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Despite fears of contracting the coronavirus, Black voters plan to vote in person on Election Day. This choice stems from skepticism – fueled by decades of disenfranchisement, major problems with mail in ballots during this year’s primaries and fears that mailed ballots won’t get counted – and outweighs the inconvenience of long lines and health risks in communities of color.

In Georgia, roughly 12,500 mail-in ballots were rejected in the state’s June primary, while California tossed more than 100,000 absentee ballots during its March primary. In Kentucky’s June primary, more than 8,000 absentee ballots were rejected in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville.

Reasons vary for the rejections, including ballots being received after the deadline to voters’ signatures not matching the one on file with the county clerk. Studies also show mail-in ballots from Black voters are rejected at a higher rate than those of white voters. The same goes for Latino and young voters.

“For Black folks, voting is almost like a social pride because of the way they were denied in the past,” said Ben Barber, a researcher and writer for the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham, North Carolina.

This distrust of Blacks in the mail-in ballot process has deep roots and continues today. Black people were the demographic least likely to cast votes by mail in 2018, with only 11% using that method, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

To ease doubts, some suggest an alternative to mail in voting that allows voters to be able to drop their ballot at a polling place rather than worrying about the post office delivering it on time.

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC

A new forecast by the CDC says 19,000 more Americans could die from Covid-19 in the next 20 days. New deaths are likely to increase in Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee and Washington.

Health officials stress the importance of hand washing, physical distancing and wearing face coverings.

“We’re getting close to about 55% of Americans wearing a mask,” said Dr. Chris Murray, a researcher behind an influential coronavirus model from the University of Washington. “That’s good news, but of course it’s a long way to go before we get to the levels like Singapore has at 95%, which would really save a lot of lives in this country.”

In what appears to be a break from Trump’s advocacy for the anti-malaria drug, White House coronavirus task force member Admiral Brett Giroir said hydroxychloroquine is not recommended as a treatment for Covid-19.

In the NBC interview on Sunday, Giroir stressed that the public needs to move on from talks of hydrochloroquine and “talk about what is effective,” including remdesivir and steroids, which have been shown to reduce mortality from coronavirus.

Just hours into the first day of classes last Thursday, school officials at Greenfield Central Junior High School in Indiana notified the country health department that a student tested positive for the coronavirus. The student, who had walked the halls and sat in various classrooms, was isolated and those in close contact with the student were asked to quarantine for 14 days.

As Trump continues to push for the reopening of schools nationwide, the private school attended by his son, Barron, was issued an order prohibiting on-campus learning for the start of the school year.

On Friday, Montgomery County, Maryland issued the order demanding that private schools remain closed to in-person learning until October 1. Trump’s son attends St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, part of Montgomery County.

“We are hopeful that in September most of our students will be able to return to on-campus learning and relationships,” wrote St. Andrew’s Head of School Robert Kosasky in a letter to parents. “We will continue to follow guidance of appropriate health officials and refine both our hybrid and distance learning plans.”

Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan says he disagrees with the Montgomery County directive, saying that the decision for private and parochial schools to open in-person or virtually should not be determined by politicians.

Top Democratic and Republican leaders are expected to continue negotiations this week on a new coronavirus stimulus plan. During an interview on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained that Democrats and the Trump administration still don’t agree on the strategic plan vital to fighting the virus and helping the struggling economy.

The Republican plan to reduce the supplemental assistance to $600 to $200, as well as a last-minute proposition to extend the $600 a week addition by one more week, was rejected by Democrats, who are pushing for a longer-term fix.

On Sunday, Nevada lawmakers passed a bill to mail all active voters ballots ahead of the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic. If signed by the governor, Nevada will join seven other states, including California, Vermont and Oregon, in automatically sending voters mail ballots.

260 campers and staff at a multi-day overnight camp in Georgia have tested positive for Covid-19. Staff, who attended training in mid-June and on June 21, were joined by more than 360 campers age six to 19.

Among the 260 positive tests, 231 people are age 17 or younger.

The YMCA of Metro Atlanta released a statement saying that it regretted opening Camp High Harbour in response to parent requests to open the overnight camps. Although staff members were required to wear face masks, campers were not.

As people beat the heat by staying in air-conditioned spaces, scientists are observing the impact air conditioning may have on the spread of the virus.

Early research has shown that indoor spaces with poor ventilation or lack of new air can raise the risk of the virus’ spread.

The Food and Drug Administration has expanded its “do-not-use” list of hand sanitizers that may contain methanol or wood alcohol, a substance that is toxic when absorbed through skin or ingested. Many of the 87 varieties of hand sanitizer have already been recalled.

The FDA says that in most cases, methanol does not appear on the product label. The agency said it has taken steps to prevent the products, many produced in Mexico, from entering the country. Click here for the complete list of products. [https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use#products]