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The Maine company that’s one of the world’s two major producers of COVID-19 testing swabs is extending a furlough of 180 employees as demand for the swabs has slipped. Puritan Medical Products furloughed the employees at its North Main Street plant in Pittsfield last month, and it will last for three more weeks as the company finalizes new orders from the federal government, Puritan spokesperson Virginia Templet said. The workers are now expected to return on Aug. 2, she said. (Marino Jr., 7/8)

Health officials point to a rise in fentanyl-laced substances, including opioids, marijuana and cocaine for the recent increase in overdoses, with a suspected bad batch of fentanyl circulating in the region exacerbating the trend. In the District, the city’s medical examiner identified fentanyl in 95 percent of the 87 overdose deaths through March this year, a number that has risen steadily in recent years; 281 overdose deaths in 2019 and 411 in 2020. Black residents, who make up 46 percent of the city according to census data, have been disproportionately affected. More than four out of five people who die of overdoses in the city are Black, according to data from city officials. (Rosenzweig-Ziff and Hilton, 7/8)

Now that West Nile virus has been confirmed in the mosquito population in Fort Bend County, area cities are being proactive in controlling the pests. According to one report last week, the city of Sugar Land “confirmed the presence of West Nile virus at a mosquito trap located on Morrisons Place in the New Territory subdivision.” Dr. Joe Anzaldua, the city’s medical director and health authority, is urging residents to take precautions to reduce West Nile exposure. (Kent, 7/8)

Transitional foster homes, where families are licensed to care for migrant children, are widely considered to be the best option for kids in U.S. custody, especially for minors who have been traumatized, are very young, pregnant or are teen parents and require extra emotional support. Yet hundreds of transitional foster care beds at family homes and small group facilities are not being used, according to government data. Four providers told The Associated Press that they have licensed foster families ready to take children. Two providers said about a third of available beds over the past month were not used. The others declined to specify. (Watson, 7/8)