Coronavirus Latest: Food Going to Waste, Luxurious Underground Bunkers, Packed Tourist Sites in China & More

Coronavirus Latest News

Instead of blasting you with coronavirus (COVID-19) news every hour, I’m putting together a roundup of news that I come across during the day. Here you can read about the possibility of burying coronavirus victims in parks, homemade face masks, food going to waste amid coronavirus crisis, luxurious underground bunkers and packed tourist sites in China.

NYC may temporarily bury coronavirus victims in parks

A leading New York City lawmaker said Monday that officials may be forced to temporarily begin burying the city’s coronavirus victims in local parks — as morgues and hospitals struggle to keep up with the mounting death toll, Councilman Mark Levine said Monday. “Soon we’ll start ‘temporary interment’,” Levine (D-Manhattan) wrote in a series of tweets. “This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line.” But no, nobody is digging grave in parks yet.

Homemade face masks, CDC and coronavirus: Everything you need to know

Briefly, the CARES Act adds $600 per week, on top of what the state gives, through July 31, 2020. It also extends the amount of time one can be on unemployment. It also allows unemployment benefits for furloughed workers, self-employed, and gig workers. A lot of people will end up getting their full salary. For example, if the state gives $400/week, you’ll now get $1,000 per week. That would be roughly full salary for someone who makes $50,o000 or less per year.

Food goes to waste amid coronavirus crisis

The coronavirus pandemic is leading the food industry and regulators to change policies as they grapple with empty shelves, a glut of fresh produce and milk, and sudden shifts in consumer buying habits. The problem isn’t a shortage of food and commodities. If anything, food waste is becoming a bigger issue as traditionally big, bulk buyers — like college dorms and restaurant chains — suddenly stop receiving deliveries. As a result, millions of gallons of milk are being dumped, and farmers have no alternative but to turn fresh vegetables into mulch.

Inside the luxurious underground bunkers where the rich bug out

Real estate salesman Robert Vicinois selling underground bunkers from the Black Hills of South Dakota to a remote underground city in Rothenstein, Germany. Unlike the millennial owner of a Manhattan startup who had to pull the plug on his luxe, mask-free spa last week, Vicino says business is booming in what survivalists call the “bug-out” business. His company, Vivos, also sells bunkers in Indiana and is planning new bunkers in Asia and Marbella, Spain. He said sales are up 400% this year although his cheaper properties (35,000 euros for a big bunker in South Dakota) are selling faster than the 2 million euros, five-star Vivos Europa One underground apartments carved into a German mountain, part of a facility originally used by the Soviets to store munitions in case they invaded western Europe.

China: Tourist sites packed as country comes out of coronavirus lockdown

Images from the Huangshan mountain park in Anhui province on Saturday April 4 showed thousands of people crammed together, many wearing face masks, eager to experience the great outdoors after months of travel restrictions and strict lockdown measures.