Photo: Caleb Smith
To get back on the campaign trail this summer and fall, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has procured dozens of WHOOP fitness trackers — which monitor respiratory rate as a clue to COVID — for his political and fundraising staff in D.C. and across the country.
Why it matters: McCarthy, who represents Bakersfield and works closely with California's tech community, will wear a WHOOP sensor and band himself, harnessing wearables to help keep aides and supporters safe.
Face masks will be required in Vermont's public areas starting Aug. 1 where social distancing is not possible, the state's health department announced.
The big picture: More than 30 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have issued some form of mask mandate as new infections surge across the country.
Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to worry about in-person voting — with nearly two in three seeing it as a large or moderate risk to their health — according to this week's installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Why it matters: This could pose a significant disadvantage for Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates in November if the pattern holds — especially in states where high infection rates persist, or where there are significant hurdles to mail-in, absentee or early voting.
President Trump said in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that he thinks the coronavirus is as well-controlled in the U.S. as it can be, despite dramatic surges in new infections over the course of the summer and more than 150,000 American deaths.