Reopening America

Coronavirus has been tearing through jails and prisons across the country. A recent analysis by Reuters has found that there has been an undercounting of COVID-19 cases in the system and that some state prisons are seeing infection rates of up to 65%. While there is a worry that inmates could be getting ill in such close quarters, the other concern is all of the corrections officers and workers that could also be infected and then spread the virus throughout their communities. Research shows that the majority of those infected have been asymptomatic. Linda So, reporter for Reuters, joins us for how coronavirus is spreading in jails and prisons.

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The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a lot of flaws in the way business is done in the U.S. Flaws in the supply chain were especially evident all over. But the “Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020” shows how something so mundane represents a complex supply chain. Because of what is called “just in time” manufacturing and distribution, toilet paper is still only seen in limited quantities and manufacturers are still playing catch up on back orders. Manufacturers have also had to adjust their packaging which is why you might be seeing fewer options. Jen Wieczner, senior writer at Fortune, joins us for the case of the missing toilet paper.

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As all 50 states are reopening in some form, how ready are gyms to reopen? For a lot of gym owners, there is a frustration in the lack of any strict guidelines. Temperature checks, extra cleaning, and hand sanitizer are a must, but face masks still present an uncertainty with some gyms letting the customers decide on whether to wear them. Hilary Potkewitz, contributor to the WSJ, joins us for how the first gyms are handling the comeback.

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Some good news for regions that are reopening their economies, a recent study from South Korea is showing that COVID-19 patients that have tested positive after recovering, are not infectious. Theses so called “re-positive” patients weren’t spreading any lingering infection and were shedding only dead virus particles. Emma Court, health reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for what we are learning about how contagious someone is after recovering from the virus.

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As the cruise ship industry shut down and travel restrictions around the world limited which ports the ships could dock at, the first concern was to get passengers off in any way possible. Two months later, 100,000 cruise ship crew members remain trapped at sea near Florida and have been largely forgotten. Taylor Dolven, business reporter at the Miami Herald, joins us for what the crew members crave most, accurate information about when they can go home.

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President Trump caused a stir when he announced that his is taking hydroxychloroquine as protection against coronavirus. He said he began taking it right around the time that news broke that two White House staffers had tested positive for COVID-19. While the drug has been around for a long time, there is no proof that it prevents someone from contracting the virus and there are concerns about side effects. Lenny Bernstein, health and medicine reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for more.

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How’s your body holding up while working from home? For a lot of people, it’s taking a toll on their necks and backs. Poor ergonomics and weeks of bad posture has led to backaches, neck pain, and headaches. Aaron Zitner, reporter for the WSJ, joins us for what to do to help your body out.

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There was some good news in the fight against coronavirus on Monday as drug maker Moderna said that its vaccine induced immune responses in healthy volunteers in a clinical study. The volunteers made antibodies that matched or exceeded the levels found in patients who had recovered after contracting the virus. Moderna will now move into Phase 2 trials with more people involved in that study and then Phase 3 they hope to begin in July. Moderna ultimately hopes to have something ready by the fall, but we are still some time away from having a vaccine to be distributed widely. I'll tell you what you need to know.

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Some companies are getting rid of  hazard pay for essential workers even as the dangers of working on the front lines persists. As businesses were shutting down, many companies offered bonuses or pay bumps to compensate people for the risk of working at supermarkets and other crowded workplaces, but that is no longer the case. Kroger is walking back a $2 raises to employees, Target and Amazon are following suit later this month. Anders Melin, reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for why hero pay is going away.

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How might we get back to normal? Many experts say it won't happen until we get a vaccine, which is still quite some time away, others say something like herd immunity could also get us back. But it seems that without working in conjunction with a vaccine, herd immunity won't save us either. There are a number of unknown variables that need to be factored in, such as, how long we have immunity for after recovering from COVID-19 and to meet the threshold without a vaccine it could also mean more deaths. Kaleigh Rogers, reporter at FiveThirtyEight.com, joins us for how we get to herd immunity.

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