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| Coronavirus Finally Comes to ‘Coronation Street’ | Coronavirus Finally Comes to ‘Coronation Street’ |
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| MANCHESTER, England — For now, the most famous street in Britain still exists in another world. The pub is open. Friends meet in the cafe. Neighbors fight and lovers kiss. People get their hair cut, visit one another’s houses, gather in groups of more than six. | MANCHESTER, England — For now, the most famous street in Britain still exists in another world. The pub is open. Friends meet in the cafe. Neighbors fight and lovers kiss. People get their hair cut, visit one another’s houses, gather in groups of more than six. |
| They can do so until July 24: the day when, four months after the rest of the country went into lockdown, the coronavirus pandemic will finally hit “Coronation Street.” | They can do so until July 24: the day when, four months after the rest of the country went into lockdown, the coronavirus pandemic will finally hit “Coronation Street.” |
| Off screen, the world’s longest-running soap opera — and a staple of British weeknight television — has been dealing with the impact of the coronavirus since March. Production was officially halted on March 23, the day Britain went into lockdown, and episodes have since been rationed to keep the show on the air: instead of watching six nights a week, viewers have had to make do with three. | Off screen, the world’s longest-running soap opera — and a staple of British weeknight television — has been dealing with the impact of the coronavirus since March. Production was officially halted on March 23, the day Britain went into lockdown, and episodes have since been rationed to keep the show on the air: instead of watching six nights a week, viewers have had to make do with three. |
| Filming resumed this month, but with strict social-distancing measures in place. Any characters played by actors in high-risk groups have disappeared completely, crews have been stripped back to the bare essentials and all scenes have been shot with actors no less than two meters apart. | Filming resumed this month, but with strict social-distancing measures in place. Any characters played by actors in high-risk groups have disappeared completely, crews have been stripped back to the bare essentials and all scenes have been shot with actors no less than two meters apart. |
| But onscreen, the show has remained blissfully unaware of this new reality. Even sequences shot since the resumption of filming have not yet acknowledged the reason for the lack of physical contact: Iain Macleod, the series producer, felt it would have been “incredibly strange” for episodes to be a mix of the old world and the new. | But onscreen, the show has remained blissfully unaware of this new reality. Even sequences shot since the resumption of filming have not yet acknowledged the reason for the lack of physical contact: Iain Macleod, the series producer, felt it would have been “incredibly strange” for episodes to be a mix of the old world and the new. |
| Instead, the pandemic will arrive in Weatherfield — the fictional part of Greater Manchester where the show is set — effectively overnight on July 24, when the first episode entirely written and designed after lockdown is set to air. “It will be a day/night thing,” Macleod said. He joked that it might look like a “continuity error: now there is a pandemic.” | Instead, the pandemic will arrive in Weatherfield — the fictional part of Greater Manchester where the show is set — effectively overnight on July 24, when the first episode entirely written and designed after lockdown is set to air. “It will be a day/night thing,” Macleod said. He joked that it might look like a “continuity error: now there is a pandemic.” |
| Macleod and his writers have, he said, “agonized long and hard” over how to introduce the coronavirus into the show, a challenge that in some way struck at the heart of what “Coronation Street” — and Britain’s other long-running soaps, “Emmerdale” and “EastEnders” — are meant to be. | Macleod and his writers have, he said, “agonized long and hard” over how to introduce the coronavirus into the show, a challenge that in some way struck at the heart of what “Coronation Street” — and Britain’s other long-running soaps, “Emmerdale” and “EastEnders” — are meant to be. |
| Unlike their American peers, British soap operas are not designed to be fantastical. They are neither set in a specific period nor entirely contained within their own universe. Instead, they occupy a delicate, liminal territory between fiction and reality. | Unlike their American peers, British soap operas are not designed to be fantastical. They are neither set in a specific period nor entirely contained within their own universe. Instead, they occupy a delicate, liminal territory between fiction and reality. |
| “The way British soaps organize time is important,” said Christine Geraghty, a professor of film and television studies at the University of Glasgow. “They take place on a day-to-day basis. Characters wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. British soaps keep going: you don’t always start a new episode at the exact place the last one finished.” Cliffhanger endings, she said, tend to be deployed only for major plotlines. | “The way British soaps organize time is important,” said Christine Geraghty, a professor of film and television studies at the University of Glasgow. “They take place on a day-to-day basis. Characters wake up in the morning and go to bed at night. British soaps keep going: you don’t always start a new episode at the exact place the last one finished.” Cliffhanger endings, she said, tend to be deployed only for major plotlines. |
| “Mostly, the postman comes in the morning, and the day ends with a drink in the pub,” she said. “The rhythms in a soap make it a recognizable world. You might know, as a viewer, that things like that don’t quite happen in real life, but you can place it all within the scope of your own experience.” | “Mostly, the postman comes in the morning, and the day ends with a drink in the pub,” she said. “The rhythms in a soap make it a recognizable world. You might know, as a viewer, that things like that don’t quite happen in real life, but you can place it all within the scope of your own experience.” |
| The stories can, of course, be outlandish — planes crash on the Yorkshire village where “Emmerdale” is set with alarming frequency — but the landscape, too, is constructed to feel familiar. | The stories can, of course, be outlandish — planes crash on the Yorkshire village where “Emmerdale” is set with alarming frequency — but the landscape, too, is constructed to feel familiar. |
| “It is our world, but it is not our world,” said Carole O’Reilly, a senior lecturer in media and television studies at the University of Salford. “It looks and feels recognizable: a heightened version of the world we see.” | “It is our world, but it is not our world,” said Carole O’Reilly, a senior lecturer in media and television studies at the University of Salford. “It looks and feels recognizable: a heightened version of the world we see.” |
| She picks out the backdrop of “Coronation Street” — based on Salford itself — as authentically northern: the architecture of back-to-back terraced housing and cobbled streets, the social life revolving around the pub. But so, too, is the tone of the characters’ interactions. “Direct and to the point,” according to Geraghty, or gregarious and outgoing, to O’Reilly: all of it distinctly (if not uniquely) Mancunian. | She picks out the backdrop of “Coronation Street” — based on Salford itself — as authentically northern: the architecture of back-to-back terraced housing and cobbled streets, the social life revolving around the pub. But so, too, is the tone of the characters’ interactions. “Direct and to the point,” according to Geraghty, or gregarious and outgoing, to O’Reilly: all of it distinctly (if not uniquely) Mancunian. |
| But while British soaps set out to reflect the world, they are selective about which elements of the real world are allowed to seep in. “‘Coronation Street’ has taken on a lot of social issues,” Geraghty said. “It has dealt with racism, domestic abuse, violence, trans rights. But it doesn’t do current events; soaps are filmed too far in advance to deal with real events in real time, and besides, they’re too political.” | But while British soaps set out to reflect the world, they are selective about which elements of the real world are allowed to seep in. “‘Coronation Street’ has taken on a lot of social issues,” Geraghty said. “It has dealt with racism, domestic abuse, violence, trans rights. But it doesn’t do current events; soaps are filmed too far in advance to deal with real events in real time, and besides, they’re too political.” |
| Most news events are ignored completely — though there is a bench on the “Coronation Street” set dedicated to the victims of the 2017 Manchester bombing, incorporated onto the set in 2018 — but the pandemic is far more complex. | Most news events are ignored completely — though there is a bench on the “Coronation Street” set dedicated to the victims of the 2017 Manchester bombing, incorporated onto the set in 2018 — but the pandemic is far more complex. |
| Updated June 22, 2020 | Updated June 22, 2020 |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| “It is a health event, a political event, an economic event,” Geraghty said. “It is changing lives.” To her mind, British soaps, which set themselves the task of showing “everyday life and how it is lived, cannot ignore it as they normally would.” | |
| Macleod and his team knew that, but were conscious of the other side of a soap’s appeal: the need to provide some form of escapism. “We want to let viewers see the world we live in,” he said. “But we have talked about the pandemic and basically nothing else for months, and I don’t think they need to see more people banging on about the pandemic.” | Macleod and his team knew that, but were conscious of the other side of a soap’s appeal: the need to provide some form of escapism. “We want to let viewers see the world we live in,” he said. “But we have talked about the pandemic and basically nothing else for months, and I don’t think they need to see more people banging on about the pandemic.” |
| Their approach, then, will be to acknowledge the change in the world, but with what he described as a “light touch.” “It will mainly be the visual element,” he said. “There will be a lot of evidence of social distancing: people won’t touch, they’ll conspicuously stand apart, older relatives will be sequestered and shielding.” | Their approach, then, will be to acknowledge the change in the world, but with what he described as a “light touch.” “It will mainly be the visual element,” he said. “There will be a lot of evidence of social distancing: people won’t touch, they’ll conspicuously stand apart, older relatives will be sequestered and shielding.” |
| There will, he admitted, be some discrepancies. Not only will the pandemic suddenly appear — four months late — but, by the time episodes air, the world may have shifted once more. “Coronation Street,” might, once again, be experiencing a different reality than its viewers. | There will, he admitted, be some discrepancies. Not only will the pandemic suddenly appear — four months late — but, by the time episodes air, the world may have shifted once more. “Coronation Street,” might, once again, be experiencing a different reality than its viewers. |
| ITV — the network that has aired the show since it appeared in 1960 — is confident that audiences will not object to the inconsistencies. “They are quite forgiving,” said John Whiston, the broadcaster’s managing director of continuing drama. | ITV — the network that has aired the show since it appeared in 1960 — is confident that audiences will not object to the inconsistencies. “They are quite forgiving,” said John Whiston, the broadcaster’s managing director of continuing drama. |
| Over the past few months, the show has conducted research that has shown that viewers have, in a way, started to appreciate that what they are seeing onscreen does not quite mirror what is happening in the world. | Over the past few months, the show has conducted research that has shown that viewers have, in a way, started to appreciate that what they are seeing onscreen does not quite mirror what is happening in the world. |
| “We have had a lot of people say to us that it has been an antidote to what is happening, and that’s been appreciated,” Whiston said. He is not worried that people might object to the “Coronation Street” pandemic not quite matching the experience of the rest of the country. “Besides,” Whiston said, “if we were true to lockdown, it would all be quite dull: just people going to the shop once a day.” | “We have had a lot of people say to us that it has been an antidote to what is happening, and that’s been appreciated,” Whiston said. He is not worried that people might object to the “Coronation Street” pandemic not quite matching the experience of the rest of the country. “Besides,” Whiston said, “if we were true to lockdown, it would all be quite dull: just people going to the shop once a day.” |