Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Navajo President Signs Off On First Round Of COVID Spending, Eyes Water Improvements Next; Infected Atlanta Mayor Regrets Reopening
Albuquerque Journal: Navajo President Approves $52M In CARES Act Spending
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has approved the spending of more than $52 million in federal CARES Act funds to address COVID-19 on the reservation. Nez, over the holiday weekend, also line-item vetoed $73 million in expenditures from two resolutions passed last month by the Navajo Nation Council. The Navajo government now has more than $662 million remaining. (Davis, 7/7)
AP: Navajo Nation Reports 27 More Coronavirus Cases, 1 New Death
Navajo Nation health officials have reported 27 more coronavirus cases and one additional known death. Tribal Department of Health officials said 7,941 people on the vast reservation that spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have tested positive with 379 known deaths as of Tuesday. (7/8)
GMA: 'We're Paying For It': COVID-Positive Atlanta Mayor Says State Reopened Too Soon
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Tuesday that she, her husband and one of their children are now among a rising number of Georgia residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are "paying the price" for the state reopening its economy too soon. "Prayerfully my symptoms won’t get any worse," Bottoms said during an interview on "Good Morning America" with ABC News' Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. (Hutchinson, 7/7)
Atlanta Journal Constitution: As Coronavirus Cases Climb In Georgia, Data About Race, Ethnicity Lag
Georgia on Tuesday surpassed 100,000 cases of COVID-19, an insidious disease that’s hit every corner of the state, and disproportionately impacted communities of color as measured by hospitalizations and deaths. But an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of COVID-19 data through the end of June shows the state Department of Public Health (DPH) only knows race and ethnicity in fewer than seven out of 10 confirmed cases. (Trubey, 7/8)
Boston Globe: Mass. Finds More Than 58,000 Bogus Unemployment Claims, Recovers $158 Million
The state agency that administers unemployment benefits on Tuesday provided for the first time some details about how badly Massachusetts has been hit by fraud, saying it had verified that more than 58,000 claims were phony and recovered a total of $158 million as of June 20. In May, the Baker administration revealed that a sophisticated international scam network had targeted the state’s unemployment agency, along with those in about a dozen other states, apparently trying to take advantage of the demands on those agencies due to unprecedented job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Murphy, 7/7)
Boston Globe: After 9/11, Officials Ordered A Lengthy Investigation. State Lawmakers Want The Same For The Pandemic Response
Beacon Hill Democrats are preparing legislation that would create a commission to broadly investigate the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, including the disproportionate impact on people of color and Governor Charlie Baker’s decisions to close schools, businesses, and other sectors of Massachusetts’s economy. The bill, which state Senator Eric P. Lesser and Representative Jon Santiago plan to file Tuesday, models the seven-person panel after the federal 9/11 commission formed to examine the 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed about 3,000 people. (Stout, 7/7)
Billings Gazette: Yellowstone County Officials Ask Daines To Protect Public Health Resources
On Sunday, 45 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported, 16 of which were reported in Yellowstone County. The county has the highest number of active cases, topping at 149. Last Thursday, Montana added 67 new cases of coronavirus, the highest number recorded in one day in the state. (Hall, 7/7)
Arkansas Democrat & Gazette: Washington County Sheriff To Use Electronic Monitoring To Manage Jail Population
Sheriff Tim Helder said Tuesday he plans to expand an electronic monitoring release program to control the detainee population at the Washington County Detention Center once the covid-19 pandemic ends. Helder said the Sheriff's Office has used a state contract program to obtain a supply of the monitoring devices. He said the Sheriff's Office will set up an in-house program, working with the county's circuit court judges and the Prosecuting Attorney to allow some non-violent pretrial detainees and people jailed for failure to appear to be released with the monitors. (Sissom, 7/8)
Houston Chronicle: Harris County Nursing Home Under Investigation After COVID-19 Outbreak, Officials Say
An east Harris County nursing home is under investigation following a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility, Harris County Public Health announced Tuesday. Four deaths at the Jacinto Nursing & Rehabilitation Center on Holland Avenue are currently “pending review to determine if COVID-19 related,” according to a news release. Another 57 residents and staff members have tested positive and are actively being monitored by public health officials, according to Harris County Public Health spokeswoman Martha Marquez. The facility has 148 total beds, records show. Calls to the facility and its listed owner Tuesday night were not returned by press time. (Gill, 7/7)
