Category: Corona Virus

Donald Trump has signalled a potential change in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, amid warnings of a record plunge in economic activity and unemployment potentially hitting 30%.

Writing in capital letters in a tweet late on Sunday, the US president said: We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15-day period of White House guidelines to enforce social distancing and other measures which began on 16 March we will make a decision as to which way we want to go.

Mike Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus task force, said earlier in the day the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would issue guidance on Monday meant to allow people already exposed to the coronavirus to return to work sooner.

The shift in tone could foreshadow a clash between a White House alarmed by economic paralysis in an election year and public health experts urging caution. The US now has more than 39,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 400 deaths.

After being criticised for a slow response to the crisis, Trump declared a national emergency and agreed to implement drastic measures. But the economic pain was swift. Last week the Wall Street Journal editorial board warned that federal and state officials need to start adjusting their anti-virus strategy now to avoid an economic recession that will dwarf the harm from 2008-2009.

Bret Stephens, a conservative columnist at the New York Times, which Trump monitors closely, wrote on Sunday that treating the virus as a threat comparable to the second world war needs to be questioned aggressively before we impose solutions possibly more destructive than the virus itself.

And Tom Fitton, a conservative commentator known to influence the president, tweeted: The consequences of this national shutdown, apart from any pandemic, are dire and will not be materially alleviated by any stimulus and [government] spending. The only stimulus that will work is opening America back up for business.

The change came as central bankers warned of unprecedented fallout. The St Louis Fed chief, James Bullard, said Americas GDP could shrink 50%, with unemployment rising to 30% in the second quarter. On Wall Street, Morgan Stanley saw a 30% contraction, driving unemployment to 12.8%.

The Federal Reserve said: Aggressive efforts must be taken across the public and private sectors to limit the losses to jobs and incomes and to promote a swift recovery once the disruptions abate.

The central bank said it was using its full range of authorities to provide powerful support for the flow of credit to American families and businesses.

In the Senate, attempts to pass a far-reaching stimulus package floundered and a Republican senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, was revealed to have Covid-19.

Democrats said the $1.8tn proposals were weighted toward a corporate bailout at the expense of workers, hospitals and state and local governments. Republicans claimed Democrats were obstructing the bill in the middle of a national emergency. Both sides said they were confident a deal could still be agreed.

Trump warned that a rattled American public would take a dim view of an impasse. The only reason a deal couldnt get done is pure politics, he said on Sunday.

On Monday the likely Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, said Trump should start acting like the the wartime president he has claimed to be.

The stalemate in the Senate was felt in the markets, where Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped more than 600 points.

In New York, which contributes close to half of the US tally, 15,168 cases, the governor, Andrew Cuomo, said an estimated 40% to 80% of residents could be infected but echoed the Trump administrations impatience to reboot the economy.

I take total responsibility for shutting off the economy in terms of essential workers but we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality, Cuomo told reporters in Albany. You cant stop the economy forever.

So we have to start to think about does everyone stay out of work, should young people go back to work sooner, can we test for those who had the virus, resolved and are now immune, and can they start to go back to work?

Cuomo, who has been praised for his handling of the crisis, added: We implemented New York pause, which stopped all the essential workers, etc. We have to start to think about New York forward How do you restart, or transition to, a restart of the economy?

Decisions to quarantine one in three Americans and shut down non-essential businesses in several large states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California, have effectively frozen the service and manufacturing sectors of the US economy.

Measures being considered by legislators include financial aid for regular Americans, small businesses and critically affected industries including airlines, which have warned they may not survive without at least $50bn in government support.

Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Senate Democrat, has said more money is needed for community health centers, nursing homes, masks, ventilators, personal protective equipment and aid to state and local governments. The Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, has urged Democrats to stop delaying aid and hurting financial markets.

Negotiations with the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, continued on Monday. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said that should the Senate fail, Democrats there would craft an alternative bill.

Meanwhile health officials warned of a dire shortage of protective masks and growing pressure to increase available ventilators. Trump has resisted pleas by governors to fully use his powers under the Defense Production Act, which can compel companies to produce vital equipment.

The surgeon general, Dr Jerome Adams, told NBC: I want America to understand this week its going to get bad. We really need to come together as a nation we really, really need everyone to stay at home.

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Trump signals change in coronavirus strategy that could clash with health experts - The Guardian

Notes: Deaths are plotted on a log scale. Doubling times are based on growth rates averaged over the previous week. Other countries or areas with coronavirus deaths: Iraq (20), Canada (20), San Marino (20), Algeria (17), Austria (16), Greece (16), Malaysia (14), Portugal (14), Ecuador (14), Egypt (14), Norway (8), Luxembourg (8), India (8), Australia (7), Hungary (7), Poland (7), Pakistan (6), Albania (5), Peru (5), Hong Kong (4), Burkina Faso (4), Argentina (4), Morocco (4), Lebanon (4), Ireland (4), Romania (4), Bulgaria (3), Tunisia (3), Panama (3), Slovenia (3), Bangladesh (3), Dominican Rep. (3), Ukraine (3), Singapore (2), Costa Rica (2), Bahrain (2), U.A.E. (2), Colombia (2), Serbia (2), North Macedonia (2), Mauritius (2), Mexico (2), Taiwan (2), Guatemala (1), Nigeria (1), Moldova (1), Lithuania (1), Cayman Islands (1), Jamaica (1), Iceland (1), Paraguay (1), Afghanistan (1), Israel (1), Russia (1), Sudan (1), Croatia (1), Guyana (1), Montenegro (1), Gambia (1), Thailand (1), Ghana (1), Gabon (1), Finland (1), Czech Republic (1), Cyprus (1), Cuba (1), Andorra (1), Chile (1), Congo (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Azerbaijan (1), Curaao (1).

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Coronavirus Deaths by U.S. State and Country Over Time: Daily Tracking - The New York Times

Geneva, 23 March 2020: FIFA, the international governing body of football, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have teamed up to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) by launching a new awareness campaign led by world-renowned footballers, who are calling on all people around the world to follow five key steps to stop the spread of the disease.

The Pass the message to kick out coronavirus campaign promotes five key steps for people to follow to protect their health in line with WHO guidance, focused on hand washing, coughing etiquette, not touching your face, physical distance and staying home if feeling unwell.

FIFA and its President Gianni Infantino have been actively involved in passing the message against this pandemic since the very beginning, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the virtual launch of the campaign at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Be it through campaigns or funding, FIFA has stood up to the coronavirus, and I am delighted that world football is supporting WHO to kick out the coronavirus. I have no doubt with this type of support that together we will win.

We need teamwork to combat the coronavirus, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. FIFA has teamed up with WHO because health comes first. I call upon the football community worldwide to join us in supporting this campaign to pass the message even further. Some of the greatest players to have played the beautiful game have put their names to the campaign and are united in their desire to pass the message to kick out COVID-19.

Twenty-eight players are involved in the video campaign, which is being published in 13 languages.

Sami Al Jaber (KSA), Alisson Becker (BRA), Emre Belzolu (TUR), Jared Borgetti (MEX), Gianluigi Buffon (ITA), Iker Casillas (ESP), Sunil Chhetri (IND), Youri Djorkaeff (FRA), Han Duan (CHN), Samuel Etoo (CMR), Radamel Falcao (COL), Laura Georges (FRA), Valeri Karpin (RUS), Miroslav Klose (GER), Philipp Lahm (GER), Gary Lineker (ENG), Carli Lloyd (USA), Lionel Messi (ARG), Mido (EGY), Michael Owen (ENG), Park Ji-sung (KOR) , Carles Puyol (ESP), Clia ai (GER), Asako Takakura (JPN), Yaya Tour (CIV), Juan Sebastin Vern (ARG), Sun Wen (CHN) and Xavi Hernndez (ESP).

A video campaign, which will be published on player and FIFA digital channels, is also being provided as individual localized files to the 211 FIFA member associations and media agencies, together with a graphics toolkit for implementation on social media to further pass the message.

It starts with your hands, says Alisson Becker, WHO Goodwill ambassador for health promotion, Liverpool FC and Brazil goalkeeper, and The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper, 2019. Please wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based solution.

Such frequent washing with soap and water, or preferably with an alcohol-based hand solution, kills viruses that may be on your hands. It is simple, but it is very important.

Cover your nose and mouth with a bent elbow or tissue when you sneeze or cough, says Carli Lloyd two-time FIFA Womens World Cup winner from the United States. Dispose of tissue immediately and wash your hands.

Droplets spread the coronavirus. By following respiratory hygiene, you protect the people around you from contracting viruses, such as cold, flu and coronavirus.

Avoid touching your face, particularly your eyes, nose or mouth to prevent the virus from entering your body, adds FC Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi, The Best FIFA Mens Player in 2019, and a multiple FIFA Ballon dOr winner.

Hands touch too many surfaces and can quickly pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your face, from where the virus can move inside your body, making you feel unwell.

In terms of social interaction, take a step back, says Han Duan, who represented China PR 188 times in an international career that spanned 11 years. Stay at least one metre distance from others.

By maintaining such social distancing, you are helping to avoid breathing in any droplets from someone who sneezes or coughs in close proximity.

If you feel unwell, stay home, concludes Samuel Etoo, former FC Barcelona and Cameroon striker, who represented his country 114 times. Please follow all instructions provided by your local health authorities.

If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance.

Keep informed as local health authorities provide the latest information on the situation in your area. Please follow their specific instructions, and call in advance to allow them to direct you to the appropriate local health facility. This serves to protect you and to help prevent the spread of virus and other infections.

FIFA have also pledged $10 million to support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

For more information, please consult @WHO and follow the latest information online.

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Pass the message: Five steps to kicking out coronavirus - World Health Organization

Italys reported coronavirus death toll grew to more than 4,000 on Friday, outpacing China, a country with more than 20 times its population. The Italian health care system is now buckling under the weight of the pandemic. Health care professionals are working day and night to keep critically ill Covid-19 patients alive, while wartime triage conditions have left doctorsto decide who lives and who dies. The crematorium in the hard-hit city of Bergamo is so overwhelmed that the army was brought in to deal with the corpses.

It could be a matter of weeks or even days before something similar happens here, Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Intercept.

Right now, the major concern that I have, and that other public health experts have, is the risk of outstripping health care capacity, said Frieden, who is currently a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. This would be catastrophic. Its what were seeing in Italy now, and its what we could see in communities around the U.S. soon.

Frieden stressed the importance for healthy individuals of regular hand-washing and called for the medically vulnerable to self-isolate and stay 6 feet away from almost everyone. Weve seen terrible examples from Italy and Wuhan [in China] of thousands of health care workers getting infected, and we know that in the U.S. now, many health care workers have become infected.

New modeling and estimates point to a nightmare scenario in which there could be a tenfold greater need in the United States for intensive-care beds and ventilators than are available, Frieden said. What were hoping is that kind of peak that outstrips the health care system [as in Italy] does not come here, he told The Intercept. If it did, it could come in a matter of days to weeks.

Last week, Frieden published a worst-case but not implausible scenario in which he warned that Covid-19 could potentially cause 1 million deaths in the United States alone.

Whether the U.S. health care system buckles like Italys really depends on how vigorously and promptly we do social distancing, said Frieden, who was also a former commissioner of the New York City Health Department. The models suggest that you have about a week from where there is unlinked community transmission to have everyone hunker down and stay home, stop working, [and] stop interacting socially.

Many Americans have ignored these proscriptions, packing bars in Nashville and beaches in Miami. Others, like President Donald Trump, have likened Covid-19 to seasonal influenza. That comparison is flawed, according to Frieden. This is an unprecedented pandemic. Just to give you a sense of how unusual it is, it is the first time a new [respiratory] pathogen has been tracked to emerge, infect people in the lungs, and spread all around the world, he explained. It is also the most societally disruptive infectious disease event in more than 100 years, since the great influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919.

In Italy, shops are shuttered, streets are deserted, and 60 million Italians are under what amounts to house arrest. An emergency law enacted last week banned civil and religious ceremonies, including funerals, to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But in some places like the Sicilian town of Porto Empedocle locals have attempted to defy the order, which carries a penalty of three months in jail.

The coronavirus spreads person to person, but much is still unknown about how infectious it is. Weve seen examples of about a 10 to 15 percent household attack rate, which means that not everyone in the same household as one patient who has the disease gets it, Frieden explained. He noted, however, that anecdotal evidence from cruise ships indicates that most crew members who shared rooms with someone with Covid-19 became infected themselves.

If Americans fail at social distancing, Frieden emphasized, the results could be disastrous and lead to what he calls an explosive transmission phase. This could be set off by super-spreading events, where a contaminated elevator button or doorknob leads to a large number of secondary transmissions. In earlier stages of the outbreak, that kind of transmission occurred, for example, when a person infected abroad returned home and transmitted the virus to their spouse or someone else in close contact.

Such a spike could overwhelm the capacity of Americas health care quickly. But even if the United States avoids catastrophe in the near term, the risk would go on for months, said Frieden, until we have a better sense of how to control this, and a better capacity to rapidly identify cases as they arise, shut down clusters before they become outbreaks, and tamp down outbreaks before they become epidemics.

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Italy's Coronavirus Nightmare Could Happen in US Within Days or Weeks - The Intercept

Good morning.

(If you dont already get California Today delivered free to your inbox, heres the sign-up.)

Over the weekend, roughly 40 million Californians adjusted to life under a sweeping new order to stay at home, even as questions lingered about what, exactly, that means.

For small businesses, there was plenty of confusion over how it was determined whether they were essential.

[What does it mean to shelter in place?]

My colleagues Conor Dougherty and Thomas Fuller reported that even in the Bay Area, already several days into its massive containment experiment, there was plenty of room for interpretation.

Rather than get bogged down in questions, Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco board of supervisors, said hes advising businesses to simply think of the common good.

On Wednesday, a gin distillery that had been deemed as nonessential asked him if it could convert into a factory that makes hand sanitizer.

In normal times, Mr. Haney said, that request would be met with various permitting requests and neighborhood and civic meetings that together would take months or years to satisfy, if it was possible at all. His advice: If youre able to make hand sanitizer, then do it.

[What does it mean to call in the National Guard?]

Theres no decision maker in an office somewhere stamping expedited permits, he said. Theres a wartime feel to it, where if you are doing something that is contributing to public health then thats the right thing to do.

Local leaders have been emphasizing that they dont want to punish people who violate the restrictions.

But theyve said that as theyve encountered residents or businesses not complying, enforcement is likely to ramp up.

The police chief of San Jose, Eddie Garcia, said Friday that his officers had already broken up gatherings in the city. The city also ordered a gun shop closed earlier this week. (Gun shops were declared nonessential by Mayor Sam Liccardo.)

Chief Garcia said he was incredulous at some of the businesses that tried to stay open.

A billiards hall. Are you kidding me? he said. I dont know how a billiards hall thought they could be open through this time.

[Heres what to know before you go to the grocery store.]

As the weekend wore on, big outdoor spaces explicitly exempted from new restrictions were crowded with people grasping for some sense of normalcy.

In the East Bay, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, parks and beaches were so packed that officials may be forced to close some of them.

San Diegans flocked to beaches and parks, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, prompting county health officials to plead with residents to stay home.

In Malibu on Saturday, hikers on a wide trail mostly edged away from one another as they passed, even if their ecstatic dogs played together under a clear blue sky. Some, however, walked in larger groups down the center of the path.

A group of young roommates narrated their walk to a phone. An older woman wore a T-shirt that read, Stay Away, written in marker, accented by a hand-drawn heart.

[Read about how warmer weather may slow, but not stop, the spread of the coronavirus.]

Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles said on Sunday that after seeing the flood of people heading toward the water in Venice, hed be working with other leaders around the county to close beach parking lots, and if necessary, close off beaches altogether.

Your decision to not physically distance yourself may kill someone, he said. Dont take risks, dont mess around, dont be selfish.

[Check here for statistics and more information about the coronavirus outbreak in California.]

Heres more about which businesses are considered essential:

On Friday, after the statewide stay-at-home order went into effect, officials posted a longer document laying out which workers and businesses are considered essential and how theyd be allowed to operate.

Among the businesses that will be allowed to keep operating are convenience stores that sell food, liquor stores, cannabis dispensaries and laundromats.

You can read the list in full here, though state officials have said the directive could evolve in days and weeks to come.

[Read more about which industries and companies are hiring a lot.]

We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can.

President Trump approved a major disaster declaration that Mr. Newsom had requested earlier on Sunday. The move will bring more federal resources to help California fight the Covid-19 outbreak.

Pacific Gas & Electric reached a deal with the governor, clearing a major hurdle to exiting bankruptcy. (The plan needs a judges approval, but a signoff from the governor makes that more likely.) [The New York Times]

Firefighters are finding themselves squeezed from both sides amid the pandemic, which could make wildfire season much more difficult. [The New York Times]

And Hayward is set to open a coronavirus testing center that will prioritize emergency workers. [KQED]

As requested, the U.S. Navy is set to send a 1,000-bed hospital ship to the Port of Los Angeles this week. Its based in San Diego. [City News Service]

Want to understand how the coronavirus spread across the world? Heres a graphic explainer. [The New York Times]

Through this whole ordeal, we didnt want her to get lost in the story. Thousands of people have been dying from the coronavirus. Theyve been laid to rest without big gatherings. But the family of Loretta Mendoza Dionisio, outgoing and unstoppable, wanted her to be remembered as more than a statistic. [The New York Times]

[Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic here.]

I dont know about you, but last week felt like a lifetime to me. And this week seems unlikely to be any less strange and anxiety-ridden.

Well have some more pet photos soon, but first, here are some tips for staying sane. They include setting small, achievable goals, finding joy and turning your panic into service. (Heres a list of organizations to get you started, if youre in a position to donate.)

And on the bright side, you can go to the hottest parties happening anywhere, and you can stay in your sweats; theyre all happening online.

California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here and read every edition online here.

Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter, @jillcowan.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

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Coronavirus in California: What Are the Rules for 'Stay at Home'? - The New York Times

After a week of Congress members and the Trump administration proposing various plans to get cash into the hands of Americans to help them weather the coronavirus crisis, Senate Republicans appear to have landed on a plan. While details are still being negotiated, it appears likely that what changes to the cash measures will be made will change how the cash is delivered, not how much and to whom.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, or the phase three coronavirus bill, includes, as of now, cash measures totaling $301 billion per the conservative Tax Foundation, the only think tank that has modeled the exact proposal as of this writing.

The plans provisions are very simple. Adults would get $1,200 each and children $500 each. At higher incomes, the checks would get smaller: The benefit would start decreasing at a rate of $5 for every additional $100 in income. The phaseout starts at $75,000 in adjusted gross income for singles, $112,500 for heads of household, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly; it would phase out entirely by $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples (with no children).

For example, a single childless person with an AGI of $85,000 would get $700 because $500 of the benefit was phased out by their higher income.

Unlike some early Senate Republican proposals, there is no minimum income (which wouldve excluded very poor people), and the check amounts dont phase in, so the middle class doesnt get more than the poor.

Here is how that policy looks in graph form:

The check is a one-off. While Senate Democrats like Michael Bennet (CO), Cory Booker (NJ), and Sherrod Brown (OH) called for additional checks to be triggered by changes in the unemployment rate, and left-leaning members of Congress like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) called for monthly payments, the Senate bills cash portion wont re-up unless Congress explicitly authorizes additional cash assistance. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had signaled he wanted two installments but faced pushback from some Senate Republicans like Lindsey Graham (SC).

The Tax Foundation estimates that 93.6 percent of tax filers will get a check. Using a conventional measure (that is excluding dynamic effects), they find that the poorest fifth of Americans will see their income grow by 16.33 percent due to the bill while the top 1 percent wont see their incomes grow at all. One hundred percent of the poorest Americans would be eligible for a rebate, a huge change from the earlier Senate GOP proposal where as little as 80 percent of poor households were eligible.

The phase-out for top earners will be done using 2019 tax returns or 2018 returns if the taxpayer in question hasnt filed their 2019 taxes yet. The bill says that taxpayers relying on Social Security as part of retirement or through the Social Security Disability Insurance program can have their Social Security Administration data used directly; beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income, which often benefits old or disabled people in poverty, are not included in the current version.

But its important to note that a large minority of Americans dont file taxes. The Tax Policy Center estimates that in 2019, about 43.8 percent of American tax units owed zero or negative income taxes. Most of those Americans will still file taxes to get refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or to retrieve taxes withheld by their employer that they dont actually owe. But millions of Americans 12 percent is a decent estimate will not file taxes, either because theres no reason to or because theyre among the millions eligible for the EITC who dont receive it.

The Senate bill as written would require these people to file 2019 returns to get their coronavirus checks. Thats a potentially significant burden, especially at a time when the IRSs volunteer tax prep centers for low-income people are largely shut down due to social distancing (I should know Ive been volunteering this tax season and havent gone in since March 14).

Senate Democrats have included among their demands a request that the bill be amended to allow cash to go more directly to these people. Some of them are addressed by the Social Security language already in the Senate GOP bill, but more could be included by allowing the benefits to be sent through EBT cards to people benefiting from welfare or food stamps, or by allowing it to be added the Supplemental Security Income checks for elderly or disabled poor people, or by allowing states to send the rebates to households whose information they have on file. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Robert Greenstein lays out some options here.

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Excerpt from:

Stimulus checks from the government, explained - Vox.com

The early signs in South Korea were alarming. In late February and early March, the number of new coronavirus infections exploded from a few dozen, to a few hundred, to several thousand.

At the peak, medical workers identified 909 new cases in a single day, Feb. 29, and the country of 50 million people appeared on the verge of being overwhelmed. But less than a week later, the number of new cases halved. Within four days, it halved again and again the next day.

On Sunday, the country reported only 64 new cases, the fewest in nearly a month. As new infections in wealthier countries like the United States and Germany soar to thousands daily, South Koreas have stabilized.

South Korea is one of only two countries with large outbreaks, alongside China, to flatten the curve of new infections. And it has done so without Chinas draconian restrictions on speech and movement, or lockdowns like those in Europe and the United States.

Italy, whose outbreak initially paralleled South Koreas, now reports thousands of new cases daily, and hundreds of deaths 793 on Saturday alone. In South Korea that day, Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, killed two people. Some days, the toll is zero.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has hailed South Korea as demonstrating that containing the virus, while difficult, can be done. He urged countries to apply the lessons learned in Korea and elsewhere.

South Korean officials caution that their successes are tentative. A risk of resurgence remains, particularly as epidemics continue raging beyond the countrys borders.

Still, as global deaths from the virus surge past 15,000, devastating health care systems and economies, officials and experts worldwide are scrutinizing South Korea for lessons. And those lessons, while hardly easy, appear relatively straightforward and affordable: swift action, widespread testing and contact tracing, and critical support from citizens.

President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Stefan Lfven of Sweden have both called South Koreas president, Moon Jae-in, to request details on the countrys measures, according to Mr. Moons office.

Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, has repeatedly raised South Korea as a model, writing on Twitter, South Korea is showing Covid-19 can be beat with smart, aggressive public health.

Just one week after the countrys first case was diagnosed in late January, government officials met with representatives from several medical companies. They urged the companies to begin immediately developing coronavirus test kits for mass production, promising emergency approval.

Within two weeks, though South Koreas confirmed cases remained in the double digits, thousands of test kits were shipping daily. The country now produces 100,000 kits per day, and officials say they are in talks with 17 foreign governments about exporting them.

Officials also swiftly imposed emergency measures in Daegu, a city of 2.5 million where contagion spread fast through a local church.

South Korea could deal with this without limiting the movement of people because we knew the main source of infection, the church congregation, pretty early on, said Ki Mo-ran, an epidemiologist advising the governments coronavirus response. If we learned about it later than we did, things could have been far worse.

South Koreans, unlike Europeans and Americans, were also primed to treat the coronavirus as a national emergency, after a 2015 outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in the country killed 38.

The coronavirus is thought to have a five-day incubation period, often followed by a period of mild symptoms that could be mistaken for a cold, when the virus is highly communicable. This pattern creates a lag of a week or two before an outbreak becomes apparent. What looks like a handful of cases can be hundreds; what looks like hundreds can be thousands.

Such characteristics of the virus render the traditional response, which emphasizes lockdown and isolation, ineffective, said Kim Gang-lip, South Koreas vice health minister. Once it arrives, the old way is not effective in stopping the disease from spreading.

South Korea has tested far more people for the coronavirus than any other country, enabling it to isolate and treat many people soon after they are infected.

The country has conducted over 300,000 tests, for a per-capita rate more than 40 times that of the United States.

Testing is central because that leads to early detection, it minimizes further spread and it quickly treats those found with the virus, Kang Kyung-wha, South Koreas foreign minister, told the BBC, calling the tests the key behind our very low fatality rate as well.

Though South Korea is sometimes portrayed as having averted an epidemic, thousands of people were infected and the government was initially accused of complacency. Its approach to testing was designed to turn back an outbreak already underway.

To spare hospitals and clinics from being overwhelmed, officials opened 600 testing centers designed to screen as many people as possible, as quickly as possible and keep health workers safe by minimizing contact.

At 50 drive-through stations, patients are tested without leaving their cars. They are given a questionnaire, a remote temperature scan and a throat swab. The process takes about 10 minutes. Test results are usually back within hours.

At some walk-in centers, patients enter a chamber resembling a transparent phone booth. Health workers administer throat swabs using thick rubber gloves built into the chambers walls.

Relentless public messaging urges South Koreans to seek testing if they or someone they know develop symptoms. Visitors from abroad are required to download a smartphone app that guides them through self-checks for symptoms.

Offices, hotels and other large buildings often use thermal image cameras to identify people with fevers. Many restaurants check customers temperatures before accepting them.

When someone tests positive, health workers retrace the patients recent movements to find, test and, if necessary, isolate anyone the person may have had contact with,a process known as contact tracing.

This allows health workers to identify networks of possible transmission early, carving the virus out of society like a surgeon removing a cancer.

South Korea developed tools and practices for aggressive contact tracing during the MERS outbreak. Health officials would retrace patients movements using security camera footage, credit card records, even GPS data from their cars and cellphones.

We did our epidemiological investigations like police detectives, Dr. Ki said. Later, we had laws revised to prioritize social security over individual privacy at times of infectious disease crises.

As the coronavirus outbreak grew too big to track patients so intensively, officials relied more on mass messaging.

South Koreans cellphones vibrate with emergency alerts whenever new cases are discovered in their districts. Websites and smartphone apps detail hour-by-hour, sometimes minute-by-minute, timelines of infected peoples travel which buses they took, when and where they got on and off, even whether they were wearing masks.

People who believe they may have crossed paths with a patient are urged to report to testing centers.

South Koreans have broadly accepted the loss of privacy as a necessary trade-off.

People ordered into self-quarantine must download another app, which alerts officials if a patient ventures out of isolation. Fines for violations can reach $2,500.

By identifying and treating infections early, and segregating mild cases to special centers, South Korea has kept hospitals clear for the most serious patients. Its case fatality rate is just over one percent, among the lowest in the world.

There arent enough health workers or body-temperature scanners to track everybody, so everyday people must pitch in.

Leaders concluded that subduing the outbreak required keeping citizens fully informed and asking for their cooperation, said Mr. Kim, the vice health minister.

Television broadcasts, subway station announcements and smartphone alerts provide endless reminders to wear face masks, pointers on social distancing and the days transmission data.

The messaging instills a near-wartime sense of common purpose. Polls show majority approval for the governments efforts, with confidence high, panic low and scant hoarding.

This public trust has resulted in a very high level of civic awareness and voluntary cooperation that strengthens our collective effort, Lee Tae-ho, the vice minister of foreign affairs, told reporters earlier this month.

Officials also credit the countrys nationalized health care system, which guarantees most care, and special rules covering coronavirus-related costs, as giving even people with no symptoms greater incentive to get tested.

For all the attention to South Koreas successes, its methods and containment tools are not prohibitively complex or expensive.

Some of the technology the country has used is as simple as specialized rubber gloves and cotton swabs. Of the seven countries with worse outbreaks than South Koreas, five are richer.

Experts cite three major hurdles to following South Koreas lead, none related to cost or technology.

One is political will. Many governments have hesitated to impose onerous measures in the absence of a crisis-level outbreak.

Another is public will. Social trust is higher in South Korea than in many other countries, particularly Western democracies beset by polarization and populist backlash.

But time poses the greatest challenge. It may be too late, Dr. Ki said, for countries deep into epidemics to control outbreaks as quickly or efficiently as South Korea has.

China turned back the catastrophic first outbreak in Hubei, a province larger than most European countries, though at the cost of shutting down its economy.

South Koreas methods could help the United States, though we probably lost the chance to have an outcome like South Korea, Mr. Gottlieb, the former F.D.A. commissioner, wrote on Twitter. We must do everything to avert the tragic suffering being borne by Italy.

Max Fisher reported from New York, and Choe Sang-Hun from Seoul, South Korea.

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How South Korea Flattened the Coronavirus Curve - The New York Times

The arc of coronavirus cases in Italy is frightening, continuing to jump by hundreds each day. But a public-health official looking at those numbers will see definite signs that the nationwide lockdown, imposed to keep individuals apart and the virus from spreading, is working.

The data look very different when plotted on what is called a logarithmic scale. In a typical graph, values on the (vertical) y-axis are plotted linearly: 1, 2, 3, and so on, or 10, 20, 30, or the like. By contrast, in a logarithmic plot, each tick on the y-axis represents a tenfold increase over the previous one: 1, then 10, then 100, then 1,000, then 10,000 and so on. (The interval doesnt have to be a factor of 10, it could be a factor of 2, or 5, or 27, or any other number, but humans seem to prefer factors of 10.)

Unconstrained, the coronavirus spreads exponentially, the caseload doubling at a steady rate. That curve, plotted linearly, is a skyrocketing curve. Plotted logarithmically, however, it transforms into a straight line which means that deviations from the exponential spread of the virus become much easier to discern.

Presented this way, the data for Italy clearly show that the infection rate is no longer exponential. The straight line is now a slight downward curve indicating that the rate of increase is slowing.

At a quick glance, the rate of spread in the United States looks similar to Italys, at least when plotted on a linear scale. But on a logarithmic scale, it is instantly apparent that the number of Americans becoming infected continues to double every three days or so. That indicates that the limited measures taken until recently did not sever social contact enough to slow the spreading. The U.S. curve has even bent upward in the last few days an even faster exponential growth perhaps reflecting more widespread testing.

Italys experience shows that more drastic containment measures work, so the U.S. curve may start bending downward in the coming days, as measures here go into effect. (John Burn-Murdoch at The Financial Times maintains a log chart for multiple countries.) The lag between the imposition of measures and their impact on the curve could take days to a week or two, because of the incubation time before symptoms arise. If the line does not begin to bend downward, more stringent actions are probably needed.

But when it finally does, it will herald a real change in the direction of the epidemic in the United States.

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A Different Way to Chart the Spread of Coronavirus - The New York Times

But from chaos comes heroes.

Despite so much uncertainty and with lives indefinitely upended, people and communities are still coming together to support one another. Here are some of the ways people are lending a hand through individual acts and large-scale efforts.

For millions of students, school closures mean no reliable access to meals.

Some districts have implemented plans to continue making food available to students who need it. But restaurants -- some dealing with business loss because of the outbreak -- have also risen to help meet the need.

Restaurant owners in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, met to discuss what they were going to do to keep their businesses going as the pandemic restricted how they could serve customers, said Caf Gelato owner Doug Lammers. Then, he said, the conversation turned to how they could help.

So, until further notice, his shop is offering meals to children in need.

And other establishments are reaching out to their communities in their time of need as well.

"Our family welcomes your family in this time of need," said a post on Instagram signed by Laura and the White Duck Taco Shop family. "We can all get through this together."

Contributing to hourly workers' wages

Hourly workers, who don't have sick days and whose jobs are threatened because of orders to shut down or limit the hours of restaurants, bars and stores, are already experiencing financial strain.

Customers have been digging into their pockets to help their servers weather the times.

The check specified that the tip on the $29.75 bill was to be split equally between five staff members, each specified by name.

The receipt said to "hold tip to pay your guys over the next few weeks."

Split over 30 employees, that came out to about $300 each, Galvan said.

"They were amazed that a client would care enough about them to leave that amount to help them get through this tough time," Galvan said.

Providing resources to those most affected

Jayde Powell is a "shopping angel."

"As a pre-med student, I know that people who are older or people who have heart, lung or immune conditions are especially at risk for contracting the virus," Powell, a University of Nevada, Reno student, told CNN. "We're doing this to try and reach out to people who might feel that they are just completely alone in this situation."

The assistance goes beyond delivery. Powell has created a GoFundMe for older adults who can't afford to get the things they need.

In Minnesota, healthcare workers who are pressed to serve more and more patients as the virus spreads have gotten help at home from University of Minnesota Medical School students.

What started with two second-year medical students became an operation with more than 280 students in three days.

"I've never met a lot of the people on this team and am convinced they are superheroes in disguise," said Sara Lederman, one of the founding students. "Everyone's superpowers are coming out. We are realizing so many of our classmates have incredible skills and talents that we didn't know about until now."

Restoring faith in humanity

Some people are using music to bridge the distance the outbreak has imposed on their communities.

"It was one of those moments where you feel like you're a part of something incredible," Rebecca Tien, the children's mother, told CNN. "It was also a good way to remember the value of connection, especially at a time like this when everyone feels disconnected. Just to know we were a part of something so sweet, even just for a minute, meant a lot."

For Emmanuel Maira Mallen and his wife, mariachi was the way to give back.

He woke up Saturday morning to a slew of frightening posts about coronavirus on his Facebook feed, he said. Hoping to brighten someone else's day, the couple decided to hire a mariachi to play in a San Antonio area H-E-B grocery store.

The energy was tense when he (and the band) walked in, he said. The store didn't know they were coming, and employees struggled to meet customers' needs through an air of panic. No one was talking, he said. No one smiled.

But when the music began, he saw laughter and people began to dance. The whole atmosphere changed, he said. A video of the performance has been shared around Facebook, expanding the impact of his act beyond what he ever imagined.

"We wanted to do something small for our community and bring some laughter and now that it has reached millions of views, I'm pretty sure we put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces," Mallen said.

CNN's Alaa Elassar, David Williams and Lauren Lee contributed to this report.

See more here:

Here are some of the heroes rising from the coronavirus pandemic - CNN

What became known as Covid-19, or the coronavirus, started in late 2019 as a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause. The cause of the pneumonia was found to be a new virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or Sars-CoV-2. The illness caused by the virus is Covid-19.

Now declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the majority of people who contract Covid-19 suffer only mild, cold-like symptoms.

WHO says about 80% of people with Covid-19 recover without needing any specialist treatment. Only about one person in six becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing.

So how can Covid-19 develop into a more serious illness featuring pneumonia, and what does that do to our lungs and the rest of our body?

Guardian Australia spoke with Prof John Wilson, president-elect of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a respiratory physician.

He says almost all serious consequences of Covid-19 feature pneumonia.

Wilson says people who catch Covid-19 can be placed into four broad categories.

The least serious are those people who are sub-clinical and who have the virus but have no symptoms.

Next are those who get an infection in the upper respiratory tract, which, Wilson says, means a person has a fever and a cough and maybe milder symptoms like headache or conjunctivitis.

He says: Those people with minor symptoms are still able to transmit the virus but may not be aware of it.

The largest group of those who would be positive for Covid-19, and the people most likely to present to hospitals and surgeries, are those who develop the same flu-like symptoms that would usually keep them off work.

A fourth group, Wilson says, will develop severe illness that features pneumonia.

He says: In Wuhan, it worked out that from those who had tested positive and had sought medical help, roughly 6% had a severe illness.

The WHO says the elderly and people with underlying problems like high blood pressure, heart and lung problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.

When people with Covid-19 develop a cough and fever, Wilson says this is a result of the infection reaching the respiratory tree the air passages that conduct air between the lungs and the outside.

He says: The lining of the respiratory tree becomes injured, causing inflammation. This in turn irritates the nerves in the lining of the airway. Just a speck of dust can stimulate a cough.

But if this gets worse, it goes past just the lining of the airway and goes to the gas exchange units, which are at the end of the air passages.

If they become infected they respond by pouring out inflammatory material into the air sacs that are at the bottom of our lungs.

If the air sacs then become inflamed, Wilson says this causes an outpouring of inflammatory material [fluid and inflammatory cells] into the lungs and we end up with pneumonia.

He says lungs that become filled with inflammatory material are unable to get enough oxygen to the bloodstream, reducing the bodys ability to take on oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide.

Thats the usual cause of death with severe pneumonia, he says.

Prof Christine Jenkins, chair of Lung Foundation Australia and a leading respiratory physician, told Guardian Australia: Unfortunately, so far we dont have anything that can stop people getting Covid-19 pneumonia.

People are already trialling all sorts of medications and were hopeful that we might discover that there are various combinations of viral and anti-viral medications that could be effective. At the moment there isnt any established treatment apart from supportive treatment, which is what we give people in intensive care.

We ventilate them and maintain high oxygen levels until their lungs are able to function in a normal way again as they recover.

Wilson says patients with viral pneumonia are also at risk of developing secondary infections, so they would also be treated with anti-viral medication and antibiotics.

In some situations that isnt enough, he says of the current outbreak. The pneumonia went unabated and the patients did not survive.

Jenkins says Covid-19 pneumonia is different from the most common cases that people are admitted to hospitals for.

Most types of pneumonia that we know of and that we admit people to hospital for are bacterial and they respond to an antibiotic.

Wilson says there is evidence that pneumonia caused by Covid-19 may be particularly severe. Wilson says cases of coronavirus pneumonia tend to affect all of the lungs, instead of just small parts.

He says: Once we have an infection in the lung and, if it involves the air sacs, then the bodys response is first to try and destroy [the virus] and limit its replication.

But Wilson says this first responder mechanism can be impaired in some groups, including people with underlying heart and lung conditions, diabetes and the elderly.

Jenkins says that, generally, people aged 65 and over are at risk of getting pneumonia, as well as people with medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer or a chronic disease affecting the lungs, heart, kidney or liver, smokers, Indigenous Australians, and infants aged 12 months and under.

Age is the major predictor of risk of death from pneumonia. Pneumonia is always serious for an older person and in fact it used to be one of the main causes of death in the elderly. Now we have very good treatments for pneumonia.

Its important to remember that no matter how healthy and active you are, your risk for getting pneumonia increases with age. This is because our immune system naturally weakens with age, making it harder for our bodies to fight off infections and diseases.

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Coronavirus: what happens to people's lungs when they get Covid-19? - The Guardian