Nicholas Stix, Uncensored: Coronavirus Updates: Americans Party as Death Toll Nears 100,000

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Coronavirus Updates: Americans Party as Death Toll Nears 100,000

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Coronavirus Updates: Americans party as death toll nears 100,000

Coronavirus Updates from The Washington Post

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Important developments in the pandemic.

By Avi Selk

The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.

The latest

Crowds of densely packed, barefaced, droplet-swapping Americans are forming on beaches, bar patios and pool decks over the Memorial Day weekend, fulfilling the fears of health experts who warned the nationwide relaxation of restrictions would help the coronavirus spread.

The most dramatic images came from Missouri — still in the midst of a local epidemic — where vacationers flocked to the Lake of Ozarks. "In one picture shared by news station KSDK, dozens of people could be seen crammed on an outdoor patio underneath a sign reading, 'Please practice social distancing,' " The Post wrote. A nearby bar and grill advertised a pool party for hundreds of people called "Zero Ducks Given."

Thick crowds were also spotted at beaches along the East Coast, on a weekend when American flags flew at half-staff in memory of the country's nearly 100,000 confirmed victims of the virus. In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said a recent high school swim party contributed to the state's "second peak" of infections but still encouraged residents to venture out. "We take the virus very seriously, the governor told Fox News. "It's a risk, it causes death, but you can't cloister yourself at home, that is just contrary to the American spirit."

Meanwhile, grocery stores have been accused of suppressing information about outbreaks among their employees. The Post interviewed dozens of current and former employees at more than 30 supermarkets who alleged that cases of infected or dead workers were covered up and managers retaliated against employees who raised concerns. More than 100 infected workers were discovered at two Walmarts in Massachusetts last month — only after local health officials investigated and tested the entire staff.

Roving bands of unusually aggressive rats have prompted a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like many other animals, rats have adapted their behavior in the absence of humans. In this case, a lack of edible street trash has made them desperate with hunger — driving some rats to cannibalism.

Other important news

How much is a human life worth? Academics actually have an answer, but it's been ignored in the debate over reopening the economy.

New Zealand has become a global role model after crushing its coronavirus outbreak in less than two months. Now, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pitching ideas for a post-pandemic future, starting with a four-day workweek.

Live updates and more

Track deaths and confirmed cases in the U.S. and across the world.

Where states are reopening and what the rules are in each one.

Post reporters across the world are publishing live dispatches nearly 24 hours a day.

Read the latest about what's happening in the D.C. area.

Submit a question and The Post may answer it in a future story, live chat or newsletter.

Your questions, answered

"What does the current virus have in common with the flu of 1918? And how does it differ?" — Jean in Missouri

Well, the two pandemics have too many differences to list in this newsletter. The influenza virus of 1918 came from an entirely different genetic family than the 2019 coronavirus and attacked the body in different ways. The flu started spreading during World War I, on a planet with no air travel or global commerce to speak of and still managed to advance around the entire world.

Scientists understood very little about viruses at the time, and doctors had none of the advanced medical equipment used to treat covid-19 patients today. The 1918 flu spread for more than a year and killed an estimated 50 million people, or more than 2 in 100 people, including more than half a million Americans — far more than even the most dire models predict covid-19 will kill.

Yet, the U.S. response to both pandemics was disturbingly similar in many ways.

Our history team wrote today that many states initially responded to the 1918 outbreak with severe restrictions on daily life — telling residents to wear masks and shuttering nonessential businesses, much like today.

Then, also much like today, those restrictions were rolled back later in the year, when the war ended and Americans felt like celebrating. "Pretty much every city that we examined reported on huge crowds immediately congregating downtown in stores and cafes and theaters and bowling alleys," a medical historian at the University of Michigan told The Post.

We wrote at the top of this edition about Memorial Day weekend crowds massing in many states that have recently rolled back stay-at-home orders. A century ago, those celebrations were followed by a resurgence of the virus, which killed more Americans in the fall of 1918 than it had during the initial wave of infections.

Are we repeating the mistakes of 1918?

Today's top reads

Find more stories, analysis and op-eds about the outbreak on our coronavirus page, including:

Boris Johnson wants to reopen Britain's schools in a week. Parents, teachers and local officials are pushing back.
A top Florida football coach was suspended for allegedly holding practice during the pandemic
Calories burned in boring household chores can help fight stay-at-home weight gain

Your chance to see Yo-Yo Ma play live is right now

The musician is performing Bach's complete solo cello suites live as a memorial for those we have lost in the pandemic and as a tribute to resilience.