Reopening America

The CDC is considering recommendations for people to wear face masks while out in public. Previously, the recommendation was not to buy any masks, as medical workers needed them and they were in short supply. But we have gotten to the point where we need to step up efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Masks reduce the spread of infectious disease by catching microbes expelled by the wearer and also protecting them from outside microbes, and while they might not catch everything, there’s a strong case we should all be wearing masks during a pandemic. Ferris Jabr, writer for Wired, joins us for how wearing face masks could help.

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As COVID-19 testing capabilities ramp up and companies are coming up with new tests, why does it still take so long to get results? First, it is a multi-step process… once a sample is taken, it needs to travel to a lab, then it needs to be processed. And different circumstances in processing will lead to different turnaround times.  Julie Appleby, senior correspondent at Kaiser Health News, joins us for the steps involved in testing and new ones on the way.

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Coronavirus is forcing pregnant women to make tough choices. There are many hospitals with such tight restrictions that in some cases a woman’s partner might not even be allowed into the delivery room. Women are having to resort to FaceTime to have their partners present, and it could be falling to nurses to provide supportive care and camerawork. Laura Kusisto, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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We hear a lot about confirmed cases of coronavirus. The U.S. has the most confirmed cases in the world right now, but unfortunately, that metric does little for us in the way of tracking how fast it is spreading due to uneven testing. Instead, some suggest we track the rate of hospitalizations and other factors. Faye Flam, columnist at Bloomberg News, joins us for why we still need a lot more data to find out true rates of infection and spread.

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President Trump has extended the social distancing guidelines until at least April 30. Previously Trump wanted to open the economy back up by Easter, instead we are now learning that the peak of the outbreak in America could come about that time. Gabby Orr, White House reporter at Politico, joins us for how Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, convinced the president to extend the guidelines.

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With coronavirus, it’s all about the genetic mutations. Two critical mutations occurred… the first altered the spikes in the virus to allow it to latch onto proteins that line the respiratory tract, the second mutation, allowed the virus to grow a protein dagger that lets it bind tightly to throat and lung cells making it infectious and deadly.  Robert Bazell, professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale, joins us for coronavirus mutations.

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This could be a make-or-break week for the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Bills and rent are coming due for millions of laid off workers and businesses, big and small, alike. Tough decisions will have to be made on what to pay first and what to put off. The restaurant industry alone has lost $25 billion in sales since March 1, and many are feeling the pain. Ruth Simon, senior special writer at the WSJ, joins us for more.

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As travel is restricted across much of the world, there are a ton of cheap airfare deals. While you shouldn’t fly during a pandemic, you might want to consider booking a short getaway later in the year once things calm down. The good thing is that fares will remain low until people start traveling again. Scott McCartney, Middle Seat columnist for the WSJ, joins us for what to consider before snagging a travel bargain.

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Fearing a surge of coronavirus cases that could tear through prisons and jails, counties and states are releasing thousands of inmates. Health and corrections officials have issued warnings about cramped and unsanitary conditions that could spread the virus and put inmates, corrections officers, and prison healthcare workers at risk. Kimberly Kindy, national investigative reporter at the Washington Post, tells us who is getting out of jail.

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With the most number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world, here in U.S., new hotspots are emerging. While mostly concentrated on the coasts, more cases are creeping into other cities. The CDC has issued a domestic travel advisory urging residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut not to travel for 14 days. In other news, GM and Ford are working to make more ventilators and new polls show Joe Biden and Trump in a competitive race for 2020. Julia Manchester, political reporter for The Hill joins us for more.

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