vox--2020-03-10--Did the coronavirus get more deadly? The death rate, explained

Eight weeks into an epidemic that has killed more than 4,000 people , the World Health Organization — for the first time — released a Covid-19 case fatality rate ( CFR ) on March 3 .
It was not a modest estimate .
“ Globally , about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died , ” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing last Tuesday .
The rate describes the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases .
And it was greater than the previous coronavirus CFR estimate ( 2 percent in China ) , far higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 0.1 percent of those infected on average ) , and even worse than the Spanish flu pandemic ( which killed an estimated 2 to 3 percent of those infected ) .
It ’ s no surprise that , very quickly , media around the world interpreted the news as evidence the disease is deadlier than feared , and Twitter was buzzing with speculation about Covid-19 ’ s real death rate .
The number spread so far so fast , even President Trump took to Fox News on March 5 to try and tamp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 3.4 percent number is really a false number .
Now , this is just my hunch , but based on a lot of conversations ... personally , I ’ d say the number is way under 1 percent.
” In the end , the 3.4 percent figure appears to have sowed more confusion than clarity .
While a WHO spokesperson called the number “ the current global ‘ snapshot , ’ ” it misled some : it was delivered without context , omitting key factors that determine a disease ’ s severity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know Covid-19 ’ s precise death rate — but we do have some guesses based on models that are more sophisticated than just dividing the deaths by cases .
Epidemiologists and disease modelers studying Covid-19 told Vox a more reliable global case fatality rate is about 1 percent — but there ’ s still a lot we have to learn about the disease .
And even when we better understand how deadly this virus is , it ’ s likely to look pretty different country to country .
What we know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key piece of information we still need is how many people in a population have the virus .
That ’ s the denominator in the CFR equation .
When Tedros made his remarks , WHO had recorded 3,112 deaths and 90,869 cases .
Dividing the deaths by the cases , you get 3.4 percent .
But that denominator is actually pretty fuzzy .
So far , many countries — even those with sophisticated health systems , like the US — have struggled to get adequate testing up and running .
And , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been on checking people who traveled to affected countries , not the broader population .
That means , in many places , health authorities are only picking up a subset of the sick — and perhaps the most severe cases , given that roughly 80 percent of people with Covid-19 have a mild disease .
( Remember : The sickest are usually the ones who show up at doctor ’ s offices and in hospitals , while there may be hundreds or thousands of others with the virus who never show symptoms or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a doctor .
That ’ s why the CFR can often look much worse in the early days of an outbreak . )
Some of the countries that have done more widespread testing appear to have relatively fewer deaths in the case mix .
In South Korea , for example , where they are testing thousands of people every day , they ’ ve picked up more than 7,500 people with the virus .
Among those , 54 have died .
If we use WHO ’ s method of calculating the CFR — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the potential problem of under-estimating the number of mild cases out there — a crude case fatality estimate hovers under 1 percent .
Contrast that with the US : 26 people have died and there are currently 754 known cases .
That ’ s a crude CFR of 3.4 percent .
This doesn ’ t mean the virus is deadlier in the US ; it ’ s more likely , once again , an artifact of undertesting or some other factor simply dividing deaths by cases doesn ’ t account for .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its testing numbers from its website on March 2 , fewer than 500 Americans had been checked for the virus . )
“ When we see systems that are able to account for not only the really sick , but also those who have infection and are outpatients , the CFR is more accurate and drops considerably , ” said Isaac Bogoch , a professor at the University of Toronto .
There are other problems with the 3.4 percent CFR : Global estimates hide regional variation that ’ ll likely emerge because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death rate of the 2014- ’ 16 Ebola epidemic .
The disease was far deadlier in West Africa , where it hit some of the poorest countries on earth , than it was in America , where nearly every person who fell ill had access to state-of-the-art treatment .
As of February 20 , the WHO also reported lots of regional disparities in the disease ’ s deadliness even within China : 3.8 percent on average , but 5.8 percent in Wuhan , Hubei province ( where the virus first emerged ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China .
( A WHO spokesperson acknowledged these regional differences and said we ’ re likely to see something similar “ in different countries and outbreaks.
” ) One final consideration : CFRs do change over time .
That ’ s exactly what happened in China , as you can see in this figure from the WHO .
Even the first and hardest-hit province , Hubei , saw its death rate tumble as public health measures were strengthened and clinicians got better at identifying and treating people with the disease : As this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also see more deaths — which could cause the CFR to increase if those mild cases don ’ t appear .
“ It takes a long time to die ” from Covid-19 , said University of Toronto epidemiologist David Fisman .
“ We estimate the length of stay in cases who died in ICU in China to be 28 days on average — three days in hospital and 25 days in ICU.
” But most experts anticipate the more we test for Covid-19 , the the more mild cases we ’ ll find @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] rate , you need the deaths — which you can more reliably pick up — and you need cases , which you can less reliably pick up , ” Lawrence Gostin , a global health law professor at Georgetown University , summed up .
“ It ’ s not irresponsible to come out with that [ 3.4 percent ] number , but it should have been more clearly interpreted as not being reliable , or at least mention it ’ ll vary in regions.
” A better way to calculate the Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at an accurate CFR involves a survey of the populations affected to find out who has antibodies for the virus , including the folks who didn ’ t even know they had it , said Maia Majumder of Boston Children ’ s Hospital .
That ’ ll give experts the denominator — the real case toll — in the CFR equation .
“ Until we ’ ve done [ that ] — and I ’ m sure it ’ ll happen sometime in the future — there are going to be some people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections that we ’ re not picking up.
” As it stands , no such serology test has been completed — though China has approved at least two , and Singapore says it ’ s already using an experimental test to check for antibodies in patients there .
In the meantime , we have disease modelers who can give us a provisional portrait of Covid-19 ’ s deadliness accounting for things like the delay in the reporting of deaths and potential uncounted cases .
In a new — but not-yet-peer-reviewed — pre-print out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , researchers did just that , using data on the outbreak from China ’ s CDC .
They came up with an overall CFR of 1.6 percent — suggesting Covid-19 is less deadly than SARS , which had a CFR of around 10 percent .
It ’ s also less than the WHO ’ s estimate .
Importantly , the researchers also found a wide variation across the age spectrum : less than one percent of people in their 20s die from the virus , they estimated , while the rate shoots up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This 1.6 percent [ figure ] is based on a lot of assumptions we feel comfortable with but it ’ s not hard data , ” Julien Riou , a Bern research fellow and author on the paper , emphasized .
“ It ’ s more [ an attempt ] to correct the biases we know about.
” It ’ s also based solely on China ’ s data — and , again , the outbreaks in other countries will likely play out differently .
So these figures are not only likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — once we have better data , they ’ re going to look different depending on how strong a country ’ s health systems are .
But it ’ ll be a while before we know the true number of cases and have a better understanding of the deaths .
Until then , when you see case fatality rates floating around , ask what they ’ re based on .

Editor’s note, April 2: There have been significant developments in the coronavirus pandemic since this story was last updated. Here is our latest information on the coronavirus and its fatality rate, as of this writing. For our most up-to-date coverage, visit our coronavirus hub.
In early March, before the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak had climbed to more than 4,500 people a few days later, the World Health Organization — for the first time — released a Covid-19 case fatality rate (CFR).
It was not a modest estimate.
“Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing. The rate describes the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases. It was greater than the previous coronavirus CFR estimate (2 percent in China), far higher than the seasonal flu (which kills 0.1 percent of those infected on average), and even worse than the Spanish flu pandemic (which killed an estimated 2 to 3 percent of those infected).
It’s no surprise that, very quickly, media around the world interpreted the news as evidence that the disease is deadlier than feared, and Twitter was buzzing with speculation about Covid-19’s real death rate. The number spread so far so fast, even President Trump took to Fox News on March 5 to try and tamp down the worry: “I think the 3.4 percent number is really a false number. Now, this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations ... personally, I’d say the number is way under 1 percent.”
In the end, the 3.4 percent figure appears to have sowed more confusion than clarity. While a WHO spokesperson called the number “the current global ‘snapshot,’” it misled some: It was delivered without context, omitting key factors that determine a disease’s severity. In reality, we still don’t know Covid-19’s precise death rate — but we do have some guesses based on models that are more sophisticated than just dividing the deaths by cases.
Epidemiologists and disease modelers studying Covid-19 told Vox a more reliable global case fatality rate is about 1 percent — but there’s still a lot we have to learn about the disease. And even when we better understand how deadly this virus is, it’s likely to look pretty different country to country.
What we know about how deadly the coronavirus is
One key piece of information we still need is how many people in a population have the virus. That’s the denominator in the CFR equation.
When Tedros made his remarks, the WHO had recorded 3,112 deaths and 90,869 cases. Dividing the deaths by the cases, you get 3.4 percent. But that denominator is actually pretty fuzzy. So far, many countries — even those with sophisticated health systems, like the US — have struggled to get adequate testing up and running. And, to date, much of the focus has been on checking people who traveled to affected countries, not the broader population.
That means, in many places, health authorities are only picking up a subset of the sick — and perhaps the most severe cases, given that roughly 80 percent of people with Covid-19 have a mild case. (Remember: The sickest are usually the ones who show up at doctor’s offices and hospitals, while there may be hundreds or thousands of others with the virus who never show symptoms or don’t bother going to see a doctor. That’s why the CFR can often look much worse in the early days of an outbreak.)
Some of the countries that have done more widespread testing appear to have relatively fewer deaths in the case mix. In South Korea, for example, where thousands of people are tested every day, they’ve picked up more than 7,500 people with the virus. Among those, 54 have died. If we use the WHO’s method of calculating the CFR — and don’t take into account the potential problem of underestimating the number of mild cases out there — a crude case fatality estimate hovers under 1 percent.
Contrast that with the US: In early March, about 26 people had died and there were more than 750 known cases. That’s a crude CFR of about 3.4 percent. This doesn’t mean the virus is deadlier in the US; it’s more likely, once again, an artifact of undertesting or some other factor simply dividing deaths by cases doesn’t account for.
“When we see systems that are able to account for not only the really sick, but also those who have infection and are outpatients, the CFR is more accurate and drops considerably,” said Isaac Bogoch, a professor at the University of Toronto.
There are other problems with the 3.4 percent CFR: Global estimates hide regional variation that’ll likely emerge because of variations in health system capacity. Consider the death rate of the 2014-’16 Ebola epidemic. The disease was far deadlier in West Africa, where it hit some of the poorest countries, than it was in America, where nearly every person who fell ill had access to state-of-the-art treatment.
As of February 20, the WHO also reported lots of regional disparities in the disease’s deadliness even within China: 3.8 percent on average but 5.8 percent in Wuhan, Hubei province (where the virus first emerged), and 0.7 percent in other areas in China. (A WHO spokesperson acknowledged these regional differences and said we’re likely to see something similar “in different countries and outbreaks.”)
One final consideration: CFRs do change over time. That’s exactly what happened in China, as you can see in this figure from the WHO. Even the first and hardest-hit province, Hubei, saw its death rate tumble as public health measures were strengthened and clinicians got better at identifying and treating people with the disease:
As this pandemic threat wears on, we may also see more deaths — which could cause the CFR to increase if those mild cases don’t appear. “It takes a long time to die” from Covid-19, said University of Toronto epidemiologist David Fisman. “We estimate the length of stay in cases who died in ICU in China to be 28 days on average — three days in hospital and 25 days in ICU.”
But most experts anticipate the more we test for Covid-19, the more mild cases we’ll find. “To get a [true] rate, you need the deaths — which you can more reliably pick up — and you need cases, which you can less reliably pick up,” Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University, summed up. “It’s not irresponsible to come out with that [3.4 percent] number, but it should have been more clearly interpreted as not being reliable, or at least mention it’ll vary in regions.”
A better way to calculate the Covid-19 death rate
The ideal way to arrive at an accurate CFR involves a survey of the populations affected to find out who has antibodies for the virus, including folks who didn’t even know they had it, said Maia Majumder of Boston Children’s Hospital. That’ll give experts the denominator, or the real case toll, in the CFR equation. “Until we’ve done [that] — and I’m sure it’ll happen sometime in the future — there are going to be some people that have mild infections or are asymptomatic infections that we’re not picking up.”
Case fatality rate (CFR) is time- & population-varying. Given that mild cases of #COVID19 are generally identified at a slower pace than severe cases AND that care standards (& demographics) vary across affected countries, responsible discussions about CFR *must* include context. https://t.co/ddqFt2P6Nv — Dr. Maia Majumder (@maiamajumder) March 4, 2020
As it stands, no such serology test has been completed, though China has approved at least two, and Singapore says it’s already using an experimental test to check for antibodies in patients there.
In the meantime, we have disease modelers that can give us a provisional portrait of Covid-19’s deadliness, accounting for things like the delay in the reporting of deaths and potential uncounted cases.
In a new but not-yet-peer-reviewed preprint out of Switzerland’s University of Bern, researchers did just that, using data on the outbreak from China’s CDC. They came up with an overall CFR of 1.6 percent — suggesting Covid-19 is less deadly than SARS, which had a CFR of around 10 percent. It’s also less than the WHO’s estimate.
Importantly, the researchers also found a wide variation across the age spectrum: Less than 1 percent of people in their 20s die from the virus, they estimated, while the rate shoots up to 18 percent for 80-year-olds.
“This 1.6 percent [figure] is based on a lot of assumptions we feel comfortable with, but it’s not hard data,” Julien Riou, a Bern research fellow and author on the paper, emphasized. “It’s more [an attempt] to correct the biases we know about.” It’s also based solely on China’s data — and, again, the outbreaks in other countries will likely play out differently.
So these figures are not only likely to change within China and outside over time — once we have better data, they’re going to look different depending on how strong a country’s health system is. But it’ll be a while before we know the true number of cases and have a better understanding of the deaths. Until then, when you see case fatality rates floating around, ask what they’re based on.


vox--2020-03-09--Italy has put the entire country under travel restrictions to curb coronavirus

Italy is now restricting travel across the entire country , an unprecedented move by the government as it furiously tries to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus .
Italy is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe , and the country is struggling to contain the virus : The number of cases in Italy has surpassed 9,000 , and at least 450 people have died .
On Monday evening , Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was extending a ban on travel already in place in northern Italy to now cover all of the country — more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bans all personal travel that isn ’ t for essential work , or for health or family emergencies .
All public gatherings , including weddings and funerals , are also banned , and sport events are suspended .
Theaters , gyms , ski resorts , and discos are shut down .
Last week , Italy closed all schools until March 15 .
On Monday , Conte said that order would be extended to include almost a full month , until April 3 .
The dramatic measures , which Conte is calling the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go into effect Tuesday morning .
Conte said Italy was facing a national emergency and needed to take these measures to stop the spread of the virus and to prevent hospitals from being overloaded .
“ This is the moment of self-responsibility , ” he said , after announcing the travel ban in the north .
Previously , people across Italy were being told to stay at least one meter away from others at bars , cafes , and in supermarkets .
Those “ social distancing ” measures are meant to thin crowds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though people who experience symptoms of the coronavirus had been instructed to stay home altogether .
But with public events canceled and even more restrictive travel measures are in place , all of Italy is essentially a “ red zone ” now .
Riots also broke out in prisons across the country over the weekend and into Monday after facilities banned family visits and restricted leave applications , leaving at least six dead .
Many of the incarcerated are concerned that they would be particularly vulnerable should the virus spread in prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days for Italy as it struggles to curtail the coronavirus .
Initially , draft measures leaked on Sunday before the government ’ s formal announcement to impose a quarantine in northern Italy , causing confusion and anger among local leaders .
It also sparked mass panic , as people in the north rushed to board trains or get in cars to head to other parts of Italy to avoid the new restrictions .
Northern Italy , which is the country ’ s economic center , attracts workers from southern Italy .
In Puglia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returning from the north would also face quarantine restrictions .
Now , of course , everyone is looped into this latest decree .
The extension of this order to the entire country about 24 hours after the initial order underscores the challenges of imposing such severe restrictions in a democratic country like Italy .
Chinese authorities put into place strict quarantine and travel restrictions , but Italy , as Conte said , is much more dependent on the public taking “ self-responsibility ” through social distancing and limiting movement .
Conte urged Italians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” to get around the restrictions .
Some prominent Italian figures used the hashtag # iostoacasa ( “ I ’ m Staying Home ” ) on Twitter to encourage people to abide by the new rules .
Italy ’ s extraordinary measures highlight the urgency of slowing the coronavirus spread The rollout of Italy ’ s new measures marks a turning point for a country that ’ s struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus .
And it ’ s not even clear that this extraordinary order will do enough to slow the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zingaretti , the leader of Italy ’ s Democratic party ( which is part of the governing coalition ) , has tested positive — leading to fears about spread and exposure in the government .
The latest directive also puts into perspective just how damaging the outbreak will be on Italy ’ s already fragile economy .
Italy ’ s government will provide a 7.5 euro stimulus ( about $ 8.5 billion ) — “ shock therapy ” — to deal with the fallout from the virus , but uncertainty prevails .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Lombardy , with Milan as its capital , and Veneto , home to Venice , together account for about a third of Italy ’ s GDP .
This more expansive quarantine put even more pressure on businesses , to say nothing of tourism and travel to the region .
The mass quarantine is also raising fears about the potential economic impact across the eurozone .
The European Central Bank meets Thursday , and everyone is waiting to see what interventions it may make to try to stave off a recession within the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hardest hit in Europe , but the virus is spreading throughout the continent .
So far , the European Union has resisted calls to completely seal off Italy ’ s borders , though neighboring countries have increased border checks .
Some leaders , specifically Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis , have been more forceful in calling on the EU to ban travelers in Italy .
Some of the continent ’ s right-wing populists have also exploited the coronavirus as a rallying cry to seal its borders and bar migrants .
Matteo Salvini , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Italy , said in February that the government had underestimated the coronavirus by “ allowing the migrants to land from Africa , where the presence of the virus was confirmed.
” ( As of March 4 , there have been just 11 confirmed cases in Africa , according to the World Health Organization . )
But the rapid spread of the coronavirus is shattering the sense that it can be contained by borders .
Italy is trying to slow the outbreak , but it ’ s unlikely it can deal with the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , without cooperation and coordination from the rest of the EU .

Italy is now restricting travel across the entire country, an unprecedented move by the government as it furiously tries to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Italy is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, and the country is struggling to contain the virus: The number of cases in Italy has surpassed 9,000, and at least 450 people have died.
On Monday evening, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was extending a ban on travel already in place in northern Italy to now cover all of the country — more than 60 million people. This effectively bans all personal travel that isn’t for essential work, or for health or family emergencies.
All public gatherings, including weddings and funerals, are also banned, and sport events are suspended. Theaters, gyms, ski resorts, and discos are shut down. Last week, Italy closed all schools until March 15. On Monday, Conte said that order would be extended to include almost a full month, until April 3.
The dramatic measures, which Conte is calling the “I Stay Home” decree, will go into effect Tuesday morning. Conte said Italy was facing a national emergency and needed to take these measures to stop the spread of the virus and to prevent hospitals from being overloaded. “This is the moment of self-responsibility,” he said, after announcing the travel ban in the north.
Previously, people across Italy were being told to stay at least one meter away from others at bars, cafes, and in supermarkets. Those “social distancing” measures are meant to thin crowds and stop people from spreading the virus, though people who experience symptoms of the coronavirus had been instructed to stay home altogether. But with public events canceled and even more restrictive travel measures are in place, all of Italy is essentially a “red zone” now.
Riots also broke out in prisons across the country over the weekend and into Monday after facilities banned family visits and restricted leave applications, leaving at least six dead. Many of the incarcerated are concerned that they would be particularly vulnerable should the virus spread in prison.
This has been an intense few days for Italy as it struggles to curtail the coronavirus. Initially, draft measures leaked on Sunday before the government’s formal announcement to impose a quarantine in northern Italy, causing confusion and anger among local leaders.
It also sparked mass panic, as people in the north rushed to board trains or get in cars to head to other parts of Italy to avoid the new restrictions. Northern Italy, which is the country’s economic center, attracts workers from southern Italy. In Puglia, for example, officials said those returning from the north would also face quarantine restrictions. Now, of course, everyone is looped into this latest decree.
The extension of this order to the entire country about 24 hours after the initial order underscores the challenges of imposing such severe restrictions in a democratic country like Italy. Chinese authorities put into place strict quarantine and travel restrictions, but Italy, as Conte said, is much more dependent on the public taking “self-responsibility” through social distancing and limiting movement.
Conte urged Italians not to “try and be clever” to get around the restrictions. Some prominent Italian figures used the hashtag #iostoacasa (“I’m Staying Home”) on Twitter to encourage people to abide by the new rules.
Italy’s extraordinary measures highlight the urgency of slowing the coronavirus spread
The rollout of Italy’s new measures marks a turning point for a country that’s struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus. And it’s not even clear that this extraordinary order will do enough to slow the contagion.
Prominent politicians, including Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of Italy’s Democratic party (which is part of the governing coalition), has tested positive — leading to fears about spread and exposure in the government.
The latest directive also puts into perspective just how damaging the outbreak will be on Italy’s already fragile economy.
Italy’s government will provide a 7.5 euro stimulus (about $8.5 billion) — “shock therapy” — to deal with the fallout from the virus, but uncertainty prevails. The hardest hit areas in the northing, including Lombardy, with Milan as its capital, and Veneto, home to Venice, together account for about a third of Italy’s GDP. This more expansive quarantine put even more pressure on businesses, to say nothing of tourism and travel to the region.
The mass quarantine is also raising fears about the potential economic impact across the eurozone. The European Central Bank meets Thursday, and everyone is waiting to see what interventions it may make to try to stave off a recession within the bloc.
Italy is so far the hardest hit in Europe, but the virus is spreading throughout the continent. So far, the European Union has resisted calls to completely seal off Italy’s borders, though neighboring countries have increased border checks. Some leaders, specifically Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, have been more forceful in calling on the EU to ban travelers in Italy.
Some of the continent’s right-wing populists have also exploited the coronavirus as a rallying cry to seal its borders and bar migrants. Matteo Salvini, a right-wing populist and anti-immigrant politician in Italy, said in February that the government had underestimated the coronavirus by “allowing the migrants to land from Africa, where the presence of the virus was confirmed.” (As of March 4, there have been just 11 confirmed cases in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.)
But the rapid spread of the coronavirus is shattering the sense that it can be contained by borders. Italy is trying to slow the outbreak, but it’s unlikely it can deal with the coronavirus, or the economic fallout from it, without cooperation and coordination from the rest of the EU.


vox--2020-03-10--Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are stepping in on the coronavirus where the government has failed

When government falls short , tech billionaires may be able to fill the void .
A pair of Silicon Valley philanthropists , Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates , have announced new attempts to expand testing for the novel coronavirus in their local areas .
They are playing a much-needed role at a time when billionaire philanthropy is criticized more than ever for supplanting government action .
There are now more than 700 coronavirus cases in the United States and at least 26 deaths as concern rises among Americans .
Zuckerberg ’ s philanthropy , the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced that it would purchase two clinical diagnostic machines to quadruple the ability for testing and diagnosing possible cases of the disease in the San Francisco Bay Area .
The region has been hamstrung by a testing bottleneck that makes it difficult to ascertain how much the virus has spread .
CZI said its machines would be in place likely by next week .
Another region that is home to an outbreak , the Seattle area , is also turning to its own local billionaire philanthropists .
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fund its own testing kits that Seattleites can use at home and send in for analysis .
A Gates official told the Seattle Times that “ this has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic , ” although the test results ’ timing is less clear .
Zuckerberg ’ s philanthropy was similarly optimistic about its impact .
“ Procuring these new diagnostic machines will have a significant impact on our ability to respond to the outbreak in a more streamlined way , ” the head of the CZI Biohub @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement .
But major charitable commitments from philanthropies like these are , in general , more controversial than ever .
That ’ s not to say that the Gates Foundation and CZI aren ’ t making an impact .
But it ’ s that a growing chorus of critics argues that private philanthropists use major gifts as a tool to skew public policy — and that it is the role of government , not billionaires , to address our common problems .
The coronavirus gifts , though , are something of an answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After all , the American government has had weeks to beef up its testing regimen , and it has failed .
A common defense of billionaire philanthropy is that these billionaires are not supplanting government action but merely supplementing it , filling in the holes that the government is unable to address on its own .
The thinking is that , yes , the government should lead here , but if it has shown that it won ’ t , wouldn ’ t we rather have the help of a Bill Gates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help at all ?
At a time when tech billionaires are generally on the defensive , the coronavirus offers this class of philanthropists a legitimate opportunity to change the narrative .

When government falls short, tech billionaires may be able to fill the void.
A pair of Silicon Valley philanthropists, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, have announced new attempts to expand testing for the novel coronavirus in their local areas. They are playing a much-needed role at a time when billionaire philanthropy is criticized more than ever for supplanting government action. There are now more than 700 coronavirus cases in the United States and at least 26 deaths as concern rises among Americans.
Zuckerberg’s philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and its affiliated CZI Biohub, on Tuesday announced that it would purchase two clinical diagnostic machines to quadruple the ability for testing and diagnosing possible cases of the disease in the San Francisco Bay Area. The region has been hamstrung by a testing bottleneck that makes it difficult to ascertain how much the virus has spread. CZI said its machines would be in place likely by next week.
Another region that is home to an outbreak, the Seattle area, is also turning to its own local billionaire philanthropists. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said this week that it is going to fund its own testing kits that Seattleites can use at home and send in for analysis. A Gates official told the Seattle Times that “this has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic,” although the test results’ timing is less clear.
Zuckerberg’s philanthropy was similarly optimistic about its impact.
“Procuring these new diagnostic machines will have a significant impact on our ability to respond to the outbreak in a more streamlined way,” the head of the CZI Biohub, Joe DeRisi, said in a statement.
But major charitable commitments from philanthropies like these are, in general, more controversial than ever. That’s not to say that the Gates Foundation and CZI aren’t making an impact. But it’s that a growing chorus of critics argues that private philanthropists use major gifts as a tool to skew public policy — and that it is the role of government, not billionaires, to address our common problems.
The coronavirus gifts, though, are something of an answer to this new, in-vogue attack. After all, the American government has had weeks to beef up its testing regimen, and it has failed. A common defense of billionaire philanthropy is that these billionaires are not supplanting government action but merely supplementing it, filling in the holes that the government is unable to address on its own.
I am no fan of billionaire philanthropy - I think it skews our democratic project in problematic ways - this on its face though seems like an excellent use of that money all the same. https://t.co/v4rdfNSzok — Philip Hackney (@EOTaxProf) March 8, 2020
The thinking is that, yes, the government should lead here, but if it has shown that it won’t, wouldn’t we rather have the help of a Bill Gates and a Mark Zuckerberg than not have any help at all?
At a time when tech billionaires are generally on the defensive, the coronavirus offers this class of philanthropists a legitimate opportunity to change the narrative.


vox--2020-03-10--Trump is using his coronavirus economic stimulus plan to boost his reelection chances

President Donald Trump took to Capitol Hill Tuesday to sell lawmakers on his economic stimulus plan for the novel coronavirus outbreak — one that ’ s seemingly designed to help him get reelected this fall .
Trump ’ s plan , which he has called “ very dramatic , ” includes a temporary payroll tax cut and an economic bailout of the airline and cruise industries .
The Covid-19 outbreak has reached the point where it has caused a fairly substantial economic disruption in many areas around the US ; financial markets had their worst day since 2008 on Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they showed signs of a bounce back early Tuesday .
But as more areas around the world are hit by coronavirus outbreaks , more people will stay in .
And that could ultimately grind the economy to a halt , as Vox ’ s Matthew Yglesias explained : This is good public health practice , and it is appropriate for Seattle ’ s major employers to cooperate with government requests for social distancing .
But this is going to be a huge problem for coffee shops and lunch spots in Seattle business districts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that there are people around .
Workers here , too , are going to lose hours and tips and will need to pull back on their spending .
... You don ’ t need to posit any kind of apocalyptic casualty rate to see that there ’ s going to be a huge economic problem if basically everyone all around the world ends up being encouraged to leave the house less and do less stuff .
And the white-collar workers hunkered down with Slack and Zoom apps aren ’ t going to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buy stuff .
With that in mind , Trump hopes to stem the losses with his economic stimulus plan while also boosting his reelection chances — and pushing a tax cut he ’ s been touting since last year .
A payroll tax cut would lower the amount of taxes paid by both employees and employers , but wouldn ’ t help unemployed people or people who miss work without pay due to illness or quarantine .
According to a CNBC report , Trump pitched a zero percent payroll tax through the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers or employers would be on the hook for the 6.2 percent tax up to $ 137,700 payroll taxes they usually pay to fund Social Security , or the 1.45 percent tax that funds Medicare .
Trump has been pushing for a payroll tax cut since passage of the last round of Republican tax cuts .
“ I ’ ve been thinking about payroll taxes for a long time , ” he said in the Oval Office in August 2019 .
President Obama utilized a payroll tax cut as part of his economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 0 percent tax rate would be a much more extreme measure .
During a lunch meeting with GOP senators , Trump said that he wants the payroll tax holiday to last through the November election , in order to avoid a sudden tax increase right before voters head to the polls to decide whether he returns to office .
Additionally , Trump has floated the idea of bailouts for some industries affected by Covid-19 .
After first hinting at this plan in a press conference Monday , Trump asked lawmakers Tuesday for stimulus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after extensive travel cancellations .
News broke Tuesday that he ’ d also seek funds for the shale industry , according to a Washington Post report .
The shale industry hasn ’ t experienced any outsized impact specifically from coronavirus , but has taken a significant hit as Saudi Arabia and Russia have engaged in a dispute over oil .
Trump appears eager to help the industries that have most visibly been hit by coronavirus .
There ’ s been a lot of attention on stranded cruise ships full of potentially infected people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discourage people from traveling .
But ultimately airliners and cruise ship operators constitute a relatively small percentage of the overall economy .
None of the industry-specific potential bailouts will directly go to workers who depend on tips generated from giant — now canceled — annual conferences like SXSW or Emerald City Comic Con .
Those lost wages could have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the economy .
In addition to the payroll tax cut and bailouts , Trump suggested to lawmakers that he would like to provide assistance to hourly employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A paid sick leave program would appear to fit that bill .
And he announced earlier Tuesday that several major health insurance companies had agreed to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing .
The Department of Health and Human Services told CBS News that uninsured individuals who suspect they are infected may “ receive care at a Community Health Center at a reduced cost or free of charge depending on their economic status .
...
The health center can assess whether the patient needs testing.
” But the focus of Trump ’ s plan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few industries — ideas more tailored to boosting his electoral prospects than helping Americans weather a potential pandemic .
And he wants the economic stimulus fast .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier in the day that it might not be possible to vote on a plan by the end of the week , which drew an angry response from Trump on Twitter : “ Nancy Pelosi just said , ‘ I don ’ t know if we can be ready this week.
’ In other words , it ’ s off to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s been the story with them for 1 1/2 years !
”

President Donald Trump took to Capitol Hill Tuesday to sell lawmakers on his economic stimulus plan for the novel coronavirus outbreak — one that’s seemingly designed to help him get reelected this fall.
Trump’s plan, which he has called “very dramatic,” includes a temporary payroll tax cut and an economic bailout of the airline and cruise industries.
Great meeting on Capitol Hill with the @SenateGOP! pic.twitter.com/eNB8zMRCup — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2020
The Covid-19 outbreak has reached the point where it has caused a fairly substantial economic disruption in many areas around the US; financial markets had their worst day since 2008 on Monday, according to one index, though they showed signs of a bounce back early Tuesday. But as more areas around the world are hit by coronavirus outbreaks, more people will stay in. And that could ultimately grind the economy to a halt, as Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explained:
This is good public health practice, and it is appropriate for Seattle’s major employers to cooperate with government requests for social distancing. But this is going to be a huge problem for coffee shops and lunch spots in Seattle business districts, whose whole purpose in life is that there are people around. Workers here, too, are going to lose hours and tips and will need to pull back on their spending. ... You don’t need to posit any kind of apocalyptic casualty rate to see that there’s going to be a huge economic problem if basically everyone all around the world ends up being encouraged to leave the house less and do less stuff. And the white-collar workers hunkered down with Slack and Zoom apps aren’t going to be left unscathed if nobody has money to buy stuff.
With that in mind, Trump hopes to stem the losses with his economic stimulus plan while also boosting his reelection chances — and pushing a tax cut he’s been touting since last year.
A payroll tax cut would lower the amount of taxes paid by both employees and employers, but wouldn’t help unemployed people or people who miss work without pay due to illness or quarantine. According to a CNBC report, Trump pitched a zero percent payroll tax through the end of the year, meaning that neither workers or employers would be on the hook for the 6.2 percent tax up to $137,700 payroll taxes they usually pay to fund Social Security, or the 1.45 percent tax that funds Medicare.
Trump has been pushing for a payroll tax cut since passage of the last round of Republican tax cuts. “I’ve been thinking about payroll taxes for a long time,” he said in the Oval Office in August 2019. President Obama utilized a payroll tax cut as part of his economic stimulus plan in 2009, but a 0 percent tax rate would be a much more extreme measure.
During a lunch meeting with GOP senators, Trump said that he wants the payroll tax holiday to last through the November election, in order to avoid a sudden tax increase right before voters head to the polls to decide whether he returns to office.
Scoop: Trump told Republican senators in private lunch that he wants a payroll tax holiday *through the November election,* sources tell me. He doesn’t want taxes to go back up before voters decide whether to return him to office. Story out soon. — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 10, 2020
Additionally, Trump has floated the idea of bailouts for some industries affected by Covid-19. After first hinting at this plan in a press conference Monday, Trump asked lawmakers Tuesday for stimulus money for the airline and cruise industries after extensive travel cancellations. News broke Tuesday that he’d also seek funds for the shale industry, according to a Washington Post report.
The shale industry hasn’t experienced any outsized impact specifically from coronavirus, but has taken a significant hit as Saudi Arabia and Russia have engaged in a dispute over oil.
BREAKING: White House likely to push federal aid for shale companies hit by coronavirus/international energy shock
Trump confidante & oil billionaire Harold Hamm lost $2 billion yesterday. Hamm reached out to admin but says he didnt make “direct" contacthttps://t.co/GsjHIJE6VI — Jeffrey Stein (@JStein_WaPo) March 10, 2020
Trump appears eager to help the industries that have most visibly been hit by coronavirus. There’s been a lot of attention on stranded cruise ships full of potentially infected people, or empty planes as government officials discourage people from traveling. But ultimately airliners and cruise ship operators constitute a relatively small percentage of the overall economy.
None of the industry-specific potential bailouts will directly go to workers who depend on tips generated from giant — now canceled — annual conferences like SXSW or Emerald City Comic Con. Those lost wages could have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the economy.
In addition to the payroll tax cut and bailouts, Trump suggested to lawmakers that he would like to provide assistance to hourly employees who miss work due to illness. A paid sick leave program would appear to fit that bill.
And he announced earlier Tuesday that several major health insurance companies had agreed to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing. The Department of Health and Human Services told CBS News that uninsured individuals who suspect they are infected may “receive care at a Community Health Center at a reduced cost or free of charge depending on their economic status. ... The health center can assess whether the patient needs testing.”
But the focus of Trump’s plan is tax cuts and bailouts for a few industries — ideas more tailored to boosting his electoral prospects than helping Americans weather a potential pandemic.
And he wants the economic stimulus fast. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier in the day that it might not be possible to vote on a plan by the end of the week, which drew an angry response from Trump on Twitter: “Nancy Pelosi just said, ‘I don’t know if we can be ready this week.’ In other words, it’s off to vacation for the Do Nothing Democrats. That’s been the story with them for 1 1/2 years!”


vox--2020-03-10--Michigan primary live results

Michigan primary live results

With its 125 delegates , Michigan is the biggest prize of the March 10 primaries .
It ’ s also one of the most fiercely contested elections on Tuesday night : Sen. Bernie Sanders had a surprise win here in 2016 after most polls showed him losing to Hillary Clinton by double digits .
Polls in the state have shown a similarly lopsided lead for Vice President Joe Biden in recent days .
In addition to having the largest number of delegates , Michigan is also important symbolically ; it ’ s one of the key Midwestern states Democrats are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump during the November general election .
The victor here can make an electability argument going into the fall .
Polls in the state close at 8 pm ET , and the state was accepting absentee ballots until 4 pm on Monday , March 9 .
Vox will be covering the results live Tuesday night and until the race is called .
It could take a while until we find out which candidate was successful ; Michigan election officials are anticipating delays in reporting results Tuesday night owing to the over 800,000 absentee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to NBC News .
The Michigan secretary of state in anticipating not having final results until Wednesday , per MLive .
What we know about who will win A slew of recent polls in Michigan largely showed Biden with a commanding lead .
But Sanders has been in this situation before , in 2016 .
A Monday Monmouth University poll found Biden ahead of Sanders by 15 points , and a Data for Progress poll released the same day showed Biden 21 points ahead .
Earlier polls by Mitchell Research and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the days before Tuesday showed Biden 21 points and 24 points ahead of Sanders in the state , respectively .
It ’ s important to note that Sanders pulled off an upset win in the 2016 primary after polls showed him 21 points behind Clinton .
But while those polls had not accounted for the young voters who make up much of Sanders ’ s enthusiastic base , the 2020 polls have been adjusted to account for young voters .

With its 125 delegates, Michigan is the biggest prize of the March 10 primaries.
It’s also one of the most fiercely contested elections on Tuesday night: Sen. Bernie Sanders had a surprise win here in 2016 after most polls showed him losing to Hillary Clinton by double digits. Polls in the state have shown a similarly lopsided lead for former Vice President Joe Biden in recent days.
In addition to having the largest number of delegates, Michigan is also important symbolically; it’s one of the key Midwestern states Democrats are desperate to win back from President Donald Trump during the November general election. The victor here can make an electability argument going into the fall.
Some polls in the state close at 7 pm CT / 8 pm ET; the rest will close at 8 pm CT / 9 pm ET. The state was also accepting absentee ballots until 4 pm on Monday, March 9.
Vox will be covering the results live Tuesday night and until the race is called. It could take a while until we find out which candidate was successful; Michigan election officials are anticipating delays in reporting results Tuesday night owing to the over 800,000 absentee ballots that have been submitted so far, according to NBC News. The Michigan secretary of state is anticipating not having final results until Wednesday, per MLive.
What we know about who will win
A slew of recent polls in Michigan largely showed Biden with a commanding lead. But Sanders has been in this situation before, in 2016.
A Monday Monmouth University poll found Biden ahead of Sanders by 15 points, and a Data for Progress poll released the same day showed Biden 21 points ahead. Earlier polls by Mitchell Research and EPIC-MRA for the Detroit Free Press in the days before Tuesday showed Biden 21 points and 24 points ahead of Sanders in the state, respectively.
It’s important to note that Sanders pulled off an upset win in the 2016 primary after polls showed him 21 points behind Clinton. But while those polls had not accounted for the young voters who make up much of Sanders’s enthusiastic base, the 2020 polls have been adjusted to account for young voters.


vox--2020-03-10--Live results for the March 10 primaries

Live results for the March 10 primaries

The Democratic presidential race is now a two-way contest between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders — and Tuesday , we ’ ll get our first real look at how that head-to-head matchup will play out .
These March 10 contests are much less “ super ” than those from last week , but it ’ s an important day for the nomination battle — it ’ s the third-biggest delegate day left in the calendar .
About 9 percent of Democrats ’ pledged delegates will be up for grabs in six states : Michigan , Washington , Missouri , Mississippi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden emerged from Super Tuesday with a significant but not overwhelming delegate lead over Sanders .
Since then , the former vice president has surged in both national polls and polls of the March 10 states , suggesting he has an opportunity to dramatically expand that advantage .
Sanders , meanwhile , is behind .
He needs to change the dynamics of the race to have any hopes of catching up .
And theoretically , Tuesday should feature a relatively good map for the Vermont senator — he won four of these six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and lost a fifth quite narrowly ( Missouri ) .
The flip side of that is if Sanders fails to make up ground here in the delegate count , or if he falls further behind , then he will have come up short in one of his best opportunities to turn things around .
We ’ ll display the latest vote totals in each contest , courtesy of our friends at Decision Desk ( click on a state on the map to see that state ’ s results ) .
But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that what matters most now is the delegate count .
Democrats allot their delegates proportionally .
That means that a landslide win for Biden in , say , Mississippi would be more important to the delegate count than a narrow win for Sanders in a state where there are more delegates at stake , like Michigan .
Tuesday ’ s results will also matter greatly because another crucial day of primaries — March 17 ’ s Florida , Illinois , Ohio , and Arizona contests — is rapidly approaching .
After that day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three months left in the Democratic contest .
But because the calendar is frontloaded , 61 percent of all pledged delegates will have already been locked down .
And if Biden builds a large lead by then , it could become all but impossible for Sanders to come back .
We ’ ll post who wins each of the states holding primaries or caucuses Tuesday below , once Decision Desk makes a call .
How to think about the March 10 contests — and the delegate math Even though voting in the nomination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month ago and is scheduled to continue through June , the March 10 contests bring us nearly to the halfway point in the delegate count .
Once the votes are counted , about 47 percent of total pledged Democrats in the nomination contest will have been allotted .
And though Super Tuesday holds the crown for delegates at stake , the March 10 contests are nothing to sneeze at : Nearly 9 percent of Democrats ’ total pledged delegates will be allotted in these states .
Particularly if you consider these contests alongside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when another 14.5 percent of pledged delegates are up for grabs , this is a crucial period .
It ’ s the time when the Super Tuesday results can either be ratified ( if Biden expands his delegate lead ) or rejected ( if there ’ s an unexpected late swing to Sanders ) .
It will determine the shape of the rest of the contest — if there even is a rest of the contest .
It ’ s clear that Super Tuesday gave Biden a lead in the delegate count @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead remains unclear due to slow vote-counting in California and other states with many mail ballots .
Decision Desk estimates that Biden has a 78-delegate lead over Sanders , while the Associated Press says he ’ s up by 91 delegates .
So though the question of who wins each state will be interesting , what matters most is whether Biden can expand that lead further , by getting a large share of the 352 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday .
But recent polls also suggest that Biden has a real shot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or even all , of the March 10 states Sanders did well in last time .
If he manages to come close to pulling that off , the Sanders campaign would really be on the ropes — and at risk of what could effectively be a knockout blow on March 17 .
What to expect in the March 10 primaries and caucuses The overall narrative of these contests will likely hinge on the outcomes in two states : Michigan and Missouri .
Michigan has symbolic importance because , in 2016 , it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ win after the Vermont senator lost badly to Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday .
Now , that win was quite narrow , so it barely helped Sanders cut into Clinton ’ s delegate lead .
But it gave him a “ win ” with which he could stoke hope among his supporters and justify continuing the race .
Sanders is hoping for a similar comeback in Michigan this time around .
But the polls look grim for him .
The ten polls of the state released since Super Tuesday show Biden winning by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outcomes would have drastically different implications for the delegate math , but neither would be good for Sanders — he is losing , and to reverse that , he needs to win states .
One issue , however , is that because Michigan ’ s government is behind on counting absentee ballots , we might not actually learn the primary ’ s outcome on Tuesday night .
Missouri , meanwhile , doesn ’ t loom as large in pundits ’ imagination , but its demographic makeup and 2016 outcome are actually quite similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Missouri by just 0.25 percentage points ) .
There have been five polls of Missouri since Super Tuesday , showing Biden leading by between 4 and 38 points .
Together , if Biden performs at the upper end of his polls — winning strongly in both Michigan and Missouri — it will signal that he ’ s thoroughly in command of the race going forward .
If he wins more narrowly in both , he ’ s still in a good place .
If Sanders pulls off a comeback , though , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show he has at least some signs of life in his campaign — though , as ever , what truly matters is the delegate count .
Elsewhere on the map , Biden ’ s best chance for an overwhelming win over Sanders is in Mississippi .
It ’ s one of the smaller states voting Tuesday , with only 36 delegates at stake , but Mississippi ’ s Democratic electorate will likely be more than 80 percent black .
The only state that ’ s voted so far that has anywhere near that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electorate is Alabama , where Biden won by nearly 47 percentage points .
Alabama is currently Biden ’ s single best state in terms of net delegates , so Mississippi could be similarly beneficial to the former vice president .
Meanwhile , Sanders ’ s likely best state in the lineup is Washington .
It was where he netted the most delegates over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — though he won so big partly because Washington Democrats used caucuses then , and they are not doing so this time around .
Washington is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus outbreak , but luckily , the state uses mail voting rather than crowded in-person polling places .
In an ominous sign for Sanders , though , polls conducted after Super Tuesday show the race being quite close .
A shocking defeat in Washington would be a devastating result for Sanders .
However , because mail ballots take longer to count ( they have to be verified ) , we may not know the outcome here until later in the week as well .
Finally , there are the Idaho primary and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states against Clinton .
But his support among rural white voters has been weaker this time around , so it ’ s not inconceivable that Biden could win in one or both of these states .

The Democratic presidential race is now a two-way contest between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders — and Tuesday, we got our first real look at how that head-to-head matchup will play out.
These March 10 contests were much less “super” than those from last week, but it’s an important day for the nomination battle — it’s the third-biggest delegate day left in the calendar. About 9 percent of Democrats’ pledged delegates were up for grabs in six states: Michigan, Washington, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho, and North Dakota.
Biden emerged from Super Tuesday with a significant but not overwhelming delegate lead over Sanders. Since then, the former vice president has surged in both national polls and polls of the March 10 states, suggesting he has an opportunity to dramatically expand that advantage.
Sanders, meanwhile, is behind. He needs to change the dynamics of the race to have any hopes of catching up. He won four of these six states last time around against Hillary Clinton, and lost a fifth quite narrowly (Missouri).
The flip side of that is if Sanders fails to make up ground here in the delegate count, or if he falls further behind, then he will have come up short in one of his best opportunities to turn things around.
We’ll display the latest vote totals in each contest, courtesy of our friends at Decision Desk (click on a state on the map to see that state’s results). But it’s important to keep in mind that what matters most now is the delegate count. Democrats allot their delegates proportionally. That means that a landslide win for Biden in Mississippi is more important to the delegate count than a narrow win for Sanders in a state where there are more delegates at stake.
Tuesday’s results will also matter greatly because another crucial day of primaries — March 17’s Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and Arizona contests — is rapidly approaching. After that day, there will in theory be nearly three months left in the Democratic contest. But because the calendar is frontloaded, 61 percent of all pledged delegates will have already been locked down. And if Biden builds a large lead by then, it could become all but impossible for Sanders to come back.
The quick results, by state
We’ll post who wins each of the states holding primaries or caucuses Tuesday below, once Decision Desk makes a call.
Michigan (125 delegates) — Winner: Biden
Washington (89 delegates) — Winner: Biden
Missouri (68 delegates) — Winner: Biden
Mississippi (36 delegates) — Winner: Biden
Idaho (20 delegates) — Winner: Biden
North Dakota (14 delegates) — Winner: Sanders
How to think about the March 10 contests — and the delegate math
Even though voting in the nomination contest just began a little over a month ago and is scheduled to continue through June, the March 10 contests bring us nearly to the halfway point in the delegate count. Once the votes are counted, about 47 percent of total pledged Democrats in the nomination contest will have been allotted.
And though Super Tuesday holds the crown for delegates at stake, the March 10 contests are nothing to sneeze at: Nearly 9 percent of Democrats’ total pledged delegates will be allotted in these states.
Particularly if you consider these contests alongside next week’s March 17 primaries, when another 14.5 percent of pledged delegates are up for grabs, this is a crucial period. It’s the time when the Super Tuesday results can either be ratified (if Biden expands his delegate lead) or rejected (if there’s an unexpected late swing to Sanders). It will determine the shape of the rest of the contest — if there even is a rest of the contest.
It’s clear that Super Tuesday gave Biden a lead in the delegate count, but the exact size of that lead remains unclear due to slow vote-counting in California and other states with many mail ballots. Decision Desk estimates that Biden has a 78-delegate lead over Sanders, while the Associated Press says he’s up by 91 delegates.
So though the question of who wins each state will be interesting, what matters most is whether Biden can expand that lead further, by getting a large share of the 352 delegates up for grabs on Tuesday.
But recent polls also suggest that Biden has a real shot of dealing Sanders defeats in some, or even all, of the March 10 states Sanders did well in last time. If he manages to come close to pulling that off, the Sanders campaign would really be on the ropes — and at risk of what could effectively be a knockout blow on March 17.
What to expect in the March 10 primaries and caucuses
The overall narrative of these contests likely hinges on the outcomes in two states: Michigan and Missouri.
Michigan has symbolic importance because, in 2016, it was the site for a poll-defying Bernie Sanders win after the Vermont senator lost badly to Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday. Now, that win was quite narrow, so it barely helped Sanders cut into Clinton’s delegate lead. But it gave him a “win” with which he could stoke hope among his supporters and justify continuing the race.
Sanders was hoping for a similar comeback in Michigan this time around, which did not materialize. The polls looked grim for him. The 10 polls of the state released since Super Tuesday show Biden winning by between 13 and 41 points. Those outcomes would have drastically different implications for the delegate math, but neither would be good for Sanders — he is losing, and to reverse that, he needs to win states.
Missouri, meanwhile, didn’t loom as large in pundits’ imagination, but its demographic makeup and 2016 outcome are actually quite similar to Michigan’s (Clinton won Missouri by just 0.25 percentage points). There were several polls of Missouri since Super Tuesday, showing Biden leading by between 4 and 38 points.
Together, if Biden performed at the upper end of his polls — winning strongly in both Michigan and Missouri — it would signal that he’s thoroughly in command of the race going forward. If he wins more narrowly in both, he’s still in a good place.
Elsewhere on the map, Biden’s best chance for an overwhelming win over Sanders was in Mississippi, which he achieved. It’s one of the smaller states voting Tuesday, with only 36 delegates at stake, but Mississippi’s Democratic electorate will likely be more than 80 percent black. The only state that’s voted so far that has anywhere near that proportion of black voters in the Democratic electorate is Alabama, where Biden won by nearly 47 percentage points. Alabama is currently Biden’s single best state in terms of net delegates, so Mississippi could be similarly beneficial to the former vice president.
Meanwhile, Sanders’s likely best state in the lineup is Washington. It was where he netted the most delegates over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — though he won so big partly because Washington Democrats used caucuses then, and they are not doing so this time around. Washington is experiencing the nation’s most severe coronavirus outbreak, but luckily, the state uses mail voting rather than crowded in-person polling places. In an ominous sign for Sanders, though, polls conducted after Super Tuesday show the race being quite close. A shocking defeat in Washington would be a devastating result for Sanders. However, because mail ballots take longer to count (they have to be verified), we may not know the outcome here until later in the week as well.
Finally, there are the Idaho primary and the North Dakota caucuses. Sanders won both states against Clinton. But his support among rural white voters has been weaker this time around. It was not inconceivable that Biden could win in both of these states, but Sanders pulled out a win in North Dakota.


vox--2020-03-10--Understand the unfolding coronavirus outbreak with these Vox podcast episodes

The coronavirus outbreak that causes the Covid-19 illness continues to spread as a health threat across the globe .
As new coronavirus cases are discovered , questions keep popping up about how to prepare for an outbreak , how to travel , and the difference between quarantine , isolation , and social distancing — to name a few .
That ’ s where Vox podcasts come in .
From what it ’ s like to be quarantined with coronavirus to how prepared the US is set up to respond to this outbreak to how AI warned about coronavirus before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , The Weeds , Worldy , and Reset episodes will help you understand the situation as it unfolds .
March 10 , 2020 | The stock market ’ s going haywire .
Major companies are telling their employees to stay home .
Austin has canceled SXSW .
Vox ’ s Matthew Yglesias says governments across the world have to act fast to save the global economy .
March 10 , 2020 | The cost of China ’ s high-tech response to contain the coronavirus .
So you think you have Covid-19 March 6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States hasn ’ t been doing the best job of testing for the novel coronavirus .
ProPublica ’ s Caroline Chen explains why .
March 6 , 2020 | The Kaiser Foundation ’ s Josh Michaud explains what the US is — and should be — doing to fight coronavirus .
March 5 , 2020 | Can we stop the spread of coronavirus misinformation on social media ?
Covid-19 , explained by Carl ( who has it ) March 3 , 2020 | Carl Goldman was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaks to Sean Rameswaram from a CDC quarantine in Omaha , Nebraska .
March 3 , 2020 | Jane Coaston , Dara Lind , and Brian Resnick talk about Covid-19 — how it started , its potential impact , and where we go from here .
February 26 , 2020 | Covid-19 may be on the brink of becoming a pandemic .
Vox ’ s Julia Belluz explains what that p-word means and Brian Resnick breaks down what an outbreak response might look like in the United States .
February 18 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Lots of mistakes .
The Japanese case shows us that quarantining people on a cruise ship to stop the spread of Covid-19 can backfire , while the Cambodia case suggests that letting people disembark and disperse around the world can create a public health nightmare .
Find out what these cruise ship emergencies reveal about the largest outbreak .
February 13 , 2020 | Zack Beauchamp and Alex Ward talk about the politics of the coronavirus outbreak in China : Why the Chinese government botched the initial response , why Chinese citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reasons why the problems with this response are inherent to the current Chinese governance model .
They then debate the claim from many analysts that this is the most serious crisis for China ’ s regime since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising — and the ( low ) probability that this could trigger another revolution-minded uprising .
How will the coronavirus outbreak end ?
February 6 , 2020 | In 2015 , Dr. Vineet Menachery said a SARS-like virus could spread to humans more easily than previously believed .
Now he explains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
An AI warned about coronavirus before the CDC February 4 , 2020 | How AI could predict the next big outbreak .
You can check out our guide to news of the coronavirus outbreak here .

The coronavirus outbreak that causes the Covid-19 illness continues to spread as a health threat across the globe. As new coronavirus cases are discovered, questions keep popping up about how to prepare for an outbreak, how to travel, and the difference between quarantine, isolation, and social distancing — to name a few.
That’s where Vox podcasts come in. From what it’s like to be quarantined with coronavirus to how prepared the US is set up to respond to this outbreak to how AI warned about coronavirus before the CDC, the following Today, Explained, The Weeds, Worldy, Reset, and Recode Decode episodes will help you understand the situation as it unfolds.
How coronavirus is impacting education
April 23, 2020 | Teachers and students are still struggling with online education.
Conspiracy-19
April 23, 2020 | Vox’s science editor, Eliza Barclay, arms you with the facts you need to fight your uncle’s favorite coronavirus conspiracy theories.
This one’s for Earth
April 22, 2020 | Cryptic treehunters. Unknown apples. Flowers fighting back. On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Vox’s Umair Irfan and Brian Resnick explain what we learned about the planet in the last year.
Opening up
April 21, 2020 | Dara, Jane, and Matt on conservatives’ desire for a rapid reopening of American businesses, and a ‘feel good’ white paper about air pollution.
The 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory
April 21, 2020 | A coronavirus conspiracy theory has led to arson attacks in the UK. And - how to talk to friends and family about coronavirus misinformation.
One day, three healthcare workers
April 21, 2020 | A nurse, a paramedic, and a physician’s assistant record themselves throughout the course of a day in the fight against Covid-19.
The epicenter of the epicenter
April 20, 2020 | Covid-19’s victims, and the people they leave behind.
The year 2038 problem
April 19, 2020 | What’s the deal with January 19th, 2038? Why remembering Y2K correctly matters.
Help is on the way (sort of)
April 17, 2020 | Ezra and Matt break down the implementation problems that have bedeviled the CARES Act.
Long shot
April 17, 2020 | It could be a year or more before the vaccine is ready, but there’s a radical plan to speed up the process.
Contact Tracing, Explained
April 16, 2020 | Public health’s “tried and true” tactic against infectious disease, and how Google and Apple want to help end the lockdown.
Zeke Emanuel’s exit strategy
April 16, 2020 | President Trump wants to reopen the country yesterday. Bioethicist Zeke Emanuel, who served as a health policy advisor to former President Obama, offers a safe path.
Death Cab for The Postal Service?
April 15, 2020 | The United States Postal Service is on the brink of collapse. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias explains how and why the country should save it.
How indie bookstores might survive the pandemic
April 14, 2020 | There’s a new online bookseller in town that’s trying to save your local indie bookstore.
All praise, no pay
April 14, 2020 | Essential workers in the food, transportation, and retail industries are being called American heroes. They want to be paid as such.
The corporate bailout watchdog
April 14, 2020 | Congressional oversight committee member Bharat Ramamurti joins Matt to explain his new job and what’s wrong with shareholder capitalism.
Elizabeth Warren has a plan for this, too
April 13, 2020 | Friend of the show Ezra Klein speaks to Sen. Elizabeth Warren about several plans she has proposed to combat this pandemic.
The Internet Has a Crush on Dr. Fauci
April 12, 2020 | From fan pages to food pics, Dr. Anthony Fauci is everywhere. The Verge’s Makena Kelly explains the person behind the meme.
How does this end?
April 10, 2020 | Ezra and Matt review four major plans for after social distancing; plus the Democratic primary finally ends.
The loneliness pandemic
April 10, 2020 | Coronavirus has led to another pandemic: social isolation. Vox’s Ezra Klein says this sickness has a cure.
Six feet away from God
April 9, 2020 | While a few religious leaders flout shelter in place ordinances, Easter, Passover, and Ramadan are inspiring most to get creative with worship.
Toby Ord on existential risk, Donald Trump, and thinking in probabilities
April 9, 2020 | Oxford philosopher Toby Ord spent the early part of his career spearheading the effective altruism movement, founding Giving What We Can, and focusing his attention primarily on issue areas like global public health and extreme poverty. Ord’s new book The Precipice is about something entirely different: the biggest existential risks to the future of humanity. In it, he predicts that humanity has approximately a 1 in 6 chance of going completely extinct by the end of the 21st century. The coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that tail risk is real. We always knew a zoological respiratory virus could become a global pandemic. But, collectively, we didn’t want to think about it, and so we didn’t. The result is the reality we live in now.
But for all the current moment’s horror, there are worse risks than coronavirus out there. One silver lining of the current crisis might be that it gets us to take them seriously, and avert them before they become unstoppable. That’s what Ord’s book is about, and it is, in a strange way, a comfort.
This, then, is a conversation about the risks that threaten humanity’s future, and what we can do about them. It’s a conversation about thinking in probabilities, about the ethics of taking future human lives seriously, about how we weigh the risks we don’t yet understand.
Will your favorite restaurant survive?
April 9, 2020 | Why the pandemic is exposing the complicated relationship between delivery apps and restaurants and how a restaurateur and app developer is helping keep his industry alive.
Vote and die
April 8, 2020 | Wisconsinites had to choose between catching Covid-19 and voting on Tuesday. Is the rest of the country next?
Your phone knows if you’re staying at home
April 7, 2020 | And it is telling the government. The Verge’s Casey Newton explains how location data is helping fight coronavirus, and why even privacy advocates don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Featuring Casey Newton, Silicon Valley Editor at the Verge.
“The Great Equalizer”
April 7, 2020 | Madonna was wrong. Covid-19 isn’t an equalizer. It’s coming for America’s most vulnerable populations.
The immunity test
April 6, 2020 | A vaccine will take a while, but Vox’s Umair Irfan says the global effort to test for immunity and treat Covid-19 is well underway.
Elizabeth Warren has a plan for this, too
April 6, 2020 | In January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was the first presidential candidate to release a plan for combatting coronavirus. In March, she released a second plan. Days later, with the scale of economic damage increasing, she released a third. Warren’s proposals track the spread of the virus: from a problem happening elsewhere and demanding a surge in global health resources to a pandemic happening here, demanding not just a public health response, but an all-out effort to save the US economy. Warren’s penchant for planning stands in particular stark contrast to this administration, which still has not released a clear coronavirus plan. There is no document you can download, no web site you can visit, that details our national strategy to slow the disease and rebuild the economy.
So I asked Warren to return to the show to explain what the plan should be, given the cold reality we face. We discussed what, specifically, the federal government should do; the roots of the testing debacle; her idea for mobilizing the economy around building affordable housing; why she thinks that this is exactly the right time to cancel student loan debt; why America spends so much money preparing for war and so little defending itself against pandemics and climate change; whether she thinks the Democratic primary focused on the wrong issues; and how this crisis is making a grim mockery of Ronald Reagan’s old saw about “the scariest words in the English language.”
The two types of tests we need to end this
April 5, 2020 | How testing technology will help end the spread of covid-19.
Mask on? Mask off?
April 3, 2020 | In an about-face, the Centers for Disease Control would now like you to cover your mouth and nose when you go outside.
Coronavirus meets health reform
April 3, 2020 | Ezra and Matt discuss Covid-19’s impact on insurance premiums, the case for single-payer, and more.
6.6 million more unemployed
April 2, 2020 | Last week’s unemployment numbers shattered all records. This week, they doubled. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias, host of The Weeds podcast, proposes a way out of this mess.
The race to make more ventilators
April 2, 2020 | Why life-saving ventilators for Covid-19 patients are in short supply, and how people like Dr. Richard Boyer are trying to fix that.
What social solidarity demands of us in a pandemic
April 2, 2020 | There is no doubt that social distancing is the best way to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But the efficacy of social distancing (or really any other public health measure) relies on something much deeper and harder to measure: social solidarity.
“Solidarity,” writes Eric Klinenberg, “motivates us to promote public health, not just our own personal security. It keeps us from hoarding medicine, toughing out a cold in the workplace or sending a sick child to school. It compels us to let a ship of stranded people dock in our safe harbors, to knock on our older neighbor’s door.” Klinenberg, a sociologist by trade, is the director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. His first book, Heat Wave, found that social connection was, at times, literally the difference between life and death during Chicago’s 1995 heat wave. Since then, he’s spent his career studying trends in American social life, from the rise of adults living alone to the importance of “social infrastructure” in holding together our civic bonds.
This conversation is about what happens when a country mired in a mythos of individualism collides with a pandemic that demands social solidarity and collective sacrifice. It’s about preventing an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation from overwhelming the most vulnerable among us. We discuss the underlying social trends that predated coronavirus, what kind of leadership it takes to actually bring people together, the irony of asking young people and essential workers to sacrifice for the rest of us, whether there’s an opportunity to build a different kind of society in the aftermath of Covid-19, and much more.
Lockdown while locked up
April 1, 2020 | Arthur Longworth calls Sean from Washington State Reformatory to explain what it’s like to serve a life sentence at a prison where the coronavirus is spreading.
There’s no social distancing in Animal Crossing
March 31, 2020 | Nintendo’s new game New Horizons has become a place to escape the reality of a global pandemic, gather with friends online - and even get married.
The trouble with Trump’s daily briefings
March 31, 2020 | Part rally, part media-bashing, part critical updates on the coronavirus crisis, President Trump’s daily press briefings are muddying the message.
Coronavirus has pushed US-China relations to their worst point since Mao
March 30, 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic is a grim reminder that the worst really can happen. Tail risk is real risk. Political leaders fumble, miscalculate, and bluster into avoidable disaster. And even as we try to deal with this catastrophe, the seeds of another are sprouting.
The US-China relationship will define geopolitics in the 21st century. If we collapse into rivalry, conflict, and politically opportunistic nationalism, the results could be hellish. And we are, right now, collapsing into rivalry, conflict, and politically opportunistic nationalism.
The Trump administration, and key congressional Republicans, are calling COVID-19 “the Chinese virus,” and trying to gin up tensions to distract from their domestic failures. Chinese government officials, beset by their own domestic problems, are claiming the US military brought the virus to China. The US-China relationship was in a bad way six months ago, but this is a new level of threat.
Evan Osnos covers the US-China relationship for the New Yorker, and is author of the National Book Award winner, The Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China. In this conversation, we discuss the past, present and future of the US-China relationship. What are the chances of armed conflict? What might deescalation look like? And we know what the US wants — what, in truth, does China want?
Airborne, Explained
March 29, 2020 | What do we mean when we say “airborne?”; plus, the most important unanswered questions about how coronavirus is transmitted.
Your coronavirus questions, answered (Part II)
March 27, 2020 | On today’s show, more listener questions: Why isn’t everyone social distancing? Will I be immune after I get it? When will this end? My anxiety is spiking!
When $2 trillion isn’t enough
March 27, 2020 | Ezra and Matt analyze the huge but inadequate stimulus bill.
Deepak Chopra: “If this doesn’t bring us together, then we deserve whatever happens”
March 27, 2020 | Dr. Deepak Chopra talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how to cope with the global threat posed by coronavirus, the parallel “pandemic of panic,” and how to not be overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.
Is the cure worse than the disease?
March 26, 2020 | “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself!” That was President Donald Trump, this week, explaining why he was thinking about lifting coronavirus guidelines earlier than public-health experts recommended. The “cure,” in this case, is social distancing, and the mass economic stoppage it forces. The problem, of course, is COVID-19, and the millions of deaths it could cause.
This is a debate that needs to be taken seriously. Slowing coronavirus will impose real costs, and immense suffering, on society. Are those costs worth it? This is the most important public policy question right now. And if the discussion isn’t had well, then it will be had, as we’re already seeing, poorly, and dangerously.
What this coronavirus does to your body
March 26, 2020 | Why does it spread so easily? And could it mutate into something worse? The Atlantic’s Ed Yong explains the science so far.
The two trillion dollar question
March 25, 2020 | Congress has settled on a historic stimulus package, but Ezra Klein is worried it might not be enough.
Chamath Palihapitiya: “The investing landscape is done,” taxes will go up, and a two-week lockdown is inevitable
March 25, 2020 | Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how long it will take to recover from the coronavirus crisis, its impact on startups, and how the US government should and will react — including by tracking individuals via their technology and repatriating cash from tech companies like Apple. Palihapitiya says businesses should make sure they have at least 36 months worth of cash on hand to weather this recession and its slow recovery period and predicts the US will need to devote an entire year’s GDP to combat covid-19. He criticizes the corporate “shenanigans” that will make economic recovery harder says he’s done investing for at least nine months, because anyone trying to do deals now will be “decapitated.” Plus: What we can all learn right now from the histories of the Great Depression and the 2008 financial crisis, and which industries will come out of this crisis stronger than before?
Asia’s second wave
March 24, 2020 | Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how long it will take to recover from the coronavirus crisis, its impact on startups,
Is Amazon primed for coronavirus?
March 24, 2020 | How the tech giant is responding to the pandemic, and what it says about Amazon as a company.
Fighting coronavirus with corporate conscription
March 24, 2020 | Jane, Dara, and Matt on the Defense Production Act, wartime mobilization, and pandemic-induced autarky.
Giving birth in a pandemic
March 23, 2020 | Vox’s Julia Belluz went from covering the global coronavirus pandemic to giving birth in the middle of it. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
An economic crisis like we’ve never seen
March 23, 2020 | “What is happening,” writes Annie Lowrey, “is a shock to the American economy more sudden and severe than anyone alive has ever experienced.”
It’s also different from what anyone alive has ever experienced. For many of us, the Great Recession is the closest analogue — but it’s not analogous at all. There, the economy’s potential was unchanged, but financial markets were in crisis. Here, we are purposefully freezing economic activity in order to slow a public health crisis. Early data suggests the economic crisis is going to far exceed any single week or quarter of the financial crisis. Multiple economists have told Ezra Klein that the nearest analogy to what we’re going through is the economy during World War II.
“I have a secret advantage when trying to understand moments of economic upheaval. I’m married to Annie Lowrey,” writes Ezra Klein. “I can give you the bio — staff writer at the Atlantic, author of Give People Money (which is proving particularly prophetic and influential right now) — but suffice to say she’s one of the clearest and most brilliant economic thinkers I know. Her viral piece on the affordability crisis is crucial for understanding what the economy really looked like before Covid-19, and she’s been doing some of the best work on the way Covid-19 will worsen the economic problems we had and create a slew of new ones. But this isn’t just a conversation about crisis. It’s also a conversation about how to respond. I wouldn’t call it hopeful — we’re not there yet. But constructive.”
The biggest experiment in online learning, ever
March 22, 2020 | COVID-19 has shut schools all over the country, and millions of American students are now learning at home, online. Are online tools enough to make up for lost classroom time?
Your coronavirus questions, answered
March 20, 2020 | On today’s show, we answer listener’s questions: Why is there no TP? Will we run out of food? Can I get the virus from sex? Should I finally write my will? How can I help?
How quickly can we treat covid-19?
March 19, 2020 | The scientific community is moving at unprecedented speed to develop a way to treat COVID-19. But how soon can a treatment or a vaccine be available to the public?
Six feet away
March 19, 2020 | Vox’s Brian Resnick (safely) meets Sean in a Washington, D.C. park to deliver the Five Commandments of social distancing.
“The virus is more patient than people are”
March 19, 2020 | Ron Klain served as the chief of staff to vice presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden. In 2014, President Barack Obama tapped him to lead the administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. He successfully oversaw a hellishly complex effort preparing domestically for an outbreak and surging health resources onto another continent to contain the disease.
But Klain is quick to say that the coronavirus is a harder challenge even than Ebola. The economy is in free fall. Entire cities have been told to shelter in place. And there’s no telling how long any of this will last. In this conversation, Klain answers Ezra Klein’s questions about the disease and how to respond to it, as well as questions many of you submitted.
TFW your dad gives you Covid-19
March 18, 2020 | Sean speaks to a Brooklyn family that has Covid-19, and Vox’s Dylan Scott explains how the United States is still trying to get its act together on testing.
Rescuing the economy from coronavirus
March 17, 2020 | Jane, Dara, and Matt discuss President Trump’s new more serious tone and competing economic stimulus proposals.
Can President Trump fix this?
March 17, 2020 | After dismissing coronavirus concerns for months, President Donald is pivoting to serious action to slow the crisis in the United States.
School’s out for Covid
March 16, 2020 | The country’s largest school district told a million kids to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s creating chaos for teachers, students, and parents.
Maggie Haberman: How coronavirus changes everything for President Trump
March 16, 2020 | Maggie Haberman, the White House correspondent for the New York Times, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how the rest of the country has bypassed Trump’s failure to lead on the coronavirus outbreak; his exposure to COVID-19 at Mar-a-Lago and refusal to self-quarantine; and the toxic cocktail of practices in his administration: Infighting, tiptoeing, and sucking up.
She also discusses CDC director Anthony Fauci’s “unimpeachable” credibility vs. President Trump’s trust problem, how Vice President Pence is doing at the helm of the coronavirus task force, and how this period could have a bigger impact on Trump’s re-election chances than previous crises. Plus: Who is actually running things at the White House right now, and can Trump operate his campaign without mass rallies?
Weeds 2020: The coronavirus election
March 14, 2020 | Ezra and Matt on dueling pandemic response plans from Sanders and Biden, and Trump’s disastrous speech.
Living in lockdown
March 14, 2020 | Italy has quarantined the whole country in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus. Vox’s Julia Belluz explains why the US might look like Italy soon.
Ron Klain: The coronavirus outbreak is just getting started in the US
March 13, 2020 | Epidemic co-host Ron Klain, who led the White House’s ebola response under President Obama, talks to Recode’s Kara Swisher about how the COVID-19 outbreak will strain America’s healthcare system; how President Trump downplayed the crisis, rattling public confidence and delaying the country’s response; and the way people who work in the gig economy — including Uber drivers and food delivery workers — will be especially hurt by the situation. He also discusses the logic behind travel bans and limits of their efficacy, why it’s impossible for the US to completely cut itself off from China, and what Trump didn’t say in his Oval Office address, but should have. Klain, an adviser and former chief of staff to Joe Biden, also talks about the ex-vice president’s surprisingly successful presidential campaign and how it’s reckoning with Biden’s history of verbal flubs.
How to slow down coronavirus
March 12, 2020 | President Trump has banned most Europeans from traveling to the US. Vox’s Jen Kirby explains why that won’t stop the novel coronavirus from spreading, and Eliza Barclay tells us what we can do to slow the spread.
Every country for itself
March 12, 2020 | Zack, Jenn, and Alex record an episode on coronavirus from their respective homes, under self-isolation. They talk about the politics of Trump’s ban on European travel to the US and explore why the European Union seems to be neglecting to help Italy in its time of need. They also explain how the virus has led to a massive drop in oil prices — and why, at this particular time, this could seriously destabilize political systems around the world.
Coronavirus hits the markets
March 10, 2020 | The stock market’s going haywire. Major companies are telling their employees to stay home. Austin has canceled SXSW. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias says governments across the world have to act fast to save the global economy.
Does stopping coronavirus require more surveillance?
March 10, 2020 | The cost of China’s high-tech response to contain the coronavirus.
So you think you have Covid-19
March 6, 2020 | Thus far, the United States hasn’t been doing the best job of testing for the novel coronavirus. ProPublica’s Caroline Chen explains why.
The coronavirus rumor mill
March 5, 2020 | Can we stop the spread of coronavirus misinformation on social media?
Covid-19, explained by Carl (who has it)
March 3, 2020 | Carl Goldman was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship and now he has Covid-19. He speaks to Sean Rameswaram from a CDC quarantine in Omaha, Nebraska.
The floating petri dish
February 18, 2020 | One coronavirus. Two cruise ships. Lots of mistakes. The Japanese case shows us that quarantining people on a cruise ship to stop the spread of Covid-19 can backfire, while the Cambodia case suggests that letting people disembark and disperse around the world can create a public health nightmare. Find out what these cruise ship emergencies reveal about the largest outbreak.
Could coronavirus collapse Chinese communism?
February 13, 2020 | Zack Beauchamp and Alex Ward talk about the politics of the coronavirus outbreak in China: Why the Chinese government botched the initial response, why Chinese citizens are so angry about it, and the reasons why the problems with this response are inherent to the current Chinese governance model. They then debate the claim from many analysts that this is the most serious crisis for China’s regime since the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising — and the (low) probability that this could trigger another revolution-minded uprising.
How will the coronavirus outbreak end?
February 6, 2020 | In 2015, Dr. Vineet Menachery said a SARS-like virus could spread to humans more easily than previously believed. Now he explains what we can do to stop it.
An AI warned about coronavirus before the CDC
February 4, 2020 | How AI could predict the next big outbreak.
You can check out our guide to news of the coronavirus outbreak here.