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| Coronavirus, Britain, China: Your Friday Briefing | Coronavirus, Britain, China: Your Friday Briefing |
| (5 months later) | |
| (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) |
| Britain confirmed it would prolong its lockdown for at least three more weeks as part of its efforts to keep smothering the spread of the coronavirus. | Britain confirmed it would prolong its lockdown for at least three more weeks as part of its efforts to keep smothering the spread of the coronavirus. |
| But the government was far less clear about how to relax restrictions later without causing another outbreak. | But the government was far less clear about how to relax restrictions later without causing another outbreak. |
| Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who is leading the British government while Prime Minister Boris Johnson recuperates from the virus, set out five prerequisites for easing restrictions, including a sustained and consistent decline in the daily death rates. | Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who is leading the British government while Prime Minister Boris Johnson recuperates from the virus, set out five prerequisites for easing restrictions, including a sustained and consistent decline in the daily death rates. |
| With 861 new deaths announced on Thursday — 100 more than the day before — Britain appears far from meeting that prerequisite, as well as others that Mr. Raab outlined. | With 861 new deaths announced on Thursday — 100 more than the day before — Britain appears far from meeting that prerequisite, as well as others that Mr. Raab outlined. |
| Test blunder: The U.K. paid $20 million for new coronavirus tests from China in a global scramble for kits. They didn’t work. | Test blunder: The U.K. paid $20 million for new coronavirus tests from China in a global scramble for kits. They didn’t work. |
| Here are the latest updates, as well as maps of the pandemic. | Here are the latest updates, as well as maps of the pandemic. |
| The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage, and our Coronavirus Briefing newsletter — like all of our newsletters — is free. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription. | The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage, and our Coronavirus Briefing newsletter — like all of our newsletters — is free. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription. |
| No country is really certain how many people it has lost to the pandemic. But in Spain, the count has become caustically political. | No country is really certain how many people it has lost to the pandemic. But in Spain, the count has become caustically political. |
| Spain’s official death toll, which remains among the world’s highest, is closing in on 20,000. But there is evidence that it could be far higher, with many deaths — especially those in nursing homes — not properly classified as stemming from the coronavirus. | Spain’s official death toll, which remains among the world’s highest, is closing in on 20,000. But there is evidence that it could be far higher, with many deaths — especially those in nursing homes — not properly classified as stemming from the coronavirus. |
| The confusion has led to recrimination and sinister claims, with opposition politicians accusing the fragile coalition government of covering up the real numbers. | The confusion has led to recrimination and sinister claims, with opposition politicians accusing the fragile coalition government of covering up the real numbers. |
| Russia: President Vladimir Putin postponed the military parade and flag-waving celebrations of Victory Day on May 9, marking the Red Army’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. | Russia: President Vladimir Putin postponed the military parade and flag-waving celebrations of Victory Day on May 9, marking the Red Army’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. |
| Italy: The country, which was the center of the pandemic last month, is now emerging from its worst days. Here’s how the number of new known cases and deaths are growing across the provinces. | Italy: The country, which was the center of the pandemic last month, is now emerging from its worst days. Here’s how the number of new known cases and deaths are growing across the provinces. |
| European sports: Scotland’s top four soccer leagues decided to award their championships based on where teams stand now. The Giro d’Italia bicycle race is considering a reduction to 14 stages from 21. Few sport decisions are going to make everyone happy. | European sports: Scotland’s top four soccer leagues decided to award their championships based on where teams stand now. The Giro d’Italia bicycle race is considering a reduction to 14 stages from 21. Few sport decisions are going to make everyone happy. |
| Guidelines released by President Trump on Thursday effectively mean that any restoration of American society will take place on a patchwork basis, with states moving at their own paces to revive daily life. | Guidelines released by President Trump on Thursday effectively mean that any restoration of American society will take place on a patchwork basis, with states moving at their own paces to revive daily life. |
| He told the nation’s governors they could begin reopening businesses, restaurants and other elements of society by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, abandoning his threat to use what he had claimed was his absolute authority to impose his will on them. | He told the nation’s governors they could begin reopening businesses, restaurants and other elements of society by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, abandoning his threat to use what he had claimed was his absolute authority to impose his will on them. |
| Jobless rolls: More than 5.2 million U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to a staggering 22 million — a toll not seen since the Great Depression. | Jobless rolls: More than 5.2 million U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to a staggering 22 million — a toll not seen since the Great Depression. |
| The job losses and other consequences of the coronavirus outbreak have called attention to how close to the edge many Americans were already living, highlighting profound, longstanding vulnerabilities in the economic system. | The job losses and other consequences of the coronavirus outbreak have called attention to how close to the edge many Americans were already living, highlighting profound, longstanding vulnerabilities in the economic system. |
| America first: The Trump administration is working to secure medical supplies for Americans first by limiting how U.S. aid is used to buy masks, plastic gloves and other protective medical equipment in some of the world’s neediest nations. | America first: The Trump administration is working to secure medical supplies for Americans first by limiting how U.S. aid is used to buy masks, plastic gloves and other protective medical equipment in some of the world’s neediest nations. |
| New York: The state’s shutdown was extended until May 15 in coordination with other states. | New York: The state’s shutdown was extended until May 15 in coordination with other states. |
| The country’s first-quarter gross domestic product shrank by 6.8 percent, the first contraction of the Chinese economy in more than four decades, the government reported. The pandemic and attempts to contain it have sharply cut the world’s appetite for China’s goods | The country’s first-quarter gross domestic product shrank by 6.8 percent, the first contraction of the Chinese economy in more than four decades, the government reported. The pandemic and attempts to contain it have sharply cut the world’s appetite for China’s goods |
| The country’s national statistics office already confirmed this week that industrial production, retail sales and investment all had double-digit drops in the first two months of this year compared with the same period of 2019. | The country’s national statistics office already confirmed this week that industrial production, retail sales and investment all had double-digit drops in the first two months of this year compared with the same period of 2019. |
| Signs of life: Before he was expelled from the country, one Times reporter visited Hefei, a middle-class city in central China, to chronicle the country’s emergence from its battle against the coronavirus. But police officers who interfered with his interviews made it difficult to document the many signs of renewal there. | Signs of life: Before he was expelled from the country, one Times reporter visited Hefei, a middle-class city in central China, to chronicle the country’s emergence from its battle against the coronavirus. But police officers who interfered with his interviews made it difficult to document the many signs of renewal there. |
| Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan declared a nationwide state of emergency as coronavirus cases in the country continued a monthlong sharp rise that pushed its total past 8,000. | Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan declared a nationwide state of emergency as coronavirus cases in the country continued a monthlong sharp rise that pushed its total past 8,000. |
| The island of Anjouan, part of the nation of the Comoros off the East African coast, receives more annual rainfall than most of Europe. But a combination of deforestation and climate change has caused at least half of its permanent rivers to stop flowing in the dry season. | The island of Anjouan, part of the nation of the Comoros off the East African coast, receives more annual rainfall than most of Europe. But a combination of deforestation and climate change has caused at least half of its permanent rivers to stop flowing in the dry season. |
| When forests were cleared to make way for farmland, a delicate ecosystem was disrupted. The consequences offer lessons for other parts of the developing world. | When forests were cleared to make way for farmland, a delicate ecosystem was disrupted. The consequences offer lessons for other parts of the developing world. |
| Yemen: Antagonists in the nation’s five-year war have not stopped attacks a week after the Saudi-led unilateral cease-fire was announced, United Nations officials said, adding that aid money is running out. | Yemen: Antagonists in the nation’s five-year war have not stopped attacks a week after the Saudi-led unilateral cease-fire was announced, United Nations officials said, adding that aid money is running out. |
| Israel: After a year of political deadlock, lawmakers have just 21 days to come up with a formula for a majority government. Failing that, Parliament will automatically disperse on May 7 and, for the fourth time in little over a year, send Israelis back to the ballot box. | Israel: After a year of political deadlock, lawmakers have just 21 days to come up with a formula for a majority government. Failing that, Parliament will automatically disperse on May 7 and, for the fourth time in little over a year, send Israelis back to the ballot box. |
| Switzerland: Nora Illi, a Swiss convert to Islam who publicly challenged bans against full-body veils for Muslim women, died in Bern, Switzerland, from breast cancer. She was 35. | Switzerland: Nora Illi, a Swiss convert to Islam who publicly challenged bans against full-body veils for Muslim women, died in Bern, Switzerland, from breast cancer. She was 35. |
| Snapshot: The warming climate in Norway has melted ice on a mountain pass, revealing relics of an ancient Viking trade route. | Snapshot: The warming climate in Norway has melted ice on a mountain pass, revealing relics of an ancient Viking trade route. |
| Wine: Vintners in France have approved an official, though voluntary, way to certify so-called natural wines. But our wine critic, Eric Asimov, believes natural wine is as much defined by the intention of the producer as it is by adherence to a set of rules. | Wine: Vintners in France have approved an official, though voluntary, way to certify so-called natural wines. But our wine critic, Eric Asimov, believes natural wine is as much defined by the intention of the producer as it is by adherence to a set of rules. |
| What we’re reading: This Bon Appétit essay about learning to cook through crisis with the help of an Italian mother over FaceTime. “Until this, I hadn’t laughed once while reading about how people are coping with the pandemic,” writes Jenna Wortham, a staff writer for The Times Magazine and a host of our “Still Processing” podcast. | What we’re reading: This Bon Appétit essay about learning to cook through crisis with the help of an Italian mother over FaceTime. “Until this, I hadn’t laughed once while reading about how people are coping with the pandemic,” writes Jenna Wortham, a staff writer for The Times Magazine and a host of our “Still Processing” podcast. |
| Cook: Adding a can of tuna to your puttanesca gives it body and heft. And you can make it in well under 30 minutes. | Cook: Adding a can of tuna to your puttanesca gives it body and heft. And you can make it in well under 30 minutes. |
| Watch: Missing sports? Mike Hale assembled a list of sports-focused documentaries and dramas. In a different vein, maybe you haven’t seen “Unorthodox” on Netflix yet. | Watch: Missing sports? Mike Hale assembled a list of sports-focused documentaries and dramas. In a different vein, maybe you haven’t seen “Unorthodox” on Netflix yet. |
| Cope: Here’s how to play board games over Zoom, and how to be conscientious about your online shopping. And you may need these eight simple ways to set boundaries between your work and your children. | Cope: Here’s how to play board games over Zoom, and how to be conscientious about your online shopping. And you may need these eight simple ways to set boundaries between your work and your children. |
| Our At Home page has many more ideas about what to watch, read, cook and do while we stay at home to keep everyone safe. | Our At Home page has many more ideas about what to watch, read, cook and do while we stay at home to keep everyone safe. |
| This week, our video team took you inside Tripoli, Libya, where residents already facing the horrors of a war zone are grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. Shelling has prompted more people to flee into the city center, and fresh attacks in residential areas mean they must choose between fleeing further, at the risk of exposure to the virus, or staying put, at the risk of being struck by shells. | This week, our video team took you inside Tripoli, Libya, where residents already facing the horrors of a war zone are grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. Shelling has prompted more people to flee into the city center, and fresh attacks in residential areas mean they must choose between fleeing further, at the risk of exposure to the virus, or staying put, at the risk of being struck by shells. |
| Melina Delkic, on the Briefings team, spoke with one of the people interviewed in the video: Montaha Nattah, a 21-year-old student who has lived in Libya for most of her life. Here’s their text exchange on WhatsApp, lightly edited for space. | Melina Delkic, on the Briefings team, spoke with one of the people interviewed in the video: Montaha Nattah, a 21-year-old student who has lived in Libya for most of her life. Here’s their text exchange on WhatsApp, lightly edited for space. |
| What’s your typical day like? | What’s your typical day like? |
| Most of my day is spent writing papers, preparing projects, attending classes and studying for exams. Studying during quarantine is quite difficult — you barely have the energy to get tasks done — but studying while living in a war zone and being quarantined is an outrageous combination I would never want anyone to experience. | Most of my day is spent writing papers, preparing projects, attending classes and studying for exams. Studying during quarantine is quite difficult — you barely have the energy to get tasks done — but studying while living in a war zone and being quarantined is an outrageous combination I would never want anyone to experience. |
| Libyans are used to leaving their houses whenever there is intense shelling nearby. Unfortunately, during the era of Covid-19, that is not the case. | Libyans are used to leaving their houses whenever there is intense shelling nearby. Unfortunately, during the era of Covid-19, that is not the case. |
| How long have you lived in Tripoli? | How long have you lived in Tripoli? |
| My whole life until 2018, when I got to study at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. I visited Libya every summer and winter break, but during these extraordinary times and despite the ongoing conflict, I decided to go back home because I believe that home is a feeling, not only a place. | My whole life until 2018, when I got to study at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. I visited Libya every summer and winter break, but during these extraordinary times and despite the ongoing conflict, I decided to go back home because I believe that home is a feeling, not only a place. |
| If this pandemic is going to be the end of the world, then I’d rather die in my hometown next to my family. | If this pandemic is going to be the end of the world, then I’d rather die in my hometown next to my family. |
| What are you seeing and hearing around you right now? | What are you seeing and hearing around you right now? |
| Living in Tripoli nowadays means hearing drones flying above your head most of the time. It means hearing projectiles falling around you. It means seeing and smelling smoke and polluted air when you open your window because of the places that get bombed. | Living in Tripoli nowadays means hearing drones flying above your head most of the time. It means hearing projectiles falling around you. It means seeing and smelling smoke and polluted air when you open your window because of the places that get bombed. |
| And finally, it means putting your earphones on whenever there is intensive shelling, so you can forget about the reality a little. | And finally, it means putting your earphones on whenever there is intensive shelling, so you can forget about the reality a little. |
| Thank youTo Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | Thank youTo Melissa Clark for the recipe, and to Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the rest of the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. |
| P.S.• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about a Times journalist who was recently expelled from China.• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Team building? (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.• Apoorva Mandavilli, who has master’s degrees in journalism and biochemistry and has been helping The Times cover the coronavirus pandemic, is joining The Times full-time as a science writer. | P.S.• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about a Times journalist who was recently expelled from China.• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Team building? (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.• Apoorva Mandavilli, who has master’s degrees in journalism and biochemistry and has been helping The Times cover the coronavirus pandemic, is joining The Times full-time as a science writer. |