Apr 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Pence wears face mask during GM visit after Mayo Clinic backlash

Screenshot: MSNBC.

Vice President Mike Pence wore a face mask while touring a General Motors plant in Kokomo, Indiana, on Thursday, after coming under fire for flouting the Mayo Clinic's mandatory face mask policy during a visit on Tuesday.

Why it matters: This is the first time that Pence, who has traveled all over the country as head of the White House's coronavirus task force, has publicly worn a face mask. The CDC issued guidance this month recommending that Americans wear face coverings to help stop the asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus.

  • Pence told reporters amid backlash on Tuesday that he had tested negative for the virus: "And since I don't have the coronavirus, I thought it'd be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible healthcare personnel, and look them in the eye and say thank you," he said.
  • Second lady Karen Pence insisted on Fox News on Thursday morning that Pence only found about the Mayo Clinic's policy after leaving the facility, despite the clinic saying in a statement that it had informed his office beforehand.

The big picture: The plant that Pence toured on Thursday was brought back online to help ramp up the production of ventilators. GM and its partner, Ventec Life Systems, have said they will ship more than 600 ventilators this month, and almost 15,000 by the end of June.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 30,814,638 — Total deaths: 957,632— Total recoveries: 21,068,829 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 6,766,724 — Total deaths: 199,268 — Total recoveries: 2,577,446 — Total tests: 94,211,463 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump's health secretary asserts control over all new rules, including for vaccines — In reversal, CDC again recommends coronavirus testing for asymptomatic people.
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  5. Health: The dwindling chances of eliminating COVID-19.
  6. World: Guatemalan president tests positive for COVID-19 — The countries painting their pandemic recoveries green.
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Orion Rummler
Aug 7, 2020 - Health

Massachusetts pauses reopening after uptick in coronavirus cases

Gov. Charlie Baker at Boston MedFlight Headquarters on Aug. 4. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday that the state's second phase of reopening is "postponed indefinitely" in response to a modest increase in coronavirus cases.

The big picture: The state is reporting more COVID-19 deaths than most others across the U.S. outside of domestic epicenters like California, or previous hotspots including New Jersey and New York, per a New York Times database.

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Axios
Updated Sep 18, 2020 - Health

World coronavirus updates

Expand chart
Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Though health workers represent less than 3% of the population in many countries, they account for around 14% of the coronavirus cases reported to the World Health Organization, WHO announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The WHO called on governments and health care leaders to address threats facing the health and safety of these workers, adding that the pandemic has highlighted how protecting them is needed to ensure a functioning health care system.

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