Outbreak Discovered Among Teens In Michigan Facility That Waited 6 Weeks For Testing; Supreme Court Denies Request From Texas Prisoners

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Outbreak Hits Michigan Teens In Welfare Facility
One of Michigan’s largest child-welfare agencies reported a Covid-19 outbreak at a facility in Vassar, where 25 teenage girls and four staff members tested positive for the illness. The agency, Wolverine Human Services, said the positive results come after a six-week-long struggle to get testing for its young clients and staff as those with more urgent symptoms or at higher risk levels were prioritized. (Ailworth, 5/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Rejects Inmates’ Request For Texas Prison To Reinstate Coronavirus Measures
The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday rejected an inmate request to reinstate special precautions against the coronavirus a federal judge had ordered for a Texas prison, siding with state officials who argued they had taken adequate measures. The court’s unsigned order noted no dissents. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, issued a seven-page statement that described conditions at the Wallace Pack Unit prison in Navasota, Texas, and urged lower courts to keep a close eye on risks for inmates. (Bravin, 5/14)

The Washington Post: Metro To Require All Passengers To Wear Masks Beginning Monday 
Beginning Monday, all Metro and Metrobus riders will be required to wear masks or face coverings to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the agency’s chief safety officer said Thursday. The requirement, announced to the transit agency’s board, follows rules set by leaders in the District and Maryland. Until now, the agency had only recommended that riders wear face coverings. (George, 5/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Response Exposes Friction Between Top New York City Officials
A spat over protective masks for police officers has exposed simmering tensions between top New York City officials over the handling of the coronavirus crisis. In March, as hospitals were struggling to provide personal protective equipment for health-care workers, the city’s health commissioner, Oxiris Barbot, and New York Police Department Chief of Department Terence Monahan had a tense exchange over acquiring PPE for officers, according to officials. (West and Chapman, 5/14)

Kaiser Health News: Another Coronavirus Casualty: California’s Budget
The coronavirus has claimed another victim: California’s finances. Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his revised 2020-21 state budget plan Thursday at a somber briefing punctuated by bleak talk of deficits, program cuts and record unemployment. His $203 billion spending proposal — nearly $19 billion less than his ambitious January budget blueprint — includes a slight increase in public health funding to help California in its fight against COVID-19, but falls far short of the amount public health leaders say is needed to respond immediately and prepare for future threats. (Hart, Young and Bluth, 5/14)

Kaiser Health News: In Reversal, Kansas Will Count All Positive COVID Cases, Even Asymptomatic Ones
Kansas leaders will include asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in their assessments of virus trends as they evaluate when to take further steps to ease stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures. The move represents a reversal after NPR station KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, reported last week that the state was omitting these cases from its data, painting an overly optimistic picture of the outbreak. Kansas had instead looked at “symptom onset” data — a metric that by definition excludes people who test positive for the coronavirus but don’t develop symptoms. (Smith, 5/14)

Bangor Daily News: Group Homes For People With Disabilities Are The Latest Site Of Coronavirus Outbreaks 
As the coronavirus begins to crop up in group homes for the people with intellectual disabilities and autism, the providers who run them say they are encountering more financial trouble than usual and having trouble securing protective gear to keep staff and residents from becoming infected. (Andrews, 5/15)

Boston Globe: Maine Reports 3 Deaths And 50 New Coronavirus Cases, Loosens Statewide Lodging Requirements
Three deaths and 50 new coronavirus cases were reported in Maine Thursday afternoon, bringing the state’s death toll to 69 and case count to 1,565, as state lodging restrictions were loosened to allow earlier reservations for vacations this summer, officials said. One of the victims, a man in his 60s, was the first coronavirus-related death reported in Penobscot County, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control. The other two victims, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 90s, were reported in Cumberland County. (Berg, 5/14)

State House News Service: Coalition Lobbies Baker On Sick Time Expansion 
Extra paid sick time for Massachusetts workers should be a key part of plans to reopen the state's economy, members of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition said in a letter Thursday to Gov. Charlie Baker. Raise Up says the 40 hours of annual paid sick time guaranteed under a 2014 law "isn't enough to meet the scale and impact" of the COVID-19 crisis. (Lannan, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Baker Says Mass. Will Significantly Bolster Coronavirus Testing As Death Toll Continues To Rise
Facing an economy gut-punched by the pandemic and a death toll that continues to rise, Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that the state plans to significantly bolster testing for COVID-19 in coming months to the point where Massachusetts would have the highest testing rate for the disease in the world. The announcement came as authorities said more than 1 million unemployment claims have been filed since March 15, an astonishing figure in a state with a labor force of 3.7 million. (McDonald and Reiss, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Mass. May Have Met One Reopening Milestone Outlined In Federal Guidance 
With a much-anticipated report set to be released Monday that will outline the ground rules for a four-phase reopening of Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker says he’s looking at a number of public health statistics to guide him going forward. Depending on how you look at the data, the state may have met some of the thresholds laid out in mid-April in the White House guidelines for “Opening Up America Again." (Finucane and McGrane, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Public Health Officials Order Mass. Hospitals To Report Cases Of New Coronavirus-Linked Disease In Children
State officials issued a clinical advisory Thursday morning, requiring hospitals to report confirmed and suspected cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, or PMIS, to the public health agency. By late afternoon Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had sent out a nationwide health alert on the new syndrome, criteria for its diagnosis, and instructions for health care providers to report cases to their local, state, or territorial health department. (Pan, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Many Police Departments Are Giving Out Masks Instead Of Fines For Scofflaws Amid Coronavirus
Roughly one week after Governor Charlie Baker’s statewide order requiring people to wear face coverings in public when they can’t socially distance to combat the spread of COVID-19, many police departments are reluctant to fine violators, preferring instead to distribute masks and educate the public on the need to wear them. Boston Police Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a department spokesman, said Thursday that Hub police haven’t issued any fines or citations. (Sweeney and Andersen, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Cambridge Man Says He Was Turned Away From Grocery Store Without A Mask — Even Though He Is Exempt 
The mandate signed by Governor Charlie Baker, which went into effect on May 6, requires anyone above the age of 2 to wear a face covering when they’re in public and cannot maintain a distance of at least six feet from other people. (Gans, 5/14)

Boston Globe: Technology Helps Keep Formerly Homeless Veterans In Somerville Monitored During Pandemic 
A Somerville facility that houses formerly homeless veterans is now getting some help in keeping its residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cherish Health, a new Cambridge-based medical technology firm, is teaming with the nonprofit Health eVillages to offer residents of the Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center specialized sensor patches to monitor their respiration, oxygen levels, temperature, heart rate, and other vital functions. (Laidler, 5/14)

Modern Healthcare: Advocate Aurora Execs Respond To Report Of Bar-Going Nurse In Wisconsin
Advocate Aurora Health officials are being asked about a report that one of their nurses was at a bar without a mask, following Wednesday's Wisconsin State Supreme Court ruling that the state's stay-at-home order was invalid. A woman who identified herself as a nurse was interviewed in a West Allis, Wis. bar by WTMJ-TV and filmed in close proximity to other bar goers. She was later identified on social media as an Aurora hospital employee, and Advocate Aurora Health leaders were asked about the report during a Facebook Live Town Hall meeting Thursday. (Asplund, 5/14)