What’s Safe And What’s Not: Trying To Handicap Risks During The Coronavirus Era

The Wall Street Journal: After Reopenings Stall, Can Restaurants Survive A Second Coronavirus Blow?
Restaurants that survived the coronavirus hit in March and April are reeling from a second punch that could put more eateries out of business.Many restaurants that were just starting to recover some sales are bracing for another, potentially existential round of restrictions as a resurgence in coronavirus cases in the U.S. prompts a pullback in reopening plans. (Haddon, 7/5)

The New York Times: All Eyes On Bars As Virus Surges And Americans Go Drinking
When the bars in Michigan reopened in June, Tony Hild forgot about face masks, social distancing and caution and headed out to Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub, a popular spot in the college town of East Lansing. There was a line out the door. Inside were 200 people dancing, drinking and shouting over the music. “It was just so crowded, and I’m like, ‘This is going against everything I’m told not to do,’” Mr. Hild, 23, a college student, said. “But I didn’t think I was going to get it.” (de Freytas-Tamura, Searcey and Healy, 7/2)

The New York Times: Bettors Gamble With Their Money, And The Virus, As Atlantic City Reopens
Terril Tate left his house an hour before dawn on Thursday to be one of the first players at a craps table when the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino reopened at 6 a.m. He was hoping for a win, and maybe a date. But Mr. Tate, 41, said he was also on a mission to pave the way for people who don’t yet feel safe enough — he called them “worry bots” — to venture into indoor recreational and leisure spaces. (Tully, 7/3)

The New York Times: Are Protests Unsafe? What Experts Say May Depend On Who’s Protesting What 
As the pandemic took hold, most epidemiologists have had clear proscriptions in fighting it: No students in classrooms, no in-person religious services, no visits to sick relatives in hospitals, no large public gatherings. So when conservative anti-lockdown protesters gathered on state capitol steps in places like Columbus, Ohio and Lansing, Mich., in April and May, epidemiologists scolded them and forecast surging infections. When Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia relaxed restrictions on businesses in late April as testing lagged and infections rose, the talk in public health circles was of that state’s embrace of human sacrifice. (Powell, 7/6)

NPR: Are Gyms Safe Right Now? What To Know About COVID-19 Risk While Working Out 
Exercise is good for physical and mental health, but with coronavirus cases surging across the country, exercising indoors with other people could increase your chance of infection. So, as gyms reopen across the country, here are some things to consider before heading for your workout. (Neighmond, 7/5)

Kaiser Health News: What Seniors Should Know Before Going Ahead With Elective Procedures 
For months, Patricia Merryweather-Arges, a health care expert, has fielded questions about the coronavirus pandemic from fellow Rotary Club members in the Midwest. Recently people have wondered “Is it safe for me to go see my doctor? Should I keep that appointment with my dentist? What about that knee replacement I put on hold: Should I go ahead with that?” (Graham, 7/6)

Politico: Fire Season Could Raise Stakes In Battle Against Covid-19 
As states begin to hit their peak wildfire season, experts and officials are warning about another level of concern this year: air pollution that threatens to increase Covid-19 in states already struggling with an explosion in cases. (Bustillo, 7/5)

The New York Times: Is The Five-Day Office Week Over? 
Most American office workers are in no hurry to return to the office full time, even after the coronavirus is under control. But that doesn’t mean they want to work from home forever. The future for them, a variety of new data shows, is likely to be workweeks split between office and home. Recent surveys show that both employees and employers support this arrangement. And research suggests that a couple of days a week at each location is the magic number to cancel out the negatives of each arrangement while reaping the benefits of both. (Miller, 7/2)

The Wall Street Journal: Businesses Tackle Internet Shortfalls As Remote Work Grows More Remote 
Companies are facing added difficulty staying connected to work-from-home employees in remote areas, where internet services can be slow and at times patchy, technology executives and analysts say. Though not new, the problem has become more pressing as the number of Covid-19 cases surges in rural states that had largely been spared the pandemic. The increase has prompted local officials to impose preventive measures that will likely keep employees at businesses headquartered in these regions from returning to the office. (Loten, 7/2)

The Wall Street Journal: How The Coronavirus Has Affected Family Planning 
Trish Bordeaux, 32, gets anxious every time she puts on her green Starbucks apron. As a person with asthma and as a woman trying to get pregnant, she is worried about contracting Covid-19. But she needs the work because her primary job, as a second-grade teaching assistant, doesn’t offer health insurance that covers fertility treatments. Neither does her husband Derek’s job as a machine operator at a beverage manufacturing company. The Bordeaux, who live in Marietta, Ga., have been struggling to get pregnant for two years. Despite their anxiety, they didn’t want to put their efforts on pause because of the pandemic. (Pohle, 7/2)

Kaiser Health News: ‘I Couldn’t Let Her Be Alone’: A Peaceful Death Amid The COVID Scourge 
As her mother lay dying in a Southern California hospital in early May, Elishia Breed was home in Oregon, 800 miles away, separated not only by the distance, but also by the cruelty of the coronavirus. Because of the pandemic, it wasn’t safe to visit her mom, Patti Breed-Rabitoy, who had entered a hospital alone, days earlier, with a high fever and other symptoms that were confirmed to be caused by COVID-19. (Aleccia, 7/6)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Landlords Breathe Sigh Of Relief, Advocates Warn Of Unsafe Conditions, As Eviction Courts Reopen 
Now that evictions have resumed, some tenants are worried that they won’t have a place to sleep. Advocates said they are concerned both by the number of evictions that have been filed and the physical conditions in New Orleans-area courtrooms. They’re calling on judges to slow down the pace of evictions to prevent a public health crisis inside the courtrooms and out on the streets. (Sledge, 7/3)

In other public health news —

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Are Louisiana Fish Safe To Eat? State Mercury Testing Program In Peril As Fishing Surges During Pandemic 
If there was a particularly bad time for Louisiana to stop testing waterways for toxic fish, it would be now. Fishing is booming amid the coronavirus pandemic, with stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines inspiring Louisianans to take up rods and reels in numbers not seen in nearly a decade. ...But the state Department of Environmental Quality’s fish-testing program, which helps advise all those freshly licensed anglers where fish are safe to catch and eat, will soon run out of money. (Baurick, 7/5)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Parkinson's Disease Risk In Louisiana Linked To Use Of Two Herbicides And A Pesticide: Study 
A new study of individuals treated for Parkinson’s disease in Louisiana found a clear correlation between the disease and the use of two types of herbicide and one pesticide in rural areas dominated by forestry, woodlands and pastures. The study also found that Parkinson’s disease has become less common in areas of the state where cotton, corn and soybean farmers have switched to the use of the herbicide glyphosate, sold under the brand name of Roundup — although that product has recently been linked to some forms of cancer, which the study did not examine. (Schleifstein, 7/5)

Kaiser Health News: Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction 
Shawn Hayes was thankful to be holed up at a city-run hotel for people with COVID-19. The 20-year-old wasn’t in jail. He wasn’t on the streets chasing drugs. Methadone to treat his opioid addiction was delivered to his door. Hayes was staying at the hotel because of a coronavirus outbreak at the 270-bed Kirkbride Center addiction treatment center in Philadelphia, where he had been seeking help. (Bruce, 7/6)