newyorker--2020-04-27--The Coronavirus Crisis in Bolsonaro’s Brazil

No world leader has been more vocal in downplaying the threat of the coronavirus than Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro .
A former military officer and defender of Brazil ’ s military dictatorship , Bolsonaro took office , in 2019 , after a flagrantly racist and sexist campaign , and has encouraged the rapid deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon .
When faced with the coronavirus outbreak , Bolsonaro responded that Brazilians are immune from diseases and won ’ t “ catch a thing , ” adding that “ God is Brazilian.
” He has also harshly criticized governors who have shut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In mid-April , Bolsonaro fired his health minister , Luiz Henrique Mandetta , for supporting social-distancing policies and , according to Bolsonaro , endangering the economy .
Although testing remains limited , Brazil has had about fifty thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases and thirty-three hundred deaths , and the disease has reached every one of Brazil ’ s twenty-seven states .
To talk about the situation in Brazil , I spoke by phone last Thursday with Sergio Davila , the editor-in-chief of Folha de S.Paulo , one of the leading newspapers in the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fake news ” throughout his tenure .
During our conversation , which has been edited for length and clarity , we discussed how Bolsonaro makes decisions , whether the political opposition can use his handling of the coronavirus crisis against him , and how Bolsonaro has been able to continue his war on the rain forest despite the pandemic .
Do you have some sense of how much the coronavirus has spread in Brazil , both geographically and in terms of people ?
We have a bad case of undertesting .
We don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and there are thousands and thousands of tests with no result .
But the last twenty-four hours were a record—over four hundred deaths .
The total number of deaths in Brazil is over three thousand , and we have about fifty thousand confirmed cases .
But my guess is that it is a lot more .
We don ’ t test enough .
We have cases in all twenty-seven states , but the main problem is in São Paulo , which is the largest state , and in Rio de Janeiro , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states like Amazonas , where the rain forest is , and where the public-health system has collapsed .
The number of patients in intensive care there is already over capacity .
It is starting to spread to other poorer states , which means fewer hospitals and support and less of a presence from government .
It is going to be bad .
How do you understand Bolsonaro ’ s behavior since the coronavirus hit ?
What is he trying to accomplish , if that isn ’ t too rational a question to ask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I am paraphrasing , that , if this crisis lasts long enough , then the economy is done and he is done .
He said that publicly .
It is no secret that he wants this thing to end soon .
His concern is for the economy to get back on its feet soon enough so that it doesn ’ t hurt when he is running for reëlection , in 2022 .
So he doesn ’ t see a health crisis as hurting him and the economy ?
Instead it is just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been defending—not at the start of the crisis but in the last couple of weeks—is that we have to do partial isolation so we don ’ t hurt the economy too much .
He wants to determine who is at risk , and then isolate them , and the rest of the population can work and go about their business .
It ’ s hard to tell you what his main strategy is because it changes very often .
If you had asked me last week , for instance , I would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bets on hydroxychloroquine , the drug that supposedly helps when you get the disease .
But he isn ’ t talking about that anymore .
He is now talking about partial social isolation .
So it ’ s hard to be sure .
To be honest with you , I don ’ t know if he knows in his mind what the best strategy is .
He goes with the flow .
He has a lot of family counsel , run by his three sons , and he listens a lot to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he reads a lot of social media .
He is a social-media addict .
And my impression is that he wakes up every day and says , “ My strategy today is this one.
” But it can change in the next days .
He spent fifteen days publicly undermining his health minister , who was at the time the most coherent member of his government .
He said something like , “ I don ’ t have stars on my team .
Nobody is above being fired.
” What social media is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the temperature of the country by reading social media .
He thinks that he has his thumb on the pulse of the public by reading Twitter .
He is a Twitter fanatic .
He reads a lot of Facebook , and , this is less known , but he is in a lot of WhatsApp groups—I think Brazil is one of the-largest WhatsApp-using countries—with businessmen , truck drivers , and others .
And he gets the temperature through these groups .
Are you implying that these are right-wing groups ?
Yeah , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health minister he fired was enormously popular .
Has that firing or any of his actions dented his popularity ?
We have a polling institute that did a poll just after the firing .
Sixty-four per cent thought Bolsonaro did the wrong thing by firing the minister of health .
So , yes , it has dented his popularity .
I would say he has twenty to twenty-five per cent of the electorate with him no matter what , and sometimes it seems he is talking and running the country thinking of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t logical to fire the health minister in the midst of this pandemic , and it has dented his popularity , but he is going about business as usual .
How much of the Brazilian establishment is opposed to Bolsonaro right now ?
Is he at risk of losing insider support ?
What do you call “ establishment ” ?
Businessmen and captains of industry and bankers are supporting him , and especially his economic program .
His minister of the economy , the equivalent of the Treasury Secretary in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is a man of the market and is very well liked by the economic establishment .
As long as he keeps Guedes , he will have great support from some bankers and businessmen .
At the same time , he invited a lot of military or former military ministers to be in his government .
Military support is a big thing in Brazil , and at least for now he has the support of the main armed forces .
It seemed early on that elements of the military were disappointed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more seriously .
Did nothing come of that ?
Yeah , but after that he changed a couple of names in his cabinet and put more former generals and military men on his team , and I would say that now he has their support once again .
Since the democratization of Brazil , in 1985 , it is by far the most military or former military ministers in a cabinet .
A lot of the opposition has come from state governors .
How much has that kept up , and what does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political opposition to Bolsonaro ?

No world leader has been more vocal in downplaying the threat of the coronavirus than Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. A former military officer and defender of Brazil’s military dictatorship, Bolsonaro took office, in 2019, after a flagrantly racist and sexist campaign, and has encouraged the rapid deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. When faced with the coronavirus outbreak, Bolsonaro responded that Brazilians are immune from diseases and won’t “catch a thing,” adding that “God is Brazilian.” He has also harshly criticized governors who have shut down their states despite his opposition. In mid-April, Bolsonaro fired his health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, for supporting social-distancing policies and, according to Bolsonaro, endangering the economy. Although testing remains limited, Brazil has had about fifty thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases and thirty-three hundred deaths, and the disease has reached every one of Brazil’s twenty-seven states.
To talk about the situation in Brazil, I spoke by phone last Thursday with Sergio Davila, the editor-in-chief of Folha de S.Paulo, one of the leading newspapers in the country, which Bolsonaro has decried as “fake news” throughout his tenure. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed how Bolsonaro makes decisions, whether the political opposition can use his handling of the coronavirus crisis against him, and how Bolsonaro has been able to continue his war on the rain forest despite the pandemic.
Do you have some sense of how much the coronavirus has spread in Brazil, both geographically and in terms of people?
We have a bad case of undertesting. We don’t know all the numbers yet, and there are thousands and thousands of tests with no result. But the last twenty-four hours were a record—over four hundred deaths. The total number of deaths in Brazil is over three thousand, and we have about fifty thousand confirmed cases. But my guess is that it is a lot more. We don’t test enough.
We have cases in all twenty-seven states, but the main problem is in São Paulo, which is the largest state, and in Rio de Janeiro, but it is starting to get to states like Amazonas, where the rain forest is, and where the public-health system has collapsed. The number of patients in intensive care there is already over capacity. It is starting to spread to other poorer states, which means fewer hospitals and support and less of a presence from government. It is going to be bad.
How do you understand Bolsonaro’s behavior since the coronavirus hit? What is he trying to accomplish, if that isn’t too rational a question to ask about him?
He said himself, and I am paraphrasing, that, if this crisis lasts long enough, then the economy is done and he is done. He said that publicly. It is no secret that he wants this thing to end soon. His concern is for the economy to get back on its feet soon enough so that it doesn’t hurt when he is running for reëlection, in 2022.
So he doesn’t see a health crisis as hurting him and the economy? Instead it is just a trade-off?
The main point he has been defending—not at the start of the crisis but in the last couple of weeks—is that we have to do partial isolation so we don’t hurt the economy too much. He wants to determine who is at risk, and then isolate them, and the rest of the population can work and go about their business. It’s hard to tell you what his main strategy is because it changes very often. If you had asked me last week, for instance, I would have said he was putting all his bets on hydroxychloroquine, the drug that supposedly helps when you get the disease. But he isn’t talking about that anymore. He is now talking about partial social isolation. So it’s hard to be sure.
To be honest with you, I don’t know if he knows in his mind what the best strategy is. He goes with the flow. He has a lot of family counsel, run by his three sons, and he listens a lot to his military ministers in his cabinet, and he reads a lot of social media. He is a social-media addict. And my impression is that he wakes up every day and says, “My strategy today is this one.” But it can change in the next days. He spent fifteen days publicly undermining his health minister, who was at the time the most coherent member of his government. He said something like, “I don’t have stars on my team. Nobody is above being fired.”
What social media is he reading?
He tries to get the temperature of the country by reading social media. He thinks that he has his thumb on the pulse of the public by reading Twitter. He is a Twitter fanatic. He reads a lot of Facebook, and, this is less known, but he is in a lot of WhatsApp groups—I think Brazil is one of the-largest WhatsApp-using countries—with businessmen, truck drivers, and others. And he gets the temperature through these groups.
Are you implying that these are right-wing groups?
Yeah, that is what I am saying.
The health minister he fired was enormously popular. Has that firing or any of his actions dented his popularity?
We have a polling institute that did a poll just after the firing. Sixty-four per cent thought Bolsonaro did the wrong thing by firing the minister of health. So, yes, it has dented his popularity. I would say he has twenty to twenty-five per cent of the electorate with him no matter what, and sometimes it seems he is talking and running the country thinking of this core base only. It wasn’t logical to fire the health minister in the midst of this pandemic, and it has dented his popularity, but he is going about business as usual.
How much of the Brazilian establishment is opposed to Bolsonaro right now? Is he at risk of losing insider support?
What do you call “establishment”? Businessmen and captains of industry and bankers are supporting him, and especially his economic program. His minister of the economy, the equivalent of the Treasury Secretary in the United States, is a man named Paulo Guedes, who is a man of the market and is very well liked by the economic establishment. As long as he keeps Guedes, he will have great support from some bankers and businessmen. At the same time, he invited a lot of military or former military ministers to be in his government. Military support is a big thing in Brazil, and at least for now he has the support of the main armed forces.
It seemed early on that elements of the military were disappointed that he wasn’t handling this crisis more seriously. Did nothing come of that?
Yeah, but after that he changed a couple of names in his cabinet and put more former generals and military men on his team, and I would say that now he has their support once again. Since the democratization of Brazil, in 1985, it is by far the most military or former military ministers in a cabinet.
A lot of the opposition has come from state governors. How much has that kept up, and what does it tell you about the state of political opposition to Bolsonaro?
Twenty of the twenty-seven states are in opposition to Bolsonaro right now, and especially in terms of what he is doing with the coronavirus. Among the twenty, you have governors of two of the largest states in Brazil, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I would say that the federation in Brazil is under a big stress test right now, because you have the governors in open opposition.
And Bolsonaro’s power to force them to open back up is limited, as it is with Trump here?
Yes, it’s similar. He tried to do that through an executive order, and overrule the states, but the Supreme Court threw that out, saying the governors of the states have the final word on what will be open or closed during this crisis. That was a major loss for Bolsonaro.


newyorker--2020-04-27--Trump Blames Plummeting Poll Numbers on People Paying Attention When He Talks

WASHINGTON , D.C. ( The Borowitz Report ) —Calling it a “ disgraceful situation , ” Donald J. Trump on Monday blamed his sinking poll numbers on people paying attention when he talks .
Noting that his approval rating has plummeted since he began holding coronavirus briefings , he said , “ There are a lot of people out there who are listening to things I say and basing their opinions on them , and I think it ’ s very sad.
” In addition to people paying attention when he talks , Trump said that he was being “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what I say.
” “ People are listening to what I say one day and comparing it to something I said on a different day , ” he said .
“ These are very sick and terrible people.
” Trump also lashed out at the pollsters themselves , who , he alleged , are “ doing a hit job on me ” by seeking the opinions of people who listened to things he said .
“ The fact that they ’ re talking to people who have listened to me proves how crooked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
“ People who haven ’ t listened to me think I ’ m doing great.
” Trump said that , if people persist in listening to him , he may stop talking altogether .
“ I think that ’ s a really good plan , ” Trump said .
“ Dr .
Fauci suggested it to me .
”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Borowitz Report)—Calling it a “disgraceful situation,” Donald J. Trump on Monday blamed his sinking poll numbers on people paying attention when he talks.
Noting that his approval rating has plummeted since he began holding coronavirus briefings, he said, “There are a lot of people out there who are listening to things I say and basing their opinions on them, and I think it’s very sad.”
In addition to people paying attention when he talks, Trump said that he was being “treated very unfairly by people who remember what I say.”
“People are listening to what I say one day and comparing it to something I said on a different day,” he said. “These are very sick and terrible people.”
Trump also lashed out at the pollsters themselves, who, he alleged, are “doing a hit job on me” by seeking the opinions of people who listened to things he said.
“The fact that they’re talking to people who have listened to me proves how crooked and rigged these polls are,” he said. “People who haven’t listened to me think I’m doing great.”
Trump said that, if people persist in listening to him, he may stop talking altogether. “I think that’s a really good plan,” Trump said. “Dr. Fauci suggested it to me.”


Quarantine Missed Connections

I was the woman taking a long walk with a look on her face that conveyed both joy ( from being outside for the first time in a while ) and discomfort ( from having to put pants on ) .
You were literally any man I saw .
Please hit me up !
I spent all morning playing the popular game Whole Foods Delivery Time Slot .
When I finally won , you were the person who appeared at my door between 5 P.M. and 7 P.M.––just like you said !
Let ’ s do it again ?
My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I was the lady staring blankly out the window and weeping softly into the sleeve of her hoodie .
You were the muscular young man on the roof next door doing maintenance work .
Not only was I mesmerized by your tenacity , I was also inspired by how vertical you were .
I am easy to maintain !
Please get in touch .
I was the distressed , un-showered blonde in glasses outside my building during a false fire alarm .
You were the three heroic men carrying large tools and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was horizontal on my couch watching literally anything on TV to take a break from staring at my phone .
You were the DILF in the prescription-drug commercial .
Side effects may include : me falling in love with your unmistakable zest for life .
Please have your agent call my agent .
( My agent is me . )
I was the one loitering in the kitchen , wondering what to eat for my fifth meal of the day .
You were the hot , confident cap ’ n on my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ king on my cookie packaging .
And the sturdy chef on my canned pasta .
And the mustachioed mystery man on my cylinder of chips .
I am open to polyamory if you are .
I was very close to making out with my houseplant ( just to remember how to kiss ) , when I heard you yell out the window , “ I ’ m so fucking bored !
” Same , my dude .
Knock three times on the wall if I should turn up my music loud enough for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I was the professional––the one you could tell was wearing an office-appropriate top and no bottoms––in the Zoom meeting .
You were my co-worker ’ s gorgeous , shirtless husband who repeatedly walked through the room behind her .
If you guys don ’ t make it through this quarantine together , please find me in your ex ’ s company directory !
I was sitting all alone in my studio , daydreaming about physical touch and watching people do their indoor workouts on Instagram , when my keys fell off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ghost in my apartment , and that is a silly way to get my attention .
Let me know if you ’ d like to take this a little more seriously .
I have all the time in the world to get to know you , boo .

TRAIL CUTIE
I was the woman taking a long walk with a look on her face that conveyed both joy (from being outside for the first time in a while) and discomfort (from having to put pants on).
You were literally any man I saw.
Please hit me up!
YOU DELIVERED
I spent all morning playing the popular game Whole Foods Delivery Time Slot.
When I finally won, you were the person who appeared at my door between 5 P.M. and 7 P.M.––just like you said!
Let’s do it again? My wine should be gone in three days.
HIGH MAINTENANCE
I was the lady staring blankly out the window and weeping softly into the sleeve of her hoodie.
You were the muscular young man on the roof next door doing maintenance work. Not only was I mesmerized by your tenacity, I was also inspired by how vertical you were.
I am easy to maintain! Please get in touch.
FALSE ALARM
I was the distressed, un-showered blonde in glasses outside my building during a false fire alarm.
You were the three heroic men carrying large tools and hoses.
Don’t worry—I have your number!
TOO FAMOUS FOR ME?
I was horizontal on my couch watching literally anything on TV to take a break from staring at my phone.
You were the DILF in the prescription-drug commercial.
Side effects may include: me falling in love with your unmistakable zest for life.
Please have your agent call my agent. (My agent is me.)
LOOKIN’ LIKE A SNACK
I was the one loitering in the kitchen, wondering what to eat for my fifth meal of the day.
You were the hot, confident cap’n on my cereal box. And the precious little king on my cookie packaging. And the sturdy chef on my canned pasta. And the mustachioed mystery man on my cylinder of chips.
I am open to polyamory if you are.
NEIGHBORS––OR MORE?
I was very close to making out with my houseplant (just to remember how to kiss), when I heard you yell out the window, “I’m so fucking bored!”
Same, my dude. Knock three times on the wall if I should turn up my music loud enough for us to learn this TikTok dance together.
BACKGROUND BABE
I was the professional––the one you could tell was wearing an office-appropriate top and no bottoms––in the Zoom meeting.
You were my co-worker’s gorgeous, shirtless husband who repeatedly walked through the room behind her.
If you guys don’t make it through this quarantine together, please find me in your ex’s company directory!
YOU GHOSTED ME
I was sitting all alone in my studio, daydreaming about physical touch and watching people do their indoor workouts on Instagram, when my keys fell off the kitchen counter.
You are clearly a ghost in my apartment, and that is a silly way to get my attention.
Let me know if you’d like to take this a little more seriously. I have all the time in the world to get to know you, boo.


newyorker--2020-04-28--Who is “Worthy”? Deaf-Blind People Fear That Doctors Won’t Save Them from the Coronavirus

Rebecca Alexander volunteered shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo appealed for mental-health professionals to help counsel first responders traumatized by the COVID-19 crisis .
A New York psychotherapist , she has taken calls from a young nurse who had trouble sleeping because she was haunted by the sounds of dying patients gasping for breath .
A doctor described getting instructed not to intubate anyone over eighty on the day his mother turned eighty-two .
A pediatric nurse who specialized in infant diseases recounted her lack of training after being abruptly transferred to caring for adults in acute respiratory failure .
Several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the limits of their bodies physically and emotionally .
“ Constantly being on the front lines is taking a toll on them , ” she told me .
What none of the people pouring out their problems to Alexander knew is that she is legally deaf and blind—and has her own deep fears about how the new coronavirus threatens the estimated 2.4 million Americans , and millions more across the globe , who , like her , rely on touch to communicate , navigate , and care for themselves .
“ When you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or both , you rely heavily on other senses , ” she said .
“ For us , that other sense is touch.
” But touch is now the most prevalent means of spreading COVID-19 .
People who are deaf communicate with sign language , which involves no physical contact with anyone else , but members of the deaf-blind community—the formal term for people with dual sensory impairment of hearing and sight—use pro-tactile sign language , or words pressed by touch into another ’ s hands .
It ’ s a form of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her tutor , Annie Sullivan .
During the pandemic , the new forms of protection—including social distancing , masks , and gloves—only complicate communication .
Many deaf-blind people can ’ t read Braille with gloves on because their hands are desensitized .
And many who have residual sight can ’ t lip-read through masks .
“ My worry is that the pandemic planning has completely missed this community , ” Roberta Cordano , the president of Gallaudet University , in Washington , D.C. , told me .
Gallaudet is the only university for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At least fifteen of its students are deaf-blind .
“ Unlike hurricanes or other natural disasters , COVID-19 has required physical distance between people .
But deaf-blind people rely on fixed physical proximity to communicate with the world around them , ” Cordano said .
“ To be frank , there is no mechanism on a national scale to support the deaf-blind in the current American health-care system.
” The deaf-blind community has been forgotten in the pandemic .
When I started reporting this piece , I had no sense of the scope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their fears .
More than three dozen deaf-blind people from as far away as Australia poured their hearts out in poignant e-mails and calls , some conducted through complex layers of sign interpreters and Braille .
People who are deaf-blind don ’ t want pity , they told me .
Many are exhausted , even in normal times , by simplistic depictions of their heroic survival in a hearing and sighted world .
Alexander , the deaf-blind psychotherapist counselling New York hospital workers , is an extreme athlete who has climbed Mt .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Alcatraz to shore .
She has written a best-selling book— “ Not Fade Away : A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found ” —that is being made into a movie produced by John Krasinski .
She navigates the world with a white cane and a mini goldendoodle named Monkey .
She could take calls from New York ’ s first responders because she has cochlear implants that provide minimal hearing ; without them , she hears nothing .
“ None of the people who speak to me know that , in everyday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last one to turn to for help , ” she told me .
But deaf-blind people do want a sense that they have a shot at survival .
Several worry that hospitals do not have the policies , bandwidth , or services to help them .
They fear becoming victims of Darwinian triage in an overwhelmed health-care system .
Haben Girma , an Eritrean-American lawyer , told me that she is terrified that “ hospitals facing scarce resources will decide not to save our lives .
There is an ableist assumption that causes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better to be dead than disabled.
” In 2012 , Girma was the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School .
In 2014 , she gave a TED Talk that has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times .
In 2016 , she made Forbes ’ s 30 Under 30 list .
She has been honored by two U.S. Presidents , as well as by a Canadian Prime Minister and a German Chancellor .
She has written a best-selling book and travelled the world to give lectures .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ go on book tour in Australia and New Zealand this month before the COVID-19 outbreak rampaged across the Earth .
During the pandemic , she said , hospitals may not allow interpreters who can use pro-tactile sign language to accompany deaf-blind patients—both for the interpreters ’ safety and because of limited protective gear .
“ If I was suffering from coronavirus I would not have the strength to advocate for myself , ” she said .
“ The doctor might look at my health record and say my life is not worth saving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Lisa Ferris , who is deaf-blind , runs an assisted-technology training company for the disabled with her husband , who is blind , in Portland , Oregon .
She described the status of the deaf-blind community in the pandemic as “ a tragedy waiting to happen .
I could communicate by having someone type on a keyboard and I could read it on a Braille display .
But will they allow me to keep my Braille display ?
Will they be willing to touch my keyboard ?
Will they have the patience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she wrote .
“ The notion that we , as disabled people , could be cast aside in a triage situation is very demoralizing .
I do not think my life is worth more than others , but I certainly don ’ t think it is worth any less.
” There is no central database on how many deaf-blind people have been ill with or tested for COVID-19 .
But the issue of human worth has been a hurtful undercurrent throughout the pandemic , particularly for the elderly , the homeless , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For deaf-blind people , an existential issue is just knowing what is going on around them .
“ We are worried that we would be placed in isolation without access to communication and that we won ’ t be able to communicate , ” Rossana Reis , who is forty-seven and lives in Washington , D.C. , told me .
A former counsellor and advocate , Reis uses pro-tactile sign language and a cane .
“ I worry that , if we ever become sick , our lives will be deemed less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are more ‘ abled ’ .
” Art Roehrig , a former president of the American Association of the Deaf-Blind , posted a video with instructions in sign language on YouTube about how a deaf-blind person should prepare for going to a hospital .
“ I am now holding a Ziploc bag with some items in it , ” he signed .
The bag has a paper that says , “ I am deaf-blind .
Please use your fingertip in printing capital letters on my palm.
” The Ziploc bag also had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One asks for a bathroom , the second for water , and the third provides the name and phone number of his emergency contact , who has the patient ’ s information , a personal doctor , insurance , and how to get health records .

Rebecca Alexander volunteered shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo appealed for mental-health professionals to help counsel first responders traumatized by the COVID-19 crisis. A New York psychotherapist, she has taken calls from a young nurse who had trouble sleeping because she was haunted by the sounds of dying patients gasping for breath. A doctor described getting instructed not to intubate anyone over eighty on the day his mother turned eighty-two. A pediatric nurse who specialized in infant diseases recounted her lack of training after being abruptly transferred to caring for adults in acute respiratory failure. Several confessed their own extreme distress at pushing the limits of their bodies physically and emotionally. “Constantly being on the front lines is taking a toll on them,” she told me.
What none of the people pouring out their problems to Alexander knew is that she is legally deaf and blind—and has her own deep fears about how the new coronavirus threatens the estimated 2.4 million Americans, and millions more across the globe, who, like her, rely on touch to communicate, navigate, and care for themselves. “When you don’t have vision or hearing or both, you rely heavily on other senses,” she said. “For us, that other sense is touch.” But touch is now the most prevalent means of spreading COVID-19.
People who are deaf communicate with sign language, which involves no physical contact with anyone else, but members of the deaf-blind community—the formal term for people with dual sensory impairment of hearing and sight—use tactile sign language, or words pressed by touch into another’s hands. It’s a form of communication made famous by Helen Keller and her tutor, Annie Sullivan. During the pandemic, the new forms of protection—including social distancing, masks, and gloves—only complicate communication. Many deaf-blind people can’t read Braille with gloves on because their hands are desensitized. And many who have residual sight can’t lip-read through masks. “My worry is that the pandemic planning has completely missed this community,” Roberta Cordano, the president of Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C., told me. Gallaudet is the only university for deaf people in the United States. At least fifteen of its students are deaf-blind. “Unlike hurricanes or other natural disasters, COVID-19 has required physical distance between people. But deaf-blind people rely on fixed physical proximity to communicate with the world around them,” Cordano said. “To be frank, there is no mechanism on a national scale to support the deaf-blind in the current American health-care system.”
The deaf-blind community has been forgotten in the pandemic. When I started reporting this piece, I had no sense of the scope of the issues or the depth of their fears. More than three dozen deaf-blind people from as far away as Australia poured their hearts out in poignant e-mails and calls, some conducted through complex layers of sign interpreters and Braille. People who are deaf-blind don’t want pity, they told me. Many are exhausted, even in normal times, by simplistic depictions of their heroic survival in a hearing and sighted world.
Alexander, the deaf-blind psychotherapist counselling New York hospital workers, is an extreme athlete who has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, gone skydiving, and swum from Alcatraz to shore. She has written a best-selling book—“Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found”—that is being made into a movie produced by John Krasinski. She navigates the world with a white cane and a mini goldendoodle named Monkey. She could take calls from New York’s first responders because she has cochlear implants that provide minimal hearing; without them, she hears nothing. “None of the people who speak to me know that, in everyday life, I’d be the last one to turn to for help,” she told me. But deaf-blind people do want a sense that they have a shot at survival.
Several worry that hospitals do not have the policies, bandwidth, or services to help them. They fear becoming victims of Darwinian triage in an overwhelmed health-care system. Haben Girma, an Eritrean-American lawyer, told me that she is terrified that “hospitals facing scarce resources will decide not to save our lives. There is an ableist assumption that causes some people to think it’s better to be dead than disabled.”
In 2013, Girma was the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. In 2014, she gave a TED Talk that has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. In 2016, she made Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list. She has been honored by two U.S. Presidents, as well as by a Canadian Prime Minister and a German Chancellor. She has written a best-selling book and travelled the world to give lectures. Now thirty-one, she was scheduled to go on book tour in Australia and New Zealand this month before the COVID-19 outbreak rampaged across the Earth. During the pandemic, she said, hospitals may not allow interpreters who can use tactile sign language to accompany deaf-blind patients—both for the interpreters’ safety and because of limited protective gear. “If I was suffering from coronavirus I would not have the strength to advocate for myself,” she said. “The doctor might look at my health record and say my life is not worth saving. So many doctors undervalue our lives.”
Lisa Ferris, who is deaf-blind, runs an assisted-technology training company for the disabled with her husband, who is blind, in Portland, Oregon. She described the status of the deaf-blind community in the pandemic as “a tragedy waiting to happen. I could communicate by having someone type on a keyboard and I could read it on a Braille display. But will they allow me to keep my Braille display? Will they be willing to touch my keyboard? Will they have the patience to work something out with me?” she wrote. “The notion that we, as disabled people, could be cast aside in a triage situation is very demoralizing. I do not think my life is worth more than others, but I certainly don’t think it is worth any less.”
Art Roehrig, a former president of the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, works on an art piece. Photograph by Dawn Watts
There is no central database on how many deaf-blind people have been ill with or tested for COVID-19. But the issue of human worth has been a hurtful undercurrent throughout the pandemic, particularly for the elderly, the homeless, and people with disabilities and preëxisting conditions. For deaf-blind people, an existential issue is just knowing what is going on around them. “We are worried that we would be placed in isolation without access to communication and that we won’t be able to communicate,” Rossana Reis, who is forty-seven and lives in Washington, D.C., told me. A former counsellor and advocate, Reis uses pro-tactile sign language and a cane. “I worry that, if we ever become sick, our lives will be deemed less worthy of saving than the ones who are more ‘abled’.” Art Roehrig, a former president of the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, posted a video with instructions in sign language on YouTube about how a deaf-blind person should prepare for going to a hospital. “I am now holding a Ziploc bag with some items in it,” he signed. The bag has a paper that says, “I am deaf-blind. Please use your fingertip in printing capital letters on my palm.” The Ziploc bag also had a list of medications and three index cards. One asks for a bathroom, the second for water, and the third provides the name and phone number of his emergency contact, who has the patient’s information, a personal doctor, insurance, and how to get health records.
Deaf-blind people are diverse in their sensory loss and communication skills. “You’ll never find two who are alike,” Pattie McGowan, the president of the National Family Association for Deaf-Blind and the mother of a deaf-blind student, told me. Some are like Helen Keller, who lost all hearing and sight after an illness in infancy. Keller’s autobiography, “The Story of My Life,” published in 1903, was dedicated to Alexander Graham Bell, the American inventor. Bell connected Keller with Annie Sullivan, who taught her a form of communication by touch developed by Louis Braille. In 1918, Braille was adopted as the official language of blind people largely because of Keller’s advocacy.
Some people who are deaf-blind have genetic or degenerative disorders, such as the three types of Usher syndrome that destroy sight and hearing, either from birth or over time. Alexander, the psychotherapist, has Usher syndrome. She currently has little sight and will eventually lose all of it. Girma, the lawyer, has only one per cent of her sight; her older brother Mussie is also deaf-blind. Others are legally deaf-blind because of severe but not total limitations; they may have a bit of hearing with the help of cochlear implants, but still need a guide dog or a cane to navigate and use sign language (by hand gestures) or tactile sign language (by touch) to communicate. Some are well educated and are highly proficient in communication; others have had few educational opportunities and are not. Some are oral; others are not.


newyorker--2020-04-28--“A Way with Words” Is “Car Talk” for Lexiphiles

One good thing about being stuck at home during the pandemic is that a person can finally get into the habit of listening to “ A Way with Words , ” a radio show that airs on Friday afternoons on New York ’ s WNYE ( 91.5 FM ; check local listings ) .
The hosts , Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett , are the Click and Clack of word talk .
Barnette is a writer who has studied Latin and Greek ( her books include “ A Garden of Words ” ) , and Barrett is a linguist and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They make a perfect duo .
The show is modelled after “ Car Talk , ” though it is broadcast from San Diego , not Cambridge : the hosts laugh a lot , and when people call in they answer by saying , “ You have a way with words , ” which is always nice to hear .
Recently , Lisa of “ bucolic Wellsboro , Pennsylvania , ” called in to share her love of animal adjectives ( also known as collateral adjectives ) like canine and feline , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asinine , equine , ursine , and lupine but also pavonine ( like a peacock ) , anserine ( goosey , silly ) , and hippotigrine .
Wrap your etymological chops around that one : if hippos is Greek for “ horse ” ( hippopotamus is “ horse of the river ” ) , and tigrine refers to the tiger , which is striped , then hippotigrine must mean .
.
.
of or related to the zebra !
Barnette and Barrett have excellent timing , leaving a beat for listeners to figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of them adds something that you would not have guessed ; for instance , the collateral adjective for pig is formed by adding the suffix -ine to “ su ” ( the Latin sus is the genus name for pigs , hogs , sows , and peccaries ) and contracting it : su-ine , swine .
Also the “ su ” in “ swine ” is related to the hog call “ sooey.
” There are animal adjectives that do not end in -ine .
Vespertilian refers to bats , which come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ star ( Vesperus ) appears and when monks say their evening prayers ( vespers ) .
Struthonian has to do not with the Elizabethan-era oath “ struth ” but with ostriches : it ’ s from the Greek for sparrow—strouthos o megalos , the big sparrow—and it ought to be trending on Twitter .
We need an epithet for someone who sticks his head in the sand .
Barnette and Barrett have been doing the show as an independent nonprofit since 2007 , when KPBS , in San Diego , stopped paying for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , twenty-eight to thirty shows a year with nine-to-ten call-ins per show , plus the connective tissue , ” Barnette said recently on the phone .
The animal-adjective episode , broadcast on April 21st , is archived on the show ’ s Web site at No .
1547 .
On the same show , the hosts addressed the variant spellings of the name for the white rat-tailed North American marsupial ( “ opossum ” or “ possum ” ? )
, the pronunciation of “ tinnitus ” ( accent on the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the derivation of the term “ cabin fever ” as well as similar terms— “ stir-crazy , ” “ hillnutty , ” and “ shackwacky ” —that are relevant to being stuck at home for the duration .
Their archive is a virtual treasure house of words .
The hosts of “ A Way with Words ” travel occasionally to do live or salon-style shows for fund-raising .
Last year , they appeared at the Bell House , in Brooklyn .
They always let the audience know right away that they are antipeevers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program for pet peeves , ” Barnette said .
They prefer to celebrate language .
Barrett quotes Urban Dictionary and dictionary.com .
In Brooklyn , he threw out words like “ morosexual ” ( that ’ s when you have a thing for someone who is not that bright ) and “ fat-finger ” as a verb , meaning to hit two keys at once ( “ I fat-fingered my PIN ” ) .
Both enjoy etymology , but Martha especially is in love with the so-called dead languages .
For years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louisville .
Usually , the stars face each other in “ a tiny little box ” at Studio West , about a twenty-minute drive from San Diego , but this week , for the first time , they appeared on a Zoom show ( “ That Word Chat , ” with the editor Mark Allen , Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. Eastern ) and will start doing their own show remotely .
Barrett has a home studio , and Barnette has been “ tricking out ” her closet .
She explained the logistics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s a call-out show , ” she said .
Every week , their producer , Stefanie Levine , listens to a hundred voice-mail messages and reads a hundred e-mails , “ talent-screening ” for a “ third star.
” “ If you ’ re a monotone or meandering , you ’ re not going to get a callback , ” Barnette said .
Levine calls the brightest , most diverse group of callers and asks them to stay by their phones for fifteen minutes on a given day , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up “ like planes circling O ’ Hare.
” Scouting for words to talk about is a constant effort , but it comes naturally .
During the pandemic , Barnette has been “ thinking about this all the time , reading the news , words bouncing in my brain.
” She recently did some research into the word “ fomite , ” which she defines as “ something that might carry the virus , like a doorknob or a handrail.
” She continues , “ It goes back to the Latin fovere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ It ’ s from the Latin fomes , for tinder .
So these surfaces provide the tinder for the virus.
” What exactly makes this kind of connection so exciting ?
“ It ’ s a message that somebody has been here before , ” Barnette says .
“ Somebody has encountered this before .
We ’ re not alone .
”

One good thing about being stuck at home during the pandemic is that a person can finally get into the habit of listening to “A Way with Words,” a radio show that airs on Friday afternoons on New York’s WNYE (91.5 FM; check local listings). The hosts, Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, are the Click and Clack of word talk. Barnette is a writer who has studied Latin and Greek (her books include “A Garden of Words”), and Barrett is a linguist and lexicographer with an ear for contemporary slang. They make a perfect duo. The show is modelled after “Car Talk,” though it is broadcast from San Diego, not Cambridge: the hosts laugh a lot, and when people call in they answer by saying, “You have a way with words,” which is always nice to hear.
Recently, Lisa of “bucolic Wellsboro, Pennsylvania,” called in to share her love of animal adjectives (also known as collateral adjectives) like canine and feline, a category that includes not only bovine, asinine, equine, ursine, and lupine but also pavonine (like a peacock), anserine (goosey, silly), and hippotigrine. Wrap your etymological chops around that one: if hippos is Greek for “horse” (hippopotamus is “horse of the river”), and tigrine refers to the tiger, which is striped, then hippotigrine must mean . . . of or related to the zebra! Barnette and Barrett have excellent timing, leaving a beat for listeners to figure out the answer for themselves. Then one of them adds something that you would not have guessed; for instance, the collateral adjective for pig is formed by adding the suffix -ine to “su” (the Latin sus is the genus name for pigs, hogs, sows, and peccaries) and contracting it: su-ine, swine. Also the “su” in “swine” is related to the hog call “sooey.”
There are animal adjectives that do not end in -ine. Vespertilian refers to bats, which come out at dusk, when the evening star (Vesperus) appears and when monks say their evening prayers (vespers). Struthonian has to do not with the Elizabethan-era oath “struth” but with ostriches: it’s from the Greek for sparrow—strouthos o megalos, the big sparrow—and it ought to be trending on Twitter. We need an epithet for someone who sticks his head in the sand.
Barnette and Barrett have been doing the show as an independent nonprofit since 2007, when KPBS, in San Diego, stopped paying for it. “That’s sixteen years, twenty-eight to thirty shows a year with nine-to-ten call-ins per show, plus the connective tissue,” Barnette said recently on the phone. The animal-adjective episode, broadcast on April 21st, is archived on the show’s Web site at No. 1547. On the same show, the hosts addressed the variant spellings of the name for the white rat-tailed North American marsupial (“opossum” or “possum”?), the pronunciation of “tinnitus” (accent on the first or second syllable?), and the derivation of the term “cabin fever” as well as similar terms—“stir-crazy,” “hillnutty,” and “shackwacky”—that are relevant to being stuck at home for the duration. Their archive is a virtual treasure house of words.
The hosts of “A Way with Words” travel occasionally to do live or salon-style shows for fund-raising. Last year, they appeared at the Bell House, in Brooklyn. They always let the audience know right away that they are antipeevers. “We consider ourselves the spay-and-neuter program for pet peeves,” Barnette said. They prefer to celebrate language. Barrett quotes Urban Dictionary and dictionary.com. In Brooklyn, he threw out words like “morosexual” (that’s when you have a thing for someone who is not that bright) and “fat-finger” as a verb, meaning to hit two keys at once (“I fat-fingered my PIN”). Both enjoy etymology, but Martha especially is in love with the so-called dead languages. For years, she read Greek with a Latvian in Louisville.
Usually, the stars face each other in “a tiny little box” at Studio West, about a twenty-minute drive from San Diego, but this week, for the first time, they appeared on a Zoom show (“That Word Chat,” with the editor Mark Allen, Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. Eastern) and will start doing their own show remotely. Barrett has a home studio, and Barnette has been “tricking out” her closet. She explained the logistics of a call-in show. “Actually, it’s a call-out show,” she said. Every week, their producer, Stefanie Levine, listens to a hundred voice-mail messages and reads a hundred e-mails, “talent-screening” for a “third star.” “If you’re a monotone or meandering, you’re not going to get a callback,” Barnette said. Levine calls the brightest, most diverse group of callers and asks them to stay by their phones for fifteen minutes on a given day, and during the show the callers are lined up “like planes circling O’Hare.”
Scouting for words to talk about is a constant effort, but it comes naturally. During the pandemic, Barnette has been “thinking about this all the time, reading the news, words bouncing in my brain.” She recently did some research into the word “fomite,” which she defines as “something that might carry the virus, like a doorknob or a handrail.” She continues, “It goes back to the Latin fovere, to heat. So does ‘foment.’ It’s from the Latin fomes, for tinder. So these surfaces provide the tinder for the virus.” What exactly makes this kind of connection so exciting? “It’s a message that somebody has been here before,” Barnette says. “Somebody has encountered this before. We’re not alone.”


newyorker--2020-04-28--Remote, Forbidding, and Infected: The Coronavirus Is Spreading in the Russian Arctic

Talk of a coronavirus quarantine in Belokamenka , a Russian village on a remote bay in the Barents Sea , began to leak out in early April .
Since 2017 , tens of thousands of construction workers from across the country—and also from China , Turkey , and Central Asia—have been travelling in and out of the village to build a supply facility for a twenty-one-billion-dollar liquid-natural-gas project run by Novatek , one of Russia ’ s largest privately held energy companies .
Early this month , several workers posted on social media about how , after arriving in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarantine , presumably so that the infected among them would not inadvertently spread the virus at the sprawling construction site .
For many , the quarantine only lasted four or five days , instead of two weeks , as is recommended by most health officials—and those newly arrived workers lived in tightly packed dormitories and ate together in a crowded dining hall .
Videos posted on social media showed lines of hundreds of people waiting to pass through checkpoints or be tested for the virus .
Within several days , dozens of workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
By mid-April , that number grew to more than two hundred ; the local administration declared a state of emergency , and medics from the federal emergencies ministry arrived to build a field hospital in a snow-covered spot near the construction site .
The Russian President , Vladimir Putin , who has taken a conspicuously hands-off approach to the country ’ s coronavirus response , letting ministers and regional leaders take responsibility—or rather , blame—for it , criticized the situation .
“ The word ‘ sloppiness ’ was used , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ independent paper , which reported on Putin ’ s remarks about the response during a meeting with regional officials .
The main construction firm operating at Belokamenka said in a press release that it “ continues to carry out comprehensive anti-epidemic and preventive measures.
” When I reached several workers at the Belokamenka site , they said that even as infections spread not much changed .
Those who tested positive were isolated in separate dormitories , but , for those who remained on the “ green , ” or would-be “ healthy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rhythm of work and life continued as before .
Laborers were driven to their work sites on crowded minibuses , stood in long lines for up to an hour at the canteen , and returned home to dorm rooms that house six people each .
Medical personnel supposedly took workers ’ temperatures regularly , but , as one laborer told me , if you worked the night shift you were not likely to be checked at all .
No masks , gloves , or antiseptics were provided , and the bosses didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of information .
“ Everything is being kept closed and secret , ” one man told me .
“ So there ’ s no panic , I guess.
” One thing was obvious , though .
“ The more of us there are crammed together , the more infections there will be , ” he said .
As of Monday , there were eight hundred and sixty-seven officially registered cases of COVID-19 in Belokamenka—more than in most entire Russian regions .
The BBC Russian Service declared the village “ the largest recorded outbreak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March , as the coronavirus was beginning to tear through Europe and the United States , Russia reported a curiously low rate of infection .
I wrote an article on March 25th , when Russia had fewer than five hundred confirmed cases , asking whether , thanks to a mixture of luck and some early measures , Russia would be spared the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic .
A month later , the answer seems to be no .
Russia now has more than ninety thousand reported cases of the virus , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upward ; the pace of new infections is the second highest in the world , behind only the United States .
( Russia ’ s growth rate has slowed some in recent days , settling at seven per cent per day . )
Just more than half of those cases are in Moscow , a logical epicenter , given its extensive global connections and urban density .
In the provinces , infection clusters have broken out in hospitals , nursing homes , and church congregations—a tragically similar pattern to those found throughout Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Russia has been its spread in remote settlements above the Arctic Circle , in places such as Belokamenka—forbidding outposts that exist to service the country ’ s lucrative oil-and-gas industry .
Otherwise cut off from the rest of the world by geography and climate , they are connected to the rest of Russia and beyond through their ever-rotating workforces—which , in the time of a global pandemic , serve as a dangerously efficient vector for spreading the virus .
In recent weeks , a number of far-flung oil and gas fields across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five times the size of France—have been hit by their own localized COVID-19 outbreaks .
Dozens of people have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Chayanda natural-gas field in Yakutia , which provides most of the gas for the Power of Siberia pipeline , the cornerstone of a four-hundred-billion-dollar energy deal that Russia signed with China , in 2014 .
On Monday evening , hundreds of workers gathered in an angry protest against conditions at the site ; a video of the demonstration appeared online .
In it , one worker yells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are we , pigs ?
” Another says , “ Where is the quarantine ?
Where are the masks ?
There is nothing !
They ’ ve crammed us all into dormitories , where we ’ re infected with who knows what.
” The governor of Yakutia announced that all ten thousand workers at the Chayanda field have since been tested , and , although the results are not ready yet , “ the number of sick people there is significant.
” Another hot spot is Sabetta , a port on the Kara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hub for liquified natural gas ( L.N.G . )
from the Yamal Peninsula , a four-hundred-mile stretch of permafrost jutting into the Arctic Ocean .
In 2017 , Putin himself launched the Yamal L.N.G .
project , with great fanfare .
Last year , it exported eighteen and a half million tons of L.N.G .
on ice-breaking tankers .
In late March , given the growing threat of the coronavirus , the regional governor , Dmitry Artyukhov , said that energy companies in the territory should keep their current work brigades in place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the summer .
But many firms ignored him .
“ No one took him seriously , ” Stanislav Gurbin , the editor of YamalPro , an independent news portal covering the region , told me .
“ In Yamal , everyone knows the governor is put in his job so as to do everything to facilitate the activities of oil and gas companies , and certainly not to get in their way.
” Moreover , Gurbin added , a massive project like Yamal L.N.G .
is carried out by dozens of contractors and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gazprom and Novatek , can afford to cease operations for a while , but , for the smaller players , the cost of a cancelled helicopter or plane charter , booked months in advance , could be ruinous .
In late March , a new contingent of workers—several hundred people—passed through the Sabetta airport .
Chaos ensued : some newly arriving crews were put under mandatory quarantine before being let into the general population ; others were sent to work right away .
“ It all started from there , ” one worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me .
Two weeks later , in mid-April , a handful of people reported fevers and other common COVID-19 symptoms .
As at Belokamenka , the Yamal bosses said little , even as the first suspected coronavirus patients went to hospitals in nearby cities .
As of Tuesday , more than a hundred and thirty workers from the site have tested positive for COVID-19 .
The regional governor has taken to announcing new infections in broad geographic terms , rather than linking them to particular oil and gas fields .
“ Why ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ What are they afraid of ?
” He went on to answer his own question : “ Our bureaucrats have the habit of keeping bad news quiet , not calling things by their names .
”

Talk of a coronavirus quarantine in Belokamenka, a Russian village on a remote bay in the Barents Sea, began to leak out in early April. Since 2017, tens of thousands of construction workers from across the country—and also from China, Turkey, and Central Asia—have been travelling in and out of the village to build a supply facility for a twenty-one-billion-dollar liquid-natural-gas project run by Novatek, one of Russia’s largest privately held energy companies.
Early this month, several workers posted on social media about how, after arriving in the village, they were placed in mandatory quarantine, presumably so that the infected among them would not inadvertently spread the virus at the sprawling construction site. For many, the quarantine only lasted four or five days, instead of two weeks, as is recommended by most health officials—and those newly arrived workers lived in tightly packed dormitories and ate together in a crowded dining hall. Videos posted on social media showed lines of hundreds of people waiting to pass through checkpoints or be tested for the virus.
Within several days, dozens of workers at the Belokamenka site tested positive for COVID-19. By mid-April, that number grew to more than two hundred; the local administration declared a state of emergency, and medics from the federal emergencies ministry arrived to build a field hospital in a snow-covered spot near the construction site. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who has taken a conspicuously hands-off approach to the country’s coronavirus response, letting ministers and regional leaders take responsibility—or rather, blame—for it, criticized the situation. “The word ‘sloppiness’ was used,” according to Novaya Gazeta, a respected independent paper, which reported on Putin’s remarks about the response during a meeting with regional officials.
The main construction firm operating at Belokamenka said in a press release that it “continues to carry out comprehensive anti-epidemic and preventive measures.” When I reached several workers at the Belokamenka site, they said that even as infections spread not much changed. Those who tested positive were isolated in separate dormitories, but, for those who remained on the “green,” or would-be “healthy,” side of the six-hundred-acre site, the rhythm of work and life continued as before. Laborers were driven to their work sites on crowded minibuses, stood in long lines for up to an hour at the canteen, and returned home to dorm rooms that house six people each. Medical personnel supposedly took workers’ temperatures regularly, but, as one laborer told me, if you worked the night shift you were not likely to be checked at all. No masks, gloves, or antiseptics were provided, and the bosses didn’t offer much in the way of information.
“Everything is being kept closed and secret,” one man told me. “So there’s no panic, I guess.” One thing was obvious, though. “The more of us there are crammed together, the more infections there will be,” he said. As of Monday, there were eight hundred and sixty-seven officially registered cases of COVID-19 in Belokamenka—more than in most entire Russian regions. The BBC Russian Service declared the village “the largest recorded outbreak in Russia.”
In mid- and late March, as the coronavirus was beginning to tear through Europe and the United States, Russia reported a curiously low rate of infection. I wrote an article on March 25th, when Russia had fewer than five hundred confirmed cases, asking whether, thanks to a mixture of luck and some early measures, Russia would be spared the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A month later, the answer seems to be no.
Russia now has more than ninety thousand reported cases of the virus, with a curve that is still growing steadily upward; the pace of new infections is the second highest in the world, behind only the United States. (Russia’s growth rate has slowed some in recent days, settling at seven per cent per day.) Just more than half of those cases are in Moscow, a logical epicenter, given its extensive global connections and urban density. In the provinces, infection clusters have broken out in hospitals, nursing homes, and church congregations—a tragically similar pattern to those found throughout Europe. But one particularity of the virus in Russia has been its spread in remote settlements above the Arctic Circle, in places such as Belokamenka—forbidding outposts that exist to service the country’s lucrative oil-and-gas industry. Otherwise cut off from the rest of the world by geography and climate, they are connected to the rest of Russia and beyond through their ever-rotating workforces—which, in the time of a global pandemic, serve as a dangerously efficient vector for spreading the virus.
In recent weeks, a number of far-flung oil and gas fields across Siberia and Yakutia—a Russian republic that is five times the size of France—have been hit by their own localized COVID-19 outbreaks. Dozens of people have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Chayanda natural-gas field in Yakutia, which provides most of the gas for the Power of Siberia pipeline, the cornerstone of a four-hundred-billion-dollar energy deal that Russia signed with China, in 2014. On Monday evening, hundreds of workers gathered in an angry protest against conditions at the site; a video of the demonstration appeared online. In it, one worker yells, from the crowd, “What are we, pigs?” Another says, “Where is the quarantine? Where are the masks? There is nothing! They’ve crammed us all into dormitories, where we’re infected with who knows what.” The governor of Yakutia announced that all ten thousand workers at the Chayanda field have since been tested, and, although the results are not ready yet, “the number of sick people there is significant.”
As of Tuesday, more than a hundred and thirty workers from the Yamal liquified natural gas project have tested positive for COVID-19. Photograph by Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty
Another hot spot is Sabetta, a port on the Kara Sea, which serves as a transport hub for liquified natural gas (L.N.G.) from the Yamal Peninsula, a four-hundred-mile stretch of permafrost jutting into the Arctic Ocean. In 2017, Putin himself launched the Yamal L.N.G. project, with great fanfare. Last year, it exported eighteen and a half million tons of L.N.G. on ice-breaking tankers.
In late March, given the growing threat of the coronavirus, the regional governor, Dmitry Artyukhov, said that energy companies in the territory should keep their current work brigades in place and not introduce any new rotations until the summer. But many firms ignored him. “No one took him seriously,” Stanislav Gurbin, the editor of YamalPro, an independent news portal covering the region, told me. “In Yamal, everyone knows the governor is put in his job so as to do everything to facilitate the activities of oil and gas companies, and certainly not to get in their way.” Moreover, Gurbin added, a massive project like Yamal L.N.G. is carried out by dozens of contractors and subcontractors. The largest firms, like Gazprom and Novatek, can afford to cease operations for a while, but, for the smaller players, the cost of a cancelled helicopter or plane charter, booked months in advance, could be ruinous.
In late March, a new contingent of workers—several hundred people—passed through the Sabetta airport. Chaos ensued: some newly arriving crews were put under mandatory quarantine before being let into the general population; others were sent to work right away. “It all started from there,” one worker at the Yamal L.N.G. site told me. Two weeks later, in mid-April, a handful of people reported fevers and other common COVID-19 symptoms. As at Belokamenka, the Yamal bosses said little, even as the first suspected coronavirus patients went to hospitals in nearby cities. As of Tuesday, more than a hundred and thirty workers from the site have tested positive for COVID-19. The regional governor has taken to announcing new infections in broad geographic terms, rather than linking them to particular oil and gas fields. “Why?” Gurbin, the editor, asked. “What are they afraid of?” He went on to answer his own question: “Our bureaucrats have the habit of keeping bad news quiet, not calling things by their names.”
Throughout April, few COVID-19 tests have been available at the work site. The employee who spoke to me said that medical staff only checked people’s temperatures if they complained to them directly about feeling unwell. Hand sanitizer was only available in the restrooms. “In general, there were essentially no good and competent measures” to slow the spread of the virus, the worker said. A number of employees called the regional coronavirus hotline, set up by the governor’s office, to complain about the conditions, but they didn’t hear anything back. “The attitude was beastly,” the worker told me.
Some workers with COVID-19 were brought to hospitals in Novy Urengoy and Salekhard, the closest regional centers. (On Monday, the regional governor addressed the spike in cases at the Yamal L.N.G. site. “The situation there is generally stable. We don’t see a surge in serious patients,” he said.) Many laborers who were presumed healthy were evacuated entirely and are under a fourteen-day quarantine elsewhere in Russia. Nonetheless, there is reason to worry about the coronavirus spreading in the opposite direction: at first, the virus came to the Arctic from the “mainland,” as the rest of Russia is known among locals and workers in the far north, and now it risks reëntering the general population through the country’s Arctic hot spots. In late April, nearly two dozen workers from the Yamal L.N.G. site who returned home to Buryatia, a Russian republic near the border with China, tested positive for the virus. At Belokamenka, an evacuation flight last week—to take ostensibly uninfected workers to Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains, nearly two thousand miles away—was cancelled at the last minute, after a number of would-be passengers tested positive.
At the Belokamenka construction site, as the weeks passed in April, the number of dormitory buildings repurposed to house those with COVID-19 grew from one to five, out of eighteen total, according to a worker who came down with the virus earlier this month. He suspected that he became infected on his work site and then spread the virus to the five other men who shared his dorm room. “It’s unavoidable,” he told me. “We work together, live together, eat in the same cafeteria. One person gets sick and then everyone else down the line will, too.” The situation has developed chaotically, with workers at the site often knowing little. “People are bewildered,” one told me.
It’s unclear, for example, whether the field hospital shown on state television with great fanfare is actually treating patients. Of the dozen or so workers at the site whom I spoke to, not one knew of anyone being taken there, or even exactly where it was located. “I imagine this hospital was a way for the regional administration to create a pretty picture for the federal authorities, to show Putin that they’re busy doing something,” Violetta Grudina, the head of the Murmansk office of Alexei Navalny, the country’s leading opposition politician, said.
As the coronavirus has spread in the far north, both the companies managing the oil and gas sites and the regional administrations have been forced to go through the motions of a more coherent response. At the Yamal L.N.G. facility, the relative of a sick worker told me that his bosses finally told him that COVID-19 testing would be available in the coming days, and that the local hospital was receiving new equipment, including ventilators. On Monday, nearly two thousand workers were tested. “At least something has started to happen,” the relative said. “Before that, they were just lying there abandoned.”
In recent days in Belokamenka, after sustained press attention and a growing number of social-media posts from workers, a commission from Rospotrebnadzor, a federal watchdog, inspected the site; soon after, one worker told me, employees were given masks and gloves. (But, as another worker said, those measures were merely “window dressing—after two days, no one is being giving anything.”) I heard conflicting reports about testing: some said nearly everyone had been tested, but others told me that those waiting to be tested and presumed healthy were living in dormitories with others who had begun to show COVID-19 symptoms. One told me that the border between the “red” and “green” zones—delineating where those with COVID-19 are housed—had ceased to function some days ago, and “exists on paper only.” Now, the worker said, “everyone is all mixed up together.”


newyorker--2020-04-28--The Man with the U.S. Economy (and Trump’s Reëlection Chances) in His Hands

In November , 2017 , ten months into his Presidency , Donald Trump picked Jerome Powell , a low-key banker in his sixties , who looks like central casting ’ s idea of a Wall Street financier , to succeed Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve .
Subsequently , Trump spent more than two years criticizing his own appointee , who is a Republican , for raising interest rates and , then , not cutting them rapidly enough .
Last August , Trump referred to Powell as an “ enemy.
” As recently as the middle of March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unhappy with Powell and asserted that he had the power to “ put someone else in charge.
” Things have changed .
In the second half of March and into April , as the coronavirus shutdowns threatened to devastate the economy , Powell and his colleagues cut short-term interest rates to zero and rolled out a series of emergency lending programs designed to stabilize the financial system and keep credit flowing to many different parts of the economy .
Among the areas that the Federal Reserve , or Fed , has targeted during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Treasury bonds , mortgage securities , corporate bonds , money-market funds , and securities backed by auto loans , credit-card debt , and student loans .
The scale and reach of these actions have been unparalleled , and the Fed isn ’ t done yet .
It is now finalizing two more big lending programs , both of which are expected to go into operation soon .
One is aimed at states and cities that have seen their finances hit by the crisis .
The other is intended to assist medium-sized corporations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bailouts for small and large businesses that Congress included in the $ 2.2 trillion CARES Act .
As job losses have continued to reach ever more alarming levels , Wall Street has cheered the Fed ’ s hyperactivity .
Since March 23rd , the U.S. stock market has risen by almost thirty per cent , gaining back more than half of its previous losses , and bond markets , which had been gyrating wildly before the Fed stepped in , have stabilized .
Trump has noticed , too .
In the last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Powell was doing a “ good job ” and had “ really stepped up.
” Since then , the President has omitted the Fed chair from his regular Twitter tirades against those who have displeased him , a list which in recent days has included even Fox News and the staunchly conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal .
Higher stock prices won ’ t offer much consolation to the tens of millions of people who have been laid off or furloughed .
But they suggest that the Fed accomplished its first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cataclysm .
During the Great Depression of the early nineteen-thirties , and again during the Great Recession , in 2008 and 2009 , initial shocks to the economy—a stock-market crash in 1929 and a housing-market crash in 2007 and 2008—led to the failure of major financial institutions , which caused further panic .
Credit seized up , leading to an even deeper economic slump .
So far , at least , that pattern hasn ’ t been repeated .
“ It ’ s harder to see the impact of the Fed ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tim Duy , an economist at the University of Oregon who writes an influential blog about the Fed , told me .
“ By holding together the financial markets , it is preventing an even worse outcome .
What it is doing is minimizing the risk that you get from a big financial shock that feeds back into the economy and creates a second round of problems.
” The Fed has used some of the same tactics that it used during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 , such as buying large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has gone further this time , doing “ more than retooling the toolbox , ” Donald Kohn , a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as vice-chair of the Fed from 2006 to 2010 , told me on Monday .
“ They ’ ve taken the tools that we developed , but they ’ ve also moved on and created different types of interventions.
” One innovation that Kohn cited was the new lending scheme for small and medium-sized businesses , which is called the Main Street Lending Program .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represent a novel three-sided partnership .
Calling on its electronic printing press , the Fed will provide most of the money for the program , but commercial banks , such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo , will distribute and underwrite the loans .
The Treasury Department will cover any credit losses that are incurred , using funds set aside specifically for this purpose by the CARES Act .
The ultimate goal of the Fed ’ s new programs is to provide “ a bridge to the recovery , ” Kohn said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was Ben Bernanke ’ s deputy , the Fed was “ wrestling with a financial system that took too many risks , ” he recalled .
Today , banks and other financial institutions are pretty healthy , Kohn noted .
The challenge instead is to keep other types of businesses going and keep households solvent , so that normal economic activities can resume when the shutdowns eventually end .
“ That involves both the credit system and the fiscal system , ” Kohn said .
The amount of money that the federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vast .
In four separate bills , Congress has committed more than $ 2.8 trillion in new spending to address the crisis .
The Fed , for its part , has created more than $ 2.3 billion in electronic credits , and has used the money to purchase various types of securities , which now sit on its balance sheet .
Although many economists and investors have praised Powell and his colleagues for the breadth and rapidity of their actions , the Fed ’ s move into new areas , and the sheer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ created some discord .
In normal times , the main role of the Fed is to attempt to manage a balance of high employment and low inflation , using adjustments in the federal-funds lending rate as its main tool .
Since its founding , in 1913 , the Fed has also played a key role as the lender of last resort to banks , especially during financial crises .
But , since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic , the Fed “ has effectively shifted from lender of last resort for banks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the broader economy , ” Michael Feroli , the chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase , noted in a research brief .
This new role potentially puts the Fed in the awkward position of deciding which entities get access to direly needed credit , and which don ’ t .
Earlier this month , when the Fed announced its Municipal Liquidity Facility , which will involve the creation of a new entity to purchase state and local bonds , cities with a population of less than a million complained that they were excluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Fed announced that cities with five hundred thousand or more residents will be able to participate . )
When the central bank launched its Main Street Lending Program , which will provide four-year loans to businesses with fewer than ten thousand employees , colleges and other nonprofit organizations cried foul and asked to be included .
Late last week , Yahoo Finance reported that the Fed was considering the universities ’ request , but it ’ s not clear where it should draw the line .
“ The Fed is designed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Duy said .
“ It ’ s not designed to intermediate loans .
That ’ s the direction they are being pushed in.
” Kohn acknowledged the tensions but said that Powell is doing a good job of managing them .
Back in 2007 and 2008 , when the Fed invoked its emergency lending powers to issue loans to Bear Stearns and AIG , it was accused of bailing out the very financial institutions whose reckless lending had brought on the crisis , Kohn noted .
This time the virus is responsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisted that Congress appropriate money to back up the new programs , which means that taxpayers , rather than the Fed , are taking the lending risk .
In addition , the commercial banks that issue credit to small and medium-sized businesses will be forced to take a small portion of each loan onto their own books , which will give them an incentive to make sure the recipients are worthy borrowers .
“ I think he ’ s doing a great job , ” Kohn said , of Powell .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked hard to get a consensus .
And he has shown that he is open to new ideas and new ways to accomplish his goals .
”

In November, 2017, ten months into his Presidency, Donald Trump picked Jerome Powell, a low-key banker in his sixties, who looks like central casting’s idea of a Wall Street financier, to succeed Janet Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve. Subsequently, Trump spent more than two years criticizing his own appointee, who is a Republican, for raising interest rates and, then, not cutting them rapidly enough. Last August, Trump referred to Powell as an “enemy.” As recently as the middle of March, he told reporters that he remained unhappy with Powell and asserted that he had the power to “put someone else in charge.”
Things have changed. In the second half of March and into April, as the coronavirus shutdowns threatened to devastate the economy, Powell and his colleagues cut short-term interest rates to zero and rolled out a series of emergency lending programs designed to stabilize the financial system and keep credit flowing to many different parts of the economy. Among the areas that the Federal Reserve, or Fed, has targeted during the past month are the markets for U.S. Treasury bonds, mortgage securities, corporate bonds, money-market funds, and securities backed by auto loans, credit-card debt, and student loans. The scale and reach of these actions have been unparalleled, and the Fed isn’t done yet. It is now finalizing two more big lending programs, both of which are expected to go into operation soon. One is aimed at states and cities that have seen their finances hit by the crisis. The other is intended to assist medium-sized corporations that weren’t covered by the bailouts for small and large businesses that Congress included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.
As job losses have continued to reach ever more alarming levels, Wall Street has cheered the Fed’s hyperactivity. Since March 23rd, the U.S. stock market has risen by almost thirty per cent, gaining back more than half of its previous losses, and bond markets, which had been gyrating wildly before the Fed stepped in, have stabilized. Trump has noticed, too. In the last week of March, he told reporters that Powell was doing a “good job” and had “really stepped up.” Since then, the President has omitted the Fed chair from his regular Twitter tirades against those who have displeased him, a list which in recent days has included even Fox News and the staunchly conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal.
Higher stock prices won’t offer much consolation to the tens of millions of people who have been laid off or furloughed. But they suggest that the Fed accomplished its first goal, which was preventing a financial cataclysm. During the Great Depression of the early nineteen-thirties, and again during the Great Recession, in 2008 and 2009, initial shocks to the economy—a stock-market crash in 1929 and a housing-market crash in 2007 and 2008—led to the failure of major financial institutions, which caused further panic. Credit seized up, leading to an even deeper economic slump. So far, at least, that pattern hasn’t been repeated. “It’s harder to see the impact of the Fed’s actions on the broader economy,” Tim Duy, an economist at the University of Oregon who writes an influential blog about the Fed, told me. “By holding together the financial markets, it is preventing an even worse outcome. What it is doing is minimizing the risk that you get from a big financial shock that feeds back into the economy and creates a second round of problems.”
The Fed has used some of the same tactics that it used during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, such as buying large amounts of Treasury bonds. But it has gone further this time, doing “more than retooling the toolbox,” Donald Kohn, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as vice-chair of the Fed from 2006 to 2010, told me on Monday. “They’ve taken the tools that we developed, but they’ve also moved on and created different types of interventions.” One innovation that Kohn cited was the new lending scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, which is called the Main Street Lending Program. When it goes into effect, it will represent a novel three-sided partnership. Calling on its electronic printing press, the Fed will provide most of the money for the program, but commercial banks, such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, will distribute and underwrite the loans. The Treasury Department will cover any credit losses that are incurred, using funds set aside specifically for this purpose by the CARES Act.
The ultimate goal of the Fed’s new programs is to provide “a bridge to the recovery,” Kohn said. Back in 2007 and 2008, when he was Ben Bernanke’s deputy, the Fed was “wrestling with a financial system that took too many risks,” he recalled. Today, banks and other financial institutions are pretty healthy, Kohn noted. The challenge instead is to keep other types of businesses going and keep households solvent, so that normal economic activities can resume when the shutdowns eventually end. “That involves both the credit system and the fiscal system,” Kohn said.
The amount of money that the federal government is spending in both areas is vast. In four separate bills, Congress has committed more than $2.8 trillion in new spending to address the crisis. The Fed, for its part, has created more than $2.3 trillion in electronic credits and has used the money to purchase various types of securities, which now sit on its balance sheet. Although many economists and investors have praised Powell and his colleagues for the breadth and rapidity of their actions, the Fed’s move into new areas, and the sheer scale of its response, has inevitably created some discord.
In normal times, the main role of the Fed is to attempt to manage a balance of high employment and low inflation, using adjustments in the federal-funds lending rate as its main tool. Since its founding, in 1913, the Fed has also played a key role as the lender of last resort to banks, especially during financial crises. But, since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fed “has effectively shifted from lender of last resort for banks to a commercial banker of last resort for the broader economy,” Michael Feroli, the chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase, noted in a research brief. This new role potentially puts the Fed in the awkward position of deciding which entities get access to direly needed credit, and which don’t.
Earlier this month, when the Fed announced its Municipal Liquidity Facility, which will involve the creation of a new entity to purchase state and local bonds, cities with a population of less than a million complained that they were excluded from the program. (On Monday, the Fed announced that cities with five hundred thousand or more residents will be able to participate.) When the central bank launched its Main Street Lending Program, which will provide four-year loans to businesses with fewer than ten thousand employees, colleges and other nonprofit organizations cried foul and asked to be included.
Late last week, Yahoo Finance reported that the Fed was considering the universities’ request, but it’s not clear where it should draw the line. “The Fed is designed to work through the financial markets,” Duy said. “It’s not designed to intermediate loans. That’s the direction they are being pushed in.” Kohn acknowledged the tensions but said that Powell is doing a good job of managing them. Back in 2007 and 2008, when the Fed invoked its emergency lending powers to issue loans to Bear Stearns and AIG, it was accused of bailing out the very financial institutions whose reckless lending had brought on the crisis, Kohn noted. This time the virus is responsible for the crisis, and Powell has insisted that Congress appropriate money to back up the new programs, which means that taxpayers, rather than the Fed, are taking the lending risk. In addition, the commercial banks that issue credit to small and medium-sized businesses will be forced to take a small portion of each loan onto their own books, which will give them an incentive to make sure the recipients are worthy borrowers. “I think he’s doing a great job,” Kohn said, of Powell. “He’s remained calm. He has worked hard to get a consensus. And he has shown that he is open to new ideas and new ways to accomplish his goals.”