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China remains cautious on testing. Beijing signaled that tests will be reserved for high-risk workers and people with symptoms, seeming to reverse earlier indications that medical authorities would cast a wide net to catch new outbreaks before they spread. Meanwhile, Indonesia hopes to return citizens to their “normal lives” in July, despite sparse tests.
Apple’s iPhone 12 faces production delays. Coronavirus has reportedly pushed back the manufacturing of the company’s first 5G-enabled handset by about a month. Apple reports quarterly earnings on Thursday.
Bangladesh is opening up its clothing factories. More than 500 of the country’s 4,000 garment makers will return to work, supplying global brands like Gap, Zara, and H&M. Competitors in Vietnam, China, and Cambodia are already up and running.
Mumbai shoppers are buying groceries via WhatsApp. Facebook partnered with Indian telecom giant Reliance to launch JioMart, an e-commerce platform that lets users place orders via text. The pilot test involves three Mumbai suburbs and 1,200 neighborhood stores.
2020 is likely to be the hottest year on record. US weather officials say there’s a 75% chance this year will break the record, last set in 2016, despite pandemic-related emission dips. The milestone is particularly unsettling because this isn’t an El Niño year, which is usually associated with higher temperatures.
Join us this Thursday for “Career Building in Quarantine,” a virtual workshop from Quartz at Work. Whether driven by ambition or need, more people are job hunting than ever right now. In this one hour workshop, we’ll speak with a group of experts on the process, who will teach you everything you need to know to stand out and continue to build a meaningful career while in quarantine. Click here to register.
Charting China’s oil-buying spree
Data from Orbital Insight show 937 million barrels of oil in China’s observable storage (✦ a Quartz member exclusive). It’s the highest level the company has measured since it began tracking in January 2017, and it provides a valuable indication of broader global trends.
Crude isn’t the only commodity China’s stockpiling during the pandemic. The country plans to store 10 million tons of soybeans, 20 million tons of corn, and one million tons of cotton, according to a report from Reuters.
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- People are now embracing modes of exercise with roots that stretch back much further than the exercise tape and home yoga mat.
- Need a good home workout jam? Music streaming and TikTok are boosting Track 1 hits and possibly killing off the album in the process.
- The cubicle may be on its way back. Physical barriers in workplaces might be reviled, but they also keep you safer from your colleagues’ sneezes.
We’re obsessed with memory foam
Sink into the good stuff. The viscoelastic material is found in football helmets, motorcycle seats, and bulletproof vests. By 2023, the US market for memory foam mattresses and pillows is projected to balloon to $8 billion—but the bed-in-a-box industry is excessively wasteful. Plus, the chemicals it emits raise health concerns in addition to off-putting smells. Lie back and ponder it all with the Quartz Daily Obsession.
Surprising discoveries
Celebrities are helping US high schoolers organize virtual proms. John Krasinski organized one such event live on YouTube, where Billie Eilish made an appearance.
The pandemic can’t bring down the peanut. The humble crop’s success is bad news for fashion: Farmers often choose between planting peanuts and cotton, which is worse-hit.
You don’t need any cotton to wear a Sandy Liang design. The fashionista made her offerings available virtually in the life simulator game Animal Crossing.
A low-budget cryptocurrency documentary briefly became the top-grossing US film. One man realized he could game box office statistics by paying theaters to play his film for no one.
A bored artist has given himself a tattoo for every day under lockdown. Unfortunately, he’s running out of space. “I look like a piece of blue cheese,” he told the BBC.
You asked about accessibility in a masked world
I read lips and look at gestures to just get by. How am I to survive when people are masked?
Elaine, we knew just who to ask. Quartz curator and deaf individual Patrick deHahn—who just wrote about this very predicament—responded, “You aren’t alone. Face masks are a significant communication barrier for many. One workaround is speech-to-text smartphone apps like Ava or Google’s Live Transcribe to caption your everyday conversations. A small microphone that plugs into your phone’s audio port may be needed for accuracy, especially with physical distancing.”
He also had some last resorts to recommend: “Writing with a whiteboard or pen and paper is always a good fallback. Lastly, there are transparent masks (and YouTube tutorials to make your own) but mass adoption is needed for it to really work for everyone.”
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, virtual fashion, and prom invitations 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 Susan Howson and Nicolás Rivero.