npr--2020-04-01--Fighting COVID-19 Is Like 'Whack-A-Mole,' Says Writer Who Warned Of A Pandemic

Fighting COVID-19 Is Like 'Whack-A-Mole , ' Says Writer Who Warned Of A Pandemic Two years ago , science writer Ed Yong wrote an article for The Atlantic in which he warned that a new global pandemic was inevitable — and that the world would be unprepared for it when it arrived .
Now , with the outbreak of COVID-19 , much of what Yong warned about in his reporting has come true .
Yong says scientists are still working to understand how the novel coronavirus travels through air .
His latest article for The Atlantic concerns whether or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front-line personnel should be wearing some sort of mask to help prevent spread of the coronavirus .
Yong notes that there are two ways in which respiratory viruses typically travel through air : as droplets of fluid and as evaporated specks of fluid called `` aerosols . ''
Yong describes aerosols as `` far-drifting '' and `` long-lasting '' viral specks .
`` There is some growing evidence that aerosol transmission — what people would traditionally describe as being 'airborne ' — does apply , to some extent , to the new coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it 's not yet clear whether live infectious viral particles remain in the air where infected people have been : `` That 's the crucial thing to know , '' he says .
`` And then really , crucially , are there enough of those viral particles to actually start an infection ?
We do n't know the answer to that yet . ''
Yong says the experts he has consulted have not come to a consensus regarding whether or not the general population should wear some sort of mask , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot of movement towards recommending widespread mask usage from different countries , '' he says .
`` The CDC appears to be considering it .
Health experts I 've spoken to who were once dismissive about mask use are now edging towards recommending it . ''
But Yong adds that the short supply of N-95 respirator masks , and even professionally made surgical masks complicates matters .
`` We 're currently in a situation where masks are already running out in hospital settings and for health care workers , who are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So any masks — any protective equipment — should go to health care workers as a matter of priority .
And only then should we think about whether the general population should be considering wearing masks . ''
Looking ahead , Yong says that even if masks , frequent hand-washing and social isolation strategies are effective in slowing the virus ' spread , the end to the pandemic is still a long way off : `` We are in for this long , protracted game of whack-a-mole with the virus where different places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It will surge back .
It will need to be controlled again . ''
On what we know about how the virus travels through the air and how we 're susceptible to inhaling it There was one study that just shot virus-laden fluids into a rotating cylinder to create a cloud of aerosols .
And they found that within that cloud , the virus remained stable for several hours , which suggests that it can at least survive in the air around us .
Now , that 's a pretty artificial setup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medically invasive procedure like intubation , rather than someone just breathing when they 're walking down the street or sitting in a room .
So it 's hard to know what to make of that outside the health care setting .
But there are other studies that suggest that the coronavirus can be released into the air in less dramatic ways .
For example , a new [ study ] released by the University of Nebraska Medical Center looked for traces of the virus ' genetic material in the rooms of several patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only had mild symptoms .
So they found traces of that genetic material on lots of different surfaces , including hard to reach spots like ventilation grates and the floors beneath beds .
That 's consistent with the idea that the virus is moving through the air over distances longer than a droplet might land .
What we do n't know is whether there are actually live infectious viral particles in the air .
The presence of genetic material does n't indicate that .
It 's like finding a fingerprint in a crime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was once there , but they might have long gone .
So that 's the crucial thing to know .
... And , [ in each case ] , are there enough of those viral particles to actually start an infection ?
We do n't know the answer to that yet .
And that 's a really crucial piece of the puzzle .
On how thinking about masks for the general population might be changing Confusion is completely understandable , because even among the experts who I 've spoken to — including people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibility — opinion is divided on the role of masks and how much protection they can provide .
There 's just a mess of data on whether masks worn by the general population will provide protection against respiratory illnesses in general ; whether masks prevent you , if you are infected , from infecting other people .
I think that 's a little clearer , both from the evidence and just through common sense .
And that might matter a lot for a disease like COVID-19 .
We know that the virus behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another before they show symptoms , and that is perhaps the strongest argument for widespread usage of masks .
Even if you are n't currently coughing or sneezing or breaking into a fever , you might not know that you have a virus , and wearing a mask might stop you from spreading that virus to someone else .
On why touching your mask negates its protection One of the reasons why some people are still on the fence about recommending widespread mask usage is this idea that people who wear masks and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ futz around with them .
They fidget with the masks , they touch their faces .
There 's not a huge amount of data on this ... but almost everyone I 've spoken to who has experience of actually using the masks properly , whenever they 've seen people use them in more casual ways , people almost always get it wrong .
They pull the mask over their chin , wipe their faces .
They touch the masks constantly .
They 're always adjusting it .
And that carries a risk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do lure yourself into a false sense of security , thinking you 're safe , but in a situation when you 're actually increasing the likelihood of infection .
On how American hubris and exceptionalism have contributed to the slow response [ A virus ] has no interest in people 's terror , only their cells .
It just wants hosts to infect and does n't care whether you 're feeling brave or not .
And I think that some aspects of America 's national character do seem to have made it harder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to slow the spread of the pandemic .
And not just this sense of resilience , of being brave in the face of fearful threats , but also the sense of individualism and exceptionalism .
This idea that `` I have the freedom to do what I want to do , '' which stops people from just staying indoors and heeding advice about isolating yourselves when it 's necessary .
And I think that the country 's famed exceptionalism — the idea that this is the greatest country in the world — that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delay in the nation 's response .
COVID-19 was taking off in China for at least a month before it first reached U.S. shores .
And during that month , not much actually happened [ in the U.S. ] .
A lot of preparedness measures could have been launched .
The country could have sprung into action , ready for this , for the virus to eventually reach it .
But if anything , America more or less sat idle .
It was sluggish .
And I do wonder if that propensity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that slight hubris , left it more unprepared than it needed to be .
And I think that even though many people had warned about this for a long time , the underwhelming nature of America 's response to this threat has really surprised even people who had been warning , who had been issuing alarms .
There is a thing called the Global Health Security Index , which ranks different countries according to their levels of preparedness for pandemics , according to 140 different criteria , based on regulations from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the countries that were assessed , the United States has the highest score — 83.5 , a solid B .
But if you look at how the country has actually reacted to the pandemic , I think we probably get something like an F. This nation that was meant to be the most prepared of all has really flubbed its response , and I think , to a degree , that has shocked even the most alarmed or pessimistic people who I 'd spoken to before , in my earlier reporting .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ chain for masks and swabs The medical system runs on a just-in-time economy , much like the rest of the world , and products are made to order and they depend on these very long international supply chains , many of which have fractured in this pandemic .
So , for example , Hubei Province , where the pandemic first took off in China , is also one of the world 's leading centers for manufacturing medical masks .
So the fact that the pandemic hit that region first and hardest really exacerbated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's also now a shortage of the swabs that people used to collect viral samples as the very first step of testing .
And one of the companies that leads the manufacture of those swabs is based in northern Italy , which is one of the centers of the pandemic in Europe .
...
It 's really bad luck that both of those regions were particularly hit , but you could envisage the same problems for all sorts of other areas .
I think this is what happens when you rely on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international chains and that really do n't have a lot of capacity to flex and surge in the event of a crisis .
And that 's especially bad now , because the pandemic has spread so quickly that the entire world is facing down the same problem at the same time and is after the same supplies at the same time — which really has stretched many of these supply chains to a breaking point .
Everyone is after the same supplies and there are n't enough of those supplies to go around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead of cooperating , because the crisis has spread so quickly .
The first steps so far have actually been encouragingly quick .
A vaccine candidate has already entered early safety trials after a record-breakingly short time from actually identifying and sequencing the genome of this new virus .
But the journey from these first trials to actually having a product that you can shoot into people 's arms is very long and hard to shortcut .
You need to know whether the vaccine is safe , whether it triggers an immune reaction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's actually effective at preventing infections .
You need to know what dose to use , how many doses to use , whether it also works in elderly people who are more at risk .
All of these steps take time , and if you do n't go through them , you might run the risk of creating a product that has really severe side effects or that is rolled out widely but just does n't work .
So the experts I 've spoken to feel that it will probably take between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a working vaccine , let alone then to create the manufacturing capacity to create enough doses and then to distribute those doses and to actually inject them into people .
This is not going to be a fast process .
And until that process is complete , COVID-19 is going to be a part of our lives .
On the different methods being used to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 Most existing vaccines [ against other viruses ] use a dead or weakened virus or a fragment of that virus .
So the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the immune system , [ and ] the immune system can prepare defenses ahead of time .
[ One new vaccine candidate in development against the coronavirus ] works in a slightly different way .
It uses a piece of the virus ' genetic material , its RNA .
You inject that up into a person in the hope that that person then can build their own fragments of the virus using the instructions in that genetic material and that those sorts of homegrown fragments can then train the immune system .
These @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They have the potential to be really important and to be much faster .
But the caveat is that no such vaccines have ever been taken to the market before .
So we 're breaking new ground and there are n't facilities already available that can manufacture such vaccines in the quantities that are needed .
By contrast , other teams are using more traditional approaches .
For example , there 's one group in France that is trying to repurpose the existing measles vaccine to instead target the new coronavirus .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front end .
But on the plus side , if that actually works , then the world knows how to make measles vaccines in large quantities .
So it 's unclear which of ... these solutions will end up being quickest .
But it 's certainly reassuring that a lot of different options are being tried — not just these two , but but many others .
And we 'll just have to wait and see which gets to the finish line soonest .
On the idea that the spread of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , traditionally , coronaviruses and a lot of other respiratory viruses , like flu , do go away in the summer , and there are many possible reasons for that .
Certainly , humidity and heat makes it easier for the cells of our airways to clear out a virus , and some of the immune response to these respiratory viruses appear to be stronger under those climatic conditions .
Now , is this new coronavirus going to behave in the same way ?
Possibly .
Is that going to make a difference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure .
And the reason for that is that the virus is circulating through a global population that is completely immunologically naive to it .
Our immune systems are not ready to deal with something like this .
And so the virus has a large proportion of hosts among whom it can easily spread .
To hope that the summer is going to downplay those dynamics far enough to contain the pandemic is , I think , wishful thinking .
... We 're seeing transmission in places like Australia , which is just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Singapore , which is hot and humid in the tropics .
And what that tells us is that it 's probably wishful thinking to hope for heat and humidity to be the things that contain this virus .
They may help , but only if we can slow its spread in other ways , such as through social distancing .
On being prepared for COVID-19 to come back I think that 's very likely .
I think most experts would expect some kind of resurgence once current social distancing measures are released .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these viruses .
It 's definitely likely because the pandemic is now so widespread that unless the entire world simultaneously brings the virus to heel , there are always going to be pockets where outbreaks are still ongoing , and that can seed [ and ] can reignite sparks of infection in places where outbreaks had already been extinguished .
... And so we 're likely looking at multiple rounds of social distancing , multiple bouts of social upheaval .
Now , it 's possible if we get our act together and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wave , that those subsequent bouts will be less dramatic and less uprooting than this current period of time has been , and that may well just be because of that uneven spread .
So currently the virus is everywhere .
It 's hitting everywhere ... at more or less the same time .
If different places can get it under control , there might be less potential for that sort of explosive worldwide spread .
And then , over time , one would hope that surveillance measures would be better .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and working out who 's immune to it , at building up the necessary supplies to protect health care workers .
All of those measures might mean that we can get a little bit more sophisticated in where social distancing is being rolled out , in the nature of those measures .
But I think it 's very clear that that is going to be a long game .
On how the pandemic has hit society 's most vulnerable Clearly , the economic implications of this are going to be profound .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's going to hit people in different ways that are magnified by existing inequalities ; people from low income groups , people from marginalized groups are going to feel the effects of this far more .
Pandemics often expose existing fault lines in societies , and they reveal whom a society cares about and whom it often ignores .
The people who are still having to serve on the front lines of society while everyone else is sheltering indoors , people like grocery store workers , janitors , they are currently risking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't have a choice .
The elderly who have often been marginalized in the fringes of society are now [ being asked to ] isolate themselves even more , deepening the loneliness that many of them have already felt .
People with mental health disorders , people with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder who have long been grappling with worries about infection and cleanliness , are now seeing some of their worst nightmares playing out around them and are struggling in a context where they do n't have access to their usual support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of societal dynamics which were already being overlooked and which were already fraying are going to fray even more .
I think it 's important to be wary of [ that unraveling ] and to look out for the people who are most going to need help .
A pandemic causes a wave of physical suffering , but following that , there is also economic suffering , mental suffering , emotional suffering .
We will need to be wary of all of those things when society rebuilds in the wake of this crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to inspire positive change I think that this is the time to be imagining what a better world might look like and to start actively working towards it .
These periods of great social upheaval carry with them great risk and tragedy , but also great potential .
So on a very simple level , after HIV spread throughout the world and the '80s , it led to better awareness of sexual health that led to mainstreaming of condom use , of testing [ for sexually transmitted infections ] .
And perhaps the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of health behaviors that have been quite difficult to get people to take up , like regular hand-washing for 20 seconds — sometimes a rarity even in hospital settings , let alone in homes .
And now all of us — well , many of us , hopefully — [ are ] washing our hands on a regular basis every day .
Hopefully that will become a normal part of our culture in the future .
I also really hope that a lot of the ethic of cooperation that we 're starting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out for each other , coming together at a moment of crisis , will continue through the rest of this long-haul pandemic and beyond .
I think we 're going to need that if we 're going to be better-prepared for what 's to come .
We need that sense of cooperation between neighbors in a community , between states , in a country and between countries — an international community .
Amy Salit and Seth Kelley produced and edited the audio of this interview .
Bridget Bentz , Molly Seavy-Nesper and Deborah @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Fighting COVID-19 Is Like 'Whack-A-Mole,' Says Writer Who Warned Of A Pandemic
Enlarge this image toggle caption John Locher/AP John Locher/AP
Two years ago, science writer Ed Yong wrote an article for The Atlantic in which he warned that a new global pandemic was inevitable — and that the world would be unprepared for it when it arrived. Now, with the outbreak of COVID-19, much of what Yong warned about in his reporting has come true.
Yong says scientists are still working to understand how the novel coronavirus travels through air. His latest article for The Atlantic concerns whether or not people beyond health care workers and other front-line personnel should be wearing some sort of mask to help prevent spread of the coronavirus.
Yong notes that there are two ways in which respiratory viruses typically travel through air: as droplets of fluid and as evaporated specks of fluid called "aerosols."
Yong describes aerosols as "far-drifting" and "long-lasting" viral specks. "There is some growing evidence that aerosol transmission — what people would traditionally describe as being 'airborne' — does apply, to some extent, to the new coronavirus," he says.
He adds that it's not yet clear whether live infectious viral particles remain in the air where infected people have been: "That's the crucial thing to know," he says. "And then really, crucially, are there enough of those viral particles to actually start an infection? We don't know the answer to that yet."
Yong says the experts he has consulted have not come to a consensus regarding whether or not the general population should wear some sort of mask, when in public places. "There is a lot of movement towards recommending widespread mask usage from different countries," he says. "The CDC appears to be considering it. Health experts I've spoken to who were once dismissive about mask use are now edging towards recommending it."
But Yong adds that the short supply of N-95 respirator masks, and even professionally made surgical masks complicates matters.
"We're currently in a situation where masks are already running out in hospital settings and for health care workers, who are the people who need them the most. So any masks — any protective equipment — should go to health care workers as a matter of priority. And only then should we think about whether the general population should be considering wearing masks."
Looking ahead, Yong says that even if masks, frequent hand-washing and social isolation strategies are effective in slowing the virus' spread, the end to the pandemic is still a long way off: "We are in for this long, protracted game of whack-a-mole with the virus where different places will stamp it out at different times. It will surge back. It will need to be controlled again."
Interview Highlights
On what we know about how the virus travels through the air and how we're susceptible to inhaling it
There was one study that just shot virus-laden fluids into a rotating cylinder to create a cloud of aerosols. And they found that within that cloud, the virus remained stable for several hours, which suggests that it can at least survive in the air around us. Now, that's a pretty artificial setup. That's probably closer to a medically invasive procedure like intubation, rather than someone just breathing when they're walking down the street or sitting in a room. So it's hard to know what to make of that outside the health care setting.
But there are other studies that suggest that the coronavirus can be released into the air in less dramatic ways. For example, a new [study] released by the University of Nebraska Medical Center looked for traces of the virus' genetic material in the rooms of several patients who had COVID-19 — many of whom only had mild symptoms. So they found traces of that genetic material on lots of different surfaces, including hard to reach spots like ventilation grates and the floors beneath beds. That's consistent with the idea that the virus is moving through the air over distances longer than a droplet might land.
What we don't know is whether there are actually live infectious viral particles in the air. The presence of genetic material doesn't indicate that. It's like finding a fingerprint in a crime scene. It means that the culprit was once there, but they might have long gone. So that's the crucial thing to know. ... And, [in each case], are there enough of those viral particles to actually start an infection? We don't know the answer to that yet. And that's a really crucial piece of the puzzle.
On how thinking about masks for the general population might be changing
Confusion is completely understandable, because even among the experts who I've spoken to — including people who've studied airborne transmission and its possibility — opinion is divided on the role of masks and how much protection they can provide. There's just a mess of data on whether masks worn by the general population will provide protection against respiratory illnesses in general; whether masks prevent you, if you are infected, from infecting other people. I think that's a little clearer, both from the evidence and just through common sense. And that might matter a lot for a disease like COVID-19.
We know that the virus behind it can spread from one person to another before they show symptoms, and that is perhaps the strongest argument for widespread usage of masks. Even if you aren't currently coughing or sneezing or breaking into a fever, you might not know that you have a virus, and wearing a mask might stop you from spreading that virus to someone else.
On why touching your mask negates its protection
One of the reasons why some people are still on the fence about recommending widespread mask usage is this idea that people who wear masks and aren't used to them kind of futz around with them. They fidget with the masks, they touch their faces. There's not a huge amount of data on this ... but almost everyone I've spoken to who has experience of actually using the masks properly, whenever they've seen people use them in more casual ways, people almost always get it wrong. They pull the mask over their chin, wipe their faces. They touch the masks constantly. They're always adjusting it. And that carries a risk, and maybe the risk is that you do lure yourself into a false sense of security, thinking you're safe, but in a situation when you're actually increasing the likelihood of infection.
On how American hubris and exceptionalism have contributed to the slow response
[A virus] has no interest in people's terror, only their cells. It just wants hosts to infect and doesn't care whether you're feeling brave or not. And I think that some aspects of America's national character do seem to have made it harder for people to take the necessary measures to slow the spread of the pandemic. And not just this sense of resilience, of being brave in the face of fearful threats, but also the sense of individualism and exceptionalism. This idea that "I have the freedom to do what I want to do," which stops people from just staying indoors and heeding advice about isolating yourselves when it's necessary. And I think that the country's famed exceptionalism — the idea that this is the greatest country in the world — that, I think, contributed to a delay in the nation's response.
The [U.S.] could have sprung into action ready for this, for the virus to eventually reach it. But if anything, America more or less sat idle. It was sluggish. And I do wonder if that propensity to think of itself as being truly exceptional, that slight hubris, left it more unprepared than it needed to be.
COVID-19 was taking off in China for at least a month before it first reached U.S. shores. And during that month, not much actually happened [in the U.S.]. A lot of preparedness measures could have been launched. The country could have sprung into action, ready for this, for the virus to eventually reach it. But if anything, America more or less sat idle. It was sluggish. And I do wonder if that propensity to think of itself as being truly exceptional, that slight hubris, left it more unprepared than it needed to be. And I think that even though many people had warned about this for a long time, the underwhelming nature of America's response to this threat has really surprised even people who had been warning, who had been issuing alarms.
There is a thing called the Global Health Security Index, which ranks different countries according to their levels of preparedness for pandemics, according to 140 different criteria, based on regulations from the World Health Organization. And out of all the countries that were assessed, the United States has the highest score — 83.5, a solid B. But if you look at how the country has actually reacted to the pandemic, I think we probably get something like an F. This nation that was meant to be the most prepared of all has really flubbed its response, and I think, to a degree, that has shocked even the most alarmed or pessimistic people who I'd spoken to before, in my earlier reporting.
On what happened to the medical supply chain for masks and swabs
The medical system runs on a just-in-time economy, much like the rest of the world, and products are made to order and they depend on these very long international supply chains, many of which have fractured in this pandemic. So, for example, Hubei Province, where the pandemic first took off in China, is also one of the world's leading centers for manufacturing medical masks. So the fact that the pandemic hit that region first and hardest really exacerbated the shortage of medical supplies. There's also now a shortage of the swabs that people used to collect viral samples as the very first step of testing. And one of the companies that leads the manufacture of those swabs is based in northern Italy, which is one of the centers of the pandemic in Europe. ...
It's really bad luck that both of those regions were particularly hit, but you could envisage the same problems for all sorts of other areas. I think this is what happens when you rely on a medical system that depends on these large international chains and that really don't have a lot of capacity to flex and surge in the event of a crisis. And that's especially bad now, because the pandemic has spread so quickly that the entire world is facing down the same problem at the same time and is after the same supplies at the same time — which really has stretched many of these supply chains to a breaking point. Everyone is after the same supplies and there aren't enough of those supplies to go around. Everyone is competing with each other instead of cooperating, because the crisis has spread so quickly.
On rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine
The first steps so far have actually been encouragingly quick. A vaccine candidate has already entered early safety trials after a record-breakingly short time from actually identifying and sequencing the genome of this new virus. But the journey from these first trials to actually having a product that you can shoot into people's arms is very long and hard to shortcut. You need to know whether the vaccine is safe, whether it triggers an immune reaction. Then you need to know whether it's actually effective at preventing infections. You need to know what dose to use, how many doses to use, whether it also works in elderly people who are more at risk. All of these steps take time, and if you don't go through them, you might run the risk of creating a product that has really severe side effects or that is rolled out widely but just doesn't work.
So the experts I've spoken to feel that it will probably take between 12 and 18 months to even develop a working vaccine, let alone then to create the manufacturing capacity to create enough doses and then to distribute those doses and to actually inject them into people. This is not going to be a fast process. And until that process is complete, COVID-19 is going to be a part of our lives.
On the different methods being used to develop a vaccine for COVID-19
Most existing vaccines [against other viruses] use a dead or weakened virus or a fragment of that virus. So the idea is, you show that to the immune system, [and] the immune system can prepare defenses ahead of time. [One new vaccine candidate in development against the coronavirus] works in a slightly different way. It uses a piece of the virus' genetic material, its RNA. You inject that up into a person in the hope that that person then can build their own fragments of the virus using the instructions in that genetic material and that those sorts of homegrown fragments can then train the immune system. These RNA vaccines are a new technology. They have the potential to be really important and to be much faster. But the caveat is that no such vaccines have ever been taken to the market before. So we're breaking new ground and there aren't facilities already available that can manufacture such vaccines in the quantities that are needed.
By contrast, other teams are using more traditional approaches. For example, there's one group in France that is trying to repurpose the existing measles vaccine to instead target the new coronavirus. That might take a longer time at the front end. But on the plus side, if that actually works, then the world knows how to make measles vaccines in large quantities. So it's unclear which of ... these solutions will end up being quickest. But it's certainly reassuring that a lot of different options are being tried — not just these two, but but many others. And we'll just have to wait and see which gets to the finish line soonest.
On the idea that the spread of the coronavirus might slow down in the summer
So, traditionally, coronaviruses and a lot of other respiratory viruses, like flu, do go away in the summer, and there are many possible reasons for that. Certainly, humidity and heat makes it easier for the cells of our airways to clear out a virus, and some of the immune response to these respiratory viruses appear to be stronger under those climatic conditions.
Now, is this new coronavirus going to behave in the same way? Possibly. Is that going to make a difference with the pandemic? I'm not sure. And the reason for that is that the virus is circulating through a global population that is completely immunologically naive to it. Our immune systems are not ready to deal with something like this. And so the virus has a large proportion of hosts among whom it can easily spread. To hope that the summer is going to downplay those dynamics far enough to contain the pandemic is, I think, wishful thinking. ... We're seeing transmission in places like Australia, which is just coming out of its summer, or Singapore, which is hot and humid in the tropics. And what that tells us is that it's probably wishful thinking to hope for heat and humidity to be the things that contain this virus. They may help, but only if we can slow its spread in other ways, such as through social distancing.
On being prepared for COVID-19 to come back
I think that's very likely. I think most experts would expect some kind of resurgence once current social distancing measures are released. That's sort of in the nature of these viruses. It's definitely likely because the pandemic is now so widespread that unless the entire world simultaneously brings the virus to heel, there are always going to be pockets where outbreaks are still ongoing, and that can seed [and] can reignite sparks of infection in places where outbreaks had already been extinguished. ...
And so we're likely looking at multiple rounds of social distancing, multiple bouts of social upheaval. Now, it's possible if we get our act together and if we do well in this first wave, that those subsequent bouts will be less dramatic and less uprooting than this current period of time has been, and that may well just be because of that uneven spread. So currently the virus is everywhere. It's hitting everywhere ... at more or less the same time. If different places can get it under control, there might be less potential for that sort of explosive worldwide spread. And then, over time, one would hope that surveillance measures would be better. We become better at testing for the virus and working out who's immune to it, at building up the necessary supplies to protect health care workers. All of those measures might mean that we can get a little bit more sophisticated in where social distancing is being rolled out, in the nature of those measures. But I think it's very clear that that is going to be a long game.
Pandemics often expose existing fault lines in societies, and they reveal whom a society cares about and whom it often ignores.
On how the pandemic has hit society's most vulnerable
Clearly, the economic implications of this are going to be profound. I think, as with many disasters, it's going to hit people in different ways that are magnified by existing inequalities; people from low income groups, people from marginalized groups are going to feel the effects of this far more.
Pandemics often expose existing fault lines in societies, and they reveal whom a society cares about and whom it often ignores. The people who are still having to serve on the front lines of society while everyone else is sheltering indoors, people like grocery store workers, janitors, they are currently risking their lives because many of them don't have a choice. The elderly who have often been marginalized in the fringes of society are now [being asked to] isolate themselves even more, deepening the loneliness that many of them have already felt. People with mental health disorders, people with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder who have long been grappling with worries about infection and cleanliness, are now seeing some of their worst nightmares playing out around them and are struggling in a context where they don't have access to their usual support networks or therapists.
So a lot of societal dynamics which were already being overlooked and which were already fraying are going to fray even more. I think it's important to be wary of [that unraveling] and to look out for the people who are most going to need help. A pandemic causes a wave of physical suffering, but following that, there is also economic suffering, mental suffering, emotional suffering. We will need to be wary of all of those things when society rebuilds in the wake of this crisis.
On the potential of the pandemic to inspire positive change
I think that this is the time to be imagining what a better world might look like and to start actively working towards it. These periods of great social upheaval carry with them great risk and tragedy, but also great potential. So on a very simple level, after HIV spread throughout the world and the '80s, it led to better awareness of sexual health that led to mainstreaming of condom use, of testing [for sexually transmitted infections]. And perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a normalization of health behaviors that have been quite difficult to get people to take up, like regular hand-washing for 20 seconds — sometimes a rarity even in hospital settings, let alone in homes. And now all of us — well, many of us, hopefully — [are] washing our hands on a regular basis every day. Hopefully that will become a normal part of our culture in the future.
I also really hope that a lot of the ethic of cooperation that we're starting to see, of people in communities looking out for each other, coming together at a moment of crisis, will continue through the rest of this long-haul pandemic and beyond. I think we're going to need that if we're going to be better-prepared for what's to come. We need that sense of cooperation between neighbors in a community, between states, in a country and between countries — an international community.
Amy Salit and Seth Kelley produced and edited the audio of this interview. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Deborah Franklin adapted it for the Web.


npr--2020-04-01--Second Federal Inmate Dies From COVID-19

A second person held at the federal prison in Oakdale , La.
, has died of COVID-19 .
Nicholas Rodriquez , 43 , became ill on March 25 and had a high temperature and a rapid heartbeat , according to Federal Bureau of Prisons officials .
He was transported to a local hospital that day , and tested positive for COVID-19 .
Rodriquez was placed on a ventilator on March 27 , after his condition deteriorated .
He died on April 1 .
BOP officials said Rodriquez had long-term , pre-existing medical conditions which the Centers for Disease Control and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more severe COVID-19 disease .
Rodriguez was serving a 188-month sentence on drug charges , and had been at the Oakdale facility for about a year .
Rodriquez is the second death of an inmate from COVID-19 across all federal prisons , and the second death at Federal Correctional Institution Oakdale , which is seeing rampant spread of the virus .
Ronald Morris , a maintenance foreman at the prison and president of the prison 's union local , said nine inmates tested positive for the coronavirus , and there have been 32 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been exposed .
Of those , 15 inmates were in local hospitals .
Meanwhile , eight staff have tested positive , 16 more have symptoms and one was in an intensive care unit at a hospital .
The Bureau of Prisons told The Lens that it has stopped testing for the virus at the facility because the outbreak is so widespread .
Instead , anyone with symptoms is assumed to have COVID-19 .
A spokesperson for the bureau told the news outlet that the move is intended `` to conserve valuable testing resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had no plans to release nationwide testing figures .
The last update was Monday , and reported 28 inmates and 24 staff had tested positive across U.S. federal prisons .
On Wednesday , the Bureau of Prisons began a 14-day quarantine for inmates systemwide to stem the spread of COVID-19 .

Third Federal Inmate Dies From COVID-19
Updated 8:34 p.m. ET
A third person held at the federal prison in Oakdale, La., has died of COVID-19, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons officials. The person's name was not released while authorities notified the person's next of kin.
The second patient to die, Nicholas Rodriquez, 43, became ill on March 25 and had a high temperature and a rapid heartbeat, BOP officials said. He was transported to a local hospital that day, and tested positive for COVID-19. Rodriquez was placed on a ventilator on March 27, after his condition deteriorated. He died on April 1.
BOP officials said Rodriquez had long-term, preexisting medical conditions which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists as risk factors for developing more severe COVID-19 disease. Rodriguez was serving a 188-month sentence on drug charges, and had been at the Oakdale facility for about a year.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Oakdale has seen a rampant spread of the virus.
Ronald Morris, a maintenance foreman at the prison and president of the prison's union local, said nine inmates tested positive for the coronavirus, and there were 32 more with symptoms and 64 who had been exposed. Of those, 15 inmates were in local hospitals. Meanwhile, eight staff tested positive, 16 more had symptoms and one was in an intensive care unit at a hospital.
The Bureau of Prisons told The Lens that it has stopped testing for the virus at the facility because the outbreak is so widespread. Instead, anyone with symptoms is assumed to have COVID-19.
A spokesperson for the bureau told the news outlet that the move is intended "to conserve valuable testing resources," and added that the bureau had no plans to release nationwide testing figures. The last update was Monday, and reported 28 inmates and 24 staff had tested positive across U.S. federal prisons.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Prisons began a 14-day quarantine for inmates systemwide to stem the spread of COVID-19.


npr--2020-04-01--Have You Been Denied Re-Entry To Your Nursing Home After Hospitalization?

Have You Been Denied Re-Entry To Your Nursing Home After Hospitalization ?
Have you or a loved one been refused @ @ @ @ @ or long-term care residence after being hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic ?
Fill out this @ @ @ @ @ experiences , and an NPR producer or reporter may call you for an interview to @ @ @ @ @ Your submission will be governed by our general Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .
@ @ @ @ @ , we want you to be aware that there may be circumstances in which the @ @ @ @ @ journalistic activities or freedom of expression may override privacy rights you might otherwise have .
@ @ @ @ @ submission in our story until we have communicated with you and obtained your consent to @ @ @ @ @ be published .

Have You Been Denied Re-Entry To Your Nursing Home After Hospitalization?
Enlarge this image Katherine Du/NPR Katherine Du/NPR
Have you or a loved one been refused reentry to a nursing home or long-term care residence after being hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic? Fill out this form to tell us your experiences, and an NPR producer or reporter may call you for an interview to air on the radio.
Your submission will be governed by our general Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. As the Privacy Policy says, we want you to be aware that there may be circumstances in which the exemptions provided under law for journalistic activities or freedom of expression may override privacy rights you might otherwise have. We will not use your submission in our story until we have communicated with you and obtained your consent to use the details that will be published.


npr--2020-04-01--Trump Could Recommend Airlines Ground More Flights

President Trump says he may consider grounding some or all flights as a coronavirus pandemic mitigation measure but also said on Wednesday he wants to apply the lightest touch possible in managing the disaster .
Trump acknowledged that he may wind up making some `` recommendations '' to airlines that continue to operate from some of the worst-afflicted places , especially New York City .
But he also told reporters that he hesitates to apply too much of that kind of pressure because it would be difficult for airlines to then start operating again as before .
`` Those are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the future of our country , '' Trump said .
The president said he wants to take the same approach with governors who so far have n't issued stay-at-home orders that mandate the closures of most businesses and for most people to stay in .
Every state is different and not each one needs something like that , Trump said .
`` You have to give a little bit of flexibility ... a state in the Midwest , Alaska , that does n't have a problem ?
It 's awfully tough to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to have a little bit of flexibility . ''
Trump addressed reporters at the White House one day after the historic news conference at which his pandemic specialists told Americans to brace for 100,000 or more deaths in the coming weeks .
Trump repeated that concession on Wednesday but he also used the news conference as an opening to advertise what he called his administration 's tough policies on Venezuela .
National security officials appeared with the president in the first part of the briefing to discuss new deployments of ships and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to put pressure on cocaine smugglers .
Trump claimed that applying pressure to cocaine smuggling also would help stanch the entry of people into the United States who might be carrying the coronavirus , but those effects are likely to be negligible .
Smugglers use speedboats , semi-submersible vessels and small aircraft to ferry bales of cocaine into the United States — conveyances different from those used by so-called `` coyotes '' who bring humans over the land border with Mexico and seldom suited for transporting more people than their own crews of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Operations Adm. Michael Gilday , who appeared with Trump in the first part of the briefing , acknowledged that work continues to take the crew off the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt , which has been sidelined by the coronavirus .
The ship made port in Guam with an outbreak aboard so severe its captain released an extraordinary open letter pleading for the Pentagon to permit him to offload the crew and free the ship from its deployment .
Gilday said on Wednesday that work was underway taking roughly 2,700 people off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Navy officials said at a separate briefing on Wednesday they plan to try to house personnel from the ship on Guam , according to a report by USNI News .
It is n't clear what will happen to the Theodore Roosevelt , a crown jewel of American seapower , which sails with a wing of combat aircraft and is powered by a pair of nuclear reactors .
Gilday said the ship `` is fully operational now and will remain so . ''
There have been a number of military cases of coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to operate and mitigate the effects of the pandemic .
What Trump and the national security leaders sought to show on Wednesday at their briefing was they can do both at once .
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he rejects the `` narrative '' that the military must shut down in order to fight the virus ; it remains dedicated to its mission and operational , he said .
Trump and national security adviser Robert O'Brien would n't directly address reports that said the White House had received intelligence reports about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as it ripped through its epicenter in the Chinese city of Wuhan .
But the leaders did say they did n't believe the reports given by Chinese authorities about the fatalities there .
Trump and his supporters have been angry about what they called concealment or false statements by China about the virus — if the world had known sooner about its ferocity , they argue , the United States and other nations could have prepared .
Reports from last month suggested that nearly 50,000 people may have died in Wuhan — as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 2,500 people may have died .
China 's prevarication about the outbreak harmed the world and its ability to prepare , according to many hawks in Washington .
O'Brien emphasized that he could n't give a sense about the real magnitude of the disaster in China .
`` We 're not in a position to confirm numbers coming out of China , '' he said .
`` There 's lots of public reporting as to whether those numbers are too low ... we just have no way to confirm any of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emphasize what they called the need for Americans to keep apart — away from groups of more than 10 — and mostly to stay in their homes and wash their hands .
Trump repeated his endorsement on Wednesday about the prospect for people to cover their faces in public , although there remained no solid guidance about that from public health officials .
Trump himself acknowledged the disagreements about it .
Until the matter is resolved , the president said Americans should just hold fast through the coming weeks .
`` Keep away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away .
If you do n't get it , it solves a lot a problems . ''

Trump Could Recommend Airlines Ground More Flights
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Updated at 7:29 p.m. ET
President Trump says he may consider grounding some or all flights as a coronavirus pandemic mitigation measure but also said on Wednesday he wants to apply the lightest touch possible in managing the disaster.
Trump acknowledged that he may wind up making some "recommendations" to airlines that continue to operate from some of the worst-afflicted places, especially New York City. But he also told reporters that he hesitates to apply too much of that kind of pressure because it would be difficult for airlines to then start operating again as before.
"Those are very big decisions from the standpoint of the future of our country," Trump said.
The president said he wants to take the same approach with governors who so far haven't issued stay-at-home orders that mandate the closures of most businesses and for most people to stay in. Every state is different and not each one needs something like that, Trump said.
"You have to give a little bit of flexibility ... a state in the Midwest, Alaska, that doesn't have a problem? It's awfully tough to say 'Close it down,' so we have to have a little bit of flexibility."
Trump addressed reporters at the White House one day after the historic news conference at which his pandemic specialists told Americans to brace for 100,000 or more deaths in the coming weeks.
Trump repeated that concession on Wednesday but he also used the news conference as an opening to advertise what he called his administration's tough policies on Venezuela. National security officials appeared with the president in the first part of the briefing to discuss new deployments of ships and aircraft to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific to put pressure on cocaine smugglers.
Trump claimed that applying pressure to cocaine smuggling also would help stanch the entry of people into the United States who might be carrying the coronavirus, but those effects are likely to be negligible.
Loading...
Smugglers use speedboats, semi-submersible vessels and small aircraft to ferry bales of cocaine into the United States — conveyances different from those used by so-called "coyotes" who bring humans over the land border with Mexico and seldom suited for transporting more people than their own crews of one or two.
Military copes with the virus
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, who appeared with Trump in the first part of the briefing, acknowledged that work continues to take the crew off the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been sidelined by the coronavirus.
The ship made port in Guam with an outbreak aboard so severe its captain released an extraordinary open letter pleading for the Pentagon to permit him to offload the crew and free the ship from its deployment.
Gilday said on Wednesday that work was underway taking roughly 2,700 people off the Theodore Roosevelt, treating or testing them. Navy officials said at a separate briefing on Wednesday they plan to try to house personnel from the ship on Guam, according to a report by USNI News.
It isn't clear what will happen to the Theodore Roosevelt, a crown jewel of American seapower, which sails with a wing of combat aircraft and is powered by a pair of nuclear reactors.
Gilday said the ship "is fully operational now and will remain so."
There have been a number of military cases of coronavirus and authorities are working to try to continue to operate and mitigate the effects of the pandemic. What Trump and the national security leaders sought to show on Wednesday at their briefing was they can do both at once.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he rejects the "narrative" that the military must shut down in order to fight the virus; it remains dedicated to its mission and operational, he said.
Renewed skepticism about China
Trump and national security adviser Robert O'Brien wouldn't directly address reports that said the White House had received intelligence reports about the lethality of the coronavirus earlier this year as it ripped through its epicenter in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
But the leaders did say they didn't believe the reports given by Chinese authorities about the fatalities there.
Trump and his supporters have been angry about what they called concealment or false statements by China about the virus — if the world had known sooner about its ferocity, they argue, the United States and other nations could have prepared.
Reports from last month suggested that nearly 50,000 people may have died in Wuhan — as compared with China's official claim that about 2,500 people may have died.
China's prevarication about the outbreak harmed the world and its ability to prepare, according to many hawks in Washington. O'Brien emphasized that he couldn't give a sense about the real magnitude of the disaster in China.
"We're not in a position to confirm numbers coming out of China," he said. "There's lots of public reporting as to whether those numbers are too low ... we just have no way to confirm any of those numbers.
Emphasis on social distancing
Public health authorities continue to emphasize what they called the need for Americans to keep apart — away from groups of more than 10 — and mostly to stay in their homes and wash their hands.
Trump repeated his endorsement on Wednesday about the prospect for people to cover their faces in public, although there remained no solid guidance about that from public health officials. Trump himself acknowledged the disagreements about it.
Until the matter is resolved, the president said Americans should just hold fast through the coming weeks.
"Keep away," he said. "Keep away. If you don't get it, it solves a lot a problems."


npr--2020-04-02--Remembering Adam Schlesinger, One Of Pop's Great Collaborators

It 's tempting , when assessing great creative works , to funnel all credit to a lone genius — a writer , a singer , a director , an artist , or a name that sits atop a marquee .
It 's so much easier to be spared the task of teasing out greatness from an interconnected web of contributors , partners , helpers , teachers and organizers .
We can accept a songwriting credit that reads `` Lennon-McCartney , '' but our icons — our geniuses , our auteurs — more often stand alone , lest their stars seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday from complications due to COVID-19 , was n't an icon , nor was he a lead singer .
He was occasionally given solo billing — as he was when he wrote a masterful , Oscar-nominated piece of vintage pop songcraft called `` That Thing You Do '' in 1996 .
Far more often , he wrote with a shared voice .
In Fountains of Wayne , every song was co-billed to Schlesinger and singer Chris Collingwood ; the two had separate sensibilities , and wrote individually , but they also knew that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other 's ideas thrown in .
On the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — for which Schlesinger wrote or co-wrote an astounding 157 songs — he teamed up with brilliant collaborators in star Rachel Bloom and music supervisor Jack Dolgen , as well as a handful of others .
Schlesinger frequently wrote for ( and with ) the singers in his various bands , be they Collingwood in Fountains of Wayne , Dominique Durand in Ivy , Taylor Hanson in Tinted Windows , or Anna Nordeen and Reni Lane in Fever High .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ material with playwright David Javerbaum , from the Broadway musical Cry-Baby to songs sung by Neil Patrick Harris at the Tony Awards to most of the songs on Stephen Colbert 's Christmas album .
( Seriously , is there a more approachable way into faith than the words `` There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In '' ? )
Schlesinger 's next project was to be a collaboration , as well : A musical based on Sarah Silverman 's memoir The Bedwetter was scheduled to begin Off-Broadway previews later this spring .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schlesinger 's creative output was astounding .
In Fountains of Wayne , he and Collingwood gave voice to middle-class strivers , frustrated ad salesmen , worried commuters and folks who pined for people and lives and dreams that eluded them .
In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , he and Bloom and Dolgen found humor and truth in hilarious pastiches whose subjects spanned mental health , human biology , doomed relationships and countless topics in between .
With Javerbaum , he explored his love of theater — of grand emotions and wry , meta observations — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's death is so painful to contemplate , not only because he was such a generous collaborator , and not only because his work spread so much joy and kindhearted humor , though both of those things are most assuredly true .
It 's also that so many great works are now suffused with his loss .
His works with Bloom and Dolgen , his works with Javerbaum , his works with Collingwood — he seemed endlessly prolific , with creative tendrils that extended into the catalogs of so many other brilliant artists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mourn for his family ; for his girlfriend , his parents and his two children , all of whom are suffering losses that extend well beyond a creative legacy .
But it 's worth also sparing thoughts for the collaborators — for Collingwood , for Bloom , for Javerbaum , for Silverman and so many others — whose work he enriched .
He was a genius , but he was also a team player , and his losses extend to a lot of teams ; to a lot of art .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once .

Remembering Adam Schlesinger, One Of Pop's Great Collaborators
Enlarge this image toggle caption Walter McBride/Getty Images Walter McBride/Getty Images
It's tempting, when assessing great creative works, to funnel all credit to a lone genius — a writer, a singer, a director, an artist, or a name that sits atop a marquee. It's so much easier to be spared the task of teasing out greatness from an interconnected web of contributors, partners, helpers, teachers and organizers. We can accept a songwriting credit that reads "Lennon-McCartney," but our icons — our geniuses, our auteurs — more often stand alone, lest their stars seem diminished.
Adam Schlesinger, who died Wednesday from complications due to COVID-19, wasn't an icon, nor was he a lead singer. He was occasionally given solo billing — as he was when he wrote a masterful, Oscar-nominated piece of vintage pop songcraft called "That Thing You Do" in 1996. Far more often, he wrote with a shared voice.
Adam Schlesinger's Best Songs
In Fountains of Wayne, every song was co-billed to Schlesinger and singer Chris Collingwood; the two had separate sensibilities, and wrote individually, but they also knew that their immensely hooky pop songs improved with each other's ideas thrown in. On the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — for which Schlesinger wrote or co-wrote an astounding 157 songs — he teamed up with brilliant collaborators in star Rachel Bloom and music supervisor Jack Dolgen, as well as a handful of others.
Schlesinger frequently wrote for (and with) the singers in his various bands, be they Collingwood in Fountains of Wayne, Dominique Durand in Ivy, Taylor Hanson in Tinted Windows, or Anna Nordeen and Reni Lane in Fever High. He wrote a broad assortment of award-winning material with playwright David Javerbaum, from the Broadway musical Cry-Baby to songs sung by Neil Patrick Harris at the Tony Awards to most of the songs on Stephen Colbert's Christmas album. (Seriously, is there a more approachable way into faith than the words "There Are Much Worse Things to Believe In"?) Schlesinger's next project was to be a collaboration, as well: A musical based on Sarah Silverman's memoir The Bedwetter was scheduled to begin Off-Broadway previews later this spring.
Taken as a body of work, Schlesinger's creative output was astounding. In Fountains of Wayne, he and Collingwood gave voice to middle-class strivers, frustrated ad salesmen, worried commuters and folks who pined for people and lives and dreams that eluded them. In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, he and Bloom and Dolgen found humor and truth in hilarious pastiches whose subjects spanned mental health, human biology, doomed relationships and countless topics in between. With Javerbaum, he explored his love of theater — of grand emotions and wry, meta observations — in show-stoppers and ballads alike.
Schlesinger's death is so painful to contemplate, not only because he was such a generous collaborator, and not only because his work spread so much joy and kindhearted humor, though both of those things are most assuredly true. It's also that so many great works are now suffused with his loss. His works with Bloom and Dolgen, his works with Javerbaum, his works with Collingwood — he seemed endlessly prolific, with creative tendrils that extended into the catalogs of so many other brilliant artists.
To mourn Adam Schlesinger is to mourn for his family; for his girlfriend, his parents, his sister and his two children, all of whom are suffering losses that extend well beyond a creative legacy. But it's worth also sparing thoughts for the collaborators — for Collingwood, for Bloom, for Javerbaum, for Silverman and so many others — whose work he enriched. He was a genius, but he was also a team player, and his losses extend to a lot of teams; to a lot of art. It's excruciating to feel those losses all at once.


npr--2020-04-02--Exclusive: California Company Under Scrutiny For 'At-Home' Coronavirus Test Claims

With government authorities warning an anxious public about scams related to the coronavirus , a California company is facing scrutiny by members of Congress and the city attorney of Los Angeles for selling COVID-19 test kits that it claimed can be used `` in the home or at the bedside . ''
The Food and Drug Administration has stated unequivocally that it has not authorized `` any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for COVID-19 . ''
Yet at the end of March , Wellness Matrix Group , a company based in Huntington Beach , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cost of $ 49.95 .
`` These tests , '' the company promised customers , `` are legitimate and have been vetted and approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Association [ sic ] . ''
Several customers who ordered the tests now say they never received them and have tried to cancel their payments .
The company has since come to the attention of authorities .
On March 30 , after NPR reached out for comment about Wellness Matrix Group 's products , investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about its purported in-home test .
Investigators also had questions about a $ 500 sanitizer that the company claims `` kills corona on contact . ''
Separately , LA 's city attorney , Mike Feuer , says his office has sent a cease-and-desist notice to the company regarding its test sales .
The queries from investigators coincided with several changes to websites where the tests were being sold by the company .
A graphic stating that the product was FDA `` approved '' became FDA `` registered . ''
A reference to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own home '' was removed , as was a line stating `` At-Home Kit . ''
NPR documented these changes on the platform archive.is .
One site abruptly stopped working on March 27 , only to return on March 30 at a different address .
Finally , on March 31 , the company appeared to stop offering products for sale and claimed in a statement that it was `` always our sole intention '' to sell the test `` as a point-of-care system , '' meaning for use by health care providers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ telemedicine services '' to customers who still wanted to receive the tests , `` so that they may appropriately use the test as directed . ''
For those who did n't , the site offered an `` immediate refund '' for any customer who wanted one .
In an interview , David Saltrelli , Wellness Matrix Group 's vice president of marketing , insisted that the company 's tests are indeed real and FDA approved .
In a statement , an FDA spokesperson reiterated that the agency `` has not approved an at-home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walks them through the process or not . ''
Charles and Chelsey Goodan , a Los Angeles couple , say they learned about the Wellness Matrix Group test through a friend .
At the time , Chelsey Goodan says , she had started feeling sick and worried she might have contracted COVID-19 .
`` My chest felt like I had smoked a pack of cigarettes , '' she says .
`` I was just freaked out . ''
Charles Goodan says he has parents in their mid-70s nearby , who are at higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationwide shortage of tests , Chelsey Goodan says , `` we were scared of not having access to tests . ''
So when the two got an email about the test , they decided to buy six , just in case .
With shipping and taxes , they spent a total of $ 333.70 .
Other friends also put up money .
Max Sloves bought a kit because he wanted to visit his mother on her 84th birthday .
She is bedridden and in hospice care with Alzheimer 's disease .
`` She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can FaceTime with her and have her even be responsive at all , '' says Sloves .
`` The ability to put your hand on someone 's shoulder right now in her condition is really meaningful . ''
But Sloves says he did n't think it was safe to visit his mother unless he was certain he did not have the virus .
`` I just felt like it would n't be responsible , ethical [ or ] safe to be around her without having some level of certainty that I 'm not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Galle and her husband , PJ Sodaski , spent $ 246 on four tests .
They were especially concerned about the shortage of testing nationwide , because Galle is pregnant .
Sodaski , Galle , Sloves and the Goodans all say they received receipts for their purchases but never received messages with shipping information .
Now , more than 10 days after ordering , they say they still have not received any actual tests .
In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission , Wellness Matrix Group describes itself as a start-up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innovations in Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) , Virtual Reality ( VR ) , Augmented Reality ( AR ) , Medical Technology ( MedTech ) and clinical research . ''
After unsuccessful attempts to contact representatives of the company and its CEO , Barry Migliorini , NPR was able to reach Brian J. Esposito , a New Jersey man who describes himself as an outside adviser for Wellness Matrix Group .
`` It is with great pleasure to announce the rollout of # coronavirus at home testing kits , '' Esposito wrote on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Esposito agreed to set up an on the record phone interview with himself and Saltrelli , the company 's vice president of marketing .
When asked whether he had any experience in the health care industry , Saltrelli said , `` No , other than that I 've used it . ''
Saltrelli said his primary experience was in marketing .
Esposito said his experience in health care came primarily from his work in the `` beauty and personal care space . ''
With the growing coronavirus pandemic , Saltrelli said , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months '' on finding and distributing a suitable at-home test .
`` It made sense , '' Saltrelli said , `` to offer it as a test that people could buy from us and take the test at home . ''
`` The biggest thing was getting FDA — you 've got to send it in there , '' Saltrelli said .
`` Obviously , you 've got to make sure of the accuracy of the test .
You just ca n't pull a test out of nowhere . ''
Saltrelli said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the FDA but said `` you 'd have to ask the attorneys '' for details about the testing and approval process .
He was unable to answer questions about why the FDA explicitly states that it has not approved any at-home tests .
`` I do n't know how to answer your question , OK , '' Saltrelli said .
`` Other than , it was normal . ''
Nor could he address why one of the company 's websites included an FDA registration form for a product called `` CoronaCide . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ approval for at-home use , but a representative for the Utah-based company that makes it said it had no affiliation with Wellness Matrix Group .
Asked about the information on the website linking to the FDA registration for CoronaCide , Saltrelli said , `` I 'm not familiar . ''
As for the manufacturer of the kits , Saltrelli said , `` we 're not going to give you the exact source , '' adding , `` Right now , we 're sourcing them from Hong Kong . ''
He said he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that said the tests were actually made by a biotech company in mainland China , the Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co. Saltrelli also declined to answer questions about sales through the website .
`` Obviously , there 's a huge demand , '' Saltrelli said .
`` We 've just got to make sure we 've got enough coming in to cover it . ''
Addressing his own role in the company , Esposito said , `` My job is to bring awareness to the products and get them into as many people 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Because the interview left questions about the company 's testing and activities , NPR again called the main phone number at Wellness Matrix Group to obtain additional comment .
The person who answered declined to provide a name , complained about a `` dirty reporter '' and hung up .
Past legal actions against Saltrelli and another figure involved with Wellness Matrix Group , George Todt , raise additional questions about the company .
In the 1990s , the Federal Trade Commission sued Saltrelli and others in federal court , alleging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to consumers through a network of telephone salesrooms and allegedly aided and abetted the telemarketers in deceiving consumers . ''
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for another one of Saltrelli 's business ventures , the FTC obtained a permanent injunction against Saltrelli , barring him for life from certain business practices around telemarketing and the travel industry .
Saltrelli — then and now — has denied any wrongdoing .
He said that the FTC case should not reflect on his work on coronavirus testing .
`` The two have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Saltrelli said .
`` Everybody , including every single congressman , every politician , has done certainly the exact same thing at some point . ''
NPR reached Todt on Twitter , where he describes himself as a `` Father , meditating visionary , creating internet III . ''
On March 19 , he tweeted , `` Home test kits now !
Fda approved . ''
Todt also registered the domain name www.cs-28.com , one of the sites selling the test kits , according to the Web domain registrar GoDaddy .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virucide '' from Wellness Matrix Group with which you could supposedly `` build a force field around your event or even spray your entire city . ''
Both the city attorney of Los Angeles and members of Congress have requested information about these disinfectant products .
In an email to NPR , Todt wrote that he performs `` business development '' for Wellness Matrix Group .
When emailed a series of questions about the test kits , Todt replied that he was willing to address them only in a live TV or radio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in you twisting & taking me out of context , '' he wrote .
He declined to answer questions posed by NPR .
He did , however , send an email stating , `` Every person has the right to test themselves [ and ] you are stopping that . ''
In 2005 , Todt was sued by the SEC .
The commission alleged that Todt `` orchestrated two fraudulent schemes '' in which he disseminated `` false and misleading information '' to artificially inflate a company 's stock price — a practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dump '' — and also issued `` unregistered securities '' for penny stock companies .
A federal court ordered that Todt be `` permanently barred from participating in any offering of penny stock . ''
In a letter to NPR regarding this story , Hardy L. Thomas , an attorney representing Todt , wrote that his client `` has not and does not intend to promote penny stocks or any other security in the public markets and no evidence exists to the contrary . ''
`` It feels really so morally corrupt '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say scams are common .
`` Whenever we have diseases or conditions that lack good treatments , we tend to see companies come out of the woodwork marketing products and preying on people 's hopes to treat those conditions , '' says Patricia Zettler , a law professor at The Ohio State University and a former associate chief counsel at the FDA .
When the FDA finds a problem with a more established company 's claims , the agency will generally start by sending a warning letter .
`` If a company is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a fly-by-night , snake oil sales company , warning letters may be less effective , '' says Zettler .
The Trump administration has promised to `` aggressively '' prosecute fraudulent schemes related to the pandemic .
The FDA does have the ability to bring both civil and even criminal actions against companies that flout the law , Zettler says .
As of now , the FDA has not publicly announced any action against Wellness Matrix Group .
Feuer , the LA city attorney , says his office set a deadline of April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matrix Group .
The company 's answers , he says , will help determine whether his office will pursue action in court .
Several customers of Wellness Matrix Group say they feel embarrassed and duped by the company .
`` I definitely feel taken advantage of , '' Chelsey Goodan says .
`` It feels really so morally corrupt that anybody would take advantage of people at this time . ''
Because he did n't receive a test , Sloves was not able to visit his mother on her 84th birthday .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people 's known anxieties and fears in a moment just so fraught with uncertainty and panic , '' says Sloves , `` it 's so repulsive . ''
NPR 's Barbara Van Woerkom and Huo Jingnan contributed reporting to this story .

Exclusive: California Company Under Scrutiny For 'At-Home' Coronavirus Test Claims
Enlarge this image toggle caption Al Drago/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images Al Drago/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
With government authorities warning an anxious public about scams related to the coronavirus, a California company is facing scrutiny by members of Congress and the city attorney of Los Angeles for selling COVID-19 test kits that it claimed can be used "in the home or at the bedside."
The Food and Drug Administration has stated unequivocally that it has not authorized "any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for COVID-19." Yet at the end of March, Wellness Matrix Group, a company based in Huntington Beach, Calif., offered such a test at a cost of $49.95. "These tests," the company promised customers, "are legitimate and have been vetted and approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Association [sic]."
Several customers who ordered the tests now say they never received them and have tried to cancel their payments.
The company has since come to the attention of authorities. On March 30, after NPR reached out for comment about Wellness Matrix Group's products, investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent the company a letter seeking information about its purported in-home test. Investigators also had questions about a $500 sanitizer that the company claims "kills corona on contact."
Separately, LA's city attorney, Mike Feuer, says his office has sent a cease-and-desist notice to the company regarding its test sales.
The queries from investigators coincided with several changes to websites where the tests were being sold by the company. A graphic stating that the product was FDA "approved" became FDA "registered." A reference to testing "in the privacy of your own home" was removed, as was a line stating "At-Home Kit." NPR documented these changes on the platform archive.is.
One site abruptly stopped working on March 27, only to return on March 30 at a different address. Finally, on March 31, the company appeared to stop offering products for sale and claimed in a statement that it was "always our sole intention" to sell the test "as a point-of-care system," meaning for use by health care providers.
The company also offered to "provide telemedicine services" to customers who still wanted to receive the tests, "so that they may appropriately use the test as directed." For those who didn't, the site offered an "immediate refund" for any customer who wanted one.
In an interview, David Saltrelli, Wellness Matrix Group's vice president of marketing, insisted that the company's tests are indeed real and FDA approved.
In a statement, an FDA spokesperson reiterated that the agency "has not approved an at-home test, whether a health care provider walks them through the process or not."
Frightened customers
Charles and Chelsey Goodan, a Los Angeles couple, say they learned about the Wellness Matrix Group test through a friend.
At the time, Chelsey Goodan says, she had started feeling sick and worried she might have contracted COVID-19.
"My chest felt like I had smoked a pack of cigarettes," she says. "I was just freaked out."
Charles Goodan says he has parents in their mid-70s nearby, who are at higher risk in the pandemic.
Given the nationwide shortage of tests, Chelsey Goodan says, "we were scared of not having access to tests."
So when the two got an email about the test, they decided to buy six, just in case. With shipping and taxes, they spent a total of $333.70.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Christopher Weber/AP Christopher Weber/AP
Other friends also put up money.
Max Sloves bought a kit because he wanted to visit his mother on her 84th birthday. She is bedridden and in hospice care with Alzheimer's disease.
"She's not in a condition where I can FaceTime with her and have her even be responsive at all," says Sloves. "The ability to put your hand on someone's shoulder right now in her condition is really meaningful."
But Sloves says he didn't think it was safe to visit his mother unless he was certain he did not have the virus.
"I just felt like it wouldn't be responsible, ethical [or] safe to be around her without having some level of certainty that I'm not contagious," says Sloves.
Anna Galle and her husband, PJ Sodaski, spent $246 on four tests. They were especially concerned about the shortage of testing nationwide, because Galle is pregnant.
Sodaski, Galle, Sloves and the Goodans all say they received receipts for their purchases but never received messages with shipping information. Now, more than 10 days after ordering, they say they still have not received any actual tests.
Explanations from the company
In filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wellness Matrix Group describes itself as a start-up, with "plans to combine the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Medical Technology (MedTech) and clinical research."
After unsuccessful attempts to contact representatives of the company and its CEO, Barry Migliorini, NPR was able to reach Brian J. Esposito, a New Jersey man who describes himself as an outside adviser for Wellness Matrix Group.
"It is with great pleasure to announce the rollout of #coronavirus at home testing kits," Esposito wrote on March 23 in a since-deleted tweet.
Esposito agreed to set up an on-the-record phone interview with himself and Saltrelli, the company's vice president of marketing.
When asked whether he had any experience in the health care industry, Saltrelli said, "No, other than that I've used it." Saltrelli said his primary experience was in marketing. Esposito said his experience in health care came primarily from his work in the "beauty and personal care space."
With the growing coronavirus pandemic, Saltrelli said, the company had been working for "several months" on finding and distributing a suitable at-home test. "It made sense," Saltrelli said, "to offer it as a test that people could buy from us and take the test at home."
"The biggest thing was getting FDA — you've got to send it in there," Saltrelli said. "Obviously, you've got to make sure of the accuracy of the test. You just can't pull a test out of nowhere."
Saltrelli said that the company had indeed won approval from the FDA but said "you'd have to ask the attorneys" for details about the testing and approval process. He was unable to answer questions about why the FDA explicitly states that it has not approved any at-home tests.
"I don't know how to answer your question, OK," Saltrelli said. "Other than, it was normal."
Nor could he address why one of the company's websites included an FDA registration form for a product called "CoronaCide." Not only does that product lack FDA approval for at-home use, but a representative for the Utah-based company that makes it said it had no affiliation with Wellness Matrix Group.
Asked about the information on the website linking to the FDA registration for CoronaCide, Saltrelli said, "I'm not familiar."
As for the manufacturer of the kits, Saltrelli said, "we're not going to give you the exact source," adding, "Right now, we're sourcing them from Hong Kong."
He said he was unfamiliar with another claim on the website that said the tests were actually made by a biotech company in mainland China, the Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co.
Saltrelli also declined to answer questions about sales through the website.
"Obviously, there's a huge demand," Saltrelli said. "We've just got to make sure we've got enough coming in to cover it."
Addressing his own role in the company, Esposito said, "My job is to bring awareness to the products and get them into as many people's hands as possible and hopefully help people."
Because the interview left questions about the company's testing and activities, NPR again called the main phone number at Wellness Matrix Group to obtain additional comment. The person who answered declined to provide a name, complained about a "dirty reporter" and hung up.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg via Getty Images Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Questions about past work
Past legal actions against Saltrelli and another figure involved with Wellness Matrix Group, George Todt, raise additional questions about the company.
In the 1990s, the Federal Trade Commission sued Saltrelli and others in federal court, alleging that they "deceptively marketed travel packages to consumers through a network of telephone salesrooms and allegedly aided and abetted the telemarketers in deceiving consumers."
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for another one of Saltrelli's business ventures, the FTC obtained a permanent injunction against Saltrelli, barring him for life from certain business practices around telemarketing and the travel industry.
Saltrelli — then and now — has denied any wrongdoing. He said that the FTC case should not reflect on his work on coronavirus testing.
"The two have nothing to do with each other," Saltrelli said. "Everybody, including every single congressman, every politician, has done certainly the exact same thing at some point."
NPR reached Todt on Twitter, where he describes himself as a "Father, meditating visionary, creating internet III." On March 19, he tweeted, "Home test kits now! Fda approved."
Todt also registered the domain name www.cs-28.com, one of the sites selling the test kits, according to the Web domain registrar GoDaddy.
He posted a video promoting a coronavirus-killing "virucide" from Wellness Matrix Group with which you could supposedly "build a force field around your event or even spray your entire city." Both the city attorney of Los Angeles and members of Congress have requested information about these disinfectant products.
In an email to NPR, Todt wrote that he performs "business development" for Wellness Matrix Group.
When emailed a series of questions about the test kits, Todt replied that he was willing to address them only in a live TV or radio interview.
"I'm not interested in you twisting & taking me out of context," he wrote. He declined to answer questions posed by NPR. He did, however, send an email stating, "Every person has the right to test themselves [and] you are stopping that."
In 2005, Todt was sued by the SEC. The commission alleged that Todt "orchestrated two fraudulent schemes" in which he disseminated "false and misleading information" to artificially inflate a company's stock price — a practice commonly known as a "pump and dump" — and also issued "unregistered securities" for penny stock companies. A federal court ordered that Todt be "permanently barred from participating in any offering of penny stock."
In a letter to NPR regarding this story, Hardy L. Thomas, an attorney representing Todt, wrote that his client "has not and does not intend to promote penny stocks or any other security in the public markets and no evidence exists to the contrary."
"It feels really so morally corrupt"
In any public health crisis, experts say scams are common.
"Whenever we have diseases or conditions that lack good treatments, we tend to see companies come out of the woodwork marketing products and preying on people's hopes to treat those conditions," says Patricia Zettler, a law professor at The Ohio State University and a former associate chief counsel at the FDA.
When the FDA finds a problem with a more established company's claims, the agency will generally start by sending a warning letter.
"If a company is not a repeat player with FDA and is a fly-by-night, snake oil sales company, warning letters may be less effective," says Zettler.
The Trump administration has promised to "aggressively" prosecute fraudulent schemes related to the pandemic.
The FDA does have the ability to bring both civil and even criminal actions against companies that flout the law, Zettler says. As of now, the FDA has not publicly announced any action against Wellness Matrix Group.
Feuer, the LA city attorney, says his office set a deadline of April 2 to receive more information from Wellness Matrix Group. The company's answers, he says, will help determine whether his office will pursue action in court.
Several customers of Wellness Matrix Group say they feel embarrassed and duped by the company.
"I definitely feel taken advantage of," Chelsey Goodan says. "It feels really so morally corrupt that anybody would take advantage of people at this time."
Because he didn't receive a test, Sloves was not able to visit his mother on her 84th birthday.
"To think that someone would prey upon people's known anxieties and fears in a moment just so fraught with uncertainty and panic," says Sloves, "it's so repulsive."
NPR's Barbara Van Woerkom and Huo Jingnan contributed reporting to this story.


npr--2020-04-02--A President Is Not Able To Order A National Quarantine, Experts Say

A President Is Not Able To Order A National Quarantine , Experts Say President Trump last weekend raised — and then dropped — the idea of placing residents of New York , New Jersey and Connecticut under a quarantine to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus outside of the nation 's hardest-hit region .
That has n't stopped rumors from spreading that the country is under a lockdown , something the Federal Emergency Management Agency has debunked on its website .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. , said on CNN Wednesday that she 'd like to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` I do n't know why the scientific community is n't more outspoken '' in pushing for one .
But could the president order a national lockdown , or place states under quarantine ?
Legal experts say not really .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the federal government has authority for isolation and quarantine under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution , and that under the Public Health Service Act , `` the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to take measures to prevent the entry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries into the United States and between states . ''
But Polly J .
Price , a professor of law and public health at Emory University , tells NPR `` if you 're talking about quarantine in terms of encouraging people to stay home or closing businesses — and that 's what public health folks talk about as social distancing measures , really — I think from the White House that can be advisory only and that those are exclusively state powers . ''
She says though that the federal government does have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people from traveling between states , including controlling who can fly .
Price says the CDC can issue `` do not board '' orders to travelers .
`` They tend to be related to prohibiting air travel by persons who have a tuberculosis diagnosis , for example .
But that 's an authority that has been used , '' although she notes , not frequently .
And , as was done after the Sept. 11 , 2001 , terror attacks , the Federal Aviation Administration can ground air travel all together .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign nationals arriving from China to be quarantined , and has prevented foreign nationals from Europe from flying into the U.S. , as well as limiting border crossings from Canada and Mexico .
But there 's not much more he can do within the country , says Bradley Moss , a Washington attorney specializing in national security issues .
`` It is unclear , absent congressional approval or every state in the union collectively agreeing to it , how any president would have the authority to impose a federal or national quarantine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on this , he says , `` is clearly aimed at individuals or specifically identified groups , not the entire country writ large . ''
Moss says the president would have to `` either personally determine , or get the CDC director to state in writing , that the entire country is reasonably believed to have been exposed to the coronavirus , '' which Moss says would be `` politically treacherous '' and `` turn the federal law on its head . ''
The only Supreme Court ruling on the issue , Price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and involved whether states could limit travel during a yellow fever epidemic .
She says the court suggested that states can do that and impose quarantines on incoming travelers , `` so long as it 's for a valid public health measure . ''
The authority for interstate quarantine under the Public Health Service Act comes from that period , Price says .
`` Congress debated what to do about this and they decided the federal government should have interstate quarantine authority , '' she says .
During the yellow fever epidemic in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imposed a `` shotgun quarantine , '' Price says , with states , local governments and counties `` basically barricading themselves against people coming from infected places . ''
Trains were stopped in some locations .
The government set up refugee camps for people `` trying to flee Pensacola and Mobile and New Orleans , '' but who could n't go anywhere because places farther north would n't let them in .
In Arkansas , she says armed guards kept out people trying to cross the Mississippi River from Memphis .
`` That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Price says .

Fact Check: A Blanket National Quarantine Is Likely Not Legal
Enlarge this image toggle caption Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump last weekend raised — and then dropped — the idea of placing residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut under a quarantine to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus outside of the nation's hardest-hit region.
That hasn't stopped rumors from spreading that the country is under a lockdown, something the Federal Emergency Management Agency has debunked on its website.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on CNN on Wednesday that she would like to see a national stay-at-home order, adding, "I don't know why the scientific community isn't more outspoken" in pushing for one.
But could the president order a national lockdown or place states under quarantine?
Legal experts say not really.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the federal government has authority for isolation and quarantine under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and that under the Public Health Service Act, "the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to take measures to prevent the entry and spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries into the United States and between states."
But Polly J. Price, a professor of law and public health at Emory University, tells NPR: "If you're talking about quarantine in terms of encouraging people to stay home or closing businesses — and that's what public health folks talk about as social distancing measures, really — I think from the White House that can be advisory only and that those are exclusively state powers."
She says though that the federal government does have other tools at its disposal to limit people from traveling between states, including controlling who can fly.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Charles Krupa/AP Charles Krupa/AP
Price says the CDC can issue "do not board" orders to travelers. "They tend to be related to prohibiting air travel by persons who have a tuberculosis diagnosis, for example. But that's an authority that has been used," although she notes, not frequently.
And, as was done after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration can ground air travel altogether.
President Trump has used his authority to require foreign nationals arriving from China to be quarantined and has prevented foreign nationals from Europe from flying into the U.S., as well as limiting border crossings from Canada and Mexico.
Options limited
But there's not much more he can do within the country, says Bradley Moss, a Washington attorney specializing in national security issues.
"It is unclear, absent congressional approval or every state in the union collectively agreeing to it, how any president would have the authority to impose a federal or national quarantine," Moss says.
The federal law on this, he says, "is clearly aimed at individuals or specifically identified groups, not the entire country writ large."
Moss says the president would have to "either personally determine, or get the CDC director to state in writing, that the entire country is reasonably believed to have been exposed to the coronavirus," which Moss says would be "politically treacherous" and "turn the federal law on its head."
The only Supreme Court ruling on the issue, Price says, came a century ago, and that involved whether states could limit travel during a yellow fever epidemic.
She says the court suggested that states can do so and can impose quarantines on incoming travelers, "so long as it's for a valid public health measure."
The authority for interstate quarantine under the Public Health Service Act comes from that period, Price says. "Congress debated what to do about this, and they decided the federal government should have interstate quarantine authority," she says.
"Shotgun quarantine"
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty Images Hulton Archive/Getty Images
During the yellow fever epidemic in the late 19th century, some areas imposed a "shotgun quarantine," Price says, with states, local governments and counties "basically barricading themselves against people coming from infected places."
Trains were stopped in some locations. The government set up refugee camps for people "trying to flee Pensacola and Mobile and New Orleans," but who couldn't go anywhere because places farther north wouldn't let them in. In Arkansas, she says armed guards prevented people trying to cross the Mississippi River from Memphis.
"That's what fear will do to you," Price says.