The Week USA - 06.02.2020

ARTS

22 Books

A physicist’s search for

the meaning of life

23 Author of the week

Colum McCann’s

fractured tale of tragedy

24 Stage & Film

A bleak Broadway

reboot of West

Side Story

25 Television

Alex

Garland

dreams

up a near-

future

nightmare in

Hulu’s Devs

NEWS

4 Main stories

Sen. Bernie Sanders gains

momentum in Democratic

race; Russian interference

in the 2020 election

6 Controversy of the week

Is Harvey Weinstein’s

conviction a watershed

moment for #MeToo?

7 The U.S. at a glance

White House orders a

“never Trump” purge;

fl at-earther dies in a

homemade-rocket crash

8 The world at a glance

A royal setback for Prince

Harry and Meghan

Markle; the coronavirus

hits South Korea hard

10 People

Ben Affl eck’s addiction

struggle; Rosario Dawson’s

political love story

11 Briefi ng

Is the world prepared for

the next pandemic?

12 Best U.S. columns

The cost of banning

fracking; making

corruption a norm

15 Best international

columns

President Trump gets a

warm welcome in India

16 Talking points

The problem with

nuclear families; why

the Astros are America’s

team; did Roger Stone

get the right sentence?

LEISURE

26 Food & Drink

Tasting a new wave of

Southeast Asian cooking

27 Travel

A road trip through Taiwan,

a land of dazzling contrasts

28 Consumer

Five apps to help you fall

asleep faster

BUSINESS

32 News at a glance

Coronavirus infects the

stock market; Bob Iger

steps down as Disney CEO

33 Making money

How surprise medical bills

became the new normal

34 Best columns

Why Morgan Stanley

bought E-Trade; the horror

of corporate-speak

Battling the coronavirus in South Korea (pages 9, 11, 17, and 32)

Ben
Affleck
(p.10)
EPA/Shutterstock, Newscom

Viruses, strictly speaking, are not alive. They are tiny sets of

genes bundled within protein shells, with one singular function—

to replicate. Lacking cells or other common features of living or-

ganisms, vi ruses are parasitic zombies. They infect living cells, hi-

jack the genetic machinery, and mass-produce replicas of them-

selves. (A single sneeze can release 100,000 viruses into the air.)

The common cold is a virus, and so are influenza, measles, HIV,

and Ebola. The new coronavirus, Covid-19, has joined the list of

humanity’s viral scourges, after apparently jumping species from

its original host, bats. It has sickened more than 80,000 people

and, infectious-disease experts say, it’s coming to America. (See

Talking Points, Briefing, and The World at a Glance.) One way

or another, it will affect all of our lives.

As Covid-19 relentlessly advances, there is much scientists and

doctors do not yet understand. Infection produces widely varying

responses. Some people have no symptoms, but can still transmit

the virus to others. A majority suffer only mild respiratory dis-

tress. Others become severely sick, with flu-like aches and high

fever and pneumonia. Deaths occur when the infections trigger

an out-of-control immune response, creating a “cytokine storm”

that inflames and shuts down the lungs. Scientists estimate a mor-

tality rate of 2 to 3 percent. If there are major outbreaks in the

U.S., authorities may discourage people from congregating in

crowds, and may temporarily shut schools and curtail travel. The

economy could take a significant hit. Covid-19 may even have an

unpredictable impact on the presidential race. Americans tend to

overreact to such disruptions; protected by our oceans and rel-

ative affluence, we expect to be exempt from problems affect-

ing places like China and Italy. Now we face a mindless invader

thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand—one that knows

no national boundaries. Covid-19 will test our

strength, our social cohesion, and our leaders.

Editor’s letter

Contents 3

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