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How Scientists and Public-Health Experts Recommend Returning to ‘Normal’
The U.S. government’s federal social distancing guidelines expire today, and there is no plan to extend them. State governments now take the lead in figuring out how to handle the next phases of reopening the American economy and inching us closer to normalcy. But though some outspoken figures have voiced their frustration and impatience with government’s lockdown measures—take Elon Musk’s viral Twitter rant yesterday urging to “FREE AMERICA NOW”—public-health experts and scientists have consistently warned that the reopening of the American economy will not work like a light switch.
In one of today’s TIME Magazine cover stories, senior health correspondent Alice Park spoke to some science and public health experts about how exactly they suggest we move forward as responsibly as possible. Their answers though, suggest we face an uphill battle. Mass testing for one, is key, but “There is absolutely no way on earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even 5 million tests a day,” says Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health who is overseeing the government’s testing response. To help address the need, the National Institutes of Health announced yesterday a $1.5 billion initiative to accelerate testing.
Among the other steps to take, Park reports, include tracing and immunizing. The goal is herd immunity. “The most impenetrable fortress against a virus is immunity, gained—at the individual level—either by becoming infected and recovering or by getting vaccinated,” Park writes. This morning, Fauci offered a bit of good news, telling Today that it might be “doable” to get a COVID-19 vaccine developed by next January. “We want to go quickly and we want to make sure it’s safe and it’s effective,” he said. “I think that is doable.”
But at the end of the day, the decisions around when and where to reopen the economy rest with politicians, not public-health experts, Park writes.
Global cases of COVID-19 reached nearly 3.2 million as of 8 PM eastern time yesterday, and more than 227,000 people had died.
Here is every country with over 30,000 confirmed cases:
The European economy shrank by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020, according to the Associated Press, citing figures from the 19 countries that use the euro. Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, is expected to fall 6.3% this year.
During a daily briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public today the U.K. is now “past the peak” of the virus outbreak there. TIME’s analysis shows that the country has indeed seen fewer new cases over the past few days, but it’s too soon to say for sure that the trend will hold.
Brazil could be on its way to becoming the next virus hotspot as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to downplay the pandemic. Brazil has confirmed more than 8,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths according to data by Johns Hopkins University, the most of any Latin American country. Now its neighbors are taking steps to prevent Brazil from spreading the virus across borders. Paraguay, for example, has ramped up enforcement along its border with Brazil, the AP reports.
In some good news, Captain Tom Moore, the British war veteran who is raising money for England’s National Health Service, turns 100 years old today. He has so far raised the equivalent of $39 million by walking laps in his yard. Happy birthday, captain.
The Situation in the United States
The total number of COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. is nearly 1,040,000 and nearly 61,000 deaths have been reported as of 8 PM eastern time yesterday.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced earlier today that 3.8 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total number of Americans who have lost their jobs in recent weeks past 30 million.
After weeks of speculation from President Trump and other officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the coronavirus originated in a Wuhan laboratory, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement today that it concurs with the scientific community’s consensus that “the virus was not manmade or genetically modified.” Intelligence officials will continue to investigate whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a lab in Wuhan, the statement added.
Yesterday afternoon, President Trump said the federal government will not be extending social distancing guidelines after they expire today. “They’ll be fading out because now the governors are doing it,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office. This morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Today that cases of COVID-19 will certainly increase as some states start easing social distancing restrictions and businesses begin reopening. “We will get blips,” he said. “There’s no doubt.”
In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced yesterday that the city would start offering free COVID-19 tests to anyone seeking one, regardless of their symptoms. People can now sign up for testing appointments, but priority will still be for those who show signs of the virus. LA is now the first major U.S. city to offer such wide scale testing.
All numbers are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 29, 8 PM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
Goldman Sachs' new video series featuring insights on the implications of COVID-19 across markets, industries and the global economy.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Labor Leader Fighting For the Rights of Frontline Workers
From her apartment in San Francisco, Mary Kay Henry is fighting for health care, paid leave, personal protective equipment and free COVID-19 testing and treatment for frontline workers risking their lives during a pandemic. “We’re going to see mass organizing the likes of which last occurred in the ’30s in the Great Depression,” says the president of the country’s second-largest union.” Read more here.
We Still Don’t Know Which U.S. Businesses Are Getting Government Relief
The Paycheck Protection Program has promised billions of dollars in emergency loans to small businesses across the country, but we still don’t know every business that is on the receiving end of the money. The lack of government oversight is a problem, say watchdog groups, as the money could end up in the hands of larger companies rather than small businesses. Read more here.
I Thought I Could Handle Anything. Then My Husband Got Sick
“I felt we could manage on our own,” writes TIME editor-at-large Belinda Luscombe. “I was wrong.” Read more here.
During a Pandemic, Are TV Doctors a Good Thing?
Television personalities Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil both had viral moments in recent weeks for controversial, inaccurate comments related to COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean doctors-turned-correspondents are inherently a bad idea. Read more here.
Loneliness Is a Modern Invention. Understanding That History Can Help Us Deal Today
“Humans have a biological need to be in social groups,” writes historian Fay Bound Alberti. “Yet this biological approach ignores the histories of the body, and emotions. It overlooks the fact that loneliness is not a universal human condition, but a historically specific one.” Read more here.
Capturing Ordinary People Adapting to Life Under Lockdown
German photographer Ingmar Björn Nolting has been traveling across the country for a month, capturing the creative and varied ways people have maintained their ways of life. The images include a brass band, seasonal workers, and even his own grandmother. See and read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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