Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Other Countries Are Faring; Thousands More Children Facing Food Insecurity
Politico: Pet Cat In England Tests Positive For Covid-19
A pet cat in England has tested positive for Covid-19, the first confirmed case in an animal in the U.K. and one of very few worldwide. The U.K.'s Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said that it was "a very rare event" and there was no evidence to suggest that pets transmit the coronavirus to humans. The cat is thought to have contracted the virus from its owners, who had tested positive and since made a full recovery — as has the cat. (Cooper, 7/27)
AP: 80,000 People Fleeing Vietnamese City After New Virus Cases
About 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, are being evacuated from the popular Vietnamese beach city of Da Nang after more than a dozen people there were confirmed to have COVID-19, the government said Monday. Vietnam, widely seen as a success in dealing with the coronavirus, reimposed a social distancing order in Da Nang following the confirmation of the cases, the first known to be locally transmitted in the country in over three months. (Dinh, 7/27)
Reuters: Taiwan Probes Possible First Local Virus Case In One Month As Imported Cases Rise
Taiwan on Tuesday was investigating its first possible local coronavirus infection in more than a month, a Thai man who tested positive last week, as the island also faces a rise in cases brought from overseas. Taiwan’s early response was effective in keeping the pandemic at bay, with just 467 infections and seven deaths. Most of the cases have been imported and have recovered. (7/28)
AP: Concern Grows In Bosnia Over Mounting COVID-19 Cases
The rising number of coronavirus cases in Bosnia prompted the World Health Organization on Monday to call on authorities to increase contact tracing and testing, or the Balkan country risks being faced with overfilled and understaffed hospitals. “We see a really sharp increase and concern is that this will lead to an overcrowding of hospitals,” Victor Olsavszky, the head of the WHO office in Bosnia. (7/27)
AP: Faithful Return To Mexico City Churches With Masks, Gel
Temperatures taken and anti-bacterial gel applied, the faithful passed through a disinfecting arch set up in front of centuries-old wood-and-stone doors. Inside, they sat spaced out on pews while robed priests donned face masks. In another church, a glass partition separated people from the altar. Mexico City’s Roman Catholic churches, including its main cathedral, began celebrating Mass again Sunday after three months of pandemic lockdown with a “new normal” that seemed to have more rules than faithful in the pews. (Verza, 7/27)
In other global news —
AP: Virus-Linked Hunger Tied To 10,000 Child Deaths Each Month
The lean season is coming for Burkina Faso’s children. And this time, the long wait for the harvest is bringing a hunger more ferocious than most have ever known. That hunger is already stalking Haboue Solange Boue, an infant who has lost half her former body weight of 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) in the last month. With the markets closed because of coronavirus restrictions, her family sold fewer vegetables. Her mother is too malnourished to nurse her. (Hinnant and Mednick, 7/27)
The New York Times: Poland Considers Leaving Treaty On Domestic Violence, Spurring Outcry
The Polish government, emboldened by a narrow election victory this month and undeterred by criticism from European Union leaders, is considering withdrawing from a treaty aimed at curbing domestic violence and protecting women’s rights, with the country’s minister of justice filing paperwork on Monday to start the process. The move came just one week after European Union leaders, bowing to pressure from Poland and Hungary, relaxed demands that were supposed to tie funding in the bloc’s long-term budget to issues related to rule of law. (Santora, 7/27)
