Zoo, research facility report 4 animal deaths

At the National Zoo and its associated research facility, births provide frequent cause for celebration, but this month four poignant deaths have occurred, including the loss of a sloth bear that had been hand-raised. The zoo said Remi was euthanized May 2 at the age of 6, well short of the 17-year median life expectancy for sloth bears in captivity. In a statement last week, the zoo ascribed the decision to end her life to a foot wound that was not healing, despite treatment. Remi’s loss may have been particularly painful to zoo staff considering the efforts made to save her shortly after her birth. Remi was one of three cubs delivered by their mother, Khali, at the Smithsonian Institution’s zoo on Dec. 29, 2013. It was after Khali ingested the other two and did not seem appropriately attentive to Remi that the staff intervened, according to the zoo. At one point, Remi was bottle-fed eight times a day. Keepers carried her around in a sling, to provide the social interaction of which she was deprived. Ten Bears (left) and Kicking Bird (right) , two elderly and ailing American bison were euthanized this month at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.. (Smithsonian Institution/ National Zoo photo) In the zoo’s statement, Michael Brown-Palsgrove, curator of the zoo’s Asia Trail, called Remi’s care and treatment “a testament to the passion and commitment of our dedicated team to do what was best for this sloth bear.” Another death this month among the 2,700 animals at the zoo was that of Mook, a clouded leopard that at the age of 18 was elderly. In the care of humans, clouded leopards can expect to live about 12 years, the zoo said. Mook came here in 2006 from a zoo in Ohio and was the oldest clouded leopard in North America, the National Zoo said Friday. Shy and reserved, the zoo said, Mook was not easy for keepers to get to know, but to those who did, she offered a friendly vocalization as a “good morning.” Mook had suffered an “irreversible decline in health,” the zoo said, and was “humanely euthanized” on Wednesday. Finally, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., reported the loss of two animals that to many of us, embodied the romance and history of the American West. The two bison, often called buffalo, were Ten Bears, a


Former art teacher was a beacon of positivity

May 3 of pneumonia brought on by the novel coronavirus. She was 87. She died in the Virginian, an apartment complex for seniors in Fairfax County, Va. — near three school campuses where she spent nearly two decades as a Fairfax County Public Schools art teacher. [Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.] Strang was otherwise healthy but tested positive for the virus 10 days before her death. After the diagnosis, she entered a hospital, where doctors registered her deteriorating condition, her age and her “do not resuscitate” order and sent her back to the Virginian to die in greater comfort, Jim Strang said. His mother had lived under lockdown since February, he said, and her family suspects she contracted the virus from the Virginian’s employees, who perhaps picked it up riding public transit. The Virginian’s director could not be reached for comment. But the Strangs are not angry — not Jim Strang, 61, nor his brother Steve Strang, 63, nor their wives, nor Shirley Strang’s beloved three grandchildren, whom she used to beat at Mario Brothers video games. “I know everyone is doing their best,” Jim Strang said, and he also knows his mother wouldn’t have wanted him to feel angry or pursue retribution. She loved her caretakers, he said, and she would have wanted him to take the most positive view possible. Positivity, after all, was Shirley Strang’s magic power. She stayed positive when confronted with discouraged students. His mother often came home, Jim Strang said, lamenting how the children felt they had no artistic talent. Sitting at the dinner table, she vowed to “bring it out of them” — and she did. [Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.] Well into adulthood, Jim Strang ran into a red-haired woman at a party who noticed his name and asked if his mother ever taught art to reluctant middle-schoolers. When he said yes, she grew almost teary: “I never thought I was artistic,” the woman said, “until your mom showed me how.” Shirley Strang on her wedding day. (Family photo) She stayed positive when she fell badly, 15 years ago, and lost the use of her right hand, cutting short a prolific quilting career that saw her produce 300 blankets, some of which won awards and some of which hang in her children’s homes. She stayed positive when her


Man found fatally shot on Anacostia Road NE, police say

A man was fatally shot Friday afternoon in Northeast Washington, the police said. The shooting occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on Anacostia Road, just north of East Capitol Street, according to Officer Sean Hickman, a D.C. police spokesman. The victim was not identified immediately and no information was available about any motive. Read more: Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.) Like PostLocal on Facebook


Don’t risk a resurgence of polio to make a questionable political point

Do we never learn? The May 17 news article “Fears of spreading polio amid Trump’s threat against WHO” reminded us why constant vigilance is required if we are to avoid a resurgence of the pandemic of my youth in places around the world least able to deal with the human toll it leaves behind. I know about the human toll firsthand. I had polio in 1949 when I was 4 years old. I remember kids in iron lungs, others struggling to learn how to use the leather and metal braces that would permit them to stand without falling. I remember the empty bed the nurses wouldn’t talk about. Polio is not just a disease that left some of its victims with weakened limbs or a limp. Thirty to 40 years later post-polio syndrome hits as many as 80 percent of the survivors taking away much of the limited strength the virus left behind and weakening parts we believed were unaffected and overused to compensate. Exhaustion, breathing complications and more can result. Exercise makes it worse and exacerbates the weakness. Seventy years later, polio still keeps taking away! But polio can and is being prevented. And now the Trump administration is threatening to withhold money used for that purpose. The World Health Organization may well have a “China” problem that needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of the children in Niger, Chad, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. We have a moral obligation to prevent pestilence when we can. The monetary cost of doing so pales in comparison to the monetary and moral cost of new epidemics. In 2020, I do not want to see pictures of children in braces or iron lungs because this administration wanted to make a questionable political point. Neither should President Trump, Vice President Pence nor any thinking human being. Arthur Chotin Read more letters to the editor.


The virus is worsening the racial wealth gap. Careless rescue policies could, too.

from the theft of enslaved black labor. In 2016, the median black household’s wealth was roughly 10 percent that of the median white household. The gap persists even after controlling for factors such as education, marital status and income — a typical college-educated black household has 30 percent less wealth than a typical non-college-educated white household. A report from the Center for American Progress estimates that “without intervention, these disparities are expected to persist for at least another 200 years.” The pandemic is certainly an intervention — of the worst kind. With far less wealth to cushion the painful effects of economic shocks, black people are more likely to fall behind on bills and into debt in times of emergency. Fewer than 20 percent of black Americans have jobs which enable them to work from home. Of particular concern is the hit to black-owned businesses, which are a significant source of black wealth and are overrepresented among businesses at most immediate risk in the pandemic, according to the Brookings Institution. To avoid exacerbating racial inequality, pandemic policies must take this vulnerability into account and take deliberate steps to avoid replicating structural exclusions. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), established in March by the Cares Act, is struggling on this front. The intended purpose of the program was to rapidly provide forgivable loans to businesses to help them continue paying their employees during the pandemic-inflicted disruption. The first-come, first-served approach favored businesses with existing commercial lending relationships, which disadvantaged black-owned businesses, which are far less likely to have such relationships. The creation of the PPP was met with a flood of concrete recommendations from experts on how to make the program more equitable in practice — including a greater role for Community Development Financial Institutions, which tend to have stronger relationships with black communities than do large banks. Major policies should be accompanied by racial equity impact assessments, which can surface potential equity-enhancing mechanisms in advance. Any policy touching on race has to be carefully designed to pass constitutional muster. But the government certainly has a compelling interest in ensuring that its recovery policies do not aggravate the wealth gap. The virus and economic shutdowns are not harming everyone equally. If colorblind policies — even those that are truly colorblind in operation — cannot address that reality, then rescue policies must be designed and implemented to reach those who are most endangered.


Four animals, each with a story, die at zoo, Smithsonian research facility

At the National Zoo and its associated research facility, births provide frequent cause for celebration, but this month four poignant deaths have occurred, including the loss of a sloth bear that had been hand-raised. The zoo said Remi was euthanized May 2 at the age of 6, well short of the 17-year median life expectancy for sloth bears in captivity. In a statement last week, the zoo ascribed the decision to end her life to a foot wound that was not healing, despite treatment. Remi’s loss may have been particularly painful to zoo staff considering the efforts made to save her shortly after her birth. Remi was one of three cubs delivered by their mother, Khali, at the Smithsonian Institution’s zoo on Dec. 29, 2013. It was after Khali ingested the other two and did not seem appropriately attentive to Remi that the staff intervened, according to the zoo. At one point, Remi was bottle-fed eight times a day. Keepers carried her around in a sling, to provide the social interaction of which she was deprived. In the zoo’s statement, Michael Brown-Palsgrove, curator of the zoo’s Asia Trail, called Remi’s care and treatment “a testament to the passion and commitment of our dedicated team to do what was best for this sloth bear.” Another death this month among the 2,700 animals at the zoo was that of Mook, a clouded leopard that at the age of 18 was elderly. In the care of humans, clouded leopards can expect to live about 12 years, the zoo said. Mook came here in 2006 from a zoo in Ohio and was the oldest clouded leopard in North America, the National Zoo said Friday. Shy and reserved, the zoo said, Mook was not easy for keepers to get to know, but to those who did, she offered a friendly vocalization as a “good morning.” Mook had suffered an “irreversible decline in health,” the zoo said, and was “humanely euthanized” on Wednesday. Finally, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., reported the loss of two animals that to many of us, embodied the romance and history of the American West. The two bison, often called buffalo, were Ten Bears, a male, and Kicking Bird, a female. They were humanely euthanized May 14, the zoo said. Both 22, the zoo said, they were old and ill and after years together, the death of one


The U.S. plans to withdraw from the Open Skies treaty. That’s a miscalculation.

military crisis in Ukraine.” Yes, Russia has acted to diminish OST transparency In 2014, Moscow imposed an unpermitted 500-kilometer limit on flights over the strategically important enclave of Kaliningrad. Since 2010, Russia has denied flights near Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia. Russia also denied a U.S.-Canadian flight over its “Tsentr” military exercise in September 2019. However, the United States was addressing these issues within the treaty — with some signs that the situation was slowly improving. Washington declared Russia in violation of OST in 2017 and restricted Russian access to Hawaii and Alaska in retaliation. This February, Moscow authorized a U.S.-Estonian-Lithuanian mission over Kaliningrad that was above the 500-kilometer limit. Although James Gilmore, U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, remained dissatisfied with Moscow’s compliance in early March, he noted some progress, including a Russian pledge not to deny exercise overflights in the future. The U.S. withdrawal announcement also alleges that Russia has used OST to improve offensive targeting against the United States and Europe, contravening the confidence-building spirit of the treaty. Without further information from the Trump administration, it’s difficult to assess the nature and seriousness of this allegation. In 2016, Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs at the time, described any potential gain in this area as “of only incremental value in addition to Russia’s other means of intelligence gathering.” Will the U.S. move put arms control at risk? There may be collateral costs of OST withdrawal; the treaty itself may survive without U.S. participation, but Washington’s exit will diminish the agreement’s value to Russia significantly. Moscow’s withdrawal would probably kill OST, ending a key source of intelligence for many NATO allies. This unilateral U.S. move, taken over its allies’ objections, is likely to damage NATO cohesion. The Trump administration’s decision on OST adds further pessimism regarding the future of New START, the last remaining major U.S.-Russia arms-control agreement. New START, which limits the two countries’ strategic offensive nuclear forces, will expire in February 2021 unless the White House decides to extend it. In deciding to withdraw from OST, the Trump administration appears to have miscalculated the balance between transparency and security, even as other European signatories affirm the benefits of the treaty. In this context, analysts aren’t confident that President Trump will weigh risks and benefits adequately the next time around. James J. Cameron is


Reopening too soon: Lessons from the deadly second wave of the 1918 flu pandemic

of enforcement combined with World War I created a variety of outcomes in 1918. That fall marked the disease’s second and deadliest wave in the United States. “The pandemic started in military camps first and foremost. So the military worked to try and control those epidemics in the camps,” Navarro said. “The average Joe in the fall of 1918 was very much preoccupied with things like the Liberty Loan drives.” Philadelphia’s infamous decision not to cancel its Liberty Loan parade in late September resulted in 1,000 deaths in the span of 10 days, making the city one of the hardest hit by the epidemic. Other cities like Denver lifted restrictions that November on Armistice Day to celebrate the end of the war, only to experience a deadlier spike. “Pretty much every city that we examined reported on huge crowds immediately congregating downtown in stores and cafes and theaters and bowling alleys,” Navarro said, adding that the crowding happened on the very day social distancing orders were lifted. Navarro notes that the main difference between 1918 and the current coronavirus pandemic is the vastly different economic landscape — particularly the role of retail, restaurants, movie theaters and other small businesses. “They could shut down places of public amusement and not have the same type of impact on the local economy in 1918 because the manufacturing sector was so dominant,” Navarro said. “This is an economy that’s built on the service sector. So I think we’re in for a much greater and more severe economic impact today than we were in 1918.” As states continue to grapple with the pandemic, many are easing restrictions and pushing to revive lagging economies. But leading health experts warn of a second wave of infection. Navarro is cautious about which lessons to draw from the past, noting advances in medical science and technology, but points to a worrying parallel in human behavior. “Even though the historical context changes, there’s going to be a great clamoring to get back to life as normal,” he said. “There could be really terrible public health consequences as a result.” Read more Retropolis: History’s deadliest pandemics, from ancient Rome to modern America The last time the government sought a ‘warp speed’ vaccine, it was a fiasco ‘New York City’s family tomb’: The sad history of Hart Island Yes, there really was a ‘Typhoid Mary,’ an asymptomatic carrier who infected her patrons


Grocery stores offer comments on operations during the pandemic

Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country’s nearly 40,000 grocery stores have been classified by officials as “essential” businesses that must remain open, putting the stores at the front lines of the crisis. At least 100 grocery workers nationwide have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, since late March, and at least 5,500 others have tested positive, according to a Washington Post review of data from the nation’s largest grocery workers union, other workers’ rights coalitions and media reports. Below are comments provided by supermarket chains about their operations during the pandemic. Our associates are playing a critical role in helping people have access to fresh food, medicine and critical supplies during this crisis, and their safety is our highest priority. In areas experiencing community-wide outbreaks like Quincy and Worcester, our associates also felt the impact as members of those communities. We work closely with public health and medical experts and follow their guidance in implementing safety and health measures for our associates and customers. Since the start of this pandemic we’ve been following the evolving guidance of health and medical experts, working diligently to ensure our response is appropriate to scale in how we protect our customers and associates, while also taking into account the complexities that surround each location and the varying dynamics at play in working with state and local authorities. With stores, clubs and other facilities located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population, the health of our associates tends to track with the health of the country as a whole. Given the significant differences in reporting criteria and standards in the different jurisdictions where we operate we are unable to confidently provide a specific number of cases at this time with a degree of certainty. However, we believe the number of associates that have contracted COVID-19 is better than the current U.S. trend. It may be impossible to track the source of anyone’s infection, especially in some of the communities that have felt the devastating impact of the virus. As part of our response we have a clear protocol in place for how we are cleaning and sanitizing stores, and have provided guidance for managers to work through each confirmed case. Part of this overall process also involves reiterating to our associates the leave options available to them specific to this crisis, and administered by Sedgwick. We’ve seen a high


for qualified full-time associates and $200 for qualified part-time associates, totaling an additional $130 million — to acknowledge their dedication to maintaining safe, clean and stocked stores. The new Thank You Pay bookends an Appreciation Pay first provided to frontline associates for their efforts at the start of the pandemic in March. It also follows multiple Hero Bonuses that were paid in April through mid-May, with associates receiving their final payment by May 23. In addition to these investments, we have recently provided new career opportunities to more than 100,000 workers nationwide, including those from the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service distributors, to support our retail, ecommerce, manufacturing and logistics operations. Kroger employs one of the largest unionized populations in the U.S. And prior to the crisis, our workforce topped 460,000 associates. Ralph’s outbreak Our guidance is always to communicate with integrity — openly and transparently — while protecting the privacy of any affected associate. We are thankful to report 12 of the associates at the Hollywood store that we treated as if testing positive for COVID-19 have already fully recovered and returned to work. A total of 10 associates out of the store’s total 158 associates are still self-isolating due to exposure, per the company’s paid COVID-19 Emergency Leave guidelines. We have identified this location as a hot spot and are offering free testing to those symptomatic and asymptomatic. Customer counting software: Thermometer errors Store closings/cleaning: ●Offering COVID-19 testing to associates based on symptoms and medical need. ●Providing COVID-19 Emergency Leave to associates most directly affected by the virus or experiencing related symptoms and providing paid time off. ●Supplying masks for all associates and encouraging them to stay home if they are sick. ●Encouraging customers to wear masks in stores, or alternatively, use ecommerce services. ●Providing comprehensive benefits packages, including healthcare coverage and retirement benefits. ●Offering $5 million through the organization’s Helping Hands fund to provide financial support to certain associates experiencing hardships due to COVID-19, including childcare costs. ●Making mental health resources readily available. ●Continuing implementation of customer capacity limits and special shopping hour for senior shoppers and higher-risk customers. ●Continuing the use of plexiglass partitions and physical distancing floor decals. ●Expanding contact-free payment solutions like Scan, Bag, Go and Kroger Pay. ●Offering a no-contact delivery option, low-contact pickup service and ship-to-home orders. Reporting to health departments: Number of employees who tested positive for covid-19/died


for 14 days and put all associates who may have had close contact with that person on paid leave out of an abundance of caution. To date, more than 150 employees without any symptoms have been put on paid administrative under this policy. At all our stores, we have enhanced our cleaning regimen to meet or exceed guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are limiting the number of customers in our stores to encourage social distancing, equipping our team members with masks and gloves, and installed protective barriers at checkout lanes. We take our responsibility to protect our team members seriously. Confirmed Case of Covid-19 at Franklin Square Store: Passing of Gladys Cortes: — William Harwood, Lidl spokesman At Target, our priority has always been the safety and well-being of our team, and that’s the approach we’ve taken throughout the coronavirus. Since early March, we’ve introduced dozens of safety, social distancing and rigorous cleaning measures at our stores across the country. The number of confirmed cases we’re seeing across our team is lower than the percent being reported for the U.S population. But even a single case gets our attention, which is why you see us working so hard to do everything we can to protect our team and our guests. We’re informing team members who work at a location where a case of the coronavirus is confirmed and we’ll continue to be transparent in the process, along with the measures we put in place to address it. While being transparent, we’re also careful to keep team member privacy from being compromised with the information we share. There are some details we do not provide, as it increases the likelihood of a team member’s privacy being compromised. We’re following health expert guidance and we’re providing information that any health department requests of us. We want all team members to feel comfortable sharing their concerns. We provide opportunities for team members to share feedback, either through team leaders or through anonymous reporting. While I can’t provide company-by-company detail, what I can share is our high-level approach. Partners who operate in our stores receive updated information regarding our policies and expectations as we monitor and address the evolving situation pertaining to the coronavirus. Additionally, we routinely communicate CDC guidance in and around stores to reinforce these important measures. — Danielle Schumann, Target spokeswoman Trader Joe’s has


Canceled internships, jobs pushes students’ creativity

his dreams. But Ryan couldn’t persuade his parents, who said a job wasn’t worth risking the life of his grandmother, who lives with them. “It feels like prison, like I’m on house arrest,” he said. His summer would be a lot like his spring. This was to be the summer of European travel for Maddy Bram, whose mother, Elizabeth, had made extravagant plans. They’d spend a few days in Barcelona and then take a Disney cruise to Rome, Nice and Florence before capping it off with another frolic on the Spanish coast. The 14-year-old from Bay Harbor Islands, Fla., “has really only been to England, with a plane switch in Madrid,” said her mother, an operations manager for an equity brokerage firm. Now Maddy’s travel will take place in a kayak just a few miles from her house, a clear “zero” of a summer, the teen declared. Yet as unbelievable as a bored teen may find it, this Summer of Nothing might offer some unexpected benefits — like the blue skies over Beijing when industry ground to a halt. “The primary role of summer is to experience the real world and get away from school,” said Peter Gray, an evolutionary psychologist who writes about the role of free time and play in child development. “It’s a time to explore your own interests and work on your hobbies — the things that poetry tells us are good for the human soul.” [He’s 18 and wants to hang with ‘his boys.’ His mom hasn’t been able to stop it. ] In past generations, meandering summer days led naturally to career paths, Gray noted, although today’s parents are giving the process a pandemic boost. Kristin McGovern had planned to hire professionals to build an entertainment space in her Boston backyard this summer when her son, a rising college junior majoring in mechanical engineering, lost his chance at an internship with the state transportation department due to covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Her friend had posted photos on Facebook of a patio her three sons had built. “It looked awesome,” McGovern said, and her mind started spinning. They’d get the materials delivered and pay Conor an hourly rate as project designer and then builder with his brother Aiden, 17. She envisions a patio with a firepit and pizza oven while Conor is contemplating an outdoor bar. If all goes well, it


Death counts become the rhythm of the pandemic in the absence of national mourning

Before dawn broke in Riverside, Calif., political scientist Kim Yi Dionne grabbed her iPhone from the bedside table to check the grim daily toll of covid-19. Deaths were a bit lower in the United States that morning. But like other hardened watchers of such tallies, Dionne was skeptical that the pandemic was easing. More likely it was just a quirk, she thought, a product of the natural rise and fall in the statistical flow, a bureaucratic rhythm in counting the dead. This macabre ritual — searching for meaning in numbers that pulse up and down, day after day — is one countless Americans have adopted. Johns Hopkins University, the source of data for many popular covid tracking sites, is registering about 4 billion hits on its pandemic dashboard each day, presumably because many people are refreshing regularly. And the news is never good, only better or worse versions of awful, as the nation endures death at a pace rarely seen even during its most lethal public health disasters and most violent days of war. Watchers of the daily death counts are looking for different things: Hints of the future, understanding of the past, a sense of scale, a sense of loss, a wisp of hope. But as Memorial Day arrives, there have been few organized rituals of collective mourning aside from President Trump’s order to lower flags to half-staff in honor of nearly 100,000 covid-19 deaths. Daily reckonings with mortality counts, meanwhile, have become proxies for images of flag-draped coffins that have become the standard symbol for America’s tragedies. “It’s not the best way to do it. It’s not that healthy,” said Dionne, an assistant professor at University of California Riverside. “The data give me a way of thinking about concerns I have for other people I care about… It’s a way for me to channel my concern because I can’t really do it another way.” President Trump has sent military jets soaring through the skies above many U.S. cities, including New York, Atlanta and Washington, to celebrate the doctors, nurses and other medical personnel playing heroic roles in combating covid-19. But grieving has been done largely in isolation, or over Zoom or FaceTime. Emails have taken the place of hugs. Funerals have gone online to avoid spreading more disease. Against this backdrop, the mounting national mortality counts have taken on unusual resonance, say those who follow them, as well


Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and demographer at the University of California Irvine. But “in some ways, it’s the truest indicator.” Noymer routinely checks the coronavirus page on the statistics site Worldometer, which has seen its traffic surge in recent months according to a CNN report focusing on unanswered questions about its ownership and management. The Post received no response to requests for information from Worldometer. Those craving their daily or hourly data fix have several options. Google offers covid-19 mortality data for those who type search queries on death counts. Many individuals and institutions tweet the numbers. News sites in many cases have their own trackers. City and county health departments across the nation have improved the access and transparency of this data, so most Americans can see how daily death rates are rising or falling in their own communities — or those of their friends or families. But no matter the site, the overall picture is the same. The United States has more than double the number of reported covid-19 fatalities as any other nation, with the United Kingdom a distant second. The overall national count of confirmed cases, at over 1.6 million, is more than the combined totals of the next six nations — Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and France. The covid-19 death toll, despite months of severe public restrictions to slow the virus’s spread, remains on track to exceed the U.S. death toll of the highly lethal flus of 1957 (116,000) and 1968 (100,000) while likely falling short of the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed an estimated 675,000 Americans and 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919. But Noymer, who uses his daily data fix to update what he calls a “mini model” of pandemic mortality, isn’t even sure about that when it comes to the United States. His current projected total: 1.4 million American dead through 2024 if the covid-19 death rate stays roughly the same. “The 1918 flu is in the annals of history as one of the worst things to happen to human health,” said Noymer. “So when we’re in that territory, that’s pretty serious.” Tara C. Smith, a Kent State University epidemiologist, tracks Worldometer and the Johns Hopkins site, using them to monitor covid-19 deaths. She has particular interest in variations by region and demographic groups and tracks the overall rise and fall of the pandemic. “It’s slowing a


Don’t risk a resurgence of polio


Why the U.S. Has Shunned Negative Interest Rates

there are worries they could roil financial markets. In a 2010 memo, Fed staffers raised concerns about the impact on banks and money market funds. Some economists argue that there’s a limit on how far rates can be pushed down before they perversely start to hurt banks, and through them, the economy. 6. What are the worries? Already facing a likely surge in pandemic-based defaults, U.S. banks fear pinched profits: They’d have to pay to hold deposits at the Fed, rather than collect interest, making them perhaps even less likely to extend credit. The experience in Europe -- where bank profits were sapped by negative rates, contributing to tepid economic growth -- is not one U.S. banks are eager to repeat. 7. Why are money-market funds a consideration? The risk in money markets relates to concerns that if the interest income they produce for investors disappears as rates go below zero, their customers could start boycotting them and seek yield elsewhere. The U.S. relies on these markets -- at a size of roughly $4.8 trillion -- more than economies elsewhere. In minutes of an October Fed meeting, officials saw the risk of “significant complexity or distortions to the financial system.” Furthermore, it’s a policy that would arguably target the wrong end of the yield curve: negative rates have the biggest immediate impact on short-term rates, while longer-term rates serve as benchmarks for mortgage borrowing and corporate credit. 8. What do U.S. lawmakers say? While Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to consider negative rates, other lawmakers may think otherwise. There are even suggestions it could be illegal. In 2008, the Fed gained explicit authority from Congress to pay commercial banks interest on reserve balances deposited at the central bank. It’s not clear whether that authority extends to establishing negative rates on those reserves. When the Fed first reduced rates to a range of zero to 0.25% in 2008 and kept them there for seven years, it was frequently criticized by lawmakers for short-changing savers. 9. What’s happened in countries that used negative rates? The European Central Bank became the first major institution to push short-term interest rates below zero in 2014, as it tried to combat a lingering economic slump. The Bank of Japan followed at the start of 2016, and by the middle of that year some 500 million people in a quarter of the world’s economies ended


Chronic woes fueled covid-19 catastrophe at vets’ home

been launched. “The tragic situation at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is a reminder of the insidious nature of covid-19, a virus that is having a devastating impact in our communities,” said Brooke Karanovich, a state spokeswoman. “We are deeply saddened by the extent of the outbreak and the loss of life.” This account of the meltdown at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke is based on emails, memos and other documents obtained by The Washington Post, along with interviews with 23 people with knowledge of the outbreak and the home’s long-standing troubles. They include family members, current and former employees, and state officials. A few employees spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing concerns about retaliation. Collectively, they paint a picture of a facility that was operating with unaddressed problems, even as it was lauded as a beacon of support for veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs had recently found that the home met or provisionally met federal health-care guidelines for the third year in a row. An outbreak begins It’s not clear how the virus entered the home. But the first resident with symptoms was tested in mid-March, as visitors were banned until further notice.A positive result came back March 21 but was not reported to employees and families until the following day. Most received the news in an email. “I write this letter to inform you that one of our long-term care residents tested positive for COVID-19,” Walsh told staff members, referencing the disease caused by the coronavirus. “The Veteran is currently in quarantine. We have identified other Veterans who were in close contact with the Veteran and they too have been isolated and have been tested for COVID-19.” But several employees said that the man who tested positive lived in a unit that cared for those with dementia and that he was allowed to continue roaming the facility. “They all go into each other’s rooms and don’t understand what social distancing is,” one employee said in an interview. Even with an infected patient, staff members continued to “float” between units, with some moving in and out of the area with the coronavirus outbreak. One certified nursing assistant, Kwesi Ablordeppey, said he was disciplined for putting on a mask and gown after he had spent time in the infected unit. “Your actions are disruptive, extremely inappropriate and have caused unnecessary resources to be deployed that may be needed in


Trump halts U.S. entry for foreigners who have recently been in Brazil

Citing coronavirus concerns, President Trump on Sunday suspended entry for foreigners who have been in Brazil within 14 days prior to seeking U.S. admittance. The new rules, which will take effect Thursday night, come as Brazil reports more than 300,000 confirmed cases of the virus. “The potential for undetected transmission of the virus by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States from the Federative Republic of Brazil threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security,” the White House said in a statement. Meanwhile, as the death toll in the United States climbed toward 100,000, the warm weather and holiday festivities drew large crowds to some of the country’s outdoor attractions. People flocked to beaches in Maryland and New Jersey, and video of vacationers flouting social distancing guidelines in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks was shared widely on social media. Here are some significant developments: White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx said on “Fox News Sunday” she was “very concerned” some people were neglecting to maintain a safe, six-foot distance during the Memorial Day weekend. The governor of Arkansas said over the weekend that his state was facing a “second peak” in infections after a cluster emerged at a high school pool party. Many local health officials told The Washington Post they have been left in the dark as clusters of cases have emerged in supermarkets coast to coast. As the death toll nears 100,000, covid-19 has made a fundamental shift in who it touches and where it reaches in the United States. Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood by an influential adviser accused of breaking Britain’s lockdown, despite widespread calls for the senior aide’s removal. Italy’s Catholics, emerging from one of the most rigid lockdowns in the West — one that saw a historic halt to religious ceremonies — returned to Mass on Sunday. Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter | Mapping the spread of the coronavirus: Across the U.S. | Worldwide | How states are reopening | Have you been hospitalized for covid-19? Tell us whether you’ve gotten a bill.


For Trump and NASA, the stakes are enormous for upcoming flight with crew

National Space Council, Pence said the launch would play a key part in “renewing American leadership in space.” The mission represents “exactly the kind of leadership that has inspired our nation throughout my lifetime, and I know it is going to be a great inspiration to the American people when we see those rockets fire next week.” President Trump even bragged recently that his administration has “reinvigorated” NASA, which he wrongly said “was dead as a door nail, but now it’s very much alive.” Inside NASA, officials are cautiously optimistic about the test flight that would propel two veteran NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, to the International Space Station. But they also are keenly aware of the risks inherent in human spaceflight — especially on a spacecraft that has never before flown humans. Should anything go wrong, it would be a blow not only to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program but also to the White House’s plan to win congressional support to increase funding so NASA could return astronauts to the lunar surface on an accelerated schedule that moved up the landing by four years to 2024. “I’m excited to see an American rocket launch from American soil,” Horn said in an interview before Loverro’s resignation. “But I recognize there is a lot at stake here.” It’s been a long, difficult road to get to the point of launching humans again. In 2014, the Obama administration awarded contracts to SpaceX and Boeing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, following a program from the George W. Bush White House that hired private companies to fly cargo and supplies there. Flying astronauts is a far more difficult task, and Boeing and SpaceX have had to overcome challenges that delayed the first launches from 2017. The program took an especially embarrassing hit late last year when the maiden launch of a Boeing spacecraft, which had no crew on board, went awry as soon as it reached orbit. It was a wake-up call for NASA to better police the companies it had entrusted with flying its astronauts. “NASA oversight was insufficient — that’s obvious,” Loverro said earlier this year. The mishap puts even more pressure on the upcoming launch of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. “It’s been a complex journey for SpaceX to get the mission to this level of readiness, and they are to be commended,” said Paul Hill, a member of


Europe’s top basketball league cancels its season because of coronavirus

While the NBA continues to plot its return to action amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Europe’s top basketball league Monday canceled the remainder of its season. “Without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we have had to take in our 20-year history,” EuroLeague President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said in a statement after the league’s executive board met remotely for the fourth time since the season was suspended March 12. “Due to reasons beyond our control, we have been forced to cut short the most successful and exciting season in European basketball history.” Bertomeu said the league’s stakeholders “exhausted every possible avenue” in an attempt to return after play was suspended with about a month remaining in the regular season, but they ultimately decided it was unfeasible to do so while also ensuring the health and safety of the league’s athletes, fans and staff. League officials also canceled the final rounds of the 24-team EuroCup tournament. The EuroLeague features 18 teams from 10 countries, some of which have been hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than others. Differing travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders throughout Europe presented additional logistical hurdles to resuming play; some teams may have been prevented from practicing in their home countries or traveling for road games. Anadolu Efes, based in Istanbul, was a league-best 24-4 when the season was suspended. CSKA Moscow, the defending champion, was tied for fourth at 19-9. League officials announced they will not crown a champion this season. The 2020-21 campaign is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 with the same 18 teams, and the league said training camps will be extended to “allow players to recover their physical and mental shape” before the start of the regular season. “Obviously, we had many motivations to resume the 2019-20 season, but in such an exceptional situation, we have to put people’s health first and ahead of any other interest: our players, our coaches, our referees, our clubs, their staff, our league staff, our broadcasters and all of their families,” Bertomeu said. “By doing so, we stay true to our beliefs and what we stand for.” The NBA, which suspended its season March 11, announced Saturday that it was targeting late July to resume games. The league said it had begun “exploratory conversations” with the Walt Disney Co. to host a single-site campus for games, practices and housing for players and staffers at the


People are wearing hazmat suits on planes. But should they?

Last year, supermodel Naomi Campbell made headlines when she shared a video of herself very thoroughly sanitizing her Qatar Airlines seat. There were disinfecting wipes involved, plastic gloves and a face mask. And that was before the coronavirus pandemic. With the world battling a highly contagious global health threat, Campbell has taken her in-flight hygiene habits a step further by wearing a hazmat suit on board. Campbell is not alone in wearing hazmat suits on planes. The behavior is becoming more common for regular air travelers, as well as airline staff. Disposable PPE suits can cost less than $20 online, but health experts aren’t advocating wearing them on planes during the pandemic. “Wearing a hazmat suit on an airplane is unnecessary and could cause undue concern for other travelers,” Scott Pauley, a press officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told The Washington Post by email. “CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” Nonetheless, multiple carriers are requiring flight attendants to wear hazmat suits on planes, including Philippine Airlines, AirAsia and, most recently, Qatar Airways, CNN reported. On May 18, Qatar Airways announced it would require members of its cabin crew to wear disposable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits over their uniforms in addition to other gear including safety goggles, gloves and a mask. “At Qatar Airways, we have introduced these additional safety measures onboard our flights to ensure the continued health and well-being of our passengers and cabin crew, and to limit the spread of coronavirus,” Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said in a statement. “As an airline, we maintain the highest possible hygiene standards to ensure that we can fly people home safely during this time.” According to Adrian Hyzler, chief medical officer for Healix International, a company specializing in security and international medical and travel-assistance services, neither the European Union Airline Safety Association (EASA) nor the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recommends hazmat suits for airline crew unless they’re dealing with sick passengers. Hyzler said one concern with wearing hazmat suits is improperly getting out of them. If there’s any trace of the coronavirus on the suit, wearers may come into contact with it as they take off their PPE. The CDC did say recently, “coronavirus primarily spreads from person to person and not easily from a contaminated surface,” The


‘The road that takes you away will lead you back home again as long as you carry on’: The beautiful desolation of the Iceland Ring Road

Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson is known for photographing the people, animals and landscapes in the most remote regions of the Arctic, including Iceland, Siberia and Greenland. He explores the relationships between the people of the Arctic and their extreme environment, and how they are affected by climate change. Earlier this year, Axelsson was inspired to travel the Iceland Ring Road to photograph it during the last days of winter and document how drastically the coronavirus pandemic had changed its landscape as Icelanders hunkered down and sheltered in place. In Iceland, winter ends in March. At the same time, the number of coronavirus cases began to peak around the world. The cases rose in Iceland as well, but the number paled in comparison to those in hot spots such as the United States, China and Italy. Because Iceland took an aggressive approach to combat the virus, including the use of widespread testing, contact tracing and social distancing, its death toll has remained low. As of this writing, 10 deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, have been recorded there. The Iceland Ring Road runs along the outer edge of the entire island and is frequented by tourists during spring, summer and fall. People are drawn to its beautiful black sand beaches, geysers, ice caves and waterfalls. And if they are lucky, they can also be treated to spectacular views of the Northern Lights. The weather along the road this winter was fierce, but Axelsson thrives in adverse conditions. Indeed, some of his favorite photos were taken in the rough weather. For two days, Axelsson traveled the road, encountering very few cars and even fewer people. In fact, he saw more animals out and about — mostly horses, sheep and reindeer. Of the experience, Axelsson told In Sight: “I drove around 1,200 miles, and it was like being alone in the world, not knowing if anybody was alive on planet Earth. I had never seen Iceland like that before. … I love winter in Iceland. Some days you can experience many types of weather every 15 minutes. I have driven the Ring Road in Iceland many times, and usually there are people wherever you go. It was a strange feeling — where did the rest of the world go? Am I alone in the world? I slept in my car, and in my dreams there were people around. When


How Lulabelle’s Sweet Shop owner Julie Wineinger would spend a perfect day in D.C.

In D.C. Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us how they would spend a perfect day in the District. Unable to find flour and eggs at your local grocery store? You might find them at an ice cream shop in Petworth. The coronavirus pandemic has forced D.C.’s small-business owners to recalibrate their establishments. In Julie Wineinger’s case, that meant turning Upshur Street’s Lulabelle’s Sweet Shop into a curbside pickup spot for such sought-after grocery items as flour, milk, eggs and fresh produce. And yes, Taharka Brothers’ whimsical ice cream flavors are still available for purchase, too — just in to-go pints now. “After we reopened with our curbside pint pickup, I kept seeing on our local Petworth Facebook group and Listserv that people were asking for milk and eggs and flour — all the things people were having trouble finding at the grocery store,” says Wineinger, who also owns Upshur Street clothing boutique Willow. “I had a restaurant supplier, I know I could get those things, and so I thought, ‘Well, they’re already picking up ice cream, why not add milk?’ So it just kind of kept going where we were adding more things.” With the help of a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Wineinger has been able to keep the lights on at Lulabelle’s — and bring back some of her staff — during a crisis with seemingly no end in sight. Another wellspring of support: the Petworth community, which has kept Lullabelle’s and Willow in business since 2017 and 2011, respectively. “Honestly, I don’t know that Lulabelle’s will be able to operate the way that we were operating for a very long time,” says Wineinger, noting that Willow is in a “holding pattern” at the moment due to D.C.’s restrictions on “nonessential” businesses. “I see this as a way for us to stay open on Upshur.” On her dream day, the 41-year-old Petworth resident leaves behind her worries to support other local shops near the neighborhood she proudly calls home. The first thing that would be lovely is to have a cup of coffee and sit on my front porch on a nice and cool day with no mosquitoes. I live on New Hampshire [Avenue NW,] which is a busy street, but on this day it would be blocked to vehicular traffic. My favorite thing about living in D.C. is the ability to


Keeping tabs on neighborhood wildlife may hook you on all the action

Watching wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it’s something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately. Maybe you’ve been wondering if you’re seeing one persistent gray squirrel or a rotating cast of furry characters. Maybe you’ve been thinking about which birds are passing through for the season and which are townies who stick around all year. As a wildlife ecologist, I’ve learned to pay attention to patterns that show me what the animals outside my window are up to, and I usually know which individuals are my regulars. Whether you’re spying on animals in a city, town or rural area, with a little background knowledge, you too can keep tabs on the private lives of your neighborhood critters. For many species, winter is a time when individuals compete less with one another and gather in large groups. For example, eastern cottontail rabbits congregate around areas with plenty of food and places to escape to. Birds form large mixed-species flocks, which help them better find food and avoid being hunted. They even form temporary allegiances as they forage together, following specific individuals who help determine where the flock goes. As the season changes to spring, migratory species start arriving. A steady parade of individuals moves through the neighborhood. As animals transition to their breeding season, plumage and appearances may change as they work to attract mates. For many species, defense of a piece of land becomes an overriding concern. During the summer months, adult animal numbers stabilize, and the drive to establish a territory means you’re likely to have the same individuals active outside your windows for the majority of summer. A territory is a chunk of habitat. Its size will vary depending on the amount of food and breeding resources it holds. A territory with few trees, for example, may need to be bigger to hold enough forage for the animal that owns the turf. Territory sizes for different species can range from the size of a large kitchen table (common lizards like green anoles and skinks) to an area greater than 120 football fields (a raptor such as the Cooper’s hawk). The cool thing is that animal home ranges are governed by their own needs and often do not follow the lines of human fences and alleyways. I like to think of animal territories as quilts that drape over your neighborhood.


to spring, migratory species start arriving. A steady parade of individuals moves through the neighborhood. As animals transition to their breeding season, plumage and appearances may change as they work to attract mates. For many species, defense of a piece of land becomes an overriding concern. During the summer months, adult animal numbers stabilize, and the drive to establish a territory means you’re likely to have the same individuals active outside your windows for the majority of summer. A territory is a chunk of habitat. Its size will vary depending on the amount of food and breeding resources it holds. A territory with few trees, for example, may need to be bigger to hold enough forage for the animal that owns the turf. Territory sizes for different species can range from the size of a large kitchen table (common lizards like green anoles and skinks) to an area greater than 120 football fields (a raptor such as the Cooper’s hawk). The cool thing is that animal home ranges are governed by their own needs and often do not follow the lines of human fences and alleyways. I like to think of animal territories as quilts that drape over your neighborhood. For some species, like anoles, the squares in that quilt will have many small and intricate pieces, and you could fit many quilt pieces within each individual human property boundary. Some of those pieces will even overlap other patches. Small songbirds will have quilt patches that span several human properties, though they may use specific parts more than others. Larger species will have quilt patches that cover entire neighborhoods with one territory. If you’ve become familiar with the animals in your neighborhood, chances are you’ll see some of the same individuals again year after year. Eastern cottontails are likely to live up to three years in the wild, and they stay in the same general territory throughout their lives. Even the young have a tendency to stay close to their birth place. Researchers have recaptured gray squirrels year after year in their original territories. On average, these critters survive about six years and can live longer than 20. Birds also have long lives and will often stay in the same territory year after year. However, when eggs don’t hatch or young die in the nest, some birds may choose a new territory the following year. This means there can be


On the front lines of the pandemic, grocery workers are in the dark about risks

grocery stores generally are not required to publicly disclose coronavirus cases involving employees or report them to local health departments. As states now move to reopen, many grocers are being criticized by health officials, lawmakers and store employees for not being more open with the public and their own workers about outbreaks within their stores. The Washington Post interviewed about 40 current and former employees at more than 30 supermarkets who alleged that the companies had not disclosed cases of infected or dead workers, retaliated against employees who raised safety concerns, and used faulty equipment to implement coronavirus mitigation measures. The $800 billion grocery industry — dominated by a handful of major players, including Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons — employs more than 3 million people in what are typically low-paying positions with little job security. Amid the pandemic, the country’s nearly 40,000 grocery stores have been classified by officials as essential businesses that must remain open, putting the stores at the front lines of the crisis. Grocery stores, one place most consumers cannot avoid during the pandemic, have reported double-digit growth in sales in recent months. At least 100 grocery workers nationwide have died of complications from the virus since late March, and at least 5,500 others have tested positive, according to a Post review of data from the nation’s largest grocery workers union, other workers’ rights coalitions and media reports. Many local health officials told The Post they have been left in the dark as clusters of cases have emerged in supermarkets coast to coast. “We really need to have better communication. There’s got to be something moving forward . . . that changes the current process,” said Karyn Clark, Worcester’s public health director. Clark said a nurse had to call the local Walmart several times before the company shared its internal list of infected employees. In interviews, supermarket chains defended their efforts to protect workers and the public, saying they have required masks for employees, encouraged social distancing and rewarded workers with hazard pay and bonuses. Some grocers said they have collaborated with health departments across the country to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “Our associates are playing a critical role in helping people have access to fresh food, medicine and critical supplies during this crisis, and their safety is our highest priority," said Lorenzo Lopez, a Walmart spokesman. “In areas experiencing community-wide outbreaks like Quincy


of complications from covid-19, management notified employees in conversations and then in a letter of “the passing of one of our colleagues,” but did not identify her by name or how she had died because of privacy concerns, according to the company. LatinoJustice, a nonprofit legal defense fund, documented concerns about Cortes and employees at other supermarkets in an April 30 letter to the chief executive of Lidl US, a chain that owns Best Market and has about 100 stores in the U.S. After receiving no response, LatinoJustice said it filed a complaint on May 12 with the New York state attorney general. William Harwood, a Lidl spokesman, said the company had “no reports indicating that she was sick while working. Our policy is clear that employees who are sick should stay home.” Marian Meszaros, a 63-year-old employee at the Best Market supermarket in Long Island’s Franklin Square in New York, said she believes a manager waited more than a week to inform her in late April that her co-worker in the cramped meat department had tested positive for the coronavirus. She said the human resources manager offered her five days of paid leave, saying that it was sufficient time off because she had been exposed over a week ago and wasn’t showing symptoms. Meszaros said she believes the manager delayed informing her because the store had been so short-staffed, and she worried she could still get sick and infect her co-workers. “I have nightmares about this,” Meszaros said. “No one in the store feels safe.” The supermarket chain in March had announced a new pandemic-related policy that provides 14 days of paid leave to workers who test positive for the coronavirus, as well as paid leave for colleagues who came into close contact with them. Harwood said the store immediately contacted Meszaros when it learned of the infected employee, and she was given five days off because it had been nine days since they had been in contact at the supermarket. The human resources team called Meszaros to ensure she had no symptoms prior to returning to work, Harwood said. “We are taking significant steps to protect the health and safety of our team members during this public health emergency,” Harwood said. As infections have spread within supermarkets, employees at two national chains said that stores retaliated against them for speaking up about safety or discussing sick colleagues. When


A deadly ‘checkerboard’: Covid-19’s new surge across rural America

The novel coronavirus arrived in an Indiana farm town mid-planting season and took root faster than the fields of seed corn, infecting hundreds and killing dozens. It tore through a pork processing plant and spread outward in a desolate stretch of the Oklahoma Panhandle. And in Colorado’s sparsely populated eastern plains, the virus erupted in a nursing home and a pair of factories, burning through the crowded quarters of immigrant workers and a vulnerable elderly population. As the death toll nears 100,000, the disease caused by the virus has made a fundamental shift in who it touches and where it reaches in America, according to a Washington Post analysis of case data and interviews with public health professionals in several states. The pandemic that first struck in major metropolises is now increasingly finding its front line in the country’s rural areas; counties with acres of farmland, cramped meatpacking plants, out-of-the-way prisons and few hospital beds. In these areas, where 60 million Americans live, populations are poorer, older and more prone to health problems such as diabetes and obesity than those of urban areas. They include immigrants and the undocumented — the “essential” workers who have kept the country’s sprawling food industry running, but who rarely have the luxury of taking time off for illness. Many of these communities are isolated and hard to reach. They were largely spared from the disease shutting down their states — until, suddenly, they weren’t. Rural counties now have some of the highest rates of covid-19 cases and deaths in the country, topping even the hardest-hit New York City boroughs and signaling a new phase of the pandemic — one of halting, scattered outbreaks that could devastate still more of America’s most vulnerable towns as states lift stay-at-home orders. “It is coming, and it’s going to be more of a checkerboard,” said Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State University in Ohio. “It’s not going to be a wave that spreads out uniformly over all of rural America; it’s going to be hot spots that come and go. And I don’t know how well they’re going to be managed.” America’s largest and most densely populated cities and suburbs still suffer more infections and deaths per capita, but those overall rates are increasing faster in smaller, rural counties where the virus has spread rapidly in the past month, the Post analysis found. In many


In a veterans’ home hit by the coronavirus, chronic problems aided a disaster

previous five days, but neither the home nor the state had disclosed the outbreak to the public. Walsh, a retired Marine officer, has denied wrongdoing and accused the state of letting a “lie” persist that he had not kept the state apprised. In a statement, he said that he had requested National Guard assistance March 27 and told state officials that 28 residents had coronavirus symptoms. “State officials knew that Holyoke needed as much help as possible,” Walsh, who declined requests for an interview, said in the statement. “No one was kept in the dark.” Officials at the home referred questions to state officials. At least four investigations, including a federal probe, about conditions at the home have been launched. “The tragic situation at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is a reminder of the insidious nature of covid-19, a virus that is having a devastating impact in our communities,” said Brooke Karanovich, a state spokeswoman. “We are deeply saddened by the extent of the outbreak and the loss of life.” This account of the meltdown at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke is based on emails, memos and other documents obtained by The Washington Post, along with interviews with 23 people with knowledge of the outbreak and the home’s long-standing troubles. They include family members, current and former employees, and state officials. A few employees spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing concerns about retaliation. Collectively, they paint a picture of a facility that was operating with unaddressed problems, even as it was lauded as a beacon of support for veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs had recently found that the home met or provisionally met federal health-care guidelines for the third year in a row. It’s not clear how the virus entered the home. But the first resident with symptoms was tested in mid-March, as visitors were banned until further notice.A positive result came back March 21 but was not reported to employees and families until the following day. Most received the news in an email. “I write this letter to inform you that one of our long-term care residents tested positive for COVID-19,” Walsh told staff members, referencing the disease caused by the coronavirus. “The Veteran is currently in quarantine. We have identified other Veterans who were in close contact with the Veteran and they too have been isolated and have been tested for COVID-19.” But several employees said that


German Cases Rise, Businesses See Gradual Rebound: Virus Update

The number of new cases in Germany rose slightly, while a hard-hit region in Italy including the financial capital Milan reported zero fatalities for the first time. Japan is set to end its nationwide state of emergency by lifting the order for Tokyo and other regions as new coronavirus cases tail off. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing intense political pressure after defending a top aide who broke lockdown rules. President Donald Trump said schools should be opened “ASAP,” while U.S. deaths approached the 100,000 mark. The U.S. will limit some travel from Brazil, a nation with the second-highest number of cases. Key Developments: • Virus Tracker: Cases top 5.4 million; deaths over 345,000 • Republicans risk political backlash in Trump’s haste to reopen • Covid-19 patients not infectious after 11 days, study shows • Social unrest is lurking in Chile as virus spreads • Hertz says pandemic devastated revenue, leading to bankruptcy • Using computer simulations to find a Covid-19 treatment: graphic Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here. Russia’s Reported Cases Rise 2.6% to 353,427 (4:20 p.m. HK) Russia reported 8,946 new cases, with almost half of those being asymptomatic. The country is surpassed only by Brazil and the U.S. in total number of reported infections. More than a quarter of the new cases were in Moscow. German Businesses See Gradual Economic Rebound (4 p.m. HK) German businesses are counting on an improvement in the economy in the second half after the coronavirus pandemic depressed private spending and investment and plunged the economy into a recession.Companies surveyed by Ifo showed cautious optimism in May, with a gauge of expectations rising after the previous month’s plunge. A full-fledged recovery though is still a long way off as consumers wary of infections keep away from shops and restaurants, and firms struggling with subdued demand cut jobs. Hungary Fully Reopens Serb Border (3:30 p.m. HK) Hungary reopened its border with Serbia entirely Monday as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic receded in both countries, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook video. While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Serbia isn’t. China’s Xi Praises Hubei for Sacrifices During Outbreak (2:35 p.m. HK) Chinese President


Why Purdue must reopen in the fall

Mitch Daniels, a Post contributing columnist, is president of Purdue University and a former governor of Indiana. On Feb. 1, watching the outbreak of a new viral form in China, our university suspended travel to that country. On Feb. 26, we extended that ban to visiting other countries reporting the infection. On March 10, we decided to close the Purdue campus for the spring semester and move to remote instruction. On March 17, we canceled our traditional commencement. At the point when the campus was shut down, if we had needed to decide on our plans for the fall, we would have felt compelled to resume with remote instruction and keep the campus closed. For all we knew, covid-19 posed a danger across all lines of age and health status, and a place as densely populated as our campus would be defenseless against it — operations couldn’t be responsibly restarted. We have all learned a lot since then. What would have been a reckless and scientifically unjustified decision in late March is now plainly the best option from both a scientific and a stewardship standpoint, at least for our particular institution. The Post asked me to explain here what has gone into our thinking. (We’re not alone: Two-thirds of the more than 700 colleges surveyed by the Chronicle of Higher Education have now come to the same conclusion and will reopen with in-person instruction in the fall.) The most salient discovery the world has made during these terrible two months is that covid-19 is a very dangerous disease, specifically for the elderly and the infirm, particularly those with diabetes, hypertension, other cardiovascular illnesses, or the obesity that so frequently leads to these disorders. [Danielle Allen: We’ve wasted enough time. We must figure out how to reopen schools this fall.] The companion discovery is that this bug, so risky in one segment of the population, poses a near-zero risk to young people. Among covid-19 deaths, 99.9 percent have occurred outside the 15-24 age group; the survival rate in the 20-29 age bracket is 99.99 percent. Even assuming the United States eventually reaches 150,000 total fatalities, covid-19 as a risk to the young will rank way below accidents, cancer, heart disease and suicide. In fact, it won’t even make the top 10. This is fundamental information for institutions with radically skewed demographic compositions. If you’re running a nursing home, it means one


maryland hed goes right in here.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in Laurel this month. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Montgomery County rushed to create its own data dashboard last week, so elected leaders could justify to constituents why they remain stuck in a coronavirus shutdown. In Anne Arundel County, local officials secured their own virus tests, contact tracers and protective equipment, skeptical the state would provide enough. And in Charles County, the sheriff is keeping a closer eye on the homes of county commissioners after someone protested their vote to remain shut down until Friday by posting their addresses on social media. Leaders in Maryland’s largest jurisdictions say they were left high and dry when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) allowed them to decide when they “felt ready” to ease pandemic-related social distancing restrictions that have crippled the economy and paralyzed daily life since mid-March. “All of us were taken aback by his announcement,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said. “We were hung out to dry.” Hogan lifted Maryland’s stay-at-home order May 15 — before testing for the novel coronavirus reached adequate levels, and before many of the hardest-hit counties had stockpiled enough gear and resources, according to interviews with public health experts and local leaders. Several counties are scrambling to buy additional tests, masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment before they ease restrictions. The governor said localities could opt out of the first phase of reopening — and those home to roughly 60 percent of the population did. Hogan cast his approach as one that empowers local leaders. But county officials say the choice spread power among 23 counties and 157 municipal governments, creating a patchwork approach that stirred confusion and resentment among a restless public. “It’s a complicated message to communicate,” said Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner (D), who has spent hours trying to get all 12 municipalities in her county to agree to the same set of rules. “Some people only heard that the stay-at-home order was lifted. They didn’t really listen to the details.” Joshua Sharfstein, a vice dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said: “The message that, ‘I’d be fine with a greater reopening, but it’s up to the county executives to decide,’ is a bit confusing.” “People wonder if it’s necessary, if it’s not necessary,” said Sharfstein, who served as health secretary to Hogan’s predecessor, Democrat Martin O’Malley. “When people receive mixed messages, they’re not going to do


Churning her way through Petworth

In D.C. Dream Day, we ask our favorite people in the area to tell us how they would spend a perfect day in the District. Julie Wineinger is the owner of Lulabelle’s Sweet Shop in Petworth. (Paola Nazati) Unable to find flour and eggs at your local grocery store? You might find them at an ice cream shop in Petworth. The coronavirus pandemic has forced D.C.’s small-business owners to recalibrate their establishments. In Julie Wineinger’s case, that meant turning Upshur Street’s Lulabelle’s Sweet Shop into a curbside pickup spot for such sought-after grocery items as flour, milk, eggs and fresh produce. And yes, Taharka Brothers’ whimsical ice cream flavors are still available for purchase, too — just in to-go pints now. “After we reopened with our curbside pint pickup, I kept seeing on our local Petworth Facebook group and Listserv that people were asking for milk and eggs and flour — all the things people were having trouble finding at the grocery store,” says Wineinger, who also owns Upshur Street clothing boutique Willow. “I had a restaurant supplier, I know I could get those things, and so I thought, ‘Well, they’re already picking up ice cream, why not add milk?’ So it just kind of kept going where we were adding more things.” With the help of a Paycheck Protection Program loan, Wineinger has been able to keep the lights on at Lulabelle’s — and bring back some of her staff — during a crisis with seemingly no end in sight. Another wellspring of support: the Petworth community, which has kept Lullabelle’s and Willow in business since 2017 and 2011, respectively. “Honestly, I don’t know that Lulabelle’s will be able to operate the way that we were operating for a very long time,” says Wineinger, noting that Willow is in a “holding pattern” at the moment due to D.C.’s restrictions on “nonessential” businesses. “I see this as a way for us to stay open on Upshur.” On her dream day, the 41-year-old Petworth resident leaves behind her worries to support other local shops near the neighborhood she proudly calls home. A pedestrian walks past Miss Pixie’s on 14th Street NW in mid-May. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post) The first thing that would be lovely is to have a cup of coffee and sit on my front porch on a nice and cool day with no mosquitoes. I live on New Hampshire


Needless death, and Trump is partly at fault

provide a valuable, life-saving public service. He prefers to indulge his personal vanity. It is shocking and unacceptable that the U.S. response to the pandemic, in terms of deaths per capita, has been among the least successful in the world. There’s nothing we can do about that now. The focus has to be on what happens next — and I fear that Trump is leading us past the 100,000 marker toward even more unnecessary suffering and death. Clearly it is not tenable to keep the economy in its induced coma, with unemployment now at the highest level since the Great Depression. We must begin to reopen. But since the virus will not simply go away, since there is no cure or vaccine for covid-19 and since we have no protective herd immunity, going back to the old “normal” is not a reasonable option. We need to move gingerly toward a new normal that minimizes the toll: distancing, hand-washing, face masks, avoiding crowds, fewer handshakes and air-kisses and hugs, more of those awkward Zoom meetings we’ve learned to endure. [ The Opinions section is looking for stories of how the coronavirus has affected people of all walks of life. Write to us. ] But the election is coming, Trump is in campaign mode and the only political technique he has mastered is the driving of wedges. He has made it a political statement not to wear a mask or respect social distancing. According to polls, most Americans are willing to follow the advice of medical professionals. Enough may follow Trump’s lead, however, to guarantee that the rate of infection and death remains higher than it has to be. The offense is not just that many of the 100,000 lost American lives might have been saved, it is also that more needless death is surely to come. Donald Trump stands indicted. Read more from Eugene Robinson’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Read more: The Post’s View: Nearly 100,000 Americans have died of covid-19. Here’s how we can honor them. Dana Milbank: America’s seniors, sacrificed on the altar of reopening Catherine Rampell: The state budget crisis is not just a blue-state crisis. It’s an every-state crisis. Fred Hiatt: Trump is gambling the health of the nation for his reelection Leana S. Wen: We’re retreating to a new strategy on covid-19. Let’s call it what it is.


Eased rules for Md. put some leaders in bind

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in Laurel this month. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Montgomery County rushed to create its own data dashboard last week, so elected leaders could justify to constituents why they remain stuck in a coronavirus shutdown. In Anne Arundel County, local officials secured their own virus tests, contact tracers and protective equipment, skeptical the state would provide enough. And in Charles County, the sheriff is keeping a closer eye on the homes of the county commissioners after someone posted their addresses on social media to protest their vote to remain shut down until Friday. Leaders in Maryland’s largest jurisdictions say they were left high and dry when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) allowed them to decide when they “felt ready” to ease pandemic-related social distancing restrictions that have crippled the economy and paralyzed daily life since mid-March. “All of us were taken aback by his announcement,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said. “We were hung out to dry.” Hogan lifted Maryland’s stay-at-home order May 15 — before testing for the novel coronavirus reached adequate levels, and before many of the hardest-hit counties had stockpiled enough gear and resources, according to interviews with public health experts and local leaders. Several counties are scrambling to buy additional tests, masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment before they ease restrictions. The governor said localities could opt out of the first phase of reopening — and those home to roughly 60 percent of the population did. Hogan cast his approach as one that empowers local leaders. But county officials say the choice spread power among 23 counties and 157 municipal governments, creating a patchwork approach that stirred confusion and resentment among a restless public. “It’s a complicated message to communicate,” said Frederick County Executive Jan H. Gardner (D), who has spent hours trying to get all 12 municipalities in her county to agree to the same set of rules. “Some people only heard that the stay-at-home order was lifted. They didn’t really listen to the details.” Joshua Sharfstein, a vice dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said, “The message that ‘I’d be fine with a greater reopening, but it’s up to the county executives to decide’ is a bit confusing.” “People wonder if it’s necessary, if it’s not necessary,” said Sharfstein, who served as health secretary to Hogan’s predecessor, Democrat Martin O’Malley. “When people receive mixed messages, they’re not going


Officials say testing will be up to par by early July

couple of weeks away,” Montgomery Health Officer Travis A Gayles said. “We are in a much better place every day, where the choke points are being addressed,” Fairfax Health Director Gloria Addo-Ayensu said. “Now really the challenge is there is more [testing] capacity than demand.” The increased capability to test and trace is a major reason much of the region expects to enter Phase 1 of reopening this week, officials said. Having adequate capacity is also a necessary condition for moving ahead to later phases. The other key conditions are seeing decreasing numbers of covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. That depends mainly on the public adopting public health recommendations such as to avoid close contact with others, wear masks and wash hands frequently. Containing the coronavirus — or interrupting its transmission — is a goal that the United States might have achieved three or four months ago had it moved aggressively from the start to fight the virus as South Korea and Taiwan did. Instead, the contagion outpaced containment here, and the nation settled for a mitigation strategy, aimed at reducing and delaying outbreak peaks. But it is still possible to achieve containment if equipment and staff are available. That’s the goal until a cure or vaccine is developed. “The vaccine would be really helpful, but right now, we have something in hand that will work if we do it right,” said Boris D. Lushniak, a former acting U.S. surgeon general who is dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. [Before the state acted, this Maryland county launched a contact-tracing army.] Containment requires three steps: testing, contact tracing, and quarantine or isolation of those infected or exposed. Testing has posed the biggest challenge, partly because the Trump administration declined to adopt a nationwide plan for producing and distributing testing supplies. “It’s been a mess, which is what you have when you have a federal government that’s dysfunctional,” Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey (D) said. “We’re having to figure out how to substitute for a federal government that’s not there.” But she’s encouraged that the state government has arranged to test 1,000 people Tuesday at the Barcroft sports center, and hopes Virginia will continue such weekly events. Virginia is already close to its target of testing 10,000 people a day, up from about 4,000 to 5,000 a month ago, and would like to go even higher. It


Mayor Bowser says D.C. is ‘back on track’ for gradual reopening

The District also reported eight covid-19-related deaths, all among residents in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Bowser said the city remains on track to have the contact tracers and testing needed to meet its goals in those categories. She had previously planned to make an announcement Tuesday on the timing of the reopening and what it would include. Virginia reported a record 1,483 new cases Monday — which topped the previous high of 1,229 new cases on May 21. The bulk of the new cases were in Northern Virginia, with Fairfax County reporting 493; Prince William County reporting 234; and Loudoun County reporting 226 new cases. Northern Virginia was not included in the state’s gradual reopening that began May 15, with restaurants licensed for outdoor seating allowed to resume operations with limited capacity. Barber shops and beauty salons were also allowed to reopen with some restrictions. Richmond and Accomack County on the Eastern Shore, which has had an outbreak related to poultry processing plants, also were not included. The health department said in a statement that it performed maintenance on its reporting system Sunday, so data reported during that time was added to Monday’s total. Alena Yarmosky, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ralph Northam (D), noted that there have also been high levels of testing in the past two days, with more than 10,000 tests reported Sunday and more than 14,000 tests reported Monday. [Spike in D.C. numbers, crowds at Maryland, Virginia beaches and boardwalks renew coronavirus concerns] Virginia also reported 37 new deaths, bringing its total to 1,208. The state has 37,727 reported cases of the virus. Maryland reported 839 new cases Monday, bringing its total to 47,152. Hospitalizations continued to decline in Maryland, with the state reporting that 1,279 people are hospitalized — a drop of more than 25 percent since April 30. The state reported 25 new deaths Monday. The state had a total of 2,302 deaths reported as of Monday — 562 of which were in Montgomery County and 497 in Prince George’s County. The holiday weekend was not without its hiccups — including Northam being slammed on social media for not wearing a mask when he mingled with visitors in Virginia Beach and images of a crowded Ocean City boardwalk. Many visitors appeared not to be wearing masks, and little social distancing was apparent. But there was also kindness and patience among beachgoers this weekend, said


Meet Bob and Doug, the NASA astronauts about to make history. They’re hilarious (and kinda goofy).

The arcs of their careers and personal lives have for years run on parallel tracks, like twin strands of DNA, winding from the military to test pilot school to the same NASA astronaut class, where both met their wives. Now Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are about to fly together in one of the most important launches NASA has attempted in years: a crewed test flight of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, set for Wednesday, if the weather cooperates. On Monday, the Space Force’s weather office at Cape Canaveral predicted a 60 percent chance weather would prevent a launch. The mission would be the first launch of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, and the first by a private company of people to orbit. Scheduled for Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it would be the culmination of a long journey — for NASA, for SpaceX and for a pair of the agency’s most seasoned astronauts, who have marched together in unusual lockstep to get to this point. Both are former military pilots who achieved the rank of colonel — Hurley in the Marine Corps, Behnken in the Air Force. Both were accepted to the NASA astronaut class of 2000 on their first try. Both have been to space twice before. Both are fathers to a young boy. Behnken is married to Megan McArthur, a NASA astronaut and oceanographer; Hurley is married to Karen Nyberg, who recently retired from the NASA astronaut corps. The couples joke that they often thank the head of the astronaut selection committee “for doing a great job of selecting spouses for us,” McArthur said. In the past, NASA’s astronauts may have been pitted against each other in ruthless competition for flight assignments, preening for the cameras and strutting their ego-fueled “Right Stuff” to orbit and back, always eager to get ahead. But Behnken and Hurley — Bob and Doug, as most everyone calls them — are more like a couple of self-effacing old pals, with an easygoing relationship shaped by a shared history that includes serving in each other’s weddings and having trained side by side for this mission for five years. Their rapport, in the cockpit and in training, is fueled by trust and an intimate sense of each other, people who know them say, a sort of fraternal bond that allows


Why Purdue must reopen in the fall

Mitch Daniels, a Post contributing columnist, is president of Purdue University and a former governor of Indiana. On Feb. 1, watching the outbreak of a new virus in China, our university suspended travel to that country. On Feb. 26, we extended that ban to visiting other countries reporting the infection. On March 10, we decided to close the Purdue University campus for the spring semester and move to remote instruction. On March 17, we canceled our traditional commencement. At the point when the campus was shut down, if we had needed to decide on our plans for the fall, we would have felt compelled to resume with remote instruction and keep the campus closed. For all we knew, covid-19 posed a danger across all lines of age and health status, and a place as densely populated as our campus would be defenseless against it — operations couldn’t be responsibly restarted. We have all learned a lot since then. What would have been a reckless and scientifically unjustified decision in late March is now plainly the best option from both a scientific and a stewardship standpoint, at least for our particular institution. (We’re not alone: Two-thirds of the more than 700 colleges surveyed by the Chronicle of Higher Education have now come to the same conclusion and will reopen with in-person instruction in the fall.) The most salient discovery the world has made during these terrible two months is that covid-19 is a very dangerous disease, specifically for the elderly and the infirm, particularly those with diabetes, hypertension, other cardiovascular illnesses or the obesity that so frequently leads to these disorders. [Danielle Allen: We’ve wasted enough time. We must figure out how to reopen schools this fall.] The companion discovery is that this bug, so risky in one segment of the population, poses a near-zero risk to young people. Among covid-19 deaths, 99.9 percent have occurred outside the 15-to-24 age group; the survival rate in the 20-to-29 age bracket is 99.99 percent. Even assuming the United States eventually reaches 150,000 total fatalities, covid-19 as a risk to the young will rank way below accidents, cancer, heart disease and suicide. In fact, it won’t even make the top 10. This is fundamental information for institutions with radically skewed demographic compositions. If you’re running a nursing home, it means one thing. New York unintentionally ended hundreds of lives prematurely by ordering covid-19 patients


Of Note

Virginia Baliles in Stuart, Va., and grew up in the Washington area. Last year, she moved to Florida from White Oak, Md. Albert Caron, psychologist Albert Caron, 93, a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1959 to 1979 who then was professor and co-director of the infant research laboratory at George Washington University until 1989, died Feb. 19 at a hospital in Washington. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, Daniel Caron. Dr. Caron, who lived in Silver Spring, Md., was born in Boston. From 1989 to 2006, he was director of the infant study center at Boston University before returning to the Washington area. Richard Podol, USAID officer Richard Podol, 91, an officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development who served as mission director for Zaire and Uganda before retiring in 1989, died Feb. 19 at his home in Reston, Va. The cause was Parkinson’s disease, said his wife, Elizabeth Podol. Mr. Podol was born in Chicago. His 29-year career in the USAID included duty in Turkey, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Tanzania. He coached youth sports in Reston in the 1970s and played in an adult softball league. Kathleen Carmody, lawyer Kathleen Carmody, 95, who in 1977 at the age of 53 obtained a law degree from Georgetown University and then practiced family law for 17 years in Montgomery County, died Feb. 23 at a hospice center in Rockville, Md. The cause was encephalopathy, said a son, Steve Carmody. Mrs. Carmody, a resident of Kensington, Md., was born Kathleen Langey in Plattsburgh, N.Y. She was a journalist in Plattsburgh and a public relations officer for colleges in Pennsylvania and New York before working in the 1950s and 1960s as a journalist with the Catholic Standard weekly newspaper in the Washington area. Her solo law practice included representing adults and children in neglect and abuse cases. John Stitt, naval engineer John Stitt, 95, a civilian engineer with the Navy Department who retired in 1979 after 31 years of service, died Feb. 11 at his home in Daytona Beach, Fla. The cause was cancer, said a daughter, Kathryn Smith. Mr. Stitt was a native Washingtonian. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Forces as a gunner on a B-17 bomber and flew 34 combat missions over Germany. Twenty years ago, he moved to Florida from Greenbelt, Md. — From staff reports


that the U.S. response to the pandemic, in terms of deaths per capita, has been among the least successful in the world. There’s nothing we can do about that now. The focus has to be on what happens next — and I fear that Trump is leading us past the 100,000 marker toward even more unnecessary suffering and death. Clearly it is not tenable to keep the economy in its induced coma, with unemployment now at the highest level since the Great Depression. We must begin to reopen. But since the virus will not simply go away, since there is no cure or vaccine for covid-19, and since we have no protective herd immunity, going back to the old “normal” is not a reasonable option. We need to move gingerly toward a new normal that minimizes the toll: distancing, hand-washing, face masks, avoiding crowds, fewer handshakes and air-kisses and hugs, more of those awkward Zoom meetings we’ve learned to endure. [ The Opinions section is looking for stories of how the coronavirus has affected people of all walks of life. Write to us. ] But the election is coming, Trump is in campaign mode, and the only political technique he has mastered is the driving of wedges. He has made it a political statement not to wear a mask or respect social distancing. According to polls, most Americans are willing to follow the advice of medical professionals. Enough may follow Trump’s lead, however, to guarantee that the rate of infection and death remains higher than it has to be. The offense is not just that many of the 100,000 lost American lives might have been saved; it is also that more needless death is surely to come. Donald Trump stands indicted. Read more from Eugene Robinson’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Read more: Submit a question for Eugene Robinson’s May 26 chat Read the transcript of Eugene Robinson’s May 12 chat The Post’s View: Nearly 100,000 Americans have died of covid-19. Here’s how we can honor them. Dana Milbank: America’s seniors, sacrificed on the altar of reopening Catherine Rampell: The state budget crisis is not just a blue-state crisis. It’s an every-state crisis. Fred Hiatt: Trump is gambling the health of the nation for his reelection Leana S. Wen: We’re retreating to a new strategy on covid-19. Let’s call it what it is.


U.S. Cases Inch Up; California Sets Church Limits: Virus Update

a first look in July at what sort of immune responses are generated. In the first phase, 130 healthy adult volunteers at two sites in Australia will get two doses of NVX-CoV2373, the biotech’s experimental vaccine. If initial results look promising, the company plans to quickly move into the second phase -- expand testing to other countries and age groups outside of 18 to 59. The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company is one of about 10 that are testing vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. Moderna Inc. reported the first Covid-19 vaccine results in humans last week. U.S. Cases Rose 1.3%, Less Than Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY) U.S. cases increased 1.3% from the same time Sunday to 1.65 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was below the average daily increase of 1.4% over the past week, and has the same for three days. Deaths rose less than 1% to 97,948 from 97,424 -- the smallest one-day increase in more than a week. • New York had 1,249 cases, bringing the total to 362,764, and 97 deaths, for a total of 23,488, the health department said. • New Jersey had 965 cases, for a total of 155,092, with 16 deaths, for a total of 11,144, Governor Phil Murphy said. • Illinois reported 1,713 cases, for a total of 112,017, with 31 deaths, for a total of 4,884. • California cases rose 1,848, or 2%, for a total of 94,558, while 21 deaths were added, a 0.6% rise, to 3,795. • Pennsylvania added 473 cases, for a total to 68,186, and 15 deaths for a total of 5,139, the health department reported. • Michigan reported 202 new cases for a total of 54,881, with 12 additional deaths for a total of 5,240. • Connecticut added 405 cases, for a total of 40,873, with 49 new deaths, for a total of 2,742, Governor Ned Lamont said. California Sets Church Limits (3:45 p.m. NY) California will limit attendance in houses of worship to 25% of building capacity or 100 people and is discouraging choir singing, group recitations and passing of the collection plate. “Convening in a congregational setting of multiple different households to practice a personal faith carries a relatively higher risk for widespread transmission of the Covid-19 virus, and may result in increased rates of infection, hospitalization, and death, especially among more vulnerable populations,” according