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Workers in the plants have been getting sick because of their forced proximity with each other, causing slaughterhouses to shutter across the country. A fear of food shortages prompted President Donald Trump to deem the plants "critical infrastructure," which gives the owners liability coverage if workers get sick on the job.
“I don’t think people appreciate how tired the department is,” one former Trump HHS appointee told Politico. “Your effectiveness wears down after you’ve been in a fight — and for 100 days, HHS has been kicked in the teeth.” Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo berates the "whole alphabet soup of agencies" for early missteps during the pandemic.
Vice President Mike Pence raised eyebrows when images emerged of him as the lone person touring the Mayo Clinic without a mask. Pence, who leads the White House's coronavirus task force, says that masks are meant to prevent the wearer from spreading the virus and since he's been regularly tested he knows he's not infected. The move was part of a larger trend within the Trump administration to forgo masks counter to CDC guidance.
The extra costs of covering coronavirus care is being offset by missed elective procedures, insurers are reporting. But America’s Health Insurance Plans, the powerful health insurance lobby, is telling a different story in Washington. Meanwhile, worried that the surge in unemployment will bolster support for "Medicare for All" plans, big businesses get behind a bailout for employer-sponsored coverage. And aggressive debt collection continues during the crisis, ProPublica reports.
More economy-focused events and messaging are coming out of the White House after weeks of singular attention by President Donald Trump as the front man for the pandemic response. Other White House news reports on Trump's inconsistent reopening rhetoric, a behind-the-scenes adviser, attacks on watchdogs, the West Point address and more. Meanwhile, polls show that Americans are losing faith in what the president says about the outbreak.
There's little funding on the horizon for states to ramp up their contact tracing efforts even as medical experts and others lobby the White House to back such work. Meanwhile, a study shows how successful tracing can be in curbing the pandemic.
The more than 1 million cases now registered in the U.S. makes up about a third of all confirmed COVID-19 cases around the globe. As more data emerges from the outbreak, it appears more and more likely that both the infection count and death total are undercounts.
Opinion writers focus on these pandemic issues and others.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical development and pricing stories from the past week in KHN's Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Although cancer can be slow-moving, oncologists say the pandemic delay is enough that there will likely be patients who have a worse outlook because of the shutdown measures. And Reuters reports that routine medical tests critical for detecting and monitoring cancer and other conditions has indeed plummeted.
Media outlets report on news from Michigan, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, Vermont, Maine, Georgia and Texas.
Nursing homes have been particularly hard hit by the outbreak.
Opinion writers focus on these pandemic issues and others.
Although Congress and President Donald Trump made testing free to patients, and some insurers are waiving copays and deductibles for treatment within their networks, the survey suggests such messages may not be getting to the public. In other costs news: halt in elective care offsets insurers' COVID-19 costs; a portal is created for provider payments from HHS; and CMS suddenly suspends advance Medicare payments.
A range of U.S. companies — from N95 mask supplier 3M to defense contractors — say they’re affected by the factory shutdowns in Mexico. In other news: the world's antibiotic supply could be at risk; two men accused of trying to sell millions of nonexistent masks; fears ease about ventilator shortages; and more.
Many experts believe COVID-19 was circulating in some places weeks before the official counts started. But just how early did it arrive in the U.S.? Pathologists are on the case. Meanwhile, contact tracing is a crucial part of reopening the country, but it will take a big investment and many public health departments were struggling financially even before the pandemic.
Coronavirus news is reported out of China, New Zealand, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Japan, El Salvador and other nations.
Several carriers are requiring passengers and flight attendants to wear masks and will hand them out in the airport. Public health news is on nightmares during the pandemic, children gaining weight, homeless camps sweeps, the changing face of grief, asymptomatic seniors, sounds of silence, and accidental poisonings rising, as well.
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