The pandemic reminds me of a different invisible enemy. Once again, coordinated action is the only effective response

Deja vu. In recent days I’ve had that sense more than once. Every time I come home, remove my mask and wash my hands, I start thinking whether it is safe to keep on wearing the clothes that I had on outside. What if they are contaminated by the virus? Well, I can change clothes, but what if the particles have already jumped somewhere else, and are now in my home? Some would call it paranoia. I call it deja vu. I recognise those thoughts and remember the feelings.

That is because I first experienced them more than 30 years ago, in May 1986, on a trip to Kyiv, then the capital of Soviet Ukraine. It was a few weeks after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, and I was in the city – about 100km from the disaster area – on a business trip. We already knew that there was radiation in the air. Water trucks were spraying the streets, foreign students were leaving the city, and overseas broadcasters like the BBC were telling us to stay inside. But our own government was sending confusing and distressing messages: there is absolutely no danger, but make sure you keep children inside, and pregnant women too. Oh, and close your windows when you are at home.

Most Europeans support a universal basic income, yet young people doubt democracy’s capacity to deliver change

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The coronavirus crisis seems to be encouraging belief in radical change. An astonishing 71% of Europeans are now in favour of introducing a universal basic income, according to an opinion poll designed by my research team at Oxford university and published today. In Britain, the figure is 68%. Less encouraging, at least to anyone who believes in liberal democracy, is another startling finding in the survey: no less than 53% of young Europeans place more confidence in authoritarian states than in democracies to tackle the climate crisis. The poll was conducted by eupinions in March, as most of Europe was locking down against the virus, but the questions had been formulated earlier. It would be fascinating now to ask Europeans which political system they think has proved better at combating a pandemic, as the United States and China, the world’s leading democracy and the world’s leading dictatorship, spray viral accusations at each other.

Those two contrasting but equally striking survey results show how high the stakes will be as we emerge from the immediate medical emergency, and face the subsequent economic pandemic and its political fallout. What kind of historical moment will this turn out to be, for Europe and the world? It could lead us to the best of times. It could lead us to the worst of times.

Social distancing rules will ‘kill cities’, experts warn – and the future of mass transit hangs in the balance

This is the second feature in our Life after lockdown series, which looks at how Covid-19 could change Australia for good

Before the pandemic struck, Sara Blazey made the same three-hour commute to work, three days a week, for the better part of 12 years. The 63-year-old family lawyer from the Blue Mountains works for a domestic violence legal advice hotline in Parramatta and it used to be that she would wake at 7am, drive seven minutes to Hazelbrook station and from there catch the 7.17am train to Parramatta before making the same one-and-a-half hour trip home in the evening.

With the pandemic, all that would change. Domestic violence support services such as the one Blazey worked for were declared “essential” services, meaning they could keep operating despite restrictions. To ensure they could do so safely, the organisation did what some commentators long thought impossible and began to transition its employees into working from home.

To public health specialists, it’s a disturbing trend that could lead to people ignoring government warnings.

The White House confirmed that both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for coronavirus.

Millions more coronavirus tests will be needed to safely reopen the country, the chairman of the Senate HELP Committee said at a hearing Thursday.

The co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cited a lack of national coordination.

The speaker isn’t yet negotiating with Republicans or the White House on the next aid bill.

Using data from the COVID Tracking Project, we’re following how each state is responding to COVID-19.

“Returning these funds will allow truly small businesses ... to obtain the emergency loans they need to avoid layoffs," they write.

Countries scramble to fill the plates of the most vulnerable.

Join POLITICO for a series of virtual briefings and audio teleconferences to learn the latest updates on coronavirus and its impacts.

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Roy Horn, who thrilled Las Vegas crowds as part of the big-cats-and-magic act Siegfried & Roy until a tiger attack ended his career in 2003, died today of coronavirus at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas. He was 75. Horn’s publicist said on April 28 that the magician had tested positive for COVID-19. “Today, the […]

Actor Nick Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, has once again posted on her husband’s condition as he battles the COVID-19 virus. Cordero has had horrible complications since being hospitalized more than a month ago. His struggle has been memorialized by Kloots on Instagram, and she has again updated his health status. Kloots shared in an Instagram […]

UFC 249 has faced close scrutiny as the biggest sporting event to be held amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now UFC’s decision to proceed with the event raises further questions as one of the scheduled fighters, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, has been pulled from the card after testing positive for the virus, along with two members of […]

Applicants who have tested positive for the virus but did not require hospitalization will still be allowed to enlist

A team of scientists studied more than 1,300 patients admitted to a hospital for COVID-19

WHO expert Peter Ben Embarek says the virus originated in bats, and that it's unclear what animal may have transmitted the disease to humans

Georgia's governor lifted the state’s order.

Churches and mosques are find ways to stay active.

He called the film a "love letter” to New Yorkers.

With the NFL heading into its next round of broadcasting negotiations, it could not afford to release a schedule full of unsightly seams and untenable sacrifices.

With so much false information circulating about the coronavirus outbreak, health officials are trying to set the record straight. Here's why that can backfire.

The annual Game Developers Conference, a professional gathering of close to 30,000 interactive industry professionals, has been called off just two weeks before the 2020 edition was to launch due to fears of a coronavirus pandemic.

As fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. grow, Twitter became the first major company to urge its stateside employees to work from home

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EBay is refusing listings for N95 and N100 masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes and says it's working to remove listings with inflated prices.

Canceled Wednesday, this year's E3 was particularly anticipated because new consoles from Sony and Microsoft are due to be released by the end of the year.

A website created by Google sister company Verily is screening people in the Bay Area for coronavirus testing, but telling anyone with symptoms they're not eligible. It's not the only mystery around the project.

People who make their living through on-demand platforms face the possibility of a recession aggravated by a drop in demand caused by coronavirus fears.

Coronavirus unemployment hits a broad swath of industries across California.

The coronavirus outbreak, and the economic downturn it has ushered in, have given fresh arguments to both sides in the fight over the legal rights of independent contractors.

The Silicon Valley giants have often led the field in employee benefits—but the new policy doesn't extend to contract workers

With call centers in India, the Philippines and elsewhere shut down for the coronavirus, many robocall companies have simply stopped making calls.

"The Last of Us Part 2," a game, in part, about the breakdown of society due to the spread of a highly contagious virus, has been delayed indefinitely by Sony Interactive Entertainment -- despite the success of 'Animal Crossing' and more games in coronavirus quarantine.

Coronavirus: Amazon workers at 6 Southland facilities test positive

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Televangelist Jim Bakker is being sued over his promotion of a coronavirus cure. Then there's Scalar Light, a Florida company that says it can "disassemble pathogens" at the quantum level.

Demand for Instacart's grocery deliveries has put new strains on the company's shoppers, who say they have little to show for risking their health.

It's no accident that "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" is resonating now. Built to ward off loneliness in 2001, the franchise is made for the pandemic moment.