Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Venezuela, COVID Victims Being Harassed, Jailed, Called 'Bioterrorists'
The New York Times: Venezuela Cracks Down Using Security Forces Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Venezuelan officials are denouncing people who may have come into contact with the coronavirus as “bioterrorists” and urging their neighbors to report them. The government is detaining and intimidating doctors and experts who question the president’s policies on the virus. And it is corralling thousands of Venezuelans who are streaming home after losing jobs abroad, holding them in makeshift containment centers out of fear that they may be infected. (Kurmanaev, Herrera and Urdaneta, 8/19)
AP: 'Let's Roll': London's Heathrow Urges Testing At UK Airports
London’s Heathrow Airport, the U.K.’s busiest, unveiled a new coronavirus testing facility Wednesday that it says could halve the length of time people have to stay at home after arriving from countries on the British government’s quarantine list. The government said it wasn’t ready to give its backing to the facility but insisted that it was working with airports on how a new testing regime can reduce the 14-day quarantine period that travellers face when arriving from more than 100 countries, including France, Spain and the United States. (Pylas, 8/19)
AP: Iran Surpasses 20,000 Confirmed Deaths From The Coronavirus
Iran surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday, the health ministry said — the highest death toll for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. The announcement came as the Islamic Republic, which has been struggling with both the region’s largest outbreak and the highest number of fatalities, went ahead with university entrance exams for over 1 million students. Iran is also preparing for mass Shiite commemorations later this month. (Karimi, 8/19)
AP: Asia Today: India Has Record High Of 69,000 More Infections
India counted another record high of new coronavirus infections Thursday as it ramped up testing to more than 900,000 a day.The 69,652 new cases pushed India’s total past 2.8 million, of which 2 million have recovered, the Health Ministry said. (8/20)
In other global news —
The New York Times: Aleksei Navalny Hospitalized In Russia In Suspected Poisoning
Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, was on a ventilator in intensive care and unconscious in a Siberian hospital on Thursday after suffering symptoms of what his spokeswoman called poisoning. A plane carrying Mr. Navalny, 44, a high-profile critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, made an emergency landing in Omsk while en route to Moscow after he started feeling unwell, the spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said on Twitter. (Higgins and Joseph, 8/20)
The New York Times: Tokyo Now Has Transparent Public Toilets. Let Us Explain.
Public toilets around the globe have a reputation for being dark, dirty and dangerous. Tokyo recently unveiled new restrooms in two public parks that aim to address those concerns. For one thing, they are brightly lit and colorful. For another, they are transparent. (May, 8/19)
