Answering your coronavirus questions: Should you wear a mask? | Morning Newsletter
Plus, Pa.'s unemployment system is overwhelmed right now.
The Morning Newsletter
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Believe it or not, it’s April, which means that the weirdest month (so far) of the 21st century is over. And we’re still learning more about how the coronavirus is spreading in our region, with hundreds more confirmed cases announced yesterday in nine counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
A month ago, the U.S. surgeon general tweeted, “STOP BUYING MASKS!” But at that time, only 57 people in the country had tested positive for the coronavirus. Now, more than 100,000 Americans have tested positive, and the narrative on whether everyone should wear some type of facial covering when out in public is shifting.
More than 830,000 Pennsylvanians in the last two weeks have found themselves without a job or income. By the end of last week, the number of new unemployment claims filed since Gov. Tom Wolf shut the state down surpassed the total for all of 2019. And that’s causing the state’s unemployment compensation system to malfunction.
Also, because it’s the first of the month, rent is due today. It’s the first time rent is due since the mass layoffs and joblessness because of the coronavirus. For now, renters are resorting to new tactics to make due.
My colleagues have tracked down answers to your questions, ones that will help you separate fact from fiction and understand how you can best protect yourself and your family. Bookmark this page because we’re updating it consistently. And if you have a question, email curiousphilly@inquirer.com.
Here’s some of what we’ve looked into:
Why is it (still) so hard to get a coronavirus test?
What are the first symptoms of the coronavirus and what should you do if you think you have it? How about what you should do if someone in your house is sick?
How can you talk to your friends who still aren’t social distancing?
For parents: How can you work at home with kids and calm a child’s fears about the coronavirus?
What do terms like pandemic and social distancing actually mean?
What you need to know today
Mayor Jim Kenney called out DA Larry Krasner yesterday after a gunman shot five people, including a 1-year-old boy, at a North Philadelphia rowhouse.
Maddie, the 7-year-old girl from Guatemala who had been held in a family immigration detention center longer than any other child, has been freed from the Berks detention center with her father. And a federal judge ordered 10 immigrants to be released from detention centers across Pennsylvania because authorities aren’t protecting them from the threat of a coronavirus outbreak behind bars.
Workers for Instacart, GoPuff, and other companies who have been delivering your groceries and beer don’t have any labor rights.
The former owner of a Philadelphia-area asphalt refinery is responsible for a massive 2004 oil spill in the Delaware River, the Supreme Court ruled. It also must pay back millions in cleanup costs.
President Donald Trump has gotten a boost in polls in recent weeks. How meaningful is it?
Philly-area undergrads who get a degree in nursing can earn over $70,000 out of college.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
A nice reminder to keep your head up. You never know what you might see. Thanks for sharing, @stoneyandersen.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🎻Philadelphia Orchestra musicians are taking a 20% pay cut that starts today and lasts through the middle of September.
🥘Thought up by two food-loving Philly-area tech entrepreneurs, SavePhillyEats is offering a free financial lifeline to restaurants and bars.
📓Here are some of the personal projects people have been doing while staying at home. Have you done something you’ve been meaning to get to for a while? Let us know.
👀Zoom meetings and video conferences have been invading our homes. That means we might be spending more time than ever with our co-workers — and their prying eyes.
😴If you’re having trouble sleeping because you can’t stop thinking about the coronavirus, some experts have tips for you.
📺These are the commercials that are making us cringe because they were clearly filmed before the coronavirus.
Opinions
“If one thing has become clear during this pandemic, it’s just how quickly our world comes to a screeching halt without the store clerks and delivery drivers and warehouse workers and housekeepers. We owe them. We’ve owed them for a very long time.” — writes columnist Helen Ubiñas on why shaming shouldn’t be the reason employers end up doing right by their workers.
Columnist Maria Panaritis writes about a recent trip she made to the supermarket that left her shaken.
The coronavirus has exposed how broken the U.S. system is, writes columnist Will Bunch.
What we’re reading
The COVID-19 outbreak has led to a surge in deliveries. WHYY reports that local UPS workers say they are overloaded and working in “filthy” conditions.
Fast Company covers the origin story of the N95 mask, which it calls the “most important design object of our time.”
College students are rebuilding their campuses in Minecraft, The Verge reports.
Your Daily Dose of | Staying Strong
Certified personal trainer and coach Ashley Greenblatt gives us a full-body fitness routine that can be done with objects from around your house. For example, you can use a weighted object like a laundry detergent bottle and a small- to medium-size pillow.