Human Error Remains A Formidable Threat As Federal Government, States Brace For The Outbreak

Politico: The Glaring Loophole In U.S. Virus Response: Human Error
Even as the Trump administration and Congress prepare to direct billions of dollars to coronavirus prevention, human error remains a formidable threat to preventing the spread of the virus. Mistakes already abound as federal, state and local public health departments scramble to prepare for outbreaks in the United States — or detect those that may already have begun. Flaws in a test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coupled with initial federal rules limiting who should be tested, delayed the ability to diagnose patients. (Ehley, 3/2)

NPR: CDC Defends Its Handling Of Coronavirus Case In California
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there’s been “confusion” about the handling of a coronavirus patient in California who is thought to represent the first case of the virus being transmitted in the general population, rather than through a known contact with someone who has been in China. The case involves a woman who appears to have contracted the virus in California, apparently without having contact with anyone who had traveled abroad or was previously known to have the coronavirus. (Chappell and Simmons-Duffin, 2/28)

The New York Times: How Prepared Is The U.S. For A Coronavirus Outbreak?
In 2005, the federal government sought to assess how a respiratory-related pandemic might play out in the United States. Its report estimated that a severe influenza pandemic would require mechanical ventilators for 740,000 critically ill people. Today, as the country faces the possibility of a widespread outbreak of a new respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus, there are nowhere near that many ventilators, and most are already in use. Only about 62,000 full-featured ventilators were in hospitals across the country, a 2010 study found. More than 10,000 others are stored in the Strategic National Stockpile, a federal cache of supplies and medicines held in case of emergencies, according to Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Jacobs and Fink, 2/29)

The New York Times: Who’s On The U.S. Coronavirus Task Force
President Trump formed a coronavirus task force in late January, and members have been meeting regularly. But as the virus began to spread around the globe and infections were confirmed in the United States, Mr. Trump named Vice President Mike Pence as his point person at the end of February, and more administration officials were added to the panel. Among them are internationally known AIDS experts; a former drug executive; infectious disease doctors; and the former attorney general of Virginia. (2/29)

Politico: Alex Azar: Need To Treat Americans As ‘Adults’ On Coronavirus
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that, when it comes to coronavirus, it’s important to “treat the American people like adults.” “It’s very important that we treat the American people like adults and explain to them that we don’t know where this will go, that we will see more cases, that we will see continued community spreading in the United States, as we’re seeing around the world,” Azar said on ABC’s “This Week.” (Dugyala, 3/1)

Politico: Pence: It’s OK For Local Schools To Shut Down Over The Coronavirus
Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration will defer to local officials on their decisions on the coronavirus. “I think the president would respect any decisions that are made at the state and local level,” he said in an interview airing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” (Cohen, 3/1)

CNN: How US Schools Are Preparing For The Coronavirus 
As communities across the United States prepare for the novel coronavirus, many are wondering how schools plan to respond. Millions of students in China, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Italy and elsewhere have been impacted by school closures in recent weeks in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. And fears of an outbreak in the United States have already prompted a handful of school closures in the Northwest, including at Jackson High School in Snohomish County, Washington, where a boy tested positive for the coronavirus. (Andone, 3/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: Schools Plan For Possible Fallout From Coronavirus Outbreak
Schools across the United States are canceling trips abroad, preparing online lessons and even rethinking “perfect attendance” awards as they brace for the possibility that the new coronavirus could begin spreading in their communities.Districts have been rushing to update emergency plans since federal officials warned that the virus, which started in China, is almost certain to begin spreading in the U.S. Many are preparing for possible school closures that could stretch weeks or longer, even as they work to tamp down panic among students, parents and teachers. (Binkley, 2/28)

The Associated Press: Media Faces Challenges In Covering Coronavirus Outbreak
Covering the coronavirus story requires careful navigation and constant attention. News organizations trying to responsibly report on the growing health crisis are confronted with the task of conveying its seriousness without provoking panic, keeping up with a torrent of information while much remains a mystery and continually advising readers and viewers how to stay safe. (3/2)

The Washington Post: Alabama Residents Rejected Plan To Relocate Quarantined Coronavirus Patients After Rumors, Poor Planning
Not long before local leaders decided, in the words of one of them, that federal health officials “didn’t know what they were doing” with their plan to quarantine novel coronavirus patients in town, a doctor here set out in a biohazard suit to stage a one-man protest along the highway with a sign. “The virus has arrived. Are you ready?” it asked. The town didn’t think it was. Residents already were unnerved by strange stories posted on Facebook and shared via text messages about helicopters secretly flying in sick patients, that the virus was grown in a Chinese lab, that someone — either the media or the government — was lying to them about what was really going on. (Frankel, 3/1)

North Carolina Health News: NC Hospitals Prepare For Coronavirus 
As the World Health Organization warns the new coronavirus has “pandemic potential,” state and national experts worry that in the case of a widespread and sustained outbreak, an influx of patients could lay bare the glaring resource inequities between urban and rural hospitals… North Carolina has seen no confirmed cases thus far, but state officials said last week that while the risk for coronavirus in the state remains low, they are preparing for potential respiratory infections. (Hoban and Engel-Smith, 3/2)

North Carolina Health News: Is NC Ready For Coronavirus? 
North Carolina handled one of the eight confirmed cases of SARS, the last new coronavirus that emerged in 2003. Like the coronavirus, COVID-19, that’s recently emerged in China, SARS swept the globe, causing widespread concern, and in some places, panic. Over the course of 10 months, SARS caused more than 8,400 confirmed cases, mostly in China. About 11 percent of patients died, a total of 916 people. (Hoban, 2/28)

Capitol Beat News Service: Gov. Kemp Appoints Georgia Coronavirus Task Force
Gov. Brian Kemp named an 18-member task force Friday to handle Georgia’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The governor acted following a morning phone conversation with Vice President Mike Pence, who is heading the Trump administration’s federal response effort to the virus, which also goes by the name COVID-19. (Williams, 2/28)

The Baltimore Sun: Coronavirus: Here’s What You Need To Know To Prepare For A Possible Outbreak In The United States 
As countries around the world continue to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, Maryland health officials are beginning to put together response plans should the virus become a pandemic. Here’s what you need to know to prepare for a possible outbreak in the United States. (Reed, 3/2)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Preparing For Possible Extended Shutdowns Of Schools, Businesses, Events As Coronavirus Spreads 
People in Maryland and across the country know the drill when a big snowstorm is coming: Stock up on toilet paper, nonperishable human and pet food and needed medications. As a new coronavirus wallops the rest of the world and makes inroads in the United States, officials are pointing to that kind of preparation. Canceled events, school and day-care closures and direction to work from home “are the kinds of things people should plan for,” Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference this week. (Cohn, Bowie and Knezevich, 3/1)

Los Angeles Times: Amid Coronavirus Concerns, Churches Are Taking New Precautions
With more cases of coronavirus announced Sunday, some churches are making changes designed to better protect parishioners. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, which serves San Bernardino and Riverside counties, announced that parishes have the option “to implement liturgical restrictions that are allowed during the annual flu season,” according to a letter from the Office of the Vicar General. (Wigglesworth and Karlamangla, 3/1)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: To Prep For Coronavirus, This Is How Louisiana Hospitals, Officials Are Cranking Up Plans
Empty shelves in local stores that sell respiratory face masks are one sign of coronavirus concerns among Louisiana residents. But in a warehouse nearby, a stockpile of masks, gowns, gloves and emergency ventilators is ready for area hospitals in the event that the virus spreading around the globe makes its way to Louisiana. (Woodruff, 2/28)

Boston Globe: Second Coronavirus Case Confirmed In R.I.; Both Patients Were On A School Trip To Europe
A teenager has become the second Rhode Island victim of the coronavirus, and state health officials said she was on the same school trip to Europe last month as the first victim, a man in his 40s who was hospitalized. The trip was sponsored by Saint Raphael Academy, a Catholic high school in Pawtucket; those on the trip visited Italy, France, and Spain. (Fitzpatrick, 3/2)

KQED: What Californians Need To Know About The Coronavirus
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department announced three new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total count in the county to seven. The fifth case is an adult woman who suffers from chronic health conditions. The sixth and seventh cases are a husband and wife who have recently traveled to Egypt. All three patients are currently hospitalized. (McClurg, 3/1)

KQED: Union Says 124 Hospital Workers Sent Home Because Of UC Davis Coronavirus Patient
The nation’s largest union of registered nurses says hospitals are not prepared for an outbreak of the new coronavirus.Since a COVID-19 patient was admitted to UC Davis Medical Center on Feb. 19, National Nurses United says, 124 nurses and health care workers who were at high risk of having been exposed to the coronavirus were told by the hospital to quarantine themselves at home, which they have complied with. The workers are being paid during this period. (Remmel, 2/28)

WBUR: Airport Workers Fear They’re Unprotected From The Coronavirus
In this modern age of jet travel, it was a matter of time that the coronavirus would appear in the United States. As of Sunday, one person has died and dozens have been infected in the U.S., but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of contracting the virus remains low. Appeals for calm by the Trump administration and the CDC haven’t done much to ease the worries of airport workers, who say they’re on the front lines. (Overland, 3/1)