Houston hospitals have “reached a breaking point” amid a COVID-19 outbreak, which struck weeks after 150 hospital workers were fired by Houston Methodist hospital, one of several hospitals struggling.

“Target Corporation, the eighth largest retailer in the United States, announced in an email to employees on Thursday that it will be leaving the City Center, its primary downtown Minneapolis location.  Company officials cited improved remote work opportunities and less need for space as the drivers for the decision.”

“In Beverly Hills, California, city leaders are demanding L.A. County repeal its ban on outdoor dining, while restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky pledge to reopen regardless of what the governor orders.”

Sweden fell below Chile and Brazil in #Covid_19 deaths per capita this week. Today they pass the US. With every passing week, the Swedish strategy looks stronger.

The lockdowns have failed to provide any additional health benefits.

While we are not yet quite done with the issue, it does look like Sweden deserves less criticism. We don't recall, in the history of medicine, that there was ever a quarantine of healthy people, it was always the sick ones that were quarantined. In the US, the motivation first came to light by a high school student winning a science fair by modeling social distancing and its effects on epidemics. We think we need more adults in the room.

So keep your eye on the issue along with South Dakota.

“Unfortunately, history suggests the economic damage will endure long after the wreckage in Minneapolis is cleared. Economic research and basic economic theory indicate that local residents will suffer from myriad cascading consequences ranging from business flight, reduced capital investment, higher insurance costs, and lower property values. All of these effects will be especially hard on underprivileged communities. There is not an abundance of data on the costs of riots, but the evidence that does exist points in one direction.”

At an April 23 press conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded indignant when a reporter asked if anyone had objected to New York’s policy of forcing nursing homes to admit recently discharged COVID-19 patients.

“They don’t have the right to object,” Cuomo answered before the reporter finished his question. “That is the rule, and that is the regulation, and they have to comply with it.”