The week from my desk.

The virus advances, and we're playing catch-up. 

From testing strategies to protective equipment to minimising economic impacts, several pandemic response debates have been playing out in the media over the past week. 

Meanwhile, we’ve hit the 1 million mark in the number of infections worldwide. COVID-19 is now starting to make its presence known in humanitarian hotspots and the Global South.

Everyone is affected one way or another. Most things not Coronavirus-related is taking a back seat.

Just in case it wasn’t clear, the Economist -- whose coverage is very good -- has published not one but two analyses within days to say that the choices we’re facing are stark. 

For journalists, this is reflected in the number of emergency funds that have been announced in the past few days, a selection of which I list below.

I’ve also published a guide on how to deal with rumours when reporting on COVID-19, following from my opinion in Undark magazine that argues against a blanket debunking strategy. 

For everything else, keep scrolling.

COVID-19

Learning about the disease

• How scientists are pulling together to help with that - NYT
• There’s now more evidence that healthy people can spread the virus - AP
• ...and that loss of taste and smell are key symptoms - Reuters
• Negative tests might not be as reliable as we think - NYT
• And the number of deaths might be underestimated - Economist
• Could TB vaccination have a protective effect? - Bloomberg

Plenty of dilemmas about how to respond 

• In a major U-turn, the US now recommends facemasks - Washington Post
• On the modelling behind policy decisions like lockdowns, vs the more relaxed model followed in the Netherlands and Sweden - Science + Conversation + Bloomberg
• Mass vs targeted: two Asian countries, two testing strategies - Washington Post
• Germany is doing well because of early and extensive testing - Reuters
• ...and it could issue immunity certificates soon - Telegraph
• But some argue there's no point comparing between countries - Conversation
• History tells us social distancing can actually do the economy good - Economist
• ...which is just as well: it could be with us on-and-off for some time - Buzzfeed
• China boasts about its global leadership, not without reason - Wall Street Journal

But it’s not all over in East Asia

• Patients in China test positive for a second time: a new wave, or faulty testing? - NPR Goats & Soda
• Warnings against complacency as Asian countries see a resurgence - NYT + Reuters
• Meanwhile, a Wuhan writer becomes an online star for her account of life under lockdown - Wall Street Journal

Getting closer to vulnerable places

• How four developing countries are trying to prepare - Nature
• Concerns over equitable sharing of vaccines - SciDev.Net
• First Greek camp reports outbreak - Reuters
• Idlib bracing, Syria cases ‘tip of the iceberg’ - CNN + AP
• China delivers 10,000 coronavirus kits to Palestine - Middle East Monitor
• African and other developing regions missing from clinical trials - Nature

Knock-on effects

• On the inequality in who suffers, and that’s just within the US - Axios
• How undemocratic leaders are using the crisis to their advantage, with Hungary as a case in point - Washington Post
• Immunisation campaigns stop, raising fears of polio and measles resurgence - Science + Telegraph

The human factor

• There’s a looming threat of loneliness - STAT
• What does panic-buying have in common with disaster relief? Enter “material convergence” - Devex
• How to talk to skeptics and help others understand COVID-19 - Atlantic + Undark

Futures, continued

• It started last week, and there’s now much, much more imagining of how the pandemic will change the world - Wall Street Journal + Economist + National Geographic + Conversation + Guardian + MIT Tech Review + Carbon Brief
• ...and on whether we’ll take the chance to do good by the climate - Economist
• ...and how it might change development practice - Devex

A few other pieces that caught my eye

• Rare ozone hole opens over Arctic - Nature
• Antarctica used to have a rainforest - Bloomberg
• New blood test can detect 50 types of cancer - Guardian

...spotlight on the Global South

• How Internet access matters for the conflict in Yemen - Coda
• A record high for dengue in Bangladesh - Dhaka Tribune
• The Peruvian village still suffering from a toxic mercury spill - Guardian
• LONG READ | The fight against locust swarms in East Africa - Reuters

• Several emergency funds are being launched for professional freelance writers and journalists whose income is suffering as a result of the pandemic - Rory Peck Trust + ACLS + IWMF + Substack + UK Arts Council + The Society of Authors
• Dealing with cancelled projects - Journalism.co.uk
• Tips to stay safe while field-reporting on COVID-19 - WAN-IFRA + IJNET
• A webinar series about the challenges of reporting during the pandemic - Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
• Another webinar to dig into, on covering the crisis with solutions journalism - SJN
• And you might want to password-protect your Zoom meetings - MIT Tech Review

• The ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award is seeking nominations of impactful coverage or media innovations around COVID-19--closing April 5.
• Women photojournalists from around the world and from minority groups can apply for the Getty Images Inclusion Scholarships--closing April 27.
• The 2020 European Cross-Border Grants are accepting applications for cross-border investigative journalism in the European Union--closing April 15.
• Journalists from the MENA region reporting on religious freedom and human rights can apply for a training programme with Internews--closing April 20.
• The Africa-China Reporting Project at Wits Journalism is inviting journalists to submit proposals for reporting grants to investigate public health-related issues--closing April 30. 
• International Journalists’ Programmes is offering a travel and work fellowship for young journalists from the Middle East to spend a two-month period in Germany--closing June 15.

• People have been compiling Coronavirus songs - Oxfam + Mail & Guardian
• ...and here's a selection of drawings - Coda
• Two visual stories from Italy, Europe’s pandemic ‘epicentre’ - Vanity Fair + Guardian 
• Will we take this chance for a less hurried life? I hope so - Atlantic

Keep well, see you next week.