Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Infected Inmates In Louisiana Prison 'Roamed Free,' Union Says; Alabama Doctors Scramble For ICU Beds
Reuters: Federal Inmates With COVID-19 In Louisiana Continued Working For Days, Union Says
The union for corrections officers at one of the U.S. federal prisons hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic has filed a U.S. Labor Department complaint alleging that prison managers failed to isolate several inmates who tested positive for the illness. The complaint came from a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana, where eight inmates have died of the COVID-19 illness caused by the novel coronavirus. (Lynch, 5/21)
CNN: With Just One ICU Bed Available, Montgomery, Alabama, Is Sending Sick Patients To Birmingham
The city of Montgomery, Alabama, which has only one intensive care unit bed left, is sending sick patients to Birmingham, more than an hour away, officials said. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said on Wednesday that of the four regional hospitals, one is short three ICU beds, two have no ICU beds, and one has just one bed. "Right now, if you are from Montgomery, and you need an ICU bed, you are in trouble," Reed said at a press conference. "If you're from central Alabama, and you need an ICU bed, you may not be able to get one." (Lemos and Waldrop, 5/21)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Southern Nevada Faces Critical Blood Shortage After Drives Canceled
The nonprofit blood service provider Vitalant is urging the Las Vegas community to donate blood in response to a critical shortage. Stay-at-home recommendations stemming from the coronavirus pandemic led to cancellations of 205 blood drives in Southern Nevada — and the loss of more than 5,400 uncollected blood donations — since March, according to the organization. And the resumption of surgeries and other medical procedures as stay-at-home restrictions were lifted also has resulted in a 25 percent increase in the need for blood in the past several weeks. (Hynes, 5/21)
Reuters: Reinforcements Sent To California Border Hospital Hit By Coronavirus Surge
Emergency medical reinforcements began work on Thursday at a small Southern California hospital straining to cope with a recent surge in coronavirus patients, some of them turned away from overwhelmed hospitals across the border in Mexico. A group of a dozen registered nurses, a respiratory therapist and three physicians was sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, joining a separate contingent of seven nurses from the California Department of Public Health. (Gorman, 5/21)
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Transmission In L.A. County Hits Lowest Level
Los Angeles County has reached a promising new milestone in its fight to control the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus. The transmission rate in the nation’s most populous county, home to 56% of COVID-19 deaths in California, is now in its best position since the magnitude of the outbreak became clear in March. (Lin, 5/21)
Politico: Reopening Reality Check: Georgia's Jobs Aren’t Flooding Back
Georgia’s early move to start easing stay-at-home restrictions nearly a month ago has done little to stem the state’s flood of unemployment claims — illustrating how hard it is to bring jobs back while consumers are still afraid to go outside. Weekly applications for jobless benefits have remained so elevated that Georgia now leads the country in terms of the proportion of its workforce applying for unemployment assistance. A staggering 40.3 percent of the state's workers — two out of every five — has filed for unemployment insurance payments since the coronavirus pandemic led to widespread shutdowns in mid-March, a POLITICO review of Labor Department data shows. (Cassella, 5/21)
The Associated Press: San Francisco Sanctions Once-Shunned Homeless Encampments
San Francisco is joining other U.S. cities in authorizing homeless tent encampments in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a move officials have long resisted but are now reluctantly embracing to safeguard homeless people. About 80 tents are now neatly spaced out on a wide street near San Francisco City Hall as part of a “safe sleeping village” opened last week. The area between the city’s central library and its Asian Art Museum is fenced off to outsiders, monitored around the clock and provides meals, showers, clean water and trash pickup. (Har and Chea, 5/22)
Boston Globe: With A Health Check-In App, Masks, And Tests, MIT Pilots Safety Measures For Reopening Labs
A small cadre of MIT’s researchers are beginning to test what could become daily practices at the university as it tries to reopen the campus to faculty and students amid the coronavirus pandemic. MIT is among the first institutions in the Greater Boston area to outline detailed plans for how it will resume its research operations, a nearly $4 billion-a-year enterprise that involves more than 12,000 scientists, students, and staff. The university has opened three lab buildings and is testing its protocols on about 400 people. That’s just a small fraction of its research community, but it offers a window on what could be life ahead. (Fernandes, 5/21)
Boston Globe: Salons, Barbershops Grapple With Reopening Rules, While Others In The Beauty Industry Wait
Among the shaggy-headed masses, there was a collective sigh of relief when Governor Charlie Baker gave hair salons and barbershops the go-ahead to resume business on May 25 in the state’s first phase of reopening. But those who have booked appointments for next week should anticipate the bare minimum: no more packed waiting rooms, no magazines or beverages, and chairs separated by 6 feet. And since everyone will have to wear a mask, the time-honored barbershop chat might be on the short side. (Gardizy, 5/21)
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Georgia Agency Confirms 9 Cases Of Mysterious Illness In Children
Nine children in Georgia are now confirmed to have a mysterious new illness that’s likely linked to COVID-19, the state’s Department of Public Health said Thursday. The DPH is continuing to review the cases of about half a dozen other children who might have MIS-C, or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, as it was recently named by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State officials are still trying to eliminate other illnesses and to determine if the children, who range in age from toddlers to teenagers, have COVID-19 or the antibodies triggered by the virus. Some cases have been reported in children whose coronavirus exposure was well past. (Oliviero, 5/21)
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Georgia Establishes Advisory Group For Fall School Reopenings
Georgia’s top government and educational leaders have formed working groups this week to plan for reopening schools in the fall as the federal government released long-awaited safety guidance. The 72 members on the K-12 “restart” working groups appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp and state school Superintendent Richard Woods include current and past teachers of the year, rural and suburban metro Atlanta school superintendents (Coweta and Fayette counties), administrators from Fulton County Schools, public health officials, education organization leaders and state agencies. (Tagami, 5/21)
Detroit Free Press: Judge Tosses Legislature's Lawsuit Over Whitmer's Emergency Powers
A judge has tossed a lawsuit filed by Republican lawmakers that challenged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's use of emergency powers to lockdown the state amid the coronavirus pandemic. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens sided with the governor, a Democrat, in an opinion issued Thursday afternoon that ends the lawsuit. Legal experts had said such an outcome was likely. Republicans vowed to appeal the judge's ruling. (Reindl, 5/21)
Detroit Free Press: Michigan Retail, Medical, Dental Services To Reopen With Rules
As coronavirus cases and deaths continue to decline in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday that she is lifting portions of her earlier stay-at-home order and reopening more parts of Michigan's economy. Effective immediately, she said, people across Michigan are allowed to engage in social gatherings of no more than 10 people, which had been restricted, provided they wear face covering if in close spaces and try to maintain social distancing of 6 feet or more when around people they don't live with. (Spangler, 5/21)
The Salt Lake Tribune: Bad Omen For Busy Memorial Day: Utah Road Deaths Rose Amid Light Traffic In COVID-19 Shutdowns
It’s not a good omen for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend start of the “100 deadliest days” of driving each year during summer: Fatal accidents already increased in Utah even as traffic thinned during coronavirus stay-at-home orders. “When traffic has been reduced by sometimes 50% of the vehicles on the road, we’re seeing an increase in fatalities. And that really doesn’t make sense,” said Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason at an event urging safe summer driving. (Davidson, 5/21)
The Salt Lake Tribune: Kaysville Chases Away COVID-19 Protest Concert With Threats Of Turning On Sprinklers, And Cutting Power
The Kaysville City Council — in a revolt against Mayor Katie Witt — was considering turning on sprinklers and cutting power to a city park to stop a protest concert she backed there that openly aimed to defy state COVID-19 restrictions. Word about these possible city actions was enough Thursday to chase away the May 30 concert, featuring country star Collin Raye, which now will move to the Studio Ranch Amphitheater near Grantsville. (Davidson, 5/21)
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Immunization Rate Hit Hard By By Pandemic Restrictions
Alaska has eased pandemic-related restrictions on health care office visits, and officials are encouraging residents to get back to their health care routines — especially immunizations. On Wednesday, the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management issued a public message urging residents to return to practices like regular physicals, women’s health care visits and children’s vaccinations. The state has seen a 49% drop in immunizations this April compared to April 2019, according to Matthew Bobo, manager for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services’ immunization program. (Goodykoontz, 5/21)
Anchorage Daily News: For Many Anchorage Residents Coping With Pandemic, Gardening Becomes ‘Almost A Necessary Enjoyment’
Like many other Anchorage residents following the COVID-19 “hunker down” order, nurse practitioner Holly Fisk suddenly found herself stuck working mostly from home. Fisk and her two young children soon grew restless. “There’s only so many puzzles you can do,” she said. (Goodykoontz, 5/20)
Anchorage Daily News: University Of Alaska Will Take A ‘Conservative Approach’ To Opening Its Campuses In Fall
After Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that a full reopening of the state’s economy is set to begin Friday, University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen cautioned that fully reopening college campuses is not yet possible. “We will likely have a more conservative approach than the state or local communities,” Johnsen said Wednesday during a briefing with the governor. (Goodykoontz, 5/20)
