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Thursday 05.21.20

Where's Dr. Fauci? America's top infectious disease doc has been conspicuously absent from TV as the White House moves its messaging toward reopening. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.
 

By AJ Willingham

Coronavirus numbers

More than 5 million people worldwide have now been diagnosed with Covid-19, and almost 330,000 have died. To make matters even more difficult, the World Health Organization just reported the highest number of cases recorded in a 24-hour period during the pandemic -- more than 106,000 across the globe. Brazil alone recorded more than 20,000 cases in a day and is now second to only Russia and the US in infection numbers. In the US, nearly 93,000 people have died. A new model suggests if the country had implemented social distancing just two weeks earlier, it could have prevented up to 84% of deaths and 82% of cases.

Testing

"It's a mess out there." That's the word on coronavirus testing in the US, according to Mike Osterholm, the head of the University of Michigan's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. The center released a new report saying Covid-19 testing is disorganized, confusing and in dire need of national oversight. The report also brings up a worrying trend: Health officials in at least four states have been combining Covid-19 data on diagnostic tests and antibody tests, which skews results and potentially gives a muddied picture of the virus' spread. Texas, Virginia and Vermont have all said they recognized the data issue and moved to fix it in the past few days. In Georgia, health officials said they've been adding the tests to their daily totals since April in line with methodology from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Economy 

Struggling US farmers and ranchers won't see coronavirus relief money until June -- about two months after Congress appropriated it. The Department of Agriculture said farms can begin applying for the money Tuesday. But many in the industry are already saying that whatever money they get won't be enough. Disappearing demand from restaurants and schools means farmers have had to upend supply chains and even destroy excess product. Farm bankruptcies are up 23% over the past year and are likely to keep rising. Meanwhile, a growing number of Republicans are voicing support for another coronavirus relief package despite messaging from the party that it's too soon to tell whether a fourth round of aid will be necessary. Several GOP senators say they want to move on an infrastructure package that pumps money into roads, bridges and transportation projects.

Cyclone Amphan

Thousands of people in India and Bangladesh have been left homeless, stranded or without power after Cyclone Amphan slammed into the eastern coast of India. Figuring out the death toll could take days, as high winds and flooding brought on by the storm broke dams and leveled housing in rural areas. In Bangladesh, officials say nearly every coastal district has been seriously affected. Before Amphan hit, the two nations managed to evacuate 3 million people, a task that was complicated by coronavirus concerns. Still, emergency personnel encouraged social distancing and sanitary practices during the massive undertaking.

Roe v. Wade

Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff in the 1973 US Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, says in a new documentary that she was paid to speak out against abortion. McCorvey became well-known as Jane Roe in the landmark case that legalized abortion in the United States but later joined anti-abortion activists and started an outreach group opposing the ruling. Before her death in 2017, she told the director of the upcoming FX documentary, "AKA Jane Roe," that she didn't actually change her views on abortion but accepted money from anti-abortion activists to spread their message. In the documentary, her claims are backed up by the Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who worked closely with McCorvey.

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