| Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: Trump halts WHO funding, Obama ends 2020 neutrality, and COVID-19's insidious link to air pollution.  Social distancing through 2022? On-and-off social distancing rules may have to stay put until 2022 to stop COVID-19 from surging anew, Harvard researchers said Tuesday. Lifting them all at once could simply delay the epidemic's peak, they warned, potentially making it more severe. Using computer models to simulate how the pandemic could play out, scientists projected that the virus is most likely here to stay like influenza, traveling the globe seasonally. Barring a boost in hospital capacity or effective vaccines, they advised practicing prolonged or intermittent social distancing into 2022. More: - Lifting restrictions in the U.S. hinges on ratcheting up the nation's testing capacity to one million per day, a Yale researcher said. So far, the U.S. has achieved 100,000 per day.
- The CDC says 90% of Americans have complied with social distancing guidelines and are following federal, state and local directions to carefully wash their hands and stay home.
$ignificant figures 3%. The world economy will contract by that much under the "great lockdown" of 2020, the IMF predicted, as countries shrink at the fastest clip in decades during the "worst recession since the Great Depression." $25 billion. U.S. airlines reached a preliminary agreement with the Treasury Department to access billions in aid from the $2.2 trillion stimulus package as the government seeks to bolster the hard-hit industry. 787.6 million. How many Spotify streams Puerto Rican trap artist Bad Bunny racked up in March, along with 638.3 million YouTube views, putting him at the top of Bloomberg's Pop Star Power Rankings index. Highly quotable "Failed in its basic duty." Trump temporarily halted funding to the WHO for taking China's claims about coronavirus "at face value," saying "the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death." "All the qualities we need right now." Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden for president, saying he'll "surround himself with people who actually know how to run the government and care about doing a good job." "50% chance of more damage." One year after it was gutted by a fire, France's Norte Dame cathedral risks further destruction after repairs were halted by the country's extended coronavirus lockdown. This is not normal Elevated danger. New studies show that air pollution, linked to 9 million deaths per year before the pandemic, "impairs the first line of defense" of the respiratory tract and may up the risk of dying from COVID-19 by 15%.  The future is now Next-gen learning. With millions of school-age children stuck at home, YouTubers have turned into much-needed entertainers, babysitters and educators, as homeschooling parents scramble for educational content.  What's good Humanity first. Sikh volunteers are cooking and delivering hundreds of free meals per day to Australia's elderly, disabled and isolated during the virus outbreak. They did the same during the country's bushfire crisis.  Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive our newsletter five days a week. Follow QuickTake on Twitter , YouTube , Instagram and Facebook . BTW: Peruvian police are lining up to walk through this disinfectant shower in Lima—but thorough handwashing is still the best defense. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
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