While mainland China eases its measures against the virus, controls continue to tighten across the rest of the world. Britons awoke this morning to the most draconian restrictions on public life seen in peacetime — or, in some respects, even in wartime — as the UK became the latest country to go into lockdown. Two-thirds of India’s 1.34 billion people are under movement restrictions, as European countries and US states step up stay-at-home orders.
In the US, President Donald Trump is losing patience as he weighs up whether to destroy the nation’s economic foundation in order to say lives, Stephen Collinson writes. “We can’t let the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump warned yesterday, insisting that the US will “reopen” for business within weeks despite unimpeachable evidence that the crisis is getting worse, not better. Trump’s comments came as confirmed cases soared past 40,000 in the US, and the nation hit a grim milestone: 100 people died in a single day for the first time.
The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said yesterday that lawmakers are “very close” to reaching a compromise on a $2 trillion emergency aid package. And, as the US witnessed its deadliest day in the outbreak so far, there seems to be universal recognition that a deal needs to be done as soon as possible. The promise of unlimited support for markets from the US Federal Reserve and hope that Congress is moving towards a huge fiscal stimulus package boosted US futures overnight as well as markets in Europe and Asia.
Trump sent mixed messages about the growing crisis during a lengthy coronavirus briefing yesterday, at one point agreeing with his surgeon general that this week was “going to get bad,” but then claiming the crisis was overblown and that the period of national self-isolation would not be prolonged. “I’m not looking at months, I’ll tell you right now,” Trump said.
That couldn’t feel any further from reality in New York City, the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak. Nearly 1 in 1,000 people in the greater metropolitan area have now contracted the virus, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator, said yesterday. That makes the “attack rate” — the percentage of the population with the disease — five times higher than the rest of the US, she added. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that city hospitals only have enough supplies to get through this week without extra equipment.
Lockdowns not locked down enough
As governments scramble to stem the spread of the virus, a significant chunk of the world’s population has now been told to stay home. Still, many people are ignoring self-isolation rules. One expert says that may be because the guidance isn’t clear enough.
After coming under fire for his lax response to the pandemic, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night banned people from leaving their homes apart from for a few “very limited” reasons, saying police would break up public gatherings of more than two people and fine those flouting rules. Why did the UK PM delay? The answer may be simple. Johnson isn’t naturally comfortable with removing anyone’s personal liberties, Luke McGee writes.
In India, around two-thirds of the population is now under lockdown. The country has so far appeared to have avoided the full hit of the pandemic, but experts are worried it remains susceptible to a wider, potentially more damaging outbreak — and warn that India is home to a particular set of issues that could accelerate the spread of the virus.
What you need to know about chloroquine
A Phoenix-area man is dead and his wife is in critical care after the pair took chloroquine phosphate in an apparent attempt to self-medicate for the novel coronavirus. Three people in Nigeria have also overdosed on chloroquine, in the wake of President Trump’s comments about using it to treat coronavirus.
Trump has called chloroquine, and the closely-related hydroxychloroquine, potential game changers in the fight against Covid-19. The drugs, which are used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the coronavirus, and experts emphasize that the medication should not be ingested to prevent or treat the disease. The World Health Organization yesterday warned against using “untested drugs” to treat patients. Here’s what you need to know.
Olympics postponed until 2021
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be delayed until next year, Japan’s prime minister and the International Olympic Committee announced today. Pressure from nations and athletes to postpone the Games, which were scheduled to start in late July, has been building in the past several days.
The Olympics have never been rescheduled in peacetime. In 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Games were canceled because of world wars.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said in a statement. “Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan.”
Athletes like Sandi Morris, a pole vault silver medalist from the last Olympics, had been struggling to continue training as facilities shut down amid lockdowns. “Like all athletes we’re kind of at a loss,” Morris said.
How an Austrian ski resort helped coronavirus spread across Europe
Henrik Lerfeldt has fond memories of Kitzloch, a popular restaurant and bar in the Austrian ski resort town of Ischgl, where he partied several nights while on vacation three weeks ago. The 56-year-old Dane, who tested positive for coronavirus shortly after his return home, is one of hundreds of people from all over Europe whose infections have been traced back to Ischgl, some of them directly to Kitzloch, according to authorities.
ON OUR RADAR
- A small section of the Great Wall of China has reopened to visitors, a sign that life in China is slowly returning to normal.
- One French runner didn’t let the lockdown prevent him from training for a marathon. Instead, he ran all 26.2 miles — on his 23-foot long balcony.
- From a milky bath sprinkled with rose petals, Madonna told her fans that the coronavirus is “the great equalizer.” People didn’t like it.
- Golfers, pop stars and Olympians all went head-to-head in the first Formula One race of the season as the Bahrain Grand Prix went virtual.
- The world is on hold. These photos capture the quiet, eerie emptiness left behind.
TODAY’S TOP TIPS
- Did you wake up this morning with a sore throat or dry cough, and wonder whether it was more than just a cold? Check this list of coronavirus symptoms to see whether you should seek help.
- Blame it on ‘Cheryl.’ That’s one piece of advice for couples suddenly working from home together, and in need of a scapegoat for their dirty dishes.
- Are you feeling anxious about the virus? You might be able to find solace in Yale University’s mega-popular “happiness” course, which is now available for free online.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q: What can parents be doing to protect themselves and their children?
A: “There is evidence corona viruses can live on plastic and metal for up to nine days,” said Dr. Asaf Bitton, a primary care physician and executive director of Ariadne Labs. Bitton and other experts recommend that parents reconsider group playdates, and avoid the local playground. Here are more tips on how best to practice social distancing, as a family.
Thousands of people have asked us questions about the outbreak. Send yours here.
FROM TODAY’S PODCAST
“I typically try to protect them from the news, which isn’t easy, obviously, because of my job. But, you know, that’s how I approach it when I’m dealing with a stressful situation,” CNN anchor and host of “At This Hour” Kate Bolduan said.
Working from home while teaching and caring for your kids isn’t easy during this crisis. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to moms and dads about parenting in a pandemic. Listen now.
Source : Nbcnewyork
