While you, loyal reader, wait for a wonderful new permanent Friday Breeze writer to start breezing, welcome to this week鈥檚 rundown brought to you from St. Louis by me, Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber.
I鈥檓 sadly here to inform you the news is … still bad. So bad, in fact, that 鈥溾 鈥 the act of not being able to escape your smartphone feed of misery 鈥 was examined by The New York Times.
And that鈥檚 because all you need to know about the current state of the coronavirus can be aptly summed up in renowned infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell鈥檚 latest piece for Stat, titled 鈥溾
The Week鈥檚 Latest
But to be more precise: New coronavirus cases in the U.S. shattered a single-day record with . That number of daily cases has more than doubled since June 24. Deaths from COVID-19 are while hot spots across the Sun Belt continue to flare. The Center for Public Integrity uncovered an unreleased federal document saying 18 states are in the and should consider stricter protective measures.
And as outbreaks strain lab capacity nationwide, some people are waiting , hobbling potential containment responses. Now, the CDC is urging people to .
Masks, Schools and Tony Fauci
Mass mask confusion continued to drive the week, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over her mandatory mask order. Later, he urged for four weeks 鈥 but said he would not support a mandate. Meanwhile, Georgia hospital workers are sounding the alarm and attempting to as hospitals fill up. Across the country, of states have issued mandatory mask orders at this time. And this of just who is wearing masks in the U.S. is worth your time.
The sharp divide over back-to-school plans for those in came into focus (private schools have the money to hire their own epidemiologists!), all while the percentage of cases of children and teens with COVID-19 is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . That follows previous complaints from President Donald Trump, who said on Twitter the CDC鈥檚 were . Or, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany , 鈥淭he science should not stand in the way of this.鈥
The big distraction of the week had to be the attacks on the reputation of America鈥檚 favorite scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He withstood a White House attack on his credibility, led by Peter Navarro, Trump鈥檚 trade adviser, in an 鈥 one that USA Today has since said 鈥渄id not meet its fact-checking standards.鈥 To his credit, Fauci called to 鈥溾 and focus on the coronavirus. For more of a deep dive on the ongoing fireworks, check out this week鈥檚 amazing-as-usual episode of KHN鈥檚 鈥What the Health?鈥 podcast. And never forget that Fauci did manage to sneak in this with some killer shades and he on the side during his tenure.
Speaking of op-eds, here鈥檚 one worth reading. Larry Hogan, Maryland鈥檚 Republican governor, wrote an about聽how he felt the Trump administration left his state to fend for itself amid the pandemic. Best part: how he and his wife, who was born and raised in South Korea, were able to secure half a million tests by going outside of the federal response, tapping into her contacts and then protecting them from the feds with the state National Guard.
The disappearance of public data from the CDC website this week. While the data has been restored, it鈥檚 another chapter in the saga of tension among the CDC, the administration and public access.
Pocket Change
The insurer UnitedHealthcare posted its 鈥 EVER 鈥 proving that, yes, you can get rich during the pandemic. Meanwhile, hospitals of a surge colliding with their plans to resume profitable elective surgery.
And, no, you won鈥檛 be getting on a cruise ship anytime soon 鈥 the from the CDC has been extended through September 2020.
Long Reads and Graphics Worth Your Time
Racial inequities in COVID exposure, treatment and care persist at every level, shows. And this week, over 1,000 employees of the CDC sent a letter to its head calling out .
I still can鈥檛 stop thinking about this , an ER doc who took her own life after becoming overwhelmed not only by the coronavirus crisis but by an exacting medical culture.
These New York Times graphics stress how drug overdose deaths 鈥 many worry the coronavirus is exacerbating their continued rise.
Finally, What鈥檚 Abuzz
In case you didn鈥檛 have anything else to worry about, mosquitoes are flying into the blind spots of health departments overwhelmed with COVID-19. The CDC is buzzing with concern, as Anna Maria Barry-Jester and I reported yesterday as part of our Underfunded and Under Threat series with the AP.
And for a speed round, these guys tried really hard to at Huntington Beach, California; the inside tale of how had USC at his beckoning takes many a turn; and you just may have been this whole time.
Try to lay off the booze, folks 鈥 experts say it鈥檚 only supposed to be . Also maybe, just maybe, think about altogether.
If we have a football season 鈥 a big IF 鈥 here鈥檚 what the would look like.
Plus superhero heartthrob Henry Cavill somehow spent his quarantine staying swole AND learning ?
But our might just be Tom Moore, newly knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. The centenarian captured the world鈥檚 heart after raising millions for British health care workers by walking laps in his garden with his walker.
