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EU transport ministers discuss Covid-19. They will discuss how to align measures to ease lockdowns, what precautions airlines must take for travel to resume, and reimbursement for cancelled trips. European airlines penned a letter to the ministers yesterday arguing that social distancing is “neither necessary nor viable on board an aircraft.”
Poland’s ex-prime minister urged a boycott of the presidential election. Donald Tusk, who is also the former European Council president, said the national vote on May 10 would be an affront to “basic human decency” in the face of the pandemic.
South Korea’s March factory output surged. Industrial production numbers jumped by 4.6% compared to a month earlier, the biggest increase in 11 years, as China’s lengthy factory shutdowns helped to boost demand. However, it’s increasingly likely that the country’s economy will slide into a recession.
Donald Trump ordered meat factories to stay open. The US president said it was imperative that the plants continue operating to safeguard the country’s food supply, despite a growing number of workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives scrapped plans to reconvene in Washington, DC next week over continuing coronavirus fears.
The US reports its first-quarter GDP. The economy is forecast to have shrunk 4%, the first quarterly contraction since 2014. Meanwhile, the Fed is expected to lift its fed funds rate, a technical move meant to ensure interbank lending keeps running smoothly and help prevent market disruption if the benchmark rate goes negative.
Tech giants report earnings. Facebook’s international user growth could soften the negative impact of the pandemic on ad spending, while an uptick in the use of Microsoft’s cloud services could provide a revenue boost.
My body is a castle
Scientists only became aware of the novel coronavirus late last year. Most of our immune systems, meanwhile, have still never heard of it. For now, we have to rely on our bodies—rather than a vaccine or targeted medication—to fight off the virus.
In order to slow the spread of Covid-19, it will be crucial to understand exactly how the immune system tackles the disease. If you’re thinking, “Man it’d be helpful to see that as a comic strip,” you’re in luck.
For an even closer look at the big unknowns surrounding the topic of immunity, sign up for the free Coronavirus: Need to Know newsletter.
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Charting the American grocery shopper
The share of food spending at restaurants and bars (including takeout) has been slowly rising for over half a century. In 1970, only about one-quarter of US household expenditures were spent on eating out. By the beginning of 2020, that number had reached about 50%.
The Great Recession slowed down the move to eating out from 2008 to 2012, but only a pandemic could truly reverse the trend with store-bought food amounting to almost 63% of US consumption last month.
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- India and China may avoid a recession. Former Reserve Bank of India director Vipin Malik discussed what’s needed to get the world’s most populous economies firing on all cylinders.
- A place to gather and gossip. Quartz fashion reporter Marc Bain looks at how the temporary loss of barbershops and salons cuts much deeper than appearances.
We’re obsessed with voicemail
Why does voicemail make us feel so awkward? Leaving a message at the beep has sunk more than a few celebrities into scandal, but psychologists say that for the rest of us, that feeling of anxiety has more to do with being alone and on the spot. Voicemail is so fraught that AT&T initially rejected the technology for fear that it would make business people abandon phones. Get the message with the Quartz Daily Obsession.
You asked about climate and coronavirus
What impact is the pandemic having on the climate emergency? It’s no less urgent once we’re reasonably past this crisis. – Ann
Thank you, Ann, for this fantastic question. The economic shutdown associated with coronavirus has taken a huge bite out of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to a recent analysis from the UK-based research outfit Carbon Brief, it could add up to the largest one-year drop in emissions in history.
That’s an astounding reversal. But it reveals a stark reality: Even sustained emissions reductions on this scale wouldn’t be enough to limit global warming to goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Once total shutdown conditions relax in the next month or two, emissions are likely to jump right back to business as usual. And depending on what kind of stimulus measures governments put in place after the pandemic, emissions could grow even faster than before.
✉️ Do you have a burning question about how coronavirus is changing the world?
Surprising discoveries
Anthony Fauci loved his doppelgänger. The top US infectious diseases expert said Brad Pitt did “a great job” impersonating of him on Saturday Night Live.
Lithuania’s capital will be transformed into an open-air cafe. Vilnius is giving much of its public space to bars and restaurants to set up tables outdoors in order to comply with distancing rules.
Honey bees are being turned into Trojan horses. Bees infected with the deadly Israeli acute paralysis virus are better able to get past guards when entering a colony than uninfected bees.
Scottish archaeologists are building a replica of an ancient stone tower. They want to revive the broch, a round Iron Age architectural structure that is unique to Scotland.
An Illinois woman is selling tiny picnic tables for squirrels. She lost her job as a lunchroom and playground aid after schools closed, but business is now booming for her $20 mini tables.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Trojan bees, and Iron Age towers 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 written by Mary Hui and edited by Isabella Steger.