huffpost--2020-04-27--Next Wave Of States Prepare To Reopen Despite Insufficient Coronavirus Testing

NEW YORK/CHICAGO ( Reuters ) - Another wave of states prepared to ease coronavirus restrictions on U.S. commerce this week , despite health experts warning there is still too little diagnostic testing , while the White House forecast a staggering jump in the nation ’ s monthly jobless rate .
Colorado , Mississippi , Minnesota , Montana and Tennessee were set to join several other states in reopening businesses without the means to screen systematically for infected people who may be contagious but asymptomatic , and to trace their contacts with others they might have exposed .
“ I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but they ’ re not .
They ’ re saying , ‘ Hey , the best thing to do is go back to work , even though it might be risky , ’ ” Royal Rose , 39 , owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley , Colorado , told Reuters .
Rose said she was reopening her shop after closing a month ago , not because she wants to but because bills are piling up and she feels she has no choice .
Georgia , Oklahoma , Alaska and South Carolina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economies following weeks of mandatory lockdowns that have thrown nearly one in six American workers out of their jobs .
Public health authorities say increasing human interactions and economic activity now - without the means to do so safely - will only backfire , sparking a new surge of infections just as social-distancing measures appear to be bringing coronavirus outbreaks under control .
Medical experts say strict adherence to business closures and stay-at-home orders imposed over the past several weeks by governors in 42 of 50 states have worked to level off rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ units .
The continuing rise in the number of U.S. cases has been attributed in part to increased diagnostic screening .
But health authorities also warn that testing and contact tracing must be vastly expanded before shuttered businesses can be safely reopened on a wide-scale basis .
The sign outside the AMF bowling alley in Conyers , Ga. , displays a message Friday , April 24 , 2020 , in Conyers , Ga. Like many industries in America and around the world , bowling has taken a huge financial blow because of lockdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
( AP Photo/Paul Newberry ) Business shutdowns have led to a record 26.5 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March .
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted on Friday that the economy would contract at an annual rate of nearly a 40 % in the second quarter .
“ I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible , ” Hassett said .
“ You ’ re going to see numbers as bad as anything we ’ ve ever seen before.
” Against a backdrop of scattered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders to be lifted , some of the states hardest hit by the public health crisis were taking a more cautious approach to economic reopenings .
New York state , the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic , reported 367 new deaths on Sunday , its lowest loss of life in a single 24-hour span since March 20 , but has extended its business restrictions through mid-May .
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said construction and manufacturing would be the first workplaces permitted to reopen and could restart after May 15 in the upstate region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to decline .
By and large the states forging ahead with reopenings this week are concentrated in the South , the Midwest and mountain West , where outbreaks have been far less severe than in the Northeast .
Most are led by Republican governors .
Montana , which reported three new cases on Sunday , is allowing businesses to reopen Monday if they limit capacity and practice social distancing , while Minnesota is clearing the way for 80,000 to 100,000 workers in industrial and office jobs to return to work on Monday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions may vary from place to place .
Denver , for example , extended stay-at-home orders to May 8 but city dwellers can drive to a nearby county for a haircut .
Georgia , on the other hand , has prohibited any local measures stricter than the state orders .

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Signs and U.S. flags stand in honor of healthcare workers, across from Littleton Adventist Hospital on Sunday, April 26, 2020, in Littleton, Colo., during the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Another wave of states prepared to ease coronavirus restrictions on U.S. commerce this week, despite health experts warning there is still too little diagnostic testing, while the White House forecast a staggering jump in the nation’s monthly jobless rate.
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Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee were set to join several other states in reopening businesses without the means to screen systematically for infected people who may be contagious but asymptomatic, and to trace their contacts with others they might have exposed.
Many merchants have voiced ambivalence about returning to work absent the prerequisite public health measures authorities have advocated.
“I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they’re not. They’re saying, ‘Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,’” Royal Rose, 39, owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado, told Reuters.
Rose said she was reopening her shop after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because bills are piling up and she feels she has no choice.
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Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina have already forged ahead to restart their economies following weeks of mandatory lockdowns that have thrown nearly one in six American workers out of their jobs.
Public health authorities say increasing human interactions and economic activity now - without the means to do so safely - will only backfire, sparking a new surge of infections just as social-distancing measures appear to be bringing coronavirus outbreaks under control.
Medical experts say strict adherence to business closures and stay-at-home orders imposed over the past several weeks by governors in 42 of 50 states have worked to level off rates of hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units.
Still the number of known U.S. infections climbed higher on Sunday, topping 960,000 as the number of lives lost to COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the virus, surpassed 54,700.
The continuing rise in the number of U.S. cases has been attributed in part to increased diagnostic screening. But health authorities also warn that testing and contact tracing must be vastly expanded before shuttered businesses can be safely reopened on a wide-scale basis.
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The sign outside the AMF bowling alley in Conyers, Ga., displays a message Friday, April 24, 2020, in Conyers, Ga. Like many industries in America and around the world, bowling has taken a huge financial blow because of lockdown measures meant to contain the highly contagious coronavirus. (AP Photo/Paul Newberry) ASSOCIATED PRESS
‘TERRIBLE’ TOLL ON JOBS
The economic fallout from the unprecedented social distancing requirements has been devastating.
Business shutdowns have led to a record 26.5 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted on Friday that the economy would contract at an annual rate of nearly a 40% in the second quarter.
Even next year, the CBO forecast calls for an unemployment rate averaging above 10%. Before the pandemic struck, the U.S. jobless rate was hovering at a 50-year low of 3.5%.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters on Sunday the jobless rate would likely hit 16% or more in April.
“I think the next couple of months are going to look terrible,” Hassett said. “You’re going to see numbers as bad as anything we’ve ever seen before.”
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Against a backdrop of scattered protests across the country calling for stay-at-home orders to be lifted, some of the states hardest hit by the public health crisis were taking a more cautious approach to economic reopenings.
New York state, the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, reported 367 new deaths on Sunday, its lowest loss of life in a single 24-hour span since March 20, but has extended its business restrictions through mid-May.
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said construction and manufacturing would be the first workplaces permitted to reopen and could restart after May 15 in the upstate region with certain precautions and if cases continue to decline.
By and large the states forging ahead with reopenings this week are concentrated in the South, the Midwest and mountain West, where outbreaks have been far less severe than in the Northeast. Most are led by Republican governors.
Tennessee said it will allow restaurants to reopen on Monday. Mississippi’s stay-at-home order expires the same day.
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Montana, which reported three new cases on Sunday, is allowing businesses to reopen Monday if they limit capacity and practice social distancing, while Minnesota is clearing the way for 80,000 to 100,000 workers in industrial and office jobs to return to work on Monday.
In Colorado, Democratic Governor Jared Polis has given the green light for retail curbside pickup to begin on Monday. Hair salons, barbershop and tattoo parlors can open on Friday, with retail stores, restaurants and movie theaters to follow.
Even within states, the lifting of restrictions may vary from place to place. Denver, for example, extended stay-at-home orders to May 8 but city dwellers can drive to a nearby county for a haircut. Georgia, on the other hand, has prohibited any local measures stricter than the state orders.
Eight states never ordered residents to stay at home ― Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Opinion polls have generally shown a bipartisan majority of Americans want to remain at home to protect themselves from the coronavirus, despite the impact to the economy.
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huffpost--2020-03-30--How Black Businesses Are Adapting To The Coronavirus Crisis

These entrepreneurs , like many business owners across the country , are finding ways to ease the financial strain caused by COVID-19 .
Since the World Health Organization officially named the outbreak a pandemic on March 11 , the economy has taken a big hit .
Workers across the country have faced layoffs and businesses have had to close their doors .
The health crisis has especially created a looming threat for Black business owners who make up only 4.3 % of business owners in the country and are at a disproportionate disadvantage when it comes to securing small-business loans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people that are already feeling the crunch and are even going to feel it more in the next couple of weeks , ” Busby said .
“ But I ’ m excited that our firms that are prepared , are taking this time to be locked away in their own homes , are really trying to think about their businesses and how they ’ re going to come out of this.
” Ryan Wilson and TK Petersen , owners of The Gathering Spot in Atlanta , have had to make a huge shift @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Within the past year , the duo have hosted nearly 2,400 events at its base and worked toward opening locations in Washington , D.C. , and Los Angeles .
Mandates to close nonessential businesses caused them to close the doors to their social club and serve food only via takeout and delivery at the club ’ s restaurant .
Their losses from March , April and potentially May will be significant , Wilson told HuffPost .
Although it ’ s a difficult time , their members and over 100 employees are their priority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Austin of Ethel ’ s Club wants to make sure her members have access to virtual services .
With New York ’ s rapid rise in coronavirus cases , the Brooklyn-based social club decided to shut its doors ahead of the mandate and have been closed for a little over two weeks .
She told HuffPost that , though her team of less than 10 employees has been working from home , it almost feels like business as usual .
“ We ’ re still trying to create that same kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the clubhouse and online .
We ’ re still trying to be a platform for creators and artists and makers to have a place where they can do their thing and then get paid for it , ” she said .
“ So we ’ ve honestly just sort of changed the medium but have done all of the same things we ’ ve always done , which I think has actually been very helpful amidst all of the unknowns .
Being able to show up and do your job every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always done it is a weird blessing in disguise.
” Austin said the goal for her and her team with the digital membership is to help give members who are working from home a sense of structure .
Each day , they have content that goes live at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT , ranging from meditation , yoga and breathwork , discussions around art and music , and cooking shows .
The clubhouse has also waived membership dues for April .
Austin told HuffPost that financial loss and membership growth are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of the uncertainties one day at a time .
Initially , Hyppolite didn ’ t know what his next steps would be when New York mandated that all gyms close .
It took the independent trainer a few days to process how he ’ d be able to continue to serve his clients and provide for his family .
He pivoted to training his clients one-on-one in parks and checking in with them virtually to make sure they stay on track with their health goals .
He ’ s also transitioned his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is donation-based but reaching a wider circle of clients .
Hyppolite has found success in his business by building a community around health .
That ’ s especially significant because many of his clients are entrepreneurs and freelancers of color whose work has also been affected by COVID-19 .
The trainer said that his clients aren ’ t taking the sense of community he ’ s built for granted .
“ I think that ’ s a beautiful thing and brings a lot of optimism to how to push through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be like , ” he added .
“ So a friend of mine , we both say , ‘ Flowers don ’ t grow without rain.
’ And what happens in moments like this is now we finally get to grow flowers , right ?
Because out of all of this , you ’ re going to create something amazing .
Now it ’ s going to force us to expand our mind into doing things that we was scared to do or we didn ’ t think we could do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have on the radar before.
” Her salons , SnatchGang Studio and SnatchGang Suites in Oakland County , Michigan , which sits outside of Detroit , followed the state mandate to temporarily close its doors .
Crawford , who recently found out her 84-year-old grandmother tested positive for COVID-19 , had to reduce the amount of rent for her 10 stylists at both businesses due to the decrease in clientele leading up to the mandate .
Before they closed , however , Crawford was in the shop until the final hours , making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She isn ’ t making money right now , and bills are racking up .
In the meantime , she ’ s doing what she can to keep her clients and hoping that things will turn around in April , noting the need for the women she services , especially those in the medical field , who are still going to work .
Reed , who owns Luella ’ s Southern Kitchen and Luella ’ s Gospel Bird in Chicago , created a GoFundMe to help keep the business operational .
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Reed has been able to continue to keep his nine employees at Luella ’ s Southern Kitchen working while offering only takeout and delivery .
He ’ s had to temporarily close Luella ’ s Soul Bird , however , which has affected seven employees .
He thinks they may have to shut the doors to Gospel Bird permanently .
Reed has been seeing the biggest decline on Saturdays and Sundays , days that would normally be a big draw for brunch .
He said the restaurant made only about 10 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ combined .
The owner isn ’ t feeling defeated , however .
He said the Black-owned restaurants in the city have been sharing advice and best practices for riding out this pandemic .
Reed has introduced gift cards and will be announcing specials soon so that they ’ re able to keep business rolling .
He also has been taking culinary classes online to prepare to bounce back as best as he can .
Most of these business owners will benefit from the stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses .
Small business owners will receive money in the form of a loan , which wouldn ’ t need to be paid back if it ’ s used for employees ’ salaries , mortgage , rent or utilities , Busby explained .
The package also allocates $ 10 million for grants to minority-owned businesses .
He said that , though times are turbulent and uncertain , Black businesses that are prepared with tax and income documentation will be able to recover .
He advises owners to prepare for an 18- to 21-day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may be tough for owners like Crawford , who ’ s already had to dip into her savings .

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Naj Austin launched a digital subscription for Ethel’s Club members on March 20, days after temporarily shutting its doors during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The day after, personal trainer Irving “Zeus” Hyppolite hosted his first boot camp workout on Instagram Live. And Darnell Reed, owner of two restaurants, has had to temporarily close one of his businesses and lean on other Black restaurateurs in his community to keep business flowing.
These entrepreneurs, like many business owners across the country, are finding ways to ease the financial strain caused by COVID-19. Since the World Health Organization officially named the outbreak a pandemic on March 11, the economy has taken a big hit. Workers across the country have faced layoffs and businesses have had to close their doors. The health crisis has especially created a looming threat for Black business owners who make up only 4.3% of business owners in the country and are at a disproportionate disadvantage when it comes to securing small-business loans.
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“There’s this old saying, ‘When America catches a cold, Black America catches pneumonia,’” Ron Busby, president and CEO of the United States Black Chambers Inc., told HuffPost.
But despite the economic downturn, Black entrepreneurs across the country are working to find new ways to adapt in the era of social distancing.
“I’m hearing from people that are already feeling the crunch and are even going to feel it more in the next couple of weeks,” Busby said. “But I’m excited that our firms that are prepared, are taking this time to be locked away in their own homes, are really trying to think about their businesses and how they’re going to come out of this.”
Ryan Wilson and TK Petersen, owners of The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, have had to make a huge shift in the way they approach community. Within the past year, the duo have hosted nearly 2,400 events at its base and worked toward opening locations in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Mandates to close nonessential businesses caused them to close the doors to their social club and serve food only via takeout and delivery at the club’s restaurant. Their losses from March, April and potentially May will be significant, Wilson told HuffPost. Although it’s a difficult time, their members and over 100 employees are their priority right now, he said.
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“The effort on that front has been to continue to pay and offer employee benefits for our team,” Wilson said, adding that they’d just started an effort to continue to provide meal services to members who can pick up food while their locations are closed to the public. “So we’re trying to care for our folks because it’s unprecedented I think for everybody.”
Recently, The Gathering Spot opened a virtual portal where their members can access discussions and watch parties and other events digitally. On Friday, they hosted a series of roundtables on how COVID-19 is affecting businesses and what steps owners could take to minimize the effects.
Similarly, Austin of Ethel’s Club wants to make sure her members have access to virtual services. With New York’s rapid rise in coronavirus cases, the Brooklyn-based social club decided to shut its doors ahead of the mandate and have been closed for a little over two weeks. She told HuffPost that, though her team of less than 10 employees has been working from home, it almost feels like business as usual.
“We’re still trying to create that same kind of intentional, empowering community that we do within the clubhouse and online. We’re still trying to be a platform for creators and artists and makers to have a place where they can do their thing and then get paid for it,” she said. “So we’ve honestly just sort of changed the medium but have done all of the same things we’ve always done, which I think has actually been very helpful amidst all of the unknowns. Being able to show up and do your job every day in the way that you’ve always done it is a weird blessing in disguise.”
Digital members have accesss to wellness classes, creative workshops, digital discussions, DJ sets, cooking tutorials, conversation series and more.
The very best in wellness and culture designed specifically for you. https://t.co/GrC7HBRmWA pic.twitter.com/wdCc0nVyvh — ethel’s club (@ethelsclub) March 20, 2020
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Austin said the goal for her and her team with the digital membership is to help give members who are working from home a sense of structure. Each day, they have content that goes live at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT, ranging from meditation, yoga and breathwork, discussions around art and music, and cooking shows. The clubhouse has also waived membership dues for April. Austin told HuffPost that financial loss and membership growth are certainly concerns, but they are taking all of the uncertainties one day at a time.
Things can be a bit more complicated for business owners who work in fields where person-to-person contact is essential. Busby said times of crisis can take the biggest toll on these kinds of businesses.
Initially, Hyppolite didn’t know what his next steps would be when New York mandated that all gyms close. It took the independent trainer a few days to process how he’d be able to continue to serve his clients and provide for his family. He pivoted to training his clients one-on-one in parks and checking in with them virtually to make sure they stay on track with their health goals.
He’s also transitioned his weekly Inner U Bootcamp to Instagram Live, which is donation-based but reaching a wider circle of clients. Hyppolite has found success in his business by building a community around health. That’s especially significant because many of his clients are entrepreneurs and freelancers of color whose work has also been affected by COVID-19. The trainer said that his clients aren’t taking the sense of community he’s built for granted.
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“I have been fortunate enough to have a support system through what I’ve created, where we’ve been able to bounce ideas back and forth on ways to go around what’s going on,” he told HuffPost.
“I think that’s a beautiful thing and brings a lot of optimism to how to push through the next couple months or whatever this is going to be like,” he added. “So a friend of mine, we both say, ‘Flowers don’t grow without rain.’ And what happens in moments like this is now we finally get to grow flowers, right? Because out of all of this, you’re going to create something amazing. Now it’s going to force us to expand our mind into doing things that we was scared to do or we didn’t think we could do. Or we didn’t even have on the radar before.”
In the wake of this crisis, more and more entrepreneurs are turning to Instagram Live to connect with their clientele. Hairstylist Brittany Crawford just hosted her first live show on Tuesday where she offered tips and product knowledge to her clients.
Her salons, SnatchGang Studio and SnatchGang Suites in Oakland County, Michigan, which sits outside of Detroit, followed the state mandate to temporarily close its doors. Crawford, who recently found out her 84-year-old grandmother tested positive for COVID-19, had to reduce the amount of rent for her 10 stylists at both businesses due to the decrease in clientele leading up to the mandate. Before they closed, however, Crawford was in the shop until the final hours, making sure her clients’ hair was flawless.
She isn’t making money right now, and bills are racking up. In the meantime, she’s doing what she can to keep her clients and hoping that things will turn around in April, noting the need for the women she services, especially those in the medical field, who are still going to work.
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Reed, who owns Luella’s Southern Kitchen and Luella’s Gospel Bird in Chicago, created a GoFundMe to help keep the business operational. Because they’re considered an essential business, Reed has been able to continue to keep his nine employees at Luella’s Southern Kitchen working while offering only takeout and delivery. He’s had to temporarily close Luella’s Soul Bird, however, which has affected seven employees. He thinks they may have to shut the doors to Gospel Bird permanently.
Darnell Reed has set up a GoFundMe to help keep his restaurant in business. HuffPost
Reed has been seeing the biggest decline on Saturdays and Sundays, days that would normally be a big draw for brunch. He said the restaurant made only about 10% of its usual revenue on both days combined. The owner isn’t feeling defeated, however. He said the Black-owned restaurants in the city have been sharing advice and best practices for riding out this pandemic. Reed has introduced gift cards and will be announcing specials soon so that they’re able to keep business rolling. He also has been taking culinary classes online to prepare to bounce back as best as he can.
“When we come back, I want to come back stronger than ever, so let me sharpen whatever I feel like I needed some work on, what skill to work on. At least focus on that and work on those exact skills,” he told HuffPost.
But not all businesses are struggling. OneUnited, the largest Black-owned bank in the country, has actually seen a boom in business since the start of the pandemic. President and CEO Teri Williams told HuffPost that there’s been an increase in their virtual banking.
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“To some degree, we’ve seen a positive impact, and I say this cautiously, because it’s still early, but we think that people are becoming much more comfortable with doing business online,” Williams said. “We’re seeing an increase in customers. Also, people are trying not to go into branches. Our online business is actually growing, but it’s early in this whole experience.”
She said OneUnited, which is headquartered in Boston, is working to move more of its customers to online banking and keep their 110 employees healthy during the crisis.
Most of these business owners will benefit from the stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on Friday, which includes $370 billion for small businesses. Small business owners will receive money in the form of a loan, which wouldn’t need to be paid back if it’s used for employees’ salaries, mortgage, rent or utilities, Busby explained. The package also allocates $10 million for grants to minority-owned businesses. He said that, though times are turbulent and uncertain, Black businesses that are prepared with tax and income documentation will be able to recover. He advises owners to prepare for an 18- to 21-day window to get their funding, which may be tough for owners like Crawford, who’s already had to dip into her savings.
Additionally, private companies have begun offering avenues of relief for Black business owners. Kerby Jean-Raymond, founder of the menswear line Pyer Moss, for example, announced that the company is offering $50,000 for minority- and female-owned creative businesses that are struggling to keep afloat. The Gathering Spot is also offering $15,000 in relief funding to local small businesses in Atlanta.
On top of aid, Busby said that it’s crucial that the public support Black-owned businesses. “We need to more so than ever right about now.”


huffpost--2020-04-01--Get Sick Or Starve: How A Deep Cleaner Is Surviving The Pandemic

The 38-year-old wakes up each morning at 6 a.m. to head to her first job as a building manager at a local nonprofit in Denver .
She ’ s been designated an essential worker , making her the only employee who is still coming into her office during the coronavirus outbreak .
Afterward , she usually gets a few hours at home to nap and spend time with her husband and two sons before she heads out to her second job as a contract emergency deep cleaner for a large cleaning company .
Dominguez , an immigrant from Mexico , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seven days a week , including office buildings , airports and even hospitals ― many of which , she suspects , have been exposed to the coronavirus .
When she finally gets home from her deep cleaning job , she sanitizes everything inside and outside of her car .
She strips down and puts her clothes in a bucket that she keeps by her front door to be washed immediately .
Sometimes , she ’ s so tired she simply throws them in the garbage .
In the shower , she scrubs her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t been exposed to the coronavirus and is unknowingly giving it to her children .
Before the coronavirus pandemic , Dominguez and her husband were making enough to keep them afloat .
She used to work as a house cleaner on the weekends and she nannied two children in the evenings after her building management job on the weekdays .
But all of her house cleaning and nannying clients have stopped offering work .
Now , Dominguez feels even more overwhelmed as the coronavirus spreads and she tries to survive .
She ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times and has been in remission for only six months .
She ’ s now the sole breadwinner in her family .
Her few moments of downtime are spent contemplating the hardest decision of her life : Get sick or starve .
“ I know that I ’ m putting a death sentence on myself and my family , ” Dominguez told HuffPost by phone last week .
“ But we are literally being put up against a wall and making a choice between life and death , between working and eating or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are over 2.5 million nannies , house cleaners and caregivers in the U.S. , and they have historically been excluded from basic labor protections under federal and state laws .
The overwhelming majority ― 90 % ― of domestic workers in the U.S. are women , and they are disproportionately women of color and immigrant women .
While President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus aid bill in March that will give relief to some domestic workers , the 10 days of sick leave it provides technically only apply to domestic workers who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That leaves some workers , including Dominguez , out .
The coronavirus has proven how essential workers like her are , but also how little the U.S. is willing to do to protect and provide for them .
“ Domestic workers have been some of the first responders in the midst of this public health crisis , ” Ai-jen Poo , executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance , said on a press call last week .
“ The people who care for us and continue to care through the crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for themselves or their families.
” But she ’ s worried all the time , she says .
At her daytime job , Dominguez oversees the operations for 65 nonprofit groups that are housed in her building .
It ’ s a good job in many ways , but the amount of work is overwhelming now that she ’ s the only employee coming in , she said .
She has to sanitize everyone ’ s mail and packages and distribute them throughout the offices .
She also waters all of the plants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from home .
There are so few people going to work in the Denver area that her boss gave her a letter stating she ’ s an essential employee in case police stop her .
Her deep cleaning job is what worries her the most .
She earns $ 10 an hour ― paid in cash to avoid any records ― with no insurance benefits .
Oftentimes , she has to drive long distances to get to each building she cleans .
That workload may be on the lighter end : She ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been asked to clean 15 to 20 buildings in one night .
“ It ’ s scary when you know you could be cleaning a building that ’ s been exposed to the virus , ” she said .
“ I ask a lot of questions , but they don ’ t really want me to ask questions .
A lot of times they won ’ t even tell you [ if the building has been exposed to the virus ] , they just want you to come in , sanitize and leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though she works around the clock seven days a week , Dominguez said she ’ s still not making enough money to provide for her family and survive through this crisis .
She only gets paid once a month , forcing her to choose between paying rent , paying bills , saving as much as she can or buying food for her family .

Photography by Rachel Woolf
Ezzie Dominguez estimates she gets around two hours of sleep every night.
The 38-year-old wakes up each morning at 6 a.m. to head to her first job as a building manager at a local nonprofit in Denver. She’s been designated an essential worker, making her the only employee who is still coming into her office during the coronavirus outbreak.
Afterward, she usually gets a few hours at home to nap and spend time with her husband and two sons before she heads out to her second job as a contract emergency deep cleaner for a large cleaning company. Dominguez, an immigrant from Mexico, says she cleans six to eight buildings seven days a week, including office buildings, airports and even hospitals ― many of which, she suspects, have been exposed to the coronavirus.
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Ezzie Dominguez waters plants left behind by fellow employees at her day job as a building manager on March 31, 2020, in Denver. Rachel Woolf for HuffPost
When she finally gets home from her deep cleaning job, she sanitizes everything inside and outside of her car. She strips down and puts her clothes in a bucket that she keeps by her front door to be washed immediately. Sometimes, she’s so tired she simply throws them in the garbage. In the shower, she scrubs her entire body ― praying she hasn’t been exposed to the coronavirus and is unknowingly giving it to her children.
Her head usually hits the pillow sometime around 4 a.m.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Dominguez and her husband were making enough to keep them afloat. She used to work as a house cleaner on the weekends and she nannied two children in the evenings after her building management job on the weekdays. But all of her house cleaning and nannying clients have stopped offering work.
Dominguez poses in her deep cleaning outfit on March 30, 2020, at her house in Denver. Rachel Woolf for HuffPost
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Now, Dominguez feels even more overwhelmed as the coronavirus spreads and she tries to survive. She’s immunocompromised — she beat cancer four times and has been in remission for only six months. She’s now the sole breadwinner in her family. Her few moments of downtime are spent contemplating the hardest decision of her life: Get sick or starve.
“I know that I’m putting a death sentence on myself and my family,” Dominguez told HuffPost by phone last week. “But we are literally being put up against a wall and making a choice between life and death, between working and eating or not working and not eating.”
There are over 2.5 million nannies, house cleaners and caregivers in the U.S., and they have historically been excluded from basic labor protections under federal and state laws. The overwhelming majority ― 90% ― of domestic workers in the U.S. are women, and they are disproportionately women of color and immigrant women.
“We are human beings. ... We’re no different than you. And we deserve to have the same protections as everyone else.” - Ezzie Dominguez
Like Dominguez, domestic workers aren’t afforded the same benefits as white-collar workers: Eighty-two percent of nannies, house cleaners and caregivers lack paid sick days, leaving many to choose between a paycheck and their health.
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While President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus aid bill in March that will give relief to some domestic workers, the 10 days of sick leave it provides technically only apply to domestic workers who are paid on the books by their employers. That leaves some workers, including Dominguez, out. The coronavirus has proven how essential workers like her are, but also how little the U.S. is willing to do to protect and provide for them.
“Domestic workers have been some of the first responders in the midst of this public health crisis,” Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, said on a press call last week. “The people who care for us and continue to care through the crisis have little to no support to care for themselves or their families.”
Like many workers, Dominguez doesn’t feel she has any choice but to keep working to support her family. Her husband had two jobs, but lost one not long before the pandemic started and the other as a result of the economic shutdown. Naturally, Dominguez doesn’t have the luxury of remote work, nor does she receive paid vacation time and sick leave. She is still able to receive paid time off, sick leave and health care for herself and her family from her job at the nonprofit.
From left: Jorge Garcia, 15, stands with his mother, Ezzie Dominguez, who is holding her son Cristian Dominguez, 2, next to her husband, Jesus Dominguez, as they all pose on March 30, 2020, at their Denver home. Rachel Woolf for HuffPost
But she’s worried all the time, she says. At her daytime job, Dominguez oversees the operations for 65 nonprofit groups that are housed in her building. It’s a good job in many ways, but the amount of work is overwhelming now that she’s the only employee coming in, she said. She has to sanitize everyone’s mail and packages and distribute them throughout the offices. She also waters all of the plants of the employees who are now working from home. There are so few people going to work in the Denver area that her boss gave her a letter stating she’s an essential employee in case police stop her.
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Her deep cleaning job is what worries her the most. She earns $10 an hour ― paid in cash to avoid any records ― with no insurance benefits. Oftentimes, she has to drive long distances to get to each building she cleans. That workload may be on the lighter end: She’s heard of other workers who have been asked to clean 15 to 20 buildings in one night.
“It’s scary when you know you could be cleaning a building that’s been exposed to the virus,” she said. “I ask a lot of questions, but they don’t really want me to ask questions. A lot of times they won’t even tell you [if the building has been exposed to the virus], they just want you to come in, sanitize and leave as quickly as you can.”
Even though she works around the clock seven days a week, Dominguez said she’s still not making enough money to provide for her family and survive through this crisis. She only gets paid once a month, forcing her to choose between paying rent, paying bills, saving as much as she can or buying food for her family.
She wants others to understand that workers like her are people and need help.
“We are human beings,” she said. “We have children. We have husbands and wives. We’re no different than you. And we deserve to have the same protections as everyone else.”
UPDATE: April 6 ― After the publication of this article, the nonprofit at which Dominguez works part-time extended an offer of employment to her husband. They have also now made it possible for her to work remotely. (The article above has also been amended to clarify that Dominguez’s part-time position at the nonprofit does provide paid-time off and sick leave.)
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huffpost--2020-04-13--Coronavirus Live Updates: Read The Latest About The COVID-19 Outbreak

HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve of transmission .
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below .
( To see the latest updates , you may need to refresh the page .
All times are Eastern .
For earlier updates on the pandemic , go here . )
China Didn ’ t Warn Public Of Likely Pandemic For 6 Key Days — 4/15/2020 , 7:30 a.m .
ET Top officials in Beijing were warned of a likely pandemic from a new coronavirus in January , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Associated Press reports .
During that time , more than 3,000 people were likely infected , and the Chinese government lost crucial time in which they could have taken measures against the virus .
China denies suppressing information in the early days of the outbreak .
Read the full story here .
Masks Made Mandatory Across India — 4/15/20 , 4:50 a.m .
ET The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh guidelines Wednesday to enforce the extended national lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus , HuffPost India reports .
All kinds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places will remain prohibited till May 3 .
However , grocery stores , fruits and vegetable shops/carts , milk booths , and poultry , meat and fish shops will remain open during lockdown .
The government has made wearing of masks compulsory in public places across India .
Spitting in public has been made a punishable offense and a strict ban enforced on the sale of liquor and tobacco .
India has nearly 11,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 , with 9,756 patients currently under treatment and a death toll of 377 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Teachers To Return To Schools — 4/15/20 , 3:40 a.m .
ET Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a direct plea to teachers , asking them to return to classrooms and be the “ great heroes ” of Australia .
In a televised address to the nation , the prime minister said their place in society has “ always been critical , ” insisting teachers must join cleaners , supermarket staff and health workers on the frontline to fight COVID-19 .
“ I want teachers to know from me , both as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just how appreciated you are and how important the job is that you ’ re doing right now and how much you are needed , ” he said .
Although many will adapt to remote learning , for the schools that will remain open , Morrison said the risk of COVID-19 spreading among school-age children is low and reminded Australia many disadvantaged families can not take part in distance learning .
“ Your students and their families are relying on you more than ever .
The education of our children hangs in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks ― 4/14/20 , 10:10 p.m .
ET President Donald Trump ’ s name will be printed on the economic stimulus checks that the Internal Revenue Service will distribute to individuals to help mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus , according to The Washington Post .
The addition ordered by the Treasury Department is reportedly expected to delay the delivery of paper checks by several days at a time Americans are losing their jobs at an exponential rate and are in immediate need of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J. Trump ” will be printed in a memo line on the left side of the checks , below a line that says “ Economic Impact Payment , ” according to the Post .
Americans are expected to receive these checks ― most will total $ 1,200 per individual ― after the IRS adjusts its printing technology for the addition .
This is the first time a president ’ s name will appear on a payment from the IRS .
The checks are part of the federal government ’ s $ 2 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down most of the country .
NYC Coronavirus Death Count Rises By More Than 3,700 With Addition Of Presumed Cases ― 4/14/20 , 6:05 p.m .
ET Amid testing struggles , officials in New York City are no longer limiting the local death toll to confirmed cases of COVID-19 , adding more than 3,700 victims to the official tally , The New York Times reported Tuesday .
More than 10,000 people are now believed to have died of the virus in the nation ’ s largest city .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ official coronavirus death toll on Tuesday were presumed to have had the virus because of their symptoms and medical histories .
The city ’ s health department had been tracking such cases for weeks , and the tally was expected to increase sharply with the change in reporting guidelines , as reported by Gothamist last week .
The additions brought the country ’ s coronavirus death toll to more than 26,000 .
Due to the severe shortage of testing capacity , however , experts believe the true tally is far higher .
New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) said Tuesday morning that the “ curve ” ― the number of new hospitalizations due to the virus each day ― appears to be flattening out , hopefully heralding an eventual decline .
But he emphasized that current social distancing measures would still be necessary in the weeks ahead .
California Gov .
Gavin Newsom ( D ) released a list of six benchmarks the state must meet before it can begin relaxing strict social distancing mandates .
The state has successfully begun flattening its curve of coronavirus cases .
But California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet , ” Newsom warned at a Tuesday press conference .
The six indicators for modifying shelter-in-place orders are as follows , Newsom ’ s office said : • The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing , contact tracing , isolating , and supporting those who are positive or exposed ; • The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19 ; • The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges ; • The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , schools , and child care facilities to support physical distancing ; and • The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures , such as the stay-at-home orders , if necessary .
“ The models have changed because of your behavior , ” Newsom said of earlier projections that showed a higher rate of infection in California .
“ And that puts us in a position to be able to socialize again , to make public these private conversations we ’ ve been having about this next phase.
” But , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because today we had a record number of deaths.
” In the past day , Newsom said , 71 people in the state have died from COVID-19 .
There have been at least 45 coronavirus-related deaths at the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center , a nursing home in Richmond , Virginia , The Associated Press reported Tuesday .
The center has surpassed the most recent death toll of 43 at the Life Care Center in suburban Seattle , the site of country ’ s first major outbreak .
Roughly 4,000 deaths nationwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homes .
Many Canterbury staff members either quit or became sick soon after the care center ’ s first COVID-19 diagnosis , on March 18 .
What ’ s more , the facility lacks the space to keep people apart , and can ’ t afford to hire the staff it needs .
“ A publicly funded nursing home is a virus ’ s dream , ” Jim Wright , Canterbury ’ s medical director , told the AP .
“ It is the best place for a virus to be .
People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are compromised .
It is just a tinderbox for that match.
” Navajo Nation Reports More Cases Per Capita Than Most U.S. States — 4/14/20 , 11:35 a.m .
ET The Navajo Nation has recorded more COVID-19 cases on its reservation than almost every U.S. state , behind only New York and New Jersey , records show .
Of the roughly 174,000 people who live on the Navajo Nation ― the largest American Indian reservation in the country ― 813 people are known to be infected and at least 28 people have died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 468 per 100,000 people on the Navajo Nation have tested positive for the virus .
By comparison , New York and New Jersey have recorded 998 cases and 727 cases per 100,000 people , respectively .
The state with the third highest number of confirmed infections per capita is Louisiana , which has 451 .
Cuomo Threatens ‘ Constitutional Challenge ’ If Trump Orders States To Reopen Too Early — 4/14/20 , 11:20 a.m .
ET New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ( D ) , who leads the state at the epicenter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatened to sue Donald Trump if the president orders states to lift their stay-at-home orders too early and rushes to reopen the economy before the pandemic safely subsides .
“ If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state , I wouldn ’ t do it , ” Cuomo said Tuesday on CNN .
“ And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and the federal government , and that would go into the courts .
And that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do at this moment , would be to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan , divisive way.
” After widespread evidence that Trump and the federal government botched the U.S. response to the pandemic , governors like Cuomo have largely been at the forefront of those efforts , often in a collaborative way .
That became more formalized Monday , when two groups of governors , in the Northeast and on the West Coast , announced joint task forces to develop a plan to reopen their states together .
Trump — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total ” in a propagandistic press briefing Monday — responded to Cuomo in a tweet , accusing the governor of “ begging for everything ” and falsely claiming : “ I got it all done for him , and everyone else.
” UK Unemployment Could Rise By 2 Million — 4/14/20 , 8:10 a.m .
ET U.K. unemployment could increase by 2 million and GDP could fall by 35 % in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic , the Office for Budget Responsibility ( OBR ) has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the OBR said the lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson would likely “ deliver large ( but hopefully temporary ) shock to the economy and public finances.
” Experts at the independent body that advises the government said the figures were based on an assumption there would be a three-month lockdown followed by another three-month period when restrictions were partially lifted .
Public sector net borrowing is also forecast to reach 15 % of GDP , making it the largest single-year deficit since the Second World War .
The U.K. coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
UK ‘ Missed Three Chances To Join EU Scheme To Bulk Buy PPE ’ — 4/14/20 , 5:25 a.m .
ET The U.K. missed three chances to be part of an EU scheme to bulk-buy personal protective equipment ( PPE ) for health workers , which would have allowed them access to masks , gowns and gloves , the Guardian reports The availability of PPE has been a major issue in the U.K. coronavirus outbreak .
European medical staff are reported to receive the first of £1.3 billion-worth ( $ 1.6 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maximum of two weeks under the EU scheme involving 25 countries .
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said : “ We will continue to work with European countries and others in order to make sure that we can increase the capacity within the NHS , and we will consider participating in future EU joint procurement schemes on the basis of public health requirements at the time.
” Read more on HuffPost U.K. France Lockdown Extended As President Macron Promises ‘ Better Days ’ — 4/14/20 , 4:15 a.m .
ET @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was extending the lockdown until May 11 to curb the coronavirus outbreak , adding that progress had been made but the battle not yet won .
“ I fully understand the effort I ’ m asking from you , ” Macron told the nation in a televised address .
“ When will we be able to return to a normal life ?
I would love to be able to answer you .
But to be frank , I have to humbly tell you we don ’ t have definitive answers , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have better days , and we ’ ll return to happy days , ” Macron said .
HuffPost France reports ( in French ) that schools and nurseries will slowly reopen on May 11 , but cultural and sports establishments , including festivals , will remain closed until at least July .
International arrivals from non-European countries will remain prohibited until further notice .
India ’ s National Lockdown Extended Until May 3 — 4/14/20 , 12.51 a.m .
ET Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that India ’ s national lockdown , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with the coronavirus pandemic , has been extended to May 3 .
The 21-day national lockdown put in place last month to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus was to have ended on Tuesday .
The restrictions may be relaxed subject to conditions in some areas after April 20 after new assessments of the situation .
Detailed guidelines on the lockdown will be issued on Wednesday .
The total number of reported cases in the country crossed 10,000 on Tuesday .
— Sharanya Hrishikesh Trump Turns His Coronavirus Briefing Into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ p.m .
ET President Donald Trump turned his daily White House coronavirus briefing on Monday into a full-fledged propaganda campaign , attempting to rewrite history on his pandemic response with a video meant to paint him in a positive light .
The president went on a tirade during the briefing , criticizing the news media for accurately reporting that he was slow to effectively respond to the growing pandemic despite being warned early on by several aides and health experts about the need for aggressive action .
The propaganda video showed several cable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s risk in January , and then showed a timeline of the White House ’ s response to the pandemic .
A CBS reporter asked Trump what he did to mitigate the spread in the month between announcing travel restrictions from China and announcing that pharmaceutical companies were beginning to develop a vaccine ; Trump did not directly answer the question .
Trump has increasingly taken advantage of the briefing ’ s wide viewership at a time when he ’ s unable to hold reelection campaign rallies due to the pandemic .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he tells every day , networks are beginning to cut away from the briefing to prevent the spread of sometimes dangerous misinformation .
― Sanjana Karanth Democratic governors in the Northeast and along the West Coast announced separate state compacts on Monday to coordinate the massive upcoming challenge of eventually reopening society .
The governors made the announcements just hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that he gets to decide when to “ open up the states.
” Trump also tweeted that he was working closely with governors .
The Northeastern coalition consists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Connecticut , Delaware , Pennsylvania and Rhode Island .
The West Coast coalition consists of California , Oregon and Washington state .
While the governors did not detail any specific plans on how to scale back stay-at-home orders or reopen businesses , they said they would coordinate those decisions while first considering residents ’ health and safety .
“ The house is still on fire , ” New Jersey Gov .
Phil Murphy told reporters .
“ We still have to put the fire out , but we do have to begin putting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we know we ’ re going to need … to make sure this doesn ’ t reignite.
” Lockdown Set To Continue Despite U.K. ‘ Starting To Win This Struggle ’ — 4/13/20 , 12:40 p.m .
ET U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested lockdown restrictions will not be relaxed imminently despite signs that the U.K. is “ starting to win this struggle ” with coronavirus .
The minister told the daily Downing Street press conference there were some “ positive signs ” from the latest data but that “ we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus .
The country ’ s scientific advisory group is scheduled to meet this week to determine the next step on lockdown , but Raab signaled “ we don ’ t expect to make any change to the measures in place at that point.
” U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments Via Teleconference — 4/13/20 , 10:10 a.m .
ET The U.S. Supreme Court will resume oral arguments in May by hearing them over teleconference , a court spokesperson announced .
For the first time , it will stream the live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The court has long resisted providing live audio or video of its proceedings .
The Supreme Court building has been closed to the public since mid-March , and the justices have been conducting proceedings remotely .
Oral arguments have been postponed through the end of April .
All but three of the nine justices are over the age of 65 , the age group the CDC considers at higher risk for contracting COVID-19 .
Among the upcoming cases are a trio of cases involving whether President Donald Trump will have to release his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
U.K. Armed Forces Deployed To Help Ambulance Staff — 4/13/20 , 5:15 a.m .
ET Nearly 200 members of the U.K. armed forces are being loaned to the National Health Service to support their work during the coronavirus pandemic .
Personnel from the Army , Royal Air Force and Navy will be sent to work at five ambulance trusts across the U.K .
While their responsibilities will vary , their new duties will include driving ambulances and taking calls from the public .
The military has already helped to construct the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ExCel centre in London .
“ Our armed forces always step forward at the appearance of threats to the country and its people , ” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said .
“ Across the United Kingdom , soldiers , sailors , airmen and women have got the backs of our NHS colleagues as they confront coronavirus.
” South Korea Will Reportedly Ship 600,000 Coronavirus Testing Kits To U.S .
This Week — 4/13/2020 , 4:28 a.m. South Korea plans to send 600,000 COVID-19 testing kits to the U.S. on Tuesday , about three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country for help , Reuters reported , citing a Seoul official .
During a phone call on March 25 , Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-In to send coronavirus test kits to the U.S. , South Korean news outlets reported last month .
Reuters said the first shipment of kits is scheduled to leave South Korea aboard a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency cargo plane on Tuesday night.— Dominique Mosbergen Spain Loosens Restrictions On Non-Essential Workers — 4/13/20 , 4:15 a.m .
ET Some non-essential workers will be allowed to go back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its strict lockdown measures .
While authorities have strongly urged those who can work from home to continue to do so , construction workers and those in the manufacturing industry will be allowed to leave their homes and return to work .
The change comes as HuffPost Spain reported ( in Spanish ) its lowest daily growth in confirmed coronavirus infections in three weeks , with 4,167 cases reported on Sunday .
Spain ’ s total number of COVID-19 deaths is 16,972 and its number of confirmed cases ― more than 166,000 ― @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Thousands Of Health Care Workers Sickened With COVID-19 In Southeast Michigan — 4/13/2020 , 12:08 a.m .
ET Almost 3,000 people employed by health care firms in the Detroit area have contracted the novel coronavirus , BuzzFeed News reported on Sunday .
A large portion of those infected were medical staff .
Health care workers in the region described the fear they experience on the job .
“ I can honestly say the nervousness is apparent in many of us , ” a nurse at Detroit ’ s Henry Ford Hospital who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Seeing each other getting sick just increases the anxiety that one of us might be next and bring it home to our family.
” OPEC , Oil Nations Agree To Nearly 10 Million Barrel Cut Amid Coronavirus ― 4/12/20 , 6:22 p.m .
ET OPEC , Russia and other oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to a production cut of almost 10 million barrels ― a tenth of global supply ― in hopes of boosting crashing oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic .
The group of nations agreed to cut 9.7 million barrels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the countries ’ energy ministers .
Mexico was allowed to cut only 100,000 barrels a month , a sticking point in an accord initially reached Friday after a marathon video conference between nations .
The deal was reached just hours before Asian markets reopen on Monday .
Efforts to reach an agreement on production cuts had failed in March , sending oil prices crashing .
President Donald Trump , a longtime OPEC critic , tweeted on Sunday , “ The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done .
This will save @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States.
” For earlier updates on the pandemic , go here .

HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and the measures being taken to flatten the curve of transmission.
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.)
China Didn’t Warn Public Of Likely Pandemic For 6 Key Days — 4/15/2020, 7:30 a.m. ET
Top officials in Beijing were warned of a likely pandemic from a new coronavirus in January, but stayed silent for six days, the Associated Press reports. During that time, more than 3,000 people were likely infected, and the Chinese government lost crucial time in which they could have taken measures against the virus. China denies suppressing information in the early days of the outbreak. Read the full story here.
— Liza Hearon
Masks Made Mandatory Across India — 4/15/20, 4:50 a.m. ET
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued fresh guidelines Wednesday to enforce the extended national lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, HuffPost India reports.
All kinds of public transport and opening of public places will remain prohibited till May 3. However, grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops/carts, milk booths, and poultry, meat and fish shops will remain open during lockdown.
The government has made wearing of masks compulsory in public places across India. Spitting in public has been made a punishable offense and a strict ban enforced on the sale of liquor and tobacco.
India has nearly 11,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 9,756 patients currently under treatment and a death toll of 377, the health ministry said.
— Meryl Sebastian
Australia Pleads With Teachers To Return To Schools — 4/15/20, 3:40 a.m. ET
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has issued a direct plea to teachers, asking them to return to classrooms and be the “great heroes” of Australia. In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister said their place in society has “always been critical,” insisting teachers must join cleaners, supermarket staff and health workers on the frontline to fight COVID-19.
“I want teachers to know from me, both as a parent and as a prime minister, just how appreciated you are and how important the job is that you’re doing right now and how much you are needed,” he said.
Although many will adapt to remote learning, for the schools that will remain open, Morrison said the risk of COVID-19 spreading among school-age children is low and reminded Australia many disadvantaged families cannot take part in distance learning.
“Your students and their families are relying on you more than ever. The education of our children hangs in the balance,” Morrison said.
Read more on HuffPost Australia
— Carly Williams
Trump’s Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks ― 4/14/20, 10:10 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump’s name will be printed on the economic stimulus checks that the Internal Revenue Service will distribute to individuals to help mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus, according to The Washington Post.
The addition ordered by the Treasury Department is reportedly expected to delay the delivery of paper checks by several days at a time Americans are losing their jobs at an exponential rate and are in immediate need of the money.
The phrase “President Donald J. Trump” will be printed in a memo line on the left side of the checks, below a line that says “Economic Impact Payment,” according to the Post. Americans are expected to receive these checks ― most will total $1,200 per individual ― after the IRS adjusts its printing technology for the addition.
This is the first time a president’s name will appear on a payment from the IRS. The checks are part of the federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus package to help boost the economy as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down most of the country.
― Sanjana Karanth
NYC Coronavirus Death Count Rises By More Than 3,700 With Addition Of Presumed Cases ― 4/14/20, 6:05 p.m. ET
Amid testing struggles, officials in New York City are no longer limiting the local death toll to confirmed cases of COVID-19, adding more than 3,700 victims to the official tally, The New York Times reported Tuesday. More than 10,000 people are now believed to have died of the virus in the nation’s largest city.
The patients added to NYC’s official coronavirus death toll on Tuesday were presumed to have had the virus because of their symptoms and medical histories. The city’s health department had been tracking such cases for weeks, and the tally was expected to increase sharply with the change in reporting guidelines, as reported by Gothamist last week.
The additions brought the country’s coronavirus death toll to more than 26,000. Due to the severe shortage of testing capacity, however, experts believe the true tally is far higher.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Tuesday morning that the “curve” ― the number of new hospitalizations due to the virus each day ― appears to be flattening out, hopefully heralding an eventual decline. But he emphasized that current social distancing measures would still be necessary in the weeks ahead.
― Sara Boboltz
California Releases Road Map For Modifying Social Distancing Orders ― 4/14/2020, 3:45 p.m. ET
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) released a list of six benchmarks the state must meet before it can begin relaxing strict social distancing mandates.
The state has successfully begun flattening its curve of coronavirus cases. But California is “not out of the woods yet,” Newsom warned at a Tuesday press conference.
The six indicators for modifying shelter-in-place orders are as follows, Newsom’s office said:
The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.
“The models have changed because of your behavior,” Newsom said of earlier projections that showed a higher rate of infection in California. “And that puts us in a position to be able to socialize again, to make public these private conversations we’ve been having about this next phase.”
But, he continued, “we do so soberly, because today we had a record number of deaths.”
In the past day, Newsom said, 71 people in the state have died from COVID-19.
— Lydia O’Connor
Death Toll At Virginia Nursing Home Hits 45 — 4/14/20, 3:25 p.m. ET
There have been at least 45 coronavirus-related deaths at the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Richmond, Virginia, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The center has surpassed the most recent death toll of 43 at the Life Care Center in suburban Seattle, the site of country’s first major outbreak. Roughly 4,000 deaths nationwide have been linked to outbreaks in nursing homes.
Many Canterbury staff members either quit or became sick soon after the care center’s first COVID-19 diagnosis, on March 18. What’s more, the facility lacks the space to keep people apart, and can’t afford to hire the staff it needs.
“A publicly funded nursing home is a virus’s dream,” Jim Wright, Canterbury’s medical director, told the AP. “It is the best place for a virus to be. People are close together. Their immune systems are compromised. It is just a tinderbox for that match.”
Read more here.
― Hayley Miller
Navajo Nation Reports More Cases Per Capita Than Most U.S. States — 4/14/20, 11:35 a.m. ET
The Navajo Nation has recorded more COVID-19 cases on its reservation than almost every U.S. state, behind only New York and New Jersey, records show.
Of the roughly 174,000 people who live on the Navajo Nation ― the largest American Indian reservation in the country ― 813 people are known to be infected and at least 28 people have died, officials reported Monday. That means 468 per 100,000 people on the Navajo Nation have tested positive for the virus.
By comparison, New York and New Jersey have recorded 998 cases and 727 cases per 100,000 people, respectively. The state with the third highest number of confirmed infections per capita is Louisiana, which has 451.
Read more here.
― Hayley Miller
Cuomo Threatens ‘Constitutional Challenge’ If Trump Orders States To Reopen Too Early — 4/14/20, 11:20 a.m. ET
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who leads the state at the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., threatened to sue Donald Trump if the president orders states to lift their stay-at-home orders too early and rushes to reopen the economy before the pandemic safely subsides.
“If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state, I wouldn’t do it,” Cuomo said Tuesday on CNN. “And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and the federal government, and that would go into the courts. And that would be the worst possible thing he could do at this moment, would be to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan, divisive way.”
After widespread evidence that Trump and the federal government botched the U.S. response to the pandemic, governors like Cuomo have largely been at the forefront of those efforts, often in a collaborative way. That became more formalized Monday, when two groups of governors, in the Northeast and on the West Coast, announced joint task forces to develop a plan to reopen their states together.
Trump — who falsely declared his “authority is total” in a propagandistic press briefing Monday — responded to Cuomo in a tweet, accusing the governor of “begging for everything” and falsely claiming: “I got it all done for him, and everyone else.”
Read more here.
― Marina Fang
UK Unemployment Could Rise By 2 Million — 4/14/20, 8:10 a.m. ET
U.K. unemployment could increase by 2 million and GDP could fall by 35% in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said.
In its analysis published Tuesday, the OBR said the lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson would likely “deliver large (but hopefully temporary) shock to the economy and public finances.”
Experts at the independent body that advises the government said the figures were based on an assumption there would be a three-month lockdown followed by another three-month period when restrictions were partially lifted. Public sector net borrowing is also forecast to reach 15% of GDP, making it the largest single-year deficit since the Second World War.
The U.K. coronavirus death toll in hospitals has reached 11,329.
— Ned Simons
UK ‘Missed Three Chances To Join EU Scheme To Bulk Buy PPE’ — 4/14/20, 5:25 a.m. ET
The U.K. missed three chances to be part of an EU scheme to bulk-buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, which would have allowed them access to masks, gowns and gloves, the Guardian reports
The availability of PPE has been a major issue in the U.K. coronavirus outbreak.
European medical staff are reported to receive the first of £1.3 billion-worth ($1.6 billion) of PPE within days or a maximum of two weeks under the EU scheme involving 25 countries.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We will continue to work with European countries and others in order to make sure that we can increase the capacity within the NHS, and we will consider participating in future EU joint procurement schemes on the basis of public health requirements at the time.” Read more on HuffPost U.K.
— Kate Forrester
France Lockdown Extended As President Macron Promises ‘Better Days’ — 4/14/20, 4:15 a.m. ET
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday he was extending the lockdown until May 11 to curb the coronavirus outbreak, adding that progress had been made but the battle not yet won.
“I fully understand the effort I’m asking from you,” Macron told the nation in a televised address. “When will we be able to return to a normal life? I would love to be able to answer you. But to be frank, I have to humbly tell you we don’t have definitive answers,” he said.
“We’ll have better days, and we’ll return to happy days,” Macron said.
HuffPost France reports (in French) that schools and nurseries will slowly reopen on May 11, but cultural and sports establishments, including festivals, will remain closed until at least July.
International arrivals from non-European countries will remain prohibited until further notice.
— Francesca Syrett
India’s National Lockdown Extended Until May 3 — 4/14/20, 12.51 a.m. ET
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that India’s national lockdown, the world’s strictest so far to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, has been extended to May 3. The 21-day national lockdown put in place last month to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus was to have ended on Tuesday.
The restrictions may be relaxed subject to conditions in some areas after April 20 after new assessments of the situation. Detailed guidelines on the lockdown will be issued on Wednesday.
The total number of reported cases in the country crossed 10,000 on Tuesday. — Sharanya Hrishikesh
Trump Turns His Coronavirus Briefing Into A Propaganda Campaign ― 4/13/20, 10:15 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump turned his daily White House coronavirus briefing on Monday into a full-fledged propaganda campaign, attempting to rewrite history on his pandemic response with a video meant to paint him in a positive light.
The president went on a tirade during the briefing, criticizing the news media for accurately reporting that he was slow to effectively respond to the growing pandemic despite being warned early on by several aides and health experts about the need for aggressive action.
The propaganda video showed several cable reels of reporters downplaying the virus’s risk in January, and then showed a timeline of the White House’s response to the pandemic. A CBS reporter asked Trump what he did to mitigate the spread in the month between announcing travel restrictions from China and announcing that pharmaceutical companies were beginning to develop a vaccine; Trump did not directly answer the question.
Trump has increasingly taken advantage of the briefing’s wide viewership at a time when he’s unable to hold reelection campaign rallies due to the pandemic. As the president increases the number of lies he tells every day, networks are beginning to cut away from the briefing to prevent the spread of sometimes dangerous misinformation.
― Sanjana Karanth
Democratic Governors Form Compacts To Coordinate Reopening — 4/13/20, 5:30 p.m. ET
Democratic governors in the Northeast and along the West Coast announced separate state compacts on Monday to coordinate the massive upcoming challenge of eventually reopening society.
The governors made the announcements just hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that he gets to decide when to “open up the states.” Trump also tweeted that he was working closely with governors.
The Northeastern coalition consists of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The West Coast coalition consists of California, Oregon and Washington state.
While the governors did not detail any specific plans on how to scale back stay-at-home orders or reopen businesses, they said they would coordinate those decisions while first considering residents’ health and safety.
“The house is still on fire,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters. “We still have to put the fire out, but we do have to begin putting in the pieces of the puzzle that we know we’re going to need … to make sure this doesn’t reignite.”
― Sanjana Karanth
Lockdown Set To Continue Despite U.K. ‘Starting To Win This Struggle’ — 4/13/20, 12:40 p.m. ET
U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested lockdown restrictions will not be relaxed imminently despite signs that the U.K. is “starting to win this struggle” with coronavirus.
The minister told the daily Downing Street press conference there were some “positive signs” from the latest data but that “we are still not past the peak” of the virus.
The country’s scientific advisory group is scheduled to meet this week to determine the next step on lockdown, but Raab signaled “we don’t expect to make any change to the measures in place at that point.”
Read more on HuffPost U.K.
— Graeme Demianyk
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments Via Teleconference — 4/13/20, 10:10 a.m. ET
The U.S. Supreme Court will resume oral arguments in May by hearing them over teleconference, a court spokesperson announced.
For the first time, it will stream the live audio for reporters covering the cases. The court has long resisted providing live audio or video of its proceedings.
The Supreme Court building has been closed to the public since mid-March, and the justices have been conducting proceedings remotely. Oral arguments have been postponed through the end of April. All but three of the nine justices are over the age of 65, the age group the CDC considers at higher risk for contracting COVID-19.
Among the upcoming cases are a trio of cases involving whether President Donald Trump will have to release his tax returns and other key financial records.
— Marina Fang
U.K. Armed Forces Deployed To Help Ambulance Staff — 4/13/20, 5:15 a.m. ET
Nearly 200 members of the U.K. armed forces are being loaned to the National Health Service to support their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Personnel from the Army, Royal Air Force and Navy will be sent to work at five ambulance trusts across the U.K. While their responsibilities will vary, their new duties will include driving ambulances and taking calls from the public.
The military has already helped to construct the first specialist COVID-19 NHS Nightingale hospital at the ExCel centre in London.
“Our armed forces always step forward at the appearance of threats to the country and its people,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. “Across the United Kingdom, soldiers, sailors, airmen and women have got the backs of our NHS colleagues as they confront coronavirus.”
Read more on HuffPost U.K.
— Francesca Syrett
South Korea Will Reportedly Ship 600,000 Coronavirus Testing Kits To U.S. This Week — 4/13/2020, 4:28 a.m.
South Korea plans to send 600,000 COVID-19 testing kits to the U.S. on Tuesday, about three weeks after President Donald Trump beseeched the country for help, Reuters reported, citing a Seoul official.
During a phone call on March 25, Trump asked South Korean President Moon Jae-In to send coronavirus test kits to the U.S., South Korean news outlets reported last month.
Reuters said the first shipment of kits is scheduled to leave South Korea aboard a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency cargo plane on Tuesday night.— Dominique Mosbergen
Spain Loosens Restrictions On Non-Essential Workers — 4/13/20, 4:15 a.m. ET
Some non-essential workers will be allowed to go back to work on Monday as Spain loosens its strict lockdown measures.
While authorities have strongly urged those who can work from home to continue to do so, construction workers and those in the manufacturing industry will be allowed to leave their homes and return to work.
The change comes as HuffPost Spain reported (in Spanish) its lowest daily growth in confirmed coronavirus infections in three weeks, with 4,167 cases reported on Sunday.
Spain’s total number of COVID-19 deaths is 16,972 and its number of confirmed cases ― more than 166,000 ― is second only to the United States.
— Francesca Syrett
Thousands Of Health Care Workers Sickened With COVID-19 In Southeast Michigan — 4/13/2020, 12:08 a.m. ET
Almost 3,000 people employed by health care firms in the Detroit area have contracted the novel coronavirus, BuzzFeed News reported on Sunday. A large portion of those infected were medical staff.
Health care workers in the region described the fear they experience on the job.
“I can honestly say the nervousness is apparent in many of us,” a nurse at Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital who was sickened with COVID-19 told BuzzFeed. “Seeing each other getting sick just increases the anxiety that one of us might be next and bring it home to our family.”
— Dominique Mosbergen
OPEC, Oil Nations Agree To Nearly 10 Million Barrel Cut Amid Coronavirus ― 4/12/20, 6:22 p.m. ET
OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to a production cut of almost 10 million barrels ― a tenth of global supply ― in hopes of boosting crashing oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The group of nations agreed to cut 9.7 million barrels a day beginning May 1, according to the countries’ energy ministers. Mexico was allowed to cut only 100,000 barrels a month, a sticking point in an accord initially reached Friday after a marathon video conference between nations. The deal was reached just hours before Asian markets reopen on Monday.
Efforts to reach an agreement on production cuts had failed in March, sending oil prices crashing. President Donald Trump, a longtime OPEC critic, tweeted on Sunday, “The big Oil Deal with OPEC Plus is done. This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States.”
― Sanjana Karanth
For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.


huffpost--2020-04-25--These Health Care Workers Spoke Out. Their Hospitals Fired Them.

Jhonna Porter Jhonna Porter in a selfie she took while working at West Hills Hospital .
Meanwhile , the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that over 9,000 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus , though the CDC says the true number is likely much higher because occupational data is only available for about 16 % of cases .
Porter and Lin ’ s posts led to a crowdsourcing campaign and equipment donations , though the administrations prohibited staff from using the gear because they say workers aren ’ t trained to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Other health care workers hope their challenges can serve as warnings to those in hospitals the pandemic has not yet hit .
“ It ’ s important for healthcare workers to tell their experience and stories so others can learn from it , ” said Teena Chopra , an epidemiologist at Detroit ’ s Sinai-Grace Hospital who has regularly spoken with the media during the outbreak .
“ There ’ s nothing wrong with telling the truth to the world , as long as the information is accurate and it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history shows why their voices are important .
Hal Weiss , a spokesperson for SEIU 121RN , which represents 9,000 nurses in Southern California , noted that it was pressure from workers that led to the state in 2009 set a new standard for measures to control the spread of transmissible pathogens like those that cause tuberculosis , measles , SARS and swine flu .
At the peak of the AIDS epidemic , hospital administrations initially resisted nurses ’ demands for safer needles after several nurses contracted HIV and died due to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care workers led to stricter rules throughout the 1990s , culminating with the federal Needlestick Safety Prevention Act in 2000 that requires hospitals to use safer needles that are less likely to poke health care workers and to put in place stricter safety guidelines .
‘ They ’ re Trying To Keep Everything Hush-Hush ’ Though Sinai-Grace is allowing Chopra to speak with the reporters , it fired nurse Kenisa Barkai for posting a benign video in which she discussed the PPE she wore to treat COVID-19 patients on social media .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the post as a pretext to fire her for previously speaking up to management over PPE shortages and other dangerous job hazards .
In New Jersey , Jersey Shore University Medical Center fired nurse Adam Witt on March 31 and barred him from entering the hospital campus after he and others posted in a private Facebook group about their fears of contracting COVID-19 .
Hospital administration put up flyers that Witt characterized as “ Wanted ” posters bearing his picture and directions for staff to contact a supervisor if he was seen on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abusing HIPAA privacy laws to protect their images .
West Hills told HuffPost in a statement that Porter violated the patient protections because she revealed room numbers where COVID-19 patients were being treated , but she and her union said the hospital was forced to reinstate her because that isn ’ t a HIPAA violation .
“ The way to devalue the posts is to provide much more access to journalists so they don ’ t have to rely on social media posts , ” Tompkins said .
“ You can not long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there will be leaks and the leaks will be damaging .
”

Jhonna Porter felt a duty to alert her co-workers to a potentially dangerous change on the fifth floor of Los Angeles’ West Hills Hospital. Without much notice, the administration had begun converting the floor into a COVID-19 unit on March 20.
“The rumors are true,” Porter, a registered nurse, wrote that evening in a private Facebook group used by the floor’s staff. “Be careful.”
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Porter, whose department usually works with cardiac patients, didn’t think the hospital was providing staff on the newly converted floor with adequate personal protection equipment. She posted a plea for donations on her personal Facebook page on March 24.
“I’m physically ill from the mental stress,” it read. “I need anything I can get.”
Within hours of posting that, the hospital administration called Porter in for a meeting. A West Hills attorney slid a printout of her March 20 warning to the private Facebook group across the table and accused her of violating patient privacy laws.
Porter was suspended without pay while West Hills investigated.
“I’m physically ill from the mental stress. I need anything I can get.” - Jhonna Porter, registered nurse
But the move mostly backfired. Suspending a nurse in the middle of a pandemic proved to be a public relations nightmare that sparked outrage and quickly escalated into a national news story. After 10 days, West Hills reinstated Porter and another nurse who had been suspended for a similar issue.
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But the hospital had delivered its message, Porter said.
“It’s a PR thing,” she told HuffPost. “I think they’re trying to shut us up, and it worked.”
The West Hills controversy is hardly an isolated incident. Across the country, hospitals have threatened to discipline front-line health care workers who post on social media or speak with reporters about PPE shortages and dire working conditions.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that over 9,000 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus, though the CDC says the true number is likely much higher because occupational data is only available for about 16% of cases.
Facebook posts by physician Ming Lin criticizing St. Joseph Medical Center before he was terminated. Ming Lin
Hospital administrators often claim they are acting to protect patient privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, and stem the spread of misinformation. But health care workers say speaking up is their best hope for pressuring decision-makers who can make changes to improve hospital conditions and save lives.
“I was hoping by using social media we can pressure hospitals to be honest and show commitment to its employees and the community,” Washington state physician Ming Lin wrote on Facebook in late March after he was fired for posting on social media about his hospital’s working conditions.
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Porter and Lin’s posts led to a crowdsourcing campaign and equipment donations, though the administrations prohibited staff from using the gear because they say workers aren’t trained to use equipment not issued by the hospitals. Other health care workers hope their challenges can serve as warnings to those in hospitals the pandemic has not yet hit.
“It’s important for healthcare workers to tell their experience and stories so others can learn from it,” said Teena Chopra, an epidemiologist at Detroit’s Sinai-Grace Hospital who has regularly spoken with the media during the outbreak. “There’s nothing wrong with telling the truth to the world, as long as the information is accurate and it’s scientifically sound.”
‘Ethically Appropriate’
Chopra and other doctors said they’ve received offers for assistance from experts after their names have appeared in stories. Moreover, there’s a moral case to be made for front-line workers engaged in “heroic measures” demanding a safe workplace, said I. Glenn Cohen, a Harvard University School of Law bioethicist.
“I think physicians have a right to adequate equipment, and if the only way to get it is to make a public stink, that’s ethically appropriate,” he said.
The workers also say history shows why their voices are important. Hal Weiss, a spokesperson for SEIU 121RN, which represents 9,000 nurses in Southern California, noted that it was pressure from workers that led to the state in 2009 set a new standard for measures to control the spread of transmissible pathogens like those that cause tuberculosis, measles, SARS and swine flu.
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The SEIU called it “the nation’s first workplace standard designed to protect healthcare and other workers from aerosol (airborne and droplet) transmitted diseases.” It’s directly protecting workers in California’s hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I think they’re trying to shut us up, and it worked.” - Jhonna Porter
At the peak of the AIDS epidemic, hospital administrations initially resisted nurses’ demands for safer needles after several nurses contracted HIV and died due to an accidental stick. Sustained pressure from health care workers led to stricter rules throughout the 1990s, culminating with the federal Needlestick Safety Prevention Act in 2000 that requires hospitals to use safer needles that are less likely to poke health care workers and to put in place stricter safety guidelines.
“Had the union nurses who stood up during the early days of the AIDS crisis been gagged by a misuse of HIPAA, or for any reason, the Needle Safety and Prevention Act might never have come to be,” Weiss said.
‘They’re Trying To Keep Everything Hush-Hush’
Though Sinai-Grace is allowing Chopra to speak with the reporters, it fired nurse Kenisa Barkai for posting a benign video in which she discussed the PPE she wore to treat COVID-19 patients on social media. She and her attorney say the company used the post as a pretext to fire her for previously speaking up to management over PPE shortages and other dangerous job hazards.
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“I just spoke out on the fact that we had some major issues that we had to address, we were scared of the unknown and we didn’t feel safe providing care for patients,” Barkai told HuffPost.
“In retaliation — and to keep all my coworkers from speaking up — they fired me and they’re trying to keep everything hush-hush.”
A message barring nurse Adam Witt that was posted at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Courtesy
In New Jersey, Jersey Shore University Medical Center fired nurse Adam Witt on March 31 and barred him from entering the hospital campus after he and others posted in a private Facebook group about their fears of contracting COVID-19. Hospital administration put up flyers that Witt characterized as “Wanted” posters bearing his picture and directions for staff to contact a supervisor if he was seen on campus.
While conducting interviews for a recent piece on front-line workers in metro Detroit, reporters from HuffPost encountered dozens of staff from all the region’s major health systems who wanted to speak up about dangerous working conditions but feared retaliation from their employers.
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Health care workers across the country say that administrations have updated or created policies that order employees not to speak with reporters. Some include explicit threats of discipline, while others do not. As the outbreak intensified, metro Detroit’s Beaumont Health circulated an updated media policy that an employee provided to HuffPost.
“If media shows up unannounced and you have not heard from a member of the Beaumont Media Relations team, employees must route the request to the media relations team,” it reads.
New York University Langone Medical Center took a firmer approach. It sent an email to its 30,000 employees informing them that anyone who speaks to reporters “will be subject to disciplinary action, including termination.”
But Cohen called such policies “self-defeating” for hospitals.
“The moment you fire the doctor, that becomes the story,” he said. “The reputation damage from that might be much worse than the reputation damage in the physician’s speech.”
‘There Will Be Leaks’
Hospitals, however, say they’re acting with patients’ best interests in mind.
Administrations face an extraordinarily difficult task in controlling messaging during the pandemic, said Ruthanne Sudderth, senior vice president of public affairs with the Michigan Health and Hospital Association trade group. That involves juggling staff needs, patients protections, HIPAA privacy laws and media requests.
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Moreover, front-line workers don’t have a bird’s-eye view of a hospital’s supplies, so speaking up about shortages can interfere in resource allocation efforts, Sudderth said.
“There are huge impacts that come from what’s communicated to the decision makers right now, so we have to do that responsibly, and that’s why you’re seeing people being extra cautious about what’s being said about resources on the front lines,” she added.
Hospitals also don’t want employees’ comments to cause them to lose patients. And many believe that’s what’s at the heart of the hospital’s strict speech policies. They need patients to make money, and are “concerned about their reputations being harmed,” Cohen said.
Left: Jhonna Porter while working in protective equipment. Right: Facebook post praising Jhonna Porter. Jhonna Porter
That likely factored into West Hill’s decision, Porter added.
“The posts are bad PR and they’re afraid patients won’t want to come to their hospital,” she said.
Critics also contend hospitals are abusing HIPAA privacy laws to protect their images. West Hills told HuffPost in a statement that Porter violated the patient protections because she revealed room numbers where COVID-19 patients were being treated, but she and her union said the hospital was forced to reinstate her because that isn’t a HIPAA violation.
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Regardless, there’s a better way for hospitals to manage their reputations, said Al Tompkins, senior faculty at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. There’s a “huge appetite” for front-line news, which means “rogue” social media posts from health care workers carry more weight. Providing adequate access to reporters is a solution to that problem.