This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSurging cases of the coronavirus across the Sun Belt are sparking unprecedented demand for testing, with lines stretching miles in the summer heat, supplies running out and medical workers left exhausted.Supply-chain issues that from the beginning of the pandemic have improved but not ended, even as many states that require no appointment or referral.Reagents — substances used to carry out tests — and pipettes remain in short supply in many places, and the machines that run the tests are expensive and time-consuming to...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSurging cases of the coronavirus across the Sun Belt are sparking unprecedented demand for testing, with lines stretching miles in the summer heat, supplies running out and medical workers left exhausted.Supply-chain issues that from the beginning of the pandemic have improved but not ended, even as many states that require no appointment or referral.Reagents — substances used to carry out tests — and pipettes remain in short supply in many places, and the machines that run the tests are expensive and time-consuming to...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFor Lauri Jones, the trouble began in early May. The director of a small public health department in Washington state was working with a family under quarantine because of coronavirus exposure. When she heard one family member had been out in the community, Jones decided to check in.The routine phone call launched a nightmare.“Someone posted on social media that we had violated their civil liberties [and] named me by name,” Jones recalled. “They said, ‘Let’s post her address. . . . Let’s start shooting.’ ”People from...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareFor Lauri Jones, the trouble began in early May. The director of a small public health department in Washington state was working with a family under quarantine because of coronavirus exposure. When she heard one family member had been out in the community, Jones decided to check in.The routine phone call launched a nightmare.“Someone posted on social media that we had violated their civil liberties [and] named me by name,” Jones recalled. “They said, ‘Let’s post her address. . . . Let’s start shooting.’ ”People from...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareCoronavirus infections continued to rise in many parts of a divided nation on Monday, with public health recommendations under attack from communities tired of staying home and officials eager to restart local economies.Even as the number of infections rose and hospital beds filled in some places, voices clamored for an end to mandatory mask-wearing. And relaxation of restrictions designed to curb the novel coronavirus continued.“They’re either just over it, or they’ve come to believe it’s a phony pandemic because their...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareCoronavirus infections continued to rise in many parts of a divided nation on Monday, with public health recommendations under attack from communities tired of staying home and officials eager to restart local economies.Even as the number of infections rose and hospital beds filled in some places, voices clamored for an end to mandatory mask-wearing. And relaxation of restrictions designed to curb the novel coronavirus continued.“They’re either just over it, or they’ve come to believe it’s a phony pandemic because their...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAnthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with The Washington Post that health officials are having “intense discussions” about what’s known as “pool testing.” It would mark the newest strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, which has killed at least 123,000 people and infected more than 2.4 million.What is pool testing? Also known as batch testing, pool testing combines samples from several people and tests them for the coronavirus all at once,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAnthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with The Washington Post that health officials are having “intense discussions” about what’s known as “pool testing.” It would mark the newest strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, which has killed at least 123,000 people and infected more than 2.4 million.What is pool testing? Also known as batch testing, pool testing combines samples from several people and tests them for the coronavirus all at once,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA rise in coronavirus cases is spurring leaders in some cities and states to delay reopening additional businesses and warn that a return to stricter shutdown orders is possible should cases continue to climb.White House guidelines for reopening called for states to reevaluate after each phase and move backward if the virus spreads. Nationwide, few officials have publicly done so, and states with rapidly increasing caseloads and hospitalizations are moving forward with reopening amid political and economic pressure to...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA rise in coronavirus cases is spurring leaders in some cities and states to delay reopening additional businesses and warn that a return to stricter shutdown orders is possible should cases continue to climb.White House guidelines for reopening called for states to reevaluate after each phase and move backward if the virus spreads. Nationwide, few officials have publicly done so, and states with rapidly increasing caseloads and hospitalizations are moving forward with reopening amid political and economic pressure to...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWith novel coronavirus infections setting a single-day national record Wednesday, health experts are taking little solace from one of the few bright spots in the current resurgence: Deaths are not rising in lockstep with caseloads.But that may be just a matter of time.“Deaths always lag considerably behind cases,” Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, told Congress at a hearing Tuesday. In the weeks to come, he and others said, the death toll is likely to rise commensurately.Which means...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWith novel coronavirus infections setting a single-day national record Wednesday, health experts are taking little solace from one of the few bright spots in the current resurgence: Deaths are not rising in lockstep with caseloads.But that may be just a matter of time.“Deaths always lag considerably behind cases,” Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease specialist, told Congress at a hearing Tuesday. In the weeks to come, he and others said, the death toll is likely to rise commensurately.Which means...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareOn March 19, the day the Trump administration urged Americans to stop traveling internationally, a group of students from the University of Texas at Austin returned from a spring break trip to a Mexican beach resort.Within two weeks, 60 of the 183 travelers to Cabo San Lucas, along with four contacts, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to .As students prepare to return to many universities this fall, the case study offers a window into how easily the virus spreads among college students — and how it...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareOn March 19, the day the Trump administration urged Americans to stop traveling internationally, a group of students from the University of Texas at Austin returned from a spring break trip to a Mexican beach resort.Within two weeks, 60 of the 183 travelers to Cabo San Lucas, along with four contacts, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to .As students prepare to return to many universities this fall, the case study offers a window into how easily the virus spreads among college students — and how it...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Max Parsell hasn't been wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic and doesn't intend to start. It's a matter of principle.“Making individual decisions is the American way,” Parsell, a 29-year-old lineman for a power company, said as he picked up his lunch at a barbecue joint at a rural crossroads south of Jacksonville. “I’ll social distance from you if you want, but I don’t want the government telling me I have to wear a mask.”Parsell need not worry: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has not made mandatory...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareJACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Max Parsell hasn't been wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic and doesn't intend to start. It's a matter of principle.“Making individual decisions is the American way,” Parsell, a 29-year-old lineman for a power company, said as he picked up his lunch at a barbecue joint at a rural crossroads south of Jacksonville. “I’ll social distance from you if you want, but I don’t want the government telling me I have to wear a mask.”Parsell need not worry: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has not made mandatory...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA federal judge Friday castigated former Trump aide John Bolton for publishing a White House memoir without formal government confirmation that it revealed no classified information but seemed doubtful he could block its imminent publication.In a 90-minute hearing held by videoconference in Washington, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth grilled the Justice Department over how he could prevent the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies of Bolton’s book, which in advance of a Tuesday release has already been distributed...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA federal judge Friday castigated former Trump aide John Bolton for publishing a White House memoir without formal government confirmation that it revealed no classified information but seemed doubtful he could block its imminent publication.In a 90-minute hearing held by videoconference in Washington, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth grilled the Justice Department over how he could prevent the sale of hundreds of thousands of copies of Bolton’s book, which in advance of a Tuesday release has already been distributed...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe governor of Michigan attended a street protest even though it appeared to violate her own order demanding social distancing. So did Pennsylvania’s governor. Washington’s mayor for weeks had a Twitter handle that told people to “stay home” — while sharing video of protesters massing near the White House on a street emblazoned with a mural she commissioned.Months after the coronavirus forced Americans into their homes, protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody drove hundreds of thousands of...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe governor of Michigan attended a street protest even though it appeared to violate her own order demanding social distancing. So did Pennsylvania’s governor. Washington’s mayor for weeks had a Twitter handle that told people to “stay home” — while sharing video of protesters massing near the White House on a street emblazoned with a mural she commissioned.Months after the coronavirus forced Americans into their homes, protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody drove hundreds of thousands of...WW…