• “White supremacy is a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19,” public health experts say in an open letter as large protests erupt in cities across the United States.
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• The COVID-19 quarantine has created a curious kind of time displacement, where weeks seem to blend together but individual days stand out. Decades from now, people will probably remember where they were on the day the NBA shut down and Disney World closed. For those involved in Orlando’s arts community, March 19 will forever be marked as the day we learned the 2020 Orlando Fringe Festival had been canceled. This annual event normally draws tens of thousands of participants from around the world. Not only is the Fringe festival a keystone of Orlando’s cultural community, it’s a major commercial engine as well, generating more than a million dollars for artists and injecting millions more into local businesses. The good news …
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• New estimates say the U.S. needs to triple its testing. But how much testing does each state need? Here’s how states compare to each other, and to targets experts say they should hit.
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• The number of COVID-19 cases is still climbing in Central Florida’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities. But a local advocacy group has reached out to the federal government with a proposal to turn that around.
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• Doctor visits without health insurance are expensive. Doctor visits with health insurance are pretty expensive too, especially if you fear you may have COVID-19. The story of a Miami man’s flu test went, sorry to say it, viral in February. After a work trip to China and feeling ill, he went to a doctor “in an abundance of caution” and left with a bill for more than $3,200 (and a diagnosis of simple flu). On Tuesday, President Trump announced major insurers Humana and Cigna will waive copays during the coronavirus pandemic. Many wonder why it took COVID-19 for health insurance companies to promote medical visits by removing copays. Well, it could have to do with insurance companies being profit-driven enterprises …
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• With at least 50 known cases of COVID-19 now in Orange County, county Mayor Jerry Demings announced a stay-at-home order lasting two weeks, beginning Thursday night at 11. Demings said he had a conversation with other Florida mayors as well as healthcare experts for input, and he believes this is the most effective way to deal with the coronavirus threat. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer noted that “every single mayor” in the county was in agreement with the decision, betraying a hint of frustration with Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been resisting growing calls for Florida to institute a similar lockdown statewide. State Senate Democrats flooded the governor’s office with letters on Tuesday, urging him to issue a shelter-in-place order. State …
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• Sen. Richard Burr issued a warning at a private event weeks ago to prepare for dire effects from the coronavirus, going further than his more public comments, according to a recording obtained by NPR.
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