Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
There was more violence overnight. Two people were killed in a Chicago suburb. Four police officers were shot in St Louis, and another in Las Vegas. Looters ransacked stores again in Manhattan, although it has been claimed that they are not part of protests. Many demonstrations were peaceful, however.
Trump threatened to deploy US troops. He said that governors were not dealing with the issue effectively, and described himself as “the president of law and order.” As he spoke yesterday, DC police fired smoke devices at a crowd assembled near the White House.
Mark Zuckerberg is meeting all Facebook staff. Employees are angry with the company’s decision—and some even walked out, virtually anyway— to keep a Donald Trump post from Friday in which he suggested that violent protesters should be shot.
Joe Biden is poised to win the Democratic nomination. As protests continue, seven states and the capital are holding primaries today. Biden also met with black leaders in Delaware, and promised to tackle institutional racism.
The US entertainment industry joins Blackout Tuesday. Companies such as ViacomCBS and Funny or Die, as well as celebrities, are heeding calls on social media for a “day of pause” in solidarity with the black community.
The coronavirus pandemic could affect the US economy for a decade. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office, a federal agency that supplies budget and economic information to Congress. It published a ten-year report in January that had to be completely revised.
Quiz: Which verticals got the most startup funding in Africa in 2019?
Choose the top three:
- health tech
- entertainment
- e-commerce
- offgrid tech
- marketing tech
- enterprise tech
- fintech
- connectivity
- shared economy
- retail
✦ Members, feel free to give yourself a leg up by reading all about it, as part of our field guide on Africa after Covid-19. To gain access to all the stories, presentations, field guides, workshops, and more that is available exclusively to Quartz members, try a seven-day free trial. ✦
Otherwise, find the results—and why they matter—in handy chart form at the end of this email.
You asked about vaccines
If we are able to develop a vaccine, will vaccinated people who later get exposed to the virus still be able to pass it on to other, not-vaccinated people?
Great question, Petra! While viruses can survive on skin or other surfaces for a short time, they can’t replicate outside of cells. The process of replicating is what causes infections, and what allows the virus to spread from person to person.
When someone has recovered from an illness or been vaccinated, they have antibodies against the virus. If they encounter it again, their bodies have a built-in defense system—and without a home, the virus dies off. When enough people can’t host the virus, the whole community is protected against it; it’s what immunologists call “herd immunity.”
All of this is to say that a person who has been vaccinated shouldn’t be able to transmit the virus to someone who hasn’t been vaccinated, because they can’t host a virus long enough to replicate. That said, if a vaccinated person has a virus on their hands and touches another person without washing them, they could pass it on. Good personal hygiene is always a great defense against infection.
✉️ Do you have a burning question about how coronavirus is changing the world?
Surprising discoveries
Japan held secret fireworks. The five-minute pyrotechnic displays were intended to lift people’s spirits as the country emerges from the state of emergency imposed during the pandemic.
No one is buying truffles. As high-end restaurants shut down or go bust, sellers may have to pivot to making processed products like truffle oil to get rid of inventory.
The sun might be waking up from a long nap. It just emitted its biggest solar flare since 2017, which might signal a return to a more active phase that could mess with electrical grids.
Otters are causing a headache in Singapore. They’re wreaking havoc in the city-state, including eating up fish in a pond at a spa.
Our interstellar visitor may have been a hydrogen iceberg. A new theory could explain ‘Oumuamua’s strange proportions and its odd acceleration without relying on aliens.
Charting how African startup verticals are funded
How did you do on the quiz?
Fintech has dominated funding for African startups for years. But the coronavirus pandemic may change that (✦), as investors start to shift their focus to spikes in demand to e-commerce, edtech, healthcare, and basic services. Still, given how the crisis has underlined the critical role played by fintech, that sector is likely to continue to dominate.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Périgord truffles, and a distracting fireworks display 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 Hasit Shah, Susan Howson, and Nicolás Rivero.