Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'New Breed Of Summer Jobs': No-Contact Lifeguarding And Working At COVID Testing Sites
The New York Times: A Summer Of No-Contact Rescues: How Lifeguards Have Changed Their Ways
The Avalon Beach Patrol, on the New Jersey shore, is an elite lifeguard corps that holds tryouts each year, dominates in lifesaving competitions and prides itself on protecting swimmers from treacherous ocean conditions. But this summer, it, like so many other groups, has faced a daunting challenge: the coronavirus crisis. (Kilgannon, 8/15)
PBS NewsHour: The Pandemic Has Created Unexpected Summer Jobs For These Young People
The summer job is a rite of passage for many teens and younger adults. Because of the pandemic, however, traditional roles such as camp counselor, lifeguard and waiter, are scarce. But as John Yang reports, some local governments are providing these young people with other unemployment options, from computer coding to coronavirus test coordination. (Yang and Frazee, 8/14)
AP: Taller Cubicles, One-Way Aisles: Office Workers Must Adjust
Bergmeyer, a design firm in Boston, has erected higher cubicles, told employees to wear masks when not at their desks and set up one-way aisles in the office that force people to walk the long way around to get to the kitchen or the bathroom. “The one-way paths take me a little out of the way, but it was easy to get used to,” said Stephanie Jones, an interior designer with the company. “It actually gives me the opportunity to see more people and say a quick hello when I might have just walked directly to my desk before.” (Anderson, 8/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Work-Life Balance Is Changing. These Apps Can Help.
Nonessential offices in San Francisco closed 22 weeks ago, and my husband, Will, and I have been co-working from home ever since. Early on, sharing our 400-square-foot apartment was a delicate dance. Wearing noise-canceling headphones for calls made our voices too loud. Two simultaneous Zoom meetings? “Ha!” our feeble home internet cackled, as we watched our video feeds become pixel art. The at-home situation is continuing on much longer than most originally thought. Google is keeping employees home until at least July 2021, and so is Facebook. This fall, more students will be distance learning and parents will be charged with supervising—and sometimes even teaching—their kids in lieu of in-person instruction. (Nguyen, 8/16)
