Highest Number Of New Cases In California Sparks Reopening Concerns; Positive Hospitalization Trends Emerge For Navajo Nation

Politico: Newsom Faces Growing Concerns That He's Reopening California Too Quickly
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rapid reopening strategy is drawing concerns from lawmakers and public health officials who fear the governor is basing decisions more on political pressure than science. Newsom’s reopening plan started just over two weeks ago with a handful of rural counties with relatively few cases allowing restaurant dining and shopping in stores. (Colliver and Marinucci, 5/27)

Albuquerque Journal: Virus May Have Peaked For Navajo Hospitals 
Navajo Nation health care facilities may have reached their peak of COVID-19 hospitalizations in late April, several weeks ahead of earlier projections, according to an updated surge plan from the Indian Health Service. (Davis, 5/27)

Los Angeles Times: California Is Reopening Too Quickly, Health Officer Warns 
lifornia’s increasingly fast pace of lifting stay-at-home restrictions. In particular, Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County — home to Silicon Valley and Northern California’s most populous county — said she was concerned by the decision to allow gatherings of up to 100 people for religious, political and cultural reasons. (Lin, 5/27)

The New York Times: As A Federal Coronavirus Expert Frets, The Capital Moves To Reopen
The leaders around the nation’s capital are pushing forward with plans to reopen the region, hoping they are close enough to their public health goals to move toward normalcy despite coronavirus infection rates that have alarmed federal officials. “I want to make sure we all understand that moving into Phase 1 means that more people can get infected,” Muriel E. Bowser, Washington’s mayor, said on Wednesday as she announced that parts of the city would begin to reopen on Friday. “It cannot be said enough: Every single one of us has a role to play.” (Steinhauer, 5/27)

The Washington Post: D.C. To Join Northern Virginia In Slight Reopening Friday; Maryland Suburbs Not Sure
The District will join Northern Virginia suburbs Friday in taking tentative steps toward ending their prolonged economic shutdown, the start of a gradual reopening of the coronavirus-battered Washington region. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) also will ease statewide restrictions to allow for outdoor dining and youth day camps this summer, but the leaders of populous Maryland suburbs that border the District have not yet said whether they will join in. (Nirappil, Davies and Wiggins, 5/27)

The Washington Post: Coronavirus On The Border: California Hospitals Overwhelmed By Patients From Mexico
When Manuel Ochoa started feeling sick — his body sore, his breathing restricted — he drove from his mother’s home in Mexicali, Mexico, to the U.S. border. The 65-year-old retiree parked his car at the international bridge and tried to drag himself to the country where he has permanent residency, and where his health insurance is valid. Just before he approached the port of entry, he collapsed in the sun. (Sieff, 5/27)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Infection Rates In Some Parts Of L.A. County Jails Are 40% Or Higher
As extensive testing for the novel coronavirus gets underway in the vast Los Angeles County jail system, high infection rates are emerging, with nearly 60% of one group of inmates testing positive. Among 600 inmates at North County Correctional Facility in Castaic who were without symptoms and living in the general population, 40% tested positive, indicating that herd immunity “is starting to take effect,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news briefing Wednesday. (Chang, 5/27)

NPR: LA Sues California Company, Alleging 'Sophisticated' COVID-19 Fraud
The city attorney of Los Angeles announced Wednesday that his office is suing Wellness Matrix Group for allegedly engaging in a "fraudulent scheme" related to the COVID-19 pandemic that was both "sophisticated" and "wide ranging." The lawsuit alleges that the California-based company sold purported "at-home" tests for the coronavirus, falsely claiming that the tests were FDA approved. The company also sold a supposedly coronavirus-killing "virucide," claiming that the product could "build a force field around your event or even spray your entire city." (Dreisbach, 5/27)

Sacramento Bee: What Will Sacramento CA Fund With Federal COVID-19 Funding? 
The Sacramento City Council Tuesday approved a list of items to fund with roughly $29 million in federal stimulus money and laid out a plan to get public input to decide how to spend the remaining $60 million it received. The council approved about $24 million in CARES Act funding in projects Mayor Darrell Steinberg called “early wins” and about $5 million in items that the city already funded in emergency response to the pandemic. (Clift, 5/27)

The New York Times: Asserting Sovereignty, Indian Casinos Defy California’s Governor And Reopen
It was a high-stakes gamble: a chance to win big at the slot machines but risk getting infected with the coronavirus. Braving a cold drizzle last week, hundreds placed their bet, lining up for hours in front of the Viejas Casino and Resort, a glass-and-stone Indian casino east of San Diego that was reopening despite pleas from California’s governor, Gavin Newsom. Fleming Clark, 56, a former manager at a fast-food restaurant, displayed the dedication of many gamblers in line, driving hours to the casino despite health conditions that put him at higher risk of Covid-19 complications. (Fuller, 5/28)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Gaming Control Board Updates Policies For Casino Reopenings 
The state Gaming Control Board on Wednesday updated its health and safety policies for reopening casinos, ordering licensees in resort hotels to provide for temperature screening for its hotel guests upon arrival or have a medical professional on-site. The board amended its May 1 notice with five key updates, including requiring a designated area where hotel guests may be tested for COVID-19 and await their test results. It also will require hotel guests to complete a symptom self-assessment upon check-in. (Velotta, 5/27)

Detroit Free Press: Health Care In Michigan Dramatically Changed Because Of COVID-19
Even before the first pair of novel coronavirus cases were confirmed March 10 in Michigan, the state's health care systems and hospitals were making plans for a surge in COVID-19 patients who would soon need critical care. They took stock of ventilators, tried to build their supplies of personal protective equipment like masks, gloves and gowns, and planned to convert regular hospital rooms into intensive care units as the demand grew. (Shamus, 5/28)

Kaiser Health News: Some Ivory Towers Are Ideal For A Pandemic. Most Aren’t.
Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California, is open for business this fall — but to get there, you really have to want it. Tucked amid verdant hills 23 miles east of San Francisco, accessible by a single road and a single entrance, the small, private Roman Catholic school receives almost no visitors by accident. This, in the age of a pandemic, is good news indeed for its administrators.“We can control who comes in or out in a way that larger, urban campuses perhaps can’t do,” said William Mullen, the school’s vice provost for enrollment. “Those campuses are in many cases more permeable.” (Kreidler, 5/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Disney World To Reopen Gradually Starting July 11
Walt Disney Co. said it plans to begin reopening its Disney World theme park at reduced capacity in mid-July. The Orlando, Fla., park’s Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom areas are to reopen on July 11, according to Jim MacPhee, senior vice president of operations at the park. The park’s Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios areas are to follow on July 15. (Schwartzel, 5/27)

State House News Service: Baker: No Reason To Delay Menthol, Flavored Tobacco Crackdown 
Restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol cigarettes, are set to take effect next week and Gov. Charlie Baker said he sees no reason the ongoing coronavirus pandemic should delay that. The law restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol cigarettes, to smoking bars for on-premise consumption is set to take effect June 1, but the New England Convenience Stores & Energy Marketers Association has been pressing Gov. Charlie Baker to use his executive authority to delay the ban for one year. (Young, 5/27)

WBUR: Dental Offices Open Up For More Care, But The Threat Of COVID-19 Lingers 
When dental workers perform any procedure, just about every powered tool they use – anything that spins, buzzes or shoots air or water – can spray droplets of the patient's saliva into the air. If the patient happens to have COVID-19, then the coronavirus will get sprayed into the air, too.So, now dental workers are taking extra care to reduce the danger. (Chen, 5/28)

Boston Globe: Colleges Prepare To Reopen But Aren’t Entirely Confident About Having Extensive Testing In Place
Officials from Massachusetts colleges and universities, who are working doggedly to figure out a safe return to campus in the fall, say they are not entirely confident that they will have the needed testing, tracing, and protective equipment in place to do so. State higher education leaders are also urging the governor and Legislature to change the law so that institutions are held legally harmless if they reopen and people get sick, highlighting the risks many colleges and universities are facing as they weigh how and whether to bring half a million students back to campuses across Massachusetts this fall. (Fernandes, 5/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Thermometers, Masks And Lonely Lunches: State Schools Chief Previews What’s In Store For Students
Schools across California are scheduled to reopen in just over two months, but few districts have figured out how to safely resume classes while covering the increased costs of in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, there is more state guidance on how to operate a hair salon than a school. (Trucker, 5/27)

Politico: New Jersey Hits Testing Benchmark, Plans Stronger Contact Tracing Next Month
New Jersey is recovering from Covid-19. The question now is whether the state can pull together the resources it will need to sustain that recovery and blot out future outbreaks. “We are far better equipped to deal with a second wave than we … were for the first wave,” said Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday during his daily briefing, recounting a conversation with Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Sutton, 5/27)

The New York Times: Camping In The West? Like Everything These Days, It’s Complicated
In the West, cabin-feverish parents yearning to take their children into the woods, couples trying to escape quarantine pods, and all campers who miss their beloved outdoors will this summer find a complicated camping landscape, one of new and conflicting laws, closings and reopenings, and strict requirements on social-distancing and hand-washing. (Knopper, 5/28)

Boston Globe: With New Rules, Rhode Islanders Are Getting Ready To Return To The Gym Next Week
You’ll have to wear a face mask, even if you’re running on a treadmill, or else stay 14 feet away from other people. You’ll have to make a reservation, like you’re going to a restaurant, and provide your name and phone number in case there’s an outbreak. You’ll have to stay in groups or classes of no more than 15 people. And forget about using locker rooms and taking part in contact sports like boxing or wrestling. Those were some of the new rules that Governor Gina M. Raimondo outlined on Wednesday as she aims to reopen gyms and fitness centers on Monday as part of Phase 2 of reopening the Rhode Island economy. (Fitzpatrick, 5/27)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Desert Research Institute Shifts Focus During Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, scientists at the Desert Research Institute quickly realized that their projects could be modified to help with coronavirus research in Nevada. The institute is known for the environmental research its name implies, but it also studies community health and the economic and social factors that tie into it. (Michor, 5/26)

KQED: Deaths Of Homeless People Spike In San Francisco
San Francisco public health officials are reporting an alarming increase in the number of homeless people who died this spring but said the increase is not directly caused by COVID-19. Instead, they said the deaths are more likely due to overdoses from fentanyl and indirect impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. (Small and Solomon, 5/27)