Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Would Someone Decide About Stay At Home Orders? So Much Uncertainty Over How To Address Pandemic
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: No, Seriously. Stay. Home
Listen, Southern Californians, we know you love the beach. We know that you like to hike, bike and get out in the sun, especially after a rainy week of being cooped up at home. But, c’mon. What happened this past weekend was entirely unacceptable. Despite pleas to stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, thousands of you went out anyway, crowding popular hiking trails and clustering on beaches. (3/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Risk, Uncertainty And Coronavirus
The government response to the coronavirus pandemic has seemed chaotic—underreaction one minute, piling on restrictions the next. It has left many wondering whether anyone is weighing the trade-offs. Do heavy-handed measures carry the benefits to justify the considerable costs? The uncomfortable answer: We don’t know. The novel coronavirus appears at first to be a problem of risk management. It is a dangerous disease that threatens the lives of our neighbors and loved ones. Our response—increased social distancing, shutting down businesses—is aimed at reducing that risk. But the problem isn’t risk so much as uncertainty. (Allison Schrager, 3/23)
The New York Times: Trump Thinks He Knows Better Than The Doctors About Coronavirus
First, President Trump ignored the coronavirus, dismissing its threat to the public. Then briefly he took it somewhat seriously. He gave an address from the Oval Office, followed by one of the more sober-minded news conferences of his administration. A day later, he was back to his usual antics, attacking the press, amplifying propagandists and spreading misinformation. He has even promised a miracle cure. Now, as it becomes clear that this is not a momentary crisis — that the economy may have to come to a standstill to keep the disease from overwhelming the country — Trump appears ready to quit altogether, even if it costs thousands upon thousands of American lives. (Jamelle Bouie, 3/24)
Boston Globe: In Order To Save Dr. Fauci, We Must Destroy Him
President Trump is watching and listening to the same thing we are, i.e., Fauci going to the podium to rebut with facts the latest outbreak of paranoid anxiety or the president’s regularly reckless statements. Fauci is an oasis of rigor and reason in a barren desert of confusion and fear. Which, given who he works for, makes him an endangered species. (Kevin Cullen, 3/23)
CNN: Trump Can't Be Trusted To Make This Decision
The first time most of us learned that President Donald Trump was thinking about relaxing existing measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was on Sunday night, just before midnight. That's when his tweet shouted in all caps, "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF."... The idea to change course may have come from his favorite network, Fox News, where a Sunday morning host suggested that when it comes to fighting the coronavirus, "The cure is worse than the disease." The question for the rest of us is, can we trust Trump to make a decision of this magnitude? (Friday Ghitis, 3/24)
Miami Herald: Miami Healthcare Practitioners Urge Public’s Cooperation
All of us expect that if, and when, COVID-19 testing reaches the appropriate levels, the number of confirmed cases will explode. What we have seen in the emergency rooms in Miami confirms what is being reported from other American cities: Young and otherwise healthy people are also becoming severely ill from COVID-19. This is not just a problem for the elderly and chronically ill. It is a dangerous threat to all of us. ...As difficult as it is, we must learn to live with a minimum of in-person social interactions until the epidemic is under control. We are all going to have to sacrifice a great deal temporarily for a better future for ourselves and the most vulnerable among us. The more determinedly we practice social distancing now, the sooner we can end this epidemic and get back to our normal lives. If we choose to ignore the danger and try to live the same way as always we risk allowing this epidemic to overwhelm our healthcare system the way it has in northern Italy, with thousands of people dying in hospital hallways without even the comfort of having their families nearby.(Medical teams in Florida, 3/23)
Miami Herald: Florida Governor Parrots Trump’s Disengagement From Crisis
Municipal governments in Florida are on their own. Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said as much. But that might not be a bad thing in the mano a mano fight against the coronavirus. After all, DeSantis has fallen into line with President Trump’s impatience that the coronavirus is still a thing, still something he has to address again and again. The president is sick and tired of it. Of course, Americans are sick, and dying of it. In a Monday-afternoon press conference, DeSantis reaffirmed that he would not give an order for Floridians to shelter in place, as other governors who are confronting the crisis with more rigor have done. His position bucks the advice of public-health experts who want him to issue a short-term, stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (3/24)
Tampa Bay Times: To Combat Coronavirus, Florida Needs Stay-At-Home Orders Now
These are unprecedented and scary times. Each day we are faced with increasingly grim news about the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on our patients, hospitals, economy and schools. As life as we know it grinds to a halt, it is easy to feel as though we are helpless as the virus spreads throughout our country and community, but the simple truth is we are not. We can all do our part right now to flatten the curve and protect our health-care infrastructure and health-care workers. And it starts with staying at home. (Dr. Mona Mangat, 3/23)
Tampa Bay Times: Why Would Tampa Bay Need A Stay-At-Home Order?
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been unfairly criticized on cable news and social media for his methodical approach to gradually implementing statewide restrictions as governors in New York, California and Illinois have issued sweeping stay-at-home orders. In fact, Florida’s governor has struck a reasonable balance. He has spoken regularly and frankly to Floridians about expanding testing and acquiring medical supplies, and he has appropriately expressed concern about overbearing, statewide restrictions that would impact the physical and mental health of families and inflict more harm on a state economy that already is being devastated. "You simply cannot lock down our society indefinitely with no end in sight,'' DeSantis said Monday afternoon. (3/23)
The New York Times: Fourteen Days. That’s The Most Time We Have To Defeat Coronavirus.
America is losing the war against Covid-19, but we can win it with decisive and extraordinary actions now. Health experts have not been overreacting. Models from Imperial College London and others suggest that up to 2.2 million Americans could die within a year without sufficient efforts to “flatten the curve.” At the same time, it is right to worry about how Covid-19 will wreck the economy. Projections already suggest that the American economy could contract by more than 15 percent in the second quarter and that the unemployment rate could surpass 20 percent. But the economy cannot be fixed without solving the pandemic. Only after the virus is contained can we reopen restaurants, bars, gyms and stores; allow people to travel, attend conferences and visit museums; and persuade them to buy cars and houses. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 3/23)
Arizona Republic: Social Distancing Isn't Working. Why Won't We Listen To The Warnings?
Take it from President Trump and weekend revelers: Social distancing warnings to slow the coronavirus outbreak aren’t working. People crowded parks and trails everywhere, and in California, folks simply defied the state’s stay-at-home orders to soak up some sun.It’s maddening to watch that degree of irresponsibility. Coronavirus isn’t a joke, yet too many people are behaving as if the deadly COVID-19 will simply stop by itself.Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, couldn’t take it anymore and scolded Arizonans over the weekend. “Arizonans – do you want to be compared to the dumbasses on spring break in Florida or in Brooklyn ignoring our national emergency?!? I am SO DISSAPOINTED,” she tweeted Saturday. (Elvia Diaz, 3/23)
Louisville Courier Journal: Coronavirus In Kentucky: Rand Paul's Actions Were Disgraceful
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Shame on you, Rand Paul. What you did — no, what you didn’t do — was irresponsible. Even reprehensible. You were concerned enough about your own health to get tested for the coronavirus, but you didn’t care enough about other people to self-quarantine until you got the results.Instead, you carried on business as usual, cavorting with fellow senators over lunch and reportedly working out in the Senate gym and swimming in the Senate pool. (3/23)
Detroit Free Press: Coronavirus Policy Must Account For Michigan Jails And Prisons
Tens of thousands of people are held in Michigan jails and prisons that leave them particularly vulnerable to public health crises. Every day that passes during the COVID-19 outbreak puts them at heightened risk — risk of indefinite incarceration, risk of illness, and indeed risk of death. It also jeopardizes the health of the entire state: an outbreak of coronavirus in Michigan jails and prisons would spread like wildfire behind bars and beyond. (Chantá Parker, Amanda Alexander and Jonathan Sacks, 3/22)
