After weeks stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TIME senior health writer Mandy Oaklander noticed she was cooking for herself more than ever before. She wondered if other Americans were experiencing the same thing—and if all those replaced takeout orders and restaurant meals could be an unexpected silver lining for public health.
“It turned out to be a complicated question,” Oaklander says.
Homemade meals tend to be lower in salt, fat, sugar and calories than restaurant versions, so a sustained dining-in movement could in theory, over time, lower rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic conditions common in the U.S., Oaklander reports. Preliminary surveys do suggest Americans are cooking more during the COVID-19 pandemic, which seems positive—but, as Oaklander learned, “not everyone has the same resources or newfound time to prepare nutritious meals.”
In fact, experts fear the pandemic will only widen health disparities between high- and low-income populations. Fresh ingredients tend to cost more (and go bad faster) than unhealthy processed foods. At a time when historic numbers of Americans are out of work—and many families can no longer rely on school or daycare to provide meals for their children—people may be forced to buy whatever they can afford, whether or not it’s nutritious. Many people with lower-paying jobs also can’t telecommute, so they likely don’t have extra time for cooking—especially if they’re responsible for child or elder care, too.
It’s still too early to say for sure how COVID-19 will affect the American diet, but one thing is clear, says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science: “We need a healthier food system through better policy, not just the random chance disaster of restaurants being closed.”
Global cases of COVID-19 surpassed 3 million as of 8 PM eastern time yesterday, and more than 210,000 people had died.
Here is every country with over 30,000 confirmed cases:
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had strong words for the global community during a press briefing yesterday, saying some countries were slow to react to COVID-19 even after the WHO declared it a public-health emergency of international concern in late January. “The world should have listened to WHO then, carefully,” he said. The WHO has recently been criticized for its early response to the outbreak, most publicly by the Trump Administration.
Countries around the world are at very different stages of reopening, illustrating the patchwork nature of the global response to the pandemic. Beaches and cafes are reopening in New Zealand, where coronavirus has been all but eliminated, and businesses in Italy are welcoming customers back as lockdowns are slowly lifted there. Meanwhile, countries like Japan and the U.K. look likely to extend their lockdown orders. Germany, which had eased its lockdown, may have to return to tighter restrictions given concerning signs that case numbers there are climbing again.
Chinese scientists also warned yesterday that coronavirus seems unlikely to disappear after the current pandemic ends, and may instead become a regular seasonal infection like the flu.
The Situation in the United States
The total number of COVID-19 diagnoses in the U.S. is creeping closer to 1 million. As of 8 PM eastern time yesterday, more than 988,000 cases and 56,000 deaths have been reported. The virus is now widespread enough that about 60% of New York City voters personally know someone who tested positive for COVID-19, and almost half knew someone who died from it, according to a poll covered by the New York Times.
With many U.S. states remaining locked down, the Federal Reserve is expanding a lending program meant to help cities and counties recover from pandemic-related financial losses. The program, previously open to only 10 U.S. cities and 16 counties, will now be available to cities with more than 250,000 residents and counties with more than 500,000. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also said yesterday that Congress’ next coronavirus aid package will include funding for states and cities—but only if it also includes expanded liability protections for businesses and employees, a measure top Democrats oppose.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump told governors yesterday that some of them should “seriously consider” getting children back in school before the end of the academic year. Reopening schools is a high priority, since many parents can’t return to work until their kids are back in the classroom, but many school districts are wary of making the call too early.
In a sign that airlines are preparing for prolonged disruptions to service, JetBlue will require passengers to wear face coverings during flights beginning May 4. JetBlue is thought to be the first U.S. airline to require this new standard of “flying etiquette,” as the company called it in a statement.
Finally, Ohio is trying out a vote-by-mail primary today, the first major test of a system that other states may have to use if lockdowns continue to disrupt elections.
All numbers are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 27, 8 PM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
Which real estate sectors have been hit hardest by the pandemic, and which areas have proven to be more resilient? Nora Creedon of Goldman Sachs Asset Management discusses in The Daily Check-In
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