Weekend Lockdowns Extended By Navajo Nation; Farm Belt States With Voluntary Social Distancing Start To See Spike In Cases

The Associated Press: Navajo Nation Extends Weekend Lockdowns As Virus Cases Rise
The Navajo Nation has extended its weekend lockdowns preventing people from leaving their homes, except in emergencies, on the vast expanse of land that has been harder hit by the coronavirus than any other Native American reservation in the U.S. Jessie Valdez, who lives in Nageezi on the New Mexico portion of the reservation, and her grandchildren are ready. They’re stocked up on food and other supplies, and plan on baking, cooking, watching movies and, “of course, a lot of cleaning.” (Fonseca, 4/16)

Politico: Hot Spots Erupt In Farm Belt States Where Governors Insist Lockdowns Aren’t Needed
The only hospital in Grand Island, Neb., is full. The mayor has asked for a statewide stay-at-home order that the GOP governor insists isn’t needed. More than one-third of those tested for coronavirus in the surrounding county are positive — and there aren’t enough tests to go around. Grand Island is the fourth-biggest city in a state President Donald Trump and his top health officials repeatedly name check for keeping the virus at bay without the strict lockdowns 42 other states have imposed. (Ollstein, Goldberg and McCaskill, 4/15)

Stat: Coronavirus Pandemic Could Take A Crushing Toll On Rural Areas, Data Show
As the impact of the coronavirus crisis careens toward smaller towns and rural areas, a new data project highlights a stark, looming reality: This pandemic could take a crushing toll on rural areas that are less prepared than many of their urban counterparts. The examination of every U.S. county’s preparedness level, produced in a STAT collaboration with the Center on Rural Innovation and Applied XL, also reveals that some rural areas are better prepared than others. (Joseph, 4/16)

The Associated Press: Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Florida County Pulls Welcome Mat
As Jessica Cherry watched traffic from her porch, she wondered with each passing vehicle if the coronavirus had made its way into her rural Florida Panhandle community. For weeks, residents of Liberty County watched as infections spread, reaching into all of Florida’s 67 counties but their own — the state’s least populous — and worried about the devastating effect the coronavirus could have on their 8,300 people. (Calvan, 4/16)

CNN: Los Angeles Mayor Says Large Gatherings Like Concerts And Sporting Events May Not Come Back Until 2021 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday large gatherings like sporting events or concerts may not resume in the city before 2021 as the US grapples with mitigating the novel coronavirus pandemic. "It's difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year," Garcetti told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." (LeBlanc, 4/15)

The Washington Post: St. Elizabeths Patients Under Coronavirus Quarantine After Four Deaths
A member of the nursing staff at St. Elizabeths Hospital began coughing on March 20. He thought it was his chronic bronchitis flaring up, so he took his medication and took off work to recover. Over the next two days, his health deteriorated. On March 25, he checked into MedStar Washington Hospital Center with a fever of 103 degrees, then was placed in intensive care and put on a ventilator. The next day, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Moyer, Nirappil and Fowers, 4/15)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Coronavirus Relief Bill: Tony Evers Signs Despite Amendments
Gov. Tony Evers signed a sweeping coronavirus relief package Wednesday after lawmakers approved it with just two days to spare before the state would have lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal help. The Democratic governor signed the bill, which also suspends a one-week waiting period to receive unemployment benefits, two hours after state senators unanimously approved it. (Marley and Beck, 4/15)

Houston Chronicle: At One Houston Highrise, Coronavirus Has Set Off A Court Battle Over Lives Vs. Livelihoods 
Lives vs. livelihoods: That’s the tricky balance that all the world is trying to strike right now, in the age of coronavirus. And nowhere in Houston is that balance more hotly contested than at Park Square, a condo highrise near the Galleria. “Most residents here are 65-plus,” Bill Turney said, from his 17th-floor unit. “Heavy on the plus.” (Gray, 4/15)

WBUR: Boston Homeless Advocates Say Asymptomatic Virus Spread Shows 'Urgent' Need For Universal Testing 
A recent round of coronavirus testing in Boston's homeless population is raising concern about asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus. And it's leading both advocates and public officials to call for comprehensive testing in the homeless community. The testing happened a week and a half ago at Pine Street Inn. (Joliocoeur, 4/15)

Boston Globe: City Councilors Want Health Authorities To Consider Systemic Racism When It Comes To Medical Resources 
Boston city councilors are calling for local hospitals and health authorities to consider how systemic racism causes public health disparities, a reality that has taken on added urgency as officials draft and enact policies about how to distribute life-saving medical resources amid a COVID-19 surge. (McDonald, 4/15)

Boston Globe: After More Than 3,500 Cases And 87 Deaths, Raimondo Will Reveal COVID-19 Model For Rhode Island 
Governor Gina M. Raimondo said Wednesday that the state’s COVID-19 infections are likely to increase, and she plans to provide more details on the state’s projections during her daily news conference on Thursday.“We’re not in a downward slope, that I can assure you,” Raimondo said. “We have been successful in reducing how high the slope is, but we’re definitely not on a downswing.” (Milkovits, 4/15)