First Edition: Sept. 15, 2020

Kaiser Health News: NIH ‘Very Concerned’ About Serious Side Effect In Coronavirus Vaccine Trial  
The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to follow British regulators in resuming a coronavirus vaccine trial that was halted when a participant suffered spinal cord damage, even as the National Institutes of Health has launched an investigation of the case. “The highest levels of NIH are very concerned,” said Dr. Avindra Nath, intramural clinical director and a leader of viral research at the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an NIH division. “Everyone’s hopes are on a vaccine, and if you have a major complication the whole thing could get derailed.” (Allen and Szabo, 9/14)

Kaiser Health News: New Dental Treatment Helps Fill Cavities And Insurance Gaps For Seniors 
Dental hygienist Jennifer Geiselhofer often cleans the teeth of senior patients who can’t easily get to a dentist’s office. But until recently, if she found a cavity, there was little she could do. “I can’t drill. I can’t pull teeth,” said Geiselhofer, whose mobile clinic is called Dental at Your Door. “I’d recommend they see a dentist, but that was often out of the question because of mobility challenges. So visit after visit, I would come back and there would be more decay.” (Crouch, 9/15)

Kaiser Health News: COVID Exodus Fills Vacation Towns With New Medical Pressures 
The staff at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is accustomed to the number of patients tripling or even quadrupling each summer when wealthy Manhattanites flee the city for the Hamptons. But this year, the COVID pandemic has upended everything. The 125-bed hospital on the southern coast of Long Island has seen a huge upswing in demand for obstetrics and delivery services. The pandemic has families who once planned to deliver babies in New York or other big cities migrating to the Hamptons for the near term. (Hawryluk, Houghton and Andrews, 9/15)

Kaiser Health News: Lights, Camera, No Action: Insurance Woes Beset Entertainment Industry Workers  
Before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the entertainment industry in March, Jeffrey Farber had a steady flow of day jobs in film and television, including work on “Hunters” and “Blue Bloods.” But when theaters, movies and TV shows stopped production, not only did Farber lose his acting income, he also stopped accruing the hours and earnings he needed to qualify for health insurance through his labor union, SAG-AFTRA. Without the acting jobs, his insurance would be ending this month. (Andrews, 9/15)

Kaiser Health News: ‘It Seems Systematic’: Doctors Cite 115 Cases Of Head Injuries From Crowd Control Devices 
At least 115 people were injured this summer when police shot them in the head or neck with so-called “less-lethal” projectiles at protests over racial injustice and police brutality, according to a report published Monday. It’s the most comprehensive tally of such injuries to date, with about twice as many victims as KHN and USA Today cited in a July examination of how police across the U.S. wielded the weapons to control crowds. (Culver, 9/14)

AP: Choking Air From Western Fires Just Won't Ease Up
Relief from putrid, dangerous air spewing from massive wildfires across the West won’t come until later in the week or beyond, scientists and forecasters say, and the hazy and gunk-filled skies might stick around for even longer. People in Oregon, Washington and parts of California were struggling under acrid yellowish-green smog — the worst, most unhealthy air on the planet according to some measurements. It seeped into homes and businesses, sneaked into cars through air conditioning vents and caused the closure of iconic locations such as Powell’s Books and the Oregon Zoo in Portland, the state’s biggest city. (Cline and Flaccus, 9/15)

The Washington Post: Oregon’s Wildfires Smother Portland Residents In Smoke 
It’s been a week since Deborah Stratton breathed clean air. The 54-year-old and her friend evacuated their homes in Estacada, Ore., last week as flames approached. They spent days sleeping in their cars in a Walmart parking lot, using their last $12 on showers at a truck stop. Finally, they found their way here, to a shopping mall about 20 miles away from their town, in a parking lot where a Red Cross volunteer began pitching them a tent. (Schmidt, 9/14)

Politico: 25 Years Wiped Out In 25 Weeks: Pandemic Sets The World Back Decades 
Vaccination coverage, seen as a good indicator for how health systems are functioning, is dropping to levels last seen in the 1990s, it says. “In other words, we’ve been set back about 25 years in about 25 weeks,” the report says. “What the world does in the next months matters a great deal." Global action to stop the pandemic would prevent illness and deaths caused by Covid-19, but there's more at stake: The crisis sets back strides made in global poverty, HIV transmission, malnutrition, gender equality, education and many more areas. Even if the world manages to get the coronavirus under control soon, it could take years to claw back lost progress. (Paun, 9/14)

Stat: Bill Gates Slams 'Shocking' U.S. Response To Covid-19 Pandemic
In an interview with STAT, Gates sounded exasperated at times as he described the badly bungled launch of Covid-19 testing, the enlisting of a neuroradiologist — rather than an epidemiologist or infectious diseases specialist — to help guide the White House’s response decisions, and the recent move to discourage testing of people who have been in contact with a known case but who aren’t yet showing symptoms. “You know, this has been a mismanaged situation every step of the way,” Gates said in the wide-ranging interview. “It’s shocking. It’s unbelievable — the fact that we would be among the worst in the world.” (Branswell, 9/14)

The New York Times: Gates Offers Grim Global Health Report, And Some Optimism
The assessment comes as the United States, stung harder by the virus than any other country, is retreating from the global health stage and seems focused primarily on saving itself. Could it ever return to its role as the world’s leader in both competence and generosity? In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Gates devoted a half-hour to explaining why he was optimistic that it would. “It’s my disposition,” he said. “Plus, I’ve got to call these people up and make the pitch to them that this really makes sense — and I totally, totally believe it makes sense.” (McNeil Jr., 9/14)

CNBC: Bill Gates Doesn't Expect A Coronavirus Vaccine Before Year-End
Bill Gates doesn’t believe any of the coronavirus vaccines currently in development are likely to seek U.S. approval before the end of October — something that would be bad news for President Donald Trump, who has hinted at a viable vaccine to counter the pandemic before the country’s November 4 election. “None of the vaccines are likely to seek approval in the U.S. before the end of October,” the billionaire Microsoft-founder-turned-philanthropist told CNBC via video conference last week.  (Turak, 9/15)

The Hill: Top HHS Official Accuses Scientists Of Plotting Against Trump, Tells Supporters To Buy Ammunition 
The top communications official at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) accused career government scientists of plotting against President Trump and told Trump supporters to arm themselves ahead of the November presidential election. In a Facebook Live video on Sunday, HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was harboring a “resistance unit" to Trump, The New York Times reported. (Weixel, 9/14)

The Washington Post: Michael Caputo Warns Trump Supporters Of ‘Armed Insurrection’ After Election 
Caputo is viewed as a Trump loyalist, but several White House officials said his behavior has been erratic and some of his ideas have been regarded as extreme. ... “I don’t like being alone in Washington,” Caputo said in the video, describing “shadows on the ceiling in my apartment, there alone, shadows are so long.” (Abutaleb, Sun, Dawsey and Helderman, ,9/14)

The New York Times: Trump Health Aide Pushes Bizarre Conspiracies And Warns Of Armed Revolt 
The top communications official at the powerful cabinet department in charge of combating the coronavirus made outlandish and false accusations on Sunday that career government scientists were engaging in “sedition” in their handling of the pandemic and that left-wing hit squads were preparing for armed insurrection after the election. Michael R. Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of harboring a “resistance unit” determined to undermine President Trump, even if that opposition bolsters the Covid-19 death toll. (LaFraniere, 9/14)

Stat: Top Health Official Echoes Trump’s Covid-19 Views, Drawing Accusations Of Politicizing U.S. Mental Health Agency
Reopen the schools, diminish the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, and the economy comes first. President Trump and White House aides have been pushing these views for months. Now a top public health official is joining the chorus. In a new podcast, and in other public statements, the head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) strongly echoes the president’s talking points on reopening schools and businesses, angering current and former agency officials who say she is politicizing the office and reinforcing administration arguments about Covid-19 that aren’t supported by sound scientific evidence. (Insinger, 9/15)

The Hill: Woodward: Restricting Travel From China Wasn't Trump's Idea 
Journalist Bob Woodward said early Monday that restricting travel from China in response to the coronavirus pandemic was not President Trump’s idea. Host Savannah Guthrie noted on NBC's "Today" that Woodward’s book “Rage” claims that Trump implemented the restrictions on the advice of his administration’s health experts, including Anthony Fauci, after a Jan. 28 meeting. (Budryk, 9/14)

The Hill: Trump Administration Seeks To Extend Mexico City Policy On Abortion 
The Trump administration is looking to expand a ban on global health aid for foreign organizations that provide or promote abortions. The proposed change from the State Department would require that foreign groups receiving global health aid through contracts from the U.S. government agree to not provide or promote abortions — even with funding from other sources. (Hellmann, 9/14)

The Hill: Trump Order On Drug Prices Faces Long Road To Finish Line 
President Trump is seeking a preelection boost on a top issue for voters — lowering drug prices — but there are doubts about when and if his latest move will bring down costs for patients. Trump signed a long-awaited executive order Sunday that aims to lower the amount Medicare pays for many drugs by tying the cost to the price tag in other developed countries. While the move could significantly cut the price for certain drugs, the timing of Trump’s action means implementation is unlikely before Election Day. (Sullivan, 9/14)

USA Today: Trump Administration Has Not Paid USPS For COVID-19 Postcards Featuring Trump's Name
The Trump administration has not yet repaid the United States Postal Service more than six months after the agency sent out COVID-19 guidelines on postcards prominently featuring the president’s name. USA TODAY reported earlier this year the total cost of printing and mailing the postcards was $28 million, with a total printing cost of $4.6 million, and the Trump administration was negotiating the reimbursement with the Postal Service for the cost.But the bill for the postcards sent to 138 million residential addresses has still not been paid. (Wu, 9/14)

The Hill: Indoor Trump Nevada Rally Site Fined $3,000 For Violating State Ban On Large Gatherings 
The host of President Trump's indoor campaign rally in Nevada on Sunday has been fined $3,000 for defying state guidelines that prohibit large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that Xtreme Manufacturing, which allowed the Trump campaign to use one of its facilities, is accused of six coronavirus violations and has been issued a penalty. (Seipel, 9/14)

The Hill: Federal Judge Rules Pennsylvania's Coronavirus Orders Are Unconstitutional 
A federal judge ruled on Monday that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) coronavirus orders, which shut down the state, closed businesses and limited gatherings, were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that COVID-19 orders from Wolf and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine violated and continue to violate the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. (Coleman, 9/14)

Politico: Democrats Launch Probe Into Trump Officials' Covid-Report Tampering 
House Democrats are launching an investigation into how Trump appointees have pressured officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change or delay scientific reports on coronavirus, citing POLITICO reporting that found political interference in the publishing process. "During the pandemic, experts have relied on these reports to determine how the virus spreads and who is at greatest risk," Rep. Jim Clyburn, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and his Democratic colleagues write in a letter shared first with POLITICO. "Yet HHS officials apparently viewed these scientific reports as opportunities for political manipulation." (Diamond, 9/14)

ProPublica: Emails Show The Meatpacking Industry Drafted An Executive Order To Keep Plants Open 
In late April, as COVID-19 raced through meatpacking plants sickening and killing workers, President Donald Trump issued a controversial executive order aimed at keeping the plants open to supply food to American consumers. It was a relief for the nation’s meatpackers who were being urged, or ordered, to suspend production by local health officials worried about the spread of the coronavirus. But emails obtained by ProPublica show that the meat industry may have had a hand in its own White House rescue: Just a week before the order was issued, the meat industry’s trade group drafted an executive order that bears striking similarities to the one the president signed. (Grabell and Yeung, 9/14)

USA Today: COVID-19: Meat Plants Sought Feds' Protection From Local Health Depts.
Adam Pulver, a Public Citizen attorney, said the “degree of collaboration” between Trump administration officials and industry in the emails is “astounding.” “As outbreaks continue to emerge in meatpacking plants, it is stunning to see the cavalier attitude officials took to the health and safety of workers in the early part of the pandemic,” he said. Julie Ann Potts, the president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, said her group and many other trade organizations “routinely suggest legislative language.” (Chadde, Bagenstose and Axon, 9/14)

The Washington Post: Medicaid Rolls Swell Amid The Pandemic’s Historic Job Losses, Straining State Budgets
The unlikely portrait of Medicaid in the time of coronavirus looks like Jonathan Chapin, living with his wife and 11-year-old daughter in a gated community in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Chapin had a thriving Reno, Nev., production company, We Ain’t Saints, booking bands, managing weddings, hosting 600-strong karaoke nights at the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino. When the novel coronavirus came, forcing northern Nevada’s entertainment industry to go dark, he said, “everything I knew all disappeared.” (Goldstein, 9/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: CMS Scraps Medicaid Fiscal Responsibility Rule
CMS has withdrawn its proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule, Administrator Seema Verma tweeted Sept. 14. CMS issued the proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule last November. The rule aimed to promote transparency and fiscal integrity by establishing new reporting requirements for state supplemental payments to Medicaid providers. In mid-August, some hospital associations called on CMS to withdraw the rule, arguing that it could exacerbate the challenges hospitals are facing in the U.S. (Paavola, 9/14)

The Hill: Trump Administration Backing Off Medicaid Rule That States Warned Would Lead To Cuts 
The Trump administration will not move forward with a proposed Medicaid rule that states, hospitals, insurers, patient advocates and members of both political parties warned could lead to massive cuts to the federal health care program for the poor. “The proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR) was designed to increase transparency in Medicaid financing and ensure that taxpayer resources support the health care needs of our beneficiaries,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement Monday. (Hellmann, 9/14)

CIDRAP: Amid Spotty Response, COVID Silently Stalked US For Weeks 
Two new studies involving evolutionary genomics, computer simulations, and travel records from the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that inadequate travel monitoring, contact tracing, and community surveillance allowed the novel coronavirus to spread unchecked to and throughout North America and Europe in late January or early February. The studies, published late last week in Science, traced the United States' COVID-19 outbreak to a traveler who flew from China to Seattle in late January or early February, seeding the nation's first outbreak, which then went undetected for 3 to 6 weeks. (Van Beusekom, 9/14)

Becker's Hospital Review: Nearly 40% Of Americans Know A Coronavirus Patient Who Was Hospitalized Or Died
Four in ten Americans say they know someone who has been hospitalized or died after contracting COVID-19, a new poll shows. The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center in August. The survey includes responses from 13,200 Americans. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they know someone who has been hospitalized or died as a result of having COVID-19, up from 20 percent who said the same in a Pew Research Center conducted in late April and early May. (Vaidya, 9/14)

AP: Anti-Inflammatory Drug May Shorten COVID-19 Recovery Time
A drug company says that adding an anti-inflammatory medicine to a drug already widely used for hospitalized COVID-19 patients shortens their time to recovery by an additional day. Eli Lilly announced the results Monday from a 1,000-person study sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The study tested baricitinib, a pill that Indianapolis-based Lilly already sells as Olumiant to treat rheumatoid arthritis. (Marchione, 9/14)

The Hill: Drugmaker Says Anti-Inflamatory Medicine May Shorten COVID-19 Recovery Time 
The use of Baricitinib, a rheumatoid arthritis drug from Eli Lilly, led to a one-day reduction in recovery time for patients when combined with Remdesivir compared to patients who only took Remdesivir, according to a trial. The finding was statistically significant, Eli Lilly said in a statement. The company did not release the full results of the study but stated the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is expected to publish full results in peer-review studies and that additional analyses are ongoing to understand clinical outcome data, including safety and morbidity data. (9/14)

Fox News: University Of Pittsburgh Scientists Discover Antibody That 'neutralizes' Virus That Causes Coronavirus
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have isolated “the smallest biological molecule” that “completely and specifically neutralizes” SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus. The antibody component is 10 times smaller than a full-sized antibody, and has been used to create the drug Ab8, shared in the report published by the researchers in the journal Cell on Monday. The drug is seen as a potential preventative against SARS-CoV-2. (Deabler, 9/14)

Fox News: Coronavirus Can 'Hijack' Brain Cells To Replicate Itself, Yale Researchers Discover
The coronavirus can affect the brain and “hijack” brain cells to replicate itself, Yale University researchers have discovered. A new study from Yale University, on BioRXiv, which is awaiting peer review, found that the brain is another organ susceptible to an attack by the novel coronavirus. (McGorry, 9/14)

AP: UK Tests If COVID-19 Vaccines Might Work Better Inhaled
British scientists are beginning a small study comparing how two experimental coronavirus vaccines might work when they are inhaled by people instead of being injected. In a statement on Monday, researchers at Imperial College London and Oxford University said a trial involving 30 people would test vaccines developed by both institutions when participants inhale the droplets in their mouths, which would directly target their respiratory systems. (9/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Test Maker Examines False-Positive Results In Nursing Homes 
Becton Dickinson & Co. is investigating reports from nursing homes that federally provided rapid coronavirus testing equipment from the company is producing false-positive results in some cases. So far, the number of reports is small, nursing-home industry officials said. The American Health Care Association, a trade group representing nursing homes, said it has heard from roughly a dozen facilities that had seen a significant number of false positives and a similar number with just one or two. (Wilde Mathews, 9/14)

AP: What Are The Different Types Of Coronavirus Tests?
What are the different types of coronavirus tests?There are three broad categories of coronavirus tests in the U.S. Two diagnose whether you have an active infection, and a third indicates if you previously had the virus.Here’s how they work. (9/15)

The Wall Street Journal: A New Prescription: A Dose Of Live Music For Hospital Patients
When Nancy Storino was at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for a week following a stroke, she didn’t expect the best medicine to be the strains of a viola. But over the course of several days the 72-year-old found herself listening to a violist play songs from her favorite artists. Sometimes she sang along. Other times she fell asleep. “It was very soothing,” says Ms. Storino, who is now back home in Lansing, Ill. “It helped with the pain, it relaxed me and put me to sleep. I really, really enjoyed it. It’s very comforting for people when they’re sick.” (Reddy, 9/14)

AP: Pandemic Vs. Pandemic: COVID-19 Hampers Fight Against HIV
As COVID-19 swept through the South, Mel Prince watched with alarm as some of the HIV positive patients she helps in the rural Black Belt stopped showing up for lab tests and doctor’s visits. “The virus has made it very challenging for us,” said Prince, executive director of Selma AIR. “We just continue to let people know we’re here, and we’re trying our best to take care of their needs.” (Thanawala, 9/14)

The Hill: LSU Says Students Who Get Tested For Coronavirus Have Priority For Football Tickets 
Officials at Louisiana State University (LSU) said Monday that students who get tested for COVID-19 will have priority for football tickets. An email to students first reported by The Advocate announced that students also would not be permitted to bring guests to games during the modified 2020 season. Students will have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to register for tickets, according to the email. (Bowden, 9/14)

The Washington Post: U-Md. Begins In-Person Classes As Virus Caseload Rises Among University Students 
The coronavirus caseload at two of the Washington region’s largest universities has jumped in recent days, while a small number of students at Maryland’s flagship university returned to the classroom Monday. Georgetown University reported about a dozen cases last week, according to the school’s virus dashboard. Just outside Washington, at the University of Maryland in College Park, officials were forging ahead with some in-person instruction — one of the few universities in the region to offer teaching on campus. (Lumpkin, 9/14)

The Wall Street Journal: NYC Teachers Union Says Buildings Aren’t Ready To Open Monday 
The head of New York City’s teachers union said he has grave concerns about whether the city’s K-12 schools will be ready to reopen on Sept. 21 as planned, citing a teacher shortage, concerns about safety, and a lack of clarity on how many students will be showing up on opening day. In a Monday briefing, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said the union will make a decision in the coming days on whether teachers should plan to return to schools on Monday, so that “everyone will have enough time to adjust.” (Hawkins, 9/14)

AP: Party Delays In-Person Learning; 9 New COVID-19 Deaths
A second Massachusetts high school is delaying the beginning of in-person learning after students held a house party amid the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew W. Keough, superintendent of Dover-Sherborn Public Schools, said in an email to parents Monday that school would begin remotely for all high school students as a result of the party held Friday night, WFXT-TV reported. Police responded to the party that had up to 150 people who weren’t wearing marks or social distancing and were “drinking in excess,” he said. (9/14)

The Washington Post: Open-Air Schools: Before Coronavirus, Kids With Tuberculosis Learned Outside 
Nine schoolchildren sat at their desks wrapped in chunky layers of flannel, their feet resting on heated soapstones as the frigid New England air stung their faces. In January 1908, amid a tuberculosis epidemic, these Rhode Island students were part of a unique experiment to combat the infectious disease: America’s first open-air school. More than a century later, educators are touting outdoor classes as a way to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus among America’s schoolchildren. (Water, 9/14)

USA Today: Hundreds Of People Turned Out For An Anti-Mask Protest In Utah. It's Being Mocked As 'A Straight Parody' On Social Media.
A weeks-old anti-mask protest in Utah has become the source of online backlash after a TV news report detailing the rally went viral on social media. The protest, which drew hundreds to the Washington County School District building in St. George, was held Aug. 21 in opposition to a school mask mandate required statewide by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert. A protester at the march, per The Spectrum, part of the USA TODAY Network, said during a closing prayer that "safety is not as important as our freedom and liberty." (Bote and Will, 9/14)

AP: Michigan Launches $5M In Ads To Urge Masks To Fight Virus
Michigan on Monday launched a $5 million advertising campaign to urge people to wear a mask to fight the coronavirus, with a focus on appealing to those who believe the state’s requirement infringes on their rights. The “spread hope, not COVID” message includes three public service announcements. Two feature military members saying they wear a face covering to protect their freedom and the freedom of others, saying it can reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 by 70%. A sergeant shown in both ads puts on a mask showing the American flag. (Eggert, 9/14)

AP: Officials: 500,000 Counterfeit N95 Masks Seized In Chicago
About 500,000 counterfeit N95 respirator masks have been seized in Chicago by Customs and Border Protection officers, federal officials announced Monday. The shipment of masks from China was seized Sept. 10 at O’Hare International Airport, according to the federal agency. It said the masks were headed to a company in Manalapan, New Jersey. The masks are used to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. (9/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Fight Over Manhattan Hotel Shows Challenges Of Housing Homeless During Coronavirus Pandemic 
New York City has halted a controversial decision to move people experiencing homelessness out of a luxury hotel-turned-shelter on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, as opposition has mounted on both sides of a fiery debate over where to house the city’s homeless during the pandemic. The widening dispute is the latest example of the challenges facing city officials, who must create shelters to mitigate a homeless crisis while dealing with resistance from neighborhoods where they are placed. As the number of people living in shelters has grown since 2014, when Mayor Bill de Blasio first took office, so have the protests over new facilities built to house them. (Yang and Honan, 9/14)

AP: The Latest: South Carolina Lieutenant Gov Contracts COVID-19
Officials in South Carolina say Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday, but is recovering in isolation with her family at home.Brian Symmes, the spokesman for Gov. Henry McMaster, said Monday that Evette had a sore throat and headache and was tested for the virus. She has stayed at her family’s home near Greenville since noting the symptoms on Thursday. (9/14)

AP: Chicago Starts Hiring Hundreds In $56M Contact Tracing Push
Chicago officials announced dozens of community organizations Monday that’ll help with the city’s effort to hire hundreds of contact tracers in the fight against COVID-19. Mayor Lori Lightfoot first announced the $56 million initiative in May, saying the positions would be filled in August. (9/14)

AP: Longtime North Platte Doctor Dies From COVID-19
A longtime North Platte doctor is one of the latest COVID-19 casualties in the state, with his death coming as officials confirmed more than 38,000 cases of the virus in Nebraska. Dr. Leland Lamberty died Saturday after weeks of fighting the virus, the North Platte Telegraph reported. Lamberty was hospitalized in late August with the virus and was put on a ventilator about a week before his death. Lamberty was a physician at Great Plains Health hospital and Great Plains Family Medicine clinic in North Platte. (9/14)

AP: Ex-Omaha Weatherman Accused Of Targeting Health Director
A former Omaha TV weatherman and spokesman for a former mayor has taken a plea deal months after being accused of emailing death threats to a local health department director over her handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Ronald Penzkowski, 57, pleaded no contest Friday to two misdemeanor counts of third-degree assault, the Omaha World-Herald reported Monday. He initially had been charged with a felony count of making terroristic threats. (9/14)

USA Today: Flesh-Eating Bacteria Infects 5 From Connecticut In Long Island Sound
Five people from Connecticut were hospitalized after they contracted flesh-eating bacteria in the waters of the Long Island Sound this summer, health officials said Saturday. Four men and one woman had pre-existing wounds or were injured during swimming, crabbing, or boating before getting Vibrio vulnificus infections in July and August, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Two patients developed infections in their bloodstream, and three suffered serious wound infections.The infection is extremely rare. In the past 10 years only seven cases were reported in Connecticut. (Yancey-Bragg, 9/14)

The Washington Post: Around The World, Health Officials Face Death Threats Amid Pandemic
A top Australian public health officer has become the latest in a string of health officials around the world to face death threats over their responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Jeannette Young, the chief health officer in the Australian state of Queensland, said the threats have taken an “enormous toll” on her, the Australian newspaper reported Monday. A police detail has been stationed outside her house. (Noack and Mellen, 9/14)

Fox News: Germany May Fine US Woman Over Coronavirus Outbreak In Alpine Resort 
A coronavirus outbreak in an Alpine resort in Germany is being blamed on a bar-hopping 26-year-old American woman who is now facing hefty fines for ignoring a quarantine order. The outbreak has been reported in the town Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the foot of the Alps. Authorities said the woman went on the pub crawl despite being told to quarantine after exhibiting coronavirus symptoms. She was awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. In Bavaria, those violating quarantine orders face fines of more than $2,300. (Gearty, 9/14)

The Washington Post: Mexico Border Reopening As U.S. Downgrades Travel Warning 
The U.S. State Department has lowered its travel advisory for Mexico to a Level 3 from its highest possible Level 4, days before the U.S.-Mexico border closure is due to expire on Sept. 21. The modified travel advisory says U.S. travelers should “reconsider travel to Mexico due to covid-19” as well as “crime and kidnapping.” A border closure restricting nonessential travel has been in place between the United States and Mexico since March 21 in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. (McMahon, 9/14)

AP: Panama Lifts Gender-Based Restrictions On Movement
Panama lifted a five-month-old coronavirus measure Monday that had restricted women from going out one day, and men the next.The rules limiting when people can could go out for essentials proved controversial because it led to harassment and discrimination against transgender people. (9/14)

AP: Europe Tests Gateway For Tracing Apps To Work Across Borders
Six European Union countries and the bloc’s executive Commission have begun testing a virtual “gateway” to ensure national coronavirus tracing apps can work across borders. The trial starting Monday will allow national computer systems that run tracing apps in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Latvia to communicate with each other via a central hub. (9/14)

AP: Bosnian Serb Official Jailed For War Crimes Dies Of COVID-19
Momcilo Krajisnik, a former top wartime Bosnian Serb official who was convicted of war crimes by a U.N. court, has died after contracting the new coronavirus. He was 75. Krajisnik was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison by the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for persecuting and forcibly expelling non-Serbs during the 1992-95 war. He was released from a British prison in 2013 after serving two-thirds of the sentence. (9/15)