PARIS — When President Emmanuel Macron repeatedly declared “war” on the coronavirus in March, he solemnly promised that France would support “front-line” health workers with “the means, the protection.” The reality was that France was nearly defenseless. The government’s flip-flopping policies on past pandemics had left a once formidable national stockpile of face masks nearly…
Details
Menthol cigarettes will be removed from shelves in the UK this Wednesday (20 May 2020), yet new research has found that tobacco companies failed to use the four-year phasing-in period (from 2016) to prepare for this week’s ban. Instead they continued to sell and promote menthol products and to develop new products which circumvent the…
Details
Here’s what you need to know: ImageA message from the king and the crown prince, projected on Salwa Palace in Diriyah in April, asking Saudis to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.Credit…Balkis Press/Abaca, via ZUMA The coronavirus is upending Saudi Arabia’s big dreams and easy living. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto…
Details
Julia Rock-Torcivia had everything in place for her Advanced Placement chemistry test. She taped a handwritten sign to her bedroom door that said “Stop!” in a warning to family members not to disturb her. The family’s two yappy dogs — Stella and Nixie, a terrier mix and a pug-Labrador mix — were relegated to a…
Details
The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday granted emergency clearance for a coronavirus testing kit that will enable individuals to take a nasal sample at home and send it to a laboratory for diagnostic testing, the second such approval it has made. Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health,…
Details
The coronavirus patient, a 75-year-old man, was dying. No family member was allowed in the room with him, only a young nurse. In full protective gear, she dimmed the lights and put on quiet music. She freshened his pillows, dabbed his lips with moistened swabs, held his hand, spoke softly to him. He wasn’t even…
Details
Video Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York discusses developments in the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.CreditCredit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times Here’s what you need to know: Cases have declined and deaths have slowed, but it’s a delicate moment to reopen. The number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in the United States…
Details
Britain, one of the world’s hardest-hit countries, reported 3,451 new cases and 468 deaths, pushing its totals to 240,161 infections and 34,466 lost lives. Here’s what you need to know: ImageBeachgoers in Thessaloniki, Greece, on Saturday. A distance of about 5 feet between sun loungers is required at the beaches, and alcohol and music are…
Details
In mid-March, Dr. Jim Bristow’s wife came down with gastrointestinal issues. Then, she couldn’t stop coughing. Her symptoms pointed to coronavirus, but she couldn’t get tested — in part because of the nationwide test shortage, but also because the pair lived in Vashon, an idyllic town on an island in Washington State’s Puget Sound with…
Details
Ian Derrer and Daniel James were married in August 2019 in the garden room of a restaurant in Santa Fe, N.M., with each of their 19 guests reading aloud lyrics to the couple’s favorite Stephen Sondheim love songs. After staying in Santa Fe for a weeklong honeymoon, during which they hiked at Bandelier National Monument…
Details