Plan to have no April plans

National social distancing guidelines are extended to late April; Taiwan, which has been praised for its handling of Covid-19, demands WHO membership.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Catherine Kim.

TOP NEWS

Trump extends social distancing to April 30

Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Donald Trump — who had previously said he wanted Americans to begin going back to work by Easter — announced that he would extend social distancing guidelines until the end of April. [Washington Post / Ian Duncan and Felicia Sonmez]
This means that people should still avoid groups of more than 10 people and nonessential travel. Older Americans are also advised to stay inside. [CNN / Holly Yan and Madeline Holcombe]
It's a sudden departure from the White House's narrative that the cure can't be worse than the disease, as the economy has been hit hard from the lack of activity. It had been unclear whether the government would extend its 15-day social distancing program, which was scheduled to end on Tuesday. [WSJ / Rebecca Ballhaus, Andrew Restuccia, and Jennifer Calfas]
The president had kept this narrative going as late as Thursday, when he issued a letter to governors on guidance to relaxing social distancing measures. Many, however, said it was too early to start thinking about loosening restriction when the US doesn't even have the testing capacity to contain the pandemic. [NPR / Nurith Aizenman]
Despite Trump's reluctance, public health experts had pushed for an extension to the social distancing measures. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been leading efforts against the pandemic in the US, urged the president not to relax the guidelines too soon, especially as the death toll continues to mount worldwide. [NYT / Michael D. Shear]
Trump had also reportedly been affected by the scenes at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, which is only seven miles away from where he grew up. Images of people lined up outside for testing and a parked refrigerated truck — which was used as a makeshift mortuary –– seemed to make the president rethink the severity of the pandemic. [CNN / Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins]
The odds were against Trump from the beginning: A recent Morning Consult poll showed that 74 percent of voters supported a national quarantine (though it's not clear Trump actually has the power to declare one under federal law). [V ox / Ian Millhiser]
Some experts say it could take until September 2021 for life to return to normal. It's a hefty sacrifice — but experts like Fauci say social distancing is one of the best tools we currently have to keep the rate of infection down. [Vox / Sean Collins]

Taiwan says its exclusion from WHO is dangerous

Taiwan is angered by the World Health Organization's reluctance in working with its experts to fight Covid-19 despite its success in stemming the spread of the virus early on. [Bloomberg / Samson Ellis]
The conflict began to escalate when a senior WHO adviser seemingly hung up on a Hong Kong journalist who asked about Taiwan's response to the pandemic. After the video of the interview went viral, Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu criticized the organization for seemingly trying to exclude Taiwan from the discussion. [Guardian / Helen Davidson]
The WHO released a rare response to the video, detailing how it is trying to learn from Taiwan and work with its government. A day later, however, Taiwan hit back, complaining that the WHO had not been sharing the information it's provided on its cases and prevention methods. [Reuters]
The WHO has denied Taiwan membership because it is not recognized as an independent country by the United Nations. Some are accusing the organization of political bias as well, since China is a major contributor to the WHO, and China considers Taiwan part of its territory. [Bloomberg / Thomas Mulier]
Taiwan's exclusion in international bodies could be particularly dangerous during this pandemic given that the government only has about 300 cases but doesn't have a platform to share its methods. Some of its tactics include strict surveillance measures and imposing quarantines on travelers early on. [BBC]

MISCELLANEOUS

Liberty University brought its students back to campus. Now a dozen students are showing Covid-19-like symptoms.

[NYT / Elizabeth Williamson]

A van Gogh painting was stolen from a Dutch museum that was closed because of the coronavirus. (And on van Gogh's birthday!) [BBC]
Submariners are purposedly shielded from bad news so that they can focus on their missions underwater. That means those who left before the pandemic began wreaking havoc likely remain unaware of the virus. [AP / John Leicester]
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu joins the list of growing world leaders who are self-isolating due to Covid-19, after one of his aides tested positive. [Al Jazeera]
In non-coronavirus news: A newly discovered strain of bacteria that eats polyurethane, a synthetic chemical compound in plastic, could help tackle the planet's plastic pollution issue. [CNN / Scottie Andrew]

VERBATIM

"This is in my community in Queens, New York. I have seen things that I've never seen before. I mean I've seen them, but I've seen them on television and faraway lands, never in my country."

[President Trump on the scenes from Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, near where he grew up / CNN]