First Edition: June 9, 2020

Kaiser Health News: The Elevator Arises As The Latest Logjam In Getting Back To Work
When the American Medical Association moved its headquarters to a famous Chicago skyscraper in 2013, the floor-to-ceiling views from the 47th-floor conference space were a spectacular selling point. But now, those glimpses of the Chicago River at the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed landmark, now known as AMA Plaza, come with a trade-off: navigating the elevator in the time of COVID-19. Once the epitome of efficiency for moving masses of people quickly to where they needed to go, the elevator is the antithesis of social distancing and a risk-multiplying bottleneck. (Weber, 6/9)

Kaiser Health News: For EMTs, There’s No ‘Rule Book’ For Facing A Pandemic And Protests At Once
Emergency medical services across the country, already burdened by the high demands of COVID-19, have faced added pressure in the past week as they responded to protests ignited by the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police. The need to protect themselves against the coronavirus adds another complication to emergency crews’ efforts in these dangerous conditions. Their personal protective equipment (PPE) can be difficult to wear in a crowd, said emergency medical services officials. (Heredia Rodriguez, 6/9)

Kaiser Health News: When A Doctor No Longer Accepts Medicare, Patients Left Holding The Bag
Pneumonia. Heart problems. High cholesterol. Betsy Carrier, 71, and her husband, Don Resnikoff, 79, relied on their primary care doctor in Montgomery County, Maryland, for help managing their ailments. But after seven years, the couple was surprised when the doctor informed them she was opting out of Medicare, the couple’s insurer.“It’s a serious loss,” Resnikoff said of their doctor. (Heredia Rodriguez, 6/9)

Kaiser Health News: At Lake Of The Ozarks, It’s (Almost) Business As Usual, Despite The Coronavirus
On a sun-kissed summer Saturday in this tourist town, one could almost imagine the pandemic didn’t happen. Dozens of people mingled, unmasked, outside the frozen custard stand. The putt-putt golf course and the go-kart track had plenty of customers, and the Grand Glaize Beach at Lake of the Ozarks State Park was crowded with visitors tossing footballs and digging their toes in the sand. “Hardly anyone wears masks here,” observed Bob Harrison, visiting with his wife, Etta Harrison, from Olathe, Kansas, outside Kansas City. “People are sort of like, here, it’s a vacation resort, and they don’t have to worry about it.” (Hiles, 6/9)

Kaiser Health News: Society Is Reopening. Prepare To Hunker Down At Home Again.
Even before the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody drew large crowds of protesters into the streets of U.S. cities, people were beginning to throng beaches, bars and restaurants. Whether for economic, social or political reasons, our home confinement seems to be ending. Or is it?Public health officials warn that a hasty reopening will generate a second wave of COVID-19 infections. That could delay a return to economic and social normalcy ― or even force us back under house arrest ― as long as there’s no reliable therapy or vaccine. (Wolfson, 6/9)

Stat: ‘The Direct Result Of Racism’: Covid-19 Lays Bare How Discrimination Drives Health Disparities Among Black People
The disparities have long been documented. Black people are more likely than white people to die from cancer. They are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, diabetes, and depression. Black children report higher levels of stress. Black mothers are more likely to die in childbirth. (Keshavan, 6/9)

The Associated Press: Behind Virus And Protests: A Chronic US Economic Racial Gap
The United States has been here before, staring into the deep chasm that divides white and black Americans. It happened after cities burned in 1967, after Los Angeles erupted with the 1992 acquittal of police officers who beat Rodney King, after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. After those upheavals came talk of change — of reforming policing, yes, but also of expanding economic opportunity to black Americans who have been disproportionately left behind in one of the world’s richest countries. (Wiseman, 6/8)

NPR: Chicago Tackles COVID-19 Disparities In Hard Hit Black And Latino Neighborhoods
When COVID-19 first hit the United States, it spread through communities of color at alarmingly disproportionate rates. This was especially true in Chicago. More than 70% of the city's first coronavirus deaths were African-American. Those numbers have declined, but black residents continue to die at a rate two- to three-times higher than the city's white residents. Researchers believe underlying health conditions that are prevalent in Latinx and black communities, such as hypertension and diabetes, make residents there more vulnerable to the disease. (Corley, 6/9)

NPR: Even In Coronavirus Crisis, WHO Believes That Public Protests Are Important
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization took time at its daily press conference to address another pressing issue: the wave of protests against police violence and racial injustice. The demonstrations began in the U.S. when George Floyd died on May 25 after a police officer had pressed a knee into his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while detaining him in Minneapolis. The protests are now spreading around the world to Europe, Africa and other regions. (Huang and Aubrey, 6/8)

The Associated Press: A Look At Democrats' Sweeping Proposals To Overhaul Policing
The Justice in Policing Act is among the most ambitious law enforcement reforms from Congress in years and confronts several aspects of policing that have come under strong criticism, especially as more and more police violence is captured on cellphone video and shared across the nation and the world. The package limits legal protections for police, creates a national database of excessive-force incidents and bans police choke holds, among other changes that, The changes, if enacted, would have massive implications on policing in the U.S. (Long and Balsamo, 6/9)

The New York Times: After Protests, Politicians Reconsider Police Budgets And Discipline
In an abrupt change of course, the mayor of New York vowed to cut the budget of the nation’s largest police force. In Los Angeles, the mayor called for redirecting millions of dollars from policing after protesters gathered outside his home. And in Minneapolis, City Council members pledged to dismantle their police force and completely reinvent how public safety is handled. As tens of thousands of people have demonstrated against police violence over the past two weeks, calls have emerged in cities across the country for fundamental changes to American policing. (Searcey, Eligon and Stockman, 6/8)

The New York Times: Defying Police Unions, New York Lawmakers Ban Chokeholds
Inspired by the protests sweeping the state and nation, New York legislative leaders on Monday began to approve an expansive package of bills targeting police misconduct, defying longstanding opposition from law enforcement groups, including police unions. The measures range from a ban on the use of chokeholds to the repeal of an obscure decades-old statute that has effectively hidden the disciplinary records of police officers from public view, making it virtually impossible for victims to know whether a particular officer has a history of abuse. (Ferre-Sadurni, Mays and Southall, 6/8)

The Associated Press: New York Poised To Lift Veil On Police Disciplinary Files
A decades-old law that kept law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records secret in New York appeared to be headed for an overhaul this week as state lawmakers moved to act on a number of police accountability measures prompted by street demonstrations over the death of George Floyd. The state law, known by its section title, 50-a, was passed in the 1970s to prevent criminal defense attorneys from subjecting officers to cross-examinations about irrelevant information in their personnel file. The law applies to jail guards and firefighters, as well. (Villeneuve, 6/9)

The Washington Post: Police In The U.S. Have Shot And Killed More Than 5,000 People Since 2015
Protests against the use of deadly force by police swept across the country in 2015. Demonstrators marched in Chicago, turned chaotic in Baltimore, and occupied the area outside a Minneapolis police station for weeks. Protesters repeatedly took to the streets of Ferguson, Mo., where a white police officer had killed a black teenager the previous year and fueled anew a national debate about the use of force and how police treat minorities. (Berman, Sullivan, Tate and Jenkins, 6/8)

The Wall Street Journal: New Coronavirus Cases Accelerating In More Than A Dozen U.S. States
The U.S. coronavirus death toll passed 111,000 while reported cases topped 1.9 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Cases world-wide exceeded 7 million, and deaths stood at more than 406,000. Experts say official totals likely understate the extent of the pandemic, in part because of differing testing and reporting standards. (6/9)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus Spike: Fourteen States And Puerto Rico Hit Their Highest-Ever Seven-Day Average For New Cases
As rates of coronavirus infections ease in places such as New York and Illinois and onetime hot spots move into new phases of reopening, parts of the country that had previously avoided being hit hard by the outbreak are now tallying record-high new infections. Since the start of June, 14 states and Puerto Rico have recorded their highest-ever seven-day average of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, according to data tracked by The Washington Post: : Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. (Bellware and Dupree, 6/8)

NPR: Florida's Rising COVID-19 Numbers: What Do They Mean?
Over the last week, Florida has seen rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Since last Tuesday, the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus totaled more than 1,000 each day. Saturday's total of 1,426 positive tests was the most since early April. A similar rise in new cases is happening in other states, including North Carolina, Texas and California. It's leading to worries that as businesses reopen and stay-at-home orders are lifted, relaxed guidelines could lead to new outbreaks and even a second wave of infections. (Allen, 6/8)

NPR: Texas Reports Record-Breaking COVID-19 Hospitalizations, As State Reopens
Texas reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday, as the governor plans to reopen more businesses and double capacity. Texas Department of State Health Services figures show 1,935 people were admitted as hospital patients for coronavirus-related treatment. That is up from a previous record of 1,888 more than a month ago on May 5. The department's new figures were released as Gov. Greg Abbott moves forward with a plan to open bars, restaurants, amusement parks and other businesses to 50% capacity. (Romo, 6/8)

The Washington Post: CDC Wants States To Count 'Probable' Covid-19 Cases And Deaths, But Most Are Not Doing It
Fewer than half the states are following federal recommendations to report probable novel coronavirus cases and deaths, marking what experts say is an unusual break with public health practices that leads to inconsistent data collection and undercounts of the disease’s impact. A Washington Post review found that the states not disclosing probable cases and deaths include some of the largest: California, Florida, North Carolina and New York. That is one reason government officials and public health experts say the virus’s true toll is above the U.S. tally as of Sunday of about 1.9 million coronavirus cases and 109,000 deaths — benchmarks that shape policymaking and public opinion on the pandemic. (Reinhard, Brown, Thebault and Sun, 6/8)

Reuters: University Of Washington Forecasts 145,000 U.S. COVID-19 Deaths By August
University of Washington researchers estimated on Monday that 145,728 people could die of COVID-19 in the United States by August, raising their grim forecast by more than 5,000 fatalities in a matter of days. On Friday, the widely cited Institute for Health Metrics and evaluation at the university projected 140,496 deaths by August from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Researchers did not give a reason for the abrupt revision. (6/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Rethinking The Hospital For The Next Pandemic
Hospitals are rethinking how they operate in light of the Covid-19 pandemic—and preparing for a future where such crises may become a grim fact of life. With the potential for resurgences of the coronavirus, and some scientists warning about outbreaks of other infectious diseases, hospitals don’t want to be caught flat-footed again. So, more of them are turning to new protocols and new technology to overhaul standard operating procedure, from the time patients show up at an emergency room through admission, treatment and discharge. (Landro, 6/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Aid Distribution Methods Still Disfavor Hospitals Most In Need
The Trump administration’s distribution of about $175 billion in federal aid to health-care providers has channeled more of that money to profitable hospitals and less to struggling facilities that most need the support amid the coronavirus pandemic, drawing renewed scrutiny and criticism by lawmakers and industry groups. For hospitals, the Department of Health and Human Services allocated the initial $50 billion round of the aid based on their Medicare reimbursements and patient revenue. That puts hospitals heavily reliant on Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income and disabled people, at a disadvantage. (Armour, 6/8)

The Associated Press: Poll: Pandemic Does Little To Alter US Views On Health Care
The coronavirus pushed hospitals to the edge, and millions of workers lost job-based coverage in the economic shutdown to slow the spread, but a new poll suggests Americans have remarkably little interest in big changes to health care as a result of the pandemic. People are still more likely to prefer the private sector than the government on driving innovation in health care, improving quality and, by a narrower margin, providing coverage, according to the survey by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (Swanson and Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/8)

NPR: Enrolling In A New Health Plan In A Recession Presents Challenges
Liz McLemore was laid off from her digital marketing job in early March and her health insurance coverage disappeared along with it. "I've always been a saver, so I wasn't as concerned about the monthly money coming in," says McLemore, who's 42 and lives in Inglewood, Calif. "But I really was concerned about the [health] insurance." (Simmons-Duffin, 6/9)

The Associated Press: Medicaid Rolls Swell In New Mexico Amid Economic Turmoil
Enrollment is rising in Medicaid health care as the coronavirus pandemic reverberates through the economy. The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance says enrollment in the federally subsidized health care program increased by nearly 10,000 people during the month of May to 853,251 as of June 1. Agency Program Manager Colin Bailllio says enrollment in February stood at 830,165. (6/9)

Reuters: Lockdowns Saved Many Lives And Easing Them Is Risky, Say Scientists
Lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 have saved millions of lives and easing them now carries high risks, according to two international studies published on Monday. “The risk of a second wave happening if all interventions and all precautions are abandoned is very real,” Samir Bhatt, who co-led one of the studies by researchers at Imperial College London, told reporters in a briefing. Most European nations, worried about the economic impact of their lockdowns, have started to ease restrictions as the number of new COVID-19 cases falls. (Kelland, 6/8)

The Washington Post: Shutdowns Prevented 60 Million Coronavirus Infections In The U.S., Study Finds
A separate study from epidemiologists at Imperial College London estimated the shutdowns saved about 3.1 million lives in 11 European countries, including 500,000 in the United Kingdom, and dropped infection rates by an average of 82 percent, sufficient to drive the contagion well below epidemic levels. The two reports, published simultaneously Monday in the journal Nature, used completely different methods to reach similar conclusions. They suggest that the aggressive and unprecedented shutdowns, which caused massive economic disruptions and job losses, were effective at halting the exponential spread of the novel coronavirus. (Achenbach and Meckler, 6/8)

The New York Times: New York City Begins Phase 1 Of Reopening
Michael Gilsenan celebrated the first day of New York City’s reopening by treating himself to coffee and cheesecake at his neighborhood bakery in Greenwich Village. He doesn’t even like cheesecake, but it was a chance to get back to the little things he never realized he would miss until the coronavirus took them away. “These are markers of your life in the city,” Mr. Gilsenan, a university professor, said. “It’s a sense that against all the odds — and I think it is against all of the odds — that they’re still around today.” (Hu, 6/8)

The Associated Press: 'A Big Test': Hard-Hit New York City Begins Reopening
After three gloomy months and 21,000 deaths that made it the nation’s most lethal hot spot, New York City slowly began reopening Monday in the biggest test yet of Americans’ ability to keep the coronavirus in check. Stores previously deemed nonessential were cleared to reopen for delivery and curbside pickup, though customers cannot yet browse inside. Construction, manufacturing and wholesalers also received the go-ahead to resume work. (Peltz, 6/8)

The New York Times: Boxed Lunches And Plexiglass Will Welcome Back Wall Street’s Workers
Grab-and-go packaged meals may replace midday generous buffets and three-figure lunches. Plexiglass could divvy up trading floors the size of football fields. Heat maps, accessible on a mobile app, will help identify the restrooms with the smallest crowds. But when Wall Street reopens its doors to employees, the talent will only trickle in. New York is starting to ease restrictions on businesses, and the world’s biggest financial firms are preparing to bring thousands of employees back to their offices starting this month. (Kelly, 6/8)

The Associated Press: Volunteers Reopening Some Federal Offices Closed In Pandemic
New regional surges in coronavirus cases forced the Environmental Protection Agency to put on hold some of the earliest planned returns of federal employees to their offices, while the first volunteers at a few other federal agencies are quietly going back to their desks. The Trump administration’s guidance, called “Opening up America Again,” lays out specific conditions for calling workers back, like 14 straight days of downward-trending cases in an area. But there have been complaints that the administration is moving too quickly. (Knickmeyer, 6/9)

ABC News: 12 COVID Cases Traced To Jersey Shore Memorial Day Weekend Gatherings: Officials 
A dozen COVID-19 cases in a Pennsylvania suburb have been traced to Jersey Shore "beach house gatherings" over Memorial Day weekend, health officials said. The Bucks County Department of Health said Saturday that 12 recent cases were traced to a New Jersey resident who attended "multiple" house gatherings at the shore. The exposures occurred at a gathering of college-age students over the holiday weekend in Cape May County, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. The department has not identified any additional cases at this time. (Deliso, 6/8)

The Associated Press: As Business Trickles Back, Hotels Compete On Cleanliness
Marriott, Hilton and other big hotel companies are used to competing on price or perks. Now they are competing on cleanliness. From masked clerks at the front desk to shuttered buffets, hotels are making visible changes in the wake of the pandemic. Signage will tout new cleaning regimens: Red Roof Inns promise “RediClean,” while Hilton boasts of “CleanStay with Lysol.” (Durbin, 6/8)

Stat: How A Family’s Frantic Search For Remdesivir — And A 330-Mile Road Trip — Reshaped Tennessee’s Covid-19 Response
The pharmacists were looking for a gray-haired man in a brown shirt. That’s how he’d described himself a few minutes before, as he was pulling off the interstate. He’d just driven 165 miles west, through much of Tennessee — crisscrossing the crooks in the Caney Fork River, passing through the Cumberland Plateau’s mountain laurels and sandstone bluffs, whizzing past cows in lush springtime pastures — straight into the heart of Nashville. His plan was to pick up the drug, turn around, and drive right back to Oak Ridge, so he could get treatment to a patient that same night, before things got any worse. (Boodman, 6/9)

Stat: Analysts Raise Questions About AstraZeneca's Interest In Gilead
Amid intense interest in Gilead Sciences (GILD) thanks to its experimental Covid-19 drug, an out-of-left-field report emerged over the weekend that AstraZeneca (AZN) may want to buy or merge with the company. Although AstraZeneca quickly downplayed the likelihood of any deal, Gilead stock gained, while AstraZeneca shares fell slightly. Naturally, this also triggered speculation among Wall Street analysts about the merits of such a transaction, which would be the largest in pharmaceutical industry history. (Silverman, 6/8)

Stat: The Coronavirus Is Reignting A Fierce Debate Over Compounded Drugs
In hopes of alleviating potential drug shortages and other issues wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration drastically rolled back its oversight of compounding pharmacies — a swift and sweeping relaxing of the rules that were put in place after a fungal meningitis outbreak traced to one such center killed more than 60 and sickened over 700. Public health experts say there’s merit to relaxing the rules amid the pandemic, but they’re already cautioning that there’s no reason to make the changes permanent. Compounders, meanwhile, are gearing up for a fight to do just that. (Florko, 6/9)

Politico: Coronavirus Drugmakers' Latest Tactics: Science By Press Release
Vaccine maker Moderna attracted glowing headlines and bullish investors when it revealed that eight participants in a preliminary clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine had developed antibodies to the virus. The company’s share price jumped nearly 20 percent that day as it released a massive stock offering. But the full results of the 45-person safety study haven’t been published, even though Moderna began a second, larger trial in late May aimed at determining whether the vaccine works. Several vaccine researchers say the scant public information on the earlier safety study is hard to evaluate because it addresses less than 20 percent of participants. (Brennan and Goldberg, 6/5)

Reuters: Exclusive: In Navy Study, 60 Percent Of Carrier Volunteers Have Coronavirus Antibodies
A U.S. Navy investigation into the spread of the coronavirus aboard the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier has found that about 60 percent of the roughly 400 sailors tested had antibodies for the virus, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. All 4,800 sailors on the Roosevelt aircraft carrier were tested for the coronavirus previously, and about a quarter tested positive. But in April the Navy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started conducting a serology test to look for the presence of specific antibodies. (Ali and Stewart, 6/8)

The Washington Post: Immunity Laws In Many States Shield Nursing Homes From Covid-19 Liability, Leaving Families Without Answers
One afternoon in early April, Brenda Anagnos crouched in the bushes outside a nursing home in Windsor, Conn., and pressed her face to the window. “Mommy,” she yelled. “I’m here.” From outside the locked-down facility, Anagnos said she watched her mother, wearing a red tank top, shiver beneath a hospital sheet. Diagnosed with covid-19, she could barely raise a hand. Anagnos said she called the front desk for a nurse, a blanket, some help with an electrolyte drink. (Cenziper, Whoriskey, Mulcahy and Jacobs, 6/8)

The New York Times: Testing Nursing Home Workers Can Help Stop Coronavirus. But Who Should Pay?
Like all nursing home workers in New York State, Shikilia Davis is required to get a test for coronavirus twice a week, part of a state order aimed at containing the startling death toll of residents in nursing homes. But late last month, Ms. Davis said her employer, Apex Rehabilitation & Healthcare on Long Island, sent her home after she refused to provide her insurance card before getting tested. She said the nursing home wanted to bill her health insurer rather than paying for the test itself, even though Ms. Davis’s insurer has declined to cover the tests. (Thomas, 6/9)

Reuters: Over Half Of People Tested In Italy's Bergamo Have COVID-19 Antibodies
More than half the residents tested in Italy’s northern province of Bergamo have COVID-19 antibodies, health authorities said on Monday, citing a sample survey. Of 9,965 residents who had blood tests between April 23 and June 3, 57% had antibodies indicating they had come into contact with the coronavirus, the survey showed. Health authorities in Bergamo said the results were based on a “random” sample which was “sufficiently broad” to be a reliable indicator of how many people had been infected in the province, which became the epicentre of Italy’s outbreak. (Amante, 6/8)

Reuters: Symptoms Can Last For Weeks Even In Mild Cases, Lockdowns Likely Saved Millions Of Lives
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. Symptoms can linger for weeks after mild coronavirus infection COVID-19 patients not sick enough to be hospitalized are advised to isolate themselves for 14 days, but their symptoms often last much longer, doctors in Atlanta have found. They kept track of 272 non-hospitalized coronavirus patients with follow-up phone calls every 12 to 48 hours for up to 50 days. (Lapid, 6/8)

The Hill: WHO Official: Asymptomatic Spread Of Coronavirus 'Very Rare' 
However, Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, expressed some skepticism of the WHO’s claim and said he thinks asymptomatic transmission is, in fact, an important source of spread and that some modeling shows as much as 40 to 60 percent of transmission is from people without symptoms. Jha said it’s possible the WHO is making a distinction between asymptomatic spread and presymptomatic spread, when someone eventually develops symptoms but spreads the virus before they do. (Sullivan, 6/8)

Reuters: FDA Authorizes COVID-19 Saliva Test By Phosphorus Diagnostics
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday allowed emergency use of a COVID-19 saliva test made by privately held Phosphorus Diagnostics LLC that allows people to send in their saliva samples to the company’s laboratory for testing. The company’s sample collection kit, priced at around $140, would be delivered to customers if they are found eligible after completing an online questionnaire. (6/8)

Reuters: Japan To Adopt Selective, Rather Than Blanket, Approach In Coronavirus Tests
Japan will stop short of offering blanket coronavirus tests, and instead target the vulnerable and those most at risk in seeking to prevent a second wave of infections, the minister in charge of policies to combat the health crisis said. Japan is currently well behind other major economies in the number of completed coronavirus tests, drawing criticism from some experts that it is not doing enough to trace the virus and prevent clusters. (Kaneko and Kihara, 6/8)

The Hill: Senate GOP Leaders Don't Expect Next Coronavirus Bill Before Mid-July 
Members of Senate GOP leadership said on Monday that they do not expect to be able to pass another coronavirus relief bill until mid-to-late July. The Senate is in session for more than three weeks before they leave Washington for a two-week July 4 recess. But several members of GOP leadership said on Monday that they do not expect to pass a bill before the break, delaying a fifth round of coronavirus relief until after they return on July 20. (Carney, 6/8)

The Washington Post: States Scramble To Deal With Potential Spikes In Unemployment Fraud, Prompting Democrats To Demand Answers
Senate Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to release more details about an alleged criminal operation designed to defraud state unemployment programs across the country, fearing these systems remain vulnerable to attack amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The lawmakers’ concerns stem from a memo the U.S. government circulated in May indicating scammers may have harnessed stolen Social Security numbers and other personal information to obtain weekly jobless benefits. (Romm, 6/8)

The New York Times: Child Abuse Cases Drop 51 Percent. The Authorities Are Very Worried.
Reports of child abuse in New York City have dropped sharply since the coronavirus crisis began. And that is worrying the authorities. The steep decline could be a sign that an unseen epidemic of abuse is spreading behind locked doors, according to the police, prosecutors and child protection officials. As the virus has shuttered the city, the fragile system of safeguards designed to protect children has fallen apart. Teachers are normally the leading reporters of suspected abuse, calling for help when they notice bruises or signs of hunger or mistreatment at home. (Stewart, 6/9)

The New York Times: Older Adults Remain Isolated Despite Reopening. These Programs Help.
Sally Love Saunders, 80, was stuck in a retirement home in San Francisco, desperate for someone to teach her to use Zoom so she could connect with people outside the building. Nearby, Sarah Hinkfuss, 32, had grown weary of video calls with friends and family. She craved the spontaneity of new relationships and unplanned conversations — hard to come by in a world that is only now beginning to reopen after being shuttered by a pandemic. Both women, strangers at the time, joined the volunteer phone bank of Mon Ami, which has connected thousands of older adults with younger volunteers across the country in recent months. Ms. Saunders and Ms. Hinkfuss had their first phone conversation on April 12. (Padilla, 6/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Older Workers Grapple With Risk Of Getting Covid-19 On The Job
At 78 years old, Saul Sanchez took pride in his routine: showing up before 5 a.m. at a Greeley, Colo., beef processing plant to snag a good parking space and read the Bible before his shift. After work he would shower, eat dinner and go to sleep. On March 19, Mr. Sanchez came home, showered and went straight to bed, his daughter said. He told family members he was tired but went to work the next day at the plant owned by JBS USA Holdings Inc. It turned out to be his last day on the processing line where he had cut meat for three decades. (Bunge, Berzon and Maher, 6/9)

The Wall Street Journal: The Coronavirus Pandemic Is A Call To Serve For 3-D-Printing Hobbyists
Practically overnight, 3-D-printing enthusiasts have remolded their home-based hobby into an emergency production line for scarce personal protective equipment for front-line workers. Thousands of volunteers have banded together on several continents to help in the face of the pandemic crisis. Since March, some 8,000 members of a British design group called 3D Crowd UK have printed parts for more than 170,000 face shields using 3-D printers in their homes. The group also arranges for the face shields’ assembly and distribution to hospitals and other health organizations in Britain. (McConnon, 6/8)

The New York Times: Growing A Family In The Shadow Of A Pandemic
The threat of coronavirus has tormented us in many ways, but perhaps this is one of the most profound: Deciding whether to start or expand a family has suddenly become even harder. While there’s never a perfect time to have a baby, getting pregnant during the pandemic isn’t the scenario most people would choose. But waiting to conceive carries its own risks, especially for older parents. Thousands of families across the United States are facing this dilemma, and experts are wary of offering definitive advice. (Caron, 6/8)

The Washington Post: Meat Industry Trying To Get Back To Normal, But Coronavirus Persists
Tyson Foods, the largest meat processor in the United States, has transformed its facilities across the country since legions of its workers started getting sick from the novel coronavirus. It has set up on-site medical clinics, screened employees for fevers at the beginning of their shifts, required the use of face coverings, installed plastic dividers between stations and taken a host of other steps to slow the spread. Despite those efforts, the number of Tyson employees with the coronavirus has exploded from less than 1,600 a month ago to more than 7,000 today, according to a Washington Post analysis of news reports and public records. (Telford, 6/8)

The New York Times: Why It’s Hard To Keep Workers Safe As Meatpacking Plants Reopen
See how workers stand shoulder to shoulder to provide Americans with affordable meat. As plants reopen, the coronavirus remains a threat. (Parshina-Kottas, Buchanan, Aufrichtig and Corkery, 6/8)

The Associated Press: South Dakota Governor Uses Video To Vaunt COVID-19 Response
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday took to social media to vaunt her response to the coronavirus pandemic and pitch herself as a leading conservative governor. Throughout the pandemic, Noem, a Republican, has held regular press briefings, taking questions from reporters. On Monday, she instead posted a nearly-nine minute video in which Noem said she has prioritized “freedom,” but claimed the “mainstream media” has attacked her for doing so. (Groves, 6/8)

Reuters: WHO Says Pandemic 'Far From Over' As Daily Cases Hit Record High
New coronavirus cases had their biggest daily increase ever as the pandemic worsens globally and has yet to peak in central America, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, urging countries to press on with efforts to contains the virus. “More than six months into the pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online briefing. More than 136,000 new cases were reported worldwide on Sunday, the most in a single day so far, he said. Nearly 75% of them were reported from 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia. (Nebehay and Farge, 6/8)

The New York Times: Furious Backlash In Brazil After Coronavirus Data Withheld By Ministry
As the coronavirus tore through Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro came under blistering criticism for sabotaging the isolation measures imposed by states, encouraging mass rallies by his supporters and lashing out on the soaring death toll, saying, “What do you want me to do?” Now that the outbreak in Brazil has gotten even worse — with more infections than any country but the United States — Mr. Bolsonaro’s government has come up with a unique response to the growing alarm: It decided to stop reporting the cumulative toll of the virus altogether. (Londono, 6/8)

Reuters: Coronavirus May Have Spread In Wuhan In August, Harvard Research Shows, But China Dismissive
The coronavirus might have been spreading in China as early as August last year, according to Harvard Medical School research based on satellite images of hospital travel patterns and search engine data, but China dismissed the report as “ridiculous.” The research used satellite imagery of hospital parking lots in Wuhan - where the disease was first identified in late 2019 - and data for symptom-related queries on search engines for things such as “cough” and “diarrhoea.” “Increased hospital traffic and symptom search data in Wuhan preceded the documented start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in December 2019,” according to the research. (6/9)

The Associated Press: In Poor Regions, Easing Virus Lockdowns Brings New Risks
As many countries gingerly start lifting their lockdown measures, experts worry that a further surge of the coronavirus in under-developed regions with shaky health systems could undermine efforts to halt the pandemic, and they say more realistic options are needed. Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India and Pakistan are among countries easing tight restrictions, not only before their outbreaks have peaked but also before any detailed surveillance and testing system is in place to keep the virus under control. That could ultimately have devastating consequences, health experts warn. (Cheng and Savarese, 6/9)

The Associated Press: President 'Worried' As South Africa's Virus Cases Rise Fast
South Africa’s numbers of COVID-19 are “rising fast,” according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who says that he’s worried. More than half of South Africa’s more than 50,000 confirmed cases have been recorded in the last two weeks, prompting concerns that Africa’s most developed economy is about to see a steep rise in infections. South Africa has the most cases in Africa, whose 54 countries have reported more than 190,000 cases including more than 5,000 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Imray, 6/8)