npr--2020-04-17--Palestinians In The West Bank Improvise Checkpoints To Help Fight Coronavirus

Palestinians In The West Bank Improvise Checkpoints To Help Fight Coronavirus Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are confronting the coronavirus crisis using familiar tactics from half a century of Israeli military occupation .
Village councils and political committees , well-schooled in community organizing through years of confronting Israel , have mobilized .
In the shadow of Israeli watchtowers and settlements , they have co-opted an emblem of their occupier and set up improvised checkpoints — to enforce a Palestinian Authority lockdown in areas where Palestinian police are not permitted to patrol .
`` We do not imitate the Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` We call this a checkpoint of love and peace . ''
The activists , mainly affiliated with the ruling Fatah party , man the checkpoints to keep Palestinians from driving between towns during the day and off the streets toward nightfall , between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. '' Hello , my friend .
How 's your health ? ''
Khatib asked a driver on a recent afternoon .
`` Please wear gloves and masks to protect your health and the health of your children . ''
The strict lockdown has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bank has recorded fewer than 300 cases of infection and two deaths .
The Palestinian leadership , which usually has a 30 % to 40 % overall approval rating , enjoys 96 % support for its response to the coronavirus , according to a recent poll .
`` The Palestinian government [ does ] understand that the health system here is very weak .
So they took very tough measures , '' said pollster Ghassan Khatib of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center , which helped conduct the survey .
Beyond the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palestinian officials ' control .
Israel claims Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem as a part of the Israeli capital and blocks any Palestinian political activity there .
It has also blocked coronavirus-related activities .
Israeli police this week stormed a coronavirus testing site in East Jerusalem that was using Palestinian Authority test kits .
Earlier this month , Israel stopped Palestinian disinfectant squads in the city with links to the Palestinian Authority .
Police also said they detained Palestinian cabinet minister Fadi al-Hidmi on suspicion of `` Palestinian activities in Jerusalem . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ apartment , they used dogs , '' Hidmi told NPR .
He said he was detained for several hours and questioned about an interview he gave from Jerusalem on Palestinian Authority TV about the coronavirus , before being released without charge .
`` The claim : that I 'm leading the Palestinian efforts to fight corona in Jerusalem , '' Hidmi said .
Israeli police have said the arrest was not linked to efforts to fight the coronavirus .
In the West Bank , officials say about 75 % of virus cases can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought the virus home from Israel , which has seen nearly 13,000 cases and at least 151 deaths .
Now activists at the makeshift Palestinian checkpoints try to intercept the laborers on their way home , to ensure they are sent to quarantine .
Earlier this week , Israeli forces in Jeeps rolled past one Palestinian coronavirus checkpoint , using loudspeakers to order Palestinians off the streets for their own health .
The `` checkpoint of love and peace '' vanished , its activists fearful of getting arrested .
Then the Jeeps retreated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he returned to his post .
Nuha Musleh contributed to this report from the West Bank .

Palestinians In The West Bank Improvise Checkpoints To Help Fight Coronavirus
Enlarge this image toggle caption Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are confronting the coronavirus crisis using familiar tactics from half a century of Israeli military occupation.
Village councils and political committees, well-schooled in community organizing through years of confronting Israel, have mobilized.
In the shadow of Israeli watchtowers and settlements, they have co-opted an emblem of their occupier and set up improvised checkpoints — to enforce a Palestinian Authority lockdown in areas where Palestinian police are not permitted to patrol.
"We do not imitate the Israeli occupation," activist Nasser Khatib insisted. "We call this a checkpoint of love and peace."
The activists, mainly affiliated with the ruling Fatah party, man the checkpoints to keep Palestinians from driving between towns during the day and off the streets toward nightfall, between 5 p.m. and 10 a.m.
"Hello, my friend. How's your health?" Khatib asked a driver on a recent afternoon. "Please wear gloves and masks to protect your health and the health of your children."
The strict lockdown has paid off so far. The West Bank has recorded fewer than 300 cases of infection and two deaths.
The Palestinian leadership, which usually has a 30% to 40% overall approval rating, enjoys 96% support for its response to the coronavirus, according to a recent poll.
"The Palestinian government [does] understand that the health system here is very weak. So they took very tough measures," said pollster Ghassan Khatib of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, which helped conduct the survey.
Beyond the West Bank, some areas are out of Palestinian officials' control. Israel claims Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem as a part of the Israeli capital and blocks any Palestinian political activity there. It has also blocked coronavirus-related activities.
Israeli police this week stormed a coronavirus testing site in East Jerusalem that was using Palestinian Authority test kits. Earlier this month, Israel stopped Palestinian disinfectant squads in the city with links to the Palestinian Authority. Police also said they detained Palestinian cabinet minister Fadi al-Hidmi on suspicion of "Palestinian activities in Jerusalem."
"They broke the gate of my apartment, they used dogs," Hidmi told NPR. He said he was detained for several hours and questioned about an interview he gave from Jerusalem on Palestinian Authority TV about the coronavirus, before being released without charge. "The claim: that I'm leading the Palestinian efforts to fight corona in Jerusalem," Hidmi said.
Israeli police have said the arrest was not linked to efforts to fight the coronavirus.
In the West Bank, officials say about 75% of virus cases can be traced to Palestinian day laborers who brought the virus home from Israel, which has seen nearly 13,000 cases and at least 151 deaths. Now activists at the makeshift Palestinian checkpoints try to intercept the laborers on their way home, to ensure they are sent to quarantine.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces in Jeeps rolled past one Palestinian coronavirus checkpoint, using loudspeakers to order Palestinians off the streets for their own health. The "checkpoint of love and peace" vanished, its activists fearful of getting arrested.
Then the Jeeps retreated, activist Khatib told NPR, and he returned to his post.
Nuha Musleh contributed to this report from the West Bank.


npr--2020-04-17--World Press Photo Winner Captures Poetic Moment At A Protest

The World Press Photo Foundation announced on Thursday the winners of its 2020 photo and storytelling contests , with an electrifying image of a young man reciting poetry at a protest in Sudan taking the top photo prize .
Photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba 's image `` Straight Voice '' captures the young man amid a blackout in Khartoum .
His face is illuminated by the cell phones of protestors , who were rallying to demand that Sudan 's military leaders hand over power to civilians .
Chiba is originally from Japan and is currently chief photographer for East Africa and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The place was a total blackout .
Then , unexpectedly , people started clapping hands in the dark , '' Chiba recalled in a statement .
`` People held up mobile phones to illuminate a young man in the center .
He recited a famous protest poem , an improvised one . ''
`` Between his breath , everybody shouted 'thawra ' , the word revolution in Arabic .
His facial expression and voice impressed me , I could n't stop focusing on him and captured the moment , '' he added .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to French photographer Romain Laurendeau for his work documenting the lives of young people in Algeria , many of whom led a protest movement .
Laurendeau shot `` Kho , the Genesis of a Revolt '' over a span of five years , focusing on the everyday lives of working-class youth .
`` It was impossible for a part of me not to recognize myself in these young people , '' Laurendeau says of his story .
`` They are young but they are tired of this situation and they just want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Battleground PolyU , '' the winner for Photo Interactive of the Year , captures tense moments at the height of protests in Hong Kong that took place in the summer and fall of 2019 .
The video was shot by DJ Clark , who works at China Daily Asia Pacific .
The video captures moments in 360 degrees , and takes place mostly at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University , where students led key protests .
`` I had been capturing the protests for about six months up until the point the PolyU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` During that process I had been playing around with equipment and trying to get something that worked .
`` 360 cameras are very light-weight cameras and I could capture action when I was in the midst of it , '' Clark added .
`` The biggest thing about this movie for me is the opportunity for future audiences to immerse themselves in the experience and understand what it was like to be there . ''
World Press Photo awarded the top prize for online video to `` Scenes from a Dry City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Cape Town , South Africa which focuses on the area 's water crisis .
It highlights the impact of climate change on the crisis , and how the problem is worsening existing social inequities .
The documentary is a collaboration between Simon Wood and Francois Vernster , two filmmakers from South Africa .
`` Simon and I were both astounded when we read about the prospect of day zero , the day when the taps will be turned off , arriving , '' Vernster said .
`` I think the first time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made the film .
The predictions were that the day will be by March already .
... We thought this would be a good opportunity to give insight into Cape Town 's inequality . ''

World Press Photo Winner Captures Poetic Moment At A Protest
Enlarge this image toggle caption Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via World Press Photo Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via World Press Photo
The World Press Photo Foundation announced on Thursday the winners of its 2020 photo and storytelling contests, with an electrifying image of a young man reciting poetry at a protest in Sudan taking the top photo prize.
Photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba's image "Straight Voice" captures the young man amid a blackout in Khartoum. His face is illuminated by the cell phones of protestors, who were rallying to demand that Sudan's military leaders hand over power to civilians.
Chiba is originally from Japan and is currently chief photographer for East Africa and the Indian Ocean for Agence France-Presse.
"The place was a total blackout. Then, unexpectedly, people started clapping hands in the dark," Chiba recalled in a statement. "People held up mobile phones to illuminate a young man in the center. He recited a famous protest poem, an improvised one."
"Between his breath, everybody shouted 'thawra', the word revolution in Arabic. His facial expression and voice impressed me, I couldn't stop focusing on him and captured the moment," he added.
toggle caption Romain Laurendeau/World Press Photo
The prize for top photo story went to French photographer Romain Laurendeau for his work documenting the lives of young people in Algeria, many of whom led a protest movement. Laurendeau shot "Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt" over a span of five years, focusing on the everyday lives of working-class youth.
"It was impossible for a part of me not to recognize myself in these young people," Laurendeau says of his story. "They are young but they are tired of this situation and they just want to live like everyone else."
"Battleground PolyU," the winner for Photo Interactive of the Year, captures tense moments at the height of protests in Hong Kong that took place in the summer and fall of 2019. The video was shot by DJ Clark, who works at China Daily Asia Pacific.
The video captures moments in 360 degrees, and takes place mostly at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where students led key protests.
"I had been capturing the protests for about six months up until the point the PolyU demonstrations happened," Clark recalled. "During that process I had been playing around with equipment and trying to get something that worked.
"360 cameras are very light-weight cameras and I could capture action when I was in the midst of it," Clark added. "The biggest thing about this movie for me is the opportunity for future audiences to immerse themselves in the experience and understand what it was like to be there."
World Press Photo awarded the top prize for online video to "Scenes from a Dry City," a documentary set in and around Cape Town, South Africa which focuses on the area's water crisis. It highlights the impact of climate change on the crisis, and how the problem is worsening existing social inequities.
The documentary is a collaboration between Simon Wood and Francois Vernster, two filmmakers from South Africa.
"Simon and I were both astounded when we read about the prospect of day zero, the day when the taps will be turned off, arriving," Vernster said. "I think the first time it was mentioned was the year we made the film. The predictions were that the day will be by March already. ...We thought this would be a good opportunity to give insight into Cape Town's inequality."


npr--2020-04-17--After Texas Abortion Ban, Clinics In Other Southwest States See Influx Of Patients

After Texas Abortion Ban , Clinics In Other Southwest States See Influx Of Patients Planned Parenthood clinics in Colorado , New Mexico and Nevada are reporting an influx of patients from Texas , after an order from Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott suspending most abortions in that state during the coronavirus pandemic .
New data provided to NPR by Planned Parenthood show a more than sevenfold increase in patients traveling from Texas to clinics across the Southwest for abortions since the order took effect in late March .
`` It clearly shows that when individuals are n't able to access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will travel — or at least the patients who have the means to travel will travel , '' said Dr. Kristina Tocce , medical director at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains , in an interview with NPR .
According to Planned Parenthood , clinics in Colorado , New Mexico and Nevada saw 129 patients from Texas between March 23 and April 14 , compared with 16 Texas patients during the entire month of February , a 706 % increase .
During the same period in 2019 , a Planned Parenthood official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas .
Tocce said she recently saw a patient who traveled 16 hours for a procedure .
She said some patients are flying or making long drives at a time when travel is being discouraged because of the pandemic .
`` This really is frustrating as a provider because it seems to be putting patients at additional risk of being exposed to COVID themselves as they travel and risk them getting an infection , versus them possibly unwittingly transmitting COVID if they are an asymptomatic individual who 's positive , '' Tocce said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to abortion rights have argued that the procedure should be treated as nonessential during the pandemic , in order to preserve medical supplies for coronavirus patients , and to reduce the risk of exposure at clinics .
Tocce said her health centers are taking steps to mitigate those risks , including screening patients for symptoms , having patients wear masks at clinics and relying on technologies like telemedicine when possible .
Major medical groups say delaying abortion can be harmful to pregnant women .
Abortion-rights groups have challenged bans in several states and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blocking them , but some patients seeking the procedure have been turned away .
A federal appeals court recently ruled that medication abortions could continue in Texas , along with surgical procedures for patients approaching the state 's 22-week cutoff .

After Texas Abortion Ban, Clinics In Other Southwest States See Influx Of Patients
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melanie Stetson Freeman/Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images Melanie Stetson Freeman/Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images
Planned Parenthood clinics in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada are reporting an influx of patients from Texas, after an order from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott suspending most abortions in that state during the coronavirus pandemic.
New data provided to NPR by Planned Parenthood show a more than sevenfold increase in patients traveling from Texas to clinics across the Southwest for abortions since the order took effect in late March.
"It clearly shows that when individuals aren't able to access abortion care in their own state, they will travel — or at least the patients who have the means to travel will travel," said Dr. Kristina Tocce, medical director at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, in an interview with NPR.
According to Planned Parenthood, clinics in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada saw 129 patients from Texas between March 23 and April 14, compared with 16 Texas patients during the entire month of February, a 706% increase. During the same period in 2019, a Planned Parenthood official said those clinics saw 14 patients from Texas.
Tocce said she recently saw a patient who traveled 16 hours for a procedure. She said some patients are flying or making long drives at a time when travel is being discouraged because of the pandemic.
"This really is frustrating as a provider because it seems to be putting patients at additional risk of being exposed to COVID themselves as they travel and risk them getting an infection, versus them possibly unwittingly transmitting COVID if they are an asymptomatic individual who's positive," Tocce said.
Republican state officials and organizations opposed to abortion rights have argued that the procedure should be treated as nonessential during the pandemic, in order to preserve medical supplies for coronavirus patients, and to reduce the risk of exposure at clinics.
Tocce said her health centers are taking steps to mitigate those risks, including screening patients for symptoms, having patients wear masks at clinics and relying on technologies like telemedicine when possible.
Major medical groups say delaying abortion can be harmful to pregnant women. Abortion-rights groups have challenged bans in several states and have succeeded in scaling them back or blocking them, but some patients seeking the procedure have been turned away.
A federal appeals court recently ruled that medication abortions could continue in Texas, along with surgical procedures for patients approaching the state's 22-week cutoff.


npr--2020-04-17--Pakistan Limits Worshippers At Mosques. Many Worshippers Are Defiant

Pakistan Limits Worshippers At Mosques .
Many Worshippers Are Defiant Dozens of worshippers milled outside the ornate Haidari Mosque in the Pakistani capital Islamabad , in violation of lockdown orders on a recent Friday in April .
The muezzin called to prayer , but they could n't enter .
`` As you can see the administration has closed down the mosque , '' said Mohammad Zubair , a 28-year-old government servant .
In late March , authorities across Pakistan ordered mosque administrators to limit Friday congregations to just five people as part of a broader ban on public gathering and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
Pakistan has more than 7,000 confirmed cases and more than 135 people have died .
But on April 10 , Zubair thought the limitations on worshippers would n't be enforced .
After all , it was sneakily flouted the week before .
On April 3 , worshippers locked the front door to make it appear that there was nobody inside , but they all sneaked in through an unlocked door on a side street , This time , stranded outside , Zubair and other worshippers crammed shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalk and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jeep slowly drove by – but did n't stop .
The order to curb congregations has only been spottily enforced , and it points to a particular issue in Pakistan : limiting group gatherings for worship is not easy to do in this deeply religious country .
Worshippers question why authorities have ordered mosques to effectively close , while other parts of the shutdown are loosened or only loosely enforced .
`` People crowd vegetable markets .
Government offices , '' Zubair complained .
`` So — there 's only corona in mosques @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been violent .
On April 10 , worshippers in the port city of Karachi assaulted a policewoman trying to block them from entering a mosque .
A video of the event shows the officer shouting , `` They attacked me !
They tried to murder me !
They broke my glasses ! ''
Many of Pakistan 's clerics have also defied authorities , largely by allowing prayers to continue unhindered , particularly in out-of-the-way mosques , despite the order to limit congregations .
Sometimes , the defiance is pointed .
For three weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country 's most hard-line mosques , cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz proudly ordered hundreds of men to cram together for communal Friday prayers .
Police initially tried to stop Aziz but backed off , fearing conflict with worshippers , local media reported .
Part of the defiance stems from the fact that clerics see mosques as power bases for projecting their influence , said Madiha Afzal , a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Pakistan Under Siege : Extremism , Society , and the State .
`` The clerics see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a manifestation of weakened power , '' she said .
Their defiance of government orders was saying `` look , our domain of control is the mosque and you can not take this domain of control away from us . ''
Those calls for defiance will likely get louder as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan approaches .
It 's expected to start on the evening of April 24 .
And traditionally , believers flock to mosques to read the Quran through the day and pray through the night .
The Prime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have to rethink its current order to limit congregation to five people as the holy month begins .
Khan said he 'd consult clerics about a new policy , `` and inshallah , before Ramadan , we will let you know how we can strike a balance between the two , '' he said in a televised address – that is , between prayer and the pandemic .
The clerics however , did not wait .
Right after Khan spoke , some of Pakistan 's most prominent clerics held a press conference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the order to limit congregations .
One of those clerics , Mufti Taqi Usmani , said worshippers would soon fill the mosques for Ramadan .
`` Muslims must be in the mosques in Ramadan and pray in congregation during this time of trial , '' insisted the cleric .
Perhaps there , he said , `` worshippers may pray to God to end the outbreak that was sent by Him . ''
His call was echoed by prayer-goers in another Islamabad mosque on Friday , April 17 , including Omar Ayyad , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ayyad said he plans to pray in congregation in the mosque during Ramadan .
`` I think the government will take a decision , '' he said , to ban prayers , `` but the people 's reaction will be different , '' he said .
And then he walked into the crowded mosque .

Pakistan Limits Worshippers At Mosques. Many Worshippers Are Defiant
Enlarge this image toggle caption Diaa Hadid/NPR Diaa Hadid/NPR
Dozens of worshippers milled outside the ornate Haidari Mosque in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, in violation of lockdown orders on a recent Friday in April. The muezzin called to prayer, but they couldn't enter.
"As you can see the administration has closed down the mosque," said Mohammad Zubair, a 28-year-old government servant.
In late March, authorities across Pakistan ordered mosque administrators to limit Friday congregations to just five people as part of a broader ban on public gathering and lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Pakistan has more than 7,000 confirmed cases and more than 135 people have died.
But on April 10, Zubair thought the limitations on worshippers wouldn't be enforced. After all, it was sneakily flouted the week before. On April 3, worshippers locked the front door to make it appear that there was nobody inside, but they all sneaked in through an unlocked door on a side street,
This time, stranded outside, Zubair and other worshippers crammed shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalk and prayed. Military police in an open-backed jeep slowly drove by – but didn't stop.
The order to curb congregations has only been spottily enforced, and it points to a particular issue in Pakistan: limiting group gatherings for worship is not easy to do in this deeply religious country.
Worshippers question why authorities have ordered mosques to effectively close, while other parts of the shutdown are loosened or only loosely enforced. "People crowd vegetable markets. Government offices," Zubair complained. "So — there's only corona in mosques?"
Sometimes, the resistance has been violent. On April 10, worshippers in the port city of Karachi assaulted a policewoman trying to block them from entering a mosque. A video of the event shows the officer shouting, "They attacked me! They tried to murder me! They broke my glasses!"
Many of Pakistan's clerics have also defied authorities, largely by allowing prayers to continue unhindered, particularly in out-of-the-way mosques, despite the order to limit congregations.
Sometimes, the defiance is pointed. For three weeks in a row, at one of the country's most hard-line mosques, cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz proudly ordered hundreds of men to cram together for communal Friday prayers. Police initially tried to stop Aziz but backed off, fearing conflict with worshippers, local media reported.
Part of the defiance stems from the fact that clerics see mosques as power bases for projecting their influence, said Madiha Afzal, Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State. "The clerics see people not going into the mosques physically as a manifestation of weakened power," she said. Their defiance of government orders was saying "look, our domain of control is the mosque and you cannot take this domain of control away from us."
Those calls for defiance will likely get louder as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan approaches. It's expected to start on the evening of April 24. And traditionally, believers flock to mosques to read the Quran through the day and pray through the night.
The Prime Minister Imran Khan acknowledged that the government would have to rethink its current order to limit congregation to five people as the holy month begins. Khan said he'd consult clerics about a new policy, "and inshallah, before Ramadan, we will let you know how we can strike a balance between the two," he said in a televised address – that is, between prayer and the pandemic.
The clerics however, did not wait. Right after Khan spoke, some of Pakistan's most prominent clerics held a press conference to say they'd no longer respect the order to limit congregations. One of those clerics, Mufti Taqi Usmani, said worshippers would soon fill the mosques for Ramadan.
"Muslims must be in the mosques in Ramadan and pray in congregation during this time of trial," insisted the cleric. Perhaps there, he said, "worshippers may pray to God to end the outbreak that was sent by Him."
His call was echoed by prayer-goers in another Islamabad mosque on Friday, April 17, including Omar Ayyad, a 55-year-old electrician. Interviewed outside the building, Ayyad said he plans to pray in congregation in the mosque during Ramadan. "I think the government will take a decision," he said, to ban prayers, "but the people's reaction will be different," he said. And then he walked into the crowded mosque.


npr--2020-04-18--Across America, Frustrated Protesters Rally To Reopen The Economy

Across America , Frustrated Protesters Rally To Reopen The Economy Utah is one of only a few states without statewide COVID-19 restrictions .
Still , Eric Moustos , a former police officer who now works in solar energy , says the economy has ground to a halt anyway .
He says in his business , sales have virtually stopped .
Also , projects that are in the pipeline are stalled because cities in the region are n't sending out inspectors or issuing many permits .
`` All of those jobs have completely stopped business to where we ca n't be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moustos says he feels for the people who are sick or have died from COVID-19 .
But he worries if these closures last much longer , there will be far worse economic and health problems in the months and years to come .
`` In my opinion , not being able to provide for your family is a hundred times bigger health crisis than any virus , '' Moustos says .
Moustos and an adhoc Facebook group he helped form called `` Utah Business Revival '' are planning to hold a protest Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ call on city and regional leaders to `` reopen the economy '' in a responsible way .
The event will mark the latest to have popped up in recent days from Minnesota to Oregon where attendees have called into question the legality of statewide social distancing measures .
Critics of these events , where protesters are often seen flaunting social distancing regulations and not wearing masks , say President Trump has added to the confusion .
The president initially said he was leaving the decisions on whether states should reopen largely to governors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for far-right-backed protests in important election battleground states like Minnesota .
In Utah , a persistent worry for Eric Moustos is that the various stay at home orders are an excuse for government intrusion into people 's lives .
`` Quarantine is for sick people , you lock sick people away , '' Moustos says .
`` But when you lock healthy people away that 's tyranny . ''
A similar argument is being made by more far right groups and militias , some of whom were expected to join the Salt Lake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the founder of the Pacific Patriots Network was reported to be staging a rally supporting local businesses on Friday .
The events capped a week that saw larger reopen-America-styled protests in Minnesota and Michigan , where traffic was blocked .
The nascent movement has drawn early comparisons to the emergence of the Tea Party movement during the Obama administration , though it 's yet unclear just how big this latest one is or how many actual business owners are taking part .
At a protest in St. George , Utah , Kate Dalley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questioned whether COVID-19 is even a problem .
`` Why ruin our lives to keep us safe , '' Dalley said on her Facebook Live stream .
`` Give me a three day virus , I 'm totally cool with that , just do n't ruin my life to do it . ''
Like in many largely rural regions , there are not that many reported infections in southern Utah .
But health officials worry that a premature opening could make all of the problems – economic and health – even worse .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ do it too soon , cases will start going up and then you 've got to shut it all down again , '' says Rob Davidson , an emergency room physician in rural Michigan .
Davidson says there still is n't enough testing capacity to reopen large parts of the economy in many states .
He says the rate of infections may also be lower because , like in cities , the bulk of rural Americans have been adhering to the strict distancing orders .
Davidson is often the only ER physician working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beds and one respiratory therapist .
`` My great fear is we use this data incorrectly , we assume that we 're in better shape than we are and we reopen too quickly , '' he says .
And then , he says , community spread happens in his town , which would likely overwhelm his hospital and those around it .

Across America, Frustrated Protesters Rally To Reopen The Economy
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Mone/AP Jim Mone/AP
Utah is one of only a few states without statewide COVID-19 restrictions. Still, Eric Moutsos, a former police officer who now works in solar energy, says the economy has ground to a halt anyway.
He says in his business, sales have virtually stopped. Also, projects that are in the pipeline are stalled because cities in the region aren't sending out inspectors or issuing many permits.
"All of those jobs have completely stopped business to where we can't be paid now," Moutsos says.
Moutsos says he feels for the people who are sick or have died from COVID-19. But he worries that if these closures last much longer, there will be far worse economic and health problems in the months and years to come.
"In my opinion, not being able to provide for your family is a hundred times bigger health crisis than any virus," Moutsos says.
Moutsos and an ad hoc Facebook group he helped form called Utah Business Revival are planning to hold a protest Saturday afternoon in downtown Salt Lake City to call on city and regional leaders to "reopen the economy" in a responsible way.
The event will mark the latest to have popped up in recent days from Minnesota to Oregon at which attendees have called into question the legality of statewide social distancing measures. Critics of these events, where protesters are often seen flouting social distancing regulations and not wearing masks, say President Trump has added to the confusion. The president initially said he was leaving the decision on whether states should reopen largely to governors, but on Friday, he tweeted his support for far-right-backed protests in important election battleground states like Minnesota.
In Utah, a persistent worry for Eric Moutsos is that the various stay-at-home orders are an excuse for government intrusion into people's lives.
"Quarantine is for sick people; you lock sick people away," Moutsos says. "But when you lock healthy people away, that's tyranny."
A similar argument is being made by more far-right groups and militias, some of whom were expected to join the Salt Lake-area protest. Also this week, reopen-America-styled protests were planned for central Oregon and took place in Minnesota and Michigan, where traffic was blocked.
The nascent movement has drawn early comparisons to the emergence of the Tea Party movement during the Obama administration, though it's yet unclear just how big this latest one is or how many actual business owners are taking part.
At a protest this week in St. George, Utah, Kate Dalley, a local conservative talk radio host questioned whether COVID-19 is even a problem.
"Why ruin our lives to keep us safe?" Dalley said on her Facebook livestream. "Give me a three-day virus, I'm totally cool with that, just don't ruin my life to do it."
Like in many largely rural regions, there are not that many reported infections in southern Utah.
But health officials worry that a premature opening could make all of the problems — economic and health — even worse.
"Because the concern is if you do it too soon, cases will start going up and then you've got to shut it all down again," says Rob Davidson, an emergency room physician in rural Michigan.
Davidson says there still isn't enough testing capacity to reopen large parts of the economy in many states. He says the rate of infections may also be lower because, like in cities, the bulk of rural Americans have been adhering to the strict distancing orders.
Davidson is often the only ER physician working in his small rural hospital with 25 beds and one respiratory therapist.
"My great fear is we use this data incorrectly. We assume that we're in better shape than we are and we reopen too quickly," he says.
And then, he says, community spread could happen in his town, which would likely overwhelm his hospital and those around it.


npr--2020-04-18--She Meant To Order 10 Bananas In Her Grocery Delivery. Then 10 Bunches Arrived At Her Door

She Meant To Order 10 Bananas In Her Grocery Delivery .
Then 10 Bunches Arrived At Her Door An odd @ @ @ @ @ Order one banana for grocery delivery , do you get a one banana or one @ @ @ @ @ you do when you order 10 bananas and get 10 bunches of them ?
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She Meant To Order 10 Bananas In Her Grocery Delivery. Then 10 Bunches Arrived At Her Door
An odd problem for our age: Order one banana for grocery delivery, do you get a one banana or one bunch? And what do you do when you order 10 bananas and get 10 bunches of them? NPR explores.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Getting groceries has become tricky these days. In some places, deliveries through apps, like Instacart, are fully booked weeks in advance. Ryan Chippendale (ph) of Boston snagged an open slot on Amazon Fresh earlier this week and put 10 bananas on her order. She got home after the delivery and saw her husband eating a banana.
RYAN CHIPPENDALE: And I got so excited to see a piece of produce. And I said, oh, my, gosh, did my bananas come? And he said, oh, Ryan, did they ever.
SIMON: Ten bananas? Ten bunches. Four full bags, 50 ripe bananas. Ryan Chippendale says it was her own user error, but there are other customers in this same banana boat.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BANANA BOAT SONG (DAY-O)")
HARRY BELAFONTE: (Singing) Come, mister tally man, tally me banana.
SIMON: Here's Amanda Vaughn (ph) outside St. Louis.
AMANDA VAUGHN: I meant to order two bananas, and I actually ordered two three-pound packages of bananas. So I ended up with about 14 bananas.
SIMON: And Bari Dzomba (ph) in Philadelphia.
BARI DZOMBA: I thought I was ordering .43 pounds of bananas, which probably would have been, like, three or four bananas. And I ended up getting 10 bunches. But I also only got charged 28 cents.
SIMON: And then there are people like Mary Eggers (ph), outside of Rochester, who thought she was ordering one pound of bananas. She got one banana.
MARY EGGERS: It was just the funniest thing (laughter). I kind of, like, hid it from my family (laughter). And I think I divided in half and made sure that I kind of rationed it.
SIMON: How long did it take her to finish that lonely banana?
EGGERS: I think four days (laughter).
SIMON: Four days. Savor each banana bite. Now, to be fair, people have been posting pictures on Twitter of their bungled banana orders for years. We spoke to an Instacart shopper, Alycia, who lives near Ann Arbor, Mich. And she explains her job demands on-the-spot problem solving, like this week. She says she's at the market, and her customer's order says tomatoes on the vine, quantity four. At the produce section, she sees tomatoes on the vine are sold by the bag.
ALYCIA: And I had to message her and say, did you want four tomatoes on the vine, or did you want four bags of these organic tomatoes on the vine? Because it wasn't clear. And I feel like a lot of people don't stop to ask because they think it's pretty clear.
SIMON: What would you do if you're fulfilling an order that says...
ALYCIA: Thirty bananas. What do you need 30 bananas for? So I make up, you know, things in my head when I go shopping. I'm like maybe they're making lots of banana breads for their neighbors. Maybe they're juicing this week.
SIMON: For the Green Bay Packers - or could it be a simple slip of a keystroke that leads to opening their grocery bags to find, yes, we do have bananas, so many bananas today.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BANANA SONG (DAY-O)")
BELAFONTE: (Singing) A beautiful bunch o' ripe banana.
UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Daylight come and me wan' go home...
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Louisiana Couple Reunites After He Spent Over 2 Weeks In Hospital With COVID-19

Louisiana Couple Reunites After He Spent Over 2 Weeks In Hospital With COVID-19 Audio will be available later today .
@ @ @ @ @ undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer , spent 18 days in the hospital with COVID-19 .
@ @ @ @ @ to Louis and his wife , Tara , about being separated during this time .

Louisiana Couple Reunites After He Spent Over 2 Weeks In Hospital With COVID-19
Louis Reese, who is undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer, spent 18 days in the hospital with COVID-19. NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Louis and his wife, Tara, about being separated during this time.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
One of the most harrowing aspects of the coronavirus are people who are gravely ill in hospitals and alone - save for medical staff - and who are isolated from their loved ones at their loneliest moments. Louis Reese, a police officer in New Orleans, tested positive for COVID-19 after a week of fever. He and his wife, Tara, who is a schoolteacher, were forced to say goodbye in the emergency room as her husband was already undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer. Tara Reese thought that she and their children might never see her husband again.
Well, we are happy that Tara and Louis Reese can join us now, speaking from their home in Metairie, La. Louis Reese, how are you?
LOUIS REESE: I'm fine, sir - doing good.
SIMON: What was your time in the hospital like?
L REESE: Well, at the very beginning, I could not breathe at all. I was in a lot of distress - had a real high fever - all the symptoms of a flu times 10. It was real bad.
SIMON: You knew, of course, that your family loved you and cared about you. But could you have any contact with them?
L REESE: At the very beginning, I didn't - no, sir. But then, later on - once I got off the ventilator and, again, to a regular room, I was able to FaceTime and call them.
SIMON: What do you remember of those 17, 18 days in the hospital, sir?
L REESE: It was kind of surreal because there was nobody around. That first weekend - that Sunday - was the worst day. I think I had a real high fever. So I could hear and see, but I couldn't speak to anybody and I couldn't move my body.
SIMON: That must have been frightening.
L REESE: Yes, sir, it was. It's the first time I'd had that sensation.
SIMON: How are you breathing now?
L REESE: Better. Now, I'm not 100% capacity - now every day is a little bit better.
SIMON: Tara Reese, thank you for joining us.
TARA REESE: No problem.
SIMON: What was that goodbye like there in the hospital?
T REESE: You know, they told me to bring him to the ER, so I did. And, you know, the lady started in processing him, and then another lady was about to start his temperature. And she's like, there are no visitors allowed. So you'll have to tell him goodbye. And so I just broke down, and I was crying. It was like, oh, my God, I don't know if I'm ever going to see him again. And that was my last encounter with him. That's all I kept thinking of. And then when I got into the car, I just broke down crying. And I was just hysterical.
SIMON: And how often could you have any contact? I mean, a phone call, FaceTime - whatever.
T REESE: Well, he would text me, but it was real sporadic because he would sleep a lot.
SIMON: You have two children, who are 12 and 17.
T REESE: Yes.
SIMON: What was it like for them and your family those 18 days?
T REESE: It's been hard on them. My 17-year-old - he had already researched, you know, about the longer someone stays on a ventilator, the worse it can be for their lungs. My 12-year-old was supposed to be doing online school. And she was having a really hard time focusing because, you know, for the most part, she was with me. And a lot of times, I would just break down crying. And she would come sit by me and just let me cry. And, you know, she'd pat me. So she was almost taking on an adult role.
SIMON: Yeah.
T REESE: But she was comforting me.
SIMON: I don't know if there's anyone better, at the moment, of whom I would rather ask this question. What have you learned about what's really important in life?
T REESE: My life was very, very, very hectic. I didn't spend a lot of time at home, like, cooking meals and - it was always go, go, go, go, go. If things do get back to normal, I'm definitely going to scale back a lot of my extracurricular activities and, you know, spend more time with my husband and my family because that's what's important.
SIMON: Louis and Tara Reese, thank you so much for speaking with us.
L REESE: Thank you, sir.
T REESE: Thank you.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Mississippi Prison System Faces Investigation, Lawsuits After Rash Of Inmate Deaths

At least 30 inmates in Mississippi have died since the end of last year .
The state is facing lawsuits @ @ @ @ @ decrepit conditions and a culture of neglect and corruption .

Mississippi Prison System Faces Investigation, Lawsuits After Rash Of Inmate Deaths
At least 30 inmates in Mississippi have died since the end of last year. The state is facing lawsuits and a federal investigation over decrepit conditions and a culture of neglect and corruption.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
More than 30 inmates have died in state custody in Mississippi since the end of last year. The state is facing lawsuits and a federal investigation into rampant violence, decrepit conditions and a culture of neglect and corruption that's plagued Mississippi prisons for decades. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: At the end of a work day, Cheryl Porter (ph) pulls into the gravel drive of her one-bedroom travel trailer in Brandon, Miss.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DOOR CLOSING)
CHERYL PORTER: I actually want to get rid of this one and get a bigger one because, you know, when Michael (ph) gets home, lord willing.
ELLIOTT: Michael, her 29-year-old son, has been incarcerated since he was a teenager on several felony charges, including burglary. He's due for release in 2022.
PORTER: If he gets to come home alive.
ELLIOTT: Her son was in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman when deadly riots broke out at the end of last year. She has cellphone images of the aftermath.
PORTER: It was a blood bath. I mean, it was horrible. That's the back of my son. This is where they hit him with the pipe. They stabbed him 12 times.
ELLIOTT: Michael has received death threats, she says, and lives in constant fear.
PORTER: There's no officers in sight. Inmates is killing each other. Why?
ELLIOTT: Because the state is in an incarceration crisis, says Alesha Judkins, Mississippi state director for FWD.us, a criminal justice advocacy group. She blames chronic underfunding and sentencing laws that have left the system overcrowded, understaffed and in a state of disrepair.
ALESHA JUDKINS: Because of the sheer number of people in the state's care and custody, they cannot safely house or manage the population that they have.
ELLIOTT: Since December 29, more than 30 inmates have died in custody. Some are attributed to gang violence. Others are reported as suicide or illnesses. The uptick in deaths has drawn national attention, along with the ability of inmates to use contraband cellphones to share dramatic video from inside the lockups, like this smoke-filled scene.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED INMATE: We need some help, man. Man, we got a whole fire in the zone, man. The police won't even come here and get us out of here, bro.
ELLIOTT: The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation, and inmates are suing in a class action, the latest in a string of lawsuits dating to the 1970s that have sought to address inhumane conditions in Mississippi prisons, some of which resulted in federal control of the system over the years. The Mississippi Department of Corrections declined to comment, and Republican Governor Tate Reeves was unavailable for an interview with NPR. But as the crisis worsened shortly after he took office in January, Reeves acknowledged problems.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TATE REEVES: We're working to improve the conditions there. In a lot of places, they're not good. There's no other word for it. They're terrible.
ELLIOTT: The state took immediate steps to move some inmates out of what was considered the worst housing unit at Parchman and moved nonviolent offenders to other prisons. But amid the coronavirus pandemic, transfers were halted. Advocates are calling for high-risk inmates to be released. They say inadequate medical care and unsanitary conditions make prisoners vulnerable, especially at Parchman, where health inspections detail the lack of clean water and power in numerous cells.
The notorious state penitentiary at Parchman has long been a focal point for prison reform. It's a sprawling 18,000 acre working farm in the Mississippi Delta, a former plantation converted to a prison to lease convicts after the Civil War.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PRISONERS: (Singing) I'm on old Parchman. Got to work or leave.
ELLIOTT: Folklorist Alan Lomax made these field recordings of prisoners working in the fields in the 1940s.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PRISONERS: (Singing) Oh, Lord. Berta, Berta. Oh, Lord.
ELLIOTT: Democratic State Representative Robert Johnson of Natchez is the minority leader in the Mississippi House.
ROBERT JOHNSON: Mississippi prisons have always had a history of existing on the backs of human capital.
ELLIOTT: He remembers when Parchman operated as its own entity, with industries and a working farm.
JOHNSON: Somebody was making a ton of money on people working for nothing. For African Americans in this state, it feels like a continuation of slavery, really. You lock people up, put them up there, and you put them to work for nothing. That's what it feels like.
ELLIOTT: There are no chain gangs at Parchman today. Critics say the bondage is now in the form of gang leaders and the corrupt guards who help them.
On January 26, the Mississippi Department of Corrections sent out a news release that 26-year-old Joshua Norman had been found dead on a Sunday morning, hanging in his one-man cell at Parchman.
JANICE SHERMAN: Supposedly, he committed suicide. You know, I don't believe that happened to him.
ELLIOTT: Janice Sherman is Joshua's aunt. She says he'd been running from violence and brutality since he first entered the Mississippi Department of Corrections at age 16.
SHERMAN: He had no idea, you know, the trauma that awaited him. It's just a very sad story.
ELLIOTT: He wrote to her that a gang was pressuring him to stab another inmate, but he was resisting and had been beaten.
SHERMAN: And then we'd gotten some text messages, even a few months ago, saying that, you know, he got beaten pretty bad and they were after him. So if he did commit suicide, he may have been under duress to do it. So, you know, there were just unanswered questions.
ELLIOTT: She's looking for accountability.
SHERMAN: You know, we can't do anything to bring him back. But there are lots of people's, you know, sons and grandsons that are still in there. I'd love to see it be a little bit more safe. You know, it's like the - you can't live every day knowing that you might die the same day.
ELLIOTT: Sherman says a prison sentence should not be a death sentence.
Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Jackson, Miss.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--As Many Americans Stay Home, Factory Workers Continue Production Around The Clock

As Many Americans Stay Home , Factory Workers Continue Production Around The Clock While millions of Americans are out of @ @ @ @ @ , millions more are working at factories nationwide , and they have some lessons for @ @ @ @ @ to `` reopen '' the country .

As Many Americans Stay Home, Factory Workers Continue Production Around The Clock
While millions of Americans are out of work or working from home, millions more are working at factories nationwide, and they have some lessons for us on what it means to "reopen" the country.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
While the president and his advisers talk about reopening the economy, there are parts of the economy that never closed. Some factories still operate around-the-clock, making products we depend on during this pandemic - food, face masks and, yes, toilet tissue. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on what it takes to keep production lines humming in this time of the coronavirus and what lessons that might offer for the rest of us.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Jose de los Rios is one of the unsung heroes of this pandemic. He's not a doctor or a scientist. He's worked for almost 30 years at a Procter & Gamble paper goods plant in Mehoopany, Pa.
JOSE DE LOS RIOS: At this plant, we make our Charmin brand, our Bounty brand, and then we make Pampers and Luvs diapers.
HORSLEY: In recent weeks, there's been a squeeze on Charmin toilet paper. Maybe you've heard about it. De los Rios certainly has.
DE LOS RIOS: I get a lot of ribbing locally in my neighborhood. At least a third or half of my neighbors stop me and jokingly ask, can I get them some?
HORSLEY: De los Rios and his colleagues are making as much toilet paper as they can, running the plant 24 hours a day while also trying to protect the health of the more than 2,000 people who work there. It's a model for those of us who can only imagine punching in at the workplace, says Jay Timmons, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.
JAY TIMMONS: This particular virus is one that we're all trying to figure out. What will the new world actually look like after we make the decision to open up society again?
HORSLEY: People like de los Rios have been working that out in real time. At the Charmin factory, shift changes have been stretched out over three hours to keep workers separated at the plant door. Employees have their temperature taken on the way in. And instead of roaming freely throughout the mile-long plant, workers are compartmentalized with color-coded badges.
DE LOS RIOS: Every individual got assigned a zone that they were allowed to operate in. It reduces the likelihood of spread of any illness across the plant.
HORSLEY: In the beginning, de los Rios says, it was disruptive and awkward, but workers have adjusted.
DE LOS RIOS: It's rather comical looking into a break area now. Instead of before, there might've been four or five people to a table. Now it's just one individual with their mask on unless they're eating.
HORSLEY: A General Mills plant in Wellston, Ohio, has adopted similar precautions, erecting a tent in the parking lot so workers can maintain social distance during their breaks. Manager Carolyn Mendel says her plant has stayed extra busy making frozen pizza and pizza rolls.
CAROLYN MENDEL: We have seen a lot of feedback from our consumers that the Totino's product line is getting them through quarantine.
HORSLEY: At a time when many people are homebound and millions out of work, Mendel's seen a spike in demand for affordable comfort food.
MENDEL: There's comfort when mom goes to the grocery store and can find food on the shelf. And we talk about how stressful it is when those shelves are empty.
HORSLEY: So far, the safety measures appear to be working. There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus at Mendel's plant or de los Rios', although some workers at both facilities have been quarantined as a precaution. Not every factory owner's been so careful. Several meatpacking plants have been forced to shut down after widespread outbreaks among their workers. Former federal safety official Deborah Berkowitz says the government hasn't done enough to police those plants, where workers typically stand shoulder to shoulder on the cutting line.
DEBORAH BERKOWITZ: These workers are often very hidden. The plants are often in more rural, sort of remote areas. Therefore, people don't see the sort of sacrifices they're making.
HORSLEY: Factory managers, like Mendel, show it is possible to keep products flowing and keep workers safe. Mendel says her workers take a lot of pride in what they're doing.
MENDEL: They feel like they're serving the country by coming into the plant and grinding out those pizzas and pizza rolls.
HORSLEY: The Charmin plant in Pennsylvania has also started making face masks. But don't worry. They won't skimp on the toilet paper.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Researchers Look To New Methods To Create Cheaper, Easier Coronavirus Testing

Researchers Look To New Methods To Create Cheaper , Easier Coronavirus Testing Audio will be available later today .
Several @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus infection are being developed .
One uses the revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR ; @ @ @ @ @ in saliva .

Researchers Look To New Methods To Create Cheaper, Easier Coronavirus Testing Several new types of tests for coronavirus infection are being developed. One uses the revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR; another measures responses from cells in saliva.
Health Researchers Look To New Methods To Create Cheaper, Easier Coronavirus Testing Researchers Look To New Methods To Create Cheaper, Easier Coronavirus Testing Listen · 3:23 3:23 Several new types of tests for coronavirus infection are being developed. One uses the revolutionary gene-editing tool called CRISPR; another measures responses from cells in saliva. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor


npr--2020-04-18--Nursing Homes Hit Hard As Virus Claims Thousands Of Lives Across U.S.

Nursing Homes Hit Hard As Virus Claims Thousands Of Lives Across U.S .
Audio will be available later today .
@ @ @ @ @ with WPLN 's Blake Farmer from Nashville and KCUR 's Peggy Lowe from Kansas City @ @ @ @ @ dealing with deadly outbreaks of COVID-19 .

Nursing Homes Hit Hard As Virus Claims Thousands Of Lives Across U.S.
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with WPLN's Blake Farmer from Nashville and KCUR's Peggy Lowe from Kansas City about how nursing homes are dealing with deadly outbreaks of COVID-19.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
At least 7,000 people in nursing homes across the country have died so far in this pandemic. The New York Times has been keeping count of those deaths. This week, we learned a New Jersey nursing home is being investigated after police discovered 17 bodies in an onsite morgue. One body had been put in an outdoor shed. Nearly every resident of a nursing home has health problems. And even in ordinary times, infections can be hard to control. We turn now to two reporters who've been investigating some of these outbreaks, Peggy Lowe with KCUR in Kansas City, and Blake Farmer with WPLN in Nashville. Thank you both very much for being with us.
BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE: Thank you.
PEGGY LOWE, BYLINE: My pleasure, Scott.
SIMON: Blake, let me start with you. You've been investigating an outbreak just outside of Nashville in Gallatin, Tenn. More than 20 residents of a nursing home died there. How did these outbreaks start?
FARMER: Well, you know, in the case of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing, we believe it started with one staff member testing positive. Of course, this started about a month ago. And at that time, nursing homes were even more guarded about letting anyone know they might have a problem. A Gallatin resident started having trouble breathing there at the nursing home. So staffers began calling 911 for ambulances to drive over and transport them to the hospital. Local officials have been pretty upset about this. They're sending their county's EMTs into that nursing home over and over without really knowing the extent of what's going on inside.
SIMON: What does the nursing home administrator say?
FARMER: Well, her name's Dawn Cochran. And she says she may have thought she had COVID contained but acknowledges now that she didn't.
DAWN COCHRAN: Once you get one sick patient, it's a tidal wave. You cannot stop it.
FARMER: Cochran told me that she did all she could - all that federal regulators were recommending, taking employees temperatures, wearing masks and gloves. But eventually, the National Guard came in and tested everyone - and turned out nearly 100 patients tested positive and 33 staffers, most with no symptoms.
SIMON: Kansas City - Peggy Lowe, you've been reporting on the outbreak at the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation nursing home. More than 100 patients have tested positive. Nineteen people have died. It's now considered what's called fully COVID-19 positive. How does that happen?
LOWE: Well, it seems that just many bad things happened all at the same time to make Riverbend the largest cluster of cases in Kansas. Dr. Allen Greiner is the chief medical officer for the county, Wyandotte. He believes that a staff member brought in the virus at the end of March. That's when lots of residents were infected. But there were delays in testing thanks to shortages but also the need to send the tests from here in the Midwest to the coast. And then the virus moved so fast. And it also has a long incubation period. Also, as we all know in general in nursing homes, residents get lots of up-close personal care. You know, there are therapists and aides moving in and out of rooms, rotating among patients. Dr. Greiner called Riverbend a confluence of bad circumstances.
ALLEN GREINER: So it looks like there was sort of an explosion of positives. But it may have been that some of the initial testing they did was taking forever to come back. And then now, in the last five days, they're getting results back much quicker.
LOWE: Greiner says nursing homes know more now about how to respond. But the problem is that there aren't enough tests and equipment available to do it right.
SIMON: Peggy, with so many staff and patients sick, how do they keep the place running?
LOWE: Well, it's been very tough. Staff have been quitting at Riverbend. Many of them are just scared. One told me, I'm not going to risk my life for 12 bucks an hour. And they don't feel they have good communication from Riverbend officials about the outbreak or just enough protective gear. And now patients are being sent back to Riverbend from the hospital. One of them is 83. She tested positive for the virus, was sent to the hospital twice for brief visits. But she had to go back to Riverbend because she needs care because she has dementia. Her daughter Toni Gayle says once her mom recovers, she's going to try to get her out of there. Here she is.
TONI GAYLE: I just - I don't know. I just feel uncomfortable. You know, with all the information and stuff that I'm hearing, I just - I want her somewhere else.
SIMON: Blake, what are public health officials telling nursing homes?
FARMER: Well, the guidance from federal regulators has been evolving. No longer is it evacuating everyone, as they did in Gallatin. Now they're saying nursing homes should isolate all the COVID patients together, like, in a wing or a floor. They've even warned nursing homes that they may have to start doing more intensive care, like having patients on ventilators.
SIMON: And Peggy, it's reported that about 3,800 nursing homes and long-term care facilities have COVID-19 cases. But many have been able to contain them so far.
LOWE: Yes, some have. But everything has to go really, really right. So for instance, at a Kansas facility, just 4 miles away from Riverbend, a 70-year-old man got sick. He was hospitalized. He died. His autopsy showed that he had the coronavirus. Officials swept in, tested everyone regardless of symptoms. And ultimately, that home had just one case. Public officials said it really dodged a bullet there. So nursing homes need to have quick timing, lots of tests, loads of PPE like masks and gloves and a quick turnaround in getting the test results back. But many across the U.S. don't have the information and the supplies to keep these vulnerable nursing-home patients safe, at least not yet.
SIMON: Peggy Lowe of KCUR in Kansas City, Blake Farmer - WPLN in Nashville. Thank you both very much.
GREINER: Thank you.
FARMER: My pleasure, Scott.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Immigrant Doctors Face Barriers Trying To Volunteer To Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

Immigrant Doctors Face Barriers Trying To Volunteer To Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic Audio will be available later today .
NPR @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Ram Alur , president of Physicians for American Healthcare Access , about restrictions faced @ @ @ @ @ want to help fight the pandemic .

Immigrant Doctors Face Barriers Trying To Volunteer To Help Fight COVID-19 Pandemic
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Ram Alur, president of Physicians for American Healthcare Access, about restrictions faced by some immigrant doctors who want to help fight the pandemic.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Doctors, nurses and other front-line health care workers are needed around the country. Governor Andrew Cuomo has invited health care workers to come to New York to help. But while many foreign-born health care workers have been lining up to serve, some have been prevented from serving because of their immigration status.
Dr. Ram Alur is an internal medicine physician in Marion, Ill. He's also president of Physicians for American Healthcare Access, a nonprofit that represents foreign-trained doctors. Dr. Alur, thanks so much for being with us.
RAM ALUR: My pleasure, Scott. Thank you.
SIMON: I gather you've been practicing medicine in the United States for 13 years under an H-1B visa. But what happened when you tried to sign up to help with the response to the pandemic?
ALUR: I was as disturbed by anybody in the country with the onslaught and the pandemic. I was even more shocked to see how our health care system was stressed in New York. And of all the resources that needed to be deployed, physicians was one important resource. And I wanted to work. I wanted to sign up, but I am on a temporary visa. I am a temporary immigrant worker. My work permit restricts me to my employer, so that was the biggest barrier. We wanted to participate - there are thousands of physicians like me - and we are held back.
SIMON: They just gave you a simple no?
ALUR: Well, it is not in their power, really - the New York government or the hospital managers. I was approached by multiple recruiters, and so were many doctors who are working in the front lines in their communities that are not as overwhelmed as New York is. But we told them this is the restriction, that's how we can participate. And they really didn't have any solution for us.
SIMON: Forgive me for asking you a legal question, but would it take an act of Congress?
ALUR: Absolutely. And I'm very hopeful that a legislative solution for this problem will come as soon as possible, hopefully in the next COVID relief package.
SIMON: What about telehealth? Could you be useful over a video link?
ALUR: Not if it has to go beyond my employer's own facility because it would be considered as a violation of my work authorization.
SIMON: Is there any way you can help with the pandemic response there in Marion in southern Illinois?
ALUR: In southern Illinois, I'm well disposed, and I am actually permitted to work in my facility, and I'll do my best here. But if I have to go 20 miles and work in a neighborhood facility, which when the surge comes might be overwhelmed - the doctors, our front-line workers, health care workers are at higher risk to contract this disease, and it has happened in New York and many places where doctors have to come out of the workforce because they are infected, they are quarantined. So if there is a need, I can't go and work there because, again, my work permit restricts me to my employment in my facility.
SIMON: And the law is there to ostensibly protect American jobs - something like that?
ALUR: Absolutely. The reason why it exists is because the law intends to protect an American worker so that an immigrant worker like me would not go to other locations and work for lower wages. It is intended to protect, but we are a country with a shortage of doctors. Rural counties are even more short. Forty-five percent of the rural county workforce is immigrant. And if immigrants are restricted, it is a vital resource that is underutilized. We are here. We are living here, and we have time. We have scope. We should be doing more.
SIMON: Do you hope the problem you confront now is going to sharpen the conversation and perhaps change hearts and minds and laws?
ALUR: Absolutely. As an organization, we have tremendous support from fellow colleagues who understand how restricted we are - our hospitals, the medical organizations. And we are approaching the lawmakers, and there is great understanding and a sense of urgency. This is a situation where we need all hands on deck.
SIMON: Dr. Ram Alur is an internal medicine physician in Marion, Ill. Thanks so much for being with us, sir.
ALUR: Thank you, Scott. Thank you very much.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Reports Of Domestic Violence Rise In Recent Weeks Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns

Audio will be available later today .
What do stay-at-home orders mean for people in abusive relationships ?
NPR 's @ @ @ @ @ Dubus , of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center , about the additional challenges of these @ @

Reports Of Domestic Violence Rise In Recent Weeks Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns
What do stay-at-home orders mean for people in abusive relationships? NPR's Scott Simon talks with Suzanne Dubus, of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, about the additional challenges of these times.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Millions of Americans and much of the country have been under stay-at-home orders for a month to limit the spread of the coronavirus. It's ideal for nobody. And for some people, it's terrifying and dangerous. It means being locked down with somebody who beats and abuses them. Reports of domestic violence have risen in recent weeks.
Suzanne Dubus is CEO of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, which is just north of Boston. Thanks very much for being with us.
SUZANNE DUBUS: Thank you for having me.
SIMON: You closed your center down and began to do remote work, I gather, in the middle of March. Are you able to hear from victims of domestic violence? What do they say?
DUBUS: Yeah. It was a scary time to shut down because we knew that survivors were really struggling with the issues of abuse already. And to feel that we were closing off some resources was really painful, but we also knew that we needed to do this. And what we found was during the first couple of weeks, actually, people weren't contacting us. And it really felt like - all of us - that people were just trying to figure out what does this mean for my life? How do I get situated? How am I dealing with kids being home all the time? But we assumed that once that happened that we would start to hear from survivors again, and that has happened.
SIMON: Was that two weeks of silence kind of a bad sign that people were trying to live with the abuse?
DUBUS: Yes. Well, survivors have started to kind of come back to us at the same levels that they were before. So they're attending support groups. They're calling the hotlines. They're meeting with their advocates, their counselors, their lawyers. While that's happening, the number of new clients reaching out to us is much smaller than it has been. And when they are reaching out, the domestic violence has been escalating or they are in really kind of severe states of trauma and stress and fear. And so it takes a lot to try to figure out what's the next best step.
SIMON: I mean, I'm trying to account for all the factors that could aggravate this. You have stress at high levels. You have job loss. You have the fact that some abusers must think there's less chance that they'll get caught. The people who are victims of abuse aren't seeing their friends and able to talk outside the home.
DUBUS: You're absolutely right. And domestic violence is predicated on power and control. So when the abuser uses controlling tactics to have power in the relationship, to mete out abuse, then coronavirus becomes a tactic. And so they can keep children. So rather than return children after supervised visitation or a weekend at Dad's house, they can say, you know what? I don't think your mom's doing a good enough job social distancing. And when I saw her, she wasn't wearing a mask, so you're not going to go home. And, you know, that's one way that abusers can continue to, I think, take advantage of an already stressful situation to gain even more control.
SIMON: Ms. Dubus, I'm told this is something you know firsthand.
DUBUS: Yes, yes. When I was married, we lived on the top of this mountaintop in this seasonal community. And my husband would, you know, abuse me and then take the car and drive and leave me alone with no phone in the top of this mountain and so afraid of everything around me. And I was thinking, I can understand what people are feeling like who are trapped at home right now.
SIMON: Something you can say to them?
DUBUS: Yes, that they're not alone. And I think that, you know, one of the things that's probably most important for survivors and victims who are living at home with their abusers to know is that they can find a way. So whether they're taking a shower, are able to go to the grocery store or to the drugstore and quickly connect with a friend. And also, if you're a friend who has someone that you're worried about in your life, then see if there's any way that you can extend yourself so that they know if things get worse that you're a person that can be contacted.
SIMON: Suzanne Dubus is the CEO of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center near Boston. Thank you so much for being with us.
DUBUS: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Texas Animal Shelter Sees Bump In Adoptions, Foster Homes Amid Pandemic

Audio will be available later today .
Luis Quintanilla , director of the Humane Society of Harlingen , Texas , @ @ @ @ @ has changed things in the animal shelter .

Texas Animal Shelter Sees Bump In Adoptions, Foster Homes Amid Pandemic
Luis Quintanilla, director of the Humane Society of Harlingen, Texas, talks about how the pandemic has changed things in the animal shelter.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The coronavirus pandemic has created a lot of unscheduled time for people who are sheltering in place. Some are using these unscheduled hours to spoil their pets.
LUIS QUINTANILLA: One of our cats - we dressed him up in, like, a Easter-themed outfit, and we put, like, fake Easter eggs all over his little kennel area. You know, he's just a little cat with a grumpy-looking face. And it was just the cutest thing.
SIMON: That's Luis Quintanilla from Harlingen, Texas, where he is the executive director of the Humane Society there. He considers all of the animals in the shelter to be his pets until they're adopted. Since the coronavirus outbreak began, Luis Quintanilla and his staff have been working hard to make certain their animals get the love and the care that they need.
QUINTANILLA: Our operations now compared to before the pandemic are - you know, they're fundamentally transformed. It's an uncertain environment. There is no guarantee that adopters will come to our parking lot to find an animal at home. There's no guarantee that a foster will step up and take home an animal for the next couple weeks. There's no guarantee that live outcomes will happen, but it is a guarantee that animals will come into our shelters.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
QUINTANILLA: When animal shelters run out of space, euthanasia often becomes an option. It's terribly sad for a healthy animal to be euthanized solely because a shelter runs out of space.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
QUINTANILLA: We at the Humane Society of Harlingen are luckily in a position where our kennels are mostly empty, and that's due to getting animals out as quickly as possible into either the arms of adopters or foster parents or rescue organizations. The amazing community around us in the city of Harlingen has stepped up in a big way to foster a lot of animals from us. Our foster program at the start of this coronavirus pandemic, maybe 10 animals were in foster homes. Once we put out the call to our community telling them, hey, we don't know what's going to happen with this chaos that's increasing around the country, this uncertainty, within three days, we had over 80 animals in foster care, up from 10, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
QUINTANILLA: Probably close to a hundred animals have been adopted in the last few weeks. We waived all of our adoption fees. They were cut down to zero. You know, we changed our operations by doing only curbside services. So if somebody wants to come in to adopt an animal or to foster an animal, everything is done outside. We take the animal to them, to their vehicle at a safe distance, you know, for our staff and for those people.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
QUINTANILLA: We need to be as imaginative as we possibly can be moving forward to save as many animal lives as possible. They're completely innocent. They don't have a voice without us. And, you know, now more than ever, the happiness and unconditional love of a pet, of a companion animal - that kind of joy is needed.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: Luis Quintanilla, director of the Humane Society of Harlingen, Texas.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--'I Hear The Agony': Increasing Coronavirus Cases Take Toll On NYC's First Responders

' I Hear The Agony ' : Increasing Coronavirus Cases Take Toll On NYC 's First Responders Audio will be @ @ @ @ @ and EMTs in New York City are struggling to respond to a skyrocketing number of @ @ @ @ @ pandemic .
More first-responders are getting sick themselves .

'I Hear The Agony': Increasing Coronavirus Cases Take Toll On NYC's First Responders
Paramedics and EMTs in New York City are struggling to respond to a skyrocketing number of 911 calls during the coronavirus pandemic. More first responders are getting sick themselves.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
For weeks, emergency services have been racing across New York City to try to save lives. The stress of that and the growing numbers of deaths from COVID-19 takes a toll on these first responders. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang checked in with some of them, and he sends us this report.
HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE: The drive from home to her fire station in the Bronx takes only about 10 minutes for paramedic Elizabeth Bonilla. But these days, there's a lot on her mind during the commute.
ELIZABETH BONILLA: For each itch and every scratch that you have in your throat or a minor headache or a little sneeze - it could be analogy, but it's more like a fear that, could it be me? You know, could I be next?
WANG: Those questions gnaw at her at home, too, especially when she's trying to sleep between what are often 16-hour shifts. In fact, she started leaving the light on in her bedroom at night.
BONILLA: It's hard for me to fall asleep in the dark because I get the image of that lady or that man who either passed away or who was suffering. I hear the cries. I hear the agony of people suffocating, trying to breathe.
WANG: Responding to calls, Bonilla says, feels like coming face to face with a monster that's overtaken a patient's body.
BONILLA: It's almost like the virus is talking to you. As soon as you see a patient, it's like, oh, yeah, this person has the virus. They're pale in the face. Some of them are blue in the lips, blue in the fingers, blue in the toes. They are panting like a dog.
WANG: And Bonilla says it's easy to feel helpless.
BONILLA: You have just your little tools in your little bag. And most of our medications - I want to say all of our medications don't even work on the patient.
VINCENT VARIALE: This is like 9/11 happening every day.
WANG: Vincent Variale is president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union. As of Friday, close to 14% of FDNY's workforce is out sick, including those diagnosed with COVID-19.
VARIALE: We were already understaffed to begin with, but now we have more people out sick, and we have an increase in the call volume. This is a recipe for disaster.
WANG: It's been more than a month since EMT Don Goepfert has lived with his wife and three children. They left their home in Brooklyn to stay with relatives in Pennsylvania.
DON GOEPFERT: Not the easiest choice, but the best choice. Some people are sleeping in their cars and not even going home or sleeping in the basement of where they live, so they - not to affect their family.
WANG: Living alone, though, made Goepfert extra nervous after he came home from a shift and started feeling body aches and his temperature rising. That night, Goepfert said he made sure to leave the front door unlocked in case EMTs had to get in.
GOEPFERT: I have that anxiety in me that - what if I don't make it through the next day? So I was trying to prepare for the worst.
WANG: Now Goepfert has been diagnosed with COVID-19. He was admitted into a hospital on Friday.
There is some comfort these days for paramedic Elizabeth Bonilla. It comes at 7 in the evening, before the sun sets, when shut-in New Yorkers open their doors and windows and...
(SOUNDBITE OF HORN)
BONILLA: This is nice. This is the first time I witnessed it myself.
WANG: On a night off, Bonilla used her phone to record the city's nightly salute to first responders, hospital workers and other essential workers.
BONILLA: Oh, they're doing fireworks. Look. Oh, look at that.
WANG: While she was recording this, her two sons were watching along with her. And it's because of them she's spending most of her time at home inside her bedroom alone and worried about exposing her sons to the virus she and more than 4,000 EMS workers across the city are dealing with every day.
BONILLA: We can only wish to spend unlimited time with our family, to have dinner at the table with our family and be able to share movie time and stuff like that with our children. But we don't have that option. We take it as we can.
WANG: And when Bonilla has trouble falling asleep...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M GONNA BE READY")
YOLANDA ADAMS: (Singing) I say a prayer every night...
WANG: She turns to gospel songs, like Yolanda Adams' "I'm Gonna Be Ready."
BONILLA: It talks about, you know, just if anything, we're here to sacrifice our lives. Whatever God has planned for us, we're going to be ready.
WANG: And in her bedroom, for now, Bonilla says, she's still keeping the light on.
Hansi Lo Wang, NPR News, New York.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-04-18--Ohio Governor On States Banding Together, Next Steps For Coronavirus Response

Ohio Governor On States Banding Together , Next Steps For Coronavirus Response Audio will be available later today .
NPR @ @ @ @ @ Republican Gov .
Mike DeWine , who led Ohio to take precautions against the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ facing pressure to fully reopen the state .

Ohio Governor On States Banding Together, Next Steps For Coronavirus Response
NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who led Ohio to take precautions against the coronavirus early — and is now facing pressure to fully reopen the state.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
States are banding together in anticipation of the next phase of America's experience with the coronavirus. There are three coalitions of states - one on the West Coast, one in the Northeast, one in the Midwest - communicating and coordinating their response to the crisis. We're joined now by Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, who is a Republican governor. Thanks so much for speaking with us today.
MIKE DEWINE: Good to be with you. Thank you.
SIMON: You are coordinating with Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota to try and find a path to reopen commerce and education. Is that the kind of coordination in a crisis the reason why we have a federal government?
DEWINE: Well, I think one of the great things we have in this country is because we have the 50 states, we have 50 laboratories of democracy, as people have said. And, frankly, I confer with governors - other governors all the time with similar problems, particularly those in our region. You know, I have a weekly call with the governor of Kentucky and Indiana, Holcomb and Beshear, and, you know, certainly talk to a lot of other governors, so I think it's something that is - just naturally occurs. And during this coronavirus, it's something that - you know, it's even more urgent that we do that and share these ideas.
SIMON: As I don't have to tell you, there were anti-stay-at-home protests in - right there in Columbus this week. And I have to ask you, Governor DeWine, when President Trump calls on people in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia - those are states with Democratic governors - to, quote, "liberate" themselves from lockdown, is that a call for insurrection?
DEWINE: No, I don't think so. Look; I mean, we have...
SIMON: Well, what else does liberate mean? What else does liberate mean?
DEWINE: Well, the people have every right to demonstrate. This is what I've said to people who were protesting against me, people who are very upset with me. I say, look; there's the First Amendment. They have a right to speak out. They have a right to demonstrate. You know, it is what it is. My job is to, you know, look at what is in the best interests of Ohioans. We were very early in taking some very dramatic steps to protect Ohioans. I'm going to continue to do that. But at the same time, I understand the demonstrators. They want to get the economy moving again. No one is more anxious to do that than I am. So I understand where they're coming from. But we also have to do it in a rational way. We have to do it in a phased way that protects human life and protects our medical institutions from being totally overrun. So this is a nuanced balance of things that, you know, we're trying to do here.
SIMON: Well, but I got to pressure you a bit on this because the president also tweeted, liberate Virginia. Save your great Second Amendment. It is under siege. And they followed that up from the White House podium. Is that a call for armed insurrection?
DEWINE: No, I don't think that's a call for anything other than, you know, the president is tweeting what he wants to tweet. But again, you know, I'm sure there were many people who in Ohio were saying, you know, go demonstrate against DeWine, et cetera. And so that's - look; the First Amendment is what it is, and we respect the First Amendment - the same reason Ohio - we did not...
SIMON: But is that leadership, Governor? Yeah, go ahead.
DEWINE: I'm sorry.
SIMON: Yeah, but is that - what kind of leadership is that to bring the Second Amendment into coronavirus?
DEWINE: It - let me be real candid. If we spend all our time trying to fight this in a political sense and people who, you know, aren't happy with the president, we spend a whole bunch of time, you know, talking about some confrontation - look; the White House - what people don't see and don't hear is the vice president, for example, is on the phone with governors usually twice a week. Sometimes the president is on. Democrat and Republican governors - very open, very candid conversation going back-and-forth. And so, you know, I think it's a - I don't know why we - when we're dealing with a coronavirus and we're trying to save lives, we're trying to get our economy moving again, you know, to fixate on two or three tweets by the president of the United States doesn't make any sense to me, quite candidly.
SIMON: Well, Governor, thank you for all your time, spending it with us this morning. Mike DeWine is the governor of Ohio. Thank you very much for being with us, sir.
DEWINE: Thank you.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.