Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mask Arguments Continue Despite Evidence
CNN: Minnesota Republican County Official Resigns After Posting Image Comparing Mask Wearing To Nazi Germany
A Minnesota Republican Party county official has resigned after posting an image on Facebook comparing mask mandates to Jews being forced to wear Stars of David in Nazi Germany, the state party said on Tuesday. Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan confirmed the official's resignation in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier, she had repeated a lower ranking official's assertion that the Wabasha County Republican Party's Facebook page had been hacked -- an assertion that she retracted on Tuesday evening. (Kelly, 7/29)
The Washington Post: Labor Unions Petition Transportation Department For A Mandatory Mask Rule
Labor unions representing transportation workers formally asked the U.S. Department of Transportation this week to issue an emergency rule ordering passengers to wear masks on planes, buses and trains or be denied a ride. Larry Willis, the president of the Transportation Trades Department, a coalition of 33 unions, wrote in the petition that the government needed to go beyond issuing guidance and set clear rules for the use of masks to protect workers and passengers from the novel coronavirus. (Duncan, 7/28)
AP: Wyoming Governor: There Will Be No Mask Order
Wyoming will not issue a statewide mask order despite record-high reported cases of the coronavirus, Gov. Mark Gordon said Tuesday. Gordon made the remarks soon after he extended by two more weeks public health orders that prohibit most gatherings of over 250 people. The orders are now set to expire Aug. 16. (Gruver, 7/28)
In other news about mask-wearing —
AP: States Resist Mask Rules As Midwest Virus Uptick Stirs Alarm
The baseball season descended deeper into crisis Tuesday, states like Mississippi and South Carolina cast about for more hospital beds, and governors in some of the hardest-hit places staunchly resisted calls to require masks, despite confirmed cases of the coronavirus soaring. ... States like Florida, Arizona and Texas are in dire condition, and the virus also has been spreading farther north in recent days, causing alarm among public health officials who fear states are not doing enough to avoid catastrophic outbreaks like those in the Sun Belt. (Forliti, Willingham and HOllingsworth, 7/29)
The Wall Street Journal: How Face Masks Work And Which Types Offer The Best Covid-19 Protection
Face masks are a simple way to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus through talking, coughing or sneezing, scientists and public-health specialists say. But they need to be worn properly. While some types of masks are more effective than others, public-health officials say any face covering—even a bandanna—is better than nothing. Here’s how different types of masks stack up, and how they are meant to be used. (Hufford and Williams, 7/28)
The Washington Post: At The Heart Of Dismal U.S. Coronavirus Response, A Fraught Relationship With Masks
“Some countries took out their masks as soon as this happened,” said Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease specialist from the University of California at San Francisco, “and their rates of death are very low.” In a coronavirus response that has been full of missteps and unforced errors, delayed acceptance of universal masking, Gandhi said, may be the single biggest mistake the United States has made. (Witte, Eunjung Cha and Dawsey, 7/28)
Kaiser Health News: Where Mask-Wearing Isn’t Gospel: Colorado Churches Grapple With Reopening
The lights dimmed. Guitars thrummed. And a nine-piece band kicked off what amounted to a rock concert inside an amphitheater of a church. “Shout for joy to the Lord,” one musician called out, quoting Scripture. Any such shout could release the coronavirus to congregants. With some 500 people singing along, though, any concern about a deadly virus circulating was hard to find other than the spaced-out chairs in the 6,000-person hall. Although Colorado’s governor had issued a statewide order days earlier mandating masks, hardly anyone at this service at New Life Church obeyed. (Rodgers, 7/29)
