In Brief: April 29, 2020

Nearly 70 dead in ‘horrific’ outbreak at veterans home

Nearly 70 residents sickened with the coronavirus have died at a Massachusetts home for aging veterans, as state and federal officials try to figure out what went wrong in the deadliest known outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S.

While the death toll at the state-run Holyoke Soldiers’ Home continues to climb, federal officials are investigating whether residents were denied proper medical care and the state’s top prosecutor is deciding whether to bring legal action.

“It’s horrific,” said Edward Lapointe, whose father-in-law lives at the home and had a mild case of the virus. “These guys never had a chance.”

Sixty-eight veteran residents who tested positive for the virus have died, officials said Tuesday, and it’s not known whether another person who died had COVID-19. Another 82 residents and 81 employees have tested positive.

The home’s superintendent, who’s been placed on administrative leave, has defended his response and accused state officials of falsely claiming they were unaware of the scope of the problem there.

Pence under fire for going maskless at Mayo Clinic

MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask Tuesday during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical center’s policy requiring them.

Video feeds show that Pence did not wear a mask when he met with a Mayo employee who has recovered from COVID-19 and is now donating plasma, even though everyone else in the room appeared to be wearing one. He was also maskless when he visited a lab where Mayo conducts coronavirus tests.

And Pence was the only participant not to wear a mask during a roundtable discussion on Mayo’s coronavirus testing and research programs. All the other participants did, including Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn, top Mayo officials, Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.

Mayo tweeted that it had informed the vice president of its mask policy prior to his arrival. The tweet was later removed. Mayo officials did not directly respond to a request for comment on why it was removed, or at whose request.

From wire sources

“Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” the health care system said in its response.

Biden wins Ohio’s mail-in primary delayed by coronavirus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Joe Biden won Ohio’s presidential primary Tuesday, clinching a contest that was less about the Democratic nomination and more about how states can conduct elections in the era of the coronavirus.

The primary was the first major test of statewide elections via mail amid an outbreak.

There were reports of confusion but no widespread disruption. It wasn’t like Wisconsin earlier this month, when voters were forced to overlook social distancing guidelines to stand in line wearing masks to cast ballots.

“Within the context of the threat of the virus, it’s a decision that we will have made the best of,” Republican Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio elections chief who chairs the bipartisan International Foundation for Electoral Systems, said of mail-in balloting.

Overall turnout was surprisingly strong, said Secretary of State Frank LaRose. While his office said about 1.5 million votes had been cast as of midday Saturday, down sharply from the 3.2 million cast in Ohio’s 2016 presidential primary, he said some larger counties received tens of thousands of additional ballots Tuesday.

Easing lockdowns makes day-to-day choices more complicated

Things were so much clearer when just about everything was locked down.

Now, with states lifting coronavirus restrictions piecemeal and by often arbitrary timetables, Americans are facing bewildering decisions about what they should and should not do to protect their health, their livelihoods and their neighbors.

Is it safe to join the crowds at the beach or eat at a restaurant? To visit the elderly parents you haven’t seen in nearly two months? To reopen a struggling business?

In many cases, the less-than-satisfying answer from the experts is: It depends.

“There will never be a perfect amount of protection,” said Josh Santarpia, a microbiology expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who is studying the coronavirus. “It’s a personal risk assessment. Everybody has to decide, person by person, what risk they’re willing to tolerate.”

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Worried about virus, US House won’t return — for now

WASHINGTON — Facing the stark, startling reality that Congress may not be able to fully resume for a year, House leaders are desperately reaching for work-from-home options after a revolt from the ranks over the health risks of convening during the coronavirus pandemic.

House Democratic leaders abruptly reversed course Tuesday, shelving plans for the chamber’s 400-plus lawmakers to return for work on the next virus aid package after warnings from the Capitol physician that the public health danger was too great. The Senate, with its smaller numbers, still expects to return next Monday.

“We had no choice,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “If the House physician recommends that we not come back, then we have to take that guidance.”

It’s not just the elected officials at risk. The U.S. Capitol is a throwback of crowded hearing rooms, packed hallways and thousands of congressional staff crunched in office cubicles and cafeteria lunch lines — all unwelcome in the new era of social distancing. It additionally relies on an army of cooks, custodians, electricians and police, who keep the iconic domed building and sprawling maze of offices running.

Despite a halt in public tours, started in mid-March and extended Tuesday through mid-May by the House and Senate sergeants at arms, few other protocols have been announced beyond masks for lawmakers and staggered roll call votes.

Ex-NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume wins Maryland seat in Congress

BALTIMORE — Democrat Kweisi Mfume easily won a special election Tuesday to finish the term of the late Elijah Cummings, retaking a Maryland congressional seat he held for five terms before leaving to lead the NAACP.

Mfume defeated Republican Kimberly Klacik in the heavily Democratic 7th Congressional District, capping a race dramatically reshaped by the coronavirus. After winning what was largely a mail-in election, Mfume told supporters many people are “struggling at this hour to fight off the terrible disease of the coronavirus.”

“To them, to their families and to the families of so many others who have lost lives prematurely to this disease, I want all of you to know that from day one, all of my attention, all of my energy and all of my focus in the United States Congress will be on using science, data and common sense to help get our nation through this dark hour in our history,” Mfume said.

He wore a mask on election night, flanked by his wife and other supporters who also wore masks as protection against the virus.

Maryland opened just three polling stations Tuesday and sent ballots weeks in advance to encourage mail voting because of the pandemic. Earlier this month, thousands of Wisconsin primary voters waited hours outside overcrowded polling stations, and Maryland’s contest could be a test for future races in a key election year.

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Video shows Chicago officer shooting subway rider in back

CHICAGO — Extended security and body-cam video released Tuesday shows Chicago police shooting an unarmed short-order cook at the foot of a subway escalator and then again with his back turned to officers after they tried to stop him for violating a city ordinance by walking from one train car to another.

The Chicago Transit Authority and police body-cam videos for the first time provide a detailed look at how the incident unfolded from the time Ariel Roman used a subway’s gangway doors to when he was shot for the second time after scrambling away from officers up the escalator. Roman, 33, survived but was severely injured.

In the most striking video segment from a CTA camera, Roman is seen running up to the top of the escalator in the busy red line station holding a coat in his right hand. With the pursuing officers about 10 feet behind him, and with his back still turned to them, a female officer shoots him and he immediately slams face first onto the floor. The officer reholsters her gun and appears to handcuff him.

The Feb. 28 shooting raised questions about whether the Chicago Police Department is complying with a court-monitored reform plan that, among other things, seeks to remedy decades of excessive force by the 13,000-officer force through training that stresses conflict de-escalation.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot characterized the shooting at the time as “extremely disturbing” based on a short bystander video. She also said she wanted a full picture of what happened.

Streaming films eligible for Oscars, but for 1 year only

LOS ANGELES — Movies that debuted on a streaming service without a theatrical run will be eligible for the Oscars, but only for this year.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Tuesday announced the change for the 93rd Academy Awards as a response to how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the film industry.

The film academy also said it will condense the two sound categories into one and prohibit DVD screeners for 2022’s 94th Oscars in an effort to become more carbon neutral.

Oscars eligibility has been a major question since stay at home and social distancing orders led to both the cancellation of major film festivals and the closure of movie theaters. Previously, a film would have to have a minimum seven-day theatrical run in a Los Angeles County commercial theater in order to be considered for film’s highest honor. Now films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are made available on a home video on demand service may qualify for best picture and other categories.

“We’re dealing with the unfolding reality of an unanticipated, unprecedented global health crisis and trying to be responsive to what’s going on in the world and at the same time support our filmmakers who are in a circumstance beyond their control,” film academy president David Rubin told The Associated Press Tuesday.