Tuesday, April 7th, 2020
Grocery Store Guidance, Virus-Era Voting & Virtual NFL Draft
All the news you need in less than 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Blinkist.com/news
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want perusing the latest happenings...
Latest Coronavirus Headlines
The U.S. has now reported nearly 11,000 deaths from the new coronavirus. About half of those have come from New York. However, there’s a glimmer of hope, since the state’s daily death count has stayed effectively flat over the past few days. New York's governor says now is not the time to relax. Even if New York doesn’t see new spikes in cases, it could be stuck at this plateau for a painfully long time. Also, members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force say communities that haven’t seen a spike yet need to act now to prevent a major outbreak in coming weeks. Officials are urging Americans avoid frequent trips to the grocery store and the pharmacy. Instead, they suggest using delivery or pickup once every two weeks or so. Also, a new CDC analysis supports what’s already been found in China: the new coronavirus isn’t as severe in children as it is in adults.
U.S. Death Toll: Johns Hopkins
NY Possible Plateau: NBC News, NYT, AP
Avoiding Shopping: Business Insider, Today
COVID-19 in Kids: NPR, AP, CDC
Medical Supply Shortages
The HHS Department’s watchdog says COVID-19 patients and hospital staff are put at risk by the lack of available protective gear. The report was based on interviews conducted late last month at more than 320 hospitals across 46 states. It found hospital administrators are grappling with sharp price increases for items like masks, gloves and face shields. Also, a test kit shortage has been forcing hospitals to extend patients’ stays, pushing facilities even father beyond capacity. President Trump disputed the validity of the report, but didn’t offer evidence, or explain what part might be incorrect.
Watchdog on Hospital Needs: Politico, NBC News
Ventilator Donations/Loans: ABC News, The Hill, AP
Boris Johnson in ICU
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of the first world leaders to be diagnosed with COVID-19, has now been moved to the intensive care unit. His office says he’s in the ICU as a precaution, to be close to a ventilator in case he needs it. At this point, Johnson is still in charge of the government.
Read More: The Hill, Washington Post
Pandemic Politics
Today, hundreds of thousands of people in Wisconsin are being told to ignore a stay-at-home order by voting in the state’s primaries. Yesterday, Wisconsin’s democratic governor tried to postpone in-person voting with an executive order, but he was overruled by state republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court. The National Guard will help run voting sites around Wisconsin, since thousands of election workers have backed out. Results aren’t expected to be released tonight, but former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to win the state’s democratic presidential nomination. In a recent Wisconsin poll, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders trailed substantially behind Biden.
Yesterday, Biden had a phone call with President Trump. They spoke about the coronavirus pandemic and Trump called it a “wonderful, warm conversation.”
Wisconsin Primary Today: NY Times, AP, Vox
Biden/Trump Phone Call: CNN, Politico
Testing 2nd Potential Vaccine
Another potential coronavirus vaccine started its first human trials this week. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has poured funding into this project, along with other nonprofits. The FDA gave Inovio Pharmaceuticals the go-ahead to try out the new vaccine on up to 40 healthy people in Philadelphia, PA and Kansas City, MO. If all goes well, it will pave the way for testing on a larger scale. Experts say it’s still expected to take more than a year before any vaccine could be widely available.
Read More: TechCrunch,, Business Insider, Press Release
Tech Giants Track COVID-19
Facebook is partnering with researchers at Carnegie Mellon University to track the coronavirus in the U.S. They launched a new survey for Facebook users that asks whether they’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. It’s optional, but Facebook encourages it, saying it will help health systems plan for where to send more resources. Facebook is also providing location data to researchers, hoping they can figure out where an outbreak will pop up next. The social media network is using aggregate data to protect users’ privacy.
Google has a similar project in the works, but those results are being made public. It’s following movements of people in more than 130 countries. The idea is to help public health officials evaluate how social distancing measures are working and where new policies might be needed.
Facebook Coronavirus Survey: Engadget, DigitalTrends, CNBC, Facebook
Google Location Data: Wired, Techcrunch, Google
Schools Ban Zoom
Some school districts around the country are ditching the newly popular video conferencing platform, Zoom, for online learning. Administrators have voiced concerns about people hijacking online classrooms and meetings, disrupting them, or showing graphic content. New York City’s school district is now asking teachers to use Microsoft Teams for video conferencing instead. Zoom says it takes privacy seriously and is working around-the-clock to help people stay connected securely.
Read More: Washington Post, Cnet, Engadget, Zoom Guidance
NFL Draft Going Virtual
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the decision to keep the draft on the same days, April 23-25, despite some pushback from several team owners. Coaches and General Managers will now have to work over the phone or Internet to choose which new football players they want on their teams. Some GMs argued the whole draft should be delayed because they haven’t spent time with their teams and they don’t know what kind of players are needed most. Now, they’ll have to figure out how to make it work from home.
Read More: AP, SB Nation, NFL
Lady Gaga Announces Benefit
Pop stars are uniting behind the coronavirus fight. In seven days, Lady Gaga and advocacy organization Global Citizen reportedly helped raise $35 million for the World Health Organization. Now, they’re spearheading a star-studded virtual show to help buy protective equipment for healthcare workers and help those struggling during this pandemic. Gaga enlisted people like Paul McCartney, Steve Wonder, Billie Eilish and Lizzo to participate. The special, called “One World: Together at Home” will air April 18 at 8 p.m. eastern on major TV networks. It will also stream on YouTube, Apple and social media.
Read More: AP, NPR, CNBC, People
Talk to Me Tuesday
Q: Can mosquitoes spread the new coronavirus?
A: According to the World Health Organization, no.
Q: Will the new stimulus package provide benefits for people who are self-employed?
A: Yes. The “CARES” Act expanded who can apply for unemployment benefits. Independent contractors and gig workers are now eligible. It also lets those who are eligible collect for an extra 13 weeks and it gives you an extra $600/week for up four months. Besides unemployment, you can also apply for a small business loan through two programs: the Paycheck Protection Program, or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Mosquitoes Don’t Transmit COVID-19: WHO
Self-Employed & Small Biz Resources: SBA.Gov, Bloomberg
Unemployment Insurance: DOL.Gov