Consider This from NPR - Unemployment Claims Hit Record as Testing Grows — But Is It Fast Enough?

Episode Date: March 26, 2020

Weekly unemployment claims soared last week to nearly 3.3 million and Congress works to finalize a coronavirus relief package. Plus Anthony Fauci talks about the state of testing for Covid-19 in the US, and NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports on why more testing is critical. Also, a grocer in Maine reflects on the boredom and anxiety of working through the pandemic. More links: Sign up for 'The New Normal' newsletter Contact 'Embedded' with your story from the front lines of the crisis at [e-mail]. Dr Anthony Fauci's interview on 'Morning Edition'Find and support your local public radio stationThis episode was recorded and published as part of this podcast's former 'Coronavirus Daily' format.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

During one of the most difficult moments of the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, the number of people who filed for unemployment in a single week was just over 660,000. Last week, it was nearly 3.3 million. That number is completely unprecedented. And it is an undercount. Because it's likely that many more Americans are waiting to become eligible before they file for unemployment. And gig workers and independent contractors don't qualify. Good morning, everyone. Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House could vote on a more than $2 trillion rescue package as soon as tomorrow. We have the legislation that will come to the floor tomorrow.

I anticipate and feel certain that we will have a strong bipartisan vote. Coming up, Dr. Anthony Fauci with some good news about testing. And we explained that as the number of people in the U.S. who have died passes 1,100, much more testing is necessary to get this pandemic under control. This is Coronavirus Daily from NPR. I'm Kelly McEvers. It's Thursday, March 26th. Okay, so here is some good news. The Senate rescue package that the House is expected to pass tomorrow will help a lot of those millions of people who are filing for unemployment. It will also help some people

who are not covered by unemployment, like furloughed contract and gig workers. And here's another piece of good news from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert. The testing situation is infinitely better than what it was a few weeks ago. We now have hundreds of thousands of tests out there.

And in the next week or so, we'll be having like a million a week. So like I mentioned just a moment ago. Fauci on NPR's Morning Edition today said testing started slowly but is now picking up. And that will help health workers find more positive cases, people without acute symptoms, and trace their contacts and isolate them. Fauci also shared his thoughts on the president's idea that the U.S. could relax social distancing guidance by Easter. Fauci said the president's goal was aspirational. He will be flexible. He put that out because he wanted to give some hope to people.

But he is not absolutely wed to that. I've spoken to him about it yesterday. And he keeps saying that although he would like that to be the date, he's open-minded and flexible to make sure that the facts and what the pattern of the virus is going to determine what we do. Fauci also said, though, while warm weather might slow the spread of this virus, it is likely to come back in the fall. And we're seeing it already infecting people in the southern hemisphere now as they enter into their winter. So I hope and I think we might get a respite with the weather, which would hopefully give us more time to better prepare for what might be a second round or a seasonal cycling. There's a link to Anthony Fauci's full Morning Edition interview with host Noelle King in our episode notes.

And so while the number of tests being done is going up, the federal government still advises that only certain people should get a test. And that is a problem. NPR's Jeff Brumfield explains that testing must be far broader before this pandemic is brought under control. Jeffrey Shaman has been watching this virus since it first appeared in the Chinese province of Wuhan. And right from the beginning, he noticed something odd. Not only was it exploding in its epicenter in Wuhan, but it moved very quickly geographically within China and then to other countries around the planet. Shaman is a researcher at Columbia University. He creates computer models of outbreaks.

And when he plugged in the numbers, he found something alarming. The virus wasn't just being passed along by very sick people. Others with mild symptoms, or maybe even no symptoms at all, were actually behind most of the spread. They are responsible for the lion's share of the transmission in the community. These are people who never see a doctor because they never get that sick, but they can sicken others. So how to stop them? Shaman says there's really only one solution. Deliver a lot of tests. Do a lot of testing so people find out if they're mildly infected and they isolate themselves.

And the people who know them quarantine themselves. But speaking at a White House briefing, Vice President Mike Pence delivered almost the opposite message. Don't get tested unless you're really sick. If you don't have symptoms, don't get a test. We want to make sure people who are having symptoms, who have a concern, have the ability to be tested and to have those tests processed. So what's going on? They're dealing with a reality, which is we have far fewer tests than we need right now. Ashish Jha is director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.

The reason for the lack of tests goes back to January and has to do with bureaucracy and technical blunders by the federal government. This has been a two-month debacle. We could have had a testing framework up and running two months ago. We haven't. A series of mistakes, one mistake compounded by another by another. Given their scarcity, he says he actually agrees with Pence. The sick and healthcare workers should be the ones who get tested. But without broader testing

to find sick individuals and isolate them, the only way to stop the virus is to shut down everything. Emily Gurley is an associate scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Being able to test folks is really the linchpin in getting beyond what we're doing now, which is everyone just stay home. She points out that broad testing seems to be helping countries like South Korea weather the virus. Now, expanded testing is only the first step. Systems of quarantine, isolation, and treatment will still need to be set up. Not everyone agrees how all that should work. And in some areas, like New York City, the virus is so pervasive, widespread social isolation may be the only thing that can stop it.

But Gurley says, The sooner that we can get testing up and running and online, the better off we're going to be. At the same briefing in which Pence reminded people not to ask for tests, at least not for now, other officials said the administration is working hard to expand testing and that they hope the tests will shine a light on what to do next as America faces down the coronavirus. That was NPR's Jeff Brumfield. Grocery store workers across the country

are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, and some are struggling with what that means for their health and the health of others. You're about to hear an audio diary of a grocery worker in Portland, Maine. She asked that we don't name the store where she works to protect her privacy at work. Her name is Elizabeth Caldwell. In January, I took a job as a cashier in a grocery store. Hi. The job was supposed to be an easy way to earn extra money, and it was for a while. In January, I took a job as a cashier in a grocery store. The job was supposed to be an easy way to earn extra money.

And it was, for a while. Today is Tuesday. I'm about to go to work. There are over 100 cases of coronavirus in Maine now where I live. Since the outbreak, things have changed in the store. First, the dining area closed. Then hot food went away altogether. Customers started to stock up on groceries, but in the early days they were apologetic, almost embarrassed. Then the heavy duty buying began. Frozen vegetables went first, then canned goods, and of course,

toilet paper. Now when I go to work, I never know what's going to happen. Okay, I'm about to drive by the store to park, and I'm interested to see if there's a line, because today is the first day that they're limiting the amount of people who can be in the store. But there's no line. I'm relieved. I'm relieved we finally have hand sanitizer at the registers too. There are signs now reminding people to keep away from each other. A man in his 20s runs into the sign in front of my register and knocks it sideways. I don't know why this makes me angry. I don't even like the sign, but I tell the man to fix it. was like that when I got here he says I wish I could

complain about him but I can't because the cashiers are spaced out too this is probably for my own good as I told a friend the other day I haven't been great about remembering to keep back I haven't been able to do social distancing like somebody will come up and they try to pay with their card and then you know how it doesn't work and then they don't know what to press. And so I just lean over. My face is super close to their face, super close to this germ ridden credit card thing. I just can't seem to stop. The best part about the job is seeing my co- coworkers, the ones who are still here anyway. The job is temporary, but I'll remember them in this situation for the rest of my life. Without any real conversation, the day drags until about 4 o'clock when the city announces a shelter-in-place order.

So now there is a line outside. When customers thank me for working, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't know how to respond. I'm not working out of the goodness of my heart. I'm working because I need money, and I'm not even earning that much of it. So when they thank me, it's embarrassing. So I'm back at home now, and the thing that's been going through my head is that I still have the same old boring job, ringing up groceries. But the circumstances are extraordinary. And I bet a lot of people feel like that right now. Life is so, so boring right now. But it also feels like total scary chaos at the same time.

Elizabeth Caldwell works at a grocery store in Portland, Maine. And before we go, I just want to say on the other show that I host, it's called Embedded, we're going to be telling stories from people out there in the world, people who are on the front lines of this crisis. And to do that, we would love to hear from you. Are you a health care provider? To go to sleep each night, I need to know, frankly, that I've done everything humanly possible to keep all of my staff, patients and visitors safe.

Have you or has someone you love gotten sick? Do you own a restaurant or other type of business? I don't know what safety net there's going to be for people like us, and I know we're not alone. Do you deliver mail, run a hotline, make medical supplies, or work in a grocery store? You know what, I've been doing this my whole life, but this is one of the first times that I've actually felt like my job mattered. Are you maybe someone we haven't thought of yet? Write us an email or record a voice memo and send it to us at embedded at npr.org.

Tell us your job and maybe your hardest moment so far. Tell us what surprised you. Tell us what you are seeing that the rest of us aren't. And for more news on the coronavirus, you can stay up to date with all of that on your local public radio station. And if you like your news on demand, check out the NPR One app. I'm Kelly McEvers. Thanks for listening. We're back with more tomorrow.