Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 21 April.
Top stories
Australia has recorded its lowest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since early March. But half of Australian voters think it’s too early to consider easing coronavirus-related restrictions. Thousands of jobs are at risk with Virgin Australia set to go into voluntary administration – the biggest airline collapse in Australia since Ansett failed in 2002. A group of 13 Aboriginal organisations from across the Northern Territory say people in remote communities are running out of fresh food and other essential items because local stores can’t source enough supplies. A report found dozens of Victorians have felt “intimidated”, “fearful” and “discriminated against” after being targeted by police enforcing the state’s lockdown laws. And Peter Lewis has analysed whether Australians trust the federal government enough to download its coronavirus tracing app.
US oil prices have just turned negative for the first time on record, as North American producers run out of space to store an unprecedented oversupply of crude left by the pandemic. A top infectious diseases official in the US has warned there could be a surge in cases if states move too quickly to lift restrictions. Dr Anthony Fauci said real economic recovery is not going to happen unless the virus is under control. The US has recorded more than 40,000 Covid-19 deaths as small rural hospitals find it difficult to obtain personal protective equipment. Countries around the world are considering easing coronavirus restrictions but the prospect of a “second wave” has many experts concerned.
The death rate from Covid-19 continues to fall in Spain, and infections fell in Italy for the first time since the beginning of its outbreak. But the UK is still in the grip of the worst of it, recording 449 deaths overnight. Questions about Boris Johnson’s leadership at the outset of the crisis remain. More than 140,000 firms have applied for help from the UK government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. A World Health Organisation study has found only a tiny proportion of people display no symptoms after being infected.
Australia
Labor and the Greens will push to disallow a proposed change by the industrial relations minister, Christian Porter, that would allow employers to change workers’ conditions with little notice. The new regulation would allow employers to provide just 24 hours’ notice to change to pay, hours, leave and penalty rates.
There’s fresh hope about saving Kangaroo Island’s dunnart from extinction after the tiny marsupial was caught on camera in a new location. The unique mouse-like species lost more than 90% of its habitat in the January bushfires.
Malcolm Turnbull says Tony Abbott’s “anti-Muslim” rhetoric while PM was dangerous. Turnbull accused his predecessor of inflaming animosity against Muslims in a wide-ranging interview with ABC’s 7.30.
The world
The death toll in a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in Canada has been revised upwards to 18 people, including the gunman. It’s the country’s deadliest mass shooting, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police believe the figure could rise.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his main rival, Benny Gantz, have agreed to form a national unity government, ending a year-long political crisis that has seen the country hold three back-to-back elections.
Court documents have revealed text messages showing Harry and Meghan repeatedly tried to make contact with her estranged father in the days before their wedding in early 2018. The Duchess of Sussex is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday for alleged invasion of privacy, breach of copyright and misuse of personal data.
Recommended reads
Wendy Syfret wants you to watch The Bold Type. The optimistic and hopeful show offers a “candy-coloured” view of life for three millennial women who work in magazine publishing (one played by Australian actor Aisha Dee). “Before, it was often frustrating to see your reality romanticised and warped. But as that reality recedes into the past, it has become comforting to revisit some version of it,” she writes. In a time of social distancing and almost-constant crisis, a rose-coloured reality has its charms.
Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari believes coronavirus won’t change our attitude to death. He writes that scientific and technological revolutions have made humans so successful at prolonging life that our worldview has profoundly changed: “For most of history, humans meekly submitted to death. Up to the late modern age, most religions and ideologies saw death not only as our inevitable fate, but as the main source of meaning in life.”
There’s much to love about the humble toastie, now more than ever. Working from home lunch? Toastie. Cooking as part of a home-school curriculum? Toastie. One of those bread loaves you baked to stave off existential dread is actually edible? Toastie. Here are 10 recipes for melted delight, ranging from the classic (ham and cheese) to the adventurous (content warning: haggis).
Listen
On Full Story today is the story behind Donald Trump’s “miracle” drug: hydroxychloroquine. The drug has been used to treat malaria and other diseases for 65 years. It’s been hailed by some, including the US president, as a Covid-19 cure, but there’s scant evidence it is effective.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
A global players’ union says the number of footballers reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety is rising significantly. Sporting leagues around the world have been shut down by the coronavirus crisis, and many players report concerns about the long-term impact.
Media roundup
The ABC has followed a paramedic unit in New York City, capturing the frontline fight in one of the places hit hardest by Covid-19. The West Australian reports on WA resources companies set to expand screening for Fifo mining staff to reduce the risk of coronavirus outbreaks. The Age tells the story of the owner of a medical equipment supplier driving thousands of kilometres to retrieve ventilators so they could be used by a charity. And the Daily Telegraph examines the last straw for NRL chief Todd Greenberg, who stood down yesterday.
Coming up
National cabinet meets again today and is likely to make an announcement about the current restrictions on elective surgery and IVF.
Minutes from the most recent Reserve Bank board meeting will be released, providing insight into its most recent rates decision.
And if you’ve read this far …
Before the Great Toilet Paper Shortage, alternative means of washing were not top of mind for most Australians. We laughed at the eccentricity of the French with their peculiar, rather-too-intimately fastidious bidets. Then, in March, Google searches for bidets skyrocketed by at least 1,000%. Caroline Baum examines how Covid-19 accelerated Australians’ curiosity about “alternative toileting devices”.
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