·         Rising cases in EU raise doubts about easing lockdowns

·         Smoking opens gateway to coronavirus, study shows

·         Coronavirus may ‘reactivate,’ South Korea’s CDC says

Our take on the latest developments

From abroad, the thought of an ending to the harsh measures that have closed schools, curtailed livelihoods and lifestyles, and cut off family members looks appealing. And in fact, other countries are already starting to discuss getting out from under.

Austria, Denmark, Norway and Italy—Europe’s worst virus-hit country—are all discussing relaxing their stay-home orders. Even the U.S., which has never issued a blanket quarantine, is talking about a limited return to work in some cities and towns where the outbreak is less severe.

But moving too fast is perilous. Able to spread from seemingly healthy people, the virus can lurk and return with a vengeance. Expect it to stick around for at least two years, according to Peter Collignon, a professor at Australian National University Medical School.

“We have got to ensure that the public understands we’re moving to a new phase,” said Bruce Aylward, a top World Health Organization official who led missions to Spain and China. “It’s not lifting lockdowns and going back to normal. It’s a new normal.”

As Bloomberg’s Enda Curran, Frank Connelly and Suzi Ring report, that’s going to have to be a normal where testing is fast, available, and accurate. Where infected people can be isolated, and their contacts traced and quarantined. It will probably be normal for more people to work at home, have less contact with others, and talk and joke through masks, while negotiating a juddering economic restart.

It’s been 100 long days since the WHO’s first notification of a mysterious pneumonia. The weather’s getting warmer and sunnier in the U.S. and Europe. The gruesome death counts appear poised to level off. And people are suffering—physically, mentally and financially—from confinement.

But the virus is still out there. And governments everywhere need to prepare their citizens for a long road ahead, perhaps longer than the one trod by Wuhan.—Thomas Mulier and John Lauerman

Listen Up

Latest Podcast:  A Mental Health Crisis Worsens

The difficulty of obtaining mental health services while under lockdown threatens to break a treatment network that was already strained. That big story and the latest headlines in just 15 minutes of your day.

Also: Map the outbreak around the world, and track Covid-19’s spread in the U.S.

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What you should read

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Have any questions, concerns, or news tips on Covid-19 news? Get in touch or help us cover the story.

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