Category: NPR

How do you prevent the spread of COVID-19? With the same technique to prevent other viruses: Properly washing your hands and being mindful of touching your face.

The coronavirus that emerged in China late last year has now been detected in at least 56 nations. The rapid spread drove down stock markets.

Many of us feel increasingly stressed and short on time as the day wears on. But does that make for worse medical care? Studies suggest preventive maintenance suffers with late appointments.

The first suspected U.S. case of novel coronavirus infection through “community spread” was left undiagnosed for days, hospital officials said, because the case didn’t fit the CDC’s criteria.

There’s been a bottleneck in testing for the new coronavirus because of problems with the test kits the CDC has distributed to labs around the U.S.

A problem with one ingredient in test kits that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distributed to labs around the U.S. had created a frustrating bottleneck.

The plight of Chinese health care workers contracting the coronavirus has prompted frontline medical staff in the U.S. to wonder if they’re protected. Hospitals say they’re taking steps to prepare.

Hours before health officials confirmed a 60th case of the COVID-19 disease in the U.S., the president tried to calm growing concern about the nation’s preparedness, tweeting, “USA in great shape!”

Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from the high cost of health care, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a “steam train of opposition.”

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, about how to plan for a coronavirus pandemic.