vox--2020-05-05--How to have a fulfilling staycation when you’re sick of your house

I woke up on April 20 to an old calendar reminder that I should be packed and ready to board my flight to Barcelona , Spain , in about six hours .
I had , of course , already canceled my trip and requested refunds two months ago , back when Spain shut down its cities to curb the spread of coronavirus .
The notification was just another reminder of the Before Times , when I had a nine-day vacation that would ’ ve provided a much-needed mental refresher from work .
Instead , I opted to take a brief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Millions of Americans are currently under stay-at-home orders and many have postponed or entirely canceled their vacation plans for the current year .
Since domestic and international travel has slowed down to a virtual halt , people won ’ t be traveling very far anytime soon .
In the meantime , local staycations seem to be most people ’ s only option , unless you have a second vacation home or extra money to spend on a short-term rental or hotel room with limited human contact .
In the days when a flight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a staycation was a code for “ chill vacation ” — a short , sometimes local trip with limited planning and expenses .
The goal of a staycation is to relax in a place that is close to home , but still a novel environment .
But now that most cities and states are on lockdown , how do you plan a fulfilling break in a space you ’ ve occupied every hour of the day for the past couple of months ?
What if you aren ’ t afforded a significant amount @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re in a pandemic .
You still need a vacation .
It ’ s possible that , due to the coronavirus , people with jobs might take even less time off work than they usually do — whether they hold essential positions or are working from home .
In 2018 , about 55 percent of workers reported they didn ’ t use their allotted time off , according to the latest data from the US Travel Association .
That amounts to about $ 65.5 billion in lost benefits , a number that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economic slowdown and uncertainty as to when it ’ ll be safe to travel again .
For some , however , it can feel oddly wasteful to take vacation days just to spend time inside , especially when the economic downturn has led to massive unemployment .
Many companies have reduced their budgets and implemented hiring freezes , so it ’ s likely that individual workload could increase .
And even before the pandemic , more than half of US workers reported feeling guilty about taking vacation time , according to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In this situation , many Americans could be working without meaningful time off for at least another couple of months .
Meanwhile in quarantine , people have reported higher levels of stress-induced fatigue : Essential workers are likely overworked , underpaid , and worried about the possibility of catching Covid-19 ; parents might be exhausted with around-the-clock childcare ; and in general , people could be emotionally fatigued due to the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the pandemic .
“ You need a lot of physical energy for your cognitive work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and rumination , ” Nancy Sin , an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia , told Vice .
A mental and physical break , then , seems all the more necessary for employees , who are possibly on the verge of burnout as the pandemic wages on .
How people can still achieve the feeling of travel during a staycation After more than a month of working from my tiny apartment , my weekends have started to blend into my weekdays .
And while that helps with the passage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harder to differentiate between time spent indoors for relaxation and leisure , versus time spent indoors because , well , I sort of have to .
For my staycation , I took two days off to give myself a four-day weekend , which I spent making cocktails , working on a short story , and watching old French films .
Dan Kieran , author of The Idle Traveller : The Art of Slow Travel , thinks that local staycations — much like what I undertook — will be the future of tourism and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or two , as people emerge from the pandemic more cautious and hesitant to fly to far-off destinations .
International travel will resume , but already , experts are predicting that many aspects of the industry , from medical screenings to personal hygiene , will change .
“ My favorite thing to do is walk out my front door in a different direction , ” Kieran says .
“ Instead of giving yourself a specific amount of time to explore a place , reflect on where you are and try to get lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encourages people to take walks and explore their outdoor areas as if they ’ re a foreign traveler : They could walk along an unfamiliar street or choose to not use their GPS or phone , which would replicate that sense of adventurousness so many people crave .
“ My favorite thing to do is walk out my front door in a different direction ” Even indoors , a person could alter their environment by choosing to sleep in a different corner or room of their home or , if they have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or two .
It could seem silly , Kieran admits , but these activities are also family-friendly : “ You can bring your sleeping bag in the lounge , sleep with your kids , or camp in the garden .
If you break down what you love most about travel , it ’ s actually quite easy to find equivalence that doesn ’ t require you to be in a different geographical location , ” Kieran concludes .
Kieran has long been an advocate of slow travel , a decades-old movement that presents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ style of tourism most travelers are accustomed to .
It ’ s a mindset that rejects commercialized tourism and encourages travelers to venture “ off the beaten path ” to explore local cultures , foods , and transportation methods .
This means a traveler could spend more time at a place than they originally planned , remaining open to itinerary changes .
“ There are not a lot of rules to it .
It only requires you to keep an open mind , ” Kieran says , which is why he believes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for slow travel.
” People can practice slow travel even in their own cities , since the philosophy encourages close interaction with a local community that can be achieved through walking .
“ When we travel , we go to different parts of the world to activate a different way about thinking about life , which pushes us in a different head space , ” Kieran says .
“ Travel is not really about your physical location .
Slow travel is a mindset , ” Kieran tells me .
Although new locations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than a staycation , he believes travel is about thinking differently about your own surroundings and being challenged by them , which is why he ’ s encouraging people to get lost in their own town .
Why should we love staycations ?
Because “ you ’ re the CEO of your own life , ” says one personal adviser Marty Nemko , a career and personal adviser , has always been an advocate for staycations .
He tells me that now , more than ever , it ’ s important for people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can partake in at home “ at no cost or hassle.
” “ In my experience , staycations provide a much better pleasure to pain ratio than a regular vacation , ” Nemko says .
“ There ’ s greater pleasure in doing whatever you want in your own home.
” ( Kieran agrees .
He tells me that the etymology of the word travel originates from travail , the French word for work , which is thought to stem from trepalium , the Latin term for a torture instrument .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says . )
While a staycation within a familiar space can initially appear limiting , Nemko encourages people to take on a small project , whether it be home renovation or learning how to cook a new cuisine over the course of two or three days .
( He coined the term “ projation , ” or a project-vacation , in a recent Psychology Today article . )
“ You can write that screenplay you ’ ve been meaning to write or adopt a hobby that gives you a sense of purpose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if you make a room more livable that you ’ re living in , it ’ s the fact that you did something for yourself or the world.
” Online , there ’ s been a huge cultural debate about productivity in quarantine , primarily among creatives like me who are working home .
With all this extra time , should you try to be productive or simply take a break ?
Nemko believes that people should strive to be purposeful and productive , while I personally believe in doing what ultimately feels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ productivity be damned .
Even a brief staycation is unstructured time that you ’ re allowed to enjoy however you want .
For people who are unable to get much time off work besides their weekends , Nemko suggests implementing micro-breaks or restructuring the workday so it fits your own personal needs if you ’ re working from home .
“ At this moment , you can inject freedom in your work life since you don ’ t have your boss breathing down your neck , ” he says .
“ You ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Get out of that chair whenever you want and take a walk or clean the bathroom.
” Nemko sprinkles his day with what he calls nano-breaks , gaps of time that are extremely short , to indulge in a funny Youtube video or a brief period of meditation .
“ Even a minute when you ’ re not thinking about work , that can be very refreshing .
The trick is not letting a minute turn into 30.
” When travel eventually resumes again , many experts expect travelers to gravitate to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Short-term rentals in remote places could be a vacation alternative for urbanites to escape the city .
( Getaway House , a tiny house rental start-up , is operating in most cities even during the pandemic , and RVs are in demand . )
“ I think people are going to look closer to home or spaces that remind them of home , which is a powerful and positive thing , ” Kieran says .
“ People might start to recognize that they don ’ t need to go to a foreign place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

I woke up on April 20 to an old calendar reminder that I should be packed and ready to board my flight to Barcelona, Spain, in about six hours. I had, of course, already canceled my trip and requested refunds two months ago, back when Spain shut down its cities to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The notification was just another reminder of the Before Times, when I had a nine-day vacation that would’ve provided a much-needed mental refresher from work. Instead, I opted to take a brief staycation — in my own apartment.
Millions of Americans are currently under stay-at-home orders and many have postponed or entirely canceled their vacation plans for the current year. Since domestic and international travel has slowed to a virtual halt, people won’t be traveling very far anytime soon. In the meantime, local staycations seem to be most people’s only option, unless you have a second vacation home or extra money to spend on a short-term rental or hotel room with limited human contact.
In the days when a flight seemed to be a safe luxury, a staycation was a code for “chill vacation” — a short, sometimes local trip with limited planning and expenses. The goal of a staycation is to relax in a place that is close to home but still a novel environment. But now that most cities and states are on lockdown, how do you plan a fulfilling break in a space you’ve occupied every hour of the day for the past couple of months? What if you aren’t afforded a significant amount of time off?
Yes, we’re in a pandemic. You still need a vacation.
It’s possible that, due to the coronavirus, people with jobs might take even less time off work than they usually do — whether they hold essential positions or are working from home. In 2018, about 55 percent of workers reported they didn’t use their allotted time off, according to the latest data from the US Travel Association. That amounts to about $65.5 billion in lost benefits, a number that could easily climb in 2020 resulting from the economic slowdown and uncertainty as to when it’ll be safe to travel again.
For some, however, it can feel oddly wasteful to take vacation days just to spend time inside, especially when the economic downturn has led to massive unemployment. Many companies have reduced their budgets and implemented hiring freezes, so it’s likely that individual workload could increase. And even before the pandemic, more than half of US workers reported feeling guilty about taking vacation time, according to a 2019 survey of over 2,000 full-time workers. In this situation, many Americans could be working without meaningful time off for at least another couple of months.
Meanwhile in quarantine, people have reported higher levels of stress-induced fatigue: Essential workers are likely overworked, underpaid, and worried about the possibility of catching Covid-19; parents might be exhausted with around-the-clock child care; and in general, people could be emotionally fatigued due to the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the pandemic.
“You need a lot of physical energy for your cognitive work. We’re doing so much worrying and rumination,” Nancy Sin, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, told Vice. A mental and physical break, then, seems all the more necessary for employees, who are possibly on the verge of burnout as the pandemic wages on.
How people can still achieve the feeling of travel during a staycation
After more than a month of working from my tiny apartment, my weekends have started to blend into my weekdays. And while that helps with the passage of time, it’s much harder to differentiate between time spent indoors for relaxation and leisure, versus time spent indoors because, well, I sort of have to. For my staycation, I took two days off to give myself a four-day weekend, which I spent making cocktails, working on a short story, and watching old French films.
Dan Kieran, author of The Idle Traveller: The Art of Slow Travel, thinks that local staycations — much like what I undertook — will be the future of tourism and travel at least for the next year or two, as people emerge from the pandemic more cautious and hesitant to fly to far-off destinations. International travel will resume, but already, experts are predicting that many aspects of the industry, from medical screenings to personal hygiene, will change.
“My favorite thing to do is walk out my front door in a different direction,” Kieran says. “Instead of giving yourself a specific amount of time to explore a place, reflect on where you are and try to get lost to achieve that travel feeling.” He encourages people to take walks and explore their outdoor areas as if they’re a foreign traveler: They could walk along an unfamiliar street or choose to not use their GPS or phone, which would replicate that sense of adventurousness so many people crave.
“My favorite thing to do is walk out my front door in a different direction”
Even indoors, a person could alter their environment by choosing to sleep in a different corner or room of their home or, if they have a backyard, camp outside for a night or two. It could seem silly, Kieran admits, but these activities are also family-friendly: “You can bring your sleeping bag in the lounge, sleep with your kids, or camp in the garden. If you break down what you love most about travel, it’s actually quite easy to find equivalence that doesn’t require you to be in a different geographical location,” Kieran concludes.
Kieran has long been an advocate of slow travel, a decades-old movement that presents itself as the antidote to the fast-paced style of tourism most travelers are accustomed to. It’s a mindset that rejects commercialized tourism and encourages travelers to venture “off the beaten path” to explore local cultures, foods, and transportation methods. This means a traveler could spend more time at a place than they originally planned, remaining open to itinerary changes. “There are not a lot of rules to it. It only requires you to keep an open mind,” Kieran says, which is why he believes the coronavirus could be “a huge moment for slow travel.”
People can practice slow travel even in their own cities, since the philosophy encourages close interaction with a local community that can be achieved through walking. “When we travel, we go to different parts of the world to activate a different way about thinking about life, which pushes us in a different head space,” Kieran says.
“Travel is not really about your physical location. Slow travel is a mindset,” Kieran tells me. Although new locations and environments help kickstart that mentality much faster than a staycation, he believes travel is about thinking differently about your own surroundings and being challenged by them, which is why he’s encouraging people to get lost in their own town.
Why should we love staycations? Because “you’re the CEO of your own life,” says one personal adviser
Marty Nemko, a career and personal adviser, has always been an advocate for staycations. He tells me that now, more than ever, it’s important for people to recognize how many leisurely activities they can partake in at home “at no cost or hassle.”
“In my experience, staycations provide a much better pleasure to pain ratio than a regular vacation,” Nemko says. “There’s greater pleasure in doing whatever you want in your own home.” (Kieran agrees. He tells me that the etymology of the word travel originates from travail, the French word for work, which is thought to stem from trepalium, the Latin term for a torture instrument. “The word travel literally means torture,” he says.)
While a staycation within a familiar space can initially appear limiting, Nemko encourages people to take on a small project, whether it be home renovation or learning how to cook a new cuisine over the course of two or three days. (He coined the term “projation,” or a project-vacation, in a recent Psychology Today article.)
“You can write that screenplay you’ve been meaning to write or adopt a hobby that gives you a sense of purpose,” Nemko adds. “Even if you make a room more livable that you’re living in, it’s the fact that you did something for yourself or the world.”
REMINDER: William Faulkner wrote "As I Lay Dying" in six weeks.
In that same period of time, I have ... managed to shave only occasionally. — David Gura (@davidgura) April 27, 2020
Online, there’s been a huge cultural debate about productivity in quarantine, primarily among creatives like me who are working home. With all this extra time, should you try to be productive or simply take a break? Nemko believes that people should strive to be purposeful and productive, while I personally believe in doing what ultimately feels good for my brain and body, productivity be damned. Even a brief staycation is unstructured time that you’re allowed to enjoy however you want.
For people who are unable to get much time off work besides their weekends, Nemko suggests implementing micro-breaks or restructuring the workday so it fits your own personal needs if you’re working from home.
“At this moment, you can inject freedom in your work life since you don’t have your boss breathing down your neck,” he says. “You’re the CEO of your own life. Get out of that chair whenever you want and take a walk or clean the bathroom.” Nemko sprinkles his day with what he calls nano-breaks, gaps of time that are extremely short, to indulge in a funny Youtube video or a brief period of meditation. “Even a minute when you’re not thinking about work, that can be very refreshing. The trick is not letting a minute turn into 30.”
When travel eventually resumes again, many experts expect travelers to gravitate to more rural locations with fewer people. Short-term rentals in remote places could be a vacation alternative for urbanites to escape the city. (Getaway House, a tiny house rental start-up, is operating in most cities even during the pandemic, and RVs are in demand.)
“I think people are going to look closer to home or spaces that remind them of home, which is a powerful and positive thing,” Kieran says. “People might start to recognize that they don’t need to go to a foreign place to be excited and invigorated.”


vox--2020-05-05--Vietnam, Slovenia, and 3 other overlooked coronavirus success stories

It seems like some countries have figured out not only how to flatten their coronavirus curves , but also how to send them plunging downward .
From Slovenia to Jordan to Iceland , governments took early action to impose lockdowns , test and trace thousands of people , isolate the sick , encourage social distancing and preventive measures like mask wearing , and communicate honestly with the public .
Those interventions curbed the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths , allowing leaders to reopen schools and businesses and reintroduce a sense of normalcy into everyday life .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or deaths .
In effect , they followed the prescribed playbook for such a pandemic , and — surprise , surprise — it worked .
“ At the end of the day , it ’ s not magic .
It ’ s shoe-leather public health , ” Thomas Bollyky , director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank , told me .
Nothing is a better substitute for speed and aggressive action , he said .
What makes their feats more impressive is just how different the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is in Europe — one of the world ’ s coronavirus hotspots — but managed to escape the worst despite receiving large numbers of tourists and a busy Easter holiday .
Vietnam , meanwhile , avoided a major outbreak despite having a large land border with China and limited financial resources .
A country ’ s inherent characteristics , then , seem to matter less than the seriousness and speed of a government ’ s response .
Which means there are many lessons the world can learn from little-noticed coronavirus success stories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Vietnam is a lower-income , densely populated country that shares a large land border with China , where the outbreak first began .
That , on the surface , would seem to make Vietnam extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus .
But the Vietnamese government acted strongly early , even before the World Health Organization said the outbreak was a global public health emergency , and today it has yet to confirm a single death from the disease .
Its response has so far proven a success by doing three things : a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contract tracing , and a lot of quarantining .
The country started developing tests almost immediately after it confirmed in January that three people traveling back from Wuhan , China — the disease ’ s origination point — had the disease .
Vietnam has since tested nearly 300,000 people .
That seems small compared to the millions tested in the US , for example , but it ’ s a major outlier in looking at how many people the government tested per confirmed case .
Vietnam went through a testing progression : First @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known to have traveled ; then it moved on to testing those people ’ s close contacts ; and finally , it began testing anyone presenting coronavirus-like symptoms .
Only recently has the government begun to test widely in major hot spots and risky locations , such as markets in the city of Hanoi .
This plan made sense for one major reason , namely , that focusing testing resources on those around the original sick people and isolating those with symptoms would effectively cut the outbreak off at the source .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make it into the country by ending flights from the most impacted countries early .
Travelers at ports of entry also had to go through temperature screening and had to self-report their health statuses .
If someone lied on their health declaration or resisted screening , they could be criminally charged .
Those found to be sick , whether at the airport or elsewhere , were placed in quarantine facilities for 14 days , free of charge .
Self-isolation at home isn ’ t permitted in Vietnam , as the government worries those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their family members .
It also helps that the public has received and accepted what health officials tell them , as many abide by the government ’ s guidelines like social distancing and mask wearing .
That only makes the country ’ s broader response easier .
Students as of this week are back in class , and the economy is on the way to reopening completely — showing how just how successful an early and robust coronavirus response can be .
Vietnam didn ’ t use fancy technology or new methods .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ well .
Slovenia kept people at home and others away from the country Slovenia , a country of just over 2 million people , has nearly 1,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 100 deaths , as of May 5 .
The relatively small outbreak is impressive , considering Slovenia is a growing tourist destination that borders Italy , one of Europe ’ s outbreak epicenters .
Its success mainly stems from an aggressive early lockdown , quarantines of sick people , and generous government spending .
The country ’ s first case was confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took Slovenian officials about two weeks to close schools and businesses and freeze public transportation .
The government also gave 3 billion euros — 6 percent of Slovenia ’ s GDP — to citizens and businesses to survive the shutdown .
( Last week , however , several hundred people protested the center-right government ’ s strict lockdown policy . )
Quarantines also helped keep confirmed cases low .
In early April , most people entering the country — Slovenians and foreigners alike — had to go through a mandatory 14-day quarantine .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , only that person ’ s home or a hotel they were staying at .
Whoever was in quarantine would have to rely on either family members , friends , or volunteers to bring them food and other necessities .
Such measures almost surely kept many from traveling to Slovenia , slowing the number of potential infections .
The situation in Slovenia has improved to the point that businesses have already begun opening up again , and citizens can travel outside their municipalities .
Schools will also start back up on May 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and soccer games , will still be suspended until a vaccination for the coronavirus is found .
What Slovenia has shown , then , is that aggressive government action and intervention can help keep people from spreading the disease .
Even by the government ’ s own numbers , it could do more testing , but for now , the current measures appear to be working .
Any list of countries that acted early to confront the coronavirus must have Jordan toward the top of it .
Jordan ’ s first confirmed coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five weeks before that , the country ’ s committee to combat the disease — formed as news about an outbreak in China came out — already had protocols in place .
Those measures included designating which hospitals would treat infected patients and how , exactly , doctors would take care of them .
And the government , at the request of the king , also passed emergency laws to allow the military to enforce a strict lockdown and curfew .
These swift and forceful actions , in the minds of Jordanian officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to under 500 confirmed cases and about 10 deaths as of May 5 .
“ Timing was key for us , ” Bassam Hijjawi , an epidemiologist on the country ’ s coronavirus committee , told Al Jazeera in April .
By mid-March , schools , businesses , and government officers had been closed .
Borders were also closed , with repatriated Jordanians having to spend 14 days in quarantine at hotels .
The lockdown continues , with a siren ringing every day at 6 pm across the country to remind everyone they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the following morning .
The use of vehicles is prohibited , unless someone has a special license for essential business , and all large gatherings — including prayer services and funerals — are banned .
People can be fined or jailed for disobeying these orders .
While the vast majority of people stay at home , the government is testing about 2,000 to 3,000 people a day to track the disease and those in contact with infected people .
That ’ s not to say Jordan hasn ’ t had a close call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the northern city of Irbid , Jordan ’ s second-largest urban area .
About 450 people attended a wedding despite government advice against large gatherings , and soon cases shot up there .
The government quickly sprang to action , though , imposing the nation ’ s harshest lockdown measures and cutting off the city of over 1 million people from the rest of the country .
Jordan ’ s aggressive measures are finally easing up .
On Sunday , the government said it has lifted all restrictions on economic activity .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ though some still want employees following social distancing and proper hygiene guidelines .
However , schools will remain closed and the curfew remains in place .
What ’ s clear , then , is that Jordan acted far sooner than most to contain its outbreak .
Preparing for a problem and then following through on that plan actually works .
Imagine that .
Iceland has turned testing and tracking into a new national pastime .
An island of over 350,000 thousand people with only one point of entry — its international airport outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always unlikely to be devastated by the coronavirus .
But that didn ’ t mean Icelandic officials could just ignore the virus .
In fact , they did the opposite .
Iceland has tested 13 percent of its population with the help of a local company , DeCode , which has built the world ’ s most robust testing and tracking program .
Just look at the chart below , which shows how Iceland has conducted far more tests per 1,000 people than many other countries .
People found to be sick or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put in isolation until symptoms subsided or didn ’ t show , keeping the rest of the population safe from a growing spread .
That program proved immensely valuable .
It wasn ’ t long ago that Iceland was counting over 100 new cases a day .
Now , some days feature only a handful of new cases — or some days none at all .
“ I didn ’ t expect the recovery to be this fast , ” Thorolfur Gudnason , Iceland ’ s chief epidemiologist , told Time on Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1,800 cases and 10 deaths as of May 5 .
Iceland was also able to curb the outbreak without completely shutting its economy down or closing all schools — decisions that had many skeptics .
People who were not in quarantine for having tested positive or having come in contact with someone who tested positive were still allowed to go outside , as long as they followed the government ’ s social distancing and hygiene guidelines , such as staying six feet apart and washing hands for at least 20 seconds .
Icelanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s also an app people can use to get a better sense of local coronavirus hotspots .
There are some caveats : Bars , gyms , and swimming pools remain closed , and public gatherings over 50 were banned until this week .
And everyone coming home from abroad must quarantine for 14 days .
The country , then , isn ’ t completely back to normal yet — but it ’ s in a prime position to be soon .
Few expected Greece to weather the coronavirus storm particularly well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system , an older population , and an economy that relies heavily on tourism .
If any country was likely to become the next European hotspot , it was Greece .
But five months into the pandemic , the Hellenic Republic ( yes , that ’ s its official name ) has just around 2,600 confirmed cases and nearly 150 deaths as of May 5 .
Greece achieved this by imposed a stringent lockdown , promoting social distancing , and bolstering its health care sector .
The country ’ s lockdown began in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ telling people to stay in their homes .
And that may not have even been necessary , as by most accounts the majority of people abided by the government guidelines calling for people to stay at least six feet away from each other and to wash their hands frequently .
Many people even chose not to gather together in large groups to eat during the Easter holiday , a major tradition in the country .
Still , officials worked to avoid temptation by shutting down major carnivals in big cities , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ travel .
The government also worked to dissuade tourists from traveling to Greece , asking visitors to quarantine for two weeks before entering or else pay a fine of over $ 5,000 .
“ We acted preemptively , ” Giorgos Gerapetritis , the Greek minister of state , told reporters in April .
“ We consciously preferred to make a significant financial sacrifice rather than sacrifice human life , ” he said .
Getting Greece ’ s health care system back on its feet , though , may have proven the most decisive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amount of intensive care unit beds it has available by 70 percent since February and has added over 3,000 hospital staff to deal with an expected influx of patients .
Thousands more positions are open for people to fill , showing the resources Athens has put behind reconstituting health care in the country .
Greece has done so well that it ’ s already asking tourists to come to the country for the summer months .
That worries some experts , as having people walk about the country could further spread the disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t widespread in Greece , and the ability to keep tabs on a larger outbreak might put the country in danger in the future .
But for now , officials in Athens have seemingly done a fine job in curbing what could ’ ve — and perhaps should ’ ve — been a much larger crisis .
What all the five cases make clear for the Council on Foreign Relations ’ s Bollyky , then , is that countries “ should act decisively , early , and aggressively.
” Without such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak is almost bound to happen .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

It seems like some countries have figured out not only how to flatten their coronavirus curves, but also how to send them plunging downward.
From Slovenia to Jordan to Iceland, governments took early action to impose lockdowns, test and trace thousands of people, isolate the sick, encourage social distancing and preventive measures like mask wearing, and communicate honestly with the public.
Those interventions curbed the number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths, allowing leaders to reopen schools and businesses and reintroduce a sense of normalcy into everyday life. Some are now reporting no new confirmed cases or deaths.
In effect, they followed the prescribed playbook for such a pandemic, and — surprise, surprise — it worked.
“At the end of the day, it’s not magic. It’s shoe-leather public health,” Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, told me. Nothing is a better substitute for speed and aggressive action, he said.
What makes their feats more impressive is just how different the countries are. Greece, for example, is in Europe — one of the world’s coronavirus hotspots — but managed to escape the worst despite receiving large numbers of tourists and a busy Easter holiday.
Vietnam, meanwhile, avoided a major outbreak despite having a large land border with China and limited financial resources.
A country’s inherent characteristics, then, seem to matter less than the seriousness and speed of a government’s response.
Which means there are many lessons the world can learn from little-noticed coronavirus success stories. Here are just five of them.
Vietnam stopped a coronavirus outbreak with early and robust action
Vietnam is a lower-income, densely populated country that shares a large land border with China, where the outbreak first began. That, on the surface, would seem to make Vietnam extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus.
But the Vietnamese government acted strongly early, even before the World Health Organization said the outbreak was a global public health emergency, and today it has yet to confirm a single death from the disease.
Its response has so far proven a success by doing three things: a lot of testing, a lot of contract tracing, and a lot of quarantining.
The country started developing tests almost immediately after it confirmed in January that three people traveling back from Wuhan, China — the disease’s origination point — had the disease. Vietnam has since tested nearly 300,000 people.
That seems small compared to the millions tested in the US, for example, but it’s a major outlier in looking at how many people the government tested per confirmed case.
Vietnam went through a testing progression: First, it tested people with who were known to have traveled; then it moved on to testing those people’s close contacts; and finally, it began testing anyone presenting coronavirus-like symptoms.
Only recently has the government begun to test widely in major hot spots and risky locations, such as markets in the city of Hanoi.
This plan made sense for one major reason, namely, that focusing testing resources on those around the original sick people and isolating those with symptoms would effectively cut the outbreak off at the source.
The government also made sure few cases could make it into the country by ending flights from the most impacted countries early. Travelers at ports of entry also had to go through temperature screening and had to self-report their health statuses. If someone lied on their health declaration or resisted screening, they could be criminally charged.
Those found to be sick, whether at the airport or elsewhere, were placed in quarantine facilities for 14 days, free of charge. Self-isolation at home isn’t permitted in Vietnam, as the government worries those with the disease might give it to their family members.
It also helps that the public has received and accepted what health officials tell them, as many abide by the government’s guidelines like social distancing and mask wearing. That only makes the country’s broader response easier.
Students as of this week are back in class, and the economy is on the way to reopening completely — showing how just how successful an early and robust coronavirus response can be. Vietnam didn’t use fancy technology or new methods. It just did the ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Slovenia kept people at home and others away from the country
Slovenia, a country of just over 2 million people, has nearly 1,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 100 deaths, as of May 5. The relatively small outbreak is impressive, considering Slovenia is a growing tourist destination that borders Italy, one of Europe’s outbreak epicenters.
Its success mainly stems from an aggressive early lockdown, quarantines of sick people, and generous government spending.
The country’s first case was confirmed on March 4, and it only took Slovenian officials about two weeks to close schools and businesses and freeze public transportation. The government also gave 3 billion euros — 6 percent of Slovenia’s GDP — to citizens and businesses to survive the shutdown. (Last week, however, several hundred people protested the center-right government’s strict lockdown policy.)
Quarantines also helped keep confirmed cases low. In early April, most people entering the country — Slovenians and foreigners alike — had to go through a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
There were no dedicated facilities for that, only that person’s home or a hotel they were staying at. Whoever was in quarantine would have to rely on either family members, friends, or volunteers to bring them food and other necessities. Such measures almost surely kept many from traveling to Slovenia, slowing the number of potential infections.
The situation in Slovenia has improved to the point that businesses have already begun opening up again, and citizens can travel outside their municipalities. Schools will also start back up on May 18. Major public events, like concerts and soccer games, will still be suspended until a vaccination for the coronavirus is found.
What Slovenia has shown, then, is that aggressive government action and intervention can help keep people from spreading the disease. Even by the government’s own numbers, it could do more testing, but for now, the current measures appear to be working.
Jordan made coronavirus plans weeks before it arrived
Any list of countries that acted early to confront the coronavirus must have Jordan toward the top of it.
Jordan’s first confirmed coronavirus cases arrived on March 2. But five weeks before that, the country’s committee to combat the disease — formed as news about an outbreak in China came out — already had protocols in place.
Those measures included designating which hospitals would treat infected patients and how, exactly, doctors would take care of them. And the government, at the request of the king, also passed emergency laws to allow the military to enforce a strict lockdown and curfew.
These swift and forceful actions, in the minds of Jordanian officials, is what has kept the country to under 500 confirmed cases and about 10 deaths as of May 5. “Timing was key for us,” Bassam Hijjawi, an epidemiologist on the country’s coronavirus committee, told Al Jazeera in April.
By mid-March, schools, businesses, and government officers had been closed. Borders were also closed, with repatriated Jordanians having to spend 14 days in quarantine at hotels.
The lockdown continues, with a siren ringing every day at 6 pm across the country to remind everyone they should be at home until 10 am the following morning. The use of vehicles is prohibited, unless someone has a special license for essential business, and all large gatherings — including prayer services and funerals — are banned. People can be fined or jailed for disobeying these orders.
While the vast majority of people stay at home, the government is testing about 2,000 to 3,000 people a day to track the disease and those in contact with infected people.
That’s not to say Jordan hasn’t had a close call. The country’s epicenter was in the northern city of Irbid, Jordan’s second-largest urban area. About 450 people attended a wedding despite government advice against large gatherings, and soon cases shot up there. The government quickly sprang to action, though, imposing the nation’s harshest lockdown measures and cutting off the city of over 1 million people from the rest of the country.
Jordan’s aggressive measures are finally easing up. On Sunday, the government said it has lifted all restrictions on economic activity. Many businesses are back to work, though some still want employees following social distancing and proper hygiene guidelines. However, schools will remain closed and the curfew remains in place.
What’s clear, then, is that Jordan acted far sooner than most to contain its outbreak. Preparing for a problem and then following through on that plan actually works. Imagine that.
Iceland is testing, testing, testing
Iceland has turned testing and tracking into a new national pastime.
An island of over 350,000 thousand people with only one point of entry — its international airport outside the capital of Reykjavik — Iceland was always unlikely to be devastated by the coronavirus. But that didn’t mean Icelandic officials could just ignore the virus. In fact, they did the opposite.
Iceland has tested 13 percent of its population with the help of a local company, DeCode, which has built the world’s most robust testing and tracking program. Just look at the chart below, which shows how Iceland has conducted far more tests per 1,000 people than many other countries.
People found to be sick or in contact with a sick person were put in isolation until symptoms subsided or didn’t show, keeping the rest of the population safe from a growing spread.
That program proved immensely valuable. It wasn’t long ago that Iceland was counting over 100 new cases a day. Now, some days feature only a handful of new cases — or some days none at all. “I didn’t expect the recovery to be this fast,” Thorolfur Gudnason, Iceland’s chief epidemiologist, told Time on Monday.
The nation has seen just around 1,800 cases and 10 deaths as of May 5.
Iceland was also able to curb the outbreak without completely shutting its economy down or closing all schools — decisions that had many skeptics.
People who were not in quarantine for having tested positive or having come in contact with someone who tested positive were still allowed to go outside, as long as they followed the government’s social distancing and hygiene guidelines, such as staying six feet apart and washing hands for at least 20 seconds.
Icelanders have largely abided by these protocols. There’s also an app people can use to get a better sense of local coronavirus hotspots.
There are some caveats: Bars, gyms, and swimming pools remain closed, and public gatherings over 50 were banned until this week. And everyone coming home from abroad must quarantine for 14 days.
The country, then, isn’t completely back to normal yet — but it’s in a prime position to be soon.
Greece bolstered its ailing health care system
Few expected Greece to weather the coronavirus storm particularly well. It has a struggling health care system, an older population, and an economy that relies heavily on tourism. If any country was likely to become the next European hotspot, it was Greece.
But five months into the pandemic, the Hellenic Republic (yes, that’s its official name) has just around 2,600 confirmed cases and nearly 150 deaths as of May 5.
Greece achieved this by imposed a stringent lockdown, promoting social distancing, and bolstering its health care sector.
The country’s lockdown began in mid-March, with authorities on the street telling people to stay in their homes. And that may not have even been necessary, as by most accounts the majority of people abided by the government guidelines calling for people to stay at least six feet away from each other and to wash their hands frequently.
Many people even chose not to gather together in large groups to eat during the Easter holiday, a major tradition in the country. Still, officials worked to avoid temptation by shutting down major carnivals in big cities, as well as schools, restaurants, and nonessential travel.
The government also worked to dissuade tourists from traveling to Greece, asking visitors to quarantine for two weeks before entering or else pay a fine of over $5,000.
“We acted preemptively,” Giorgos Gerapetritis, the Greek minister of state, told reporters in April. “We consciously preferred to make a significant financial sacrifice rather than sacrifice human life,” he said.
Getting Greece’s health care system back on its feet, though, may have proven the most decisive action. The country has increased the amount of intensive care unit beds it has available by 70 percent since February and has added over 3,000 hospital staff to deal with an expected influx of patients. Thousands more positions are open for people to fill, showing the resources Athens has put behind reconstituting health care in the country.
Greece has done so well that it’s already asking tourists to come to the country for the summer months. That worries some experts, as having people walk about the country could further spread the disease. What’s more, testing isn’t widespread in Greece, and the ability to keep tabs on a larger outbreak might put the country in danger in the future.
But for now, officials in Athens have seemingly done a fine job in curbing what could’ve — and perhaps should’ve — been a much larger crisis.
What all the five cases make clear for the Council on Foreign Relations’s Bollyky, then, is that countries “should act decisively, early, and aggressively.” Without such haste and effort, a large coronavirus outbreak is almost bound to happen.


vox--2020-05-05--The layoffs at Airbnb cast a dark shadow over Silicon Valley

Airbnb , seen until recently as one of Silicon Valley ’ s most financially secure unicorns , is laying off a quarter of its staff .
It ’ s an ominous sign for the tech economy .
Brian Chesky , the company ’ s founder and CEO , told staff on Tuesday that the company ’ s revenue would be halved and that it would terminate about 1,900 of its 7,500 staff members — one of the largest layoffs in total that Silicon Valley has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic struck .
Airbnb ’ s decision serves as a stark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which has hamstrung the global economy , forcing almost all startups to consider cuts and particularly wrecking the travel industry .
Calling the virus the “ most harrowing crisis of our lifetime , ” Chesky said in an email to employees that Airbnb ’ s revenue in 2020 was projected to be just half of what it collected in 2019 , which was reportedly $ 4.8 billion .
As a result , he said Airbnb would streamline its business , scaling back its spending in growth areas such as its pushes into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are expected to hit those teams harder .
“ To those leaving Airbnb , I am truly sorry , ” Chesky wrote to employees .
“ Please know this is not your fault.
” The announcement is a wild reversal of fortune for a company that was expected to be 2020 ’ s leading candidate for an initial public offering .
Over the last few weeks , the company secured $ 2 billion in debt to try to survive the coronavirus pandemic , which has drastically cut back on people ’ s ability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to comment on how this would affect its expected 2020 IPO .
Airbnb has been under pressure from its current and former employees to go public given that some have waited as long as a decade to cash in on their stock options .
Chesky said all laid-off employees , even those there for less than a year who wouldn ’ t ordinarily qualify for vested shares , would receive their equity .
The other marquee company of the sharing economy , Uber , is also reportedly in the process of mulling layoffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its staff .
Lyft has already laid off about 17 percent of its workforce .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Airbnb, seen until recently as one of Silicon Valley’s most financially secure unicorns, is laying off a quarter of its staff. It’s an ominous sign for the tech economy.
Brian Chesky, the company’s founder and CEO, told staff on Tuesday that the company’s revenue would be halved and that it would terminate about 1,900 of its 7,500 staff members — one of the largest layoffs in total that Silicon Valley has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Airbnb’s decision serves as a stark reminder of the coronavirus’s toll, which has hamstrung the global economy, forcing almost all startups to consider cuts and particularly wrecking the travel industry.
Calling the virus the “most harrowing crisis of our lifetime,” Chesky said in an email to employees that Airbnb’s revenue in 2020 was projected to be just half of what it collected in 2019, which was reportedly $4.8 billion. As a result, he said Airbnb would streamline its business, scaling back its spending in growth areas such as its pushes into luxury homes and traditional hotels. Cuts are expected to hit those teams harder.
“To those leaving Airbnb, I am truly sorry,” Chesky wrote to employees. “Please know this is not your fault.”
The announcement is a wild reversal of fortune for a company that was expected to be 2020’s leading candidate for an initial public offering. Over the last few weeks, the company secured $2 billion in debt to try to survive the coronavirus pandemic, which has drastically cut back on people’s ability and willingness to travel. Airbnb declined to comment on how this would affect its expected 2020 IPO.
Airbnb has been under pressure from its current and former employees to go public given that some have waited as long as a decade to cash in on their stock options. Chesky said all laid-off employees, even those there for less than a year who wouldn’t ordinarily qualify for vested shares, would receive their equity.
The other marquee company of the sharing economy, Uber, is also reportedly in the process of mulling layoffs that could account for about 20 percent of its staff. Lyft has already laid off about 17 percent of its workforce.


vox--2020-05-05--Demand for meatless meat is skyrocketing during the pandemic

Retail sales of plant-based food are taking off during the coronavirus pandemic .
The last time I braved the grocery store , which was a few weeks ago , I unwittingly illustrated two of the main reasons why .
First , I went in search of eggs .
The store was all out , but right above the shelf where I usually find them , I spied a bottle of Just Egg , the plant-based substitute made out of beans .
I ’ d never had eggless eggs before , but now , out of necessity , I decided to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the meat aisle .
There was still plenty of beef and chicken to be had — but given that a live-animal market in China may have given rise to Covid-19 and that the giant factory farms that supply 99 percent of America ’ s meat are a pandemic risk too , meat just seemed very unappealing in that moment .
Instead , I grabbed a package of Beyond Meat and went home .
These two factors — spot shortages of animal products in stores and a growing awareness of the problems with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driving an increase in retail sales of plant-based meat products during the pandemic .
According to a recent Nielsen report , demand for these products has increased 278 percent since this time last year .
Impossible Foods announced Tuesday that because demand for the Impossible Burger has “ skyrocketed among home chefs , ” the company is accelerating its retail expansion this week , rolling out the burgers at 1,700 Kroger-owned grocery stores nationwide .
Impossible Foods began 2020 with only about 150 grocery stores selling its flagship burger , so this rollout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s just the beginning .
“ Our existing retail partners have achieved record sales of Impossible Burger in recent weeks , ” said the company ’ s president , Dennis Woodside , in a statement .
“ We expect our retail footprint to expand more than 50-fold in 2020 alone , and we are moving as quickly as possible to expand with additional outlets and in more retail channels.
” The expansion is being carried out with an eye to the pandemic , which has many of us shopping from behind a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starting today , you can order Impossible Burgers online through Kroger.com , which will sync up with an Instacart delivery slot to get the products to your home .
If you prefer not to use Instacart , there ’ s also a contactless curbside pickup option : You can place your order online , drive to a brick-and-mortar store , pop the trunk of your car , and a store clerk will place the products in there for you .
Impossible Foods ’ new partnership with Kroger — as well as its release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is part of a push to increasingly sell plant-based meat directly to consumers .
This is a crucial pivot at a time when restaurants are grappling with supply-chain disruptions ( Wendy ’ s , for example , had to pull traditional burgers off the menu in some locations due to meat shortages ) and overall foodservice demand is down because of stay-at-home orders .
“ More Americans are dining in and that ’ s what ’ s driving the acceleration in retail grocery store sales .
March was by far a record for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blew past it by a big margin , ” Rachel Konrad , Impossible ’ s chief communication officer , told me .
But she added that the company continues to supply Burger King , Qdoba , White Castle , and many other restaurants , which have found ways to adapt .
“ Our largest customer is Burger King , and while the dine-in service is closed in most states , drive-through service is up.
” Unlike traditional beef , meatless meat has a production process that somewhat insulates it from the ravages of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Its supply chain is obviously unaffected by recent meat plant closures , and its workers are not contracting Covid-19 at high rates because they do not have to work shoulder to shoulder like their meatpacking counterparts .
What ’ s Beyond Meat got planned during the coronavirus crisis ?
Impossible ’ s main competitor , Beyond Meat , is also looking to expand .
In March , as the pandemic was ramping up , CEO Ethan Brown said , “ This is a time of hyper-growth .
We are doing everything we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ market share as we possibly can.
” By late April , Bloomberg was reporting that rumors of a looming meat shortage — spurred on by the closure of meat plants that had become Covid-19 hot spots — were helping to lift shares of Beyond Meat .
The stock rose 41 percent in one week , its largest weekly jump since the company went public in 2019 .
Beyond Meat ’ s stock likely also rose because the company signed a massive new deal : Starbucks stores in China are beginning to sell its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overstate the significance of partnering with a chain as huge as Starbucks — or of making inroads in Asian markets .
The company already sells its meatless meat in Hong Kong , Taiwan , and Singapore .
Now , it says it ’ ll open a production facility in Asia this year to better penetrate China , the second-largest economy in the world and a key market for meat and faux-meat products .
Brown says the company will not be deterred from carrying out this plan , despite difficulties caused by the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ companies is that their products tend to be a bit pricier than , say , your average burger from McDonald ’ s .
With 30 million Americans unemployed and a world pummeled by a major recession , some analysts warned that Beyond Meat ’ s stock might sink because people won ’ t be able to afford premium meat alternatives .
Yet Beyond Meat reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2020 on Tuesday , and they showed a company that ’ s in good shape despite the pandemic .
Although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent in March , retail sales rose 12 percent .
Net revenues increased 141 percent year-over-year .
Shares in the company rose immediately after the earning statement ’ s release .
Konrad was bullish about the prospects for Impossible , too .
“ Ground beef is one of the most recession-resistant products .
It ’ s something Americans buy in good times and in bad .
And it ’ s amenable to takeout , delivery , and drive-throughs , ” she said , adding the same is true of meatless meat .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve been reading about how thousands of meatpacking workers are contracting Covid-19 due to unsafe working conditions might prefer to opt for plant-based products .
While meat plants require workers to stand shoulder to shoulder as they kill and take apart animals , the facilities manufacturing plant-based products don ’ t need their workers to be so tightly packed together and working at warp speed .
Impossible Foods said that workers are able to maintain social distancing and are provided with masks .
There are other reasons why getting meat from plants is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and the coronavirus crisis is shining a spotlight on them .
“ People don ’ t like to be contributing to climate change and biodiversity collapse and pandemics .
It feels icky , so we try not to talk about it , ” Konrad said .
“ But it ’ s in these moments when the gruesome reality of animal agriculture pierces into our consciousness — because of Covid or whatever else — that we start to wake up.
” Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Retail sales of plant-based food are taking off during the coronavirus pandemic. The last time I braved the grocery store, which was several weeks ago, I unwittingly illustrated two of the main reasons why.
First, I went in search of eggs. The store was all out, but right above the shelf where I usually find them, I spied a bottle of Just Egg, the plant-based substitute made out of beans. I’d never had eggless eggs before, but now, out of necessity, I decided to try something new.
Then I walked through the meat aisle. There was still plenty of beef and chicken to be had — but given that a live-animal market in China may have given rise to Covid-19 and that the giant factory farms that supply 99 percent of America’s meat are a pandemic risk too, meat just seemed very unappealing in that moment. Instead, I grabbed a package of Beyond Meat and went home.
These two factors — spot shortages of animal products in stores and a growing awareness of the problems with our animal agriculture system — are likely driving an increase in retail sales of plant-based meat products during the pandemic. According to a recent Nielsen report, grocery store sales of faux meats rose by 264 percent in the nine weeks ending May 2.
Impossible Foods announced May 5 that because demand for the Impossible Burger has “skyrocketed among home chefs,” the company is accelerating its retail expansion, rolling out the burgers at 1,700 Kroger-owned grocery stores nationwide.
Impossible Foods began 2020 with only about 150 grocery stores selling its flagship burger, so this rollout represents a huge increase. And it’s just the beginning.
“Our existing retail partners have achieved record sales of Impossible Burger in recent weeks,” said the company’s president, Dennis Woodside, in a statement. “We expect our retail footprint to expand more than 50-fold in 2020 alone, and we are moving as quickly as possible to expand with additional outlets and in more retail channels.”
The expansion is being carried out with an eye to the pandemic, which has many of us shopping from behind a computer rather than a shopping cart. You can now order Impossible Burgers online through Kroger.com, which will sync up with an Instacart delivery slot to get the products to your home.
If you prefer not to use Instacart, there’s also a contactless curbside pickup option: You can place your order online, drive to a brick-and-mortar store, pop the trunk of your car, and a store clerk will place the products in there for you.
Impossible Foods’ new partnership with Kroger — as well as its release of a cookbook for home chefs — is part of a push to increasingly sell plant-based meat directly to consumers. This is a crucial pivot at a time when restaurants are grappling with supply-chain disruptions (Wendy’s, for example, had to pull traditional burgers off the menu in some locations due to meat shortages) and overall foodservice demand is down because of stay-at-home orders.
“More Americans are dining in and that’s what’s driving the acceleration in retail grocery store sales. March was by far a record for retail production for us, and April blew past it by a big margin,” Rachel Konrad, Impossible’s chief communication officer, told me. But she added that the company continues to supply Burger King, Qdoba, White Castle, and many other restaurants, which have found ways to adapt. “Our largest customer is Burger King, and while the dine-in service is closed in most states, drive-through service is up.”
Unlike traditional beef, meatless meat has a production process that somewhat insulates it from the ravages of the pandemic, both pragmatically and ethically: Its supply chain is obviously unaffected by recent meat plant closures, and its workers are not contracting Covid-19 at high rates because they do not have to work shoulder to shoulder like their meatpacking counterparts.
What’s Beyond Meat got planned during the coronavirus crisis?
Impossible’s main competitor, Beyond Meat, is also looking to expand. In March, as the pandemic was ramping up, CEO Ethan Brown said, “This is a time of hyper-growth. We are doing everything we can right now to grab as much market share as we possibly can.”
By late April, Bloomberg was reporting that rumors of a looming meat shortage — spurred on by the closure of meat plants that had become Covid-19 hot spots — were helping to lift shares of Beyond Meat. The stock rose 41 percent in one week, its largest weekly jump since the company went public in 2019.
Beyond Meat’s stock likely also rose because the company signed a massive new deal: Starbucks stores in China are beginning to sell its products. It’s hard to overstate the significance of partnering with a chain as huge as Starbucks — or of making inroads in Asian markets.
The company already sells its meatless meat in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. Now, it says it’ll open a production facility in Asia this year to better penetrate China, the second-largest economy in the world and a key market for meat and faux-meat products. Brown says the company will not be deterred from carrying out this plan, despite difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
One challenge facing plant-based meat companies is that their products tend to be a bit pricier than, say, your average burger from McDonald’s. With more than 30 million Americans unemployed and a world pummeled by a major recession, some analysts warned that Beyond Meat’s stock might sink because people won’t be able to afford premium meat alternatives.
Yet Beyond Meat reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2020 on May 5, and they showed a company that’s in good shape despite the pandemic. Although it saw foodservice sales decrease by 23 percent in March, retail sales rose 12 percent. Net revenues increased 141 percent year-over-year. Shares in the company rose immediately after the earning statement’s release.
Konrad was bullish about the prospects for Impossible, too. “Ground beef is one of the most recession-resistant products. It’s something Americans buy in good times and in bad. And it’s amenable to takeout, delivery, and drive-throughs,” she said, adding the same is true of meatless meat.
On an ethical level, Americans who’ve been reading about how thousands of meatpacking workers are contracting Covid-19 due to unsafe working conditions might prefer to opt for plant-based products. While meat plants require workers to stand shoulder to shoulder as they kill and take apart animals, the facilities manufacturing plant-based products don’t need their workers to be so tightly packed together and working at warp speed. Impossible Foods said that workers are able to maintain social distancing and are provided with masks.
There are other reasons why getting meat from plants is ethically preferable to getting it from animals — and the coronavirus crisis is shining a spotlight on them.
“People don’t like to be contributing to climate change and biodiversity collapse and pandemics. It feels icky, so we try not to talk about it,” Konrad said. “But it’s in these moments when the gruesome reality of animal agriculture pierces into our consciousness — because of Covid or whatever else — that we start to wake up.”


vox--2020-05-05--Millions of Americans are losing their jobs. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Few Americans alive today have ever seen jobless numbers as bad as they are right now .
Economists estimate that between 13 percent and 18 percent of US workers are unemployed — the highest rate since the Great Depression .
It ’ s tempting to see that figure as somewhat inevitable , the unfortunate but unavoidable cost of economic lockdown .
It ’ s why Congress has prioritized shoring up unemployment insurance benefits .
But as a handful of European countries have shown , mass unemployment isn ’ t a given .
It ’ s a policy choice .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why the UK , Denmark , and the Netherlands chose a different path .
With the help of economist Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute , we explore whether the US can still avoid millions more job losses .
You can find this video and all of Vox ’ s videos on YouTube , including our coverage of the coronavirus .
And if you ’ re interested in supporting our video journalism , you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube .
Every day at Vox , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Few Americans alive today have ever seen jobless numbers as bad as they are right now. Economists estimate that between 13 percent and 18 percent of US workers are unemployed — the highest rate since the Great Depression.
It’s tempting to see that figure as somewhat inevitable, the unfortunate but unavoidable cost of economic lockdown. It’s why Congress has prioritized shoring up unemployment insurance benefits.
But as a handful of European countries have shown, mass unemployment isn’t a given. It’s a policy choice.
In this video, we explain how and why the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands chose a different path. With the help of economist Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, we explore whether the US can still avoid millions more job losses.
You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube, including our coverage of the coronavirus. And if you’re interested in supporting our video journalism, you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube.


vox--2020-05-05--Thousands will go uninsured in the Covid-19 outbreak because Republicans rejected Medicaid expansion

Republican-led states have for years refused to expand Medicaid eligibility to many of their poorest residents , and now , in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis , thousands upon thousands of Americans will fall through that hole in the safety net and end up uninsured .
The Affordable Care Act was designed to extend Medicaid coverage to everybody living in or near poverty .
But Republican resistance to the health care law , enabled by a 2012 ruling from the US Supreme Court , prevented that vision from becoming a reality .
Today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Poor people — particularly black Americans living in the South — have already been paying the price for that obstruction for years .
But today , in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak , many thousands more are going to discover the harsh reality that the United States has failed to adequately protect its poorest citizens from financial ruin in a medical emergency .
New estimates from the Urban Institute provide a fuller understanding of the cost of those decisions during the Covid-19 crisis .
With record unemployment upon us , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 million and 43 million Americans will lose their employer-sponsored health coverage along with their job .
In the 36 states ( plus Washington , DC ) that have expanded Medicaid through the ACA , less than a quarter of those people are expected to become uninsured .
Most of them are expected to end up on Medicaid , as intended .
But in the 14 states that still refuse to expand Medicaid , a full decade after Obamacare became law , about 40 percent of the people who lose their jobs and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no coverage at all .
Those newly uninsured people will be less likely to seek necessary medical care , the available research tells us , and more likely to face financial catastrophe if they do have a medical emergency — coronavirus-related or otherwise .
The price tag for treating Covid-19 if a patient ends up hospitalized is anywhere from about $ 10,000 to north of $ 20,000 .
And these will be people who just lost their job and therefore their income .
Enhanced benefits for unemployment aren ’ t going to cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets worse .
Rural hospitals in states that refused to expand Medicaid were already more vulnerable to closure than hospitals in states that did expand .
Now they have been forced to cancel elective surgeries , a fiscal lifeblood for any hospital , pushing them even closer to closing .
Tens of thousands uninsured , hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy , all amid a devastating pandemic .
It didn ’ t have to be this way .
A potent cocktail of improvisational legislating , small-c conservative jurisprudence , and partisan obstinance sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ends with so many people unable to get health coverage during the coronavirus outbreak .
Back in 2009 , when Democrats were debating what became the Affordable Care Act , they sought a balance between setting up new marketplaces where people could purchase private insurance ( with the help of government subsidies ) and expanding eligibility for Medicaid , then a patchwork of state and federal programs that covered , broadly speaking , poor elderly people , children , and parents , but not many childless adults .
Pressure to keep down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projections and meet President Barack Obama ’ s promise that the new health care law would be deficit-neutral motivated Democrats to put a lot of people on Medicaid because the public program was cheaper than subsidized private coverage .
To ensure compliance from the states , which are tasked with jointly funding as well as actually administering Medicaid benefits , Congress wrote into the law that they must expand the program ’ s eligibility up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level or else risk losing the federal funding for their traditional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a huge hole in state budgets .
It was an offer states could not reasonably refuse .
And that ’ s what got Obamacare in trouble with the Supreme Court .
In 2012 , while Chief Justice John Roberts and the liberal coalition on the court declared the law could stand overall , the justices also ruled in an overwhelming decision ( 7-2 , with liberals Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joining the conservatives ) that the Medicaid expansion provision was too harsh .
It was a “ gun to the head ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his ruling .
Instead , states would have the choice of whether or not to expand Medicaid .
And many Republican-led states quickly announced that they would not agree to a central provision of a law that they had already spent years vilifying as an assault on freedom .
It did not matter that Medicaid expansion was , for states , an incredible deal .
The federal government would cover 100 percent of the program ’ s cost for the first three years and , after that , 90 percent in perpetuity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars in federal aid that would help some of their most vulnerable citizens , Republican state officials have proffered a few spurious excuses .
Some of them said the feds could renege on their promise to match 90 percent of the costs .
( To date , this has not happened and , in fact , during the Covid-19 outbreak , the feds have started picking up even more of the tab for Medicaid enrollees . )
Others said that Medicaid expansion perversely prioritized able-bodied adults over the elderly or disabled ( a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Talking Points Memo ; in short , there was no evidence and there have been no examples of states cutting benefits for those populations because of Medicaid expansion . )
Sometimes , Republicans said they simply could not afford to cover 10 percent of the Medicaid expansion costs ( never mind that health care providers were more than willing to help pay the state ’ s share if it meant reaping billions of federal dollars ) .
Over time , some Republican-led states had a change of heart .
They sought waivers from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies — like nominal premiums for Medicaid expansion enrollees — as a fig leaf for their conversion .
Even Mike Pence , then the governor of Indiana , found the stomach for accepting this key Obamacare program .
And in some states , the issue was put before the voters and they have overwhelmingly embraced Medicaid expansion .
In 2018 , the solid-red state trio of Idaho , Nebraska , and Utah voted through ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid .
More than 2 million people are uninsured because states refused Medicaid expansion To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been covered by Medicaid expansion .
It is the ACA ’ s signature success story .
But those gains have not been realized everywhere .
The South , in particular , has been a bulwark against Medicaid expansion .
No southern states save Arkansas and Louisiana have taken the generous deal offered by Obamacare .
Almost all of the 2.3 million people who ’ ve been left uninsured because their state won ’ t expand Medicaid live in the South , half of them in Texas and Florida alone .
And given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is disproportionately poor black and Hispanic Americans who are paying the price for decisions made by frequently white and wealthy politicians .
Those choices have consequences , especially today , when black people are dying from Covid-19 at higher rates than their white neighbors .
Activists have tried to make inroads in those states , some of which don ’ t make ballot initiatives a viable path for policymaking .
Roy Cooper , the Democratic governor of North Carolina , has been locked in a battle with his Republican state legislature over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not over yet .
It has been slowly but steadily extending its reach over the last 10 years , helping more of the people it was supposed to help .
But the work is not complete and , for many of the 30 million Americans who have lost their job in the last month , it is too late .
They will be left to pick up the tab if , heaven forbid , they or somebody who depends on them gets sick .
The research tells us thousands of lives have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can now only hope that lives won ’ t be lost because Republicans found it untenable to swallow their partisan pride and bring aid to their constituents who needed it most .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Republican-led states have for years refused to expand Medicaid eligibility to many of their poorest residents, and now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and an unprecedented economic crisis, thousands upon thousands of Americans will fall through that hole in the safety net and end up uninsured.
This was completely avoidable.
The Affordable Care Act was designed to extend Medicaid coverage to everybody living in or near poverty. But Republican resistance to the health care law, enabled by a 2012 ruling from the US Supreme Court, prevented that vision from becoming a reality. Today, 14 states have not expanded Medicaid access. Poor people — particularly black Americans living in the South — have already been paying the price for that obstruction for years.
But today, in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak, many thousands more are going to discover the harsh reality that the United States has failed to adequately protect its poorest citizens from financial ruin in a medical emergency.
New estimates from the Urban Institute provide a fuller understanding of the cost of those decisions during the Covid-19 crisis. With record unemployment upon us, the institute’s researchers anticipate that between 25 million and 43 million Americans will lose their employer-sponsored health coverage along with their job. In the 36 states (plus Washington, DC) that have expanded Medicaid through the ACA, less than a quarter of those people are expected to become uninsured. Most of them are expected to end up on Medicaid, as intended.
But in the 14 states that still refuse to expand Medicaid, a full decade after Obamacare became law, about 40 percent of the people who lose their jobs and their health insurance will end up with no coverage at all.
Those newly uninsured people will be less likely to seek necessary medical care, the available research tells us, and more likely to face financial catastrophe if they do have a medical emergency — coronavirus-related or otherwise. The price tag for treating Covid-19 if a patient ends up hospitalized is anywhere from about $10,000 to north of $20,000. And these will be people who just lost their job and therefore their income. Enhanced benefits for unemployment aren’t going to cover a $15,000 hospital bill.
It gets worse. Rural hospitals in states that refused to expand Medicaid were already more vulnerable to closure than hospitals in states that did expand. Now they have been forced to cancel elective surgeries, a fiscal lifeblood for any hospital, pushing them even closer to closing.
Tens of thousands uninsured, hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy, all amid a devastating pandemic. It didn’t have to be this way.
The bad reasons Republicans refused to expand Medicaid
A potent cocktail of improvisational legislating, small-c conservative jurisprudence, and partisan obstinance sent the United States cascading down a path that ends with so many people unable to get health coverage during the coronavirus outbreak.
Back in 2009, when Democrats were debating what became the Affordable Care Act, they sought a balance between setting up new marketplaces where people could purchase private insurance (with the help of government subsidies) and expanding eligibility for Medicaid, then a patchwork of state and federal programs that covered, broadly speaking, poor elderly people, children, and parents, but not many childless adults.
Pressure to keep down the Congressional Budget Office’s cost projections and meet President Barack Obama’s promise that the new health care law would be deficit-neutral motivated Democrats to put a lot of people on Medicaid because the public program was cheaper than subsidized private coverage. To ensure compliance from the states, which are tasked with jointly funding as well as actually administering Medicaid benefits, Congress wrote into the law that they must expand the program’s eligibility up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level or else risk losing the federal funding for their traditional Medicaid program.
That would mean blowing a huge hole in state budgets. It was an offer states could not reasonably refuse. And that’s what got Obamacare in trouble with the Supreme Court.
In 2012, while Chief Justice John Roberts and the liberal coalition on the court declared the law could stand overall, the justices also ruled in an overwhelming decision (7-2, with liberals Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joining the conservatives) that the Medicaid expansion provision was too harsh. It was a “gun to the head” of states, as Roberts put it in his ruling.
Instead, states would have the choice of whether or not to expand Medicaid. And many Republican-led states quickly announced that they would not agree to a central provision of a law that they had already spent years vilifying as an assault on freedom. It did not matter that Medicaid expansion was, for states, an incredible deal. The federal government would cover 100 percent of the program’s cost for the first three years and, after that, 90 percent in perpetuity.
To justify turning down billions of dollars in federal aid that would help some of their most vulnerable citizens, Republican state officials have proffered a few spurious excuses. Some of them said the feds could renege on their promise to match 90 percent of the costs. (To date, this has not happened and, in fact, during the Covid-19 outbreak, the feds have started picking up even more of the tab for Medicaid enrollees.) Others said that Medicaid expansion perversely prioritized able-bodied adults over the elderly or disabled (a talking point I rebutted at length for Talking Points Memo; in short, there was no evidence and there have been no examples of states cutting benefits for those populations because of Medicaid expansion.) Sometimes, Republicans said they simply could not afford to cover 10 percent of the Medicaid expansion costs (never mind that health care providers were more than willing to help pay the state’s share if it meant reaping billions of federal dollars).
Over time, some Republican-led states had a change of heart. They sought waivers from the Obama administration to add some conservative-friendly policies — like nominal premiums for Medicaid expansion enrollees — as a fig leaf for their conversion. Even Mike Pence, then the governor of Indiana, found the stomach for accepting this key Obamacare program.
And in some states, the issue was put before the voters and they have overwhelmingly embraced Medicaid expansion. In 2018, the solid-red state trio of Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah voted through ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid.
More than 2 million people are uninsured because states refused Medicaid expansion
To date, more than 15 million people have been covered by Medicaid expansion. It is the ACA’s signature success story. But those gains have not been realized everywhere.
The South, in particular, has been a bulwark against Medicaid expansion. No southern states save Arkansas and Louisiana have taken the generous deal offered by Obamacare. Almost all of the 2.3 million people who’ve been left uninsured because their state won’t expand Medicaid live in the South, half of them in Texas and Florida alone.
And given the demographics of those states, it is disproportionately poor black and Hispanic Americans who are paying the price for decisions made by frequently white and wealthy politicians. Those choices have consequences, especially today, when black people are dying from Covid-19 at higher rates than their white neighbors.
Activists have tried to make inroads in those states, some of which don’t make ballot initiatives a viable path for policymaking. Roy Cooper, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, has been locked in a battle with his Republican state legislature over the issue. The story of Medicaid expansion is not over yet. It has been slowly but steadily extending its reach over the last 10 years, helping more of the people it was supposed to help.
But the work is not complete and, for many of the 30 million Americans who have lost their job in the last month, it is too late. They will be left to pick up the tab if, heaven forbid, they or somebody who depends on them gets sick.
The research tells us thousands of lives have been saved by Medicaid expansion. We can now only hope that lives won’t be lost because Republicans found it untenable to swallow their partisan pride and bring aid to their constituents who needed it most.