StatePublicHealth.org

• COVID-19’s Impact on Pregnancy and Childbirth Policies

  As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States, hospital systems are implementing heightened safety precautions to reduce risk of transmission, and obstetric wards are no exception. There is currently limited information on how COVID-19 affects pregnant people, resulting in a variety of restrictive safety measures and hospital protocols.

• Why We Need Race and Ethnicity Data to Beat COVID-19

  The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, shows no bias—it has infected people of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities. However, racial and ethnic disparities in rates of infection and deaths have emerged. There is growing evidence that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting communities of color, although not all jurisdictions report race as part of their surveillance. State and territorial health officials can and must emphasize the necessity for data on racial disparities as this pandemic unfolds.

• What is Needed for Community Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Glimmers of hope for recovery from the COVID-19 response started to shine this month when several thought leaders and policy experts shared recommendations on what is needed to move from the mitigation phase of COVID-19 to community recovery in four different papers and reports. Each report outlines the major steps and the public health capacities needed to effectively control and prevent COVID-19 transmission both here in the United States and around the globe. The requisites to community recovery include universal COVID-19 testing capacity, public compliance with stay-at-home and physical distancing regulations and recommendations, and a public health and health care system with the capacity to respond to hotspots and outbreaks of COVID-19 as restrictions on movement and gathering are gradually lifted.