Special Report: Coronavirus — The Week's Best from NPR News

Special Report: Coronavirus — The Week's Best from NPR News 49:39

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It's been nearly 12 weeks since the first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in Washington state, and it's unclear when the wave of infections may subside.

One of the biggest questions for officials who are managing the government response is whether the country has reached the peak. In this Special Report, NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro wraps up the week's best reporting on all of these angles and more. Click "Listen" at the top of the page.

The Trump administration is looking at a variety of scientific modeling to try to figure that out. Projections of the death toll vary by the tens of thousands.

"We're nearing the peak of the outbreak," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told NPR this week. He added that he expects "to see the curve begin to go down."

But some governors say their states are still struggling to get needed supplies. And critics like retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who helped coordinate military relief in response to Hurricane Katrina, say the federal government can still be more aggressive in centralizing the distribution of resources.

Meantime, as Americans settle into wearing masks in public to avoid transmitting the coronavirus, they also need to look after their emotional well-being. A Kaiser Family Foundation Health tracking poll found that an increasing share of Americans — about half now, up from a third — say their mental health has been affected by the coronavirus crisis.