We’ve heard it again and again during the pandemic: testing is key. But in the absence of limitless resources, cities and states in the U.S. are grappling with how to strategically expand access to testing so they can isolate infected individuals and contain bigger outbreaks as they move to loosen lockdown restrictions. San Francisco may have some lessons on how to do just that, reports TIME correspondent Katy Steinmetz.
The northern California city has, so far, successfully flattened the curve while also gradually expanding who is able to get a test. By late April, San Francisco was already offering tests to any residents or commuting workers experiencing symptoms. On May 1, the city made it mandatory for residents and workers at skilled nursing facilities to get tested. On May 4, the city expanded testing to all essential workers, regardless of whether they have symptoms.
Although San Francisco has stated a goal of providing universal access to testing, that kind of capacity can’t be built overnight. What’s more, the city’s plan is not just focused on increasing the volume of tests. It’s also about targeting the right people—individuals at high risk of contracting, spreading and dying from the disease—until the city expands the circle completely.
San Francisco’s health officials are taking a holistic approach, which considers geographic, economic and social factors, Steinmetz says. “They’re taking into account health care barriers, difficulty traveling to testing sites, language barriers,” she explains.
“The challenge isn’t just getting the supplies needed for testing. It’s getting the people who are at the highest risk of contracting the coronavirus to come in for testing,” Steinmetz says. There are many reasons why individuals may hesitate to get tested. Undocumented individuals may worry about having their data collected. Breadwinners for their family may fear a positive diagnosis could prevent them from working. “What San Francisco is doing is trying not to judge them for that,” Steinmetz says. “They’re trying to understand those reasons and meet those people where they are.”
More than 5.4 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 8 PM eastern time last night, and more than 346,000 people had died.
Here is every country with over 70,000 confirmed cases:
The coronavirus pandemic has left the world facing an “unprecedented” food crisis , the U.N. World Food Programme’s chief economist warns. “When you have these severe job losses, or you have big lockdowns, that means that those people become vulnerable,” Arif Husain tells TIME. The numbers are dire: About 265 million could go hungry in 2020—nearly double the 2019 figures, according to WFP’s April projections.
Although many countries have started to lift lockdown restrictions in attempts to gradually return to normal life, the World Health Organization has warned that the first wave of the pandemic is still not over. “Right now, we’re not in the second wave. We’re right in the middle of the first wave globally,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. “We’re still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up.”
The outlook in India continues to be bleak; after resuming domestic flights yesterday, the country of more than 1.3 billion had a record-breaking single-day jump in new cases for the seventh day in a row. It reported more than 6,500 new infections today and now has about 145,000 confirmed cases in total.
Desperate to save its tourism season, Greece is moving to loosen lockdown measures by reopening cafes and restaurants. It restarted regular ferry services to its islands yesterday. (Most travel to the islands was previously paused during the country’s lockdown enforced in late March.) Greece’s relatively low infection rate indicates that it has so far been spared by the worst effects of the pandemic, unlike other Mediterranean countries in the European Union, including Italy and Spain.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings said yesterday that he won’t resign after being accused of breaking strict lockdown rules that other Britons were expected to follow. Cummings drove the length of England while the country was under strict lockdown without telling the Prime Minister first. In a televised news conference on Monday, he said it was an “exceptional situation” to arrange childcare for his 4-year-old son so his extended family could care for the child in case he and his wife were both infected with the coronavirus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that military parades celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Russian victory over Nazi Germany can take place next month, the New York Times reports. The festivities were originally scheduled for May 9 but subsequently put on hold because of the pandemic. Johnson has invited Putin to attend a global online summit to be hosted by Britain on June 4, which will focus on securing support for vaccine-development programs.
The Spanish government today announced plans for a 10-day mourning period that will begin Wednesday and honor the more than 26,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the country. Flags will be at half-mast in thousands of public buildings across the country and on navy ships.
The Situation in the U.S.
The total number of COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. rose to more than 1,662,000 as of 8 PM eastern time yesterday, and the death toll surpassed 98,000.
The New York Stock Exchange reopened today after two months of closure, but it’s not exactly business as usual. Fewer traders will be on the floor at one time to allow for social distancing and they must all wear masks.
After videos surfaced showing party-goers at the Lake of the Ozarks flouting social distancing rules over Memorial Day weekend, state authorities are urging them to quarantine, the New York Times reports. Officials in Kansas and Missouri said residents who had been there should voluntarily self-quarantine for two weeks.
The White House announced Sunday that it would ban travel to the U.S. from Brazil because of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil has reported more than 347,000 COVID-19 cases, making it the hardest-hit Latin American country. The U.S. has already stopped travel from Europe and China.
Almost all of New York State—barring New York City—has reopened or is set to reopen this week, the New York Times reports. The first phase of returning to normal life will allow residents to pick up retail purchases in stores or curbside, and for manufacturing and construction industries to start up again.
Amid nationwide debate about when religious services should be allowed to resume, churches in California can now go ahead with in-person services as long as they are limited to 100 people and require churchgoers wear masks, according to state guidelines issued yesterday. Despite these changes, some in the religious community are still taking legal action against the state, alleging that it is encroaching on their freedoms. South Bay United Pentecostal Church filed an initial Supreme Court petition over the weekend but said they would amend and continue to go forward with their legal challenge despite the new guidelines.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Grocery Workers Fear Confrontations With Shoppers Over Mask Rules
The “no-mask, no-service” rules in grocery stores around the country have sometimes led to uncomfortable and at times violent confrontations. Read more here.
What It's Like to Graduate College in a Pandemic
Members of the Class of 2020 share their thoughts on camera about an unprecedented graduation. They are grappling with disappointment and a sense that their senior year feels incomplete, as well as anxieties about entering an uncertain job market. See more here.
Don’t Ask Graduates “What’s Next?”
Because the answer is “probably nothing,” writes TIME national correspondent Charlotte Alter. Here’s how you can be helpful to the class of 2020, instead of offering unsolicited advice. Read more here.
Socially Distant Memorial Day Services Held Across the U.S.
Organizers of remembrance services had to make special accommodations in order to honor those killed in the line of duty without putting attendees at risk. Read more here.
Meat Workers Are Getting Sick As the Industry Tries to Get Back to Normal
More than 11,000 coronavirus cases have been tied to Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS, The Washington Post reports. Read more here.
An Unlikely Believer in Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate
Trial volunteer Ian Haydon experienced a severe adverse reaction to the experimental vaccine; he developed a fever of more than 103°F and fainted in his home. But he still believes the drug can work, STAT News reports. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Sanya Mansoor and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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