Learning to Live with COVID-19 | Social Bubbles | Frankenstein Virus, and more

virus were ‘inserted’

California’s Early Shelter-in-Place Order May Have Saved 1,600 Lives in One Month (Andrew Friedson et al., The Conversation)
The primary strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus has been social distancing, which reduces contact between individuals.
While the federal government can recommend social distancing, the decision to issue formal measures ultimately resides with state and local governments. Though almost every state in the nation eventually implemented some policy to combat COVID-19, there was a lot of variation in what was done and how quickly each state acted.
In recent research with the Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies, we examined the strongest of such measures, the shelter-in-place order. We focused on the order in California, which was the first to be implemented.

Brazil Posts New Record of Coronavirus Deaths in Single Day (VOA News)
Brazil announced Tuesday that it has recorded another one-day record of coronavirus deaths. The Health Ministry said it had confirmed another 1,262 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total death toll to 31,199, with the number of total confirmed cases now at 555,383, second only to the United States, which has more than 1.8 million total cases.

At Least 11 Countries Have Reimposed Restrictions amid Fears of Coronavirus Second Wave (Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph)
Nations including Japan, China, South Korea and Germany forced to bring back localised quarantines or widespread shutdowns

Putin’s Favorite Ex-Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Is Now Pitching a Cure for COVID (Lachlan Markay, Daily Beast)
Former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has booked his first lobbying client, a company promising a COVID-19 cure and led by a California businessman who’s been collaborating with Rudy Giuliani on a documentary on Joe Biden and Ukraine. The company, Linear Therapies, is seeking to develop drugs that can both prevent people from getting the virus and cure them if they do. And Rohrbacher’s role is pretty simple: use his political connections to pitch Vice President Mike Pence’s office, which is playing a leading role on the White House coronavirus task force. 

Compare the Flu Pandemic of 1918 and COVID-19 with Caution – the Past Is Not a Prediction (Mari Webel and Megan Culler Freeman, The Conversation)Despite the valuable lessons drawn from past influenza outbreaks, how pandemic influenza struck in 1918 isn’t a template for what will happen with COVID-19 in the coming months. As a historian and a virologist, we believe this comparison of two pandemics has contributed to public confusion about what to expect from “flattening the curve.” Key divergences in the sociopolitical contexts of 1918-19 and now, in addition to clear virologic differences between influenza and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, mean their courses are not perfectly matched.

“I’m a Chief Executive Who Has to Get Stuff Done”: How Andrew Cuomo Became the Coronavirus Trump Antidote (Chris Smith, Vanity Fair)
The New York governor’s impassioned coronavirus briefings, an essential counterpoint to the Trump circus, draw on a lifetime of political combat, reflecting lessons learned from Bill Clinton, the Kennedys, and most of all his late father, mentor, and model, Mario

After 6 Months, Important Mysteries About Coronavirus Endure (New York Times)
Times journalists summarize some of the most critical things that scientists and public health officials have yet to understand.

The Coronavirus Is Raising the Likelihood of Great-Power Conflict (Barry Pavel, Defense One)
U.S. efforts to increase deterrence must be carefully calibrated to avoid accidental escalation.

China Held Back One Key Bit of Information for Fighting COVID-19: Report (Jamie Ross, Daily Beast)
China held back on a key scientific breakthrough in the earliest days of the fight against the novel coronavirus, according to a new investigation by the Associated Press. The World Health Organization repeatedly praised China’s response in the first stages of what became a global pandemic—but, behind the scenes, WHO officials were reportedly left frustrated by delays in getting their hands on critically important information.

Pandemic to Cost U.S. Economy $7.9 Trillion Over 10 Years (New York Times)
The Congressional Budget Office projected on Monday that the pandemic would inflict a devastating long-term blow on the United States economy, costing $7.9 trillion over the next decade. Without adjusting for inflation, the agency said, the pandemic would cost $16 trillion over the next 10 years.

Experts Dispute Reports that Coronavirus Is Becoming Less Lethal (Joel Achenbach, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Ben Guarino, and Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)

Go Read This Heartbreaking Story of How Coronavirus Spreads (Kim Lyons, The Verge)
A daughter shares her anguish at the thought she may have infected her mother

New Figures Cast Doubt on Coronavirus Test and Trace Success Rate (Billy Kenber and Chris Smyth, The Times)