Reuters: U.S.

Friday, May 29, 2020

Overnight Health Care: Trump says US 'terminating' relationship with WHO | Cuomo: NYC on track to start reopening week of June 8 | COVID-19 workplace complaints surge

 
 
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Welcome to Friday's Overnight Health Care.

President Trump says the United States is done with the World Health Organization, New York City could reopen in early June, and Missouri's lone abortion clinic is staying open.

We'll start with Trump:

Trump: US 'terminating' relationship with WHO

President Trump is following through on his threats against the World Health Organization.

Speaking at a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Trump accused the WHO of being under China's "total control" and of failing to make reforms requested by his administration. The president said he would “redirect” funds promised to the WHO to assist other global health needs.

“We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act,” Trump said. 

The announcement marks a further escalation with the global health body in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and prompted criticism from the health community. It follows a decision in mid-April to suspend funding to the WHO pending a review of the organization’s handling of the coronavirus.

The United States contributes upwards of $400 million annually to the WHO — the group’s largest contributor — and public health experts have warned that a suspension of funds would severely damage the organization.

Read more here.

 

Cuomo: New York City on track to start reopening week of June 8

As much of the country starts to reopen, New York City, once by far the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, could be following suit soon.

New York City is on track to start reopening the week of June 8, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Friday.

"This is not 'Happy days are here again, it's over," Cuomo said, "We have to be smart."

Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said that the city had 61 new hospitalizations for coronavirus in the last day, well below the goal of under 200 hospitalizations.

The positivity rate for tests is down to 5 percent in the last day, de Blasio added.

Caveat: Reopening in New York is planned in phases, and the first phase does not have dramatic changes. It would allow some businesses like manufacturing to reopen, and nonessential retailers to open for pick-ups.

Read more here.

 

COVID-19 workplace complaints surge; unions rip administration

A surge in coronavirus-related workplace complaints is fueling criticism from unions and Democratic lawmakers that the Labor Department is ill-equipped to ensure workers are safe as more businesses reopen.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a division of the Labor Department, has received more than 5,000 complaints pertaining to COVID-19, principal deputy assistant secretary Loren Sweatt told a House panel Thursday. Those filings have pushed the number of complaints well beyond where they were at this point last year.

The Trump administration argues OSHA is more than capable of ensuring workplace safety as nonessential businesses bring back employees, but former officials say the agency was in a weakened condition heading into the crisis.

“We’re facing a massive worker safety crisis. OSHA did not have adequate resources to assure the safety and health of American workers before this crisis began,” said former OSHA Administrator David Michaels, who served during the Obama administration.

Read more here.

 

Second senator tests positive for coronavirus antibodies

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) said on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, becoming the second senator in as many days to disclose that they had likely contracted the virus.

Casey, in a statement, said he had a "low-grade fever and some mild flu-like symptoms" earlier in the spring and received an antibodies test last week to try to determine if he could donate blood plasma, which is being studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19. 

"The results of this test revealed substantial levels of COVID-19 antibody in my blood, significantly more than the amount required to qualify me as a plasma donor. In an effort to help others fighting this virus, I will be making my first donation today in Taylor, Pennsylvania," he said.

The disclosure comes after Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on Thursday that he had recently tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. 

The timeline Casey described for exhibiting symptoms closely matched what Kaine said on Thursday, giving a possible window into when the virus could have been spreading in the Senate. That is something contact tracers could identify. 

Read more here.

 

One last bill? McConnell says next coronavirus bill will be final COVID-19 package

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Friday that the next potential relief bill will be the final one. 

"We're taking a careful look at a fourth and final bill. You can anticipate the decision being made on whether to go forward in about a month. It will be narrowly crafted," McConnell told reporters in Kentucky.

The GOP leader's prediction that the bill would be the final economic package comes as lawmakers are nowhere near a deal that could pass both chambers and get President Trump's support.

The House passed legislation this week to provide more flexibility for the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, by extending the window that businesses have to use the funding.

Read more here

 

Missouri's only abortion clinic to stay open after commissioner's decision

Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open after a state administrative commission ruled Friday that the state wrongfully withheld a license to administer reproductive health services to the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis in May 2019. 

The decision made by Missouri Administrative Hearing Commissioner Sreenivasa Rao Dandamudi reverses one from June 2019 from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to not renew the facilities license, leaving the state with no abortion providers. 

It’s not immediately clear if the state’s attorney general, who is representing the health department in seeking to revoke the license, would overturn the decision.

Read more here

 

What we’re reading

Trump-fueled promotion of unproved coronavirus drug generated spike in prescriptions, study finds (Washington Post)

Joe Biden sees surge in health-care industry fundraising as Trump slumps in polls over coronavirus response (CNBC)

A senator from Arizona emerges as a pharma favorite (Kaiser Health News)

The WHO launched a voluntary Covid-19 product pool. What happens next? (Stat News

 

State by state

Coronavirus has infected 100,000 people in D.C., Maryland and Virginia (Washington Post

Following new data, Charlie Baker calls pandemic’s impact on Massachusetts nursing homes an ‘enormous tragedy’ (Boston.com)

3 Michigan nursing homes report more than 100 coronavirus cases (Detroit Free Press)

New cases of coronavirus in NC rise again. Some adhere to rules, others challenge them. (News & Observer)  

 
 
 
 
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