Cities that act quicker to implement social distancing guidelines amid pandemics will likely have more economic growth once the restrictions lift, according to a working paper co-authored by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and the Federal Reserve. 

Clark County in Nevada has suspended the union contract for medical workers at Las Vegas-based University Medical Center, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, testing is a critical way for hospitals and health systems to monitor the spread of the illness. 

Telemedicine access has increased during the coronavirus pandemic as federal and state governments and private insurers relax restrictions, yet issues surrounding virtual care continue to restrict its use for some, ABC News reports. 

UPMC Susquehanna Sunbury (Pa.) closed March 31, according to The Daily Item. 

The two health systems that comprise Trinity Health's Michigan region will furlough 2,500 employees at eight hospitals, according to MLive.com.

New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System has developed a web-based app designed to track the spread of COVID-19 throughout the city, according to CNBC.

Microsoft has warned dozens of hospitals of a vulnerability allowing a hacker to exploit their networks in a ransomware attack, according to Law630.

Federal prosecutors have charged a Georgia man for allegedly conspiring to defraud Medicare and private healthcare benefit programs by submitting fraudulent claims for COVID-19 testing and genetic cancer screenings, according to the Department of Justice.

A federal judge in Cleveland dismissed an attempt by several large retail pharmacy chains, including CVS and Walgreens, to shift blame for the opioid crisis to physicians, Cleveland.com reported. 

Hospital employees are among the confirmed cases of COVID-19. Here are U.S. hospitals or other healthcare sites where employees have tested positive during the pandemic.  

Many U.S. hospitals and health systems have suspended elective procedures to save capacity, supplies and staff to treat COVID-19 patients.

Humana is expediting its claim review processes and suspending more prior authorization requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal actions alone can't fill a growing revenue gap resulting from reduced private payments for suspended elective care, Richard Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in an April 1 letter to insurers. He said commercial insurers should make efforts similar to the federal government's to support cash flow amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Pa., failed to comply with Medicare billing requirements for 51 of 100 inpatient and outpatient claims reviewed by the HHS Office of Inspector General.

The U.S. has reported 216,722 COVID-19 cases as of 8:30 a.m. CDT April 2. Nationwide, 5,137 Americans have died from the illness, while 8,672 have recovered. 

The FDA is asking all drugmakers to pull ranitidine products from the shelves after finding "unacceptable levels" of a possible carcinogen can develop in the products over time. 

An emergency room physician at East Orange (N.J.) General Hospital died April 1 from COVID-19 complications, according to a statement from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The American Hospital Association is asking HHS and CMS to quickly distribute funds that were designated for hospitals and other healthcare providers in the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last week. 

A Missouri hospital CEO who was fired last month is in a new role at the facility amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the St. Louis Business Journal reported.