What You Need to Know Today: Coronavirus, China, Face Masks – The New York Times

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Good morning.

Were covering new federal guidelines on lifting coronavirus-related restrictions, a break in Chinas decades-long economic growth, and Amazons struggles during the pandemic. Its also Friday, so theres a new news quiz.

President Trump issued nonbinding guidelines on Thursday that recommend a patchwork reopening of the country, backing down from an earlier assertion that he would decide how and when to end widespread lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

Youre going to be calling the shots, he told the nations governors on a conference call. Well be standing right alongside of you, and were going to get our country open and get it working.

The guidelines urge states not to lift restrictions until they reach a 14-day period in which case numbers fall steadily and hospitals are not overwhelmed. But the guidance doesnt envision the comprehensive testing that public health experts have sought and left difficult questions unanswered, including on travel between states.

Here are the latest updates from the U.S. and around the world, as well as maps of the pandemic.

In other developments:

New podcast: What is the internet doing to us? Our latest audio series, Rabbit Hole, explores what happens as our lives move online. Listen to the first episode here.

The details: Weve compiled expert virus-related guidance on subjects including health, money and travel.

The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage, and our Coronavirus Briefing newsletter like all of our newsletters is free. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription.

Infectious disease experts are unsure just how deadly the coronavirus will be, after projecting earlier this year that around 1 percent of infected people would die, a rate 10 times that of a typical flu.

According to various unofficial trackers, about 6.4 percent of people confirmed as infected with the virus have died worldwide. But on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where scientists have a much better understanding of how many people the infection really reached, the rate was a small fraction of that.

We examined the sources of uncertainty behind the numbers.

Related: Obesity may be one of the most important predictors of severe coronavirus illness, new studies say. Its an alarming finding for the U.S., which has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.

Another angle: A nursing home in Queens has reported 29 deaths from the virus, although two workers told The Times that the actual toll was far higher.

Since the pandemic reached the U.S., the online retailer has struggled to respond after experiencing sales growth in one month that usually would take years, according to one business adviser. Sometimes products are in stock. Sometimes they arent.

Amazons adjustments have generated confusion for consumers, just as people are turning more than ever to online shopping.

Kate Scarpa, an Amazon spokeswoman, said the company was regularly updating its processes. We know that people are depending on us, she said.

Related: As online buying has surged, so have the number of cargo flights, which has caught the attention of those who live near airports.

Go deeper: The pandemic has illustrated how close to the edge many Americans were living, with pay and benefits eroding even as corporate profits surged. In the past month, about 22 million people in the U.S. have lost their jobs, roughly the number of positions that were created in the past decade.

Masks have become an emblem in the fight against the coronavirus, with officials recommending and in some cases requiring that people wear them.

Featured video: How does a New Yawker tawk? The #BestNYAccent challenge on Instagram, started by a film director who was sidelined with Covid-like symptoms, brought out the sound of an unflappable city.

In memoriam: Brian Dennehy won two Tony Awards in an acting career that spanned more than 50 years in theater, movies and television. He died on Wednesday at 81.

News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.

Modern Love: In this weeks column, a married couple who lived in separate cities face the pandemic.

Late-night comedy: Conan OBrien lamented New Yorks new mask policy: Yeah, everyone has to wear a mask. The players on the New York Jets said, Thats OK, were used to hiding our identity.

What were reading: This Bon Apptit essay about learning to cook through crisis with the help of an Italian mother over FaceTime. Until this, I hadnt laughed once while reading about how people are coping with the pandemic, writes Jenna Wortham, a staff writer for The Times Magazine and a host of our Still Processing podcast.

Cook: Adding tuna to your puttanesca gives it heft. And you can still make it in well under 30 minutes.

Read: A look at the history and culture of crossword puzzles is among 12 new books we recommend. Want a good barometer of what people are reading at home? Look no further than our best-seller lists.

Dream: Its nice to drift through the idea of living in this restored rowhouse in Malaysia, if you could get there (and had $1.8 million to spend). Its nice to go to galleries as well, if only virtually, to look at art from Feliciano Centurin and Jennifer Bolande. (You could make yourself into art afterward, maybe?)

We have more ideas about what to read, cook, watch and do while staying safe at home.

This week, our video team took you inside Tripoli, Libya, where residents already facing the horrors of a war zone are grappling with the pandemic. Shelling has prompted more people to flee to the city center, and fresh attacks in residential areas mean they must choose between fleeing further, and risking exposure to the virus, or staying put, and risking bombardment.

Melina Delkic, on the Briefings team, spoke with one of the people interviewed in the video, Montaha Nattah, a 21-year-old student. Heres their text exchange lightly edited for space.

Whats your typical day like?

Most of my day is spent writing papers, preparing projects, attending classes and studying for exams. Studying during quarantine is quite difficult you barely have the energy to get tasks done but studying while living in a war zone and being quarantined is an outrageous combination I would never want anyone to experience.

Libyans are used to leaving their houses whenever there is intense shelling nearby. Unfortunately, during the era of Covid-19, that is not the case.

How long have you lived in Tripoli?

My whole life until 2018, when I got to study at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. I visited Libya every summer and winter break, but during these extraordinary times and despite the ongoing conflict, I decided to go back home because I believe that home is a feeling, not only a place.

If this pandemic is going to be the end of the world, then Id rather die in my hometown next to my family.

What are you seeing and hearing around you right now?

Living in Tripoli nowadays means hearing drones flying above your head most of the time. It means hearing projectiles falling around you. It means seeing and smelling smoke and polluted air when you open your window because of the places that get bombed.

And finally, it means putting your earphones on whenever there is intensive shelling, so you can forget about the reality a little.

Thats it for this briefing.

As we end another week, I wanted to thank all the readers whove written recently, particularly those whove asked how we at The Times are doing. It means a lot to us.

See you next time.

Chris

Thank youTo Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. Were listening to The Daily. Todays episode includes an interview with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, whose district has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Heres todays Mini Crossword, and a clue: Container of peanut butter or jelly (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here. Apoorva Mandavilli, the founding editor in chief of Spectrum, an award-winning news site on autism science, is joining The Times as a health and science writer.

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What You Need to Know Today: Coronavirus, China, Face Masks - The New York Times