New York Plans To Launch Rapid Testing Sites

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Rapid-Test Sites Planned For New York Office Buildings 
New York is working to open up Covid-19 rapid-testing sites at commercial buildings to help return workers to their offices, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. The expansion of rapid-testing facilities would allow the state to loosen social-distancing measures, including on theaters and restaurants, which have had to limit or close their operations during the pandemic, the governor said. Several of New York’s largest landlords said Tuesday that they are participating in the effort. (Honan and Grant, 1/12)

AP: Cuomo Pitches Rapid Testing To Open Restaurants, Theaters
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday he wants to start opening restaurants, theaters and offices by launching rapid testing sites in New York City and eventually at hundreds of new sites in other city centers throughout the state. An individual could theoretically get tested and in 15 minutes go to a dinner or movie, under the Democratic governor’s plan, which he said could also help get more people onto mass transit. Cuomo said he’ll partner with the real estate community and work with local governments to reduce bureaucratic hurdles. (Willeneuve, 1/13)

In news from Illinois, Utah, California and Pennsylvania —

The Washington Post: Chicago School System Locks Out Some Teachers, Withholds Pay For Not Returning To In-Person Instruction 
Chicago opened public school classrooms this week for the first time since the spring, but 18 percent of teachers and staffers required to return Monday did not do so, according to the school district, which is starting disciplinary procedures against some employees. On Monday night, Chicago Public Schools notified 145 employees that they were considered absent without leave and that their pay would be docked beginning Tuesday. Some teachers who spent Monday teaching virtually instead of returning for in-person instruction were also locked out of their Google Classroom accounts in the evening, according to a district email that many teachers received. (Reiss, 1/12)

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Health Care Leaders Declare Systemic Racism A Public Health Crisis
Systemic racism is a public health crisis, according to Utah’s health care leaders, and they say they are working together to eliminate disparities that patients face. “If we had any doubt whatsoever about whether race affected the health of communities and individuals, the pandemic has absolutely clarified that,” said Dr. Marc Harrison, CEO and president of Intermountain Healthcare, in a virtual news conference Tuesday. He was joined by the heads of University of Utah Health, the Utah Hospital Association, MountainStar Healthcare and Steward Health Care. In addition to being motivated by COVID-19, Harrison and the others said they decided to collaborate after seeing racial injustice in 2020 and the killings of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, among other Black people. (Jacobs, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Can You Pay Someone To Stop Using Meth? Proposed California Legislation Would Boost Drug Treatment Option
As overdose deaths soar throughout California, proposed state legislation would legalize a program that encourages people to curb their methamphetamine use with incentives like gift cards and cash. The approach, called contingency management, is a controversial but effective practice. Researchers have found it helps people control their substance use, particularly for methamphetamine. It’s yet another approach that San Francisco officials hope they can use to address the deadly drug epidemic that killed approximately two people a day in the city last year. (Thadani, 1/12)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia Supervised Injection Site Plan Rejected By Federal Court
In a setback to advocates who had hoped to open the nation’s first supervised injection site in Philadelphia, a federal appellate court ruled Tuesday that such a facility would violate a law known as the “crack house” statute and open its operators to potential prosecution. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit lauded the goals behind Safehouse — the nonprofit that, in an attempt to stem the city’s tide of opioid-related deaths, has proposed the site to provide medical supervision to people using drugs. But, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote for the majority, “Safehouse’s benevolent motive makes no difference.” “Congress has made it a crime to open a property to others to use drugs,” he added. “And that is what Safehouse will do.” (Roebuck and Whelan, 1/12)