Plus: Are your local hospitals ready for coronavirus?
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The Big Story

Tue. Mar 17, 2020

Inside the Pro-Trump Facebook Group Where First Responders Call Coronavirus a Hoax

In a private Facebook group, firefighters and paramedics shared memes and conspiracy theories doubting the pandemic, raising concerns that they aren’t taking precautions to protect themselves and others.

   

More From This Investigation

Are Hospitals Near Me Ready for Coronavirus? Here Are Nine Different Scenarios.

How soon regions run out of hospital beds depends on how fast the novel coronavirus spreads and how many open beds they had to begin with. Here's a look at the whole country. You can also search for your region.

Methodology: How ProPublica Mapped Hospital Capacity for Coronavirus

Here’s how ProPublica analyzed how hospital capacity could vary region to region during the pandemic.

The Five Questions Reporters Need to Ask Hospitals and Local Officials About Coronavirus

ProPublica launched a tool that allows you to look up how the number of patients with COVID-19 could affect hospitals in your area under various scenarios. Here’s how to write a local accountability story with the data.

Chicago Shuts Down, but Its Public Libraries Are Open. Librarians Want Them Closed.

Librarians and other employees are protesting by calling in sick and signing a petition, saying the branches should be closed until the coronavirus is under control.

The CDC Recommends Americans Stay at Home — Unless They Work for the CDC

The Trump administration has reduced remote work across federal agencies, leaving federal workers ill-prepared to cope with the current crisis. Even the CDC has yet to direct employees to work from home.

After Discovering a Sailor With Coronavirus, the U.S. Navy Crowded Dozens Into One Room

On the USS Boxer, where the Navy discovered its first case of coronavirus on a ship, a sailor says his superiors called a meeting that crammed more than 80 senior enlisted sailors and officers together.

Millions of Federal Workers Still Waiting on Work-From-Home Order During Coronavirus Pandemic

Public health experts agree that Americans need to stay home as much as possible, but the Trump administration has not yet issued clear guidance to federal workers.

Coronavirus Panic Buying Puts Grocery Workers and Shoppers at Risk of Infection

Braving grocery store crowds when you’re already stocked up puts you at risk of getting sick or infecting others, including elderly workers and others who have no choice but to be there.

No Matter What Some Public Officials Say, the Message You Need to Hear Is “Stay Home”

Mixed messaging from all levels of government is putting Americans at risk and will speed the spread of the coronavirus. No matter what politicians say, public health experts agree. Stay home, even if you feel fine.

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.

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.

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.

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