‘I Am Dipping Myself Into The Swamp Every Day’: For Health Care Professionals There’s No Option To Practice Social Distancing

The New York Times: Doctors Fear Bringing Coronavirus Home: ‘I Am Sort Of A Pariah In My Family’
After her shifts in the emergency room, one doctor in Utah strips naked on her porch and runs straight to a shower, trying not to contaminate her home. In Oregon, an emergency physician talks of how he was recently bent over a drunk teenager, stapling a head wound, when he realized with a sudden chill that the patient had a fever and a cough. A doctor in Washington State woke up one night not long ago with nightmares of being surrounded by coughing patients. (Weise, 3/16)

The New York Times: ‘I Don’t Feel Helpless’: Giving Strangers Coronavirus Aid With A Click
Shortly before midnight on Thursday, the author Shea Serrano was at his home in San Antonio, lying comfortably on his sofa watching television. He could not shake a bad feeling about all the low-wage and hourly workers losing desperately needed tips and shifts because of the coronavirus outbreak. He felt he needed to do something. So he tweeted. (Kulish, 3/16)

The Wall Street Journal: One Company’s Hands-On Effort To Ramp Up Sanitizer Production
EO Products, a Bay Area maker of bath and body products, has quadrupled production of its high-end hand sanitizer. It is running extra shifts, speeding up lines, hiring temporary workers and converting factory lines designed for other products to make hand sanitizer instead. It still can’t keep up. Customers call, sometimes in tears, begging for a few bottles they say they need to care for sick relatives. Retailers, facing an unprecedented surge in demand, are rationing as they try to restock bare shelves. A parts shortage with no workaround almost halted production on the factory floor. (Terlep, 3/16)

The Associated Press: Distilleries Using High-Proof Alcohol To Make Hand Sanitizer
A Pennsylvania distillery owner who grew increasingly angry as he saw the skyrocketing price of hand sanitizer has decided to do something about it: He’s temporarily converting his operation into a production line for the suddenly hard-to-find, gooey, alcohol-based disinfectant. (3/16)

The New York Times: Be Wary Of Those Fake Coronavirus Text Messages From Friends
The text messages have largely followed a pattern: The author claims to have a connection to someone working at a clinic or government agency — an aunt, a neighbor, a friend’s cousin — who has revealed unannounced plans for an impending lockdown or quarantine. They’re passing along a warning, telling recipients of the urgent need to stockpile food, gas, medicine or other necessities. They often contain pleas that they be forwarded to others. (Zaveri, 3/16)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Coronavirus Scams: How Fraudsters Are Taking Advantage Of The Pandemic
There is nothing like a crisis to bring out con artists seeking to take advantage of the vulnerable and the unwary.With the nation in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, officials are warning of possible scams to bilk you out of money or steal your information. (Gambardello, 3/16)

The New York Times: Hotels Were Rolling Out Tools To Help Calm Travelers. Then Coronavirus Hit.
Hotels have always been in the business of providing a good night’s rest, but a growing number of brands are adding tools to help guests chill out and get to sleep. And that was before the anxiety caused by the coronavirus. “Well-being is top of mind for everyone today, and we think that’s going to continue in the future,” said Mia Kyricos, senior vice president and global head of well-being at Hyatt Hotels. “If you think about the world we live in now, it’s 24/7. We increasingly have demands in work and life.” (White, 3/16)

Modern Healthcare: Demand For Remote Psych Care Soars As Coronavirus Anxiety Mounts
As COVID-19 continues to spread—along with virus-induced closures, cancellations and social isolation—physical health is hardly the only concern. Mental health and addiction services providers have been given new guidance from the state on telehealth services at a time when demand is growing and could reach unprecedented levels. (Henderson, 3/16)