* USA Today…

From its biggest cities to its smallest towns, America’s chance to contain the coronavirus crisis came and went in the seven weeks since U.S. health officials botched the testing rollout and then misled scientists in state laboratories about this critical early failure. Federal regulators failed to recognize the spiraling disaster and were slow to relax the rules that prevented labs and major hospitals from advancing a backup. […]

The nation’s public health pillars — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration — shirked their responsibility to protect Americans in an emergency like this new coronavirus, USA TODAY found in interviews with dozens of scientists, public health experts and community leaders, as well as email communications between laboratories and hospitals across the country. […]

CDC leaders not only bungled their role in developing the first coronavirus test permitted in the country, they also misrepresented the efficacy of early solutions to state health authorities.

Then, public and private lab directors felt rebuffed by the FDA when they first offered to help troubleshoot the problem by developing their own tests. The agency, through its emergency authority, had placed restrictions on labs that can apply in emergencies but not in normal circumstances. […]

In late February, the CDC’s deputy director of infectious disease projected calm in a conference call with state laboratories. The labs were told they could now send samples to the CDC and receive results within 24 hours.

As we’ve already discussed, that last bit was also not true. It still takes days to get test results back from the CDC. Go read the whole thing. Despicable.

* Emmanuel Camarillo at the Sun-Times…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday issued an executive order halting new prisoners to the Illinois Department of Corrections amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Effective Thursday, all admission to the Department of Corrections from Illinois county jails are suspended, the executive order states. Only a limited number of “essential transfers” and exceptions made in consultation with county sheriffs will be admitted to prisons.

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association rebuked the move, saying the order was counterproductive to halting the spread of the new virus within the correctional system and put every county across the state at higher risk.

“We’re on the front lines and local Sheriffs need to be able to safely and securely transfer healthy inmates out of their facility to a state correctional center to mitigate risk, prevent overcrowding and slow or minimize the spread within the correctional system.” Jim Kaitschuk, Executive Director of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, said in a statement.

* From UFCW Local 881 President Steve Powell…

Tens of thousands of Local 881 UFCW members continue to show up every day and serve their communities across Illinois despite the risk to their own health and that of their families. These brave union members deserve nothing less than the respect and protection of their elected leaders. Words and appreciation are not enough during this crisis. You cannot call them essential without providing the protections and benefits that title deserves. That is why we are demanding that our elected leaders immediate enact the following safety measures.

Local 881 workers must be designated as first responders for the remainder of the COVID-19 crisis. Governors in Minnesota, Michigan, and Vermont have taken this position, which will make retail workers eligible for free childcare, provide coverage for all coronavirus treatments, tests, and medicines if diagnosed or quarantined, and ensure that they have adequate access to PPE. These minimum benefits come at a pivotal time as our members are working to sustain the food supply when demand is high, and schools are closed. Like the rest of us, grocery store, pharmacy, and food processing workers have children who are no longer attending school and are themselves at risk of getting sick. Everything must be done to ensure they can work and come home safely to their families.

Limitations on the number of customers in grocery stores and pharmacies must be put in place. Directives from the Governor and Mayor have severely limited the size of crowds allowed in public and private places, and our essential retail outlets should be treated similarly.

Suspend Chicago’s single use “bag tax” for the remainder of the COVID-19 crisis so that workers and customers are not being infected by reusable bags that are transmitting the virus from home to grocery stores. We have recently seen other industry leaders take decisive action to protect their workers and customers by suspending shoppers from bringing in reusable items like cups and bags because of concerns over transmission of the virus. Local 881 clerks and baggers are directly in harm’s way by having to handle hundreds of reusable shopping bags in an average shift. Other states have already implemented a temporary ban on reusable shopping bags and many of our employers are beginning this commonsense practice.

* From a pal…

If you’re looking for another angle on all of this — this is one of several announcements I’ve seen this week of papers around the state making big decisions about print editions. I presume these will be permanent, too.

Shaw Media…

In response to the ongoing crisis Shaw Media’s print schedule has changed:

The print edition of the Northwest Herald will continue its normal publication schedule Monday through Friday. The Saturday and Sunday editions will be combined as a single edition and delivered on Saturday.

The Herald-News will continue its six-day print-and-deliver cycle, but the weekend edition will now be delivered on Saturday.

The Daily Chronicle, Daily Gazette and The Telegraph will suspend the Monday print edition. The Daily Gazette and Telegraph will transition from a broadsheet format to a tab format.

The News Tribune and The Times will continue their current five-day print and delivery cycle, but will be moving to tab configuration. The change in format will allow us to more efficiently produce our printed newspapers in La Salle County and throughout Northern Illinois.

The Daily Egyptian has abandoned print for now as well.

* I told you earlier this week that the state was allowing golf courses to operate with some major restrictions. That policy was reversed yesterday…

The DCEO’s new missive addressing frequently asked questions included golf. It remarked, “Can golf courses stay open? No; recreational sports businesses including golf courses are not considered essential businesses under the executive order.” […]

According to a letter sent out Thursday by the PGA Illinois Section, “We communicated yesterday that an interpretation had been published that golf was permitted. That interpretation was correct and actionable at the time it was communicated, however, that interpretation has now been overturned, and once again, the state is prohibiting golf courses from opening.”

The letter added that golf course maintenance is permitted, along with carry-out food service. Long Bridge co-owner Michelle Buerkett said her kitchen will still provide carry-out service Monday through Friday during lunch hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting next week.

* Related…

* How recreational weed went from illegal to essential in 3 months: Meanwhile, Kris Krane, president of the Mission dispensary in South Chicago, likened recreational cannabis to over-the-counter medications, like ibuprofen. “Saying we can’t be open for adult-use but we can only be open for medical would be akin to saying that CVS can only sell prescription medication,” Krane said. On top of that, Krane noted, many people in Illinois simply need “stress relief in a time like this.”

* Southern Illinois health centers receive federal funding to help fight COVID-19

* Sister of first coronavirus victim in Illinois dies from disease

* University of Chicago Medical Center brings back furloughed workers without coronavirus symptoms as hospital cases grow

* 4th Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court employee tests positive for COVID-19

* Want to know where all those Florida spring breakers are now?