Category: International

The Paycheck Protection Program was created to help small businesses hit by the pandemic, but the program was exhausted quickly. Now congress has secured another round of funding.

Recovering from COVID-19 can be a long journey. NPR’s Jon Hamilton reports on the oftentimes grueling process.

Experts say contact tracing and antibody testing are crucial steps for reopening the country.

Plus, a look at one part of the economy that never closed. Must-run factories operating around the clock have lessons for other businesses about how to keep workers safe.

Listen to Life Kit’s episode on how to spot misinformation on Apple, Spotify and NPR One.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

President Trump’s guidelines for reopening the country put the onus on governors across the nation. But many say they don’t have enough testing supplies to reopen their states.

A Harvard infectious disease specialist explains why testing in the United States is still a problem.

Plus, a couple share the lessons they learned from the 1918 flu pandemic. (He’s 107-years-old. She’s 100.)

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

Public health experts and NPR journalists answer listener questions on ‘The National Conversation with All Things Considered,’ NPR’s nightly radio show about the coronavirus crisis. Excerpted here:

– NPR’s Emily Feng discusses China’s next steps.
– Emergency Physician Richard Levitan addresses skepticism about the effectiveness of ventilators.
– Veterinarian Krista Miller answers questions about pet care and adoption.

If you have a question, you can share it at npr.org/nationalconversation, or tweet with the hashtag, #NPRConversation.

We’ll return with a regular episode of Coronavirus Daily on Monday.

According to new White House guidelines, a state, city, or county has to show a decreasing rate of confirmed coronavirus cases for 14 days before reopening their economy.

A year may seem like a long time to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, but vaccine development typically takes longer. NPR’s Joe Palca explains why it’s so hard and what researchers are doing to speed things up.

Food banks around the country have been stretched, including one in San Antonio. Last week it served 10,000 families, many of whom are dealing with joblessness and food insecurity caused by the pandemic.

Plus, the man who developed the N95 mask filter technology comes out of retirement.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

The White House Thursday offered a blueprint for states to re-open. It starts with a decline in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and includes extensive testing that does not yet exist. Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo told NPR’s Rachel Martin that the lack of testing means the outbreak is still largely unpredictable.

In the past four weeks, 22 million people have filed for unemployment, nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession.

A group of volunteer EMTs in New Jersey is on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak.

Plus, after seven months in space, astronaut Jennifer Mier returns to a very different reality on Earth.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

Governors around the country are starting to plan for what reopening their states could look like. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said testing will be a big part of his decision making.

Millions of Americans should have received an economic impact payment from the government today. Meanwhile, many are still waiting on unemployment benefits.

Plus, Apple and Google’s plan to help with contract tracing will depend on trust from the public.

Listen to Life Kit’s episode on giving back on Apple, Spotify and NPR One.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says 80 million Americans should receive economic impact payments by Wednesday.

President Trump said during Monday’s contentious coronavirus task force briefing that he plans to lift federal guidelines on social distancing soon, falsely claiming that he has “total” authority on the matter.

Meanwhile, as an outbreak of COVID-19 in South Dakota closes a major meat processing facility, Governor Kristi Noem continues to reject the idea of a statewide stay-at-home order.

Many Americans are reporting that they’re having unusually vivid dreams at night. One Bay Area resident started a website for others to share their dreams. Read what others are dreaming about on i dream of covid.

Listen to Short Wave’s episode, ‘How To Talk About The Coronavirus With Friends And Family’

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

Exactly one month ago, President Trump declared a national emergency and promised a mobilization of public and private resources to attack the coronavirus. NPR’s Investigations Team finds that few of those promises have come to pass.

The CDC says they’ll soon release a plan to help state and local governments with contact tracing, but Massachusetts has already started building its own contact tracing system.

NPR’s Allison Aubrey discusses why some are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others, and looks ahead at what opening up the country may look like.

And if you’re one of the many families feeling a budget squeeze right now, Life Kit has some tips for you.

NPR’s Investigations Team’s full story on each claim Trump made one month ago

Tips on budgeting from Life Kit.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter

Public health experts and NPR journalists answer listener questions on ‘The National Conversation with All Things Considered,’ NPR’s nightly radio show about the coronavirus crisis. Excerpted here:

– Dr. Abraar Karan on wearing masks
– Dr. Lucy McBride on what to do if someone is recovering from the coronavirus at home
– NPR’s Scott Horsley on unemployment relief and how to get it

We’ll return with a regular episode of Coronavirus Daily on Monday.

Dr. Deborah Birx said despite signs of progress in New York and elsewhere, the United States hasn’t reached the peak of the pandemic yet.

Rigorous testing and contact tracing specifically are being called for, but Birx said the White House Task Force is being realistic about “how strategically that very valuable resource can be used” in the U.S.

Despite empty grocery store shelves, there’s an excess of food other places, like farms. NPR’s Dan Charles reports on the struggling supply chain.

Chaplain Rocky Walker’s full conversation with Morning Edition host David Greene.

Find and support your local public radio station

Sign up for ‘The New Normal’ newsletter