covid-19/

As Americans begin to practice social distancing in response to the coronavirus pandemic — staying home, teleworking in some cases — small businesses are already starting to feel the pinch.

Misinformation on social media was bad before the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s only gotten more harmful in the age of social distancing now that lives are on the line and millions of Americans are getting their daily dosage of human interaction and information solely from the virtual world.

As states and school districts consider closing public schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, educators are debating moving instruction from classrooms to families’ living rooms via the internet. But setting up online schools wouldn’t be easy and, according to research, moving from the actual classroom to a virtual classroom can hurt student performance.

Across news outlets and social media, many stories this past week have focused on panic buying — and officials pleading with people not to panic buy. Customers have stocked up on essentials, particularly toilet paper and hand sanitizer, out of fear that the coronavirus pandemic will deplete supermarket supply chains.

A novel coronavirus is affecting countries in every habitable continent, with recent shocks to oil prices only the latest wrinkle in the unfolding outbreak.

For several weeks, journalists and researchers worldwide have worked long hours to provide up-to-date information on the new coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, trying to help members of the public avoid infection while also scrambling to understand the virus and its possible impacts.