With help from Myah Ward
THE FRONT MOVES SOUTH — Hello, and greetings again from Florida, where it’s finally starting to feel more like the frontlines in the battle over coronavirus. Four days before reopening, when we last covered Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis at the top of The Nightly, Florida was in far better shape than critics had predicted. DeSantis was getting ready for a victory lap and soon basked in the accolades of conservative media. No more.
Steady climb — Today, DeSantis had little reason to swagger during a press conference in Hialeah, a coronavirus hotspot near Miami. Hours before, Tri-State governors turned the tables on him by announcing mandatory quarantines of Floridians, and others, coming to their states. That announcement came after Florida hit an all-time high in new positive coronavirus cases: 5,508, exceeding by 36 percent a previous high four days earlier. The positivity rate rose to an alarming point, 20 percent, a level unseen since April 1, when DeSantis bowed to pressure and locked down the state amid coronavirus-induced paranoia. Though the positivity rate increase is a sign of infection spreading — and not merely the increase in testing — DeSantis for weeks had steadfastly downplayed the severity of community spread until a rare admission Saturday that it’s occurring at levels that concern him.
The phases of infection — When it was time to initiate Phase 2 of the reopening plan on June 5, the numbers didn’t look much different from pre-Phase 1, so DeSantis went ahead. But state data show that’s when new cases and the positivity rate began spiking. DeSantis correctly pointed out that more younger people are being infected (along with asymptomatic people) now than at the beginning of the pandemic, so hospitalizations and deaths are down. But how long can a contagion like this spread so quickly without eventually hitting the elderly? After all, new cases in the last two weeks account for about 40 percent of Florida’s total caseload. And, it’s hard to argue things aren’t so bad when ICUs in the biggest urban area of Miami-Dade start hitting capacity as the administration quietly changed how hospitals reported available ICU beds.
The PSA gov — The last time DeSantis was in the Miami area, on June 12, it was just after the Republican National Committee announced it was moving the convention to Jacksonville to nominate President Donald Trump. DeSantis, defying critics, talked about the need to reopen the economy, fretting more about its condition than the spread of coronavirus. He went on to wave the green flag at a NASCAR event to start the race in Homestead and herald the return of limited spectator sports. He wore a mask as he walked in but didn’t put it back on in between speakers the way he did today. It was a subtle shift. More important was DeSantis taking extra time today to clearly remind people to wear masks and keep their distance. “You need to do your part and make sure that you’re not spreading it to people,” he said today, wearing a mask when he wasn’t speaking.
A data point too far — During his press conferences, DeSantis makes clear he’s taking a “data-driven” approach to coronavirus response and can discuss granular details about, for instance, how 50 percent of Covid-19 patients in hospitals were on ventilators in March and April but only 2 percent are now. But DeSantis isn’t data-driven when it comes to a statewide mask-wearing mandate, despite a study published last week in Health Affairs showing those orders help slow the spread of infection. DeSantis said today he didn’t want to do it, citing enforcement problems and his refusal for a one-size-fits-all policy. The study authors argue it’s “undebatable” that masks work.
There’s one important voice in DeSantis’s world who has real concerns with masks: Trump, who according to the Wall Street Journal last week, said some people wear masks to “signal disapproval” of him.
Welcome to POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition. Turns out, evolution is the reason why we still crave gathering in groups despite pandemic warnings. Reach out with tips: [email protected] or on Twitter at @renurayasam.
SURPRISE BILLING — The Trump administration’s pledge to protect Covid-19 patients from massive medical bills is falling short for a growing number of survivors who experience long-term complications from the virus, writes health care reporter Susannah Luthi. Patients with and without insurance have already been hit with staggering bills, despite a White House promise to cover their costs, according to patient rights advocates. That’s because health care providers and insurers are classifying the ongoing symptoms as distinct from the virus during the billing process. Private health insurers, including many the White House prodded to waive treatment costs for patients diagnosed with coronavirus, haven’t committed to extending generous coverage policies to patients dealing with virus-related conditions weeks or months later. Some that only cover in-network care are rejecting bills from out-of-network specialists. Insurers like Cigna are waiving costs for these post-viral health problems — but only as long as the patients’ doctors explicitly link them to Covid-19 on their medical bills.
The payment policies may not help people who had coronavirus symptoms early during the pandemic but couldn’t get tested — or who experienced symptoms mild enough not to even try. The bills and ongoing cost of care for these individuals can be massive if they develop heart inflammation, kidney disease, or other serious problems that doctors have observed for months. One woman reported getting at least $65,000 in bills for an eight-day stay in the hospital for complications that included a colon infection.
Feds step back on testing — The federal government is ending its support for 13 drive-thru coronavirus testing sites on June 30, urging states to take over their operations — even as cases spike in several parts of the country, health care reporter David Lim writes. The sites, which HHS says are spread across five states, are the remnants of a larger federal testing program established early in the pandemic. Seven sites are in Texas, which is experiencing record numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Scott Becker, CEO of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, says it’s not the moment to shift responsibility for the sites — especially those near emerging hot spots in Texas — to states. “The federally supported testing sites remain critically needed, and in some places like Houston and Harris County, TX and in other hotspots, are needed now more than ever,” Becker said in an email. “This is not the time for the federal government to walk back prior commitments on testing.”
ON TOP FROM THE BASEMENT — Donald Trump accuses him of hiding in a basement. The president’s campaign issues daily advisories about his whereabouts. They are desperate to draw Joe Biden out of his coronavirus bunker, but to no avail.
Biden’s stay-at-home campaign is working, Marc Caputo and Christopher Cadelago write, and Democrats are just fine with him off the trail.
In the three months Biden launched a virtual campaign from his cellar TV studio, his lead has grown to double-digits in national polls while Trump has pin-balled from crisis to crisis. While the president’s approval ratings have suffered under the weight of his Trump’s handling of the pandemic, an economic recession and protests over racism and police brutality, Biden just posted his widest lead yet in a poll — 14 percentage point, according to a New York Times/Siena poll released today.
“Trump is running against Trump. And it’s smart of Biden to not get in the way of that,” Hilary Rosen, a consulting partner of top Biden adviser Anita Dunn, said in echoing the sentiment in the campaign. “It’s become a referendum on Trump’s behavior.”
Nightly’s Myah Ward asked: What have we learned about recovery rates and the long-term health effects of Covid-19?
“What we’re seeing is that many of them, at least at one month of follow up, are still having significant pulmonary complaints, they’re short of breath. They’re still having chest pain. A lot of them still have abnormal X-rays. Many of them, up to 40 to 50 percent of them, still have abnormalities in their breathing that we can measure. A lot of them are having symptoms of post traumatic stress. Some of them have anxiety. Some of them are showing signs of depression. And the lung is not the only organ that was involved in this pandemic. Many of the patients have had neurologic abnormalities. A lot of them have kidney abnormalities. We’re going to see that there is a significant health care burden that’s going to be associated with the Covid pandemic for a very long time.” — Rany Condos, pulmonologist and director of the advanced lung disease program at NYU Langone Health
“One of my colleagues is exactly my age, healthy. He got Covid. He came within a couple hours of being intubated. He was hospitalized for seven days, lost 15 pounds, had to go home on oxygen, and hasn’t been able to work for two months. He is so weak. This is a healthy 64-year-old man. We have seen issues with pulmonary compromise. We’ve seen issues with Myocarditis, with acute kidney injury. There’s beginning to be and this will likely be a longer term understanding of what effect has Covid infection on the brain. We know it can cause loss of taste. We know it can cause loss of smell. Does it do other things to the brain? And there’s been some initial suggestions that yes, there is. What about long term effects on the fetus? No one knows yet. Remember that everything we know about this virus is what, 22, 23 weeks old.” — Gregory Poland, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at The Mayo Clinic, director of the Mayo vaccine research group
THE PANDEMIC GOES WEST — As the coronavirus surges in Texas, Arizona and Florida, it’s hitting counties that lean Republican more than Democrat-leaning ones. Renu explains why in the latest edition of POLITICO Dispatch.
Nightly asks you: If you were going to erect a statue in the place where you live, who or what would you choose? And why? Send us your thoughts through our form, and we’ll feature answers in our Friday edition.
HIGH MARKS FOR MERKEL — Germans, Brits, Spaniards and the French rarely agree on anything, but according to a new Morning Consult poll they all agree German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had the best Covid-19 performance among leaders of major countries. In each of the four countries, Ryan Heath writes, at least 62 percent of the population say that Trump has done a “poor” job in helping people during the pandemic. Around 2 percent say he’s done an “excellent” job.
In a separate poll conducted for the European Council on Foreign Relations, 63 percent of Italians said the EU failed its citizens in the wake of Covid-19, and just 4 percent of Italians cited the EU as their best ally during the pandemic. In contrast, 25 percent nominated China as Italy’s best ally.
What a day for a parade — Russia held a massive World War II victory parade today despite the coronavirus pandemic, setting a patriotic tone ahead of a national vote that could keep Vladimir Putin in power until 2036. The annual May 9 parade of troops and tanks across Red Square — this year celebrating 75 years since the USSR’s defeat of Nazi Germany — was postponed as Russia’s corona caseload skyrocketed. But at the end of last month, Putin announced it would be rescheduled for June 24, the day returning Soviet troops cast down Nazi standards outside the Kremlin walls.
The new celebration was also the day before an “all people’s vote” on constitutional changes passed by parliament this spring, which paves the way for Putin, who has already been in power for two decades, to remain president. Putin’s presidential term, his last under the current rules, is supposed to end in 2024. But if the constitutional changes are approved, it would reset Putin’s presidential term count back to zero, meaning he could stand in the next two elections, in 2024 and 2030. While many Russians celebrate their relatives who died in the war, the parade this year appeared designed to also fire up Putin’s electorate and shore up his flagging ratings before the largely symbolic vote. Mass events are still officially banned in Moscow.
WHAT’S IN A NAME — In the latest episode of The Backstory, deputy magazine editor Elizabeth Ralph explores the different ways that slavery and the Confederacy have been memorialized in American culture, and examines the lives of the less-than-successful people whose namesakes have created controversy. One example: Fort Bragg, named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, who is routinely ranked one of the worst generals in the Civil War. Bragg made bad strategic decisions, blamed his men for them, and eventually was demoted by Jefferson Davis after a horrible defeat.
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- Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam
