Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gov. Cuomo: It's Essential To Clean Subways Every Day For Essential Workers; California Finds Even Money Laundering Is Slowed
The Wall Street Journal: New York City Subway Cars Must Be Cleaned Daily During Pandemic, Cuomo Says
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that subway cars in New York City should be cleaned every day for essential workers who were still commuting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, announced the measure as another 330 New Yorkers died from the coronavirus, bringing the state’s overall toll to 17,968. Nearly 300,000 people in the state have tested positive for Covid-19, state officials said. (Vielkind and De Avila, 4/29)
The Wall Street Journal: New York City Police To Step Up Coronavirus Enforcement After Funeral Flouts Rules
New York City police will no longer issue warnings to people who violate social-distancing rules designed to fight the coronavirus after a funeral drew a large crowd in Brooklyn Tuesday, officials said. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday admonished members of the Orthodox Jewish community who gathered the previous evening for the funeral of a prominent rabbi. Mr. de Blasio said the situation was “unacceptable” and “deeply, deeply distressing.” (Chapman and Vielkind, 4/29)
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Slows L.A. Money Laundering, Bringing Seizures
Dirty money is piling up in Los Angeles. In the last three weeks, federal agents made three seizures that each netted more than $1 million in suspected drug proceeds. The reason, according to the city’s top drug enforcement official: The coronavirus pandemic has slowed trade-based money laundering systems that drug trafficking groups use to repatriate profits and move Chinese capital into Southern California. (Ormseth, 4/29)
WBUR: Why Some Boston Neighborhoods Have Been Hit Harder By The Pandemic Than Others
Mayor Marty Walsh recently convened a task force to address some of the inequities laid bare by the pandemic. The committee is working to increase testing across the city, improve data collection and support minority-owned businesses. It's an effort that City Councilor Andrea Campbell supports. She represents Dorchester and Mattapan, two of the neighborhoods hit hardest. (Dooling, 4/30)
WBUR: If You're Admitted To A Partners HealthCare Hospital, Expect A Coronavirus Test
Partners HealthCare is now running a coronavirus diagnostic test on every admitted patient at all of its acute care hospitals. As of Monday, inserting that long swab into your nasal cavity will be part of admissions from the emergency room and for patients transferred to the hospital. If you’re scheduled for surgery at a Partners hospital, you’ll likely be asked to come in for a test the day before. Patients and hospital staff can expect to have the results within one to three hours. (Bebinger, 4/29)
Boston Globe: R.I. Focuses On The Grim Economic And Budgetary Realities Of The Epidemic
Economists are warning that Rhode Island is plunging into recession, facing a sharp, severe decline and a slow, gradual recovery. Meanwhile, top state and federal officials say that an initial infusion of $1.25 billion in federal funding can’t be used to fill the gaping state budget holes created by the coronavirus epidemic. (Fitzpatrick, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Cases On The Rise In California Border Towns
The federal government should "immediately begin medical checks" at the U.S.-Mexico border in Southern California to slow a surge of COVID-19 cases in border communities, two hospitals said Tuesday in a letter to HHS and the Department of Homeland Security. Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare also asked the Trump administration to give the San Diego region "priority status to receive more personal protective equipment (PPE) and pharmaceutical supplies" because hospitals near the border are running low on critical supplies. The Federal Emergency Management Administration has also redirected supply shipments destined for the San Diego area to other parts of the country, straining local supply chains. (Brady, 4/29)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Emory Hosting Virtual Event About COVID-19-Related Grief
Months after announcing a partnership with Science Gallery International, Emory University is teaming with the university network for “a multi-dimensional exploration of loss, hope and creativity during this crisis,” according to a press release. Emory University faculty and health care providers will collaborate with Science Gallery to host the virtual program “Science of Grief.” (Willis, 4/29)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Deaths Continue To Climb As Expanded Coronavirus Testing Eyed For Louisiana Nursing Homes
Coronavirus' deadly toll on Louisiana's nursing homes and adult residential facilities — which has already claimed 26 victims at a veterans home in Reserve, nine more at a New Roads facility, and at least 18 at Lambeth House in New Orleans — grew Wednesday to 637. Of those deaths, the state's nursing homes have been hit the hardest: The deadly respiratory disease has claimed the lives of 590 residents in 156 nursing homes. The state also said there have been at least 2,780 cases of the disease in the nursing homes. (Roberts III, 4/29)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas Hospital To Resume Surgeries In May
Southern Nevada’s major hospitals plan to resume “medically necessary” elective surgeries and procedures Monday, according to a Nevada Hospital Association letter obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The letter, dated Tuesday, was sent this week to medical staff at University Medical Center, North Vista Hospital and The Valley Health System, Dignity Health and HCA Healthcare hospital systems. The companies own and operate more than a dozen local hospitals that have more than 4,000 staffed acute-care beds. (Davidson, 4/29)
Albuquerque Journal: NM Health Agency Has Issued Two Isolation Orders
The New Mexico Department of Health has, in recent weeks, sought court intervention to require two patients infected with the coronavirus to self-isolate – marking the first time an isolation provision in a 2003 state law has been evoked during the COVID-19 outbreak. An agency spokesman said Wednesday that court records are sealed in both cases because they contain protected information and added the department could not provide further details, including where the two individuals live. (Boyd, 4/29)
