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Coronavirus Makes Bail Reform Efforts More Urgent

Some jurisdictions have released many pretrial detainees in an effort to decrease jail populations during the pandemic, taking steps bail reform advocates sought for years.

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Congress Hears Options—And Concerns—for Using Smartphone Data to Fight COVID-19

Other countries have been using various forms of location and proximity tracing to slow the spread of the disease, with widely varying levels of privacy protections.

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Unions Pushing for Billions in State and Local Coronavirus Aid

Labor groups representing hundreds of thousands of public employees want to see Congress funnel at least another $300 billion to state and local governments.

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Transit Agencies' Challenge Is to Balance Service with Safety

From distributing face masks to offering free rides, transit agencies have adopted different approaches to protecting workers and passengers. But union leaders say more needs to be done to keep workers safe.

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GSA Creates Buying Guide for COVID-19 Screenings at Federal Buildings

As the government’s buyer and landlord, the General Services Administration created a central contract vehicle for screening services to prevent infected people from entering federal buildings.

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Ahead of Easter Sunday, Kansas Lawmakers Revoke Governor's Restrictions on Church Gatherings

Gov. Laura Kelly had issued an order earlier this week prohibiting crowds of more than 10 people at religious services as part of efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

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CISA Offers Ways to Lessen Lag for Teleworkers Without Sacrificing Security

The temporary guidance outlines options and best practices for agencies to follow during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Housing Advocates Push for a Rent Freeze During Covid-19 Pandemic

As layoffs and unemployment claims due to coronavirus skyrocket, some say paying rent is untenable for many and must be put on hold.

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Lawmakers Push CDC for New Demographic Data on Coronavirus Patients

A group of 17 lawmakers asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect sex, race, ethnicity and other information to spot potential inequities in health care. 

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VA Delays Major IT Programs to Focus on COVID-19

The initial rollout of the new electronic health records system will be pushed out—again—as well as pilots for the new scheduling system. A third, integral effort remains on track.

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White House Expands Coronavirus-Focused Supercomputing Consortium

Officials are putting high-performance computing resources to work across the country to help combat COVID-19.

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Black Americans Face Higher Rates of Coronavirus Infection

Citing initial reports that show a disproportionate impact on African Americans, lawmakers from across the country say more health departments and states need to publish race data on cases.

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Study: Air Pollution Increases Risk of Death from Coronavirus

The study by researchers at Harvard University's public health school is the first nationwide research to find a link between high rates of air pollution and higher rates of death from the novel coronavirus.

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Mid-Pandemic, CDC Looks to Upgrade Its Biosurveillance Database

The system collects data from hospitals, local public health departments, pharmacies and more to give researchers and officials a view of how diseases spread across the country.

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Pentagon Attorneys Say Amazon Wants ‘Do-Over’ in JEDI Bid

The Defense Department defended its request for a four-month remand while it addresses issues raised by Amazon’s lawsuit over the multibillion-dollar cloud contract.

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State and Local Officials Call for Residents to Wear Masks

A city in Texas apparently became the first in the country to institute a fine for residents who don’t wear masks to places like grocery stores.

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Pentagon Launches Coronavirus Mythbuster Site

The Defense Department created a web portal to fact-check bad information circulating about the coronavirus and the military’s response.

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In an Airport City, Coronavirus Travel Slump Stokes Budget Worries

SeaTac, Washington is in relatively good financial shape. But its tax revenues depend heavily on a sector that’s taking a beating during the disease outbreak.

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'It Can Happen to Anybody': When Coronavirus Spreads at a Local Health Department

Six employees at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department tested positive for coronavirus. All were key to the department's pandemic response plan, leaving officials scrambling to find replacements.