Tipsheet: States build contact tracing armies to crush coronavirus

View in your browser     States build contact tracing armies to crush coronavirus By Reid Wilson   State governments are building armies of contact tracers in a new phase of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, returning to a fundamental practice in public health that can at once wrestle the virus under control and put hundreds of thousands of newly jobless people back to work. California is already conducting contact tracing in 22 counties, and it eventually plans to field a force of 10,000 state employees, who will be given basic training by University of California health experts. Read the full story here     Coronavirus testing numbers improving but still lag By Jessie Hellmann   Coronavirus testing has improved significantly over the past several weeks but is still not where it needs to be as states look to reopen, health experts say. Read the full story here     HHS to allow states to distribute Gilead's remdesivir to combat the coronavirus By Tal Axelrod   The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Saturday it will permit state health departments to send out Gilead Sciences Inc.’s remdesivir drug to fight the coronavirus. Read the full story here     Obama in private call says Trump's coronavirus response has been an 'absolute chaotic disaster': CNN By Morgan Gstalter   Former President Obama during a private call on Friday night with his former aides tore into the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis, calling it an “absolute chaotic disaster.” Read the full story here       US government turned down opportunity to manufacture millions of N-95 masks at start of pandemic: report By J. Edward Moreno   The Department of Health and Human Services turned down an opportunity to access millions of U.S.-manufactured N-95 masks in January, according to The Washington Post. Read the full story here     CDC director says guidance shelved by White House was 'in draft form' By Tal Axelrod   The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said his agency's guidance for reopening the country was "in draft form" and not ready to be released in the midst of reports that top administration officials decided to shelve the CDC’s recommendations. Read the full story here     Fauci to enter 'modified quarantine': report By J. Edward Moreno   Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, is set to enter a “modified” quarantine after making “low risk” contact with a coronavirus case, the public health official told CNN. Read the full story here     Job losses approach Depression territory as election looms By Sylvan Lane   The economic damage of the coronavirus was laid bare Friday when the Labor Department reported the worst job losses since the Great Depression, jolting the race for the White House less than six months before Election Day. Read the full story here     Storm builds around Barr over dropping of Flynn case By Olivia Beavers and John Kruzel   Democrats and other critics are seizing on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to drop the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, arguing it shows how heavily politicized it has become under Attorney General William Barr. Read the full story here     Trump reflects on Mother's Day, says in his mother's eyes he 'couldn't do any wrong' By Kaelan Deese   President Trump wished moms across the nation a happy Mother's Day this weekend, reflecting on his own late mother's view of him and saying she thought he "couldn't do any wrong." Read the full story here     Republicans hope Biden picks Warren for VP By J.T. Young   OPINION | From: Republicans; To: Joe Biden — please pick Elizabeth Warren as your VP. For Democrats, it would be the perfect marriage of opposites: The candidate who can’t talk and the candidate who can’t stop talking. For America, it would be the perfect confirmation, expunging the remaining modicum of moderation Biden can claim. Read the full story here     Needed: A blueprint for a post-vaccine world By Krishna B. Kumar, Mashid Abir and Christopher Nelson   OPINION | The race to develop a vaccine to combat COVID-19 is on. Multiple teams around the world, representing universities, government agencies, the private sector and their various combinations are on the hunt for an effective and safe vaccine. Optimistic projections peg a vaccine approval in a matter of months, but most experts don’t expect availability until mid-2021. Irrespective of the time horizon for discovery, the time to plan for a post-vaccine world is now. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: As deaths mount, Trump tries to convince Americans it’s safe to inch back to normal By Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Yasmeen Abutaleb   The administration is effectively bowing to — and asking Americans to accept — a devastating proposition: that a steady, daily accumulation of lonely deaths is the grim cost of reopening the nation. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: US states move to expand coronavirus testing capabilities By Ben Chapman, Frances Yoon and Nick Kostov   New York is opening 22 new sites in low-income areas, while Delaware, Connecticut announce testing expansions. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: A distinct possibility: ‘Temporary’ layoffs may be permanent By Christopher Rugaber   In late March, Britney Ruby Miller, co-owner of a small chain of steakhouse restaurants, confidently proclaimed that once the viral outbreak had subsided, her company planned to recall all its laid-off workers. Now? Miller would be thrilled to eventually restore three-quarters of the roughly 600 workers her company had to let go. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Democrats’ vote-by-mail effort won in Wisconsin: Will it work elsewhere? By Reid J. Epstein   After winning by a surprising margin in a key Wisconsin judicial race, Democrats are hoping they can replicate the same game plan. Read the full story here     Reuters: US next week to start purchasing $3 billion worth of farm goods: Trump By Makini Brice and Chris Prentice   President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States will next week begin purchasing $3 billion worth of dairy, meat and produce from farmers as unemployment soars and people are forced to food lines. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet   You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

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