Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Colleges Plan To Test Students Before Thanksgiving Break
The Washington Post: Colleges To Ramp Up Coronavirus Testing Before Thanksgiving
The State University of New York announced recently that students who use on-campus facilities in the public system must test negative before heading home. That will require testing 140,000 students statewide during a 10-day period before the break. SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras called it “a smart, sensible policy that protects students’ families and hometown communities and drastically reduces the chances of covid-19 community spread.” Not all schools go as far as SUNY’s mandate. But experts say that even giving students a chance to get a pre-Thanksgiving test is an important step. (Anderson, 11/2)
ABC News: Employers Are Rethinking Sick Leave, Work From Home Policies To Protect COVID-19 Long Haulers
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the United States, many employers are reevaluating their sick leave, work from home and disability policies to accommodate their employees, especially those now known as COVID-19 "long haulers." Working from home has become the de facto policy of many white-collar job employers, but employees in blue-collar or essential jobs may still be required to show up in person. This has brought up complex and thorny questions about how employers should best protect their workers while on the job. (Carrington and Bhatt, 11/3)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Sex Worker Sues Over Pandemic Shutdown Of Brothels
A Nevada sex worker sued Gov. Steve Sisolak on Monday over continued shutdown of the state’s legal brothels. Alice Little, who bills herself as “the highest-earning courtesan at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel” in Lyon County, alleged that sex workers have been unfairly singled out amid the pandemic. (Ferrara, 11/2)
KHN: The Best COVID Warning System? Poop And Pooled Spit, Says One Colorado School
Carol Wilusz’s mornings now often start at 4 a.m., scanning the contents of undergraduates’ feces. Specifically, scanning the data on how much coronavirus they flushed into the shadows, destined to be extracted from 17 manholes connected to dorm buildings on Colorado State University’s Fort Collins campus. “There are quite extensive numbers of poop jokes,” said Wilusz, a CSU molecular biologist. (Bichell, 11/3)
KHN: Seniors Form COVID Pods To Ward Off Isolation This Winter
Over the past month, Dr. Richard Besdine and his wife have been discussing whether to see family and friends indoors this fall and winter. He thinks they should, so long as people have been taking strict precautions during the coronavirus pandemic. She’s not convinced it’s safe, given the heightened risk of viral transmission in indoor spaces. (Graham, 11/3)
In news about dementia —
The New York Times: Dementia ‘Took Its Toll’ On Sean Connery, Wife Says
Sean Connery, the actor who originated the role of James Bond, had dementia in the last few months of his life, his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, told The Daily Mail. Mr. Connery died this weekend at age 90 in the Bahamas. Ms. Roquebrune, who was married to Mr. Connery for 45 years, said the actor “was not able to express himself” in the months leading up to his death. “It was no life for him,” she said. “At least he died in his sleep and it was just so peaceful.” (Bahr, 11/2)
The Wall Street Journal: AI May Help Identify Patients With Early-Stage Dementia
Researchers are studying whether artificial-intelligence tools that analyze things like typing speed, sleep patterns and speech can be used to help clinicians better identify patients with early-stage dementia. Huge quantities of data reflecting our ability to think and process information are now widely available, thanks to watches and phones that track movement and heart rate, as well as tablets, computers and virtual assistants such as Amazon Echo that can record the way we type, search the internet and pay bills. (Wang, 11/2)
Also —
The Washington Post: Lafayette Square Protester Accused Of Assault ID'd With Facial Recognition
A line of U.S. Park Police officers pushed protesters back from Lafayette Square on June 1, firing pepper balls and rolling canisters spewing irritant gas into the retreating crowds on H Street NW, video shows. Amid screams and smoke, a man in a tie-dye T-shirt pulled an officer to the ground and punched him in the face, before disappearing into the chaos, according to charging documents. The man grabbed another officer, before police caught up with him and attempted to make an arrest, authorities said. But the man wrestled free and vanished once again. The protester might never have been identified, but an officer found an image of the man on Twitter and investigators fed it into a facial recognition system, court documents state. They found a match and made an arrest. (Jouvenal and Hsu, 11/2)
The Salt Lake Tribune: West Valley City Releases Bodycam Showing Police Dogs Biting Dozens Of People
West Valley City police released body camera and police reports Monday for 25 times when police dogs bit suspects over a nearly three-year period — the latest Salt Lake County police agency to do so after video surfaced of a Salt Lake City police officer ordering his dog to bite a Black man who was on his knees with his hands in the air. While Salt Lake City police identified many of their cases as problematic and flagged them for review for criminal charges against the officers involved, officials in West Valley City said they saw no issues within their own department. (Miller, 11/2)
