General News

New York City was one of the first metropolitan areas in the US to combat a large COVID-19 outbreak. A story in Politico says the community is now hoping to lead recovery efforts by manufacturing its own coronavirus testing kits. Starting in May, New York companies are expected to produce 50,000 test kits a week. 

Overseas in Russia, new COVID-19 cases have started to surge after the nation thought it had initial control over their outbreak. 

Health and Science News

We’ve spotted some stories that do a nice job of highlighting the importance of animal studies in combatting coronavirus. Science Magazine looks into the animal species that can help us defeat the disease. Quartz.com explains how monkeys, ferrets and horses are helping scientists fight COVID-19. 

CNN shared some positive news about caring for infected patients. They explain why positioning COVID-19 patients on their stomachs can save lives. New research shows coronavirus RNA can travel on shoes. But as one Ohio reporter explains, that doesn’t mean the floor is contagious. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has launched countless discussions about the benefits of herd immunity. But as a reporter at MIT Technology Review tells us, waiting for enough people to catch the disease isn’t a very good way to combat the outbreak because the strategy could take a very long time. And according to the BBC, there’s fear of a resurgence of measles in certain parts of the globe because the coronavirus has disrupted vaccination schedules

In Other News 

Some believe the COVID-19 pandemic will change the way we work forever. And finally, here’s a nice story about how Girl Scouts are helping those fighting coronavirus on the front lines.