Safe from coronavirus . Soledad im soledad obrien. Welcome to matter of fact. Restrictions, the big question now is whether the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths will surge. Itll take weeks to see the effects of lifting the restrictions. Thats one reason medical experts strongly cautioned against a rush to reopen. Theyre warning the risks of a resurgent virus might be more dire than even the 70,000 plus deaths weve seen so far. Historians have urged us to take the long view, reminding us of another time and another pandemic in which warnings that were ignored led to a wave of death. Our special contributor joie chene world was at war. A silent threat loomed at home, and yet the band played on. America entered the great war a year earlier with patriotism at a fever pitch. Everyone was supposed to contribute to the cause. Kenneth thats right. We have to remember that america, in 1917 and 1918, was really a nation going to war. And they were going to war with a very profound propaganda campaign. Joie kenneth c. Davis wrote the dont know much about series, although he actually knows a lot about history. His latest book is more deadly than war about the 1918 flu and its connections to combat. What was america like in 1918 . Kenneth the United States had stayed out of the fight for three years. But in april, 1917, decided to declare war on germany. We had almost no army at the time, very small navy. So everything had to be started from scratch. Joie the buildup took about a year. And americas young soldiers were finally ready at the very moment, spring 1918, when another enemy arrived the suddenly, it struck without warning, and it was like nothing that anyone had ever seen before. It was killing healthy young farm boys at a remarkable rate. They were turning blue, literally dying within hours, hours. Joie but america was focused on getting the dough boys to europe, with predictable consequences. Kenneth those troop transports were disease carriers. They were, like, hotbeds of infection. And someone called them floating coffins. Joie the flu had already gone global, but neutral spain got the blame. Kenneth it was not at war, so that meant the spanish newspapers werent being censored to the degree that papers in some of the embattled combatant nations were. So the first real published report in europe of an epidemic comes out in madrid. Almost instantly it becomes known widely as the spanish flu. It certainly did not start there. Joie the flu deaths slowed by summer, but then a kind of patriotic fever reignited the pandemic. And this is where it killed. Kenneth this became a holy crusade. And part of that crusade was to sell war bonds, known as liberty loans. Joie philadelphia leaders planned a huge liberty loan parade. Despite doctors urging a halt, the Health Commissioner let the march go on. Kenneth 200,000 people crowded the streets of philadelphia. Within two days of that parade, every hospital bed in philadelphia was filled. It was an extraordinary outburst of death. Joie other cities were better at social distancing, at least for a time. But in just one year, the flu claimed some 675,000 american lives and somewhere between 50 million and 100 million worldwide. Kenneth we are still uncovering evidence of how far and how terrible the plague of 1918 was. Joie davis is quick to say the 1918 flu isnt exactly like covid19. Still, he sees warning signs. Kenneth this did not go away when flu season was over in the springtime and summertime. It came back in september, more virulent, more violent, more lethal than it was the first round. The federal government took a very hands off approach about the pandemic. They also were not honest. And many local officials were not honest. Time and time again you saw local officials say, its just the flu. And it wasnt just the flu. It was something much, much worse. We have to be able to rely on honest, factual government information based on data and science. Not gut instincts, not what somebody thinks. Joei joie posing the question, by ignoring science, is history destined to repeat tragedy . There was one more tie between the 1918 flu pandemic and the great war. Youll recall it formally ended at 11 00 a. M. On the 11th day of the 11th month, to more excitement and more parades. Which, unfortunately, meant more flu. A third wave quickly followed, although not quite as bad as the fall. Throughout that time, there wer. In fact, it to another 20 years for science to develop what we now know as the flu vaccine. Next on matter of fact, an app feeds the bank account of people who receive food stamps. Weve been able to distribute more than 20 million. Plus soledad whats your strategy around preventing furloughs . How long can cities keep people on the payroll during a pandemic . And what can a picnic blanket teach us about proper social distancing . 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Local and state governments are looking for ways to save money and cut expenses. Thats leading some to enact or consider furloughs and layoffs that affect everything from education to sanitation, libraries to civic centers, and safety and health. Albuquerque is the largest city in new mexico, and it faces a 27 million deficit with lost revenues. Its spending 100,000 a day to fight covid19. I spoke with albuquerque mayor tim keller via skype. Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining me. I know how busy you are. We noted that youre spending 100,000 a day, roughly, on the covid19 response. Can you give me a rough breakdown of where that money goes to specifically . Mayor keller so for us here in albuquerque, were coordinating Relief Services for most of central new mexico. So we have an Emergency Operations center. And most of that money is going there. And thats both staffing and resources, distributing ppe. All of that each and every day for central new mexico. Soledad whats your biggest revenue losses in the city of albuquerque . Mayor keller so for us you know, each city is funded differently all across america. And were heavily dependent on sales tax. So for us, the lower volume of sales transactions, whether its retail or otherwise, really, really hurts us and food is exempt from that in the first place. So we dont benefit from all the Grocery Store spending. So were very susceptible. And of course, lodgers tax. So thats add a lot of hotels for all our tourism. So weve been hit very, very hard by this. And i mean, were looking at april with almost no revenue. I mean, like 80 down for one month because of tourism. The challenge is long term, you know, tourism is going to be one of the slowest industries to rebound. So unfortunately, very pessimistic when it comes to that, too. Soledad youve applied for funding under the cares act. How much have you asked for . Is there a specific way in which you have to use it specifically for the covid19 response . Are you able to do it to replace lost revenue from business losses . Mayor keller we fought through the conference of mayors to have revenue replacement for all cities. Thats what every city and county pretty much across america wanted. But unfortunately, we didnt get direct revenue replacement. But the city of albuquerque is big enough, we fell under the big city category. So we did get a lump sum of money, 150 million from the cares act. And thats whats keeping us alive. And for us, were able to expense, you know, anything that is indirectly or directly related to corona, were able to use. So its more flexible than we originally thought, which is good, but it still is going to be a challenge when it comes to revenue replacement. Thats what we all really need. Soledad i didnt realize that one in 10 American Workers works for city government. So what a massive number, if those folks all get furloughed or laid off in some capacity. Mayor keller its something a lot of people forget. In government, especially if youre in a city where theres a lot of enhanced services that are provided. So, for example, we take care about 40,000 kids all summer. Thats half our citys population. We hire 1000 plus High Schoolers every year. And these are the kinds of programs that then enable our workforce to actually go to work. So we have major employees who are telling us, look, if the city cant provide summer programs, we cant even open because of all the parents who are stuck at home with their kids. Thats why trying to avoid furloughs is so important. And so were trying to prevent furloughs by using the cares act as much as we can. Soledad the president floated, as you well know, ending aid to cities that were sanctuary cities. Have you heard more about that . What was your reaction to it . Mayor keller were unabashedly immigrant friendly, and thats part of who we are. We have fought the federal government in court and won on numerous occasions when they try and do this. So, number one, we would put up fight, just like a lot of other up a fight, just like a lot of other cities around the country. But number two, we havent heard this specifically with the cares act. I know theres rhetoric coming from the top, but i will say we are very appreciative so far at a bureaucratic level. There have not been arguments over this, and i hope that continues. Soledad albuquerque mayor tim keller, thank you for talking with me, appreciate it. Mayor keller thank you so much. Great to be with you. Coming up, is your phone the key to stopping coronavirus in its tracks . But first, an app just for people who receive food stamps. Soledad why did you decide that that would be a wort do you have concerns about mild memory loss related to aging . Prevagen is the number one pharmacistrecommended memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. App for that. Its not even cliche anymore, because theres literally is an app for just about everything, from finding a dogsitter to getting a burrito delivered to your door. Apps have become the primary way we engage with media, brands, and each other. But has tech left behind an underserved portion of our population . Before covid19, nearly 40 million americans received snap. Thats the supplemental nutrition assistance program, formerly known as food stamps. N. And theres an app to help recipients navigate the ins and. Jimmy chen is the founder and ceo of propel. We spoke earlier via skype. Jimmy, thank you for talking with me. Lets start with a description of what propel actually is. Jimmy yeah. Thank you so much for having me on the show today. Propel is a Technology Company based in brooklyn that aims to help people navigate the American Safety net. We build software to help people who get snap benefits, also known as food stamp benefits, to check their balance, to stretch their benefits, and to find different ways to earn more income. Soledad why did you decide that that would be a worthwhile market to serve . Jimmy well, i think that the reason why tech doesnt generally serve people who are low income in many cases is because people solve the problems they understand. Most people in tech are disproportionately male, college educated. They have money, they live on the coasts. There are lots of americans who dont share those characteristics and who also use tech, who also use smart phones and the internet. I grew up in a loving and supportive family that also had trouble putting food on the table. I think, like most american families, we had a financial shock as i was young with my father losing his job. I was fortunate to go to stanford on a full scholarship on Financial Aid and then was fortunate to work in Silicon Valley at Tech Companies where i learned sort of the playbook of Silicon Valley. And so propel to me really represents trying to build the type of company that would help the people that were in my parents financial situation by taking the skills that i gained in Silicon Valley. Soledad propel really starting in 2014. What was it like precoronavirus . How has it changed postvirus . Jimmy well, the 40 million americans who receive snap benefits on ebt cards. What we really aim to do is help people who use snap benefits and who need to check their balance to also save money to connect to social Service Programs that they may qualify for, to apply for jobs, whether part time or full time. And so fresh ebt was a tool that was at the start of this crisis used by two million families across the country to manage their snap benefits and improve their financial health. Soledad do you have a number of how many new people have joined since the Coronavirus Crisis . Jimmy more than 1 Million People have joined since. There are more than 3 million using the app. Soledad and now people are actually getting cash from propel as well . Jimmy weve organized this new project called project 100. Project 100 is really focused on raising 100 million so that 100,000 people who use fresh ebt can get a cash grants. About 80 of people who receive snap benefits who were working at the start of march have either had their hours cut or lost their jobs entirely. A survey that we ran of people who use fresh ebt showed that actually half of people had fewer than four days of resources left on hand, either in cash or in food at home, and that a lot of families were dealing with impossible choices. And we just came to realize that the best way to help people navigate this unprecedented hardship was just cash. Soledad propel is a forprofit company. I would have thought everything youre describing sounds like a lot of the work of nonprofits. Jimmy so, propel makes money because people who use fresh ebt also engage in different ways that they can save money or make more money. As an example, when you use fresh ebt to manage your existing snap benefits, you can also clip a grocery coupon inside the app so you can stretch your benefits further. You can access various types of offers, including a discounted Home Internet or free cell phones that are things that you can access because you are currently receiving snap benefits, or you can apply for jobs. And so our customers are the Grocery Stores, the employers, the telecoms types of companies that pay us to be a marketing channel. And for us, we really see that as a winwin kind of model where money. Theyre accessing these services and find them valuable. Thats what we want to make money from. Soledad jimmy chen from propel, thank you for talking with me and congratulations on what youre doing. I think its amazing to see so many people trying to figure out how to help people during this pandemic. Jimmy yeah. Thank you so much for having me today. Next, tracing the coronavirus. Theres an app for that, too. Make sure that youre helping us track the history of where youve gone. Is it an invasion of privacy or a life saver . Soledad welcome back to matter of fact. As some states move to reopen, they are turning to Tech Companies to track new covid19 cases and trace contacts quickly. In utah and in north and south dakota, governors are asking citizens to download smart phone apps. You know part of our life being able to get back to normal is going to rely on us being able to get in front of the spread, and a big part of that is contact tracing. So please download that app, save us hundreds of hours, and make sure that youre helping us track the history of where you have gone and who youve exposed to this virus if you ever test positive. Soledad in utah, the launch of the Healthy Together utah app could speed up the tracing process. People using the app, who test positive for covid19, are basically providing a digital trail of contacts to Public Health workers. Use of the app is completely voluntary. North and south dakota are using an app called care19 that takes privacy concerns one step further. Users get a randomly assigned id number. The app traces contacts with others that last at least 10 minutes. And if someone tests positive for the virus, they must consent to the use of their data by health care workers. Officials in the dakotas want to map the outbreaks to pinpoint where and when to reopen, based on new obrea still ahead, a blanket with holes. Is this the new normal when it holes. 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Getting some fresh air is a great idea, but pictures from new york, florida, and california show people ignoring the sixfeet rule. Many people say they have trouble eyeballing that actual distance, so a london designer has a solution. Paul cocksedge has designed a sort of remix to the picnic blanket. He calls it here comes the sun. The blanket is a large fabric ring with four circles on the perimeter, each a little more than six feet apart. This ensures you have a fun time at the park or beach while still maintaining some distancing. And theres no need to buy this blanket. Just do it as a diy. A free template is posted on the designers website. You j