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Lourdes shrine closes healing pools as precaution against coronavirus
ROME -- As the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Europe continued to grow, the French Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes announced that pilgrims were still welcome, but the pools the sick bathe in hoping for healing would be closed temporarily.
"Our first concern will always be the safety and health of the pilgrims and the shrine's working community," said a note posted Feb. 28 on the shrine's website. "As a precaution, the pools have been closed until further notice."
In the center of Rome, the French Church of St. Louis, home of three famous Caravaggio paintings, closed March 1 because a priest who had been resident at the church tested positive for the coronavirus upon returning to France Feb. 28 and was hospitalized. The 42-year-old priest was in satisfactory condition, the Archdiocese of Paris said.
The other two dozen members of the community of French priests at St. Louis were placed under a precautionary quarantine. The members included a priest who worked for Vatican Media in the former Vatican Radio building.
Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, wrote to Vatican media employees March 2, saying the quarantine was expected to be brief, since the priest who tested positive for the virus left Rome in mid-February; he had traveled to several cities in northern Italy, where the outbreak has been much worse. In addition, the Vatican media employee had no symptoms.
"As a prudential measure," Ruffini said, the Vatican City health and hygiene service "sanitized and cleaned the office of our colleague and common areas" of the building.
The French Embassy to the Holy See announced late March 2 that Italian health officials had lifted the quarantine on the community at St. Louis Church and that the church would reopen to the public March 4.
Dioceses and religious communities across Europe adopted precautionary measures starting with advising people at Mass not to shake hands during the sign of peace. Many churches emptied holy water fonts and several dioceses recommended Catholics received Communion only in the hand.
Large indoor meetings, conferences and Lenten reflections scheduled for March also were canceled or postponed, including a meeting in Assisi, Italy, March 26-28 called "The Economy of Francis." The international gathering of young adult activists, economists, scholars and entrepreneurs to discuss creating a more inclusive economy was supposed to include a closing address by Pope Francis. The meeting has been postponed until November.
The Italian civil protection service said 1,577 people in Italy had the coronavirus as of 6 p.m. March 1. A total of 1,694 people had tested positive since the beginning of the outbreak; 83 recovered and 34 people had died. Only about one-third of those who tested positive required hospitalization; the others were being treated at home.
A pet dog belonging to a woman with COVID-19 has contracted a "low-level infection" from its owner, according to news reports.
The Pomeranian first tested "weak positive" for the virus last week, according to a statement released by the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on Feb. 28. At the time, however, scientists couldn't determine whether the animal was truly infected or if it had only picked up traces of the virus from a contaminated surface.
The dog was taken under quarantine and inspected by experts from the University of Hong Kong, City University and the World Organisation for Animal Health, who "unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low level of infection and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission," according to the South China Morning Post.
So, should the public worry about picking up SARS-CoV-2 from their beloved pets? Experts say no.
The dog of a Covid-19 patient in Hong Kong has tested “weak-positive” for the #coronavirus, but officials say there is no evidence pets can spread the infection https://t.co/DK8ShrWbyR pic.twitter.com/WMQRkoMXduMarch 5, 2020
Dogs and cats also contracted low-level infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) during the 2003 outbreak, animal health expert Vanessa Barrs from City University told the South China Morning Post.
"Previous experience with SARS suggests that cats and dogs will not become sick or transmit the virus to humans. At that time, a small number of pets tested positive but none became sick," she said. As of yet, the infected Pomeranian has not fallen ill or shown any symptoms of disease, the article noted. "Importantly, there was no evidence of viral transmission from pet dogs or cats to humans," Barrs added.
One respiratory medicine expert, David Hui Shu-cheong of Chinese University, told the Post that scientists cannot confirm that the dog is infected until they evaluate the antibodies present in the animal's blood. "If the blood test result is negative," meaning antibodies generated to fight off the virus are not present, "it means the dog is not infected," he said.
Assuming the dog's initial diagnosis stands up to scrutiny, pet dogs the world over could potentially become infected with SARS-CoV-2. But they likely wouldn't get sick. And to reiterate, based on what we know about other coronaviruses, it's unlikely that humans can catch the virus by snuggling with their pets.
Just in case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people with COVID-19 have someone else walk and care for their companion animals while they are sick. And people should always wash their hands after snuggling with animals anyway, as companion pets can spread other diseases to people, according to the CDC.
Keeping these precautions in mind, a Hong Kong animal welfare organizations emphasized that pet owners are highly unlikely to catch COVID-19 from their animals.
"We wish to remind the public that there is no evidence that companion animals can transmit the disease to humans," Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the largest independent animal welfare charity group in Hong Kong, said in a statement, according to the Post. "Currently, there is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare," the World Organisation for Animal Health added in a statement.
Perevozchenko: There is no core! It exploded, the core exploded!Statement by a quarantined nurse from a northern California Kaiser facility
March 5, 2020
As a nurse, I'm very concerned that not enough is being done to stop the spread of the coronavirus. I know because I am currently sick and in quarantine after caring for a patient who tested positive. I'm awaiting "permission" from the federal government to allow for my testing, even after my physician and county health professional ordered it.
I volunteered to be on the care team for this patient, who we knew was positive. I did this because I had all the recommended protective gear and training from my employer. I did this assuming that if something happened to me, of course I too would be cared for. Then, what was a small concern after a few days of caring for this patient, became my reality:
I started getting sick.
When employee health told me that my fever and other symptoms fit the criteria for potential coronavirus, I was put on a 14-day self-quarantine. Since the criteria was met, the testing would be done. My doctor ordered the test through the county.
The public county officer called me and verified my symptoms and agreed with testing. But the National CDC would not initiate testing. They said they would not test me because if I were wearing the recommended protective equipment, then I wouldn't have the coronavirus.
What kind of science-based answer is that? What a ridiculous and uneducated response from the department that is in charge of our health in this country.
Later, they called back, and now it's an issue with something called the "identifier number." They claim they prioritize running samples by illness severity and that there are only so many to give out each day. So I have to wait in line to find out the results.
This is not the ticket dispenser at the deli counter; it's a public health emergency! I am a registered nurse, and I need to know if I am positive before going back to caring for patients.
I am appalled at the level of bureaucracy that's preventing nurses from getting tested. That is a health care decision my doctor and my county health department agree with. Delaying this test puts the whole community at risk.
I have the backing of my union. Nurses aren't going to stand by and let this testing delay continue; we are going to stand together to make sure we can protect our patients—by being protected ourselves.
A leaked presentation reveals the document US hospitals are using to prepare for a major coronavirus outbreak. It estimates 96 million US coronavirus cases and 480,000 deaths.
Hospitals are confronting the rising threat of the novel coronavirus in the US.
In a February webinar presentation hosted by the American Hospital Association, national healthcare experts from organizations across the US laid out what hospitals need to know as they face the virus that causes COVID-19.
Here’s a look at the presentation, which includes estimated projections that there could be as many as 96 million cases in the US, 4.8 million hospitalizations, and 480,000 deaths associated with the novel coronavirus
It also includes proper ways to identify potential coronavirus patients, isolate them, and keep caregivers at the hospitals informed.
The American Hospital Association, which represents thousands of hospitals and health systems, hosted a webinar in February with its member hospitals and health systems. Business Insider obtained a copy of the slides presented.
The presentation, titled “What healthcare leaders need to know: Preparing for the COVID-19” happened February 26, with representatives from the National Ebola Training and Education Center.
The presentation contained an overview of the virus, projections and estimates of how much the virus might spread in the US, and proper ways to identify potential coronavirus patients, isolate them, and keep caregivers at the hospitals informed.
In particular, one slide presented by an expert included “best guess” estimates that there could be as many as:
4.8 million hospitalizations associated with the novel coronavirus
96 million cases overall in the US
480,000 deaths
Overall, the slide points out that hospitals should prepare for an impact to the system that’s 10 times a severe flu season.
Those estimates come from Dr. James Lawler, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They “represent his interpretation of the data available. It’s possible that forecast will change as more information becomes available,” a spokesman for Nebraska Medicine told Business Insider in an email.
The American Hospital Association said the webinar reflects the views of the experts who spoke on it, not its own.
“The AHA regularly hosts webinars and conference calls that include a variety of voices and opinions that seek to provide relevant information to professionals at hospitals and health systems that are on the front lines of preparing for and protecting their patients and communities,” a spokeswoman for the AHA told Business Insider in an emailed statement. “The slides you shared reflect the various perspectives of field experts and should not be attributed to the AHA.”
As someone else pointed out:"We estimate that 30 to 40% of Tehran's population will be infected with COVID-19 by March 20," says Dr. Massoud Mardani, member of Iran's National Influenza Committee. Tehran population: 12 million.
Holy moly guacamole - AIPAC confirms that two conference attendees have now tested positive for coronavirus. conf size? 18,000 attendees, including 2/3rds of Congress. this week, thousands of conference goers visited Capitol Hill offices. Will MoC’s test positive? #COVID19 https://t.co/5VhjyeoFxI
Eric Feigl-Ding Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 6, 2020
The Maryland residents who tested positive for coronavirus potentially exposed scores of elderly people and children to the infection, prompting the temporary closure of five schools in Bucks County, Pa., and warnings to a Rockville, Md., retirement community that residents should be watched carefully.
Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday evening that the three people — a husband and wife in their 70s and a woman in her 50s — contracted the virus while on a cruise on the Nile River.
...
Although the three residents, all from Montgomery County, had flu-like symptoms after their trip, they were not tested for the virus for nearly two weeks, because at the time of their return, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended tests only for people who had been traveling in China, Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles said.
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In the days before they were tested, one of the residents attended a private gathering at a residence in Bucks County, according to a statement on the school district’s website. Multiple children and school system staff were there.
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Another of the three victims attended an event Feb. 28 at The Village at Rockville, a retirement community. Between 70 and 100 residents, staff and visitors could have been exposed at that event, Hogan (R) said.
This is a little dated, China has already said they will be using this drug.5 MARCH 2020 NEWS
Roche wins approval for Actemra for coronavirus complications
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Follow the latest updates of the outbreak on our timeline.
Swiss healthcare company Roche has secured approval from China for its anti-inflammation drug Actemra (tocilizumab) to treat patients developing severe complications from coronavirus (Covid-19).
The latest move comes as China’s National Health Commission is searching for new ways to combat the deadly virus, which is spreading to other countries, including the US, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Germany.
In its latest treatment guidelines published online, the commission said that the biologic drug Actemra can now be used to treat coronavirus patients with severe lung damage and high IL-6 levels.
In 2010, Actemra secured approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The drug is capable of inhibiting high Interleukin 6 (IL-6) protein levels that drive some inflammatory diseases.
Researchers in China are also testing the drug in a clinical trial, expected to enrol a total of 188 patients with Covid-19 and run through 10 May.
Roche was quoted by Reuters as saying that a third party has initiated the trial independently to explore the efficacy and safety of the drug in coronavirus patients with cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
The company is yet to receive approval from China’s National Medical Product Administration to sell Actemra for use in coronavirus infection cases.
Other drug manufacturers in the country are also in the race to develop alternatives to Roche’s treatment.
At present, no published clinical trial data is available on the safety or efficacy of Actemra against the Wuhan virus, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 people as of the end of 4 March.
The total confirmed cases have increased to 95,000, with 80,270 cases reported in Mainland China.
You can see Rick Santelli give us his words of wisdom on twitter.One business television personality has a fascinating solution to the coronavirus epidemic: deliberately infect everyone.
CNBC's Rick Santelli suggested that such a move could lessen the impact on the economy.
The World Health Organization currently estimates — off of incomplete data — the COVID-19 coronavirus death rate to be 3.4%. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population for the country last July was 328 million. That means Santelli's proposal could quickly result in the death of over 11 million Americans.
No, try actually reading rather than seeing one thing you hate and going rage blind. FFS you say you want civil discussion with one breath and then pull this shit with the next...The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:19pm Basically everything mr friendly guy posts can seemingly be summed up as:
"A Westerner said/did something bad! This proves the West is the source of all evil, and therefore everything China's government does is okay!'
Jub, I haven't forgotten how, before your long absence from the board, you made a habit of following me around from thread to thread, "calling me out" and trying to play my personal hall monitor. Behaviour for which you received multiple moderator warnings IIRC.Jub wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:35pmNo, try actually reading rather than seeing one thing you hate and going rage blind. FFS you say you want civil discussion with one breath and then pull this shit with the next...The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:19pm Basically everything mr friendly guy posts can seemingly be summed up as:
"A Westerner said/did something bad! This proves the West is the source of all evil, and therefore everything China's government does is okay!'
Didn't I already demolish this claim of West does bad, therefore China does good? Yeah I did. Your lack of self awareness is amazing. You post anti China articles which make demonstrably FALSE claims. I post articles which make "the West" (I think you mean the USA) look bad even though you agree with the contents, its bad because... yeah, only making China look bad is allowed. Substitute Westerner for China, and you'll find various western media reports on China read just like that. Someone in China did something bad, whole country is implicated. You used a racist stereotype about Chinese manufacturing in this thread for fucks sake based on the fact some Chinese manufacturers are bad.The Romulan Republic wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:19pm Basically everything mr friendly guy posts can seemingly be summed up as:
"A Westerner said/did something bad! This proves the West is the source of all evil, and therefore everything China's government does is okay!'
I'd actually like to thank you for giving a balanced perspective on the outbreak thus far. The signal to noise ratio in this thread is rather high with Shep and TRR doing their thing but your posts tend to be concise and reasonably nonpartisan.mr friendly guy wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:47pmDidn't I already demolish this claim of West does bad, therefore China does good? Yeah I did. Your lack of self awareness is amazing. You post anti China articles which make demonstrably FALSE claims. I post articles which make "the West" (I think you mean the USA) look bad even though you agree with the contents, its bad because... yeah, only making China look bad is allowed. Substitute Westerner for China, and you'll find various western media reports on China read just like that. Someone in China did something bad, whole country is implicated. You used a racist stereotype about Chinese manufacturing in this thread for fucks sake based on the fact some Chinese manufacturers are bad.
Look I am going to demolish your claim again about "everything" I post. I have made several posts commenting on the medical treatments being trialled for covid 19, with some basic explanation of mechanisms. Literally today I posted an article about using another drug for it. But this somehow indicate "everything I post is the West is evil."
Look mate, I understand medical terminology can be daunting for you, so you prefer to read my posts which criticise individual Americans / America and just pretend I never made those others, so maybe that's why you think "everything" I post is about the West is evil. Maybe if you studied a bit about medical science, this might be so confusing to you, and might not be stuck in a job selling Jordan Peterson books to incels. And maybe then you won't be like the 40% of Americans who can't afford a $400 emergency and can afford the $3000 bill to get tested for covid 19.
Yeah, I'm sure it was just coincidence that you lumped me together with probably the most overtly racist poster on this board who hasn't been banned yet. Very subtle.Jub wrote: ↑2020-03-06 09:02pmI'd actually like to thank you for giving a balanced perspective on the outbreak thus far. The signal to noise ratio in this thread is rather high with Shep and TRR doing their thing but your posts tend to be concise and reasonably nonpartisan.mr friendly guy wrote: ↑2020-03-06 08:47pmDidn't I already demolish this claim of West does bad, therefore China does good? Yeah I did. Your lack of self awareness is amazing. You post anti China articles which make demonstrably FALSE claims. I post articles which make "the West" (I think you mean the USA) look bad even though you agree with the contents, its bad because... yeah, only making China look bad is allowed. Substitute Westerner for China, and you'll find various western media reports on China read just like that. Someone in China did something bad, whole country is implicated. You used a racist stereotype about Chinese manufacturing in this thread for fucks sake based on the fact some Chinese manufacturers are bad.
Look I am going to demolish your claim again about "everything" I post. I have made several posts commenting on the medical treatments being trialled for covid 19, with some basic explanation of mechanisms. Literally today I posted an article about using another drug for it. But this somehow indicate "everything I post is the West is evil."
Look mate, I understand medical terminology can be daunting for you, so you prefer to read my posts which criticise individual Americans / America and just pretend I never made those others, so maybe that's why you think "everything" I post is about the West is evil. Maybe if you studied a bit about medical science, this might be so confusing to you, and might not be stuck in a job selling Jordan Peterson books to incels. And maybe then you won't be like the 40% of Americans who can't afford a $400 emergency and can afford the $3000 bill to get tested for covid 19.
"MILFs In Quarantine" - Coronavirus Porn Sweeps America
The next big trend in porn is Coronavirus-themed videos. Porn sites across the internet have seen an influx of uploads with amateurs banging in bio hazmat suits and or just simply in masks.
Over the last month, Pornhub has seen 115 Coronavirus-themed videos uploaded by wannabe porn stars, otherwise known as amateurs.
There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the surge of Coronavirus-themed porn videos, that is, because these amateurs depend on ad revenue to make money, and the only way to survive and generate clicks is to stay super relevant with current events, such as making porn videos about a pandemic that could wipe out the human race.
One of the oddest videos Vice ran across is titled "Bodycam Footage (CDC Agent) Investigates Deserted Wuhan," features a first-person point of view of a hospital worker stumbling around in the dark, uncovers a creepy hospital patient, and that's the moment where we will stop describing what happens next…
xHamster spokesperson Alex Hawkin told Vice that Coronavirus-themed porn videos have been surging after it provided free premium accounts to regions affected by the virus.
Another video Vice viewed is titled "COVID-19 Coronavirus: Horny Slut Has to Use Protection During Outbreak!" where amateur pornstar "Chase Poundher" emerges from the hallway wearing a face mask and tells a female performer entering the house, "Wait, don't you move a foot closer. Haven't you heard of COVID-19?" Mr. Poundher then lectures her for one minute about the virus, the outbreak in China, and mask safety.
"I think people are attracted to COVID-19 themed porn the same way people who are scared of their shadow are attached to horror movies: We are all searching for things that make us come alive," Mr. Poundher, told Vice. "COVID-19 is something that brings fear and mystery to pretty much everyone in the world right now... You need to be able to feel something, and what better way to make you feel something than the global crisis we are all in right now."
Other COVID-19 themed porn videos have surfaced on the internet in the last week, including "MILFs in quarantine," "Face Sitting Corona Virus - No Mask," and "TSA Agent Detains Woman Suspected of Coronavirus."
We knew that the corona event was 'good viral material,' but we also knew it was affecting people in tragic ways," Mr. Poundher said. "We didn't want to insult them by making it too real. We personally know people actually stuck in Wuhan and made it with them in mind." They asked themselves: Would they be offended by this? Or would this take their minds off their situation? "We want the latter."
The search term "Coronavirus porn" is in a breakout pattern across the US.
Americans are increasingly embracing pandemic doom porn as confirmed cases and deaths surge across the country. Seriously, WTF.
So, on the local level, state, city and other such healthcare organizations are going to feel the pinch for those 14 day quarantines.Where That $8.3 Billion In U.S. Coronavirus Funding Will And Won't Go
March 6, 20207:09 PM ET
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President Trump signs an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill in the White House Friday. That's significantly more than he originally requested from Congress.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The coronavirus funding bill signed into law by the president Friday puts much more money toward treating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 than his administration requested from Congress last week.
The Trump administration's initial request — in the form of a two-page letter to Congress on Feb. 24 — was for $1.25 billion in new funds, with additional money moved from other parts of the federal budget to get to a total of $2.5 billion. The amount authorized Friday is more than three times that.
"It's a significant amount of money," says Jen Kates of the Kaiser Family Foundation. In comparison, Congress put $5.4 billion toward the Ebola response in 2014, and nearly $7 billion for H1N1 in 2009 — though, of course, each epidemic is different and requires a different response.
Trump To Sign $8 Billion Coronavirus Response Package Friday
THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Trump To Sign $8 Billion Coronavirus Response Package Friday
Coronavirus: 21 People On Grand Princess Cruise Ship Test Positive
SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
Coronavirus: U.S. Cases Rise; Alabamans Visiting Bethlehem Are Under Quarantine
"It appears to me to be an appropriate number to definitely begin the fight — and likely handle the fight, assuming nothing goes sideways," says Chris Meekins, a health care policy analyst at Raymond James who, until January of 2019, served as Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services
So what do taxpayers get for that $8.3 billion? Here are some highlights:
$3.1 billion for the health secretary's dispersal
The biggest pot of money goes to the Office of the Secretary of HHS, and that funding is available until 2024.
"I thought the flexibility they gave within the Office of the Secretary's public health emergency account was good," Meekins says. "It allows us to not just put money toward therapeutic development — also vaccine development — but also purchase additional supplies that are needed, like masks and personal protective equipment, which for years had been underfunded by Congress and administrations."
Of that money, $100 million is directed to community health centers for underserved groups. "I think that a focus on underserved populations is going to continue to be very important as we see more cases in more states," says Beth Cameron who works on global biological policy for the Nuclear Threat Initiative. During the Obama Administration, she served as senior director for Global Health, Security and Biodefense on the White House's National Security Council, a position that was eliminated by the Trump administration in 2018.
$950 million for state and local health departments
Of all of the $950 million for state and local public health response that's to be dispersed via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half must be allocated within 30 days.
"That's great because that will hopefully get around some of the bureaucratic delays we've seen in previous responses," says Dara Lieberman of Trust for America's Health, a nonpartisan public health policy research and advocacy organization.
Lieberman says health departments around the U.S. are now in the beginning of the "mitigation phase" of responding to the virus. "They're doing the outbreak investigations, they're trying to implement isolation orders, they're trying to disrupt chains of transmission," she says. "As the outbreak evolves, you'll see different needs and different responses."
What will state and local health departments be using this money for? Lieberman says one need may be staffing. "Health departments may have to do some quick hiring or contracting of people," she says. "Laboratories may have to buy equipment, and pay people overtime because people may be working 12-hour shifts, six or seven days a week as testing ramps up."
Data analytics, she says, is another area where health departments may need to quickly invest, so they can conduct surveillance of how coronavirus infections are spreading. "We've long neglected data modernization among health departments — because we underfund public health so much — so they may have to be investing in those kinds of basic capabilities."
$300 million to buy vaccines and treatments
Will whatever treatments or vaccines that are eventually developed for coronavirus be affordable?
That was a question put to the head of the federal coronavirus task force and HHS Secretary Alex Azar by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. at a hearing last week. Azar responded that he couldn't guarantee affordability: "We would want to ensure we work to make [a vaccine] affordable, but we can't control that price because we need the private sector to invest." His comment triggered accusations that Azar, a former executive at drugmaker Eli Lilly, had more loyalty to the private sector than the American public.
In Friday's funding package, there's a provision that the vaccines and treatments purchased by the government are to be priced fairly and reasonably.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations health subcommittee, pointed out in a statement that the bill gives "authority for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make the vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics developed from funding in this bill to be affordable in the commercial market." She urged Azar to make use of that provision.
$1.25 billion for international activities
The Trump administration's original request to Congress was focused purely on responding to coronavirus on the domestic front. As Azar explained in another Congressional hearing last week: "Our activities are really containment and mitigation preparation in the homeland, because we're not going to help the Chinese stop this in China — China will do that or not be able to do that."
In the end, the bill the president signed into law does include funding for responding to the spread of coronavirus response internationally.
Cameron says that global investment is essential, and she was glad to see it ultimately included. The international funding isn't as much as she was hoping for, she says, but it's a "good start."
"It's super important to make sure that we are focused not just within the United States," Cameron says. "We don't know which countries are going to be most affected," she explains, and so supporting low- and middle-income countries that might not have the resources to contain outbreaks on their own is a "fantastic investment."
What may be missing from the funding package
Nothing in this law spells out how much, if any, money will go to reimburse hospitals or patients for medical care associated with COVID-19 treatment. Some announcements came through this week that the diagnostic test will be covered by many private insurers and Medicare and Medicaid, but there will be lots of other expenses associated with COVID-19 care.
For instance, if someone is compelled to stay isolated in a hospital for 14 days, who is to pay for that? That question is especially pressing for the more than 70 million Americans who don't have health insurance or are underinsured.
"That's the next frontier that's going to have to be grappled with," Kates of KFF says. "If [coronavirus] gets much more widespread, all the challenges of the existing way in which health care is financed and provided in this country are going to be in stark relief. And they're not addressed in this bill."
