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Germany announces unemployment figures… The euro zone’s largest economy is expected to post a less dramatic surge in unemployment than the US did last week, due to generous subsidies like the Kurzarbeit scheme, which allows troubled companies to retain workers if they are asked to go home or work reduced hours, with the state stepping in to pay wages.
…while China posted a surprise rebound in services. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index bounced back into positive territory in March, though officials cautioned that the data come from a low base should not be seen as a stabilization of economic activity. A key advisor to the central bank also warned that the country should not set a GDP target this year, or it risks unleashing excessive stimulus measures.
Georgia announces stricter lockdown measures. The government announced that starting tonight, public transport will be closed and a curfew will be imposed. The Caucasian country has reported 100 cases of Covid-19, and has won praise for moving quickly to control the spread of the disease. Cyprus is also enacting a curfew today.
China will come clean on asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. As criticism grows at China’s exclusion of patients who show no symptoms from the official count, the government said it would press local authorities to release information about such cases. Many citizens fear asymptomatic patients could spread the infection as lockdowns ease.
Time to mask up
The US is considering recommending people to wear masks. The Centers for Disease Control is expected to tell the public not to wear crucial medical-grade masks, but that even DIY cloth masks and other facial coverings can help prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.
Austria is making face masks mandatory in supermarkets. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said masks would be handed out to be people in front of stores. He said masks protect others from being potentially infected by the wearer. A German official also said that compulsory mask-wearing could be considered when lockdown measures are eased.
But do masks work? Epidemiologists cannot point to any conclusive evidence after years of studies, but almost everyone in places that had enjoyed success in containing the outbreak, such as Hong Kong and South Korea, wears a mask. The WHO, for its part, continues recommending against mask usage by the general public.
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The tech industry will recover faster than we do. As factories in China reopen, the biggest threat to global industries like consumer electronics is shifting from supply chain disruption to the coming recession.
Olympians are also working from home. Quartz checked in with six of them to see how their living rooms, balconies, and even family barns are now not-so-state-of-the-art training facilities.
Quartz daily obsession
The platypus is a true mishmash of species of the world. The mammals share genes with reptiles and birds, lay eggs, and sport venomous spurs. Their expansive and hybrid genetic makeup has astonished scientists for centuries, but climate change threatens the survival of the animal kingdom’s reigning weirdo. Be your own strange self with the Quartz Daily Obsession.
Matter of debate
Shutting down the economy may be the best way to protect it. Research citing the 1918 flu pandemic shows that aggressive social distancing measures, while extremely disruptive to commerce in the near term, can result in faster economic growth when the disease subsides.
Surprising discoveries
Walmart is selling a lot more tops these days, but not pants. It might have something to do with the millions of people now working from home.
India’s idle trains could be used for patients. The huge rail network is shut down, and the carriages have plenty of space.
We’re one step closer to mind-reading machines. Scientists trained AI to convert brain activity into text with high accuracy—but only for a small set of pre-selected sentences.
Submarine crews likely still don’t know about the coronavirus pandemic. Any news that could hurt their morale is kept secret for the length of their 60-day deployment.
Thieves stole a van Gogh painting under cover of Covid-19. The piece vanished from a closed Dutch museum.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, platypus eggs, and thoughts transcribed by machines to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Isabella Steger and edited by Mary Hui.