A big step to amplify Jamal Khashoggi’s vision

insiders from the region, who would one day wake up to find themselves targeted by their own governments. I knew of many Saudis who had discovered they were banned from travel at an airport passport line. A decade or more might pass before these bans would be lifted, as secretly and arbitrarily as they had been imposed. When the travel bans in Saudi Arabia morphed into wide-scale arrests of scholars, writers and journalists later in 2017, Jamal saw the writing on the wall and fled. He came to the United States, where he became a columnist for The Post. From his new platform, Jamal championed freedom for the Arab world without regard to the wrath of Saudi rulers. Jamal thought he was safe outside his country. I thought he was safe, too. We were wrong. While Khashoggi’s murder has tarnished MBS’s reputation, he has managed, so far, to elude significant consequences for his role in the murder. The United States and other Western governments have imposed sanctions on various Saudi officials implicated in the murder, but they have studiously avoided levying sanctions against MBS. Lucrative arms sales to Saudi Arabia have mostly continued without disruption. The upcoming virtual Group of 20 meeting in Riyadh will entail one more big collective push by global corporations and governments to help MBS sweep his bloodstained record under the rug so that business can return to usual. Yet U.S. civil society organizations are upending the Saudi government’s PR-fueled efforts at normalization, bringing lawsuits to compel the US government to disclose information about Jamal’s murder, and organizing a boycott of MBS’s planned G-20 pageant. In joining this struggle, DAWN will create a vibrant platform for political exiles from across the region to freely discuss, debate and promote their vision for freedom and democracy in the region. Today, hundreds of thousands of people from the Arab world have been forced, like Jamal, to flee their countries for advocating reform, or even for participating in a single protest. We aim to bring their independent insights, analysis and recommendations, suppressed in their home countries, to the fore of global policymakers. As the people of Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria recently have reminded us, the demands for just governance in the region have not gone away. They will continue to reemerge, from one country to the next, until fulfilled. DAWN will also draw on in-country sources to develop detailed


Democracies are backsliding amid the coronavirus pandemic

You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Democracies around the world are suffering amid the global pandemic. At the same time, the virus has thrown up obstacles to voting in person and other forms of political participation that might fight these problems. Elected officials who are willing to lean into demagoguery have sought to exploit the pandemic for their own purposes — and in many cases, they may be succeeding. A new report released Friday by Freedom House, a nongovernmental, nonpartisan advocacy organization established in 1941, found that since the start of the pandemic, the state of democracy and human rights has worsened in at least 80 countries out of 192 nations surveyed. The report is based on an anonymous online survey of 398 experts and the work of Freedom House’s own analysts. It presents a troubling paradox: The pandemic has made the case for political participation more urgent, while at the same time disrupting democratic institutions that enable that participation. Protests are one example. Freedom House identified significant political protests in at least 90 countries since the outbreak began. In many cases, the virus has helped to trigger action over long-standing grievances — protesters in authoritarian Belarus, for example, were brought out by both a disputed election and a lackluster and opaque pandemic response. But, concurrently, restrictions on protests have spread dramatically during this time of unrest: Freedom House counted 158 countries where some form of new legislation has restricted protest during the pandemic, including some established democracies. This week in Israel, where demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have continued for months, the country’s parliament approved lockdown plans that would effectively end protests. “More than a campaign against the pandemic, this is a campaign against dissent,” the journalist Gershom Gorenberg wrote. The problem is acute in developing nations or countries where democracy was already under threat. In countries such as Egypt, Zimbabwe and Cambodia, governments were reported to be using emergency powers to crack down on political opposition. “The judiciary has become a puppet of the executive branch,” a respondent said of Serbia, noting that trials were “conducted via video link, without the presence of defense attorneys.” Experts from 66 countries said the virus had “led to a proliferation of disinformation coming from the government” in their nation. Assessing accurate information had become more difficult due to crackdowns on freedom of speech — in at least


Everything you should and shouldn’t do to stay healthy on a plane

After the historic drop in air travel this spring, Americans are steadily flying again — some with mixed reviews. After flying for work a few times and once to see family in California, Kyle Potter, editor of the Thrifty Traveler, says he’s not eager to get back on a plane anytime soon. With every airline carrying out coronavirus precautions differently, “you just don’t know what you’re going to find,” Potter says. Potter’s main takeaway from his recent flying experience has been for travelers to do their homework ahead of a flight, checking to see what rules an airline has in place for blocking middle seats and mask enforcement. Additionally, Potter says that “people should listen to public health experts.” Before booking your flight, know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still says travel increases your chance of getting and spreading covid-19, and that nearly 11,000 people have been exposed to the coronavirus on flights. But according to an October 1 article in JAMA, “the risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during air travel is lower than from an office building, classroom, supermarket, or commuter train.” ″We want to make sure people understand that the risk [of catching coronavirus while traveling] will never be zero,” says Syra Madad, who was recently featured in Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak.” “But there’s ways that you can help reduce or mitigate some of that risk by layering on different types of basic approaches.” Here are some of those approaches you need to know about staying healthy on a plane. At this time, most airlines are requiring passengers wear masks to fly, a move that health experts applaud. “Always wear a mask, not just on the plane, but off the plane in the airport, waiting in the lobby areas as well,” says Alvin Tran, an assistant professor of public health at the University of New Haven School of Health Sciences in Connecticut. Travelers can also wear additional personal protective equipment, such as face shields, for extra protection on board. “We know that covid-19 spreads by touching your mucous membranes, and your eyes are obviously one part of your mucous membranes,” says Madad, noting she doesn’t discourage the use of a face shield onboard planes. “It’s better to be overprotected than underprotected, especially if you’re traveling to an area with high community transmission.” Tran agrees. “If you are comfortable wearing


The Technology 202: Trump's coronavirus diagnosis sparks onslaught of online misinformation

directly from the president and his allies. “Right now the source of our awareness is the President's Twitter feed, which is the largest vector of disinformation in the world,” Watts said. The companies have been expanding their policies to address threats to undermine the legitimacy of the election and an “infodemic” of falsehoods about covid-19. But this diagnosis puts them in uncharted territory. “The larger social media platforms have taken steps to be more aggressive against misleading information about the pandemic, but have struggled to get ahead of being reactive to political disinformation about the election and by President Trump,” Brookie said. “This is exact convergence of both.” Facebook began tracking potential misinformation related to the diagnosis immediately after Trump's announcement, Twitter and YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Watts authored a report in July in which he sounded the alarm about such a situation. He warned that if a presidential candidate is hospitalized or dies, it could lead to an explosion in conspiracy theories that would degrade trust in U.S. institutions. “We’ve already seen a milder version of this situation with former presidential candidate Herman Cain, who was hospitalized for several weeks before succumbing to covid-19 — speculation currently runs amok on social media,” Watts wrote at the time. “Should this occur for Trump or Biden, surely we’d see stories alleging a political party’s replacing a candidate without a voting process, the substitution made by elites instead of voters … the list conspiracies could go on for pages.” At this time, Trump is showing only mild, cold-like symptoms of coronavirus, per the New York Times. First lady Melania Trump said they are “feeling good” in a tweet last night. Experts warned the public to take precautions to ensure information is factual. “I hope the President and first lady have a speedy recovery, and I hope we can all stick to facts in the meantime,” Brookie said. The House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee yesterday held its final hearing in its more than year-long investigation into competition in Silicon Valley. Remarks from Rep. David Cicilline, the subcommittee chairman, signaled the lawmakers’ final report could be a scathing indictment of the industry. He accused the companies of acting as gatekeepers and abusing their control to expand their power. “These once-scrappy underdog Meanwhile, Senate lawmakers subpoenaed the chief executives of Google, Facebook and Twitter as lawmakers from both parties criticize


Trump thought he could beat the virus with spin. That’s why he’s now infected.

Why did he do all that? It’s because he viewed the message he sent about the coronavirus as fundamentally about himself, and not about what people would do in response. How will this make people think about me? Will they think I’m confident and competent, that my administration is a success? With that as his only apparent consideration, his answer was simple: I have to say that the pandemic is under control and there’s nothing to worry about. If I do that, my approval ratings won’t go down, and everything will be fine. On most issues, that’s the kind of ordinary political calculation a president makes. But in this case, it meant that millions of people altered their behavior. Had Trump said, “This is serious, but if we all pull together and take these simple precautions, we can defeat this pandemic much more quickly,” the behavior of the public — especially his own supporters — would have been far different. Had he engaged in some of the performative messaging Biden is doing, setting a clear example through his own behavior, those supporters would have followed suit. Which would have meant that far fewer people would have gotten sick and died. Today we might be in a position like that of, say, Germany, where they haven’t had a day in which covid-19 deaths exceeded single digits since early July. Instead, we’re still seeing around 750 Americans die every day, with new hot spots emerging all the time. And now it has come to the White House itself, where although they took some practical steps to protect the president and those around him, including frequent testing, they have assimilated his message more than anyone. Their offices are full, and if you wear a mask in the White House you’re considered weak and disloyal. That covid came to the Oval Office is not at all a surprise. In fact, it might have been inevitable. Trump was so worried about how the politics of the pandemic would affect him that he opened the door for the virus itself to spread. And like the rest of us, he’s facing the consequence. Read more Jennifer Rubin: Here’s how Trump’s recklessness affects us all and the VP debate Karen Tumulty: This is exactly why we need to know the truth about Trump’s health Greg Sargent: Wish Trump well. Then get right back to work in removing him.


Trump’s case should not change how we think about covid-19

With President Trump’s positive coronavirus diagnosis, we’re in the early stages of what will surely be one of the most highly publicized medical cases in history. The health of the president and the first lady — who also tested positive — should be our chief concern, as observers. Yet the course his case takes could also influence what people think about covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in general — particularly people who have doubts about the seriousness of the disease. And here there are potential pitfalls. The president’s case, whatever its course, should not be treated as a referendum on how this particular illness “really” plays out — because every case will be different. If Trump should have a mild case, for example — as we should hope — that in no way would refute the idea that the virus can be deadly. Conversely, we should not overgeneralize if the outcome turns grim: There are many people, even in their 70s and older, who survive. Unfortunately, generalization about a mild case seems like the greater danger, given rampant skepticism about covid-19, some of it fueled by this administration. As a physician who has cared for countless patients with covid-19, I have seen the full range of outcomes, which range from no symptoms at all to organ failure and death. Yet outside the hospital, I still encounter skeptics — even among my friends — who maintain that it is no worse than the flu (this is false) or who wonder whether the disease is real, since they don’t know anyone who has been ill. While it is regrettable that the president himself has downplayed the virus and confused the public about the best practices to combat it, I am hopeful that this moment serves as an opportunity for him to focus our nation’s efforts where they need to be, including on mask-wearing and physical distancing, especially indoors. In addition to the basic observation that one case cannot give us a full picture of an illness, there are particular reasons the president’s situation is unique. First, he will be getting the best clinical care available; unfortunately, that’s not reflective of what is always available to the average American, although our ability to treat this virus has significantly improved since February. He will have immediate access to our nation’s best infectious-disease doctors, nurses and other clinical personnel — and the


Trump is among a growing group of world leaders infected with the coronavirus

detractor of measures to contain the virus, which he has called a “little cold.” He tested positive for the virus in July and reportedly recovered well after several weeks of a mild illness. Bolsonaro repeatedly flouted health recommendations before contracting the coronavirus — and even afterward, an analysis by The Washington Post found. Brazil ranks third in the world for the highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections and second for covid-19 fatalities, trailing the United States. In mid-March, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau returned from a trip to London with flu-like symptoms. She soon tested positive for the virus. Her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, entered into a 14-day self-quarantine, during which he continued to work from his residence. Two weeks later, Canada’s first lady announced she had recovered. “To everyone who is suffering right now, I send you all my love,” she said at the time, the Associated Press reported. In July, Belarus’s embattled President Alexander Lukashenko said he had covid-19 and “had lived through this virus.” Lukashenko, currently battling protests against his decades of authoritarian rule, has dismissed the virus as a “psychosis” and downplayed the extent of its spread in Belarus. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández battled the coronavirus in June and was briefly hospitalized. At the time, Hernandez voiced support for an unproven and experimental treatment. He has since joined global calls for a coronavirus vaccine to be distributed equitably, the AP reported. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, 64, has multiple sclerosis and walks with a cane. As of mid-September, he has also had covid-19. “My symptoms are very mild,” he said during a national address on Sept. 18, the AP reported. “Up to now, I have body aches, it hurt more yesterday than today, like a bad cold,” he continued. “I don’t have a fever, I have a bit of a cough.” Three weeks before a presidential vote in the Dominican Republic in July, the leading candidate Luis Abinader and his wife announced they had tested positive for the virus. Abinader went into isolation, recovered and won the election. Bolivia’s interim president, Jeanine Áñez, was a candidate in the country’s presidential race following a bout with covid-19 in July. She dropped out in mid-September, citing the need to unite the conservative bloc. In March, the head of the tiny Mediterranean city-state of Monaco, Prince Albert II, was the first world leader reported to have contracted the coronavirus.


Suffering from cancer and diabetes, a Virginia inmate died of covid-19 just months before his release date

I’m afraid.’ ” Before Asmar’s death, the ACLU 0f Virginia pointed to his case as an example of how it contended the VADOC was failing to meet the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit by 27 Virginia prisoners that called for stronger protections against the coronavirus and quicker releases for the medically compromised and others. It was the second time the ACLU had complained the VADOC wasn’t living up to the terms of the deal. The VADOC disputed that characterization in a response. In a statement to the ACLU, Asmar said he was mistakenly left in a unit with prisoners who had tested positive for the coronavirus, before he himself was diagnosed. He also said he filed roughly 15 medical requests, saying he wasn’t receiving proper medical care for his other health problems. The VADOC said he was given proper care. “I can only pray,” Asmar said in his statement. “That is all I have.” The ACLU said in a statement that Asmar’s death should not have happened. “Sadly, Mr. Asmar has died as a direct result of VDOC’s neglect, with months left on his sentence,” the statement read. “His death was a preventable tragedy, just like the 30 people who died from COVID-19 in VDOC custody before him.” Nearly 80 percent of the inmates at Deerfield have tested positive for the coronavirus and the facility is responsible for more than half of the covid-19 deaths in the state’s prison system. VADOC said it has done mass testing, increased health staffing and instituted extra cleaning to try to combat the outbreak. Howell said she began writing letters to VADOC, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and other officials in June trying to get Asmar released early. The same month, Morrissey sent a letter to the warden of Deerfield requesting Asmar’s early release, saying the pandemic “could be fatal” for him. Morrissey, who said he has sent about 30 letters on behalf of medically compromised inmates in Virginia’s prison system seeking early release, said he’s not seen much action on any of them. “It shows a complete and utter lack of compassion and mercy to keep these individuals who have a rather early release date . . . incarcerated,” Morrissey said. “It’s a death penalty.” Howell said she’ll miss Asmar, who was her only sibling. He leaves behind an adult son and three grandchildren, who referred to him as “Papa Teddy Bear.”


How to use services like Uber and Airbnb with social distancing in mind

a mask. Those measures aside, Alvin Tran, an assistant professor of public health at the University of New Haven School of Health Sciences in Connecticut, says people should use ride-hailing services only when absolutely necessary. “I have not used Uber or Lyft since the start of a pandemic, mostly because I don’t know if the driver has been cleaning the car or if the driver has a negative test or not,” says Tran, who teaches a course about pandemics and public health threats. “It’s still a risk in my mind, and that concern has not relaxed.” However, not everyone has the luxury of avoiding ride-hailing services. Special pathogens expert Syra Madad, who was recently featured in the Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” says if people do use these services, they should take a layered approach to harm reduction. “We know that ventilation is very important," Madad says, recommending passengers and drivers wear masks and open car windows when possible. That will help “if there’s any virus particles. It’s more diluted and you’re exposed to less viral particles," she says. After your ride, follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for proper hand-washing, which Safdar says is the main way to prevent illness if you take an Uber or Lyft. For rental cars — reserved peer-to-peer or the traditional way — Safdar recommends disinfecting any surfaces you will be touching, such as the seats and the steering wheel, before driving. Before you go ahead with your house-sharing reservation, check the travel restrictions at the booking’s destination. The Airbnb website has a page dedicated to coronavirus resources for hosts and guests, including links to travel advisories and local governments’ coronavirus information. Madad says it is also a good idea to check how hospitals in the area are handling the pandemic. “You don’t want to think about these things, but it’s important because this is your health on the line,” she says. “God forbid you do contract covid-19 and you do need hospitalization — if hospitals in that area are overwhelmed, you’re not going to get the care that you may need.” She says the CDC and city or state government health websites can be resources for checking on the status of a city’s hospitals. If you decide to check into your Airbnb as scheduled, Safdar recommends wiping down common surfaces with disinfecting wipes and assessing whether the


This is exactly why we need to know the truth about Trump’s health

and over again on issues of Trump’s health, the president’s aides have shown more concern for stroking Trump’s ego and furthering his political agenda than telling the truth. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently played down the seriousness of the viral pandemic and promoted risky behaviors such as mass gatherings that have heightened the threat of transmission. Trump has scorned science and lauded quack cures. Since the novel coronavirus began spreading, he has constantly assured the country that the end of the pandemic is in sight. As recently as Sept. 21, Trump stood before a packed crowd of supporters in Swanton, Ohio — “mostly maskless” and not adhering to social distancing, according to The Post’s report — and falsely suggested that only older Americans with heart problems and preexisting conditions need to fear the novel coronavirus. “It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems and other problems. That’s what it really affects,” the president said. “In some states, thousands of people — nobody young. Below the age of 18, like, nobody. They have a strong immune system, who knows? Take your hat off to the young, because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing.” Trump is 74 years old and obese, and he has in the past had high cholesterol, all of which means he is at high risk for serious consequences from the coronavirus. The public cannot trust assurances from the same people who claimed — absurdly — that the president’s unscheduled two-hour visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last year was merely “to begin portions of his routine annual physical exam.” They have refused to divulge other details. Starting right now, Americans must demand briefings from the medical personnel — presumably military doctors — treating the president. The medical team should make public the specifics of Trump’s symptoms, test results, vital signs and his treatment regimen. As Americans, we should pray that the president has a mild bout with this virus, followed by a speedy recovery. Trump’s credibility, however, is a hopeless case. Read more Leana S. Wen: We should be just as careful about covid-19 in relatives’ homes as we are in grocery stores Megan McArdle: Biden and Harris are playing a Trumpian game on vaccine safety Martha E. Pollack and Michael I. Kotlikoff: We run Cornell. Here’s how we’ve kept low covid-19 rates on campus.


We have been deprived of Jamal Khashoggi’s voice. But his silence says it all.

Hatice Cengiz was Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee. Two years ago, I believed I was embarking soon on one of the happiest days of my life. But today, I am writing this in memory of a tragic day that should not be forgotten by anyone — the day my fiance, Jamal Khashoggi, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and was brutally murdered. Over the past two years, I have had to deal with the pain and disappointment that those who committed this heinous crime and killed an innocent man in the most brutal way, and those who ordered this monstrosity, remain unprosecuted and unpunished. Starting with United States, most of the governments of the world have done nothing to push forward this case. One of the things I remember Jamal telling me is that, if we want to make the Middle East a better place, we need to take part in the process of making changes, and not just be a spectator on the sidelines. I was not the only one who needed his voice, writings, thoughts and advice. So did many others. For too long we have all been deprived of his writing, and for too long we have had to only guess at what he would say about the current developments. It’s a thought that always crosses my mind: How would he evaluate this situation? What would his take on it be? Jamal was a man who got his strength from his thoughts and his writing. The silence that comes with death can say a lot to those who understand it. Often, death leaves behind countless regrets and wishes. So many of his friends come and give me their condolences, and I can see the pain and regret in their eyes; there is no need for words. But the lawmakers who have chosen to stay deaf instead of taking proper measures are governing with their own interests in mind. So many things that Jamal didn’t say, or dare to say, during his lifetime, he is now saying with silence after his death. His voice has reached all those who watched and followed news about the murder from different corners of the world. With his writings, stance, sincerity and his nation-loving spirit, he was the best representation of himself and his values. How lucky that we had his grace and insights, which were so original and important, for a time. But


Local Digest: 7-Eleven clerk fatally shot in Waldorf

a statement that a 59-year-old woman and a small dog she was walking with were attacked about 10 a.m. on Winder Court. She was taken to the hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening. The dog was quarantined. Two more attacks followed in the area of Woodley Gardens, said Marylou Berg, spokeswoman for Rockville police: one on a woman and another on a child. Both were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Berg said. Earlier, a man saw a coyote acting aggressively around 5:30 a.m. on Princeton Place. It retreated after the man raised his arms and made noise, police said. About 11 a.m., a person on a deck on Aster Boulevard saw their dog barking at a coyote, police said. It’s not clear whether the dog was injured, police said. The coyote was shot and killed by police around 5 p.m., Berg said, after the area was under a shelter-in-place order for about an hour. She said the slain animal would be taken to a state lab for tests. — Justin Wm. Moyer A man was killed in a crash Wednesday in the Capitol Heights area. Local police said the incident happened about 10:40 p.m. along Walker Mill and Silver Hill roads. The driver was heading south on Walker Mill Road, police said, then the car went off the road and hit a tree. The crash remains under investigation. His name was not released, pending the notification of his family. — Dana Hedgpeth VIRGINIA A Virginia man was charged with disorderly conduct and traffic violations after authorities say a video that depicted him spinning out in a vehicle on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was posted to social media. Maryland Transportation Authority police said Thursday they were notified of a video showing reckless driving on the westbound span of the bridge in the Sunday incident. The driver was identified as Gary Ray Montague Jr., 22, of Dumfries, officials said. The video appears to show the driver of a sports car turning circles three times in a matter of seconds on the bridge, coming perilously close to the guardrails on the three-lane span that rises as much as 186 feet above the bay. — Justin Wm. Moyer He was charged in Queen Anne’s County with four counts of disorderly conduct and 23 traffic violations, including reckless driving, willfully damaging a highway and driving a motor vehicle in a manner intended to cause skidding.


Covid ‘long haulers’ have nowhere else to turn — so they’re finding each other online

if I would be where I am without her and a couple of other people in these groups,” Smith says. For many long-haulers, the testing deficits that defined the early days of the pandemic continue to haunt them. While some tested positive for the virus or its antibodies, others (such as Smith) tested negative or did not have access to testing. The latter group is often barred from covid-19 recovery programs and studies, and some doctors write their covid-19-like symptoms off to anxiety. (The FDA has advised that because test results are not always accurate, symptoms should be a factor in a diagnosis.) Recently, the media has been giving the long-hauler phenomenon increased attention, and some doctors are coming around, treating patients as “presumed covid-19.” To the long-haulers connecting online, what matters is that they’re suffering, physically and psychologically. Claire Hastie describes the 23,000-person Facebook group Long Covid Support Group, which she started in May, as a “virtual joining of hands.” In the group’s early days, Hastie recalls, long before it was getting over 200 posts per day and 1,000-plus new members a week, a “highflying” chief-executive-type man posted about how he could not bring himself to tell his family about his persistent symptoms and that the group was the only support he had. “It’s humbling that we’ve been able to provide this safe space for this ‘alpha male,’ for want of a better phrase, to share such vulnerable information that he is not sharing with anyone else,” says Hastie, who’s 48 and based in the United Kingdom. Kevin Wright, a professor who studies health communications at George Mason University, likens online support group relationships to the “stranger on a plane phenomenon.” People will share their life story while sitting next to you because they know they probably will never see you again and the information won’t get back to their inner circle. Among long-haulers, many of whom are stuck at home and would never cross paths in real life anyway, that plane-ride closeness lasts indefinitely. Plus, returning to pre-covid-19 relationships can prove difficult. “A lot of my friends are always very concerned about catching covid-19,” said Adina Gerver, a 41-year-old moderator for Hastie’s Long Covid group who lives alone in New York City. “But my main worry is that I’ll be tired forever and not be able to work my normal three jobs.” Fiona Lowenstein, founder of the Body


about his persistent symptoms and that the group was the only support he had. “It’s humbling that we’ve been able to provide this safe space for this ‘alpha male,’ for want of a better phrase, to share such vulnerable information that he is not sharing with anyone else,” says Hastie, who’s 48 and based in the United Kingdom. Kevin Wright, a professor who studies health communications at George Mason University, likens online support group relationships to the “stranger on a plane phenomenon.” People will share their life story while sitting next to you because they know they probably will never see you again and the information won’t get back to their inner circle. Among long-haulers, many of whom are stuck at home and would never cross paths in real life anyway, that plane-ride closeness lasts indefinitely. Plus, returning to pre-covid-19 relationships can prove difficult. “A lot of my friends are always very concerned about catching covid-19,” said Adina Gerver, a 41-year-old moderator for Hastie’s Long Covid group who lives alone in New York City. “But my main worry is that I’ll be tired forever and not be able to work my normal three jobs.” Fiona Lowenstein, founder of the Body Politic Covid-19 Support Group Slack channel that Smith joined, which has 8,000 active members, says she talks to her covid-19 friends more than her Before Time friends. The 26-year-old in New York City wrote an essay for Teen Vogue about covid-19 patients losing friends, and notes that the sick often cannot participate in typical pandemic social activities like Zoom happy hours or outdoor runs. Alexandria, Va.-based long-hauler Cynthia Adinig, 35, finds it difficult to even explain her symptoms to people who haven’t experienced them. How do you tell friends you’re too hoarse for a phone call? Or in too much of a brain fog to type coherent messages? With fellow long-haulers, “You can just say, ‘Hey, today I can’t spell,’ And it’s a nonissue. It doesn’t come with a whole set of questions,” she says. The intimacy and goodwill fostered in these groups can be hard to preserve as they grow into a virtual town. An early Facebook group, Survivor Corps, has ballooned to over 100,000 members. Another, Long Haul Covid Fighters, split into two “rounds” according to how long members have been symptomatic. The Slack group changed platforms twice, operating on WhatsApp for just 12 hours before surpassing the


Since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the cruelty of Saudi Arabia’s ruler has only grown

IT HAS been two years since Jamal Khashoggi, a renowned Saudi journalist who contributed columns to The Post, was murdered and butchered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. During all that time, two facts have remained unchanged: There has been no justice for those who ordered and orchestrated his killing; and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, has sustained the brutal repression that has made his regime the cruelest and most criminal in the country’s modern history. Though the international backlash that followed Khashoggi’s killing made him a pariah, the crown prince did not alter his behavior. At the height of the blowback in October 2018, according to a lawsuit filed in August, MBS, as he is often called, dispatched another hit team to Canada in an abortive attempt to kill an exiled former intelligence official, Saad Aljabri. Since March of this year, the regime arrested two of Mr. Aljabri’s children and one of his brothers, and is holding them as de facto hostages in an attempt to force his return to the kingdom. MBS has continued to lock up princes, businessmen and activists he considers threatening, usually without bothering to bring charges against them. None of the more than two dozen women’s rights activists who have been arrested since 2018 have been fully freed; they remain in prison or in home detention, without ever having been convicted of a crime. The senior MBS aide who orchestrated the Khashoggi killing and the arrest and torture of the women, Saud al-Qahtani, has never been punished. Nor has MBS himself accepted responsibility for ordering those crimes, even though the CIA and a U.N. investigation both concluded he was culpable. The crown prince’s tyrannical conduct is what drove Khashoggi, at the age of 58, into exile in the United States after a career spent working as a journalist for mainstream Saudi newspapers and as a spokesman in the Saudi embassies in London and Washington. He did not see himself as a political dissident, but as advocate of peaceful reforms inside the system, including free speech and rights for women. He welcomed the social liberalizations MBS introduced, such as opening cinemas and allowing women to drive, but questioned why the very people who had advocated for them were being persecuted. Why, he asked in one Post column, must Saudis “choose between movie theaters and our rights as citizens to


With students — and covid-19 — on campuses, college towns look on warily

As the novel coronavirus surged in Georgia this summer, aggressive efforts by the city of Athens to curb transmission — with the state’s first local shelter-in-place order and its second mask mandate — looked to be paying off. Case numbers were among the lowest in the state, and hopes were rising that schoolchildren in one of Georgia’s poorest counties might return to their classrooms this fall. Then in August, the biggest school in town reopened — the University of Georgia. Coronavirus cases exploded among the 39,000 students, temporarily turning Athens-Clarke County into one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots and, in the view of many residents and local leaders, recklessly endangering the community. Campus outbreaks have fueled tensions in college towns and cities across the country, from San Diego to Morgantown, W.Va., even though there is little evidence so far of spillover into local populations. In many ways, these dynamics reflect enduring town-and-gown friction, characterized in recent decades by clashes over student behavior and land use by universities. But never before have the conflicts played out amid a global pandemic that is forcing colleges and local governments to balance life-or-death matters of community health against the financial solvency of higher-education institutions that may be their towns’ biggest economic engines. “We’ve begun to feel like a colony of the university with the degree to which we’ve been ignored and even blamed for the covid outbreak,” said Russell Edwards, a member of the Athens-Clarke County Commission, who described the result as “a huge fracture in the town-and-gown relationship.” In some communities, local governments and schools have presented a united front, but increases in cases have stirred resentment among residents and triggered student-directed crackdowns by public health officials. In others, elected officials and university administrators have publicly traded blame and sparred over strategy. In Athens, the university’s handling of the campus outbreak has become a lightning rod, spurring student protest, angry letters from residents, admonishment from faculty and even censure from Michael Stipe of the Athens-born band R.E.M. The university has defended its efforts, pointing to sharply dropping case numbers. And to the frustration of city leaders, the school is pressing on with plans to host 23,000 people at the Bulldogs’ first home football game Saturday. The discord may be especially thorny in towns that are home to land-grant universities such as Georgia and the University of Wisconsin, which view themselves as having


Our co-workers had coronavirus, but our boss never told us

with ever-changing information on how the virus spreads, plus variables outside our personal control such as others’ behavior and environmental sanitation — and, most troubling, reports of possible political interference with our most trusted source of public health information, the CDC itself — make it reasonable to want to take extra precautions. Employers have a duty to provide a safe workplace. While reasonable minds may differ on the exact measures, an employer that fails to show it is making every reasonable effort to keep workers safe is going to face internal turmoil and possibly legal repercussions. Several meatpacking plants have been fined recently over lax coronavirus prevention and notification measures. OSHA itself is “receiving an astounding number of complaints” about employers, says Wiltsie, and is facing criticism and lawsuits arising from its enforcement of worker safety laws during the pandemic. So even though employers might be inclined to hold off on announcing covid-19 outbreaks to avoid causing panic or stigmatizing infected workers, a certain amount of transparency might be in order to retain their workers’ trust. Wiltsie recommends the following approach when employers learn of a case of coronavirus infection among their workers: 1. Perform contact tracing to determine who in the workplace may have come into direct contact with the infected person. 2. Privately contact those individuals at risk, without disclosing the identity of the infected person (confidentiality is required by the Americans With Disabilities Act). 3. Make a general announcement to the rest of the workforce that a case of novel coronavirus has been confirmed, that people believed to be at risk of exposure have been notified, and that anyone who has not already been personally contacted is not believed to be at risk. That approach, according to Wiltsie, “threads the needle so that you don’t have unnecessary stress on people who are not at risk.” And, of course, time is of the essence, before the virus — and the news about it — has a chance to spread. Pro tip: If you have a medical condition and are concerned about coronavirus exposure at work, consider making a doctor-endorsed plea under the ADA for additional protections, such as remote work or an isolated workspace. If your employer is willfully refusing to comply with state mandates on covid-19 protection, consider contacting your attorney general’s office or public health department. Also, retaliating against workers who raise safety concerns is illegal.


Maryland has a chicken problem

Kathy Phillips is executive director and Assateague Coastkeeper for the Assateague Coastal Trust. Maryland has a problem with chickens, and it is twofold; Most prominent is the impact on the Chesapeake Bay caused by a poorly regulated poultry industry, and the second is that this industry has become a system that takes advantage of racial inequities that have been built in to our policies and politics for generations. Efforts to restore Maryland’s waterways are failing as policymakers refuse to take the actions necessary to control nutrients and sediment from farms. Agriculture overwhelms all other pollution sources on the Eastern Shore, contributing the majority of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that are fueling dead zones, smothering oysters, preventing regeneration of critical bay grasses and causing flesh-eating diseases. No actions that will improve water quality are cheaper and more effective than regulating farm operations for manure and chemical fertilizers. The good news is that reducing farm pollutants is the cheapest per pound to reduce of all pollution sources. The bad news is that agriculture is the least regulated and most politically difficult to address with Big Chicken’s spending every year in Annapolis. Fifty years ago, the use of raw chicken manure as fertilizer on small farms was a free asset to the farmer. But in Worcester County, the broiler industry left farmers with 88 million pounds of raw manure to dispose of and a decreasing land area on which to use it. This manure now becomes an economic burden for the individual farmer, while the industry turns its back. In 2019, the 609 million chickens raised in Delmarva’s 5,000 chicken houses produced 900 million pounds of raw manure, with most disposed of untreated on already phosphorus-saturated farmland where none should be applied. Beyond the manure running off to pollute public waters, chicken production requires the growing of thousands of acres of nitrogen-intensive corn and soybeans to feed the chickens. Poultry accounts for 60 percent of Maryland’s gross agricultural income and a high percentage of pollutants on Delmarva. No longer serving the communities they inhabit, the industry has become so industrialized that, in 2019, nearly $3 billion in broilers were exported, making the United States No. 2 in global chicken exports. A comprehensive report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) found that Delmarva poultry operations also produce huge amounts of unregulated ammonia emissions that pollute waterways. Industrial-scale chicken houses — windowless, airplane hangar-like structures


Checking in on the climate as you check out

COPENHAGEN - A major supermarket chain in Denmark is offering shoppers something extra at checkout: an estimated amount of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from their groceries. COOP DK, the Danish cooperative that controls one-third of the country’s grocery market, says it is trying to educate consumers with an eye toward nudging them to cut back on meat and dairy, two categories of food that produce the most greenhouse gasses linked to climate change. At stores run by COOP DK’s five grocery chains — Irma, Fakta, Kvickly, SuperBrugsen and Dagli’Brugsen — shoppers can use an app that gives them a personalized carbon footprint tracker that displays roughly how much CO2 it took to produce the tomatoes, yogurt or cold cuts in their baskets. The tracker, which rolled out in June, also allows customers to compare their footprint to the average shopper. “What people need to understand is just that animal-based products have a higher [climate] impact,” said Thomas Roland, who leads corporate social responsibility for COOK DK. “And that there’s a big difference between choosing red meat and choosing poultry.” Animal agriculture is a major source of both carbon dioxide and methane, two greenhouse gasses that are driving the rapid warming of the planet, scientists say. Roland and his team spent a year developing the tool. Since the stores stock more than 100,000 items, they took a few shortcuts by selecting a benchmark item — 2.2 pounds of white rice, for example — to be representative of all types of rice because, as Roland explained, the variations in rice production, transportation and packaging are relatively small. Similarly, all pork is counted in the same way, regardless of farming methods. “It’s not a tool where you can go to the meat counter and say, ‘Is this lamb chop better than that lamb chop?’ ” Roland said. “What you can see is that lamb has had a substantial impact on your overall basket.” So far, 21 percent of the chain’s 1.2 million app users have checked their carbon footprint, Roland said. Rikke Nissen is among them. She said she already eats mostly vegetables and little meat, but using the app has heightened her awareness. “You get a wake-up call sometimes and find out, ‘Oh, I didn’t do that quite well [enough], like buying wine or sandwich meat,” said Nissen, who was shopping recently at the Super Brugsen in Copenhagen. When


‘Long-haul’ covid-19 complications are real. I faced similar problems after surviving Ebola.

We need to talk about “long-haul” covid. Many people who’ve had covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, continue to experience complications long after their initial illness, and those of us in the medical field don’t know why. We can draw from similar illnesses and the growing body of research, especially the work being done by some of these patients themselves. It’s no surprise that many who survived an initial bout of covid 19 — even if that illness was mild — continue to experience often-debilitating symptoms weeks and months after they first got sick. We’ve seen this with many other viral illnesses, including covid-19’s close coronavirus cousins, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In one study of SARS survivors, 24 percent had markedly diminished exercise capacity and health status compared with the general population at 12 months after the onset of the illness. Another study showed that two years after SARS onset, more than 50 percent of SARS survivors had impairment in lung function tests and “their exercise capacity and health status were remarkably lower than that of the general population.” Dozens of other studies outline how SARS and MERS left many survivors with long-term health conditions. Enduring fatigue, inability to return to work and ongoing mental health challenges were incredibly common, in addition to the cardiac, respiratory and neurologic symptoms. We know what viruses can do to the immune system long term. And we know that other coronaviruses have left survivors with similar symptoms. So why are covid-19 long-haulers having such a hard time being taken seriously? As a doctor who treated hundreds of covid-19 patients in New York and sees them frequently in the emergency room, I know how this virus touched nearly every organ system, and how many still haven’t recovered months after their initial illness. But in a sense, I’m also a long-hauler myself. In 2014, I fell ill with Ebola after taking care of patients in Guinea. I spent 19 days in the hospital, and thankfully ultimately survived. But for months I had joint and muscle pains. It hurt to walk. My hair fell out in chunks. All of that got better. But some things didn’t. To this date, nearly six years after my “recovery,” I continue to experience difficulty concentrating. My ability to create new memories is drastically reduced. I forget names and details of people I


go even half a block.” So what research do we have for covid-19? So much of what we know about long-haulers is actually from long-haulers themselves. Groups such as Body Politic (@itsbodypolitic) led the first detailed patient surveys and have set up expansive support groups. Their findings were further supported in July by a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that 35 percent of covid-19 patients had not returned to their usual state of health when interviewed two to three weeks after testing. Those with chronic conditions were affected the most. But even among young adults ages 18 to 34 with no chronic medical conditions, nearly 1 in 5 reported they had not returned to their usual state of health 14 to 21 days after testing. This is particularly concerning as outbreaks are now emerging at college campuses. And there are reports that even younger children are having to deal with long-term covid complications. This is beyond the hundreds of cases you may have read about of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), often weeks after a covid-19 infection. Although covid-19 is primarily defined by its respiratory symptoms — low oxygen, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) — it impacts nearly every organ system in one way or the other. This is true for the acute (early) infection but likely defines the long-term and chronic impacts as well. What percentage of those with covid-19 are affected with long-term symptoms? We don’t know for sure, but multiple studies have suggested approximately 10 percent of people experience prolonged illness after covid-19. At even a fraction of that, the toll is huge given that 6.7 million people in the United States so far have gotten the disease (and more than 30 million worldwide). A study from Rome showed the overwhelming majority of hospitalized patients still struggled with symptoms 60 days out. Fatigue, difficulty breathing, joint pain and chest pain persisted in many. About 87 percent still had at least one symptom, and 55 percent had three or more. Covid-19 has been associated with many long-term cardiac problems, including inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) or the sac around the heart (pericarditis), as well as abnormal heart rhythms. Some may develop cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that prevents the heart from pumping effectively. A lot of college and professional athletes have been found to have myocarditis, even after


a mild bout of covid-19, which has led some leagues and players themselves to call off their season. A few studies have already outlined the longer term cardiac impact of covid-19. A small one from Wuhan, China, showed a majority of recovered patients (15 out of 26) who were tested with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging had sustained cardiac involvement at a median of 47 days after symptom onset — primarily edema, fibrosis and impaired contractility of the heart. Another Unsurprisingly, given that it’s primarily a respiratory virus, emerging data indicate that many patients must deal with lung damage and “experience persistent respiratory symptoms months after their initial illness.” Like SARS and MERS (where 30 percent had persistent lung abnormalities after their acute illness), breathlessness and cough are commonly reported long after recovery from covid-19. Many also have fibrosis (scarring), bronchiectasis (damage to bronchial tubes) and pulmonary vascular disease. But we also know that patients who have been on ventilators and who are given pulmonary rehabilitation early on have better and faster resolution of underlying damage and symptoms. Those of us working on the covid-19 front lines saw how this disease caused kidney injury or failure in so many patients admitted to our hospitals. At the Mount Sinai Health System, in New York, during the peak of the pandemic there, 46 percent of patients admitted with covid-19 had some form of acute kidney injury; of those, 19 percent required urgent dialysis. “The next epidemic will be chronic kidney disease in the U.S. among those who recovered from the coronavirus,” said Steven Coca, associate professor of nephrology at Mount Sinai and one of the authors on the study, in a published interview last month. The neurologic system seems to have the most diverse aftereffects of covid infection, such as persistent headaches, anosmia (loss of smell), long-term disability from stroke and some relatively rare conditions — among them encephalitis, cranial neuropathies and even myasthenia gravis (a neuromuscular disorder causing weakness). There are also many case reports of covid-19 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune illness that causes altered sensation and motor function, primarily in the legs and arms. This was something we also saw with infections from the Zika virus a few years ago. And there have been loads of studies about anosmia related to covid-19. In many, this was reported in 30 to 60 percent of covid cases. Thankfully, most episodes resolved


to our hospitals. At the Mount Sinai Health System, in New York, during the peak of the pandemic there, 46 percent of patients admitted with covid-19 had some form of acute kidney injury; of those, 19 percent required urgent dialysis. “The next epidemic will be chronic kidney disease in the U.S. among those who recovered from the coronavirus,” said Steven Coca, associate professor of nephrology at Mount Sinai and one of the authors on the study, in a published interview last month. The neurologic system seems to have the most diverse aftereffects of covid infection, such as persistent headaches, anosmia (loss of smell), long-term disability from stroke and some relatively rare conditions — among them encephalitis, cranial neuropathies and even myasthenia gravis (a neuromuscular disorder causing weakness). There are also many case reports of covid-19 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune illness that causes altered sensation and motor function, primarily in the legs and arms. This was something we also saw with infections from the Zika virus a few years ago. And there have been loads of studies about anosmia related to covid-19. In many, this was reported in 30 to 60 percent of covid cases. Thankfully, most episodes resolved in two to three weeks, but for some, symptoms persist beyond that. In addition to the neurologic impact, the mental health manifestations of long-covid can be profound. According to a report in STAT, “1 in 3 patients recovering . . . could experience neurological or psychological aftereffects of their infections.” The mental health toll of this pandemic has been hard on everyone. But for long-haulers, the extra stress of being sick and not knowing if or when you’ll feel better is an added burden. Support groups are helping many, but we need more resources. So what’s next? What do we need to do to better understand long-haul covid? Here are my suggestions: Recognition. Resources and rehabilitation. Research. “We must move long-haul covid from anecdote to something that is routinely quantified and monitored, as is currently being done with deaths and positive tests,” Nisreen A. Alwan, associate professor in public health at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom who has suffered prolonged symptoms herself, wrote in the Lancet. “We must define and measure what ‘recovery’ means, focusing on how long symptoms last, how severe they are, how they impact someone’s quality of life, and the nature of when and


Diagnosis for family doctors: Less money, greater hardship, and patients on video

some doctors are retiring early or joining larger groups as they seek strength in numbers. And with the episodic, fee-for-service payment system magnifying economic pain for doctors as patients shun medical care amid the pandemic, the coronavirus crisis also may be accelerating long-overdue changes in the way doctors are paid, specialists said. Like his colleagues across the country, many of whom operate like small businesses, McNabb is working with less pay and a shrinking staff, all while scrambling to connect with patients on the Internet and making diagnoses over laptops and smartphones. “I sink or swim depending on my revenue,” he said. “There is no salary. You eat what you kill, and if you’re not bringing any money in, you’re not taking any money home.” National surveys have long shown that independent primary-care doctors already were squeezed financially. Compensation for family doctors is among the lowest in medicine, especially for independent physicians in rural areas who can barely afford to keep their exam rooms open to see patients they have treated for decades. The virus forced a sudden and devastating cut in patient visits in March as people heeded public health warnings and stopped venturing out. That in turn led to an immediate cash crisis for doctors that has put the country’s entire health-care system under extreme financial pressure. Predictably, many of the doctors at the bottom — the ones who form the backbone of front-line care — are barely hanging on. For primary-care doctors, the coronavirus is “an extinction-level event” that requires a stronger policy response from government and insurance companies, said Rebecca Etz, co-director of the Larry A. Green Center, a nonprofit organization based at Virginia Commonwealth University that advocates for stronger supports for primary medicine. “After covid, everything about health care is just going to be completely different,” Etz said. “We know the pandemic is not going to let us get back to normal for at least a year, and there is no normal to go back to.” In addition to the fiscal crisis, doctors are juggling more work because of layoffs or staffers who quit, coping with chronic shortages of masks and other personal protective equipment, and struggling to keep track of chronically ill elderly people who are afraid to leave their homes. Crucial side revenue from things such as in-office tests and X-rays have completely dried up. Responses to a questionnaire in August circulated by


What you need to know about coronavirus

What began with a handful of mysterious illnesses in a central China city has traveled the world. First detected on the last day of 2019, the novel coronavirus has killed more than 705,000 people with infections surpassing 18 million worldwide. It has triggered nationwide lockdowns, stock market upheaval and dangerous conspiracy theories. Most cases are mild, but health officials say much is still unknown about the virus that causes the disease covid-19. The Washington Post has spoken to scores of doctors, officials and experts to answer as many of your questions as we can about the newest global health emergency. Here’s what we know so far. Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked within the newsletter are free to access. These days, “coronavirus” is often prefaced with the word “novel,” because that’s precisely what it is: a new strain in a family of viruses we’ve all seen before — and, in some form, had. According to the WHO, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range from the common cold to much more serious diseases. These diseases can infect both humans and animals. The strain that began spreading in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province, is related to two other coronaviruses that have caused major outbreaks in recent years: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of a coronavirus infection range in severity from respiratory problems to cases of pneumonia, kidney failure and a buildup of fluid in the lungs. They may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. In April, the CDC added new symptoms of the disease to its list, shedding more light on how the virus infects patients. The symptoms now include: a cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a loss of taste or smell. Covid-19 spreads more easily than SARS and is similar to other coronaviruses that cause cold-like symptoms, experts have said. It appears to be highly transmissible, and since cases are mild, the disease may be more widespread than current testing numbers suggest. Read more about coronaviruses, their symptoms and how they are spread here. Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” Public health officials say the novel coronavirus is less deadly than SARS, which killed about 10 percent of people who


What you need to know about coronavirus

of China’s Hubei province, is related to two other coronaviruses that have caused major outbreaks in recent years: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of a coronavirus infection range in severity from respiratory problems to cases of pneumonia, kidney failure and a buildup of fluid in the lungs. They may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. In April, the CDC added new symptoms of the disease to its list, shedding more light on how the virus infects patients. The symptoms now include: a cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a loss of taste or smell. Covid-19 spreads more easily than SARS and is similar to other coronaviruses that cause cold-like symptoms, experts have said. It appears to be highly transmissible, and since cases are mild, the disease may be more widespread than current testing numbers suggest. Read more about coronaviruses, their symptoms and how they are spread here. Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve” Public health officials say the novel coronavirus is less deadly than SARS, which killed about 10 percent of people who were infected during the outbreak that began in 2002. But epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly covid-19 is. Similar to other respiratory illnesses, older people and those with illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure are at increased risk. Data show that the virus is killing more men than women in the U.S. But, as with other diseases, there can be tremendous individual variation in how people respond. There will be people with known risk factors who recover as well as people who develop severe cases for reasons we don’t understand. There’s also no evidence that children are more prone to contracting covid-19, according to the CDC, and that was also the case with the disease′s cousins, SARS and MERS. Read more about the deadliness of coronavirus here. The coronavirus primarily spreads from person to person and not easily from a contaminated surface. In updated guidance issued in late-May, the CDC said the virus spreads “easily and sustainably” between people. The agency added that contaminated objects, surfaces and infected animals do not appear to be significant modes of transmission. The virus travels through the droplets a person produces when talking or coughing, the CDC website says.


What you need to know about coronavirus

were infected during the outbreak that began in 2002. But epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly covid-19 is. Similar to other respiratory illnesses, older people and those with illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure are at increased risk. Data show that the virus is killing more men than women in the U.S. But, as with other diseases, there can be tremendous individual variation in how people respond. There will be people with known risk factors who recover as well as people who develop severe cases for reasons we don’t understand. There’s also no evidence that children are more prone to contracting covid-19, according to the CDC, and that was also the case with the disease′s cousins, SARS and MERS. Read more about the deadliness of coronavirus here. The coronavirus primarily spreads from person to person and not easily from a contaminated surface. In updated guidance issued in late-May, the CDC said the virus spreads “easily and sustainably” between people. The agency added that contaminated objects, surfaces and infected animals do not appear to be significant modes of transmission. The virus travels through the droplets a person produces when talking or coughing, the CDC website says. An individual does not need to feel sick or show symptoms to spread it. Read more about how the coronavirus spreads here. Planning to travel? Here’s what to know. There are some basic precautions you can take, which are the same as what you should be doing every day to stave off other respiratory diseases. You’ve seen the guidance before: Wash your hands regularly. Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze. And when you’re sick, stay home from work or school and drink lots of fluids. The CDC recommends washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose or sneezing. It also advises not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth and to clean objects and surfaces you touch often. Read more about preparing for coronavirus here. Mapping the spread of coronavirus Symptoms are primarily respiratory. Coughing and shortness of breath are common, according to the CDC. Fever is also possible. The severity of the symptoms depends highly on the patient’s age and immune system. For the elderly and those with underlying heart disease, diabetes or other conditions, coronavirus can cause pneumonia and lead to organ failure


Online crib sheets aid parents in dealing with children’s depression, anxiety, other issues

Is it a learning disability? Is bed-wetting normal? How can you support your child through an upcoming move? These questions are enough to keep up at night parents and anyone who takes care of children — and as we spend more time with our kids during the pandemic, we’re more tuned in to their challenges. That’s where Facts for Families comes in. It’s a collection of online crib sheets for all kinds of issues that affect children, teenagers and families, from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder to weight gain. The online fact sheets are the work of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), a professional organization that represents more than 9,400 psychiatrists specializing in kids and teens. Each sheet lays out common-sense information about a variety of challenges — such as bullying, delirium and grief — that can affect kids’ mental health. Many of these challenges and conditions emerge during early childhood. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 children ages 2 to 8 in the United States has a diagnosed mental, behavioral or developmental disorder. The older kids get, the more likely they are to experience depression, anxiety and a host of other conditions. These bumps can stress out caretakers, who may not know where to start when it comes to helping their children. The fact sheets are quick reads and give lists of symptoms and behavior changes. Most contain links to other, more in-depth resources, too. So next time you’re up at night mulling over a troubling interaction or symptom, browse the website instead — and use the information there as a starting point for conversations with pediatricians, specialists and the children. Then turn over and get some sleep, secure in your new knowledge and your preliminary plan. Facts for Families can be found at bit.ly/AACAP_facts.


What we know about President Trump’s positive test for coronavirus

presidential nominee Joe Biden, and on Wednesday evening, accompanied the president to a campaign rally in Duluth, Minn. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, who is in regular contact with the president, also tested positive for coronavirus, an RNC spokesman announced Friday. She last saw the president a week ago Friday. Early Friday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms.” Two people who spent time with Trump on Thursday, when he attended a fundraiser and delivered a speech at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., told The Washington Post that he appeared tired. But his condition appeared to worsen through the day to include low-grade fever, a cough and nasal congestion, and by Friday afternoon, the decision was made to move him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the president’s health. Experts said the move most likely reflects his doctors’ desire to keep him under close observation in a location where they can administer oxygen and other therapies quickly if necessary. Covid-19 may manifest a variety of symptoms between two to 14 days after exposure. These include coughing, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, chills, fever, difficulty breathing and the loss of the sense of smell or taste. In severe cases, people with covid-19 may have difficulty breathing, high fever or chest pain. The virus mainly attacks the lungs but can also harm the heart, brain, kidney and other organs. More than 200,000 Americans have died of the disease. The most important risk factor for a severe outcome — greater even than having other health problems — is age. The CDC tracks mortality rates by decade — for example, ages 65 to 74, or ages 75 to 84 — and says the risk increases with each additional year within those cohorts. Trump’s risks are greater because of his gender and weight. Although men and women catch the virus at similar rates, men disproportionately die from the disease. As of June, men represented 57 percent of U.S. deaths. Obesity, in particular, is associated with increased covid-19 complications, according to a review published in August of dozens of studies. People with obesity, when compared with those of healthy weight, were 113 percent more likely to be hospitalized and 48 percent more likely to die of the disease. Trump’s weight,


or polymerase chain reaction, test, which is considered the most accurate gauge of whether virus is present. Starting in April, the White House began requiring the president’s visitors to take a rapid-turnaround test, using a machine known as Abbott ID NOW. The machine analyzes nasal swabs, and delivers results in five to 13 minutes, but researchers have found that it can miss infections. Abbott ID NOW is a viral RNA test, not one of the quick antigen tests that the Trump administration has been deploying in chaotic fashion to nursing homes around the country. Antigen tests look for a protein that exists on the surface of the coronavirus, and they are less accurate than traditional, PCR laboratory tests. PCR tests are very sensitive and test for the presence of viral RNA in a sample from the nose or throat, but they take more time to deliver results. They amplify this RNA by using cycles of heating and cooling, so that even a tiny amount of initial virus can be detected, said Tara Smith, an epidemiologist at Kent State University. In August, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) tested positive after receiving an antigen test as part of a screening before meeting with President Trump in Cleveland. A follow-up PCR test showed a negative result, however. In July, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump was being tested for the coronavirus “multiple times a day,” referring to him as “the most tested man in America.” Trump quickly contradicted that, telling reporters he was taking tests every two to three days, but did not recall ever having had more than one in a single day. Whatever the frequency, testing is imperfect. Rapid tests have been shown to be inaccurate, and even PCR tests can return false negatives if a poor sample is taken, or if a person is early in the infection and has very little virus in their body. Because it can take several days for the virus to replicate to levels that would be detectable, a negative test on one day means only that the person tested is unlikely to be infectious on that day, not that they do not have covid-19. They may still develop covid-19 in the 14 days following exposure, which is why public health experts recommend quarantining for that length of time after exposure. On Friday, many scientists and public health experts said the president’s positive


Virginia has a rocket launch site, and it’s about to grow with the most successful startup since SpaceX

company’s autonomous flight abort system, it should be cleared to launch, with a mission coming potentially before the end of the year. Initially, Rocket Lab looked at Cape Canaveral, of course. But there are already a lot of big companies stationed there — Boeing, the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is renovating a pad there while building a massive manufacturing facility nearby. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) “We ran a competitive process,” Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s chief executive, said in an interview. In the end, Wallops was the winner because it had a facility nearby where the company could process its payloads, get the satellites ready for launch and then mate them to a rocket quickly. “The whole facility is designed for rapid launch,” Beck said. “And that’s a real requirement out there right now from our national security and national defense forces, to have an ability to respond to threats quickly.” The company plans to keep at least one rocket on site at all times so if they get the call, “we can roll out to the pad incredibly quickly and get assets on orbit.” Rocket Lab’s Electron may be a pipsqueak of a rocket, a mere 60 feet tall, about a quarter of the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, but the company hopes it will be a workhorse, launching once a month from here, in flights that should be visible up and down the Mid-Atlantic. It already has had 14 successful launches to orbit, all from its launch site in New Zealand, earning a reputation for quick turnaround in an industry where getting rockets ready to fly was once a months-long endeavor. The Pentagon has taken notice. So has NASA. The space agency has hired Rocket Lab to launch a small satellite to the moon to serve as a precursor for human missions by testing the orbit for the space station NASA hopes will help get astronauts to the lunar surface. That mission, scheduled for next year, would be the first NASA mission to the moon since the 2013 launch of a satellite — also launched from Wallops — that gathered data about the thin lunar atmosphere. The moon mission would be a major milestone for Wallops and Rocket Lab, which has taken a clear lead in a race to build small, relatively affordable launch vehicles that could fly small satellites to orbit


a mere 60 feet tall, about a quarter of the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, but the company hopes it will be a workhorse, launching once a month from here, in flights that should be visible up and down the Mid-Atlantic. It already has had 14 successful launches to orbit, all from its launch site in New Zealand, earning a reputation for quick turnaround in an industry where getting rockets ready to fly was once a months-long endeavor. The Pentagon has taken notice. So has NASA. The space agency has hired Rocket Lab to launch a small satellite to the moon to serve as a precursor for human missions by testing the orbit for the space station NASA hopes will help get astronauts to the lunar surface. That mission, scheduled for next year, would be the first NASA mission to the moon since the 2013 launch of a satellite — also launched from Wallops — that gathered data about the thin lunar atmosphere. The moon mission would be a major milestone for Wallops and Rocket Lab, which has taken a clear lead in a race to build small, relatively affordable launch vehicles that could fly small satellites to orbit frequently and on short notice. That is of particular interest to the Pentagon and intelligence community, which has long wanted the ability to quickly launch a reconnaissance satellite over, say, North Korea. Instead of launching large, expensive satellites that stay on orbit for years and are targets for potential adversaries, the Pentagon is also interested in putting up swarms of smaller, inexpensive satellites that could be easily replaced. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) put on a competition between companies to see if any could launch payloads to orbit within days of each other from two different launch sites. The DARPA Launch Challenge, as it was called, ended earlier this year without a winner. But the Pentagon has vowed to press on. “Flexible and responsive launch is critical for the Defense Department and its desire for space resilience, and the challenge has advanced the growth of what is now a more capable launch marketplace to meet those needs than what we saw just two years ago,” Todd Master, DARPA’s program manager, said at the time. As those capabilities grow and the newly established Space Force takes shape, officials hope Wallops, about 170 miles southeast of the Pentagon, could play


Trump threw Saudi Arabia a lifeline after Khashoggi’s death. Two years later, he has gotten little in return.

No single event has threatened the rule of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman more than the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate two years ago this week. The grisly episode turned the leader, now 35, into a pariah as top political figures and business executives canceled and postponed meetings, the U.N. rights investigator declared the killing an “international crime,” and news media scrutinized the Saudi government’s shifting array of explanations and retractions related to the killing. The decision by President Trump to back the young leader in the weeks and months after Khashoggi’s death proved critical to restoring the crown prince’s standing and propping up the Saudi kingdom’s tarnished image. “I saved his ass,” Trump said of Mohammed, according to a new book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward. “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone.” The payoff for the crown prince is evident: The outrage has largely subsided, and he now regularly engages with the world’s political and financial elite. But the benefits for the Trump administration are far from clear, as the two governments remain at loggerheads over a range of economic, security and political issues on the second anniversary of Khashoggi’s death. “The Saudis have mostly been a headache for this administration, despite its support for MBS,” said David Ottaway, a Saudi expert at the Wilson Center in Washington, using the initials of the crown prince. “Unless you’re an arms manufacturer, this relationship has offered minuses, not pluses.” The president has long defended his decision to preserve the Saudi relationship as a means of protecting the billions of dollars of arms sales between the two countries every year. “They sent $400 billion over a fairly short period of time,” Trump told Woodward, referring to the deals struck in advance of his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 2017. But the actual orders fell far short of $400 billion, and neither government has been able to substantiate where that figure came from. Besides arms sales, however, the Trump administration has struggled to win Saudi cooperation on a number of pressing issues between the two countries. The most glaring example is the U.S. demand to hold a credible investigation into the killing of Khashoggi, who on Oct. 2, 2018, was dismembered by a team of Saudi agents after he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents that would allow him


President Trump’s transfer to Walter Reed reflects a cautious approach to treating his covid-19 symptoms

coma, that essentially breathe for them. The first five to seven days after Trump was infected — a date that may be difficult to determine — are critical. That is when he could develop the pneumonias, blood clots and bacterial infections that have made covid-19 so deadly, though some complications also can come later. “Usually, over the first week you get a sense of how severe this will be,” Snyder said. But another part of the disease’s unpredictability is the harm it causes a small number of people in the second week of infection and beyond. As the pandemic has made clear, the coronavirus can kill or have almost no impact. As many as 40 percent of people may never develop symptoms. Some recover in a matter of days, while “long-haulers” suffer an array of symptoms — including shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, pain and neurological problems — for months. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he has never seen a virus with such a wide range of outcomes. For most people, symptoms are mild to moderate. The severity of Trump’s illness also may depend, in part, on how he contracted the virus. Many researchers believe the virus is airborne — that it can float distances on tiny exhaled particles smaller than respiratory droplets, which are heavy enough to fall out of the air. That could lead to infection deep in the lungs and a more severe outcome, said Columbia University epidemiologist Jeffrey Shaman. Wearing a mask can help prevent that, research has shown. The amount of virus transmitted to a patient — the viral load — is another important factor in disease progression, said Albert Ko, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. “For many infectious diseases, the higher your infecting inoculum dose is, the more risk you have of getting infected, the more risk you have of getting a disease and severe complications and dying,” Ko said. “That’s something that’s hard to predict. It’s not like we’re measuring the number of viruses that someone was exposed to at the time they were infected.” Supportive care to relieve discomfort is also a part of the typical medical regimen, said Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease expert at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. Those measures include hydration and acetaminophen for fever, aches and pains. leonard.bernstein@washpost.com laurie.mcginley@washpost.com joel.achenbach@washpost.com lena.sun@washpost.com


Trump’s infection is part of an ominous national trend as cases rise in most states

Coronavirus cases have risen in 33 states and Puerto Rico since late August, and at least a dozen states have reported rising hospitalizations in recent days, according to data analyzed by The Washington Post. The coronavirus map shows flare-ups coast to coast and from the Canadian to the Mexican border. Brooklyn is once again dealing with a spike in cases, and the state of New York on Friday reported its highest one-day case count since May 28. New Jersey and Delaware have experienced rising numbers, as has Texas, which just recently endured a midsummer surge. Wisconsin, a critical swing state in the presidential election, has been hammered. It had logged record highs in case counts for 20 straight days as of Thursday, and recorded more than 17,000 new confirmed infections in a single week. Among the latest data points in the early-autumn surge: President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis Friday, which instantly rocked the presidential campaign, became the biggest news story on the planet and provided a reminder, if any were needed, that this pandemic shows no signs of diminishing. Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has killed at least 208,000 people in the United States and is continuing to spread easily through many regions of the country. Infectious-disease experts had hoped transmission could be driven to low levels before cold weather arrived. That hasn’t happened, and Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Friday became part of ominous daily case counts that alarm the nation’s top doctors. “I’m concerned we are going into the fall and ultimately the winter season, when the weather changes, [and] we are stuck at this baseline of 40,000 new infections every day,” Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview before news broke about the president’s infection. On Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) delivered a radio address pleading with residents to do anything and everything to slow the startling rate of infections in the state. “Folks, if we are going to get this virus under control, then wearing a mask is the absolute least we need you to do,” said Evers, whose own statewide mask mandate is facing a legal challenge and attacks from Republicans. “We have got to put the brakes on this pandemic to keep our friends, family, employees and co-workers, and neighbors safe.” Places west of the Mississippi River are also


Trump’s diagnosis is a reminder that covid-19 isn’t a partisan illness

In our current dystopia, we are growing resigned to the strange and terrible headlines that so often greet us upon awakening. But the news that President Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus came as a surprise to me this morning, though of course it should not have. If I have learned anything from the dozens of covid-19 patients that I have cared for in the past months, it is that all of us are vulnerable to this virus, regardless of our political affiliations or personal beliefs. In the wake of this news, there will be those who choose to frame the president’s diagnosis as a morality lesson. But that’s precisely the wrong way to go about it. Illness — anyone’s illness anywhere — is neither a metaphor nor cosmic payback. Instead, if his diagnosis teaches us anything, it is what those who have cared for the victims of covid-19 have known all along — that this virus is real and that it is up to all of us to take the necessary public health precautions to prevent its transmission. The coming days will inevitability be rife with speculation about the severity of Trump’s subsequent course of illness and what that means for the election moving forward. We know relatively little about Trump’s health, other than the fact that he is 74, is on the borderline of obesity and is male. These factors put him at risk of more severe disease and yet, as a critical care doctor, I have seen firsthand how unpredictable this virus is. An elderly patient might shake it off like a bad cold, whereas someone who is young and otherwise healthy could wind up on a ventilator for weeks and could even die. We can point to patterns of risk, but there is so much we don’t know. Which means that Trump’s course moving forward is — at this early juncture — impossible to predict. At this point, likely at least three days after initial infection, he is described as having “mild” symptoms, characterized by fatigue, low-grade fever, cough and nasal congestion. If his symptoms worsen, as they do precipitously in some about a week after diagnosis, the president could experience trouble breathing and require supplemental oxygen or even a ventilator. He could suffer cardiac complications. He could die. And even if that more severe disease does not come to pass, those with mild cases


Public records requests fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic

United States, the Reporters Committee realized very quickly that not only was transparency especially important for the public during this time, but also that there was a huge threat to this transparency posed by covid,” said Adam Marshall, the Knight litigation attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Many state and local jurisdictions tried to do “the best they could under the circumstances,” according to Marshall, “but many took pretty extreme measures, some agencies essentially telling requesters: We’re not going to respond to your requests until covid is over.” This is troubling, Marshall said, because “public-records laws are, in many instances, the only legal mechanism for the public to pry information out from the government.” On March 17, the D.C. Council unanimously approved the Covid-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, which included a “covid-19 closure” provision allowing government agencies to indefinitely delay responding to FOIA requests. Since then, members of the public attempting to submit a request on D.C.’s FOIA website have received a message stating that “all FOIA deadlines may be extended during a period of time for which the Mayor has declared a public health emergency.” The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which has jurisdiction and operates transit in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, announced April 4 on its website that the “processing of PARP [Public Access to Records Policy] requests has been temporarily suspended until further notice.” In Rockville, the city manager issued an executive order effective April 3 that suspended processing public-information-act requests, saying that the suspension “will not endanger the public health, welfare or safety.” At the federal level, a March 27 Congressional Research Service report catalogued a range of major and minor changes during the pandemic to FOIA practices at 13 federal agencies, including the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. The report noted that the multiple physical and digital systems needed to process FOIA requests made employees’ tasks even more difficult. The report also recommended that “FOIA requests are to be expedited as soon as practicable in cases in which the person requesting the records demonstrates a compelling need.” A separate report by the Office of Government Information Services, the federal FOIA ombudsman, found that 191 of the 305 federal agencies and offices surveyed provided no updates on their websites on how covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, was affecting processing. “Some agencies have been able to


Migration, in reverse: Coronavirus forces migrant workers to return home

In his long years away from his family, Ramakrishnan Athekkatil often imagined what it would be like to settle down back in India. He never imagined he would return like this: laid off, in debt and pursued by a sickness racing around the globe. Home was a small village ringed by coconut palms and paddy fields on India’s southwestern coast. His father, pushed by poverty, had been the first to leave for the Persian Gulf in search of work. Later Ramakrishnan, 47, and his four brothers all made the same voyage. “Ever since I was young, I wanted to go,” Ramakrishnan said. “I used to tell my father, ‘Just take me with you to the gulf.’ ” The family was part of a vast migration from South Asia to countries flush with wealth but short on labor. The migrants worked to raise gleaming cities in the desert, and built the schools, hospitals and power plants that helped transform collections of villages and port towns into modern Arab countries. Now, one of the largest migration corridors in the world is flowing in reverse. The coronavirus pandemic and crashing oil prices have led to mass layoffs in gulf states, leaving foreign workers vulnerable and in some cases destitute. Out of money and fearing the virus, hundreds of thousands have returned home. With a vaccine still months away and the number of coronavirus cases rising around the world, there is little prospect that anything will return to normal any time soon for the world’s 164 million migrant workers who cross borders. About one-third of them come from South Asia, and India is the single largest source of such migrant labor in the world. Kerala, the small southern Indian state where the Athekkatils live, plays an outsize role in such flows. An estimated 2.5 million Keralites were working abroad before the arrival of the virus, the vast majority in the Persian Gulf. The pandemic is pushing them home in record numbers: As many as 500,000 migrants and their families are expected to return by the end of the year, the largest such exodus ever, experts say. Nearly 400,000 people have already returned to the state from the gulf since May, according to data provided by the Kerala government agency responsible for overseas workers. At least half of the returnees said they were coming back because they had lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the pandemic has


also prompted some countries in the region to accelerate plans to “nationalize” their workforces — in other words, to reduce their reliance on foreign migrants altogether. The workers who came home are struggling. Indians who lost their jobs in the gulf are returning to an economy crippled by rising infections and by the aftermath of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. “You’re looking at devastation on both sides of the corridor,” said Shabarinath Nair, a regional migration specialist at the International Labor Organization. The coronavirus crisis has upended many aspects of globalization previously taken for granted — in manufacturing, in education, in tourism — but one of its most dramatic impacts has been on migration. As country after country closed borders and banned flights, migrant workers around the globe faced chaos without precedent. Some began a desperate scramble to get home. Others were stranded and faced an equally desperate wait. A survey of migrants from Central America and Mexico conducted by the International Organization for Migration found that half had lost their jobs in the pandemic. From Ukraine to Myanmar, Mozambique to Venezuela, migrant workers around the world retraced their steps by the millions. Finding a way to revive the movement of workers without fueling new outbreaks will be crucial to fixing the global economy. “If we are unable to relaunch migration and mobility safely — and universally — the world’s ability to recover from economic recession will be limited,” wrote Antonio Vitorino, the director general of the IOM. When the pandemic hit, it left two of the Athekkatil brothers jobless and pushed two others into a state of deep uncertainty. With tears in his eyes, Ramakrishnan recalled how the newspaper company where he had worked since 1999 in the United Arab Emirates — rising from the printing plant to the bill collection department — sent him a letter saying he was being let go. Pradeesh, 37, the youngest of the five, had worked as a driver for a limousine company doing airport pickups and drop-offs, also in the UAE. He said he wasn’t paid for three months and then the company asked drivers to go unpaid for another three months. “There are only 365 days in a year,” Pradeesh said bitterly. Without jobs, the two brothers had no choice but to go home. Migrant workers are not only critical to the countries where they work but also a vital


The secret to Australia’s success in beating the coronavirus? Being an island helps.

SYDNEY — When it comes to defeating the coronavirus pandemic, Australia has a lesson for the world: It pays to be an island. On its present trajectory, Australia could eliminate the virus by Christmas, some epidemiologists say, and join New Zealand, Vietnam, Brunei and some Caribbean islands that have claimed, and in some cases lost, the coveted “zero covid-19” status. On Thursday morning, Australian health authorities reported 17 new cases and two deaths in the previous 24 hours — meanwhile, in Britain there were 7,108 cases and 71 deaths — continuing an eight-week decline. It has prompted policymakers to begin loosening strict rules and allowed normal life to resume for most Australians — except that their island (also a continent in its own right) is still largely cut off from the rest of the world. Only 888 people are reported to have died in Australia from covid-19, a similar number to New Mexico, which has less than one-tenth the population. But simply being an island isn’t a panacea, as Britain has discovered. The precise reasons for the low death toll are elusive, but they appear to be a combination of high-quality health care, quick tracing of outbreaks and a dispersed population. Perhaps among the most important factors, though, was the decision to close Australia’s border to foreigners on March 20, and subsequent internal border closures by most state governments. The response is much different from those in the United States and Europe, where travel is far freer and in line with the view of the World Health Organization and other groups that border closures unfairly punish people whose livelihoods depend on moving around, including farmworkers who harvest crops. “WHO are not great supporters of border closures, but for places like Australia and New Zealand, it has been a very effective measure,” said Marylouise McLaws, an epidemiologist at the University of New South Wales and a covid-19 adviser to the WHO. “I think it was probably one of the most pivotal infection preventions and control measures in the outbreak.” The restrictions on travel have caused many Australians to miss important life events, including weddings and birthdays. Two weeks ago, a 26-year-old nurse, Sarah Caisip, was not allowed to attend her father’s funeral in Brisbane, a decision not even Prime Minister Scott Morrison was able to overrule. Now, though, attitudes among policymakers are shifting. This past week, Morrison flagged reopening travel with