2020
April
08
Wednesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

April 08, 2020
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Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

Today’s issue includes a look at what “wartime footing” means in the U.S., how to help those forced to stay at home with abusers, the rise of the in-house marathon, a different kind of Passover, and a show close to Canadians’ hearts

As you might imagine, I’m talking to readers a lot these days. In a time of coronavirus, there is no shortage of questions. But I particularly liked one from a reader last week: If my gardener comes to mow my lawn, will he get arrested?

Looking across the world every day, it’s apparent how many different approaches there are to lockdowns. New Zealand’s rules have been so strict that the prime minister held a national Q&A from home after putting her kids to bed. She also publicly castigated a member of her government caught mountain biking (though she did declare the Easter Bunny an essential worker). The country has had only one coronavirus death.

Meanwhile, Sweden has so far done comparatively little, with movie theaters, restaurants, and schools still open this week. America’s story has played out regionally, with people in blue states restricting their activities more than those in red states, according to The Economist.

Where have conversations with readers ended up? First, know local laws and advisories, and then be worthy of the responsibility we’re given. Even if you’re the Easter Bunny.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Lynne Sladky/AP
Jonathon Pedrosa assembles plastic face shields at Faulkner Plastics in Hialeah, Florida, March 27, 2020. The custom fabrication company has shifted gears to help with the medical supply shortage. The factory is operating 24 hours a day to meet demand.
Courtesy of Walter Tarello
Walter Tarello, an Italian veterinarian living in Dubai, recently completed a marathon in the eighth floor corridor of his apartment building. He says running helps take his mind off the current crisis in his country and around the world.

Essay

Television

Courtesy of Louise Downs
Louise Downs, who organized the first SchittCon gathering (a "Schitt's Creek" fan club convention), stands with her daughter Myra in Goodwood, Ontario, at a site where the popular sitcom filmed, June 9, 2019.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
Christians practice social distancing as they pray at a church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 1.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Ng Han Guan/AP
Chinese youths record a dance routine on the streets of Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on April 8, 2020. Pockets of Wuhan are starting to sputter to life after government officials lifted lockdown orders that cut off the city from the rest of the world for 76 days.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Please come back tomorrow when Christa Case Bryant looks at how officials make decisions about coronavirus measures when scientists don’t yet agree on the data and interpretations.

More issues

2020
April
08
Wednesday
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