The Latest: “We hope May will be better”
Dear Reader,
This week certainly feels like the thick of it. There’s a lot of heartbreak: Businesses are contracting, some people are struggling to stay sober, and others can’t pay rent. A nursing home near me has lost 55 people to Covid-19.
“April’s going to continue to be brutal. We hope May will be somewhat better,” says one New York City council member. The next few weeks feel critical, and many are hopeful that financial relief is coming. Congress is getting close to a deal to replenish funds for small-business loans, ideally today.
While some are protesting the stay-at-home orders, many more are taking it seriously. “I really think people are doing a good job,” an ICU doctor told me recently. “I think people are good at heart, and I think that when you look from afar you see how much people are risking and giving up.”
What’s New:
- India bans flights: The country won’t allow commercial flights until it is confident the outbreak is under control. (Bloomberg).
- Multiple states look to reopen: Governors in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Idaho, and other states are considering easing restrictions on social distancing, despite public health officials warning it’s too early, the New York Times reports.
- A warning about antibody tests: The World Health Organization cautioned Friday there’s no evidence that antibody tests show immunity. These tests may show antibodies, but that does not mean a person is immune. (CNBC)
Follow our Medium Coronavirus Blog for regular updates, and read some of the essential stories we’ve curated below.
Be well,
Alexandra Sifferlin
Editor, Medium Coronavirus Blog
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A Powerful Perspective:
“So many firefighters lost their lives after running into the burning towers on 9/11 that for a long time people would stand back and clap when the red engines went by. Now we throw open our windows at 7 p.m. and cheer, issuing our own barbaric yawps across the rooftops, as much for the extraordinary health care workers risking their lives as to assure one another we’re still here.” — Glynnis MacNicol, The New York You Once Knew Is Gone. The One You Loved Remains.
Essential How-Tos and Explainers:
Why Most Post-Pandemic Predictions Will Be Totally Wrong
How Do Ventilators Actually Work?
There Are Two ‘Superpowers’ In Your Brain That Will Make This Easier
Is the Virus on My Clothes? My Shoes? My Hair? My Newspaper? (New York Times)
These Are the Drugs and Vaccines That Might End the Coronavirus Pandemic (Bloomberg)
Personal Pandemic Stories
I Advocated to Shut Down New York. I Think 1.2 Million May Already Have Been Infected
The Heartbreaking Struggle to Stay Sober Under Lockdown
Why I Donated My DNA to Help Stop the Coronavirus
Meet the Rent Strikers of the Pandemic Recession
I’m Stuck in Isolation With the Man Who’s Divorcing Me
4 Smart Reads
Social Distancing Has Made All of Us Helpers
What Pittsburgh 1918 Teaches Us About Easing Pandemic Measures Too Soon
The Social Distancing Backlash Is Here
The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead (New York Times)
