We interviewed experts and front-line officials from Italy, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea about how to safely get society moving again. The biggest takeaway: They say not a single state is ready. We compiled the seven things America’s governors need to do before they reopen their states.
The wisdom of experts around the world won’t help America’s governors if they don’t read it. Help us out: Send the memo directly to your governor.
And watch out for people who ignore the advice. Just this week we uncovered two events with huge crowds that proceeded in March even though organizers knew the coronavirus could be spreading in the area: A pro soccer game in Seattle and the Houston Rodeo.
Inside nursing homes
Reporter Jan Ransom’s father was the fourth resident of his nursing home to get COVID-19. Nobody told her about the first, so she couldn’t move him before he got sick. “I think that’s very unfair,” her father told her a week before he died.
There have been disgusting violations of basic health standards in nursing homes, allowing the virus to explode. In one case, an inspector watched a nursing assistant help change a resident’s soiled briefs, then remove her gloves, revealing a second layer of gloves, and feed the resident without washing her hands, according to federal nursing home inspection reports we obtained.
Why batteries can give us insight into the coronavirus response
The IRS has had trouble getting money to low-income Americans. That’s because millions pay for their tax preparation through a baroque system of middlemen.
Don’t forget to check out our tax guide; it includes everything you need to know about filing taxes for free, those stimulus checks and more.
On a personal note, today marks the seventh Saturday I (and so many of us) have been social distancing. It’s been an extraordinarily uncertain and difficult time, and it’s a long way from being over. But if you'd told me at the beginning how much solidarity, neighborly care, uniquely creative virtual socializing and remote gestures of familial love there would be, I may not have believed you. We’ve come a long way. The beat goes on, my friends.
Yours in isolation, Karim Doumar Assistant Editor, Audience
WHAT ELSE WE PUBLISHED THIS WEEK
Life and Death, But No Trash Pickup: Diary of a Young COVID-19 Nurse
Despite all the talk about appreciating health care workers, one California nurse caring for the sickest patients felt she needed more support.
by Ryan Gabrielson
Millions of People Face Stimulus Check Delays for a Strange Reason: They Are Poor
The IRS has had trouble getting money to people quickly because millions of Americans pay for their tax preparation through a baroque system of middlemen.
by Paul Kiel , Justin Elliott and Will Young
How We Used FOIA to Track Ventilator and Hospital Bed Availability in Illinois
Early data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health wasn’t granular enough for an accurate picture of the coronavirus’ impact on Chicago hospitals versus hospitals in areas with fewer cases. Here’s how we pushed for specifics.
by Ash Ngu
How Often Do Schools Use Seclusion and Restraint? The Federal Government Isn’t Properly Tracking the Data, According to a New Report
A new report from the Government Accountability Office found the U.S. Department of Education’s attempts to determine how often schools use seclusion and restraint were “largely ineffective or do not exist.” That could put children at risk.
by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica Illinois, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune
This Hospital Has Only 8 Nurses. They Are Also the Janitors.
Eight nurses are the overwhelming majority of employees who remain at Haskell County Community Hospital in Oklahoma. The future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room since 2019, is increasingly grim.
by Brianna Bailey, The Frontier
Coronavirus Put Her Out of Work, Then Debt Collectors Froze Her Savings Account
Kim Boatswain’s tax refund could have helped her get through the coronavirus slowdown. But debt collectors seized it. There are few options for Texans like Boatswain whose money was taken just before the state temporarily banned such garnishments.
by Kiah Collier and Ren Larson
How Jared Kushner Is Tackling the White House’s Coronavirus Response — Without Any Evident Experience
The president’s son-in-law and adviser has added the emergency-response supply chain to his extensive list of duties. He views himself as a disrupter — but that’s not always a good thing.
by Andrea Bernstein, WNYC
NYC Mayor and Health Officials Misled Public About Plans to Move COVID-19 Patients Into Nursing Home, Advocates Say
Lawmakers have also written that they are “deeply concerned” about the situation at a Roosevelt Island facility and the possibility that the coronavirus may be spreading from COVID-19 patients to long-time nursing home residents.
by A.C. Thompson
ICE Has Access to DACA Recipients’ Personal Information Despite Promises Suggesting Otherwise, Internal Emails Show
Trump promised that information from DACA applications would not be sent to deportation agents. But internal emails show that ICE can access databases where that information is kept — and DHS decided not to tell Congress.
by Dara Lind
Leaked Recordings Reveal Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Firmly in Charge and City Alderman Left Largely on the Sidelines
Combative and, at times, dismissive, Chicago’s first-term mayor gathers power as she leads the city’s fight against the coronavirus.
by Mick Dumke
Medical Staffing Companies Cut Doctors’ Pay While Spending Millions on Political Ads
While cutting benefits for emergency room doctors and other medical workers, TeamHealth and Envision have spent millions on ads meant to pressure politicians working on legislation to cap out-of-network costs for Americans.
by Isaac Arnsdorf
Most Illinois School Districts Did Not Have Approved E-learning Plans Before the Pandemic
Despite encouragement from Illinois education officials to have remote e-learning plans, many school districts scrambled to design them before the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close.
by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica Illinois, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune
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