The Big Story

This weekend has seen a dramatic escalation in the nation’s response to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and dozens of ProPublica reporters and editors have spent the weekend exploring accountability angles in the U.S. response. We’ve continued to examine our country’s botched efforts to ramp up testing, as well as how the novel coronavirus is different from the flu and why the advice to stay at home should be heeded, despite mixed messages from politicians. We also reported on how a New York City principal bucked the school district’s chain of command and alerted parents that one parent has tested positive for COVID-19.
 
This is an ongoing effort. You’ll be hearing from us a lot over the coming weeks, and we want to hear from you if you are a medical professional and if you are at home on a quarantine.

More From This Investigation

How South Korea Scaled Coronavirus Testing While the U.S. Fell Dangerously Behind

By learning from a MERS outbreak in 2015, South Korea was prepared and acted swiftly to ramp up testing when the new coronavirus appeared there. Meanwhile, the U.S., plagued by delay and dysfunction, wasted its advantage.

A Parent at My Kids’ School Tested Positive. New York City Didn’t Tell Us and Hasn’t Closed the School.

It’s even planning to keep a school open after a student tested positive. Its stance is in strong contrast to many other cities across the country.

This Coronavirus Is Unlike Anything in Our Lifetime, and We Have to Stop Comparing It to the Flu

Longtime health reporter Charles Ornstein says that comparing the novel coronavirus to the flu is dangerously inaccurate. Not one public health expert he trusts has called that comparison valid. Here’s why.

Emergency Medical Responders Have Lacked Guidance and Are Stretched for Supplies and Personnel to Combat Coronavirus

Key direction from the CDC on how to protect emergency responders came after the first American case and the exposure of at least one firefighter. It’s yet another example of a fragmented and halting response at the highest levels of government.

Some Towns Still Haven’t Halted Utility Shut-offs for Unpaid Water Bills During Coronavirus, Even as Federal Lawmakers Demand It

While some municipalities with only a few cases of the coronavirus have stopped disconnecting water service for residents with overdue bills, a few utility companies at the coronavirus epicenter in Washington have made no such promises.

The FDA Is Forcing the CDC to Waste Time Double Testing Some Coronavirus Cases

The FDA’s strict guidance on test confirmations is one of several obstacles that has slowed the federal government’s response to COVID-19. The FDA could change its rules to speed things up, but hasn’t.

Should I Quarantine Because of Coronavirus? It Depends on Who You Ask.

Agencies, local authorities and national governments do not agree on who should be quarantined or what that should actually look like. Here’s what we do know.

Are You in Coronavirus Quarantine? Tell Us What Authorities Told You So We Can Make Sure It’s Right.

We’re collecting and fact-checking instructions state and local health departments have given about coronavirus quarantines. Help us hear from every state and city.

We Want to Talk to People Working or Living on the Front Lines of Coronavirus. Help Us Report.

Are you a public health worker, medical provider, elected official, patient or other COVID-19 expert? We’re looking for information and sources. Help make sure our journalism is responsible and focused on the right issues.