The road to a successful reopening of the US economy is strewn with hopeful intentions — and formidable obstacles. The biggest and most important obstacle is a surge in new coronavirus cases, which presumably will lead to more hospitalisations and more deaths as well as more firms shutting down. The closings will reflect lost customers who are either sick or ...

Why all the fuss about face masks? Why won’t people just wear them? “Masking has become controversial. It shouldn’t be,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on “Face the Nation.” To health experts, masks seem like a simple, apolitical precaution. In medical jargon, they’re personal protective equipment, or PPE, like surgeons’ gowns, gloves and face screens. Nobody ...

There were two obvious losers in France’s runoff round of local elections, held after a three-month delay caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. One was democracy. Only about 40% of eligible voters bothered to turn up, a record low. The other was President Emmanuel Macron, whose core urban fan base went Green. The eco-friendly EELV party snatched control of several big ...