Reopening America

Worries about the food supply are growing after the world’s biggest pork processing plant had to close its doors due to coronavirus. Smithfield Foods in South Dakota has seen nearly 300 of its employees contract COVID-19 and will be closed for at least two weeks. South Dakota did not have stay-at-home orders in place and workers there had been calling for more personal protective equipment. Alex Gangitano, reporter at The Hill, joins us for more.

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Researchers are looking into how an immune system gone haywire may be doing the most damage in patients experiencing some of the most severe symptoms and even death because of COVID-19. This might be happening in two stages, first the immune system fails to respond quickly enough to the virus, then responds too aggressively and causes more damage. Joe Walker, reporter for the WSJ, joins us for why a hyperactive immune response may make things worse.

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Last week we heard about Nadia, a tiger in the Bronx zoo that had contracted COVID-19. The tiger and a few other big cats had come down with dry coughs, so the decision was made to test, and the test was one made specifically for the animals. It’s important to understand how the transmission works… can it spread to other animals or even pets? Kate Knibbs, writer at Wired, joins us for more.

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As we track and map out the spread of the coronavirus, we are learning that most of the cases in New York actually came from Europe and not China. Early travel restrictions from those coming from China were put in place, but the virus had already spread making it much more difficult to contain. Carl Zimmer, Columnist at the NY Times, joins us for how coronavirus came to New York.

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Everyone is looking forward to how and when we can get back to work and get back to normal. We still have yet to hit the peak number of cases in the U.S. but some are hoping that testing for antibodies in the blood could help get us back. If you have antibodies to COVID-19 it means you already had the disease and could be immune, at least in the short term. Rachel Becker, reporter at CalMatters, joins us how antibody testing could help, but there are still many questions left to be answered.

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The virus has changed the way we internet. While some things may be obvious… people are starting to have more video chats with friends, family and co-workers, other aspects of the way we spend our time online can be surprising. People are moving away from their phones and using desktop computers more, people are consuming more news from local and established newspapers and less on partisan sites, and video games have seen an increase while sports have lost out. Nathaniel Popper, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how we are spending our lives online during the pandemic.

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Last week unemployment claims totaled 6.6 million, bringing the total number of applications to nearly 17 million since the pandemic has shut down huge parts of the U.S. economy. And as a result of so many applying for unemployment, people are having a tough time getting through and completing the process. Dana Mattioli, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how tough the job market is right now.

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One thing to keep an eye out while we social distance and stay at home, Americans are doubling down on some of their worst habits in order to cope with mental and emotional stress of dealing with coronavirus. Alcohol sales and consumption are up, marijuana sales are up, and people are eating more and exercising less. Sara Fischer, reporter for Axios, joins us for how virus vices are taking a toll on people.

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In this time of coronavirus, telemedicine is having a moment. It was once a hard sell to get people to see a doctor over the phone or a computer screen, but now some companies can’t keep up with demand. Wait times have increased on some of these services and it is leading them to hire more doctors to help you quicker. Parmy Olsen, reporter for the WSJ, joins us for the rise of telemedicine.

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The U.S. is eyeing a second coronavirus outbreak in China. In the past few days, officials have noted an emergence of new cases, particularly in asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals. The administration is closely monitoring how China handles this next wave to better understand what we could expect later this year when we too, could possibly see a second outbreak. Erin Banco, national security reporter at The Daily Beast, joins us for how we are keeping an eye on China.

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