Pentagon plans for expected Trump order to pull thousands more troops from Afghanistan

The Pentagon is preparing for President Trump to withdraw thousands of American troops from Afghanistan before the presidential election, as military leaders recommend keeping at least a small counterterrorism force in the country, current and former U.S. officials said. The troop cuts would follow the withdrawal of several thousand service members since the Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban on Feb. 29. The agreement called for the United States to reduce the number of service members in Afghanistan from about 12,000 to 8,600 by mid-July, with a possible full pullout by next spring if the Taliban meets several conditions. The Taliban has mostly refrained from attacking U.S. forces since March, as required in the deal, but peace negotiations between the insurgent group and the Afghan government have largely stalled in a bloody quagmire. Scores of civilians were killed or injured as a result of Afghan government operations and in Taliban attacks last month, a significant increase over April 2019, according to the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. U.S. officials, however, still expect Trump to cut more troops before Election Day, as he seeks to deliver on a promise to end America’s “forever wars.” Trump, asked about his plans at a news conference on Tuesday evening, declined to set a timetable for withdrawal. But he said the United States has been in Afghanistan long enough, and “we can always go back if we want to.” “I have no target,” he said of a potential end to the 18-year-old war. “But as soon as reasonable. Over a period of time, but as soon as reasonable.” Senior Pentagon officials are expected to meet soon with the president to discuss options, one defense official said. Several proposals have been drawn up for Trump, including one that would remove all U.S. troops this year, another defense official said. The officials, like some others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The New York Times first reported on Tuesday that senior U.S. defense officials and Trump would meet in coming days to discuss options for Afghanistan, including possibly bringing down the number of troops there to zero. Two Afghan officials said Wednesday that they are aware that Trump wants a faster withdrawal but that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has not officially been informed of any change in plans. The discussions have been complicated by


I got out of New York. My Brooklyn neighborhood became a shadow of its former self.

communities were always the most in financial jeopardy — but white Americans were the angriest. Many white Americans could not imagine their government treating them as second-class citizens, while many Americans of color have faced that treatment generation after generation. What does not kill you may not always make you stronger, but you certainly become less surprised. Today, white anger is visible in anti-shutdown protests, where some carry assault rifles and others Confederate flags. As the virus expands its reach, many predominantly white areas may find themselves new centers of the pandemic. Covid-19 could theoretically offer common cause between whites and nonwhites over our civic needs, but in an era of culture war, I’m not optimistic. Racial resentment has been a political weapon since this nation’s inception. In the decade since the last financial catastrophe, the sword of division has been forged anew in the fires of economic anxiety and wielded openly by members of our government. Over the past two years, I have been increasingly anxious about the price America would pay for inequity. I thought we would see socioeconomic collapse when the next recession occurred. Having covered politics and people for so long, I felt the ratchet tightening, the comorbidities for life as we know it growing. The novel coronavirus is the spark for death in this pandemic, but the underlying crisis of inequality is fuel for the fire. I have decided to stay in the woods through the summer. I am making the best of pandemic life even while mourning my community. I am watching Americans who haven’t been hit by the virus celebrate summer, while my neighborhood becomes a shadow of its former self. One of my neighbors texted recently to check in. I mentioned that of the people who passed, I knew only one personally. The rest of the deaths I know only by apartment number. Who were they? And — I hesitated to ask — had anyone else died? She didn’t answer my questions. Instead, she just texted back, “The building is very quiet.” Read more: Michele L. David R. Williams: Stress was already killing black Americans. Covid-19 is making it worse. Kenneth R. Alleyne: We must address the social determinants affecting the black community to defeat covid-19 Irwin Redlener: Disaster season is upon us. The pandemic changes everything. Elliot Rosenberg: For this octogenarian, the lockdown feels like a case of polio-covid double jeopardy


‘Murder hornet’ panic driving a surge in insecticide interest — and fears for bees

There are 3,141 counties in the United States, but only one, in northwest Washington state, has a documented sighting of the Asian giant hornet, or “murder hornet,” as it has come to be known. But news reports of their arrival in early May — complete with vivid descriptions of the insect’s size, bite and stinging ability — have sparked a nationwide panic. Experts across the country have been deluged with requests for confirmation from people convinced they’ve found the giant hornet in their own backyard. The response to the initial New York Times report has been so frenzied it’s prompted something of a backlash, with entomologists warning that panic over a rare and geographically isolated invasive hornet will lead to the indiscriminate killing of beneficial bees, wasps and hornets nationwide. “Millions and millions of innocent native insects are going to die as a result of this,” Doug Yanega, an entomologist at the University of California at Riverside, told the Los Angeles Times. Google searches for “hornet spray,” “hornet traps” and “insecticide” have surged, suggesting entomologists like Yanega have cause for concern. Searches for “how to kill hornets,” for instance, are currently running 20 to 30 times their usual levels for this time of year. Similarly, searches for hornet spray and hornet traps are up three- to tenfold. As always, we should be careful not to confuse correlation with causation. But in this case it seems implausible that the spike is being driven by anything other than media-driven murder hornet panic. For instance, “how to kill hornets” began surging on May 3, the day after the publication of the initial New York Times article. One important caveat is it’s not clear how much increased online interest translates into real-world behavior, such as going out and buying hornet spray. But given that search result pages for terms like “hornet traps” and “hornet spray” are dominated by e-commerce links, and that there’s an entire industry devoted to convincing people to buy things they search for, it’s reasonable to assume a correlation between searches and purchases in this case. We just don’t know how strong that correlation is. “We have already had reports that people are poisoning native pollinators because they are concerned about the giant hornet,” said Scott Hoffman Black, president of the Xerces Society, an invertebrate conservation group. “We are also very concerned that people are stockpiling pesticides. The use of these


Covid-19 has killed 100 grocery store workers. Vitalina Williams, a ‘bear hug of love,’ was one.

Twenty-two years ago, David Williams was biking down a Salem, Mass., street when he caught a glimpse of the woman who would become the love of his life. He could tell she was petite, but he wasn’t able to make out her features as she turned to catch a train. Williams spun his bicycle around and headed up the street. He saw Vitalina’s face and let out a whistle. “She was just beautiful,” David Williams remembered. The two talked, dated and married. More than two decades later, Williams describes his wife with rich detail: She was compassionate and frequently sent money to her family in Guatemala. She was incredibly diligent, working two jobs at grocery store chains Market Basket and Walmart. She had a green thumb, spending lunch breaks in the foliage aisle at work and keeping a lush garden at home. “She was such a wonderful woman that plants reacted well to her,” Williams said. “She, in life, just had this bear hug of love. Little children, small animals, plants — everything reacted well to her.” Mr. and Mrs. Williams both worked at grocery stores, and when the pandemic hit the United States in March, they were concerned, but they also needed to pay bills. Both were given gloves but no masks. By the end of March, both were sick with covid-19. He recovered quickly, but her condition deteriorated. On March 28, she was hospitalized and put on a ventilator. A week later, she died. Mrs. Williams was 59. “As somebody who shared everything with her, it rattles in the back of my head, ‘did I give it to her?’ ” he said. “‘Did I get it first and give it to her or did she give it to me?' To be honest, I don’t know.” The Williamses’ jobs were deemed essential — putting them at grave risk of infection. At least 5,500 grocery store employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since late March, according to a Washington Post investigation, and 100 workers have died of the virus. Mrs. Williams was one of the first. In both her jobs, she had face-to-face contact with shoppers, working as a cashier at a Market Basket and reviewing customers’ receipts as they exited a Walmart. Mr. Williams stocks shelves at the Market Basket where he works, constantly changing out his latex gloves as he wears holes into them. He isn’t


sure whether his wife regularly wore gloves or caught the virus at work. But two other employees at the Market Basket location where Mrs. Williams worked tested positive at the time she died. The day before she was hospitalized, there were more than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus in Massachusetts. The next day, there were over 4,200. “Nobody really knew the extent of this,” Mr. Williams said. It wasn’t until after Mrs. Williams died that more resources became available to grocery store workers. Citing her death, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) wrote to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on April 8, requesting the state designate grocery store workers as emergency personnel, making them eligible for personal protective equipment and free testing for the coronavirus. Nine days later, Baker ordered expanded testing for grocery store workers. Market Basket started limiting the number of customers in the store on April 2, after Mrs. Williams already was hospitalized. “For the protection of workers we are closely monitoring the public health recommendations and have continually made refinements and added elements,” Justine Griffin, a spokeswoman for the chain, wrote in a statement. Market Basket installed plexiglass barriers at the registers and gave masks to workers who didn’t have any the weekend after Mrs. Williams died. Walmart provided gloves and masks for workers after Mrs. Williams became sick, the Daily Item reported. Despite receiving more protective equipment since going back to work, Mr. Williams wishes his wife could have been better guarded against the virus. “Why does she have to be the example?” he asked. “Why couldn’t it have been someone else?” The two were married for 19 years, their partnership beginning soon after that first meeting on the street in 1998. He convinced her to share her phone number as she was catching the train. On the first date — Easter Sunday — David made her a classic American Easter dinner with mashed potatoes, ham and squash. “The full nine yards,” he said. “I wanted to impress her.” It was the start of them cooking together. He showed her his shake-and-bake chicken recipe. She adapted the American dishes he would teach her, adding spinach to his mother’s lasagna recipe. As the one who managed the couple’s finances, Mrs. Williams was economical when she cooked. She used the juicy cherry tomatoes from her garden to make enough tomato sauce to last through winter. She waited until the


MBS markets himself as a voice for progress. Then why is he still silencing these women?

TWO YEARS ago, Saudi Arabian security forces raided the home of Loujain al-Hathloul, dragging the prominent women’s rights activist away at gunpoint. It was the start of a wave of arrests of activists, journalists and bloggers who had peacefully campaigned for basic freedoms for women, including the right to drive. That the ban on women driving was lifted just weeks later, but Ms. Hathloul and four other women remain behind bars, speaks to the arbitrariness and cruelty that characterize the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “She’s starting to lose hope,” Ms. Hathloul’s sister, who lives outside Saudi Arabia, told Time in an interview marking the May 15 anniversary of her detention. The 30-year-old activist was one of the most outspoken defenders of human rights in Saudi Arabia, gaining attention for posting videos of herself driving, and with her face and hair uncovered in defiance of the kingdom’s ultra-conservatives. Ms. Hathloul was held for 10 months before authorities opened trials against her and other activists — whom the government had labeled as “traitors” for having the temerity to share information about women’s rights with diplomats, human rights organizations and journalists. The trials, during which the defendants were not allowed to speak, and from which their lawyers and foreign reporters were barred, have been suspended. Authorities cite covid-19 as a reason, but have given no clue as to when the trials might resume. Of the 13 people facing charges, four other women — Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sada, Nouf Abdulaziz and Maya’a al-Zahrani — remain in detention. Human rights organizations monitoring the situation said that many of those arrested have been subjected to torture, sexual abuse and solitary confinement. Those not jailed have been restricted to their homes, their voices silenced. Ms. Hathloul’s family has not seen her since mid-March. She had been allowed to call on Sundays, but her sister told us the family hasn’t received a call for the past two weeks. When they reached out to various Saudi authorities, they received no response. The brutality and arrogance are signature features of the repressive regime of Mohammed bin Salman, which orchestrated the murder and dismemberment of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The crown prince continues to market himself as a voice of progress, campaigning to win a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in October, and preparing to host the Group of 20 Summit in November. For mercenary


These 6 restaurants around the world have found creative ways to enforce social distancing

As the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, restaurants and bars were the first targets for closure. But with stay-at-home orders expiring in many states and economies across the world beginning the early stages of reopening, restaurants and bars also have begun the process of restarting dine-in operations. Keeping disease prevention in mind, establishments are getting creative with the use of barriers, props and other objects to enforce social distancing and make their dining spaces seem more lively. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends safety measures for diners such as frequent hand-washing and face coverings in public spaces, many restaurants have taken extra steps to help keep their employees and visitors safe. Here are some of our favorites from around the world. The owners of this restaurant in Greenville County, S.C., took a fun and unusual approach to seating capacity guidelines: They filled empty seats with blow-up dolls dressed up to look like fellow diners. The restaurant has taken the additional health precautions of requiring employees to wear masks and checking temperatures, but one of the owners told a local station that instead of roping off tables, they wanted the establishment to appear full. “My grandson told me they look kind of creepy,” owner Paula Starr Melehes told WYFF4. “But I think, when people walk in, they’re going to laugh.” This three-star Michelin restaurant in the D.C. area is preparing for its upcoming opening by filling the dining room with mannequins wearing 1940s-style outfits. The restaurant, known for its theatrics and glamorous environment, wants to make the space feel less empty as guests return to reduced capacity. A spokesperson told Eater that the performance art project will remain “within the whimsical vein of the Inn’s reverently irreverent approach to hospitality.” Social distancing at this restaurant in Ocean City, Md., will be enforced in a more physical way than inanimate dolls. The restaurant rolled out what it calls the “bumper table” to help guests maintain six feet of distance when it opens. Diners step into a rolling table surrounded by an inner tube so they can eat, socialize and walk around the space without worrying about getting too close to anyone. “We wanted to come up with a creative and fun way to keep everyone safe and compliant, but still bring back the social and festive and party aspect of the event,” the inventor of


The Health 202: The science on coronavirus is still murky. That puts public officials in a bind.

estimates that 0.2 to 1 percent of people who develop covid-19 will die, putting its “current best estimate” for the fatality rate at 0.4 percent. But the agency estimates the infection fatality rate is closer to 0.26 percent, based on its guess that 35 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. That’s lower than other estimates produced by scientists and modelers. The difficulties in estimating lethality stem from the earlier lack of testing and shortcomings in data on how many people were infected, Joel writes. Researchers are starting to gather more data — but it all takes time. Officials relied on a dozen or so models to predict the virus’s toll as they made quick lockdown decisions in March. The models make assumptions about how infectious the virus is, the rate at which people die once infected and the extent to which people will continue socially distancing in the coming months. Scientists like to say that all models are wrong but that some are useful, Joel writes. The Trump administration used modeling in the president’s March 16 order for an initial 15-day national shutdown. At the time, there were only 85 deaths, but models predicted many thousands more. “The pandemic has cast a bright light on epidemiology and the computer models that played a key role in spurring the massive shutdowns in March,” Joel writes. “Some critics of the models have called them flawed and incorrect.” “With stay-at-home orders expiring and businesses reopening, all the scientific data is being scrutinized anew,” Joel writes. “But the numbers are often ambiguous, with large margins of error. And because this is still an early phase of the pandemic, scientific findings have to be couched in tentative, provisional, sometimes squishy language that is festooned with caveats and admitted limitations.” The CDC document gave a wide range of estimates for the virus’s contagiousness and lethality. And it warned that the data is far from firm. “Information about [covid-19’s] biological and epidemiological characteristics remain limited, and uncertainty remains around nearly all parameter values,” the agency wrote. “The administration has brokered an agreement between insulin manufacturers and some Medicare prescription drug plans that would lower insulin costs for some seniors by capping co-pays at $35 for a monthly supply for insulin — a figure that administration officials said would lead to roughly a two-thirds drop in out-of-pocket costs and would encourage seniors to continue taking insulin,” Seung


the end of last month. Within that survey, officials included questions taken nearly verbatim from a form doctors use to screen patients for depression and anxiety. “Those answers provide a real-time window into the country’s collective mental health after three months of fear, isolation, soaring unemployment and continuing uncertainty,” William and Alyssa add. “… Some groups have been hit harder than others. Rates of anxiety and depression were far higher among younger adults, women and the poor. The worse scores in young adults were especially notable, given that the virus has been more likely to kill the elderly or leave them critically ill. Those results reflect a deepening of existing trends: rising depression, stress and suicide among young adults.” But despite the heavy federal subsidies — three health agencies were heavily involved in the development of the drug — federal agencies have not asserted patent rights to the drug made by Gilead Sciences. “That means Gilead will have few constraints other than political pressure when it sets a price in coming weeks. Critics are urging the Trump administration to take a more aggressive approach,” Christopher Rowland reports. “… Gilead has acknowledged the large role of government agencies in remdesivir’s development but said the original compound was discovered by Gilead researchers years earlier and therefore the government has no potential patent rights to the drug.” “Without direct public investment and tax subsidies, this drug would apparently have remained in the scrapheap of unsuccessful drugs,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.), chairman of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, said this month. Lawmakers, including Doggett, have called on HHS to provide details of the federal support provided for remdesivir’s discovery and development. It announced it is acquiring an experimental vaccine as part of the purchase of an Austrian company. The company also announced it’s partnering with a New York-based scientific research organization in pursuit of a second vaccine. “Some 150 coronavirus vaccines are in development world-wide, including at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc., and more than 350 drugs are in the works or being studied, according to BioCentury, which is tracking the efforts,” the Wall Street Journal’s Jared S. Hopkins reports. “Merck is a longtime maker of vaccines and antivirals, including human papillomavirus shot Gardasil. For weeks, the company had been looking inside its own walls for promising Covid-19 candidates, before deciding to pursue programs started elsewhere.” Here are a few more


Weather scrubs SpaceX launch of NASA astronauts

launch, set for 4:33 p.m. Eastern time, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., will send Behnken and Hurley aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to the space station. NASA has been relying on the Falcon 9 rocket, which will carry the Crew Dragon, to send supplies to the space station. But this will be a major test for the Commercial Crew Program, through which the space agency is contracting with SpaceX and Boeing to resume crewed space flight from U.S. soil after years of hitching a ride aboard Russian rockets. A report from a NASA television host indicated that air and sea space around the launch site was clear for launch. However, one weather condition necessary for launch related to “lightning energy dissipation” was being violated. Weather had been “trending in the right direction” between 3:30 and 3:50 p.m., but just after 4 p.m. it began to trend in the wrong direction, NASA television reported. A final go-no go decision was expected at 4:13 p.m., 20 minutes before launch. Weather radar showed a line of showers and thunderstorms beginning to exit the Space Coast from the west. A special marine warning had previously been in effect (until 3:30 p.m.) for coastal waters for heavy showers and storms with wind gusts potentially topping 39 mph. A tornado warning was even in effect until 2:15 p.m. in north central Brevard County, about 20 miles north of Cape Canaveral. A few pop-up showers and storms trailing this line lingered around the Space Coast and to the west, but radar showed large gaps in precipitation coverage, which could provide an opening for the 4:33 p.m. launch. Still, the presence or proximity of tall cumulus clouds or anvils could potentially pose a problem. The Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, responsible for supporting missions at Kennedy Space Center, initially determined there was a 50-percent chance weather would prevent Wednesday’s launch. NASA television announced that probability had increased to 60 percent just after 2 p.m. Wednesday. “Residual moisture with the passing low pressure system and increased low-level convergence will threaten the Space Coast with showers and thunderstorms this afternoon,” it wrote in its 10 a.m. update. Capt. Jason Fontenot, a meteorologist with the Weather Squadron and spacelift weather operations flight commander, said Tuesday that possible precipitation in the launch area Wednesday is his biggest concern and that “inland storms could lead to a scrub,” if


Third U.S. service member, a soldier in the Army Reserve, dies of coronavirus infection

An Army Reserve soldier became the third U.S. service member to die of complications from a coronavirus infection, the Army said, as the number of cases among American troops passed 6,100 worldwide. Sgt. Simon Zamudio, a unit supply specialist assigned to Fort Sheridan, Ill., died on May 22, the Army Reserve said Wednesday. He enlisted in October 2015 and had not been mobilized as part of the military’s coronavirus response, an Army official said. Zamudio, the son of Mexican immigrants, was 34. His mother died three days later on Memorial Day, also of complications from a coronavirus infection, his family said. Zamudio’s daughter will turn one this week, his brother Celestino said. It has been six weeks since the last service member died of coronavirus complications. Navy Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., a sailor assigned to the virus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt, died in a naval hospital in Guam in April. Douglas Hickok, a captain in the New Jersey Army National Guard, died in a civilian hospital in March before his unit was mobilized to assist with the pandemic response. There have been a total of 35 coronavirus-linked deaths associated with the Defense Department, the agency’s data shows. Most of those deaths, 18, occurred among the civilian employee ranks. Nine contractors have died, as have five military dependents. The Pentagon data show 165 service members required hospitalization because of virus complications. The relatively low number of deaths and hospitalizations among the military’s 2.2 million service members, compared with cases among the rest of the U.S. population, could be related to age and health. Epidemiologists have suggested those factors may have contributed to a high percentage of asymptomatic transmission aboard the Theodore Roosevelt. Still, the pandemic has reshaped how the military recruits, disrupted boot camp and crippled the Theodore Roosevelt, one of the Navy’s 11 aircraft carriers. More than 55,000 service members are responding to the pandemic in various ways including food distribution and manning testing sites, the Pentagon said, including 46,000 mobilized through the National Guard and 3,000 in the Army Reserve. The Trump administration set many mobilizations to end on June 24, which at 89 days is one day shy of the threshold needed for some guardsmen to accrue education and retirement benefits. The timing of those orders did not appear to be coincidental, critics and lawmakers have said. “You think they just pulled 89 out of a


‘There is no work from home’: As Hong Kong moves past pandemic, unsung hygiene army soldiers on

most street cleaners, Lee was hired on a contract without health insurance or other benefits. He earns about $1,500 a month with overtime but gets help from a Catholic charity, the Pastoral Center for Workers. Ho Tin Lok, a program officer at the group, said private companies win government tenders by offering the lowest rates. Street cleaners are typically paid the legal minimum, about $4.50 an hour. “It is almost impossible for them to survive in Hong Kong on such low pay,” Ho said. Even before the outbreak, he said, the charity had been helping cleaners apply for subsidies and rental relief. Developing covid-19 does not count as a work-related injury, he added, meaning any cleaner requiring treatment for the virus must pay for it. Lee lives apart from his family — which is on the other side of Hong Kong, in a subdivided apartment of less than 100 square feet — so that he can be closer to work for his 6:30 a.m. starts. He does not have a washing machine, so on his own dime he visits a laundromat to clean and disinfect everything he wears, including his uniform. Lee said his wife works in a restaurant where business suffered as patrons dried up during the outbreak. “There is no other choice for me, really,” Lee said. “I have to make a living.” When reports of a new respiratory virus reached Hong Kong, which was hit hard in the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Lee and other cleaners badgered their employers for protective gear such as surgical masks, hand sanitizer, gloves and eye protection, aware that their exposure to a variety of surfaces puts them at greater risk. “Unlike the others, there is no work from home for us,” Lee said. For weeks, he said, street cleaners reused masks for nine-hour shifts, until nongovernment organizations stepped in to provide more. Later in February, authorities set aside masks produced by inmates at correctional facilities for some 21,700 government-contracted cleaners. But cleaners interviewed by The Washington Post said that one mask a day is insufficient — the coverings turn moist and unhygienic after a few hours. Rai, a 54-year-old street cleaner from Nepal who spoke on the condition of using only her first name, for fear of retribution from her employer, said she packs her own masks when she goes out to her assigned area in


Tsim Sha Tsui, a shopping district, and swaps them out on her breaks. She had to ask her family in Nepal to send additional supplies. Of the $1,496 she makes a month, she sends most of it back home to her four children and spends the rest on rent. In March, as hundreds of Hong Kong residents returned from coronavirus hot spots around the world and served mandatory quarantine orders, the risk of infection shifted from the streets to the hotels that housed these suspected carriers. Chan Lok, a 38-year-old housekeeping supervisor at a hotel in Mong Kok, said his team went on high alert. Without a standardized policy across hotels, Chan consulted other cleaning supervisors to implement new hygiene protocols. Their hotel — which Chan declined to name, because he was not authorized to speak on its behalf — was not a designated quarantine facility. But management decided that if there were a confirmed case on the premises, no one would enter the room in question for 48 hours, after which workers would disinfect it — mattress, sheets and all — and then clean it again. Protective gear was sourced from around the world for the cleaning staff, and a new disinfecting regimen was implemented for all rooms. “They just asked us to figure out a plan,” Chan said of his managers. “They never discussed a situation where a staff member may have to self-quarantine if they come in contact with a confirmed case, or what would happen to their salary or livelihoods.” Chan said he is not hard-up, but most of his front-line cleaning staffers are new migrants who support families in China. Hotels are making employees take unpaid leave each month because they cannot afford to pay them with the dramatic drop in revenue. A tense moment came last month when Chan noticed a guest wearing one of the government-issued electronic monitoring bands given to returning travelers under mandatory quarantine. Chan and the hotel manager kicked him out. At Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Leung finds herself slipping into the role of a therapist, trying to cheer up her patients and distract them with small talk. But at times, Leung has struggled, too. At the height of the outbreak, when she was tending to several coronavirus patients, hospital management put her up in a hotel to protect her family from the risk of infection. She has not gone home


Taxpayers paid to develop remdesivir but will have no say when Gilead sets the price

the Ebola outbreak in West Africa continued. The company’s interest in proceeding with a rapid development program was strong, he said. “That launched a significant effort at Gilead to focus a lot of resources to developing this compound as quickly as possible and getting into patients as quickly as possible,” he said. Gilead’s chemists in California made a crucial step toward making the compound work in animals and people: They turned the parent molecule into a prodrug, which means it is activated after it enters the body, and tweaked the compound further to make it more potent once it gets inside cells, Jordan and Bavari said. The result was GS-5734, later named remdesivir. The next step by the government provided another vital milestone: Remdesivir was tested in government monkeys infected with Ebola at USAMRIID. When given within three days of infection to monkeys, the drug showed 100 percent efficacy against Ebola, the researchers found. In humans, the drug was being tested by Gilead in healthy volunteers for safety by 2015, and the next year NIH tested it in Ebola survivors in West Africa. The NIH sponsored the next major step, a clinical trial in humans infected with Ebola in the Congo in 2018 and 2019. The drug performed worse than two other drugs and its use was stopped in the trial, but that did not stop federally sponsored research. Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina, with funding from an NIH-funded Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center (AD3C), studied how remdesivir performed against emerging diseases called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In addition to distributing grants and funding clinical trials, NIH also has taken a direct interest in remdesivir. In a key federal animal trial that gave federal investigators greater confidence in the drug, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tested the drug as a MERS prevention in government monkeys at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont. The results, published this year, showed that monkeys given the drug did not get sick and had low volumes of virus in their lungs. Once the coronavirus pandemic struck, the World Health Organization identified remdesivir as among the most promising potential treatments for the disease — raising hope for rapid help for sick patients. The finish line came within sight with uncommon speed. NIAID sponsored a fast-paced clinical trial of remdesivir


the next year NIH tested it in Ebola survivors in West Africa. The NIH sponsored the next major step, a clinical trial in humans infected with Ebola in the Congo in 2018 and 2019. The drug performed worse than two other drugs and its use was stopped in the trial, but that did not stop federally sponsored research. Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina, with funding from an NIH-funded Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Center (AD3C), studied how remdesivir performed against emerging diseases called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In addition to distributing grants and funding clinical trials, NIH also has taken a direct interest in remdesivir. In a key federal animal trial that gave federal investigators greater confidence in the drug, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tested the drug as a MERS prevention in government monkeys at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont. The results, published this year, showed that monkeys given the drug did not get sick and had low volumes of virus in their lungs. Once the coronavirus pandemic struck, the World Health Organization identified remdesivir as among the most promising potential treatments for the disease — raising hope for rapid help for sick patients. The finish line came within sight with uncommon speed. NIAID sponsored a fast-paced clinical trial of remdesivir in over 1,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients that began in February. NIAID director Anthony S. Fauci — a top adviser to President Trump’s coronavirus task force — announced partial, top-line results from the White House on April 29: The drug shortened hospital stays by four days and reduced mortality from 11.6 percent to 8 percent, which was not considered a significant reduction in death, Fauci said. Fauci said the results were modest. But, lacking any other treatments, he proclaimed the drug the “standard of care” for hospitalized coronavirus patients. Full results of the trial have not been released, and many questions about the drug’s effectiveness remain unanswered. But Jordan, the former Gilead researcher who pulled the parent molecule out of the company’s library of compounds seven years ago, said he was happy with the results. “I was very excited about that. This isn’t a home run. It’s clinical evidence that you can improve outcomes with an antiviral,” he said. “The fact that we can do something to this disease, that’s a great start.”


Local Digest: Man, 22, is slain in Columbia Heights

THE DISTRICT A 22-year-old man was fatally shot Monday evening in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police. The victim was identified as Christopher Beckwith Jr., who lived in that neighborhood. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said the victim was a recent graduate of the Cardozo Education Campus. The shooting occurred about 6:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of Fairmont Street NW, in front of an apartment complex. Beckwith died at a hospital. A second man who was shot suffered wounds police described as not life-threatening. Police had made no arrests in the case as of Tuesday. Beckwith was the District’s fourth homicide victim since Friday, bringing the total number of people killed this year to 61. That is a 5 percent increase over the number at this time in 2019, which finished the year with a decade-high number of killings. Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Newsham said overall violent crime has decreased 10 percent this year. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND A woman operating a dirt bike was killed in Prince George’s County on Monday in a collision, police said. Mistie Smallwood, 31, of Clinton, was traveling south on Branch Avenue about 9:35 p.m. when the dirt bike collided with a car that was trying to make a left turn from northbound Branch Avenue onto Naylor Road, police said. She died at the scene in the Temple Hills area, police said. — Martin Weil VIRGINIA An apartment house fire in Loudoun County on Monday displaced 33 people and caused $700,000 in damage, the county fire department said. The fire was reported about 4:30 p.m. in the 25000 block of Caversham Terrace in the Chantilly area, the department said. It caused no serious injuries, according to the department. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by improper disposal of smoking materials into a plastic planter on the balcony of a second-floor apartment, the fire department said Tuesday. The fire displaced 23 adults and 10 children, as well as five pets, according to the department. One cat died, the department said in a statement. The complex is about three miles southwest of Dulles International Airport. — Martin Weil


Meet the accidental quarantine family: Two Airbnb hosts, two parents, two dogs and two babies

in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic bothers her. “We need to separate people from their governments and what their governments are doing.” Before the babies were born, the two couples played table tennis together, and Laura and Ben taught Newman and Fudge to play mah-jongg. Newman even baked Ben a chocolate cake to celebrate his 33rd birthday. The hosts take their guests grocery shopping. They picked the couple and the newborns up from the hospital when it was time to come home, and they drive them to pediatrician appointments. Every morning, Laura joins Newman and Fudge for an hour-long hike. “That’s the best part of my day,” Laura says. Laura says the couple initially chose the Airbnb rental because of its proximity to Weber State University (where Fudge and Newman are both professors), reasoning that, in China, areas near universities are usually safer. So far, Weber County, where Newman and Fudge’s home is located, has a relatively low rate of covid-19 infections per person as compared to the rest of the country. Still, Laura is astonished at Americans’ lax approach to mask-wearing. “In China, when people know there is coronavirus outside, they just rarely go outside. That’s the first part,” Laura says. “And the second part, they all wear masks. If not, they just stay at home. Here, outside the restaurant, some people still didn’t wear masks.” Being in the same physical space with strangers gets intimate quickly. Newman and Fudge can hear when the babies are crying downstairs, when Laura and Ben are laughing or when Laura is lecturing her 8-year-old daughter back in China to finish her homework. (She’s staying with a neighbor.) Laura has told Newman many times, “Your marriage is so good,” to which Newman responds: “Our marriage is easy.” It’s their second marriage for both of them; they have a home with plenty of space and a yard to keep them busy. “Your marriage is very good because look at all the stress you’re under,” Newman says of Laura and Ben, while they’re still getting along, and cheerful every day. Laura often says, “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter,” about things that aren’t important. They had practice hunkering down — they lived through isolation during covid-19’s spread in China. But Laura worried about caring for twins on their own while in the United States. When their daughter was born, they had so much help


The federal government fiddles as covid-19 ravages Native Americans

Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts in the Senate. Deb Haaland, a Democrat, represents New Mexico’s 1st District in the House. For generations, the federal government has failed to honor its promises to Native American people. Now, covid-19 is ravaging Native communities, killing young people and elders alike, and devastating tribal economies. We are fighting in Congress to ensure that sovereign Native nations have the resources needed to protect the health and well-being of their citizens during this pandemic. The novel coronavirus’s terrible impact in Indian Country underscores that the federal government must live up to its unique legal and moral obligations to Native nations and act as a partner to help build security and resiliency for the future. The coronavirus has taken a tragic toll on Indian Country. The Navajo Nation had infection rates higher than any state as of last week. In New Mexico, Native Americans make up just 11 percent of the population, but account for more than half of the covid-19 cases. Native nations’ economies have been devastated. And American Indians and Alaska Natives also disproportionately suffer from health conditions that make them especially susceptible to complications from covid-19, in part because of environmental injustices that have left their communities grappling with the health impacts of poisoned water and air. By disregarding the clear health crisis in tribal communities, the federal government continues a tragic pattern of broken promises to Native nations. During negotiations over the Cares Act, the major coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in March, the White House fought against any direct aid to the 574 federally recognized sovereign Native nations. Even when Senate Democrats and the Congressional Native American Caucus successfully ensured the legislation included this critical economic aid, the Treasury Department dragged its feet for weeks. More than a month after the Cares Act was enacted, Native nations still hadn’t received a penny of the $8 billion the law provided to them. Only after we and our colleagues pressed the Treasury Department did it release some of the funds to tribal governments. The government has also failed to protect American Indians’ and Alaska Natives’ health. Even before the pandemic, the Indian Health Service (IHS) was woefully underfunded. A report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights stated, “In 2017, IHS health care expenditures per person were $3,332, compared to $9,207 for federal health care spending nationwide.” Although funding needs have only


The covid-19 lockdown has served its purpose. It’s time to end it.

not just in lost jobs, but in lost lives. Americans have been forced to put off care for non-covid-19 illnesses such as cancer and cardiac disease — forgoing screenings, surgeries, chemotherapy and emergency room visits. Zoran Lasic, a cardiologist at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told the New England Journal of Medicine that when we look back “the toll on non-covid patients will be much greater than covid deaths.” While the government is speeding clinical trials for covid-19 treatments and vaccines, trials for many non-covid diseases have ground to a halt. David Ryan, chief of oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the NEJM that "clinical research in cancer will be set back by at least a year as we all drop what we’re doing to take care of the surge of [covid] patients.” According to a model from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, we could see an additional 40,000 deaths due to suicides and drug overdoses among the jobless, as well as an additional 2 million people addicted to drugs. When the pandemic first arrived, we did not have data to show which populations were most vulnerable. Now we know the vast majority of covid victims are older Americans, like my mother, with underlying health conditions. We must continue to shelter and protect them. But for everyone else, especially young people, the risks of resuming activity are much lower. Usually children are most vulnerable in a pandemic, which is why we shut down schools. That was the right decision when the novel coronavirus emerged. But we now we know that covid has largely spared children. New York City, the epicenter of the epidemic, reports just 13 confirmed or suspected covid-19 deaths among those 17 and under — and almost all of those victims had an underlying illness. (There have been another five suspected or confirmed deaths in New York among children with a rare covid-19-linked inflammatory syndrome.) Parents uncomfortable sending their kids to school should be given the option of distance learning. But the vast majority of students should be allowed back in the classroom with appropriate social distancing precautions. According to Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital and editor of JAMA Pediatrics, children will suffer a 9- to-12-month learning loss because of the lockdown. That will only worsen if it continues


We have to reopen — for our health

each one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate translates into a 1 percent increase in suicide deaths and a more than 3 percent increase in opioid deaths, which means this virus-induced recession will likely cause tens of thousands of excess deaths. One study of the 1982 recession found that Americans who faced higher unemployment suffered approximately 40,000 excess deaths by age 65 — as well as more divorces and having fewer children. Shortening this economic crisis through a safe reopening could save thousands of lives. Meanwhile, at a time of social stress, states are seeing a decline in reports of child maltreatment, which is likely going unreported because children are isolated from teachers and others who can help keep an eye on the vulnerable. On Monday, the president, first lady and vice president joined me and other administration leaders to discuss these challenges and potential solutions with governors. The covid-19 response has also restricted access to health care. Data suggests the numbers of Americans receiving important preventive services are down significantly, with mammograms down 87 percent and colonoscopies down 90 percent. More than 1.7 million new cancer cases are diagnosed per year in the United States. If we’re seeing an 80 percent drop in cancer cases identified, approximately, we could already have 200,000 or more undiagnosed cancer cases as a result. According to Medicare data, breast cancer surgeries are down approximately two-thirds since January. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found that vaccine administrations were down approximately 60 percent from early January to mid-March; that puts millions of American infants and children at risk for serious illnesses. Forgoing all of these services also devastates our health-care system and the front-line heroes who have kept it running. Many health-care workers have been furloughed, and hospitals are seeing as much as 60 percent revenue declines from the cancellation of elective procedures. Hospitals in rural America operate on about a 2 percent to 3 percent profit margin, and urban hospitals have about a 5 percent to 6 percent margin. Extended disruption to our health-care system may permanently close some institutions, with lasting impacts on access to care, especially where access is a challenge already. How can we avoid these costs? The Trump administration has laid out a phased approach for lifting restrictions on work, social gatherings and other activities over time. Americans should be proud of the sacrifices they have


Mannequins, shower curtains, carhops and pulleys: Restaurants get creative to keep diners distant

Restaurants have always been fonts of creativity, though the whimsical efforts of chefs and restaurateurs have typically been directed at diners’ plates, or maybe at decor and ambiance, all meant to dazzle or comfort. Now, reopening restaurants around the globe are employing that creativity to comply with distancing and other measures meant to help keep diners safe from the coronavirus while maintaining some of the elements of the restaurant experience that people crave. Restaurateurs are taking innovative steps, big and small, with the goal of injecting a little bit of normalcy in a decidedly not-normal time. At the three-Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington, chef/owner Patrick O’Connell hatched a plan to use mannequins wearing vintage costumes to fill seats left empty by Virginia’s rules mandating that restaurants operate at half capacity. Some on social media found the prospect of dining among inanimate companions … well, a tad creepy. But theatricality has long been a signature of the world-renowned restaurant, where cheese is served from a mooing cow-shaped cart and crystal chandeliers hang in the kitchen’s chicken coops. “The Inn at Little Washington has always celebrated the ‘living theatre’ of a restaurant,” O’Connell said in an email, adding that he hopes the setup will amuse diners while complying with the regulations. “We’re all craving to gather and see other people right now. They don’t all necessarily need to be real people.” A restaurant in Sydney is trying something similar, albeit in two dimensions. Five Dock Dining is reportedly propping up life-size cardboard cutouts of good-looking patrons to make the few (real-life) diners feel part of a crowd while restaurants are permitted 10 or fewer patrons. The restaurant “also plans to play guest ‘chatter’ on the speakers.” Many other restaurateurs are looking outside the box — or at least outside their doors, converting outdoor spaces into dining areas to accommodate various dictates that they reduce capacity and maintain distance between tables. David Henkes, a senior principal at research firm Technomic, says diners will soon get used to a very different experience. Sanitation measures will probably be more visible and dining spaces unconventional — but customers, he says, are willing to go along. “The consumer is accepting of a lot of things you never would have expected,” he says. “We’re seeing a lot of outdoor dining, with restaurants moving into parking lots and loading docks — they’re taking space you never would have imagined


Coronavirus in the DMV: What you need to know

grappled with the complications related to transitioning to full-time online learning. Most jurisdictions are offering free meals to students and all children, and the federal government is allowing school districts to distribute meals “to a parent or guardian to take home to their children,” The Post’s Hannah Natanson reports. Here is a list of places to pick up breakfast and lunch in the District, Maryland and Virginia. Local colleges and universities have cleared their campuses, too, but are now facing questions about how to fill classrooms in the fall. Hundreds of colleges and universities have pushed back admission decision deadlines to June 1 and offered extensions, especially for out-of-state students. As schools prepare for next semester, leaders are considering a few different options — including extending virtual classes, bringing students back to campus for in-person classes, or a hybrid model in which students do both. Final decisions may not come for weeks. Officials at George Washington University said they will make a decision about next semester by June 15, though university President Thomas J. LeBlanc warned he may extend that deadline as it approaches. Jay A. Perman, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, which includes U-Md. and 14 other public universities and education centers, said he is “reasonably optimistic” campuses will reopen by September. As of late April, at least 255 nursing homes in the greater Washington region reported coronavirus cases. Former and current employees at Maryland nursing homes tell The Post their facilities are struggling with shortages of staff, testing and personal protective equipment. Maryland regulators already have announced fines for one nursing home. Hogan has ordered universal testing for nursing home residents and employees, making Maryland one of the first states to do so. The federal government issued guidelines in April requiring nursing homes to update patients’ families regularly on coronavirus cases in their facilities. Maryland health officials publish a list online of every nursing home reporting an outbreak. According to the most recent state data, long-term care facilities in Maryland have accounted for more than 7,500 of the state’s coronavirus infections and more than 950 covid-19-related deaths among residents and staff. The District occasionally provides a list of nursing homes with outbreaks in the mayor’s daily briefing. Virginia reports the aggregate total of outbreaks at nursing homes across the state but does not list specific long-term care facilities. In Virginia, restaurants already licensed for outdoor seating


SpaceX launch live updates

The next chapter of American spaceflight is on — for now. NASA officials are monitoring weather conditions ahead of the scheduled 4:33 p.m., launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Fla. The flight would mark the renewal of the United States’ ability to blast astronauts into space, something it has not been able to do since the space shuttle program was mothballed in 2011. Since then, Americans have relied rides on Russian spacecraft to reach the space station at a cost of $90 million per seat. Astronauts Bob Benhken and Doug Hurley, retired military pilots and seasoned space aviators, donned their space suits at 1:15 p.m., and climbed into the Dragon capsule atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at historic launchpad 39A just before 2 o’clock. Here’s what you need to know as Americans return to space: Watch The Post's live coverage of the SpaceX mission. Meet the astronauts about to fly SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule. The weather is still a risk for this SpaceX mission Behnken and Hurley appeared to be in a cheery disposition. They emerged from a quarantine — a mandatory safety provision for space travelers — and were photographed shaking hands and smiling. Hurley tweeted a photo of his last meal before takeoff: steak and eggs. “Their demeanor is loose," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein said. "They’re joking around, talking about what they had for breakfast and how it might come up later. They are in their element.” The Crew Dragon mission will be a historic moment for NASA, which has struggled to regain its footing after retiring the Space Shuttle in 2011, leaving the U.S. no option but to rely on Russia to ferry its astronauts to space at a cost of as much as $90 million a seat. The mission is a long awaited leap in the race to restore human spaceflight from the Florida Space Coast, marking a new era that follows NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle programs. Both President Trump and Vice President Pence, the chair of the National Space Council, are scheduled to attend.


The NavigatorChristopher Elliott

during a pandemic. But Bill McGee, a consumer advocate with the magazine, fears that airlines may quickly return to their old ways after the pandemic. “It’s clear the airlines are being obstinate about refunds, despite the taxpayer bailout,” he says. It’s an issue that’s important to such advocates as Travelers United’s president, Charles Leocha. Before the pandemic, he found himself with a severe case of double pneumonia in Madrid. He contacted Delta Air Lines and said he might be contagious. A representative said he could reschedule his flight but would have to pay a change fee and a fare difference, which would amount to more than he originally paid. “It was basically ‘use it or lose it,’ ” he recalls. Leocha reluctantly boarded the flight. “No one should have to make that choice,” he says. His nonprofit advocacy organization is fighting for better refund rules. But it hasn’t been easy. Leocha says there’s little agreement on which agency is responsible for creating and enforcing a policy allowing sick passengers to change a flight. It falls into a regulatory twilight zone. This issue emerges every flu season, as thousands of air travelers have to make a difficult choice: continue with the trip and possibly infect people around them or lose the value of the airline ticket. “Travelers do not like to lose their hard-earned money for something that is not in their control,” says Lowell Valencia-Miller, an assistant professor at the University of Denver’s business school. Dean Headley, a professor emeritus at Wichita State University and co-author of the Airline Quality Rating, says airlines don’t want to endanger other passengers by allowing potentially infectious people to travel. But they’d rather make the decision about boarding those passengers themselves. “Almost all service providers reserve the right to refuse service at their discretion,” Headley explains. “Refusing to board a traveler who may have verifiable symptoms may be part of our new traveling reality. Who determines what these verifiable symptoms are and how they are monitored is open for debate.” So what can you expect to happen if you have an infectious disease and plans to fly somewhere? In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, experts say airlines are likely to be lenient about making refunds to contagious people, even if they don’t have a doctor’s note. But over time, the old “use it or lose it” policies will probably return for customers too


The Technology 202: Trump escalates his war with Twitter ... on Twitter

the company's efforts to protect workers as the coronavirus hits its warehouses. Some investors intend to call on the company to be more transparent about how many of its workers are infected or have died of the novel coronavirus. The activist investors also want Amazon to appoint an independent board member to oversee worker safety. (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post). “At the same time that covid-19 has benefited Amazon's bottom line it's also exposed a weakness to its reputation,” said Illinois State Treasurer Meanwhile, Facebook shareholders say “When it came to dangerous coronavirus misinformation, we saw Facebook take swift and effective action,” Color of Change President Rashad Robinson will tell the board today. But “even then, Facebook initially ignored content related to race: the false idea that Black people couldn’t get the new coronavirus spread rapidly, and has proven very dangerous.” Robinson will propose urging the board of directors to oversee management's preparation of a report focused on civil and human rights. Facebook stakeholders are urging the company to immediately adopt informal resolutions calling for the removal of all coronavirus misinformation and events promoting armed protests, such as those against stay-at-home orders. The chances of activist resolutions passing at either company are slim. Both companies have urged shareholders to oppose the resolutions and key activist-led resolutions failed at both companies last year, despite a slightly more narrow defeat than in previous years. Rant and rave Instead of revealing worker infection rates, Amazon has taken another route: offering pre-scripted news segments to media outlets. Oklahoma City KOCO anchor Zach Rael first raised awareness to the practice. Just got an email from Amazon’s PR team with a pre-edited news story and script to run in our shows. They are selling this as giving our viewers an “inside look” at the company’s response to COVID-19. No.Let us go inside a fulfillment centers with our own cameras... pic.twitter.com/7mDk2xmf4O — Zach Rael (@KOCOZach) May 24, 2020 But it turned out that Rael wasn't alone. Amazon had shopped the segment to multiple other news outlets. And at least 11 ran with it, progressive news outlet Courier found. Timothy Burke, the reporter who broke the story: WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME https://t.co/upB2tjE4vw pic.twitter.com/BfFZE1QTst — Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) May 26, 2020 “Amazon responded by stating the video and script were published to Business Wire as are many other companies’ in-house produced content for media organizations," Burke


In Russia’s pandemic struggles, even Putin couldn’t speed bonuses to health workers

Grave diggers wearing protective suits bury a coffin of a covid-19 victim in the section of a cemetery reserved for coronavirus victims, outside Moscow on May 26, 2020. (Pavel Golovkin/AP) MOSCOW — But weeks rolled on, and Russia’s pandemic numbers ballooned past 250,000 and then 350,000 — now at more than 370,000, the world’d third-largest number of confirmed cases after the United States and Brazil. Medical workers were dying in their hundreds — 308 according to an unofficial count by medics. Many who kept working were not getting paid long-promised bonuses until recently. Some were even earning less money because the pay rate for working with covid-19 patients was lower than their pre-pandemic jobs, such as surgeons. The snags in delivering Putin’s bonus promise is more than just one bureaucratic glitch. It’s about a top-down governance system with underlings terrified to act. It also helps inform some of the larger truths in Russia’s struggle to control the pandemic even as countries to the west in Europe begin to lift their lockdowns. Kremlin needs help Putin’s centralized power structure cannot handle the crisis alone. Putin delegated much of the burden to regional officials who were frightened of drawing attention to local problems and risking Moscow’s wrath. One way to stay under the radar could be to understate cases or deaths, analysts say. With Putin’s promised bonuses, the instinct by regional leaders — ingrained over decades — was to minimize payments, fearing trouble from Moscow if they spent too much or paid people not entitled to bonuses. Some regional officials have even counted the minutes that medical workers spent with infected patients. A medical specialist takes a test for covid-19 coronavirus from residents in a cars on a street in Moscow on May, 25 2020, amid the ongoing coronavirus covid-19 pandemic. (Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) “For Putin it’s a very uncomfortable position,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, director of Moscow political think tank R. Politik. “In fact, he turns out to be dependent on regional governors. Putin asks for something and the government is not able to implement it in the way Putin intended.” Defense of death rate figures It has left Russia on the defensive on many fronts, including on its official figures indicating an unusually low mortality rate. Authorities have vigorously denied accusations that statistics are being manipulated, claiming that Russia’s low rate is a sign the government is doing a good job. But


N.Y. Gov. Cuomo gives fiery defense of federal funding to hard-hit states

also pushed back against the notion that the coronavirus came to the United States from China, an argument that Trump and GOP lawmakers have increasingly made as the pandemic has swept across the country. “It didn’t come from China. It came from Europe, and we bore the brunt of it. And now you want to hold that against us because we bore the brunt of a national mistake?” he said. Although the virus originated in Wuhan, China, an influx of travelers from Europe fanned the flames of the outbreak in the United States, particularly in New York. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday suggested that both political parties should steer clear of holding large-scale national political conventions amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The number of people who should be at any gathering, those are determinations that are made locally, and I respect that, as we unfold this opening,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who would say at this point that tens of thousands of people should come together for a political convention, no matter how great an ego trip it is for somebody. It’s dangerous for so many.” By contrast, Trump has threatened to pull the GOP’s planned convention out of North Carolina without assurances from the Democratic governor that Republicans would be able to fill a Charlotte arena for the event. As the death toll in the United States neared 100,000, Trump sought once again Wednesday to defend his administration’s widely criticized coronavirus response, accusing Democrats and the news media of trying to make him look sluggish in dealing with the pandemic. “The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19,” Trump tweeted. “Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!” His tweet referenced a curb on travel from China that he announced Jan. 31. Trump also touted the nation’s growing testing capacity, tweeting that the nation had surpassed 15 million coronavirus tests. Democrats have consistently accused the Trump administration of wasting valuable time before the virus started spreading rapidly in the United States. Trump has also come under criticism for repeatedly suggesting that covid-19 could rapidly disappear in the country once warmer weather arrived, despite a lack of vaccine. Trump, who headed to Florida on Wednesday afternoon


A Tech Billionaire May Find Use in a Cold War

Is India’s richest man betting on a tech cold war? Petrochemicals czar Mukesh Ambani plans to list his fledgling digital business overseas, Bloomberg News reportedTuesday, citing people with knowledge of Jio Platforms Ltd.’s initial public offering, which is planned for the next 12 to 24 months. Going to the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq would make sense. U.S.-traded Chinese technology firms such as JD.com Inc. and NetEase Inc. are looking for an alternative home closer to the mainland in case tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate, as my colleague Nisha Gopalan wrote this week. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. held a secondary listing in Hong Kong in November. With Washington considering a range of sanctions against Chinese officials and firms as punishment for Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong, now may be the perfect time to pitch American investors on the potential of the other internet market with a billion-plus people. A splashy overseas foray will be an unusual step for a family that brought the retail equity culture to India. Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh’s late father who founded the empire, booked a football stadium in Mumbai in 1985 to hold a shareholders’ meeting for the polyester textile maker that he had floated eight years earlier. But then, Mukesh Ambani is already moving old furniture around as he pivots flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. away from an oversupplied energy and chemicals market. At the same time, he’s beefing up the balance sheet after a seven-year, $100 billion debt-fueled expansion. A big chunk of that was for Jio, the wireless carrier that has become India’s largest in less than four years. A $7 billion rights issue, Reliance’s first in three decades, buttressed by more than $10 billion raised in a month from the sale of shares in unlisted Jio Platforms may help cut the company’s $20 billion of net debt to zero before Ambani’s March 2021 target. A U.S. IPO should give Jio’s new backers, including Facebook Inc., KKR & Co., Silver Lake Partners and General Atlantic, a better valuation in a capital market that’s deeper than Mumbai’s. Will Wall Street be so hospitable as to give Ambani, say, a $100 billion valuation? (Alibaba, a more mature business, was valued at $168 billion six years ago.) Jio Platforms, which is centered on the the 4G mobile network, is the cornerstone of Reliance’s emerging triple play on carriage, content and commerce. With almost 400 million


Covid-19 Blows a $400 Billion Hole in Global Energy

Covid-19 has blown a $400 billion hole in global energy. How we fix it will determine our success or failure versus that other implacable force of nature: climate change. The International Energy Agency’s latest investment review, released Wednesday, could easily be subtitled: Don’t let a good crisis go to waste. That figure of $400 billion or so is the difference between where the IEA’s projection for energy investment in 2020 began the year — 2% growth — and where it now thinks it will land: a 20% decline. To put that figure in perspective, it’s not far short of all the money that went into the oil and gas production business last year. Which is apt, since that’s been hit hardest: One of Covid-19’s secondary victims is mobility, so oil consumption has plunged. Even so, IEA head Fatih Birol poured cold water on the notion that peak oil demand may have happened already. Speaking with Bloomberg News ahead of the report’s release, he said: In the absence of strong government policies, a sustained economic recovery and low oil prices are likely to take global oil demand back to where it was, and beyond. It’s fairly easy to take issue with this prediction. We are barely months into possibly the most consequential economic dislocation the world has seen in many decades and possibly only months away from another round of it. On the other hand, I don’t read Birol’s statement as a prediction; more of a warning. The key phrase there concerns “strong government policies.” Covid-19 raises the issue of agency with devastating clarity; faced with an alarming risk, what do we choose to do? Oil demand may suffer long-lasting scars from changes in behavior or sheer economic trauma, but it is rising again off the bottom. The IEA raises the specter of 9 million barrels a day of day of missing supply in 2025 if investment doesn’t increase from here, perhaps touching off another round of high prices for a global economy that may be just getting over the pandemic. This looks extreme; price signals wouldn’t stay dormant for that long. Yet it ought to serve its rhetorical purpose, prodding us to consider, collectively, why we wouldn’t try to do things differently. For all the damage inflicted on fossil-fuel producers, incumbency remains a potent force. Quite apart from the petro-states whose existence rests to a large degree on oil’s indefinite


Slowing the coming ‘reallocation shock’

From the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute — named for Milton Freidman and Gary S. Becker, two of the university’s 30 Nobel laureates in economics — comes this warning: Recovery from the pandemic’s economic damage will be protracted, and perhaps made more so by some of Congress’s intendedly ameliorative measures. In their report “Covid-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock,” Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom and Steven J. Davis estimate “that 42 percent of recent pandemic-induced layoffs will result in permanent job loss.” And the authors say “creation responses to major reallocation shocks lag the destruction responses” — in consumer behavior and business practices — “by a year or more.” Disruption-triggered behavioral changes are producing some surges of hiring (e.g., by Amazon, Walmart, Dominos, Papa John’s, Facebook and Lowe’s, the home-improvement chain). Some of today’s shift to online shopping and to telemedicine will endure. But these positive developments are dwarfed by negative ones. For example, a late-March survey showed that 3 percent of restaurants had permanently closed and another 11 percent anticipated doing so within 30 days. This indicates 100,000 near-term closings, with large knock-on effects for associated sectors. Also, airlines, hotels and resorts will find that Zoom is convincing many people that much business travel is dispensable. The BFI report [Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic] Barrero, Bloom and Davis recall the auto industry’s experience after the 1973 oil shock. Demand for small, fuel-efficient cars increased, and that for large cars plummeted. Many workers laid off from making the latter needed to, but would not, relocate to make the former. The authors also note “the emergence of 335 new infectious diseases in human populations from 1940 to 2004, with a rising incidence over time,” because of, among other things, urbanization and the democratization of air travel and international tourism. And now come some unintended, but not unpredictable, effects of government policies intended to be palliative. The BFI report says that policies designed “to preserve all pre-COVID jobs and employment relationships could prove quite costly” because they “are analogous to policies that prop up dying industries and failing firms.” These policies exact a high cost in resource misallocation and taxpayer burden. In contrast, there would be “potentially large benefits” from policies “that facilitate a speedy reallocation of jobs, workers, and capital to newly productive uses.” Slowing this will prolong the “reallocation shock.” The authors note that a loan from the


MBS is no friend to progress

TWO YEARS ago, Saudi Arabian security forces raided the home of Loujain al-Hathloul, dragging the prominent women’s rights activist away at gunpoint. It was the start of a wave of arrests of activists, journalists and bloggers who had peacefully campaigned for basic freedoms for women, including the right to drive. That the ban on women driving was lifted just weeks later, but Ms. Hathloul and four other women remain behind bars, speaks to the arbitrariness and cruelty that characterize the rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “She’s starting to lose hope,” Ms. Hathloul’s sister, who lives outside Saudi Arabia, told Time in an interview marking the May 15 anniversary of her detention. The 30-year-old activist was one of the most outspoken defenders of human rights in Saudi Arabia, gaining attention for posting videos of herself driving, and with her face and hair uncovered in defiance of the kingdom’s ultra-conservatives. Ms. Hathloul was held for 10 months before authorities opened trials against her and other activists — whom the government had labeled as “traitors” for having the temerity to share information about women’s rights with diplomats, human rights organizations and journalists. The trials, during which the defendants were not allowed to speak, and from which their lawyers and foreign reporters were barred, have been suspended. Authorities cite covid-19 as a reason, but have given no clue as to when the trials might resume. Of the 13 people facing charges, four other women — Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sada, Nouf Abdulaziz and Maya’a al-Zahrani — remain in detention. Human rights organizations monitoring the situation said that many of those arrested have been subjected to torture, sexual abuse and solitary confinement. Those not jailed have been restricted to their homes, their voices silenced. Ms. Hathloul’s family has not seen her since mid-March. She had been allowed to call on Sundays, but her sister told us the family hasn’t received a call for the past two weeks. When they reached out to various Saudi authorities, they received no response. The brutality and arrogance are signature features of the repressive regime of Mohammed bin Salman, which orchestrated the murder and dismemberment of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The crown prince continues to market himself as a voice of progress, campaigning to win a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in October, and preparing to host the Group of 20 Summit in November. For mercenary


The U.S. death toll has reached 100,000. The pandemic has exposed the nation’s vulnerabilities and dangerous divide.

have tested positive for the virus. These are disproportionately cruel deaths, especially in facilities where many died in isolation, apart from loved ones. Sherry Dean Rovelo’s mother, Betty Lou Jason, was in a nursing home in Bluffton, Ohio, after suffering a stroke at age 80. She contracted the coronavirus and was sent to a hospital, where Rovelo was not allowed to visit her. For four days and four nights, Rovelo and her brother watched their mother via an iPad that a nurse had propped up next to her. Rovelo read and sang and played her mother’s favorite music, watching as Jason struggled for air. She “could only moan when spoken to,” her daughter said. Jason, a pastor’s wife, died on Good Friday. “The grief and guilt of not being there physically with Mom during her last hours are not likely to leave us anytime soon,” Rovelo said. Raymond Bullus was 75 and suffering from dementia at a Trenton, N.J., nursing home when he contracted the virus last month. His sister, Melanie Branon, who lives in California, received an email. She opened it to find “a horrible picture of death, which I received without warning,” she said. The email asked her to identify the body, remotely. “I was never able to communicate with him directly during his five days” in the hospital, Branon said, “not to offer the comfort of a familiar voice, and tragically, not to even say goodbye.” The virus has canceled the rites that human beings have created to usher the people they love into the nevermore. Funerals, wakes, shivas, burial services — all reduced to a thin, video-transmitted replica or erased entirely. On New York’s Hart Island, where the city’s paupers and prisoners have long been buried, workers dug deep trenches and filled them with stacks of wooden coffins — producing images so painful that police confiscated the drones photographers used to view the horrific scene. SEAT PLEASANT MD - APRIL 13 Eugene Grant, the Mayor of Seat Pleasant watches during the funeral services of Bishop James Flowers, a victim of Covid 19, at a cemetery in Landover, Maryland on April 13, 2020. The widely respected Flowers was the Pastor of Shining Star Freewill baptist Church for 38 years. (Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 29: James Harvey tends tends to the inventory of pre-sold


is problematic, especially if people are talking loudly, yelling or singing, propelling potentially infected droplets into the air for others to breathe in. Some of the deadliest clusters of cases can be traced to richly social events: Mardi Gras in Louisiana, chorus practices, corporate meetings. Patricia Frieson and Wanda Bailey, sisters who lived near each other in the Chicago area, attended a funeral together in early March. Within days, Frieson, a 61-year-old retired nurse, fell ill. By mid-month, she was in the hospital, struggling to breathe. Before a test confirmed that she had the coronavirus, her family gathered with her, hugging. As Frieson neared death, Bailey, a 63-year-old former medical coder, developed a wicked cough, a frequent symptom of covid-19. She too ended up in the hospital. The sisters died 10 days apart. The Post’s analysis of state and city data shows that in some places where the virus has hit hard — including New York City, the District and Illinois — African Americans died at disproportionately high rates. For example, in the District, where 46 percent of residents are black, 76 percent of those who have died of covid-19 were black. In contrast, although the city’s population is 37 percent white, whites account for only 11 percent of deaths. SEAT PLEASANT MD - APRIL 13 Jeremiah Flowers holds his 1-year-old nephew Nolan James Flowers as they watched the funeral for Bishop James Flowers, a victim of Covid 19, at a cemetery in Landover, Maryland on April 13, 2020. The widely respected Flowers was the Pastor of Shining Star Freewill baptist Church for 38 years. (Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post) FLINT, MICHIGAN - April 10, 2020: Sandy Brown, 60, of Flint, poses for a photo with her husband, Freddie Brown Jr., 59, left, and her son, Freddie Brown III, 20, right, both victims of COVID-19, at Dodds-Dumanois Funeral Home in Flint, Mich., on April 10, 2020. Attendees were asked to stay in their cars and were only permitted for entry a few at a time amidst fears of spreading COVID-19. (Brittany Greeson/ for The Washington Post) (Brittany Greeson/For The Washington Post) WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 9: A masked man walks the streets of the NE section of Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 9, 2020. Maryland released coronavirus data today that shows black residents make up 30 percent of the state's population while making


who have good health care and those who cannot afford it. In two Queens neighborhoods along one bus line, there’s an 800 percent difference in the death rate from covid-19. It’s low where the affluent live and sky-high among the poor, many of whom are immigrants who are afraid to seek medical attention because they are in the country illegally or because they lack health insurance. CHARLESTON, WV- APRIL 13: (R) Nurse practitioner Daniel Lucas-Neel II checks the temperature of a man who asked to be screened at a pop-up Coronavirus testing site run by a free clinic in Charleston, West Virginia on April 13, 2020. The free clinic called West Virginia Health Right that has seen an increase in people seeking help because they lost their health care coverage when they lost their jobs. Many people who were already suffering from job loss due to repercussions from the Coronavirus outbreak are now dealing with the loss of their insurance. This has led to the need for non-profits to help fill the gap as many middle class people need help from organizations that previously mainly dealt with the poor and uninsured.(Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Omar Rodriguez organizes bodies in the Gerard Neufeld funeral home on April 22, 2020 in the Elmhurst neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. The decades old funeral home, that now primarily serves an immigrant community in Queens that has been hit hard by coronavirus, has been overwhelmed by the number of deceased needing their funeral services because of the virus. Before COVID-19, the funeral home handled an average of seven or eight bodies per week and now are seeing over forty. The Queens community has been one of the most devastated communities in America and the world by COVID-19 (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) An illuminated cross stands in front of a residence near downtown Dawson, Ga., on Friday, April 17, 2020. Of the 20 counties with the highest death rate in America, six of them are in rural southwest Georgia, where there are no packed skyrise apartment buildings or subways. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) (Brynn Anderson/AP) The virus ravages families. Joseph Vo Van Ngo and Bay Thi Huynh, husband and wife, escaped from poverty in communist Vietnam in 1981, slipping away in a boat Ngo


The Health 202: The science on coronavirus is still murky. That puts public officials in a bind.

visit to the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz/Virginian-Pilot/AP) “The seemingly contradictory moves and statements highlighted the confusing nature of efforts to both fight the pandemic and begin reopening the economy in the nation’s capital region, which has been particularly hard-hit,” Gregory S. Schneider and Antonio Olivo write. While it’s clear the virus has killed a lot of Americans in a short time, its true lethality rate is still hotly debated. Joel reports that in a document released last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 0.2 to 1 percent of people who develop covid-19 will die, putting its “current best estimate” for the fatality rate at 0.4 percent. But the agency estimates the infection fatality rate is closer to 0.26 percent, based on its guess that 35 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. That’s lower than other estimates produced by scientists and modelers. The difficulties in estimating lethality stem from the earlier lack of testing and shortcomings in data on how many people were infected, Joel writes. Researchers are starting to gather more data — but it all takes time. CDC Director Robert Redfield, right, in the Rose Garden at the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Different assumptions about fatality rates are one reason models — especially early on — varied so wildly. Officials relied on a dozen or so models to predict the virus’s toll as they made quick lockdown decisions in March. The models make assumptions about how infectious the virus is, the rate at which people die once infected and the extent to which people will continue socially distancing in the coming months. Scientists like to say that all models are wrong but that some are useful, Joel writes. The Trump administration used modeling in the president’s March 16 order for an initial 15-day national shutdown. At the time, there were only 85 deaths, but models predicted many thousands more. “The pandemic has cast a bright light on epidemiology and the computer models that played a key role in spurring the massive shutdowns in March,” Joel writes. “Some critics of the models have called them flawed and incorrect.” The uncertain data have led public officials to caveat their guidance. “With stay-at-home orders expiring and businesses reopening, all the scientific data is being scrutinized anew,” Joel writes. “But the numbers are often ambiguous, with large margins of error. And because


Cuomo gives fiery defense of funding to hard-hit states

fired back in a statement, declaring that Congress will not “use a health crisis and taxpayer money to bail out poorly-run states like Governor Cuomo’s New York.” McConnell’s office pointed to remarks the Senate majority leader made Tuesday, when he said that “there may be some additional assistance” for states in the next round of coronavirus relief legislation “if it’s directly related to covid-19.” Cuomo also pushed back on the notion that the coronavirus came to the United States from China, an argument that Trump and GOP lawmakers have increasingly made as the pandemic has swept across the country. “It didn’t come from China. It came from Europe, and we bore the brunt of it. And now you want to hold that against us because we bore the brunt of a national mistake?” he said. Although the virus originated in Wuhan, China, an influx of travelers from Europe fanned the flames of the outbreak in the United States, particularly in New York. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday suggested that both political parties should steer clear of holding large-scale national political conventions amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The number of people who should be at any gathering, those are determinations that are made locally, and I respect that, as we unfold this opening,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who would say at this point that tens of thousands of people should come together for a political convention, no matter how great an ego trip it is for somebody. It’s dangerous for so many.” By contrast, Trump has threatened to pull the GOP’s planned convention out of North Carolina without assurances from the Democratic governor that Republicans would be able to fill a Charlotte arena for the event. As the death toll in the United States passed 100,000, Trump sought once again Wednesday to defend his administration’s widely criticized coronavirus response, accusing Democrats and the news media of trying to make him look sluggish in dealing with the pandemic. “The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19,” Trump tweeted. “Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!” His tweet referenced a curb on travel from China that he announced Jan. 31. Trump also touted the nation’s growing testing capacity,


public health experts summer safety faq coronavirus

mantra is ‘safety first’] Would you travel by plane? All three say they would avoid it, if possible. Plane travel falls short in three key ways: It is indoors, requires close contact with people outside the household and keeps a crowd together for an extended amount of time. “There’s a real risk when you’re crammed into a small space with other people,” Fischer said. “I personally will probably be doing family car trips this summer.” If she did have to fly, Fischer said, she would be careful to not adjust or touch her mask, from the moment she entered the terminal or other public space at her departure airport to the moment she left the terminal or other public space on the other end. Every mask adjustment or touch of the face or eyes, she said, increases the risk of transmission. (Most U.S. airlines — and a few airports, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco — required masks as of late May.) Fischer said she also would bring disinfecting wipes to clean the tray table, the arm rests, the call button and any other high-touch surfaces and would wash or disinfect her hands as soon as possible after getting off. Sexton said she would not feel safe flying, because of how close she would be to others while moving through the airport, waiting at a gate and sitting on a potentially crowded plane. “Right now,” Sexton said, “I think the fewer people you can be around, the better.” Jackson said that he would not want to fly now but that he will need to if he wants to meet a new grandchild in August — and if the number of covid-19 cases has declined by then. If he does, Jackson said, he will wear a mask “as a measure of respect for other people” and probably gloves while he wiped down “everything around me” as he got settled in his seat. He said he is comfortable with airlines promising to disinfect planes in between trips and thinks their ventilation systems “are actually quite good.” But for now, Jackson said, “I don’t want to be sitting with a bunch of strangers.” Would you go on a road trip? This is the experts’ preferred mode of travel this summer, but only with members of their households. The main risks, they said, will be at gas stations, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants and


The Daily 202: Marco Rubio warns of instability without structural changes to help minorities in coronavirus recovery

government asked another state to send doctors and nurses to help. In Delhi, authorities are turning yet another major government-run hospital into a center for coronavirus patients and just ordered all private hospitals to reserve 20 percent of their beds for such cases.” Americans are scrambling to leave Brazil ahead of Trump’s new coronavirus travel ban. U.S. citizens and green-card holders are exempt from the prohibition, but flights are getting harder to come by. (Marina Lopes) It’s not just Trump who says he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele claimed that he is, too. The controversial 38-year-old leader said he’s been taking the anti-malarial drug to ward off the contagion. “Most of the world’s leaders use it as a prophylaxis,” Bukele told Reuters. He did not name names. More than 3,000 migrants across Africa and 10,000 worldwide – the vast majority of them refugees – are waiting for their resettlement process to start again after being put on indefinite hold by the virus, according to the International Organization for Migration. (Max Bearak) Around 700 Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr with socially distant prayers at an Ikea parking lot in Germany. (IGMG Wetzlar Gençlik) Hong Kong is moving past the pandemic, but an unsung hygiene army soldiers on. “Street cleaners, hotel housekeepers, subway disinfecting crews — form a largely unheralded hygiene army helping to prevent the spread of the virus. Many of them elderly or migrants, they toil at considerable risk to their health, spending extended periods away from their families to minimize potential exposure. As anti-government unrest resumes here, many of these workers also bear the brunt of clearing debris, spent tear gas canisters and broken glass left behind by protesters and police. On Sunday, a cleaner collapsed after a group of people rushed into a bathroom where she was working; she was hospitalized in critical condition,” Shibani Mahtani and Tiffany Liang report. “In cities such as Hong Kong, these workers earn minimum wage and are often treated as part of an underclass. While their efforts have allowed residents to ease back to normal life after the pandemic, they have largely relied on social workers and charity groups for protective gear.” Hong Kong protesters are defying thousands of riot police who locked down parts of the city and barricaded the legislature. The arrests of more than 300 people reflect deepening dissent in the city. (Mahtani) South Korea reported 40 new


D.C. area mother and daughter lost to covid-19 just days apart

looked over us,” Boyd said. “She felt that it was her duty.” Fuller worked at St. Elizabeths, the District’s psychiatric hospital, where her family said she had cared for John W. Hinckley Jr., who was treated there after he shot President Ronald Reagan and three others outside a D.C. hotel. Fuller was a member of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in Capitol Heights, a member of the Fraternal Order of the Elks, the Order of the Eastern Star and she loved to cook soul food. While Joyner said her grandmother had a great recipe for sweet potato pie, Boyd said she most enjoyed her sister’s pinto beans. [Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.] “I miss my sister so much,” Boyd said. “I can’t question God. We did a lot together. We went to church. We went out. Our family was so close.” Fuller had two sons, but Connie Madden was her only daughter. Connie D. Madden, 64, died April 27, 2020 after contracting covid-19. (Family photo) Madden, who had a son and daughter of her own, worked as a teacher’s aide at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Camp Springs. She lived in Southeast Washington. “She loved children,” Tonya Joyner said. “Aunt Connie loved all the kids at her school.” Joyner said her grandmother developed a fever and cough in mid-April and at first thought it was a bout with allergies. After a call to 911, she went to Southern Maryland Hospital and, after treatment, appeared to be stabilizing. “She was eating, talking and holding her own,” Joyner said. But Fuller took a turn for the worse. She was put on a ventilator and died April 24. Madden ended up at a hospital in Baltimore and died three days later. [Has someone close to you died of covid-19? Share your story with The Washington Post] By that time, Ceasar Joyner was hospitalized. Over 21 days, he and his wife shared life with their first child, Brielle, through Zoom, in the same way political officials, educational institutions and churches have continued to gather virtually. “I was really scared,” he said, “but God was in control.” He was discharged May 15. His wife is grateful, but their home has changed. “It is bittersweet because I would have liked to have my grandmother and my aunt here to enjoy this moment with the baby,” Tonya Joyner said.