Superb virus reads from around the Web – 10 May update

A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news team – yes, a state broadcaster that still does real journalism! – takes a look inside the slaughterhouse that has produce one of Canada’s largest clusters of cases, and the working conditions that virtually guaranteed its spread.

A team of Scottish researchers and Martin McKee point out that the pandemic response itself will have negative health effects, which seems bleedin’ obvious, but for some reason most of the health research community prefers to ignore the point, and indeed much else about the post-pandemic future.   

Naomi Klein points out that big technology firms in the US are using the pandemic as a platform for new systems that will ratchet up inequality, making the billionaires even richer and expanding the precariat.  (The Intercept, where this piece appeared, is proving indispensable for truth-seekers in these times.)

Two articles in The Atlantic, which is making its coronavirus coverage free at the moment, are also valuable.  One offers a succinct description of how South Korea dealt with the virus, and what should be learned from its experience.  The other is a searing examination of the racism revealed in multiple ways by the US response to the pandemic.  For anyone still under the impression that it’s a civilised country, this is a must-read.

Finally, The Times – unfortunately behind a paywall – offers a thoughtful take on the question ‘Supermodeller Neil Ferguson: should we trust his science’?  One might question the description of what the Imperial College crew do as science in the first place, but that’s a topic for another day. 

More in good time.  Meanwhile, stay safe.

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