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Stranger Than Fiction
A brief daily note of things you might find interesting or useful
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TOP NEWS
The U.S. federal government’s guidelines for social distancing will last until April 30th. Previous comments from President Trump indicated the country could go back to work by Easter. Some states, such as Florida and Rhode Island have set up checkpoints to stop out-of-state travelers asking for their destination and ordering them to self-quarantine. The WSJ is providing free live coverage and updates on COVID-19 here.
The global death toll quintupled over the past two weeks to 33,881 on Sunday, with more than two-thirds of the fatalities in Europe, according to Johns Hopkins. The total number of coronavirus infection cases globally has crossed 700,000. Deaths reached nearly 10,800 in Italy, which has suffered the most fatalities.
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 caused by the virus surged past 2,400 over the weekend, according to Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 700 of the deaths were in New York City. An emergency hospital has begun to be set up at Central Park and a field hospital is expected to open today at the Jacob Javits Center to bear the burden of overrun hospitals.
Global numbers and fatalities have more than doubled in the past week. The cases are led by jumps in the U.S., Italy and Spain. More than 122,000 people have recovered from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins. They include its estimate of 753 recoveries in the U.S.
States are seeing very different responses to their medical needs from the federal government. Massachusetts received 17% of the protective gear it requested. Maine received 5% of what it sought. The shipment delivered to Colorado would be “enough for only one full day of statewide operations.” Florida received 100% of their request.
THE ELECTION
THE COMMENT
“The White House detachment and nonchalance during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak will be among the most costly decisions of any modern presidency. These officials were presented with a clear progression of warnings and crucial decision points far enough in advance that the country could have been far better prepared. But the way that they squandered the gifts of foresight and time should never be forgotten, nor should the reason they were squandered: Trump was initially wrong, so his inner circle promoted that wrongness rhetorically and with inadequate policies for far too long, and even today. Americans will now pay the price for decades.” - Micah Zenko, fellow in the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.
THE STRANGEST
Scientists discovered a strain of bacteria, the first of its kind, that can degrade the harmful compounds in polyurethane products -- a positive step toward reducing the amount of plastic pollution in the environment.
THE AV ROOM