COVID-19

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.

Indian paramilitary soldiers carry the body of a paramilitary officer who died of COVID-19 to a crematorium in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Tuesday. India is the third-ranked nation in the number of reported infections.

India Sets Record For Its Daily Coronavirus Count

8:01am July 16, 2020

by Lauren Frayer

Despite one the world's earliest and most restrictive lockdowns, India's numbers continue to soar, exceeded only by the United States and Brazil.

Dozens of fans turned out to watch the Red Sox amateur baseball team tangle with the Yankees at Regions Field in Birmingham, Ala. The teams are part of an over-35 league showcasing their skills at a ballpark normally used by the Birmingham Barons minor le

Baseball-Starved Fans Turn Out To Watch Middle-Aged Men Play

7:31am July 16, 2020

by Melanie Peeples

With Major League Baseball games to be played in empty stadiums, and the minor league season cancelled, fans are showing up at amateur leagues.

A fish-plant worker processes seafood at Blue Harvest Fisheries in New Bedford, Mass. Workers were provided face shields to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on the plant floor.

National

This City's Coronavirus Safety Measures Could Become Best Practices

5:01am July 16, 2020

by Nadine Sebai

The fishing port of New Bedford, Mass., is protecting essential workers during the pandemic with a set of enforceable guidelines that experts say could be a model for other cities.