COVID

National

Public Health Labs Suffered Budget Cuts Prior To The Coronavirus Pandemic

10:09am April 28, 2020

An APM Reports analysis finds that public labs — the first line of defense in an outbreak — in at least 10 states endured budget troubles or staffing shortages in the past decade.

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visits a drive-through COVID-19 testing location on April 18 in Franklin, Tenn.

Tennessee Restaurants Reopen As State Sees Biggest 1-Day Jump In COVID-19 Cases

7:08pm April 27, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

The state reported 478 new confirmed cases on Sunday, an increase of 5.2%. Restaurants can begin serving dine-in customers on Monday, with retail stores opening later this week.

A health worker checks the temperature of passengers about to board a bus on Monday to their villages in Gauhati, India, after they were stranded during a lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

Despite The Pandemic, India Sees A Drop In Mortality Under Lockdown

12:04pm April 27, 2020

by Lauren Frayer

With more residents staying indoors, fewer Indians are dying from road and train accidents, leading to a drop in overall mortality. Crime is also down.

Rose Sanders urges Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to expand Medicaid during a news conference on April 14 at the state Capitol in Montgomery, Ala.

National

The South's Handling Of Coronavirus Could Be 'A Macabre Game Of Whack-A-Mole'

8:03pm April 24, 2020

by Debbie Elliott

Underlying issues such as poverty and chronic disease make the South particularly vulnerable. The region is also at high risk for natural disasters at a time when emergency resources are stretched.

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Employees and family members protest outside a Smithfield Foods processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 9. Smithfield is being sued over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

National

Workers Sue Smithfield Foods, Allege Conditions Put Them At Risk For COVID-19

4:29pm April 24, 2020

Smithfield's South Dakota plant, which handles 5% of U.S. pork production, has become a coronavirus hot spot, with 783 workers testing positive for the virus so far and two of them dying.

In recent years, former coal miners were retrained to work with fiber optics, expanding high-speed Internet — and possible economic opportunities — to rural areas.

National

Even In Crisis Times, There Is A Push To Wire Rural America

1:02pm April 24, 2020

by Kirk Siegler

The COVID-19 crisis has forced us to move almost everything online. But more than one-third of the U.S. population in rural areas has little or no access to the Internet.

New York City MTA bus operators Tyrone Hampton (left) and Frank de Jesus spoke last week about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their work. They talked during a remote StoryCorps conversation.

'We've Seen A Lot Of Brothers Die.' NYC Bus Operators Witness Loss Amid Pandemic

12:08pm April 24, 2020

As of this week, 83 workers with New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority died from COVID-19. Two bus operators talk about the crushing loss they've witnessed in their field.

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Diana Hu is a pediatrician at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation and a member of the Navajo epidemiology response team.

Navajo Nation Sees High Rate Of COVID-19 And Contact Tracing Is A Challenge

5:00am April 24, 2020

by Laurel Morales

The Navajo Nation has the third highest COVID-19 infection rate in the U.S., after New York and New Jersey. The pandemic is exposing a longtime lack of federal funding for Indian Country health care.

Sarah Alfaham and her husband Mohamed Ahmed decorated their home for Ramadan.

Ramadan, A Month About Community For Many Muslims, Goes Virtual

5:00am April 23, 2020

by Leila Fadel

From drive-through iftars, to card exchanges, Muslims adapt traditions to try to find a sense of community while staying apart.

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First base umpire Lee Gye-sung (right) wears a mask and gloves as a precaution against the coronavirus during the preseason baseball game between the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins in Seoul on April 21.

National

You're Out! No Fans — Or Spitting — As Baseball Returns To South Korea

1:45pm April 22, 2020

by Tom Goldman

The Korean Baseball Organization will begin its new season on May 5, initially without fans. The KBO hopes this week's start of preseason games leads to a smooth opening of the regular season.

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