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Spain’s government defended its response to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday after official data showed the country had overtaken Britain to register the highest total number of cases in Western Europe. “Appropriate measures are being taken to control the pandemic in coordination” with the regions, the government said in a statement, after experts questioned its policies. “The data shows that we are being very active in tracking and detecting the virus.” Source: Reuters

No matter what happens now, the virus will continue to circulate around the world. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has sickened more than 16.5 million people across six continents. It is raging in countries that never contained the virus. It is resurging in many of the ones that did. If there was ever a time when this coronavirus could be contained, it has probably passed. One outcome is now looking almost certain: This virus is never going away. Source: The Atlantic

It might be the answer to America’s school-reopening problem. This month, Berkeley public schools, like many school districts across the country, announced they will not start the year with full-time, in-person school. Soon after, J Li, a business-innovation strategist who lives in the area, noticed moms in the local Facebook groups turn, like starlings at dusk, to one topic in particular: homeschool pods. Reluctant to face more months supervising Zoom classes, wealthy parents are grouping together in families of three or four...

A Vaccine Reality Check So much hope is riding on a breakthrough, but a vaccine is only the beginning of the end. Nearly five months into the pandemic, all hopes of extinguishing COVID-19 are riding on a still-hypothetical vaccine. And so a refrain has caught on: We might have to stay home—until we have a vaccine. Close schools—until we have a vaccine. Wear masks—but only until we have a vaccine. During these months of misery, this mantra has offered a small...

as California, Florida and Texas report record averages The U.S. reported more than 1,100 coronavirus deaths on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Friday marked the first time since late May the daily death toll totaled above 1,000 for four consecutive days. There were 10 states across the U.S. that reported record daily coronavirus deaths  Source: newsbreak.com

Covid-19 has led to a pandemic of plastic pollution As the world produces more protective equipment—and gorges on takeaways—pity the oceans THE THAMES has always been a reflector of the times, says Lara Maiklem, a London “mudlark”. Ms Maiklem spends her days on the river’s foreshore foraging for history’s detritus, from Roman pottery to Victorian clay pipes. She can tell the time of year, she says, just by the type of rubbish she has to sift through: champagne bottles during...