Trump's pick for intel chief promises to keep politics out of coronavirus origins
Despite his reputation as a Trump loyalist, Rep. John Ratcliffe repeatedly pledged that he would, if confirmed as the next leader of the U.S. intelligence community, seek out and deliver the unvarnished truth on a range of national security issues.
'The safest place to be': A coronavirus researcher on life inside a biosafety level 3 lab
Sara Cherry, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, feels safer at work than almost anywhere else. That’s because she works inside a biosafety level 3 laboratory on the Penn campus in Philadelphia, where she is the scientific director of the High-Throughput Screening Core.
Leaked intelligence report saying China 'intentionally concealed' coronavirus to stockpile medical supplies draws scrutiny
The Trump administration has issued an intelligence analysis claiming China purposely delayed notifying the World Health Organization about the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump attacks Joe Scarborough, who tells him 'take a rest' and 'let Mike Pence actually run things'
With the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus mounting, President Trump on Monday took aim at MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. The cable news host responded by telling Trump to let Vice President Mike Pence “run things for the next couple of weeks.”
The promise — and pitfalls — of antibody testing for COVID-19
In New York, the number of patients coming to the ER with COVID-19 symptoms has dropped and there is hope that the worst is behind us. As we look to the future, many of my colleagues on the frontline are eager to know if they have antibodies.
Hydroxychloroquine still being used to treat coronavirus
Hydroxychloroquine, the much-touted, much-maligned drug initially championed by President Trump as a “game changer” against the coronavirus, but which was later shown to have potential risks to patients, is still being used to combat the pandemic in hospitals across the country.
Coronavirus and the 'new normal': What's coming in the months ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected the lives of every American. And while politicians and experts disagree on how best to confront the disease and mitigate its economic ramifications, there is a broad understanding that we are entering a “new normal” — an upending of our lives that will continue at least until a vaccine is developed — and perhaps well beyond that.
Georgia businesses reopen and customers start returning, but only time will tell if it's the right decision
Exactly one week since Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp began reopening the state's economy, small businesses shared early success stories as customers welcomed their return. But at what cost? Business owners say only time will tell.
Living alone but feeling connected | Letter
Jill Wallis says she has never had so much contact with family and friends as she has had since the lockdown began
You have published many articles about the challenges of isolation, most recently your long read (Patterns of pain: what Covid-19 can teach us about how to be human, 7 May). But there is one interesting outcome you may not have considered.
Many of those of us who always live alone are finding we are much more in contact with loved ones than previously. I’ve lived alone since being widowed 16 years ago, and I’ve never had as much contact with my family and even my friends than I’ve had since the lockdown began.
Continue reading...How to have fun during lockdown | Oliver Burkeman
Ask yourself Carl Jung’s question: what did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes?
I hesitate to suggest what anyone else ought to be doing to stay on an even keel, psychologically, in these frightening times – partly because I don’t always manage it myself, but also because any such advice tends to turn into yet another item for the to-do list. You’ve noticed, for example, how quickly all those online yoga classes and Zoom cocktail gatherings, intended to add some lightness to lockdown, began to feel vaguely like a chore. (You’re not imagining “Zoom fatigue”: experts say video conversations really are more tiring.) Likewise, “self-care” practices easily turn into new duties, so people end up forcing themselves to be kind to themselves, which doesn’t make much sense.
This is why what I think we probably ought to be doing, to whatever extent possible, is having more fun. Not meditation or gratitude journalling or jogging (unless you find those fun). Not things you think are supposed to be fun. I mean the things you actually find fun. This distinction matters, partly for the aforementioned reason that self-care, however important, isn’t synonymous with fun. But it’s also because in the modern attention economy, all sorts of things – celebrity memoirs, bad new TV dramas, expensive consumer goods – want you to believe they’re the funnest thing you could be doing. Conceivably, for any given person, they might be. But true fun – “deep fun”, as the fun scholar Bernie De Koven called it – is a subtle and personal thing, and not necessarily in anyone else’s commercial interests.
Related: No spare time in lockdown? That's not such a bad thing
Continue reading...My life in sex: the man with a small penis
‘I’ve heard of women rejecting a guy for his size, then making fun of him to others’
I was 15 when I realised my penis was below average in size. Feeling increasingly ashamed, I gravitated towards humiliation pornography (in which women demean men over their size) and that only made me focus more on my anxieties. I used to upload pictures of my penis anonymously on to sites such as Reddit, and the comments were all about how small it was.
I’m 22 now, and have never had a girlfriend, which I attribute to my low self-esteem. I think that in a loving relationship you accept each other’s faults – that is what I’d try to do – but I’ve heard stories of women rejecting a guy for his size and then making fun of him to other people. I’ve asked out a female friend or two while drunk, but always been rejected. Hell, I’d have rejected myself – I have overeating issues, an introverted personality, no banter. There are a million factors, but I can’t help tying them all up with having a small penis. I used to blame my inability to date on anyone but me, and for a while I gravitated towards incel [involuntary celibate] groups, but I soon realised that their ideology is toxic. I don’t believe women owe men sex.
Cheating a hangover is one of life's gems
Waking up without a hangover after a night of getting plastered is the world saying: here, have one on me
Brace yourself. That is the first thing that enters one’s head after a heavy night out, before the eyes are even open. Sometimes, listing nausea or a banging in the brain is what wakes us in the first place. We all know that if someone invented a cure for hangovers – and boy, have they tried – that person would be very rich indeed. Or worshipped as a deity. Most likely both.
It doesn’t matter if it has been one too many after work drinks or cracking open a second bottle of wine with one’s partner… the consequences of over-indulgence patiently lie in wait.
Continue reading...Patterns of pain: what Covid-19 can teach us about how to be human
We can expect psychological difficulties to follow as we come out of lockdown. But we have an opportunity to remake our relationship with our bodies, and the social body we belong to. By Susie Orbach
When lockdown started, I was confused by bodies on television. Why weren’t they socially distancing? Didn’t they know not to be so close? The injunction to be separate was unfamiliar and irregular, and for me, self-isolating alone, following this government directive was peculiar. It made watching dramas and programmes produced under normal filming conditions feel jarring.
Seven weeks in, the disjuncture has passed. I, like all of us, am accommodating to multiple corporeal realities: bodies alone, bodies distant, bodies in the park to be avoided, bodies of disobedient youths hanging out in groups, bodies in lines outside shops, bodies and voices flattened on screens and above all, bodies of dead health workers and carers. Black bodies, brown bodies. Working-class bodies. Bodies not normally praised, now being celebrated.
Continue reading...I am used to living alone. Why has lockdown made me feel invisible? | Annalisa Barbieri
When life is necessarily small, the more negative feelings we’ve managed to keep in abeyance can loom large, says Annalisa Barbieri
I had adjusted to living alone after I was widowed six years ago, and since the lockdown friends have telephoned frequently and I chat to neighbours at a distance.
Although I feel I am one of the lucky ones and should be fine, I miss, above all, hugs and physical closeness. I have also started to resent people with partners, children or cuddly pets (which I have not done before).
Continue reading...I told my ex I would never be a swinger. Now he won’t stop texting me
I am not that kind of person and have made it clear I don’t want to hear from him. What more can I do?
Before the lockdown, I had a boyfriend with whom I had been for 16 months. He said he wanted to experiment sexually with another couple, which I found shocking. I am not that kind of person, so I broke up with him. Despite the breakup, he is still constantly texting me, even though I stopped texting him a while back and made it clear I don’t want to see him. The situation hurts me so much, and any help you could offer would be much appreciated.
Joining another couple for erotic fun is not uncommon; many people enjoy it. In fact, there are many communities of people who regularly participate in this sexual style. But it is not for everyone, and jealousies and insecurities can arise no matter how sexually open a person is. “Swinging” is advanced sexual play that requires a couple to be well bonded and requires each partner to be psychologically stable as well as sexually mature.
Continue reading...My partner left me before lockdown and I can't get over him
With so much time on our hands, it’s easy to dwell on loss, says Mariella Frostrup. Try distracting yourself with online dates, box sets and classic novels
The dilemma Several months ago my partner of five years left me very suddenly. He’d gone abroad to work, but as far as I knew everything was fine. I even had flights booked to go and visit. The break-up was a huge shock that left me in a low place. After a few weeks I felt I was beginning to come out of the fog and start moving on with my life, going out and seeing friends, going to classes, etc, but then the lockdown was imposed. Being shut away in my flat all day, alone with my thoughts, I seem to be going backwards.
I’m very aware that we are in the middle of a global crisis and it’s awful for everyone. Luckily, I’m in a good position regarding pay and I’m not paying rent, so I really don’t have any reason to complain. However, all I can think about is my ex. It’s driving me a little bit mad. Do you have any advice on dealing with non-Covid-related troubles during this crisis? Talking to others about it is hard, and I don’t want to make it all about myself.
Continue reading...Ten reasons now is a great time to start cycling
As lockdown eases, travelling by bike will be a safe, healthy and potentially addictive option
There are many reasons you might want to think about cycling for commuting or other transport when the coronavirus lockdown starts to ease, particularly if you live in a city.
With physical distancing remaining in place for some time to come, capacity on public transport will be limited. If more people drive it will create gridlock.
Continue reading...The joys of lockdown cycling – in pictures
The WHO recommends cycling to achieve the minimum daily requirement for exercise while physical distancing. Pedalling photographer Martin Godwin looks at cycling during the lockdown
Continue reading...'Bicycles are the new toilet paper': bike sales boom as coronavirus lockdown residents crave exercise
Australia’s peak representative body for cyclists has called on governments to transform roads into cycleways to ease traffic on bike paths
Australian bike retailers are struggling to keep up with the boom in sales since coronavirus restrictions came into force last month.
“We’re the new toilet paper and everyone wants a piece,” Grant Kaplan, manager of Giant Sydney, a bike store in Sydney’s CBD, tells Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...World cities turn their streets over to walkers and cyclists
From Berlin to Bogotá there are new footpaths and bike lanes – but not in London
A growing number of cities around the world are temporarily reallocating road space from cars to people on foot and on cycles to keep key workers moving and residents in coronavirus lockdown healthy and active while socially distancing.
Limited urban park space and leisure trails are under increasing pressure, with many closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, further limiting urban dwellers’ access to outdoor space. While traffic has dropped around the world, and with it nitrogen dioxide levels, there are widespread concerns over a rise in speeding drivers endangering those walking and cycling.
Continue reading...Chef Pete Evans exits Seven's My Kitchen Rules amid ratings slump
Celebrity TV chef from MKR has been repeatedly criticised by scientific and medical groups over his views on health and nutrition
The controversial reality TV chef Pete Evans will exit My Kitchen Rules, Seven’s defining show of the decade which slumped badly in the ratings this year.
Evans, a self-styled health guru held one of the most lucrative jobs in television despite a series of controversies related to his views on health and nutrition.
Continue reading...Sudan to outlaw female genital mutilation
Campaigners welcome move to criminalise those carrying out FGM, but warn it will take time to eradicate practice entirely
Sudan looks set to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM), in a significant move welcomed by campaigners.
Anyone found carrying out FGM will face up to three years in prison, according to a document seen by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Poorer expectant mums lose over £4,000 through ‘unfair’ anomaly in benefits
System treats maternity allowance as unpaid income, skewing the amount of universal credit paid out
Pregnant women on the lowest incomes are being denied vital financial support during the Covid-19 crisis, according to unions and women’s support groups, who are calling for urgent reforms to universal credit.
An anomaly in the way universal credit differentiates between pregnant earners has created an unfair system, it is argued. Universal credit treats maternity allowance, which is paid to the lowest-earning women and those who are self-employed, as “unearned income”, which means it is deducted from their benefit payments.
Continue reading...Thousands lose last hope of having a baby as lockdown closes IVF clinics
Women tell of ‘bereavement’ because they will be too old for fertility treatment when the coronavirus shutdown ends
See all our coronavirus coverage
Thousands of couples may have missed their last chance of conceiving via IVF as fertility clinics shut their doors to patients on Wednesday. Some women who are only just young enough to be eligible for treatment will be too old in a few months’ time.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates Britain’s fertility industry, has ordered private and NHS clinics to stop treating patients who are in the middle of an IVF cycle by 15 April. All new treatments have already been banned, a decision which is likely to prevent the births of at least 20,000 desperately wanted babies if it remains in place for 12 months.
Continue reading...Nurse offers advice on caring for those with coronavirus at home – video
Many people will get coronavirus at some point during this pandemic and in the majority of cases will be able to manage the illness themselves. Emma Hammett, a nurse and founder of First Aid for Life, offers some advice on how to look after people who have mild or moderate symptoms at home.
If you're looking after loved ones whose symptoms are severe or getting worse, you should seek medical help immediately – particularly if they are in a vulnerable group
- Find all our coronavirus coverage here
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they, and should I see a doctor?
Wellbeing levels in UK at lowest since records began, new research suggests
UK population is suffering from 'high levels of psychological distress', according to the research
Half of UK workers feeling more stressed or anxious during lockdown, study finds
The poll also found Britons are working 28 hours of overtime per month
Disabled people struggle to get food and essential items during lockdown
'I'm worried about running out of food,' says Charles Bloch
'Call your GP': Women displaying new gynae cancer symptoms during lockdown urged to seek medical advice
Some hospital trusts have seen a dramatic drop in cancer referrals from GPs in recent weeks
Teachers produce 200,000 pieces of PPE for frontline healthcare staff
'I'm in awe of the work that has taken place across our community over the last month, says Tony Ryan
One in three nurses say mental health has become 'very bad' during pandemic
A lack of PPE is concern among nurses
Coronavirus: Apple and Google update plans to let phones track whether people have been exposed
Without integrating into phones' operating systems, performance of contact-tracing apps is likely to be limited