Yurts, Igloos and Pop-Up Domes: How Safe Is ‘Outside’ Restaurant Dining This Winter?
All kinds of new structures are popping up to extend the outdoor dining season. Some are safer than others.
On Trump’s Last Full Day, Nation Records 400,000 Covid Deaths
On the day before the inauguration of a new president, the country marks a once unthinkable milestone of 400,000 deaths. The winter surge of the pandemic claimed 100,000 Americans in just five weeks.
Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much.
Democrats are treating health care as a more critical issue than their Republican counterparts in Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs. It’s a strategy they hope will woo independents and motivate base voters. The results will determine which party controls the chamber during the first years of the Biden administration.
Behind Each of More Than 300,000 Lives Lost: A Name, a Caregiver, a Family, a Story
Family members and health care workers say the statistic of 300,000 lost Americans cannot capture their grief or anger at the apathy they’ve encountered from those who minimize the dangers of the coronavirus. “The numbers do not reflect that these were people,” said Brian Walter, who lost his father.
A Battle-Weary Seattle Hospital Fights the Latest COVID Surge
Harborview Medical Center was at the epicenter of the first wave of coronavirus in the U.S. Staffers have a better understanding of the disease as cases surge, but fatigue and a lack of backup staff are big challenges.
What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It’s especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.
As LA County Sets New Infection Record, State Leaders’ Behavior Sends Mixed Messages
Even as L.A.’s stay-at-home restrictions began, leaders across California took heat for their do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do pandemic behavior.
Rural Areas Send Their Sickest Patients to Cities, Straining Hospitals
Critically ill rural patients are often sent to city hospitals for high-level treatment, and as their numbers grow, some urban hospitals are buckling under the added strain. Meanwhile, mask-wearing and other pandemic prevention measures remain spotty in rural counties.
Family Mourns Man With Mental Illness Killed by Police and Calls for Change
Like almost a quarter of the 989 people killed by police in the U.S. in the past 12 months, Ricardo Muñoz had a serious mental illness. “Instead of a cop just being there, there should have been other responders,” his sister says.
Clots, Strokes and Rashes: Is COVID a Disease of the Blood Vessels?
COVID-19 can cause symptoms that go well beyond the lungs, from strokes to organ failure. To explain these widespread injuries, researchers are studying how the virus affects the vascular system.
When False Information Goes Viral, COVID-19 Patient Groups Fight Back
Fear and uncertainty about the coronavirus have made online patient support groups fertile ground for the spread of misinformation. But some in these groups make fact-checking a part of the mission to support fellow COVID sufferers.
Trump’s Anti-Abortion Zeal Shook Fragile Health Systems Around the World
President-elect Joe Biden inherits a global health landscape changed by the Trump administration more than under any Republican president since Ronald Reagan.
They Work in Several Nursing Homes to Eke Out a Living, Possibly Spreading the Virus
An analysis of location data from 30 million smartphones found that facilities across the country that share the most workers also had the most COVID-19 infections. The “Kevin Bacon of nursing homes” in each state — the one with the most staffers working at other nursing homes — was likely to have the worst outbreaks of coronavirus contagion.
Hospital Bills for Uninsured COVID Patients Are Covered, but No One Tells Them
The CARES Act provides funding that pays the bills for uninsured COVID-19 patients. But the death of a young man in Nashville shows some patients don’t know about the program until it’s too late.
‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
Wear a Mask. If Only It Were That Simple.
Health experts agree masks are the cheapest, best weapon against the coronavirus pandemic. But how should mask-wearing be enforced? Mandates? Fines? Polite requests? It’s hard to figure out what works as President Donald Trump’s behavior keeps the debate alive over whether they should be worn at all.
Evictions Damage Public Health. The CDC Aims to Curb Them ― For Now.
A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.
‘You’re Going to Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’
Daniel Prude’s family knew he needed psychiatric care and tried to get it for him. Instead, his encounter with police hours after he was released from Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, proved fatal.
In Los Angeles, Latinos Hit Hard By Pandemic’s Economic Storm
A new poll finds 71% of Latino households in Los Angeles County experienced serious financial problems because of the coronavirus.
Making Gyms Safer: Why the Virus Is Less Likely to Spread There Than in a Bar
Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there’s not much evidence, they say science is on their side.
