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July 9th: Coronavirus Updates from The Washington Post

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In the wind

The latest
Coronavirus patients are pouring into hospitals in hot spots such as Florida, Arizona, California and Texas, where hospitals are adding new ICU beds and special airflow systems as virus hospitalizations set records almost daily. The surge in patients is creating a major shortage in protective equipment, and forcing health-care workers to reuse the PPE they already have. Nurses say they are using N95 masks for weeks at a time. “A lot people thought once the alarm was sounded back in March, surely the federal government would fix this, but that hasn’t happened,” said Deborah Burger, a California nurse and president of National Nurses United. Read more about the shortage of medical supplies here.

With tears in his eyes, the director of the World Health Organization pleaded Thursday for international unity to fight the pandemic, after President Trump announced his intention to quit the organization. “How difficult is it for humans to unite to fight a common enemy that’s killing people indiscriminately?” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked. “Can’t we understand that the divisions or the cracks between us actually are to the advantage of the virus?”

State leaders and laboratories say that they have been confused and feel unprepared by the Trump administration's erratic approach to testing. They report that they don't know who is in charge, nor do they know which agencies to contact about supply issues. “It is increasingly unlikely the nation will be prepared with sufficient testing capacity to meet the health and economic needs of the country by late summer or even into the fall,” lawmakers wrote in a report.

Email correspondence released through a public records request shows how states that raced to reopen allowed businesses to write their own rules when it happened. The emails also show governors' thinking as they have pledged not to shut back down, even as cases spike in states such as Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Health experts in these states say that concerns from industries overpowered the health advice they were giving to implement more prevention measures.

As the Trump administration is pushing for schools to reopen fully this fall, schools themselves are pushing back. Most are planning to not fully reopen, but use a hybrid of in-class learning and instruction from home. Even in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration ordered that schools open five days a week, superintendents responded quickly. Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said that he “will never compromise the health” of students, teachers and staff. Read the latest on the push to reopen schools full-time.

Over the past few weeks, more states and cities have implemented mask requirements. But many people have been unwilling to comply, and retail workers have been pulled into the growing culture war between those who wear masks and those who refuse. Mixed messaging and politicization have turned a public health safeguard into a lightning-rod issue, and workers have been berated, even assaulted, by aggressive anti-maskers.

Other important news
The covid-19 pandemic is stoking extremist flames worldwide, analysts warn.

We typically think of robots as filling jobs done by humans. In Japan, ideas are brewing about using robots to bridge gaps between humans, lessening the isolation of social distancing.

Trump’s Tulsa rally and the protests that surrounded it are “more than likely” linked to the city's recent coronavirus surge, a health official says.

Republican leaders have discussed lowering the income threshold for people who would qualify for a second round of stimulus payments, but economic turmoil has complicated those talks.

Pregnant women may be able to transmit coronavirus to their babies, a study suggests.

The head of the Transportation Security Administration ordered new coronavirus safety precautions last week after meeting with a whistleblower who alleged that the agency wasn’t doing enough.