Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'New Flying Etiquette': Wearing Face Masks Strongly Urged By Airlines Making New Safety Procedures
The Wall Street Journal: Airlines Urge Passengers To Wear Face Masks
Face masks are becoming a must-have travel accessory for those still flying during the coronavirus pandemic. JetBlue Airways Corp. will require customers to wear masks starting May 4. “This is the new flying etiquette,” Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s president and chief operating officer said in a statement. (Sider, 4/27)
ABC News: JetBlue Becomes First U.S. Airline To Require Passengers Wear Face Coverings
As demand for air travel reaches historic lows amid the COVID-19 pandemic, passenger Erin Strine was shocked to board a nearly full American Airlines flight from New York to Charlotte on Saturday. Strine observed many passengers were sitting side by side and not wearing masks. She posted a video to Twitter, which as of Monday evening, has been viewed almost two million times - -strengthening union calls for more protection and more aggressive policies on social distancing. (Benitez, Maile and Kaji, 4/28)
The Associated Press: `Infecting Our Dreams': Pandemic Sabotages Sleep Worldwide
For millions of people around the world dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, sleep brings no relief. The horrors of COVID-19, and the surreal and frightening ways it has upended daily life, are infecting dreams and exposing feelings of fear, loss, isolation and grief that transcend culture, language and national boundaries. (Flaccus, 4/28)
The New York Times: Endless Summer Puts Homebound Kids At Risk For Weight Gain
With tens of thousands of schools in dozens of states now shuttered through the remainder of the school year because of the coronavirus pandemic, an estimated 55 million students will be home from school for double the length of their normal summer vacations, if not longer. Now some experts are warning that one of the likely health consequences for many housebound children will be an increase in the unhealthy levels of weight gain typically seen during summer breaks. (O'Connor, 4/28)
Stateline: Against CDC Guidance, Some Cities Sweep Homeless Encampments
In March, at the start of the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines instructing cities that, unless housing units are available, “do not clear encampments during community spread of COVID-19. Clearing encampments can cause people to disperse throughout the community,” which “increases the potential for disease spread.” But across the country, from California to Washington to Minnesota to New York, cities are still conducting sweeps, city officials acknowledged, saying they must address health and safety problems. (Wiltz, 4/28)
PBS NewsHour: Why Losing A Loved One Amid COVID-19 Means A Different Kind Of Goodbye
The spread of COVID-19 has dramatically altered the way Americans both live and die. We asked our viewers to share their stories about losing loved ones during the pandemic, whether to COVID-19 or to something else. (Nawaz, Fritz and Wellford, 4/27)
CIDRAP: Study: Many Asymptomatic COVID-19 Cases Undetected
More than half of residents of a Seattle-area nursing home had no symptoms when they tested positive for COVID-19 and had probably already spread the disease, according to a study published late last week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Also, a study in Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) found that all five household contacts of a mildly symptomatic doctor in Wuhan, China infected with the novel coronavirus had the disease but no symptoms. (Van Beusekom, 4/27)
The Washington Post: What Does A Pandemic Sound Like? For Many Of Us At Home, It’s A Heartbreaking Silence.
In India, the incessant beep-beep of cars has disappeared. In New York, Harlem’s heart has stopped beating. In the suburbs of Detroit, the chatter of neighbors is muffled. In Toronto, the trains no longer whistle, and in Marseille, every day sounds like a holiday. All around the world, the silence rolls in and out like fog. It hangs in the air — there but not there. Impenetrable and fragile, weightless and smothering. (Givhan, 4/28)
CNN: Accidental Disinfectant Poisonings In Children On The Rise
More than 300 children are treated for poisoning each day in emergency departments across the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, two of those kids will die. As Americans spend more time at home trying to safeguard their families against Covid-19, accidental poisonings are on the rise. And some experts believe the spike is due to the very same cleaning products parents are using to protect their families from infection. (Smith, 4/28)
