pandemic

Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Easier Voting By Mail In Alabama During Coronavirus

3:55pm July 03, 2020

by David Welna

A lower-court judge had allowed less rigorous terms for absentee voting because of the pandemic. That ruling was blocked a dozen days before a primary run-off there.

Medical personnel prepare to test hundreds of people for the coronavirus. They lined up in vehicles last week in a Phoenix neighborhood.

Health & Safety

Drill Down To County Level And The U.S. COVID-19 Outbreak Looks Even Worse

7:00am July 03, 2020

by Nurith Aizenman

Local data reveal a deeper picture of where the current hot spots are in the United States — and where new ones could surface.

Queue Listen Now

A hallway leads to a makeshift isolation ward for COVID-19 patients.

National

On The Brink, Rural Hospitals Brace For New Surge In COVID-19 Cases

5:00am July 03, 2020

by Kirk Siegler

Rural "critical access" hospitals, often some of the largest employers in small towns, have been operating on razor-thin margins throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Fireworks companies in Maine are struggling after many displays have been cancelled. A 2012 display in Scarborough, Maine is shown here.

National

Maine Fireworks Businesses Struggle As Public Displays Are Canceled

3:37pm July 02, 2020

by Willis Ryder Arnold

Pyrotechnics companies are struggling to make ends meet during what is usually their peak season. One company has seen more than 90% of its business dry up amid the pandemic.

A nurse protests Chile's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The country now has the highest per capita infection rate of any major country — 13,000 cases for every 1 million people.

Health & Safety

How Chile Ended Up With One Of The Highest COVID-19 Rates

10:39am July 02, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

It's a wealthy nation with a robust health care system. So why does Chile have one of the highest coronavirus infection rates per capita of any country in the world?

Left to right: a neck gaiter (aka a buff) that slips over the head; a KN95 respirator, a version of the N95 respirator used in U.S. hospitals; a pleated surgical mask (below the KN95); a cloth mask.

A User's Guide To Masks: What's Best At Protecting Others (And Yourself)

10:52pm July 01, 2020

by Maria Godoy

They're made of cotton. Or polyester. Or paper. Or polypropylene. Here's what researchers say about the effectiveness of the different types of face masks during this pandemic.

Health & Safety

No Rest For The Gravediggers Of Afghanistan

9:01am July 01, 2020

They are working harder than ever to keep up with the death toll from the novel coronavirus. "People bring their dead during the day and during the night," says a gravedigger named Abbas.

Then-Director of the National Institutes of Health Elias Zerhouni speaks with President George W. Bush during a round table discussion on cancer prevention at the NIH in Bethesda, Md., in 2007.

Former NIH Director Calls Trump Administration's Pandemic Response 'Amateur Hour'

11:13am June 29, 2020

by Joe Palca

Dr. Elias Zerhouni was head of the National Institutes of Health under President George W. Bush. He says the Trump administration's response to the pandemic has not protected the American people.

Liu Ping, a breeder of bamboo rats. He had to cull his rats when the Chinese government banned consumption of various wild animals as a way to potentially curb spread of viruses from animals to humans.

Health & Safety

Pandemic Causes China To Ban Breeding Of Bamboo Rats And Other Wild Animals

11:12pm June 28, 2020

The idea is to reduce the risk of spread of viruses through animal-human contact. Bamboo rat breeders are devastated by the loss of income. And critics say the ban has too many loopholes.

Essential Vocab For COVID-19: From Asymptomatic To Zoonotic

7:00am June 27, 2020

The pandemic has brought many new terms into daily usage. Here are definitions of some of the words used in discussion of the novel coronavirus and how to stem its spread.