Covid-19: White House expected to recommend that Americans wear cloth masks to prevent spread

The White House is expected to announce a new policy, based on CDC guidance, urging those in areas where Covid-19 is spreading quickly to wear cloth masks in public to curb transmission. The new policy marks a departure from previous guidance that recommended only those with respiratory symptoms cover their mouths and noses, and is based on the understanding that those with Covid-19 could be asymptomatic and transmit infection up to two days before symptoms set in.

Here's what else is new: 

• In a new First Opinion for STAT, psychiatrist Jessica Gold sounds the alarm on the mental health status of health care workers. They may appear calm, she writes, but they aren't sleeping, are anxious, and "are barely keeping it together." 
• Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania launched the U.S. site for a global registry aimed at keeping physicians informed about intubation for Covid-19 patients. The intubateCovid registry was initially launched in the U.K., and allows doctors to share symptoms, protocols, and protective equipment they used when caring for intubated patients to better understand the link between risks for severe Covid-19 and management of the disease. 
• A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll of more than 1,200 U.S. adults finds that more than 90% of them are now following social distancing measures, while nearly 40% say they've lost their job or have had their hours reduced in response to the outbreak.