Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Growing Number Of Californians Say State Needs To Slow Down On Reopening; Texas Governor Looks To Future Cures
San Jose Mercury News: Coronavirus: Californians Believe State Is Moving Too Fast, Poll Says
A new majority of Californians believe the state is reopening too quickly, while three in four are concerned about themselves or a family member catching the virus, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The California Health Care Foundation, in partnership with Ipsos, asked Californians in a tracking poll the past two months about the rate at shelter-in-place restrictions were being lifted. The number of respondents who said they believed the state was moving too quickly increased 10 points from a plurality of 43% on June 19 to a majority of 53% in the latest poll released Wednesday, while 27% believe the state is reopening at the right pace, and 18% believe it isn’t moving fast enough. (Webeck, 7/8)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Sets New COVID-19 Records Wednesday In Key Metrics
Two key metrics Gov. Greg Abbott has used to judge the coronavirus epidemic in Texas hit record highs Wednesday. More than 9,600 people were hospitalized. And over the past week, 15% of reported coronavirus tests have come back positive -- the highest rate since the epidemic began. Texas also hit another grim record Wednesday: 98 people died of COVID-19. (Morris and Garrett, 7/8)
AP: Nebraska Surpasses 20,000 Positive Cases Of Corornavirus
State figures released Wednesday show Nebraska has surpassed 20,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the outbreak began earlier this year.The state’s online virus tracker shows 155 cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the state total to 20,201. Of the total, nearly 15,000 have recovered from the virus. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, had reached 282 by the end of Tuesday. (7/8)
Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus In Michigan Nursing Homes: Some Could Get Emergency Staff
The state health department says it will provide rapid response staffing for nursing homes and other long-term health care facilities in 11 Michigan counties if they are hit by a COVID-19 outbreak and face a staff shortage. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it will provide staffing for up to 72 hours through 22nd Century Technologies Inc., a national firm that provides clinical staffing support for medical facilities nationwide. (Dale, 7/8)
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Reports 610 New Coronavirus Cases, Highest Total Since May
The Michigan health department reported an additional 610 coronavirus cases Wednesday, increasing the state's total to 67,237. This is the highest daily total since May 20, which was 659 cases. This increases the 7-day average to 444, which is the highest it's been since May 24. The 7-day average was as low as 152 on June 15. (Stitt, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus Patients From Overwhelmed Imperial County Fill Bay Area Hospital Beds
Overflowing hospitals in Southern California are sending critical COVID-19 patients to the Bay Area for treatment, where record numbers of local patients are already putting the health care system under strain. As of last Thursday, 15 patients from hard-hit Imperial County, which borders Mexico, had transferred to Bay Area hospitals, according to California Emergency Medical Services Authority. (Moench, 7/8)
CNN: Virginia Eliminated Its Rape Kit Backlog, Attorney General Says
Virginia has eliminated its backlog of rape kits, processing thousands of tests in a five-year project, Attorney General Mark Herring said. "Virginia's backlog of untested rape kits has been completely eliminated and it's never coming back," Herring said Wednesday at a press conference in Richmond, Virginia. (McMenamin, 7/9)
The Washington Post: Maryland To Open All Polling Places On Election Day, Mail Application For Absentee Ballot To Each Voter
Maryland will conduct November’s election as a “normal” affair, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Wednesday, opening every precinct and early-voting center while arming election workers with protective equipment to limit spread of the novel coronavirus. (Cox, 7/8)
The New York Times: Pandemic Plunges Puerto Rico Into Yet Another Dire Emergency
With hundreds of thousands of people suddenly out of jobs in Puerto Rico, Luciano Soto, a tour guide who has not worked in nearly four months, wanted to be first in line at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, now outfitted as an unemployment office. He showed up at 8 p.m. one night a few weeks ago, with a lunchbox full of snacks, prepared to spend the night, so that he could find out why the unemployment benefits he had applied for months earlier had never arrived. By 5 a.m., more than 400 others were also at the convention center, and many furious people were turned away. (Rosa and Robles, 7/8)
