1 April

Online news this morning includes a Bloomberg report of promising statistics: Italy’s rate of new virus patients seems to be slowing after three full weeks of a country-wide order to stay at home; they’re calling it a plateau.  The Jakarta Post, on the other hand, quotes an Italian epidemiologist who worries the whole strategy of isolating at home, sometimes in multi-generational households, is contributing to the spread of new cases.  The numbers see-saw: down, then up again; it’s hard to know what to think, what to feel–hope, despair, resignation.  Clearly the virus is not yet finished with us.

The Italian government plans to distribute direct financial aid to address growing frustration among unemployed workers in Palermo and other parts of the south, and extends the policy of self-isolation through Easter and possibly through early May.  An Italian political scientist on Euronews Tonight believes the true number of infected may be close to two million, not the 110, 574 estimated by the Protezione Civile.

 A rise in new infections in parts of Asia that seemed to have the contagion under control is being met with tighter travel restrictions and quarantine rules, as well as electronic monitoring of individuals’ movements and contacts.  http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/why-asias-new-coronavirus-controls-should-worry-the-world/ar-BB11XSdu?ocid=se  A friend in Israel writes that his phone can tell him when he’s been in contact with someone who’s been diagnosed with the virus, but also can report him to authorities should he move more than 100 meters from home.  This is chilling information.