COVID-19

A medical worker collects nasal swab samples this week during a mass test for the coronavirus at North Sumatra University in Medan, Indonesia. The mass test was held after the rector of the university, one of his deputies and a member of the board of trus

Indonesia Stumbles As Coronavirus Cases Surge

9:23pm July 16, 2020

by Michael Sullivan

The archipelago nation has been hit by the virus far more than any other country in Southeast Asia. Epidemiologists cite government failures.

Coins have been in short supply around the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic.

Exact Change Please: Walmart, Kroger, CVS Are Feeling The Coin Shortage

7:38pm July 16, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

Stores, supermarkets and gas stations are grappling with low supplies of pocket change. The national shortage is due in part to people going out less to spend money during the pandemic.

Education

WS/FCS Board Of Education Will Review Reopening Proposals

5:05pm July 16, 2020

by Keri Brown

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education will meet on Friday afternoon to discuss reopening plans.

People get tested at a drive-through coronavirus testing site at South Mountain Community College on, July 9 in Phoenix.

Health & Safety

Arizona Clinic Grapples With High Demand For COVID-19 Tests

4:46pm July 16, 2020

by Noel King

Coronavirus testing in the U.S. has not kept up with demand. NPR's Noel King talks to Raymond Embry, who runs one of the largest coronavirus testing sites in Arizona, about why that is.

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, new suppliers have jumped into the market for surgical masks. Some have touted FDA certificates that don't have any regulatory meaning.

Health & Safety

'Meaningless' FDA Certificates Are Used To Tout Dubious Face Masks

4:14pm July 16, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Companies that made hats, socks and teddy bears have started producing surgical masks to protect people from COVID-19. Some sellers exaggerate their standing with the Food and Drug Administration.

A volunteer receives a shot in a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine. U.S. intelligence officials say Russian hackers are attempting to break into U.S. health care organizations working on a vaccine.

U.S. Says Russian Hackers Are Trying To Steal Coronavirus Vaccine Research

3:38pm July 16, 2020

by Greg Myre

The National Security Agency, as well as its counterparts in Britain and Canada, say they're seeing persistent attempts to hack into organizations working on a potential vaccine.

Morris Koll, grandfather of NPR correspondent Pam Fessler's husband, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was sent to the Philippines in 1902. That's when he contracted leprosy. In 1935, public health authorities took him to the national leprosarium in Carville,

A Family Secret Inspired A New Book About Leprosy

2:23pm July 16, 2020

by Diane Cole

NPR correspondent Pam Fessler, author of Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice, talks about her research into this once feared disease — and its connection to COVID-19.

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People in Melbourne, Australia, wear face masks on Thursday. Victoria has recorded 317 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, the highest daily total recorded in the state since the pandemic began.

Melbourne, On COVID-19 Lockdown, Reports Record Case Count

1:45pm July 16, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Health officials in Australia's second-largest city said 317 new cases had been reported more than a week after a "hard boundary" around the city closed it off.

"Most of it is is new gun owners," says Michael Weeks (left), a gun store owner in Gainesville, Ga. By one estimate, Americans have bought nearly 3 million more guns than usual since March.

National

Pandemic And Protests Spark Record Gun Sales

12:03pm July 16, 2020

by Chris Arnold

About 3 million more guns than usual have been sold since the pandemic started. And nearly half of all the sales appear to be to those buying guns for the first time.

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Customers wait in line to enter a Zara store inside the newly reopened Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J., on June 29.

America Went Shopping For Clothes Again In June

9:34am July 16, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

U.S. stores and restaurants got a boost in June as retail sales jumped 7.5%. Spending on clothes doubled. But this was before a new surge in the coronavirus prompted renewed shutdowns in some states.