Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

May 5, 2020

Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

By Remy Tumin and Hiroko Masuike

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

1. The White House is planning to wind down the coronavirus task force as the crisis rages on.

It’s not clear if the group, which has served as a centralized response to the pandemic, will be replaced. Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the task force, said it could wrap up its work by early June.

The focus now, one senior administration official said, will be on therapeutics, vaccine development and testing as the White House moves toward Phase One of President Trump’s plan to “open up” the country. Mr. Trump traveled to Phoenix on Tuesday, above, where he toured a plant that is manufacturing medical masks.

But the reality of the virus in the U.S. is an unrelenting crush of cases and deaths. While the worst-hit parts of the country have seen the number of new infections and hospitalizations drop after strict social-distancing measures, new outbreaks have emerged elsewhere in the U.S.

At least 25,000 new cases are identified almost every day, meaning that the total in the U.S. is expanding by 2 to 4 percent daily. Here is the latest map and case count.

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Eric Gaillard/Reuters

2. Doctors in France reported that a patient in late December tested positive for the coronavirus.

The finding, if verified, suggests that the virus appeared in Europe nearly a month earlier than previously known and raises new questions about how long the disease was circulating in Wuhan, China, before the outbreak was acknowledged by the authorities there. Above, Paris in mid-December.

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The discovery came after doctors retested a sample taken on Dec. 27 from a patient who had pneumonia; it is not entirely clear how the patient contracted the coronavirus. It was days before China reported the illness to the World Health Organization.

Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

3. We’re still learning more about a mysterious illness in children possibly tied to Covid-19.

Fifteen children, many of whom had the coronavirus, have recently been hospitalized in New York City with symptoms similar to toxic shock or Kawasaki disease, a rare illness in children that involves inflammation of the blood vessels.

Doctors do not yet fully understand the syndrome, city health authorities said, but it has been reported in several European countries.

Our Science reporters also looked at two new studies showing compelling evidence that children can transmit the virus. Researchers analyzed data from China and Germany and found strong evidence that schools should be kept closed for now.

Wladimir Bulgar/Science Source

4. Could a test for the coronavirus be as simple as a home pregnancy kit?

A team of scientists has developed an experimental prototype for a fairly quick, cheap test to diagnose the infection that easily. The test is based on a gene-editing technology known as Crispr, and researchers estimate that the materials for each test would cost about $6.

Scientists say it remains to be seen how the Crispr technique compares with the standard tests now in use, above.

Separately, Pfizer and the German pharmaceutical company BioNTech have begun human trials in the U.S. for a potential coronavirus vaccine that could be ready for emergency use as early as September.

John G Mabanglo/EPA, via Shutterstock

5. Meat is becoming harder to find.

Kroger and Costco supermarkets have put a cap on ground beef and pork purchases for customers, and hundreds of Wendy’s locations are running out of burgers. The shortage comes as dozens of meatpacking plants across the country have shut down because of coronavirus outbreaks.

Fishmongers have been in for a surprise: In a rare bright spot for the fish trade, retail sales have set records, and consumers are trying species that even restaurants shy away from.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

6. California is suing Uber and Lyft, accusing them of violating a state law that classifies gig drivers as employees.

The law, which took effect on Jan. 1, requires companies to treat their workers as employees instead of contractors if they control how workers perform tasks or if the work is a routine part of a company’s business. The suit seeks civil penalties and back wages for workers that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

In other tech news, Airbnb laid off around a quarter of its staff, or 1,900 people, as it reels from the global pandemic that has battered the travel industry.

Ashley Pon for The New York Times

7. Baseball is getting underway in parts of Asia. Kinda, sorta.

The Korean Baseball Organization season opened Tuesday morning. ESPN will air six games a week to its sports-deprived audience, at least those who are night owls or early risers.

And in Taiwan, some resemblance of a baseball season is underway: The stands are filled with fake, cardboard spectators, above, the locker rooms are stocked with sanitizer, and social distancing between coaches and players is enforced. The team has offered spectators around the world a hint of normalcy.

Jens Mortensen for The New York Times

8. And for his next trick, Karan Singh will appear in Australia, Singapore and a dozen other countries, without ever leaving his bedroom.

As artists struggle for ways to perform during the pandemic, Mr. Singh, a magician in New Delhi, has been doing free, online shows for anyone who asks, performing card tricks and feats of mentalism.

“I would have gone mad if I didn’t have an audience to perform for,” he said.

For other entertainment ideas, we asked 11 TV writers and showrunners what they’re watching as they shelter in place and developed a virtual curtain raiser for how to watch theater online.

Amy Neunsinger

9. Where home is the heart of a food and design empire.

Joanna Gaines and her husband, Chip, the co-stars of “Fixer Upper,” have married Texas tradition with modern taste to create a wildly popular brand. Julia Moskin, a reporter on our Food desk, took a deep dive into how Mrs. Gaines felt her way into the domestic zeitgeist and became a star with legions of fans.

Another one from our Food experts: J. Kenji López-Alt, who writes about the science of cooking, explains how a large, inexpensive roast is a boon for busy home cooks. Prepare it simply, then let it take center stage all week long.

Marcus Westberg

10. And finally, a cornucopia of beauty.

About 90 percent of the flora and fauna on Madagascar is found nowhere else on Earth. Macus Westberg spent a month exploring the island nation, where he found a panoply of unique plants and animals, from endemic orchids to chameleons, giraffe-necked weevils and the bizarre-looking aye-aye, the world’s largest nocturnal primate.

It’s the latest in our series The World Through a Lens, in which photojournalists transport us on journeys we can’t take right now, but can dream about.

Have an imaginative night.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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