are the first to synthesise all direct information on COVID-19, SARS, and MERS, and provide the currently best available evidence on the optimum use of these common and simple interventions to help ‘flatten the curve’”, said Holger Schünemann from McMaster University in Canada, who co-led the research. Current evidence suggests COVID-19 is most commonly spread by droplets, especially when people cough, and infects by entering through the eyes, nose and mouth, either directly or via contaminated surfaces. (Kelland, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Are N95 Masks So Important?
N95 masks are so called because they are a U.S. standard that requires masks to be able to filter out at least 95% of very small particles, including droplets containing the coronavirus. They are typically worn by medical workers as well as employees at factories working with paint or industrial chemicals, for instance. Surgical masks and simpler cloth masks, by comparison, are largely intended to prevent the wearer from spreading germs and are simpler to put on and wear. Surgical masks don’t create as tight a seal to the face as N95 masks. (Hufford, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Warnings Surface About New System To Disinfect N95 Masks
Hundreds of thousands of respirator masks to protect against coronavirus have been sent through a decontamination system that has triggered warnings from front-line workers and has so far cost the government more than $110 a mask. The system is made by Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit research corporation that has built more than 50 mask-decontamination units after getting more than $400 million in federal government contracts. Battelle said its process allows for N95 respirator masks to be reused 20 times. (Hufford, Levy and Grimaldi, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Getting Kids To Wear Masks Is Hard Work For Parents, Teachers
The preschool teacher panned her iPhone camera over two bowls of water, set side-by-side and dusted with thick piles of pepper. As her students watched on Zoom, Jennifer Cross coughed into the first bowl, sending black flakes flying. Then she stretched an orange mask, patterned with swirls, over her mouth and coughed into the second. No movement, she pointed out, adding that the pepper flakes are just like germs. (Natanson, 6/1)

The New York Times: Medical Workers Should Use Respirator Masks, Not Surgical Masks
A new analysis of 172 studies, funded by the World Health Organization, confirms what scientists have said for months: N95 and other respirator masks are far superior to surgical or cloth masks in protecting essential medical workers against the coronavirus. The results, published on Monday in The Lancet, make it clear that the W.H.O. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should recommend that essential workers like nurses and emergency responders wear N95 masks, not just surgical masks, experts said. (Mandavilli, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Gilead Says Drug Helped Moderately Ill Coronavirus Patients
A California biotech company says its experimental drug remdesivir improved symptoms when given for five days to moderately ill, hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Gilead Sciences gave few details on Monday but said full results would soon be published in a medical journal. Remdesivir is the only treatment that’s been shown in a rigorous experiment to help fight the coronavirus. (Marchione, 6/1)

Reuters: Gilead's Remdesivir Shows Modest Improvement In Moderate COVID-19 Patients
Remdesivir, which is administered intravenously in hospital, is the first drug to show improvement in COVID-19 patients in formal clinical trials, and new information about its efficacy is being closely watched around the world, as nations battle the pandemic. The late stage study of nearly 600 patients evaluated the safety and efficacy of 5- and 10-day treatment with remdesivir in addition to standard care for those with moderate COVID-19 - the disease caused by the new coronavirus - compared with standard care alone. (Erman and Beasley, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: Eli Lilly Begins Testing Covid-19 Drug Derived From Blood Of Survivor
Eli Lilly & Co. said Monday it began the first study of an experimental drug derived from a blood sample of an early U.S. survivor of Covid-19, a new effort to take advantage of the molecular defenses developed by recovered patients. The Indianapolis company said the testing aims to assess the drug’s potential to treat patients hospitalized with the coronavirus. (Loftus, 6/1)

Stat: Industry Group Backs Use Of Horseshoe Crab Blood To Test Drugs
After a lengthy review, the organization that sets manufacturing standards for drug makers will keep a decades-old test — derived from horseshoe crabs — as its go-to tool for detecting contamination in medicines and vaccines, rather than recommending that drug makers switch to a synthetic alternative. The decision centers around endotoxin tests, which are used to detect bacterial contamination in intravenous drugs and vaccines, among other products. But controversy over the ongoing supply of horseshoe crabs — whose blood is used for reagents — and a battle between two of the biggest test suppliers prompted the U.S. Pharmacopeia to review its standards. (Silverman, 6/1)

Stat: Hydroxychloroquine Debate Spills Into Congressional Campaigns
Five months ahead of the general election, Democrats are escalating their attacks against Republicans over the use of a malaria drug to treat Covid-19, dragging a highly polarized medical debate even further into the political realm. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in recent weeks has vocally criticized two GOP incumbents and two challengers for echoing President Trump’s enthusiasm for hydroxychloroquine in March and April. Joe Biden, Trump’s presumptive Democratic challenger, has seized on the president’s remarks, calling his hydroxychloroquine advocacy “totally irresponsible” after the president announced he was taking the drug as a preventive measure. (Facher, 6/2)

Reuters: South Korea Expects Human Trials Of Celltrion's Potential COVID-19 Treatment In Europe
South Korea expects clinical trials of Celltrion Inc’s experimental COVID-19 treatment to begin in Europe next month and aims to secure sizable supplies of the drug by the first half of next year, a senior health official said on Tuesday. Drugmakers worldwide are rushing to develop treatments for the flu-like illness caused by the new coronavirus that has killed more than 374,000 globally since it first emerged late last year in China. (6/2)

The New York Times: Six Months Of Coronavirus: Here’s Some Of What We’ve Learned
We don’t really know when the novel coronavirus first began infecting people. But as we turn a page on our calendars into June, it is fair to say that Sars-Cov-2 has been with us now for a full six months. At first, it had no name or true identity. Early in January, news reports referred to strange and threatening symptoms that had sickened dozens of people in a large Chinese city with which many people in the world were probably not familiar. After half a year, that large metropolis, Wuhan, is well-known, as is the coronavirus and the illness it causes, Covid-19. (6/1)

The New York Times: After 6 Months, Important Mysteries About Coronavirus Endure
In the time since the world’s scientists and public health officials first became widely aware of the new coronavirus in January, they’ve had six months to learn about it. They’ve reached many conclusions about the virus and the illness it causes, from the importance of wearing masks to contain it, to the unusual range of symptoms it provokes. But there are major gaps in scientific knowledge about the virus. In the half year that journalists of the health and science desk of The Times have been reporting on Sars-CoV-2, we have identified some of the enduring uncertainties. (6/1)

The New York Times: U.S. And Chinese Scientists Trace Evolution Of Coronaviruses In Bats
An international team of scientists, including a prominent researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has analyzed all known coronaviruses in Chinese bats and used genetic analysis to trace the likely origin of the novel coronavirus to horseshoe bats. In their report, posted online Sunday, they also point to the great variety of these viruses in southern and southwestern China and urge closer monitoring of bat viruses in the area and greater efforts to change human behavior as ways of decreasing the chances of future pandemics. (Gorman, 6/1)

The New York Times: How To Read A Coronavirus Study, Or Any Science Paper
A lot of people are reading scientific papers for the first time these days, hoping to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re one of them, be advised the scientific paper is a peculiar literary genre that can take some getting used to. And also bear in mind that these are not typical times for scientific publishing. It is hard to think of another moment in history when so many scientists turned their attention to one subject with such speed. In mid-January, scientific papers began trickling out with the first details about the new coronavirus. By the end of the month, the journal Nature marveled that over 50 papers had been published. That number has swelled over the past few months at an exponential rate, fitting for a pandemic. (Zimmer, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Scientists To Choirs: Group Singing Can Spread Coronavirus
Scientists studying tiny exhaled particles that could transmit the coronavirus say a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision to drop warnings against choral singing is dangerous, risking more “super-spreading events” such as a Washington state choir practice linked to two deaths. The researchers say that the coronavirus can spread in respiratory aerosols, which may linger in the air for an hour or more, floating farther than the six feet commonly prescribed for social distancing. They say that choir members are particularly vulnerable to infection from airborne particles, because they exhale and inhale deeply to sing, often at close quarters in poorly ventilated rooms. (Read, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: At-Home Covid-19 Testing Arrives, With Accuracy And Access Questions
Companies are starting to roll out tests that can diagnose coronavirus infections at home, offering people who are seeking to return to work a potentially safer, more accessible option to check their health. Yet experts worry about the accuracy of the results generated by the at-home tests, costs that insurers often don’t cover and other factors that could limit use. At-home tests are the next wave of coronavirus diagnostics, following tests given by doctors at offices and hospitals. Some of the newest ones use a person’s saliva to detect an infection. (Scott, 6/2)

NPR: Trump Plan For Drive-Up COVID-19 Tests At Stores Yields Few Results 
Twice now, on March 13 and again on April 27, President Trump gathered some of the country's top corporate executives — from test producers to lab processors to major retailers — to tout his plan to make COVID-19 testing widely available. His vision: Blanket the country in drive-through testing sites. The president, speaking from the White House Rose Garden, promised that "stores in virtually every location" would be rolling out testing, including some of the "greatest retailers anywhere in the world" that "cover this country in large part," such as CVS, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. (Pfeiffer and Mak, 6/1)

NPR: Adm. Brett Giroir Will Leave Role Overseeing Coronavirus Testing This Month
The Trump administration's testing czar announced Monday that he will be leaving that position in mid-June. Adm. Brett Giroir told a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS that he will be "demobilized" from his role overseeing coronavirus testing at FEMA in a few weeks and going back to his regular post at the Department of Health and Human Services. (Simmons-Duffin, 6/1)

Reuters: In-Home Antibody Test Shows Promise; Recovering Surgery Patients At Risk From Coronavirus
The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. In-home COVID-19 antibody test shows high accuracy. A small study of a COVID-19 antibody test that can be done at home showed a high degree of accuracy, researchers reported. (Lapid, 6/1)

Reuters: WHO And Other Experts Say No Evidence Of Coronavirus Losing Potency
World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists said on Monday there was no evidence to support an assertion by a high-profile Italian doctor that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been losing potency. (Kelland and Parodi, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Is Coronavirus Weakening? Experts Say It Remains Lethal And Largely Unchanged.
The consensus among other experts interviewed Monday is that the clinical findings in Italy likely do not reflect any change in the virus itself. Zangrillo’s clinical observations are more likely a reflection of the fact that with the peak of the outbreak long past, there is less virus in circulation, and people may be less likely to be exposed to high doses of it. In addition, only severely sick people were likely to be tested early on, compared with the situation now when even those with mild symptoms are more likely to get swabbed, experts said. (Achenbach, Cha, Guarino and Janes, 6/1)

The New York Times: Getting Back To ‘Normal’ May Not Be So Easy. Crisis Experts Can Help.
After 80 days of lockdown, my husband and I yearned for company. Since New York City is slowly easing restrictions, we decided to ask friends for a socially distanced lunch. I planned the social experiment with the precision I do when reporting in war zones. We would invite only two people, for just two hours. We would choose only those we knew had been strict quarantineers and had gotten coronavirus tests. We would insist on face covers and a checklist of taboos that included touching your dinnerware but nothing else. We’d convene in the garden out back, with no lingering inside. (Matloff, 6/2)

The Associated Press: Will Temperature Checks Of Employees Make Workplaces Safe?
Will temperature checks of employees make workplaces safe? No, not completely. They can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections but shouldn’t be the only safety measure employers take. Some employers are following White House guidelines to screen workers for a fever with daily temperature checks to help prevent the spread of infections. (6/2)

Reuters: Frequent Testing, Less Contact Recommended To Get Hollywood Cameras Rolling Again
Hollywood studios and labor unions on Monday proposed extensive coronavirus testing and other safeguards to allow actors and crew members to resume movie and TV show production in the United States. An entertainment industry task force sent dozens of recommendations to the governors of California and New York, two of the largest U.S. production hubs, and was awaiting a green light to return to sets. Filming around the world was halted in mid-March to help curb the coronavirus pandemic. (6/1)

The Washington Post: Lawmakers To Unveil Bipartisan Privacy Bill To Regulate Contact-Tracing Apps
Senate lawmakers plan to unveil a bipartisan bill on Monday that would regulate contact-tracing and exposure-notification apps, seeking to ensure new digital tools meant to combat the coronavirus don’t come at the expense of users’ privacy. The proposal, called the “Exposure Notification Privacy Act,” would erect federal guardrails around Silicon Valley’s nascent efforts to track people’s movements and alert them whenever they come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for covid-19. (Romm, 6/1)

The New York Times: Coronavirus To Shave Trillions From The Economy Over 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projected on Monday that the coronavirus pandemic would inflict a serious long-term blow to the United States economy, taking 3 percent off the gross domestic product 10 years from now. Without adjusting for inflation, the budget agency said, the pandemic would cost nearly $16 trillion over the next 10 years. Adjusting for inflation, that number would still total $7.9 trillion. The estimates were an official tally of the damage the crisis has wrought, reflecting expectations of dampened consumer spending and business investment in the years ahead. (Cochrane, 6/1)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Economy Faces Projected 10-Year Recovery From Coronavirus Effects
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan legislative agency, said the sharp contraction triggered by the coronavirus caused it to mark down its 2020-30 forecast for U.S. economic output by a cumulative $7.9 trillion, or 3% of gross domestic product, relative to its January projections. GDP isn’t expected to catch up to the previously forecast level until the fourth quarter of 2029, the CBO added. The roughly $3.3 trillion in stimulus programs enacted by Congress since March will only “partially mitigate the deterioration in economic conditions,” the CBO said. (Hannon and Kiernan, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Will Cost U.S. Economy $8 Trillion Through 2030, CBO Says
The stark illustration of the pandemic’s potential economic impact comes one week after White House officials confirmed they would not release their own updated projections this summer in their annual “mid-session” budget review. The pandemic will hamper U.S. economic growth by reducing the amount of consumer spending and closing numerous businesses, the CBO said. Part of the impact will be mitigated by the more than $2 trillion the federal government has already approved in emergency spending for households and businesses. (Stein, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Covid-19 Is Causing Hospital Layoffs And Furloughs
One hospital is in a hot spot, battling a widespread virus that has resulted in thousands of patients. The other hospital has seen just a few covid-19 patients and there’s no surge in sight. Yet the disease threatens the financial health of both institutions as their most profitable customers — non-emergency patients — have stayed home. Both hospitals saw the number of their inpatients drop by half in April. (Mellnik, Karklis and Ba Tran, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Lawmakers Question Federal Prisons' Home Confinement Rules
Democratic lawmakers are raising questions about the federal Bureau of Prisons’ release of high-profile inmates and are calling for widespread testing of federal inmates as the number of coronavirus cases has exploded in the federal prison system. Sen. Kamala Harris and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter Monday to Attorney General William Barr and Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal over the home confinement policies. (Balsamo, 6/1)