Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Global Health Watch: Italy To Take Cautious First Steps To Reopen; Virus Disrupts Wuhan Illicit Fentanyl Trade
Italy announced a timetable for reopening its economy and daily life beginning on May 4, marking a milestone in the hard-hit country’s struggle against the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the government will end the lockdown on industry, services and social contacts in stages, but he warned that a resurgence in virus infections could force a return of restrictions. (Walker, 4/26)
As Italy prepares to emerge from the West’s first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe’s hardest-hit country. Italy had the bad luck of being the first Western nation to be slammed by the outbreak, and its official total of 26,600 fatalities lags behind only the U.S. in the global death toll. (Winfield, 4/26)
For drug traffickers interested in getting in on the fentanyl business, all roads once led to Wuhan. The sprawling industrial city built along the Yangtze River in east-central China is known for its production of chemicals, including the ingredients needed to cook fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids. (Linthicum, 4/24)
Prisons across the world have become powerful breeding grounds for the coronavirus, prompting governments to release hundreds of thousands of inmates in a mad scramble to curb the spread of the contagion behind bars. The pandemic has also set off prisoner rebellions as angry inmates have called new attention to chronic problems in corrections systems in many countries, including overcrowding, filth and limited access to health care. (Landono, Andreoni and Casado, 4/26)
When officials in his home state began giving food boxes to families hit by Colombia’s coronavirus lockdown, lawmaker Ricardo Quintero was struck by the exorbitant prices being paid to the vendors. So he armed himself with pictures of the coffee, pasta and other goods and went down to his local grocery store. (Faiola and Herrero, 4/26)
Some developing countries are easing restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus, sparking concern that cases could surge as shops and some industries open to provide desperately needed food and jobs. Many of these countries—including India, Pakistan, Ghana and South Africa—are encouraged by the relatively low number of infections they have seen compared with global hotspots in China, southern Europe and the U.S. (Shah and Parkinson, 4/27)
