THE LONG ROAD BACK HOW TO REOPEN SAFELY WHERE IT'S WORKED -AND HASN'T THE GOVERNOR - vs. THE PRESIDENT - magzDB
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
M AY 11, 2020
THE
LONG ROAD
BACK
HOW TO
REOPEN SAFELY
By ALICE PARK
WHERE IT’S WORKED
—AND HASN’T
By CHARLIE CAMPBELL
THE GOVERNOR
vs. THE PRESIDENT
By MOLLY BALL
time.com
© KEVIN ARNOLD; © WALTER P. AFABLE
Every day, everywhere, our connections to nature are infinite. Healthy forests capture and slowly release rainwater into rivers and aquifers—providing reliable water that farmers use to grow the food we eat. Working together, we can build a planet where people and nature thrive. Explore the infinite ways you can connect with nature at nature.org.
VOL. 195, NO. 17 | 2020
4 | Conversation
6 | For the Record
The View Special Report: The Time Off △
Teri O’Meara fills
Ideas, opinion, Reopening Debate What to watch, read,
her sewing basket
The Brief innovations
How countries, states and the real
see and do
to the brim with
News from the U.S. 19 | Why we said no experts—scientists—are navigating 45 | Emma masks for police in
and around the world to remote learning the way out Straub, author and Centreville, Md.
7 | Cratering oil bookseller fueled
21 | Ian Bremmer on Inside the Statehouse by hope Photograph by
prices and climate
the crisis in Brazil In the absence of federal help, the Peter van Agtmael—
change
48 | Movies: teenage Magnum Photos
21 | Start keeping a nation’s governors team up to tackle friendship in The
10 | The heir to Kim
quarantine journal an unprecedented crisis Half of It; justice in
Jong Un in North
Korea? By Molly Ball 24 Murder to Mercy:
22 | The pandemic The Cyntoia Brown
pauses thoughts of How to Do It Right Story; happiness in
12 | Food banks
another child Public-health priorities for a A Secret Love
struggle to help the
newly needy
23 | An admiral’s
return to “normal”
50 | Music:
family’s role By Alice Park 30 lockdown doesn’t
14 | TIME with .. .
reversal hold back Dua Lipa
labor leader Mary The Next Steps
Kay Henry What has—and has not—worked as 52 | 6 Questions for
16 | A fence can’t
Asia and the Pacific have begun to lift Dr. Anthony Fauci
keep young love restrictions
apart By Charlie Campbell 34
The Dealmaker
Nancy Pelosi tries to negotiate an ON THE COVER:
economic rescue package once again Illustration by
Ben Wiseman
By Molly Ball 40 for TIME
For customer service and our general terms and conditions, visit timeeurope.com/customerservice, or call +44 1858 438 830 or write to TIME, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, United Kingdom. In South Africa, write to Private Bag 1, Centurion 0046. Print subscriptions: Visit time.com/joinus38.
Reprints and Permissions: Visit time.com/reprints. For custom reprints, visit timereprints.com. Advertising For advertising rates and our editorial calendar, visit timemediakit.com. TIME is published by Time Magazine UK Ltd, Suite 1, 3rd Floor, 11-12 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4LB. There are 14 double issues. Each
counts as two of 52 issues in an annual subscription. Frequency is subject to change without notice. Additional double issues may be published, which count as two issues. TIME is printed in the Netherlands, the Republic of South Africa and the U.K. Le Directeur de la Publication: Mike Taylor. C.P.P.A.P No. 0122 C 84715. Editeur
responsable pour la Belgique: André Verwilghen, Avenue Louise 176, 1050 Bruxelles. EMD Aps, Hoffdingsvej 34, 2500 Valby. Rapp. Italia: I.M.D.s.r.l., via Guido da Velate, 11 – 20162 Milano; aut. Trib. MI N. 491 del 17/9/86, poste Italiane SpA - Sped. in Abb. Post. DL. 353/2003 (conv. L. 27/02/2004 -n. 46) art. 1 comma 1, DCB
Milano, Dir. Resp.: Tassinari Domenico. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and at additional mailing houses. Additional pages of regional editions numbered or allowed for as follows: National S1-S2. Vol. 195, No. 17 © 2020 TIME Magazine U.K., Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written
permission is prohibited. TIME and the Red Border Design are protected through trademark registration in the U.S. and in the foreign countries where TIME magazine circulates. ISSN 0928-8430.
3
Conversation
Finding
Hope JOHN LEGEND
At this moment when more The singer and
of us are looking online for criminal-justice-
crucial human connections, reform advocate
TIME is convening the performed his new
world’s most influential song “Bigger Love”
people through TIME 100 and Bill Withers’
Talks, a new series of virtual “Lean on Me.”
conversations and experi- He also urged
ences. The first installment, rethinking prisons
“Finding Hope,” streamed given the spread of
on April 23, following the COVID-19 among
release of a special issue inmates.
on the same topic. Doctors,
politicians and artists at
the forefront of health and
social-justice policymaking
discussed how to address
the challenges of the ANGELINA JOLIE
COVID-19 pandemic. As “This is a time for outrage,” the TIME contributing editor
TIME editor-in-chief and CEO and U.N. special envoy said of how shuttered schools put
Edward Felsenthal said in vulnerable children at greater risk for food insecurity.
his opening remarks, the
mission of the TIME 100
summits—“looking for ways
to encourage action”—is
more important than ever,
“to help guide all of us
toward a better future.” Find
more insights and high-
lights, as well as updates
on upcoming talks, at DR. ANTHONY FAUCI
time.com/time-100-talks The nation’s top infectious-disease
expert was candid about the long
road to reopening the country. (See
“6 Questions,” page 52.)
AMY KLOBUCHAR
The Minnesota U.S. Senator and former 2020 Democratic
presidential candidate opened up about the federal
stimulus packages and her husband’s fight with COVID-19.
DR. LEANA WEN AND DR. LARRY BRILLIANT
TIME’s Alice Park interviewed public-health experts Wen
and Brilliant (above left and right) about what we need to
do to prepare for future outbreaks.
TALK TO US
▽ ▽ Back Issues Contact us at customerservice@time.com, or call 800-
843-8463. Reprints and Permissions Information is available at
SEND AN EMAIL: FOLLOW US: time.com/reprints. To request custom reprints, visit timereprints.
letters@timemagazine.com facebook.com/time Please recycle
com. Advertising For advertising rates and our editorial calendar, this magazine, and
Please do not send attachments @time (Twitter and Instagram) visit timemediakit.com. Syndication For international licensing and remove inserts or
syndication requests, contact syndication@time.com samples beforehand
Letters should include the writer’s full name, address and home telephone, and may be edited for purposes of clarity and space
4 TIME May 11, 2020
For the Record
‘I FEEL
‘Maybe if
you get enough
of these little
LIKE THEY
do -si -d os
tre fo ils
gestures,
it will all
tagalongs
lem on- ups
th in m in
ts toffee
-t asti
c
come out for
MADE US
tag alo ngs
thin min ts
the better in
the end.’
144,000 DENNIS RUHNKE,
on sending a single N95 mask
GUINEA
Boxes of cookies the Girl to New York Governor Andrew
Scouts of Alaska were Cuomo; Cuomo read a letter
left with when COVID-19 from the retired Kansas farmer
stopped the selling season, at a daily briefing on April 24
local media said on
April 26; a federal loan will
help the group make up the
PIGS.’
resulting funding gap
‘We have
won that
battle. But LENON PAGE, GOOD NEWS
co-owner of a spa business in Savannah, Ga., of the week
we must speaking to TIME after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
announced that businesses including gyms, salons A 6-year-old in British
remain and barbershops could reopen on April 24 Columbia gained
international attention
vigilant if we ‘Under no circumstance
for opening a joke stand
at the end of his driveway,
are to keep should our disinfectant
where he offers laughs
while maintaining
it that way.’ products be administered
social distance
JACINDA ARDERN, into the human body.’
New Zealand Prime Minister,
on April 27, announcing that
the country had eliminated
RECKITT BENCKISER,
the company that makes Lysol and Dettol, in an April 24
‘Money
“widespread undetected
community transmission”
statement after President Trump speculated in a briefing
that it might be possible to treat COVID-19 using
is not
of the novel coronavirus disinfectants; Trump later said he was being sarcastic getting
into
people’s
9%
I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y B R O W N B I R D D E S I G N F O R T I M E
hands.’
CARMEN YULÍN CRUZ,
Approximate average drop per mayor of San Juan, P.R., in
decade in abundance of land- an April 25 appearance on
dwelling insects, according MSNBC; she claimed
to a study published April 24; that no Puerto Rican
researchers looked at more residents had yet received
than 150 long-term surveys of federal stimulus checks,
insect populations attributing the delay to local
distribution problems
6 Time May 11, 2020 S O U R C E S : A N C H O R A G E D A I LY N E W S , A P, N P R , I N D E P E N D E N T, C B C , S C I E N C E
UP IN SMOKE
A refinery in
Carson, Calif., on
April 22, as low
oil prices raise
questions about
the industry’s
future
INSIDE
AMID SNAGS, FEDERAL HELP FOR KIM JONG UN RUMORS PUT FOOD BANKS STRUGGLE WITH
SMALL BUSINESSES IS RE-UPPED SPOTLIGHT ON N.K. SUCCESSION HIGH DEMAND AND LOW SUPPLY
PHOTOGR APH BY DAVID MCNEW
TheBrief Opener
ENVIRONMENT invest in clean energy. Businesses will ask, “How
A climate choice do we show up in the market as a company that’s
future-forward and not a company that is irrel-
in low oil prices evant?” says Deborah Byers, U.S. oil and gas leader
at consulting firm EY, who believes the coronavirus
By Justin Worland has accelerated that process by five years.
F
But not everyone is optimistic that low oil prices
or as long as the world has been will help the fight against climate change. Cheap oil
trying to tackle climate change, oil has means cheaper gas at the pump, which leads people
presented a unique challenge. The fos- to drive more and spend more on emissions-inten-
sil fuel, the production and use of which sive consumer goods. It also removes a key incen-
emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is tive for businesses to change. A delivery company
central to modern society. It powers the world’s purchasing a van fleet will be less likely to go elec-
economy, and industry leaders wield enormous tric, for example, and a consumer food company
political power—all of which is still true. But the considering switching its packaging away from oil-
world of oil is changing. Notably, the U.S. bench- based plastic may wait a few years. “It’s very hard to
mark price for oil started 2020 at more than transition away from oil when it’s very cheap,” says
$60 per barrel, but thanks to a price war and the Lorne Stockman, a senior research analyst at Oil
COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on industry, it hit Change International, which advocates for a switch-
a record low of negative $40 in mid-April and has
still not fully rebounded. In other words, produc-
140 over away from fossil fuels. “And it’s particularly
difficult when we don’t have a coherent policy on
Number of U.S. oil
ers couldn’t give it away. producers set to go climate change.”
“The basic model is in pieces. It’s fallen apart,” bankrupt by the end Another key concern for many climate advo-
says Tom Sanzillo, director of finance at the Insti- of 2020 if prices cates is the possibility that as oil sinks, natural
tute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. stay at around $20 gas—which in the U.S. is often produced alongside
a barrel
“This is an industry in last place.” oil and also remains cheap—will further solidify its
It should come as no surprise that climate ad- position in the mix of electricity sources, leading
vocates have been watching all this with interest. utilities and policymakers to stick with cheap gas
Analysts agree that while the headwinds facing the
industry are unlikely to calm, prices will rise even-
45% rather than look for renewable alternatives. Because
energy infrastructure has a long life span, a shift like
Percentage of U.S.
tually. How the industry emerges from this moment energy-related
that would lock in decades of emissions.
of crisis is anything but certain and will be key in de- carbon emissions
fining the future of the fight against climate change. that come from NoNe of this is to say that low oil prices will stop
There’s one big reason this period of low oil burning oil the energy transition. That will happen no mat-
prices could help climate activists: the pricing ter what; the question is how fast. In the coming
free fall exposes holes in the investment case for oil. months, political leaders across the globe will get
For decades, the industry was a cash cow for inves-
tors, with oil companies ranked among the world’s –$40 to work planning an economic recovery. They can
choose to double down on fossil-fuel infrastructure,
biggest and most profitable businesses. However, U.S. benchmark price inspired in part by low oil prices, or they can invest
last year, even before the pandemic, the sector was for oil at one point on in clean energy, recognizing the long-term eco-
April 20, the lowest
already the worst-performing on the S&P stock price ever
nomic trends and the threat of climate change.
index. This year the outlook is worse. “There’s been a lot of discussion around ‘What
After falling below zero, the West Texas Inter- kind of recovery do we have in the energy sector?
mediate price—the key oil-price measure in the How do we tilt the balance?’” says Rachel Kyte,
U.S.—had rebounded to around $13 per barrel by dean of Tufts University’s Fletcher School and a vet-
April 28. That price still falls far short of the $50 per eran climate leader. “A lesson learned from previous
P R E V I O U S PA G E : G E T T Y I M A G E S ; P R AY E R : M U K H TA R K H A N — A P
barrel West Texas producers need to turn a profit shocks [is] ‘You shouldn’t do stupid things,’” she
on a new well. On top of that, some analysts now says, referring to “propping up fossil fuels.”
argue that as other sources of energy expand, we In some corners, particularly in the U.S., eco-
may never again burn as much oil as we did last year. nomic stimulus measures are seen as a way to keep
These disastrous conditions for the industry make oil and gas humming along, business as usual de-
it difficult for producers to access the capital nec- spite tectonic shifts in the industry. President
essary to grow and survive: lower oil prices mean Trump has pushed such measures, promising in
lower stock prices and more expensive loans. Some an April 21 tweet to “never let the great U.S. Oil &
companies—particularly smaller firms—will go Gas Industry down.” But as the world continues to
bankrupt. warm, bringing inevitable climate destruction, peo-
Firms that do survive will need new strategies. ple everywhere can only hope that those running
Some may wind down existing assets. Others may this recovery will keep Kyte’s adage in mind. □
▶ For more, sign up for our climate newsletter: time.com/one.five S O U R C E S : E N E R GY I N F O R M AT I O N A D M I N I S T R AT I O N ; R Y S TA D E N E R GYNEWS
TICKER
Florida
felon-voting
trial begins
A class-action trial
began on April 27, more
than a year after voters
opted to re-enfranchise
Florida residents
who complete felony
sentences. The GOP-
controlled legislature
later required that
felons first pay all
court fees, fines and
restitution, effectively
revoking the franchise
for many.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF RAMADAN A Muslim man offers prayer on the banks of Dal Lake in COVID-19 set
Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on April 26, the second day of Ramadan. Authorities closed a to hit fragile
nearby shrine, normally packed for the holy month, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This year, countries hard
lockdown measures mean many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims are forgoing traditions of large
gatherings for worship and feasts with friends and family to break daylong fasts. There could be up to
1 billion infections and
3.2 million deaths from
THE BULLETIN COVID-19 in 34 of the
world’s most “fragile”
Emergency federal loans for countries—including
small business, take two Venezuela, Libya and
Syria—according to an
The federal program inTended To “SMALL” BUSINESS Delays hadn’t been the analysis released on
carry U.S. small businesses through nation- only cause for criticism. With thousands of April 28 by the Interna-
tional Rescue Commit-
wide shutdowns has faced hitches from the small employers left in the cold after fund- tee. Given limitations to
start: within two weeks of the program’s ing dried up, reports that Big Business got the data, the estimate
launch in early April, its money had run out. in on the relief prompted national backlash. is likely conservative,
On April 27, the program came back to life According to a list compiled by data analysis the aid group said.
with $310 billion in new financing. After firm FactSquared, over 250 publicly traded
congressional Democrats prevailed in a companies accessed the PPP funds. Some,
push for new appropriations to cover other like restaurant chains Ruth’s Chris Steak Navy probing
coronavirus relief measures, such as emer- House and Shake Shack, announced they Roosevelt
gency dollars for hospitals, legislation fund- would give back the millions they received. outbreak
ing the measure passed with broad biparti-
san support—but not all has gone smoothly. FIGHTING WORDS To avoid a repeat, Con- The Navy is opening
gress set aside $60 billion for small lenders a wider inquiry into
decisions surrounding
FITS AND STARTS Though more than 1.6 mil- in the new PPP funding, and Treasury Sec- a COVID-19 outbreak
lion loan applications were greenlighted retary Steven Mnuchin said the government on the U.S.S. Theodore
through the Small Business Administration’s will audit companies that receive more than Roosevelt, the service
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), de- $2 million. “The purpose of this program branch said on April 29.
lays have been endemic from the start. With was not social welfare for Big Business,” he A leaked memo asking
for help with the virus
the initiative facing persistent criticism, the said April 28 on CNBC. The numbers reflect on the ship led to the
stakes were high for its second round. As the that promise—by April 29, new loans aver- ouster of the carrier’s
PPP resumed, some banks reported prob- aged about half the size of those in the first captain, Brett Crozier,
lems entering loan-application information round—but as the pandemic continues, au- and the resignation of
on the first day. But by the next day, $52 bil- ditors won’t be the only ones keeping an eye acting Navy Secretary
Thomas Modly.
lion in loans had been approved. on the program. —alejandro de la garza
9TheBrief News
GOOD QUESTION February 2019. In April, she was appointed an
Could Kim Jong Un’s alternate member of the country’s powerful
NEWS decisionmaking body, the Politburo of the
TICKER sister be North Workers’ Party Central Committee.
Korea’s next leader? Still, it’s far from certain that a young
Protests turn woman, even one with the Kim lineage, could
violent in A SWiRL OF UNCONFiRmeD RePORTS iN take the reins in North Korea, which is a highly
Lebanon April about the health of North Korean leader patriarchal society, says Mintaro Oba, a for-
Kim Jong Un raised many questions about the mer U.S. State Department official. Though
Protesters clashed with
security forces in cities future of the hermit state. Perhaps the biggest the U.S. has placed sanctions on the regime for
across Lebanon on of all: Who will succeed the Supreme Leader if assassinating at least one potential rival in the
April 28 after a surge in something happens to him? family, there are other members of the Kim
food prices and a crash South Korea says there is no sign of “un- family who could be eligible. Details about
in the local currency,
as a lockdown to fight
usual developments” in the North, but Kim— Kim Jong Un’s children are closely guarded,
COVID-19 worsens the who is in his mid-30s—missed the April 15 but some believe he may have a young son. His
economic crisis that birthday of his grandfather, the country’s uncle Kim Pyong Il returned to North Korea
Lebanon has been founder, and hasn’t been seen publicly since. last year after decades overseas, but is not con-
facing since October. He is a heavy smoker, and medical experts be- sidered to be from the same divine bloodline
At least one man died
lieve he is obese. Some observers have spec- as the late leader Kim Jong Il because he had a
in the unrest.
ulated that the leader may be hiding out to different mother, Cheong says. Kim Jong Un’s
avoid COVID-19. North Korea maintains that older brother is another possible choice,
the country remains free of the coronavirus, though he was passed over for the job when
N.Y. Dems nix though experts are skeptical. their father died in 2011 because he was not
presidential Against this backdrop, one name keeps considered “leadership material,” says Lami
primary cropping up: Kim Yo Jong. She is Kim Kim, a fellow at the Wilson Center.
New York’s Democratic
Jong Un’s younger sister and believed to be The uncertainty means that a change
presidential primary one of his most trusted aides. She is thought in the country’s leadership runs the risk of
was canceled on to be about 32 and, like her brother, spent destabilizing the nuclear-armed regime. Oba
April 27 by state several years attending school in Switzerland, says that any successor will need to focus on
officials, who cited according to Cheong Seong-chang, director consolidating power, warding off threats and
coronavirus risks.
Former Vice President
of the Center for North Korean Studies at demonstrating strength, much as Kim Jong Un
Joe Biden has already the Sejong Institute in South Korea. Her did when he assumed control in 2011. That
presumptively secured public profile within the secretive regime would likely mean less diplomacy and a return
the nomination, but the has been on the rise: she attended the 2018 to military provocations, even nuclear and
decision drew outrage Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and was missile tests—which would once again raise
from supporters of
Bernie Sanders, who
also spotted with her brother at the failed tensions with the U.S.
saw the vote as a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in —Amy GUNiA and ChARLie CAmPbeLL
chance to influence the
party platform.
R O V E R : H O — N A S A /J P L- C A LT E C H / M S S S/A F P/G E T T Y I M A G E S ; F U N E R A L : J U S T I N L A N E — E PA -
ENTERTAINMENT
New ‘coup’
attempt in Cybersightseeing
E F E /S H U T T E R S T O C K ; K N I G H T: M E T R O - G O L D W Y N - M AY E R /G E T T Y I M A G E S
Libya People staying home to fight the spread of COVID-19 are finding
new ways to see the world—for example, visiting Mecca digitally for
Libyan warlord Khalifa Ramadan. Here, other virtual escapes. ÑMadeline Roache
Haftar, whose forces
swept across the nation LAPLAND LEISURE WALK ON MARS SOFA SAFARI
in 2019 and cornered Aurora photography The online virtual Broadcaster
the U.N.-backed govern- company Lights Over reality experiment WildEarth lets people
ment around the capi- Lapland created a Access Mars offers attend a twice-daily
tal, declared the coun- series of 360-degree anyone with an animal-watching drive
try’s U.N.-brokered videos in Abisko, Internet connection a from a game reserve
power-sharing deal Sweden. Users can guided tour of a 3-D in South Africa,
a “thing of the past” tour the famous model of the Martian where they can see
on April 27. The Tripoli Icehotel, chase the surface, as recorded cheetah cubs trying
government accused northern lights, and by NASA’s Curiosity to climb trees and
Haftar of carrying out a join reindeer rides rover rolling around many other scenes
“coup” to “cover up his and dogsleds. the Red Planet. of wilderness.
repeated defeats.”
10 Time May 11, 2020Milestones
DIED DIED
Internationally
famous Bollywood Shirley Knight
star Irrfan Khan,
at 53, on April 29, Authentic actor
after a two-year fight By Marcia Cross
against cancer. Thinking abouT whaT i
SHRANK wanted to write about
U.S. GDP, by 4.8% at Shirley Knight, who died on
an annualized rate April 22 at 83, I went back
in the first quarter and looked at some of our
of 2020, per figures
released April 29—
work together on Desperate
its first contraction Housewives.
since 2014. Instead of being sad
about her not being with
DISMISSED
A challenge to a
us anymore, I found myself
New York City gun laughing hysterically. Shirley,
restriction, by the who got her first Oscar
U.S. Supreme Court, nomination in 1961 and had
on April 27. The city won three Emmy Awards by
had already repealed
the rule in question
the time we worked together,
when the court played my dead husband’s
decided to hear the mother—and boy, did we
case. get into it. Our characters
were beautifully written,
DISPLACED
33.4 million people and we had a blast playing
worldwide in 2019, Funeral director Joe Neufeld Jr. with bodies at a Queens funeral home off each other. On camera,
the highest number on April 26; COVID-19 has killed over 3,700 people in the borough we sparred—and I once even
newly forced to flee slapped her across the face—
their homes since NOTED
but off camera, we got along
2012, according to
a report on internally
U.S. virus deaths pass Vietnam War’s famously. She was warm and
displaced people In less than four months funny and talked endlessly
by the Norwegian about her daughters, whom
Refugee Council. The meTaphors summoned againsT The CoVid-19 she loved dearly. She was a
ENDED pandemic are almost unfailingly military. Health workers toil woman of no pretense, just
Executions for on the front line. The virus is the enemy, battled against. And a love of the work and of
offenses committed then there’s the body count. On April 28, the number of people her life.
by minors in Saudi killed by the novel coronavirus inside the U.S. reached 58,365. I always refer to her
Arabia, per the The figure was provided by Johns Hopkins University, where example when I think of
state-backed Human
Rights Commission. the Center for Systems Science and Engineering compiles what myself as an actress aging in
experts regard as the closest thing to an “official” count of deaths my profession: Do as Shirley
FILED from COVID-19. Given certain realities—including shortfalls in did. Do the work, and all will
A lawsuit against testing, and deaths that occur at home—the Centers for Disease be well.
Smithfield Foods, for
allegedly failing to
Control and Prevention acknowledged the same day that the
protect workers at a actual number is significantly higher. Still, the figure carried Cross is an actor
Missouri pork plant weight, surpassing as it did the 58,220 American military deaths
from COVID-19, on in the Vietnam War.
April 23. On April 28, Vietnam was a uniquely corrosive conflict. It produced its
President Trump
signed an Executive
own metaphors and lives in American memory as a misbegotten
Order compelling undertaking sold by deception. Officially, it spanned two decades,
meat-processing but almost all U.S. deaths came from 1965 to 1971, when casu-
plants to stay open alty counts were as routine a part of nightly newscasts as the Dow
during the pandemic. Jones industrial average. The critic Michael J. Arlen coined the
BANNED phrase living-room war to describe a conflict that had been going
Horse-drawn on so long, it seemed to have always been there, like the furniture.
carriages in Chicago, Whatever we call the fast-moving confrontation with the
by the end of the coronavirus—the first death from which occurred in the U.S. only
year, after an April 24 in January—it already qualifies as the kind of watershed that fu-
city-council vote.
ture events will be marked against. —karl ViCk
11TheBrief Nation
As joblessness soars,
food banks struggle
to fill the hunger gap
By Abby Vesoulis/Dayton, Ohio
in a maTTer of monThs, 47-year-old aquanna quarles
saw her personal finances implode. First she totaled her car.
Then the car she replaced the totaled one with was stolen.
Then, in early March, her kitchen flooded. Quarles remembers
thinking, “Oh my God, like what else could go wrong?”
In Ohio, where Quarles lives, the pandemic hit in mid-
March. State government began issuing stay-at-home or-
ders, closing schools and shuttering businesses to prevent
the spread of COVID-19. By the end of the month, the rest
of the country had followed suit, effectively stalling the U.S.
economy and pushing millions out of work. Quarles, who
works for a home health care company, saw her hours, and her
weekly earnings, cut by about half.
In April, she came to the realization that for the first time
in her life, she needed to go to a food bank. “This was my first
time ever doing it,” she says. “If I don’t need it, I’m not gonna
go. You know what I mean? But I needed it.”
On April 21, Quarles lined up in her car, along with thou-
sands of other Ohioans, in the parking lot of Wright State Uni-
versity’s football stadium, where Dayton’s Foodbank, Inc. had
set up an emergency drive-through donation center. On that
day alone, the organization served 1,381 households and more
than 4,500 individuals, according to its chief development △
officer, Lee Lauren Truesdale. After waiting in line for four Ohio activated drive-through food-distribution centers,
hours, Quarles returned home with a couple of weeks’ worth of about 400 it anticipated 200 to 250 cars per site
chicken cutlets, chickpeas, cucumbers, eggs, peach-flavored National Guard per day. By mid-April, it was seeing six
T E C H N I C A L S E R G E A N T S H A N E H U G H E S — U. S . A I R N AT I O N A L G U A R D ; I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y B R O W N B I R D D E S I G N F O R T I M E
protein shakes, potatoes, rice and watermelons. personnel on times as many: 1,200 cars at some of its
As droves of working- and middle-class Americans have lost March 18 to sites, in queues that sometimes stretch
their jobs—or, like Quarles, seen their hours cut dramatically— assist the state’s for miles. Derrick Chubbs, who runs the
food banks
they’ve found themselves not only stuck at home but also on Central Texas Food Bank, says its Travis
the brink of poverty. Many have lost their employer-sponsored County partners saw a 207% spike in
health care; others have been buried by bills that didn’t stop new clients.
rolling in when their paychecks did. On April 23, new federal But as the newly needy line up for
numbers showed that 4.4 million people had filed for unem- assistance in record numbers, and old
ployment the previous week, bringing the total number of clients become even more reliant on do-
newly unemployed since mid-March to more than 26 million. nations, half a dozen major food banks,
The aerial photographs of lines of cars snaking for miles facing steep financial and logistical
outside food banks have become not only an enduring image hurdles of their own, tell TIME they are
of the crisis but also a lesson in the fragility of the American fighting to keep up with demand. Since
economy. As the year began, at least in macro terms, the U.S. March 1, says Hamler-Fugitt, “it’s been a
was sailing through its longest expansion on record. Now, less bucket brigade on a five-alarm fire.”
than two months into a recession, tens of millions of Ameri-
cans like Quarles are struggling to access even the most basic In fatter tImes, food banks receive
necessities. “Last week’s food-bank donor is this week’s food- donations of shelf-stable items, like pea-
bank client,” says Lisa Hamler-Fugitt of the Ohio Association nut butter and pasta, from restaurants,
of Foodbanks, which distributes resources to state food banks. wholesalers, manufacturers and grocery
Food banks are in some ways the canary in the coal mine: chains. But over the past six weeks, those
often, people in dire circumstances need to eat long before businesses have seen their own supplies
government benefits begin kicking in. In mid-March, when dry up. Restaurants have closed, grocery
Three Square Food Bank of Las Vegas was planning new stores are overrun, and wholesalers and
12 Time May 11, 2020signed an executive order to provide the meaning they lacked consistent access
Ohio Association of Foodbanks a one- to enough food for an active life, ac-
time $5 million appropriation on top cording to the U.S. Department of Agri-
of the $25 million the charity receives culture. It wasn’t until 2018—nearly a
annually. While that’s a start, it’s likely decade after the bottom dropped out
nowhere near enough: the group of the market—that the proportion of
estimates it will need $54 million per food-insecure households rebounded
month to meet the projected demand. to prerecession levels. There’s reason
In the past, when food banks in one to think this recession will have a simi-
state have been overrun— larly long tail, says Maehr.
often after a regional di- “This is not going to be a
saster like flooding or a crisis that’s measured in
hurricane—food banks in weeks,” she says. “I fear
other parts of the country that this is a crisis that will
have stepped up, supple- be measured in months,
menting staff and pantry and possibly years.”
items, says Elaine Waxman, SNAP provided the
Food banks are supposed
a food-insecurity expert average recipient to be a last resort, a stop-
at the Urban Institute. But about $1.40 per gap and backup for govern-
that’s not happening this meal in fiscal 2018 ment safety-net programs
time around. “Right now,” like the Supplemental Nu-
she says, “literally it’s a trition Assistance Program
disaster in all 50 states.” (SNAP), known as food
Finding enough staff to stamps. In 2019, SNAP pro-
work at distribution cen- vided nine meals for every
ters is also a major prob- meal provided by Feeding
lem. Typically, food banks America, a national consor-
rely on volunteers, many of Demand for food tium of 200 food banks and
whom are retired. But be- assistance surged 60,000 food pantries and
cause people over 65 risk 207% in March meal programs. But apply-
at Central Texas
disproportionately severe Food Bank’s Travis ing for and renewing SNAP
manufacturers are prioritizing shipping symptoms from COVID-19, County locations benefits requires over-
their products to retailers rather than it’s too dangerous for many coming a host of bureau-
charities. Food banks are “last in line,” of them to take their nor- cratic hurdles. And even
says Kate Maehr, the executive director mal volunteer shifts. While those who qualify often
of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, many food banks have still rely on food banks: the
which received 30% fewer food dona- been forced to close loca- maximum SNAP benefit
tions from nongovernment sources in tions for lack of staff, others does not cover the cost of
March than it did a year ago. have transitioned to larger a nutritious meal in 99%
“When the pandemic hit the sup- drive-through centers that Before COVID-19 of U.S. counties, accord-
ply chain, that spigot just shut off,” says require fewer volunteers caused a global ing to a 2018 Urban Insti-
Hamler-Fugitt. “We don’t have enough per donation. Three Square, pandemic, 11% of tute report. Until the USDA
food in the system to keep up with this the Las Vegas food bank, U.S. households announced on April 22
were food insecure
demand. We just don’t.” suspended food distribu- a 40% increase in food-
As a result, some food banks have tion at 170 of its 180 part- stamp benefits “during this
begun purchasing pantry items at or ner organizations but added national emergency,” the
near retail prices—a financially unsus- 21 new drive-through sites, according Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
tainable situation. When in-kind dona- to chief operating officer Larry Scott. estimated the average SNAP recipient
tions were coming in, supplying some- Several states, including Ohio, Texas, was allocated just $134 per month.
one with 28 to 30 lb. of groceries cost Michigan and Kentucky, have deployed That boost in SNAP benefits, com-
the Central Texas Food Bank $5 per box, the National Guard to help staff food- bined with partial unemployment in-
says Chubbs. These days, that cost is distribution centers. surance and, perhaps, more trips to
closer to $30—a sixfold increase. The the food bank, should help get Quarles
organization anticipates demand for It’s clear that the rush on food through the crisis. It’s not going to be
25,000 boxes a week. banks is not going away anytime soon. easy, but she has faith that her luck will
Some states are trying to help food The aftermath of the Great Recession soon turn. It just has to. “What I got out
charities meet this new influx. In mid- offers a bleak guide. In 2008, 15% of of all of this that happened,” she says,
April, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine U.S. householders were “food insecure,” “was God is making better for new.” •
13TheBrief TIME with ...
Labor leader organizing, which she called Unions for All, argu-
ing that every single worker in America should be
Mary Kay Henry is allowed to join a union. She was conferring with
fighting for frontline various Democratic presidential contenders, say-
ing an endorsement depended on support for this
workers in a new world proposal, when the coronavirus struck.
By Alana Semuels Though Henry dedicated the early days of the
coronavirus to listening to workers and sharing
their stories with elected officials, it soon became
in normal Times, mary Kay Henry, THe clear to her that the pandemic represented an op-
president of the second largest union in the U.S., portunity to move on Unions for All, albeit in a
flies around the country meeting with workers, different way. On March 18, the SEIU launched
politicians and policymakers, arguing that the a campaign called Protect All Workers that de-
nearly 2 million Americans she represents de- manded certain protections for every worker,
serve more. Now, in an age of pandemic, as her HENRY whether or not they belonged to a union. The de-
members—the janitors and food-service employ- QUICK mands included fully funded health care, 12 weeks
ees and airport and home-care workers of the Ser- FACTS of paid leave, free COVID-19 testing and treat-
vice Employees International Union (SEIU)—are ment, access to personal protective equipment and
asked to put their lives on the line by going in to financial support for working families. “It seemed
Labor
work, Henry is fighting for them from a downstairs studies natural to pivot,” she says. “If we were demanding
apartment in San Francisco. In college, unions for all and if you could imagine all workers
On a recent Wednesday, Henry, 62, sat on a Henry’s being in an organized union—What set of demands
chair padded with a cushion in front of a poster interest in would workers be making at this moment on gov-
board featuring the SEIU logo, wearing her signa- labor was ernment and corporations?”
piqued by
ture purple glasses and a deep purple blazer (pur- United Auto Henry says the crisis has given a push to work-
ple is the color of the SEIU), encouraging fast-food Workers’ ers who were already frustrated about stagnant
workers in Chicago who had walked off the job to advocating wages, a limited safety net and income inequality
protest a lack of masks and gloves at work. Later, for women’s in America. “We’re going to see mass organizing
she hopped on a Zoom call with home-care work- health on the the likes of which last occurred in the ’30s in the
assembly line.
ers who talked about making masks out of paper Great Depression,” she predicts, leaning forward
towels and worrying about their lack of paid sick Book club toward her computer as her earrings jangle. “It’s
days, raising her fists in the air when a worker Henry has like there was a haystack and a match was thrown
vowed to tackle the racism that COVID-19 has laid been reading in by COVID-19.”
bare. “Amen,” she says. “I agree.” Mahatma
Gandhi’s
autobiography It would not be dIffIcult to confuse Mary Kay
the storIes henry’s been hearIng over the and William Henry with Elizabeth Warren. Both are progres-
past few weeks have been grim—record unemploy- P. Young’s sive white women with glasses, short tawny hair
ment and talk of the looming recession bringing The Shack. and awkward but endearing enthusiasm—Henry’s
more job cuts, even as union members risk their was on full show when she tried to lead a chant of
Fast-food
lives going to work now. Some members have died. union “Sí, se puede” during a Facebook Live event with
Yet in these stories, Henry finds proof that the pan- The SEIU fast-food workers. Both are pushing positions that
demic could lead to change. helped found might have been deemed too populist a few years
“Somebody said to me yesterday, ‘You know the Fight ago—better wages and paid family and medical
all those crazy ideas that you walk around talking for $15 leave for all workers, higher taxes on corporations.
movement
about, well, this is the time your ideas should get in New York. Henry also shares Warren’s middle-class back-
crazier, Mary Kay, because anything could hap- It has spread ground. She was raised Catholic in a suburb of
pen, it’s all up for grabs,’” she tells me, after one to dozens of Detroit, the oldest girl of 10 siblings, and became
of her long days on phone calls, stretching out at a states and interested in organizing because it was she who
wooden table by a window that looks out into San more than had to get everyone up, dressed and onto the
320 cities.
Francisco’s Castro neighborhood, wrapping a pur- school bus every morning. She soon learned that
ple blanket around her shoulders. The SEIU has it was important to deputize—if one sibling fixed
already secured some victories in these uncertain breakfast, another could help the younger kids get
times: different member unions have negotiated dressed—and that her brothers and sisters could
childcare-assistance grants, hazard pay, extended accomplish more as a team than they could on
health care and additional paid leave for members. their own. Henry has spent her whole career with
Still, this wasn’t the way Henry envisioned the SEIU, much of it in California.
a labor revolution. In an August speech in Mil- Henry, who is now based in Washington, D.C.,
waukee, Henry appealed for a new approach to was on a business trip in Sacramento when the
14 Time May 11, 2020shelter-in-place orders started coming down. Even union to focus not just on collective bargaining but
though she had only packed for a short trip, Henry also on raising wages and benefits for all workers,
settled in with her spouse, Paula Macchello, who including those not in a union.
lives in the couple’s home in San Francisco. Henry This would not seem to be a good time to orga-
now works both East Coast and West Coast hours, ‘We’re going nize workers. Recessions undercut the bargaining
embarking on long walks around the hills of San to see mass power of labor unions, and both states and the fed-
Francisco with Macchello in the late afternoon. “I eral government have made organizing more chal-
don’t think we’ve spent this much time together
organizing lenging in recent years. Just 11.6% of U.S. workers
for 20 years,” Henry jokes. the likes of were represented by unions last year, compared
Henry became the president of the SEIU in which last with 15% in 2000.
2010, replacing Andy Stern, a controversial labor occurred But this doesn’t daunt Henry. Even before
figure who successfully organized new members in the ’30s COVID-19, she says, people like teachers and tech
and grew the union during his tenure but also in the Great workers were starting to protest the widening in-
sparred with other unions. Henry was seen as a Depression.’ equality in the U.S. economy, even if they didn’t be-
T O M W I L L I A M S — C Q R O L L C A L L /G E T T Y I M A G E S
consensus builder when elected, and in many ways long to unions. There are millions of people whose
MARY KAY HENRY,
she embodies the opposite of a firebrand male on the response situation has been made even more precarious by
leader; she listens carefully to workers, telling to the pandemic the pandemic, people who have lost jobs and whom
their stories, speaking little of herself. “My expe- the SEIU wants to bring into its fold. “People want
rience is when people understand what the jani- community and to understand they’re part of
tor in Houston is confronting or what the home- something bigger,” she says. “That they’re not on
care worker in Santa Clara is confronting, a lot their own and having to fend for themselves in this
of elected officials and many employers want to really unprecedented and sometimes horrific and
solve the problem,” she says. She has expanded the sometimes inspiring moment that we’re in.” □
15LightBox Socially dissonant An international border runs between Konstanz, Germany, and Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, but residents moved freely between the municipalities before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, in hopes of limiting infections, officials erected first one fence and, two weeks later, a second one, with a gap of several feet in between. The goal was to prevent the physical contact that these young couples managed on April 18, along a stretch where there’s still only a single barrier. Photograph by Ingmar Björn Nolting ▶ For more of our best photography, visit time.com/lightbox
EDUCATION
WHY I SAID NO
TO REMOTE SCHOOL
By Sarah Parcak
On April 8, we received an email
from our son’s teacher about
the start of online schooling. We
wrote back that same day saying
that for the sake of our mental
health—mine, my husband’s, our
child’s—he was done with first
grade. “You’re a wonderful, caring,
compassionate teacher,” we told
her, “and our son was lucky to
have you for as long as he did.” ▶
INSIDE
BRAZIL FACES A PLANNING ON ANOTHER CHILD, A STAY-AT-HOME ADMIRAL,
LOOMING POLITICAL CRISIS NOT ON A PANDEMIC SCHOOLED ON WORRY
19TheView Opener
Like other parents with the ability to work be different if he were older and more self-
from home, my husband and I recently found sufficient and in a grade where the curriculum
ourselves in an untenable position: If you have is more set, but as long as he reads every day, SHORT
READS
a full-time job, how exactly are you supposed practices his writing and uses his imagina-
▶ Highlights
to also take care of your children now that tion, we aren’t worried about him being ready from stories on
schools are closed, much less facilitate their for the second grade. His happiness and well- time.com/ideas
remote learning? being matter more.
My husband and I are professors at the On the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, and We understand very Well our privilege brink
we knew that attempting to adhere to an and talk to our son often about just how lucky
elementary-school schedule, while contend- he is. We have enough food, a yard and jobs The childcare
ing with the busiest part of the semester that are not on the front lines in hospitals or industry needs public
investment to survive
alongside other work commitments and vir- stocking shelves. We know that not all families the pandemic, writes
tual meetings, would only lead to additional can do what we are doing. Vote Mama founder
stress and frustration for all of us. So rather We’re also aware that this stay-at-home Liuba Grechen Shirley,
than try to do the impossible, we decided to situation might not be as temporary as we’d but it’s received
do what made the most sense for our family, all like to believe. That’s why we need to be relatively little in
stimulus funds: “The
shielding our 7-year-old from unnecessary having conversations now about the next question of when
worry in the process. As we told his teacher, school year. What will parents be expected America will go back
“Seeing his class- to do if schools to work has dominated
mates would are closed and the public discourse,
make this all far, many of our jobs but whenever that
happens, who will
far worse for him are still remote? watch our children?”
and would lead Until we get
to questions that a vaccine and mil-
we cannot answer lions of tests a
honestly.” week—neither of Prisons
What we want which appears im- laid bare
most right now is minent—it seems As the coronavirus
for our child to feel unlikely we’ll be spreads through our
safe and secure, back in school for jails and prisons, it’s
and we know that’s a while. And yet exposing a pre-existing
often accomplished six weeks into this crisis, according to
former U.S. attorney
through routine. The author’s son and husband on a hike on April 11 crisis, we’re all run- Joyce White Vance: “Our
And so we have ning on fumes. penal system has done
tried to establish one: we eat breakfast, I don’t know a single parent with a young child little to relieve over-
I go for a run, we have our son read, then he who is O.K., and I cannot imagine what we’ll crowding and provide
and my husband play. By midmorning, we all be like after three, six or even 12 months. humane conditions for
those in custody.”
all head outside to work in the garden and do School districts need to focus more on
chores: weeding, painting, cleaning. Then Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, making sure
the rest of the day, my husband and I trade off students are safe and have good access to
on childcare and work. My son regularly has food and clothes. That comes before work- Rural
Zoom playdates with friends. sheets, which many parents cannot even rout
We knew when we made our decision that print out at home. They need to think about Given their insufficient
pausing our son’s schooling would not mean how their plans can refect those priorities public-health
C O U R T E S Y S A R A H PA R C A K ; W A S P S : P H O T O Q U E S T/G E T T Y I M A G E S
pausing his learning. As Egyptologists and ar- going forward. infrastructure and
chaeologists, my husband and I talk nonstop What our family is doing is a stopgap, but medical resources,
about history, science and exploration, and we it’s not a solution—not for us, not for our son rural areas will likely be
hit hard by COVID-19,
have photos and maps of Egypt everywhere. and not for our society. I don’t have the an- writes Jennifer Olsen,
We use age-appropriate language, and our son swer. All I can know is that responding with executive director of
always asks when he does not understand a love feels right in this moment, and I hope my the Rosalynn Carter
term or concept. We also supplement his for- son remembers that he was loved deeply every Institute for Caregiving:
mal education with outside enrichment like day during this crisis. “It is far more likely
that rural Americans
history books, TED-Ed and educational You-
with symptoms will
Tube videos, art and history documentaries. Parcak is a professor of anthropology at the opt to tough it out at
Will he be “behind” as a result of missing University of Alabama at Birmingham and the home, and only once
two months of worksheets and phonics? Be- author of Archaeology From Space: How the very sick seek care.”
hind compared to what, or whom? This might Future Shapes Our Past
20 Time May 11, 2020THE RISK REPORT
Brazil’s President snagged by HISTORY
both pandemic and scandal Start journaling
By Ian Bremmer now, for later
I often tell my students you
Which major accusations from the country’s most cred don’t want to be interesting
country now faces the ible source. Former judge Sérgio Moro to doctors or historians. Yet
world’s worst political led investigations that forced the impris here we are, in interesting
mess? Which head onment of former President Luiz Inácio times for both. The medical
of state finds himself Lula da Silva and the impeachment of his field is already studying
in deepest trouble? successor, Dilma Rousseff. It was Moro COVID-19, and historians
There’s a good case who then gave Bolsonaro added crime will get started in 30
to be made for Brazil and its President. fighting bona fides by joining his govern years or so. By then they’ll
It’s easy to think of Jair Bolsonaro ment as Justice Minister. But Moro re have perspective, as well
as just another of the world’s signed in April after Bolsonaro fired the as public sources, from
government documents to
antiestablishment firebrands now head of Brazil’s federal police, who was
tweets. But to preserve the
grappling with the realities of governing, leading investigations into the President’s
stories that are so often
but he is more colorful and combative sons for alleged kickback schemes and lost to the past, they’ll need
than most. His taste for a fight helped promotion of the spread of misinforma our help—and that’s why
distinguish him within a large tion. Moro didn’t just resign. we should all be keeping
field of candidates during his He announced his departure coronavirus journals.
country’s 2018 presidential Despite with a 40minute speech in When I began studying
election, but now he finds slow testing, which he accused the Presi the Women Airforce Service
himself forced into a corner. Brazil now dent of political interference Pilots of World War II,
Bolsonaro’s first political leads Latin in police work. Bolsonaro I looked first at official
problem is that he has few re America both responded by calling Moro sources, but it was clear
liable allies in Brazil’s Con in confirmed a liar. The namecalling has that part of the story was
gress. He leads a party new to COVID-19 continued, and doubts missing. Why did they do it?
power that often lacks a co about the President’s future How did they feel? For that,
herent agenda, and as a self
cases and have deepened. I turned to the women’s
described corruption fighter, in deaths Now, in the middle of diaries. News often made
he has refused to make the its fight with coronavirus, it into the journals too, and
cozy deals with lawmakers of other parties Brazil finds itself again in political crisis. with it their understanding
of the yet undetermined
designed to advance his plans. His verbal Of the six Presidents who preceded
path of the war.
attacks on minorities, homosexuals and Bolsonaro, two were impeached and
Now we are part of our
women have stiffened the spines of his en another went to prison. Bolsonaro isn’t own historical moment in
emies. He has angered environmentalists yet facing those dangers. time. Our chance to control
at home and many governments abroad The respite may be temporary. The some of that narrative is in
with policies that enable largescale defor health crisis will get worse. Regional our hands. If we don’t want
estation in the Amazon. governors have ordered local lockdowns, to be forgotten later, we
yet the number of those infected and must start writing down our
There are further controversies taking the stresses on Brazil’s health system own experiences now.
a toll on the President’s political standing. continue to grow. Given his aggressive —Katherine Sharp
First, there is his management of the coro public stance, the President will not Landdeck, author of The
navirus crisis. Bolsonaro, fearful for the escape blame if the public believes his Women With Silver Wings
health of Brazil’s fragile economy, bitterly policies have cost lives.
attacked regional governors for imposing Finally, serious economic fallout is
lockdowns, personally joined in protests inevitable. Brazil’s economy was already
against social distancing and fired his suffering the loss of demand for its
popular Health Minister, who had urged commodities from a slowing China, and
a more aggressive strategy to contain the collapse of global oil prices made
the virus. Despite a slow rate of testing, matters far worse. Economists at global
Brazil now leads Latin America both in bank Citi are now forecasting for 2020
confirmed COVID19 cases and in deaths Brazil’s “worst annual contraction ever.”
in absolute terms—with more per capita As a candidate, Bolsonaro demon A trio of Women Airforce
than some of its smaller neighbors. strated broad appeal and considerable po Service Pilots, circa 1944
Bolsonaro’s latest problem: corruption litical talent. He’ll need both now. □
21TheView Family
ity of exposure to the virus, forced to
forgo around-the-clock postnatal care.
They are coming home to houses de-
void of loving friends and family and
home-cooked meals.
Women nearing their due dates had
no way of knowing they’d be delivering
in these circumstances. But armed with
both birth control and evolving scien-
tific information about this virus,
I have some ability to predict whether
I’ll carry and deliver my next child dur-
ing this pandemic. If going to the gro-
cery store is risky, why would I choose
to have my IUD removed and make reg-
ular visits to health care facilities (be-
yond what my work requires), with the
goal of being admitted to a hospital—
arguably one of the scariest places to
be right now?
And so my husband and I have de-
cided to wait. Millions of people have
The pandemic has put our lost jobs and struggle to afford hous-
ing and food. Thousands upon thou-
dreams of another baby on hold sands mourn family and friends lost to
By Anna Schuettge COVID-19, or grieve losses unrelated
to the virus but for which the comfort
During a quaranTine ouTing To our local park This taken in normal rituals is not an option.
week, my toddler son ran around kicking his big red ball. I acknowledge that having children five
I watched him chase after it and then collect treasures to share years apart rather than three—if we are
with his Elmo doll sitting in the stroller. And I yearned for him fortunate enough to have another—is,
to have a playmate. Not just any playmate—a sibling. in the greater context of today’s crisis,
Many of my friends told me they felt a switch flip when a privileged problem to have. Still, I am
their kids hit 15 months and all of a sudden they felt ready giving myself space to feel the loss of
to do it all again. For me, 15 months came and went with no the family life that I had envisioned.
great change. So did 18 and 20. For a brief moment, my hus- I look at my In recent weeks, two close friends
band and I thought we were happy having our one wonder- family of have brought new babies home, and I’ve
ful child. But in the early months of 2020, as my son’s second three and feel found myself watching with longing as
birthday drew near, we were hit by a feeling of readiness that their toddlers became big brothers and
the absence
was forceful and unwavering. Remembering how special it sisters. I look at my family of three and
had been for both of us to grow up with a sibling close in age,
of that fourth feel the absence of that fourth person—
and wanting the same kind of companionship for our son, person—one one who has yet to even be conceived.
we had planned to try for another child this spring. who has yet I regret that we didn’t try sooner and
Then COVID-19 happened. Between overall economic to even be can’t help dwelling on what it will be
uncertainty, fears over our own job security and a new real- conceived like to wait to grow our family until we
ity in which it’s unsafe to even visit playgrounds, the prospect feel safe again, whenever that may be.
of bringing another child into the world became more com- Our son is a shining light in these
I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y AT E L I E R K A R S T E N P E T R AT F O R T I M E
plicated. Will this pandemic last three months or two years? dark and uncertain times. He is fasci-
When we come out on the other side, will we have the sup- nated by dandelions and fire trucks and
port of four healthy grandparents and the assurance of two endlessly entertained by the suburban
full-time careers? With the passing of my 35th birthday this town to which we have been confined
month, I’m now considered geriatric when it comes to preg- during this time of quarantine. He’s to-
nancy. Will I be able to conceive when this is over? tally fine—happy and thriving. But he
doesn’t know that if not for a pandemic,
I work as a pediatric nurse practitioner and lactation con- he might have had a close-in-age sibling.
sultant, and I have witnessed firsthand the profound anxiety
of having a baby in this moment. Moms are being discharged Schuettge is a pediatric nurse practitioner
from hospitals more and more quickly to reduce the possibil- and lactation consultant in Philadelphia
22 Time May 11, 2020You can also read
