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SAN FRANCISCO — The mod-ern corporate office is renownedfor open, collaborative workspaces, in-house coffee bars andstanding desks with room for twogiant computer monitors.

Soon, there may be a new must-have perk: the sneeze guard.

This plexiglass barrier that canbe mounted on a desk is one ofmany ideas being mulled by em-ployers as they contemplate a re-turn to the workplace after coro-navirus lockdowns. Their post-

pandemic makeovers may in-clude hand sanitizers built intodesks that are positioned at 90-de-gree angles or that are enclosedby translucent plastic partitions;air filters that push air down andnot up; outdoor gathering spaceto allow collaboration without vi-ral transmission; and windowsthat actually open, for freer air

flow.The conversation about how to

reconfigure the American work-place is taking place throughoutthe business world, from smallstart-ups to giant Wall Streetfirms. The design and furniturecompanies that have been hiredfor the makeovers say the virusmay even be tilting workplacesback toward a concept they hadbeen moving away from since theMad Men era: privacy.

The question is whether any ofthe changes being contemplatedwill actually result in safer work-

Office Tools: Computer. Stapler. Sneeze Guard?By MATT RICHTEL Modifying Workplaces

for a New World

Workers at a University of California, Irvine, office have new barriers between their cubicles.ALEX WELSH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A11

The coronavirus has killed somany people in Iran that the coun-try has resorted to mass burials,but in neighboring Iraq, the bodycount is fewer than 100.

The Dominican Republic has re-ported nearly 7,600 cases of the vi-rus. Just across the border, Haitihas recorded about 85.

In Indonesia, thousands are be-lieved to have died of the coro-navirus. In nearby Malaysia, astrict lockdown has kept fatalitiesto about 100.

The coronavirus has touched al-most every country on earth, butits impact has seemed capricious.Global metropolises like NewYork, Paris and London have beendevastated, while teeming citieslike Bangkok, Baghdad, NewDelhi and Lagos have, so far,largely been spared.

The question of why the virushas overwhelmed some placesand left others relatively un-touched is a puzzle that hasspawned numerous theories andspeculations but no definitive an-swers. That knowledge couldhave profound implications forhow countries respond to the vi-rus, for determining who is at riskand for knowing when it’s safe togo out again.

There are already hundreds ofstudies underway around theworld looking into how demo-graphics, pre-existing conditionsand genetics might affect the widevariation in impact.

Doctors in Saudi Arabia are

studying whether genetic differ-ences may help explain varyinglevels of severity in Covid-19 casesamong Saudi Arabs, while scien-tists in Brazil are looking into therelationship between genetics andCovid-19 complications. Teams inmultiple countries are studying ifcommon hypertension medica-tions might worsen the disease’sseverity and whether a particulartuberculosis vaccine might do theopposite.

Many developing nations withhot climates and young popula-tions have escaped the worst, sug-gesting that temperature anddemographics could be factors.But countries like Peru, Indonesiaand Brazil, tropical countries inthe throes of growing epidemics,throw cold water on that idea.

Social-distancing and earlylockdown measures have clearlybeen effective, but Myanmar andCambodia did neither and have re-ported few cases.

One theory that is unproven butimpossible to refute: maybe thevirus just hasn’t gotten to thosecountries yet. Russia and Turkeyappeared to be fine until, sud-denly, they were not.

Time may still prove the great-est equalizer: The Spanish flu thatbroke out in the United States in1918 seemed to die down duringthe summer only to come roaringback with a deadlier strain in thefall, and a third wave the followingyear. It eventually reached far-flung places like islands in Alaskaand the South Pacific and infecteda third of the world’s population.

Virus Batters Some Areas.Why Does It Spare Others?

Researchers Hunting for Patterns to ExplainWide Variation in Infection Rates

This article is by Hannah Beech,Alissa J. Rubin, Anatoly Kur-manaev and Ruth Maclean.

THAILAND Bangkok, which has avoided the worst of the outbreak so far, began easing restrictions.ADAM DEAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

BRAZIL A cemetery in the hard-hit Amazonas region added a new area for victims of Covid-19.MICHAEL DANTAS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Continued on Page A7

WASHINGTON — For decadesthe vice-presidential selectionprocess has had an air of cloak-and-dagger to it. The party’s nom-inees would say little about theirthinking, the would-be runningmates would reveal even less, andan elaborate game of subterfugewould unfold that mostly captivat-ed political insiders and usuallyhad little bearing on the election.

But a convergence of forces hastransformed Joseph R. Biden Jr.’ssearch for a running mate on theDemocratic ticket. His pledge topick a woman immediately lim-ited the pool of potential candi-dates and intensified the competi-tion; that decision, coupled withMr. Biden’s garrulous tendency tothink aloud about his options, hasremade the tryout period into anunusually public audition, and thecoronavirus outbreak ensuredthat it is taking place entirely on-line and on TV.

And Mr. Biden himself has in-creasingly pushed into the politi-cal foreground the overwhelmingreason that his choice may be themost consequential in decades:the expectation, downplayed butnot exactly denied by the Biden

Burden HeavyAs Biden Seeks

Running Mate

By JONATHAN MARTINand ALEXANDER BURNS

Continued on Page A19

They did not treat patients, butWayne Edwards, Derik Braswelland Priscilla Carrow held some ofthe most vital jobs at ElmhurstHospital Center in Queens.

As the coronavirus tore throughthe surrounding neighborhood,their department managed themasks, gloves and other protec-tive gear inside Elmhurst, a publichospital at the center of the city’soutbreak. They ordered the inven-tory, replenished the stockroomand handed out supplies, keepinga close count as the number ofavailable masks began to dwindle.

By April 12, they were all dead.The pandemic has taken an un-

disputed toll on doctors, nursesand other front-line health careworkers. But it has also ravagedthe often-invisible army of non-medical workers in hospitals,many of whom have fallen ill ordied with little public recognitionof their roles.

The victims included the securi-ty guards watching over emer-gency rooms. They were the chefswho cooked food for patients andother hospital workers. They as-signed hospital beds and checkedpatients’ medical records. Theygreeted visitors and answeredphones. They mopped the hall-ways and took out the garbage.

“You know how people clap forhealth workers at 7 o’clock? It’smainly for the nurses and doctors.I get it. But people are not seeingthe other parts of the hospital,”said Eneida Becote, whose hus-band died last month after work-ing for two decades as a patienttransporter. “I feel like those otheremployees are not focused uponas much.”

Her husband, Edward Becote,made about $45,000 a year mov-ing patients around the BrooklynHospital Center on stretchers andwheelchairs. He was among at

3 Helped MakeHospital Safer,And All 3 Died

By NICOLE HONG

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WASHINGTON — A fewmonths ago, a coalition of news or-ganizations asked the SupremeCourt to allow live audio coverageof major arguments on gay rightsand immigration. Chief JusticeJohn G. Roberts Jr. rejected the re-quest within hours, in keepingwith longstanding practice at aninstitution that almost never de-parts from tradition.

But on Monday, the court willbreak with history twice: hearingthe first of 10 cases that will be ar-gued in a telephone conferencecall, and letting the public listen in.It is a momentous step for a cau-tious and secretive institution andyet another way in which the coro-navirus pandemic has forcedAmerican society to adjust to anew reality.

“It’s a remarkable developmentand completely unexpected,” saidBruce Collins, the general counselof C-SPAN, which will offer livecoverage of the arguments.

Among the cases the justiceswill hear by phone over the nexttwo weeks are three on May 12about subpoenas from prosecu-tors and Congress seeking Presi-

Supreme CourtTo Hear Cases

By TelephoneBy ADAM LIPTAK

Arguments will be heard re-motely beginning this week.

ANNA MONEYMAKER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A18

From the early days of theTrump administration, StephenMiller, the president’s chief advis-er on immigration, has repeatedlytried to use an obscure law de-signed to protect the nation fromdiseases overseas as a way totighten the borders.

The question was, which dis-ease?

Mr. Miller pushed for invokingthe president’s broad publichealth powers in 2019, when anoutbreak of mumps spreadthrough immigration detention fa-cilities in six states. He tried againthat year when Border Patrol sta-tions were hit with the flu.

When vast caravans of mi-grants surged toward the borderin 2018, Mr. Miller looked for evi-dence that they carried illnesses.He asked for updates on Ameri-can communities that receivedmigrants to see if new disease wasspreading there.

In 2018, dozens of migrants be-came seriously ill in federal cus-tody, and two under the age of 10died within three weeks of eachother. While many viewed theepisodes as resulting from negli-gence on the part of the border au-thorities, Mr. Miller instead ar-gued that they supported his ar-gument that President Trumpshould use his public health pow-ers to justify sealing the borders.

On some occasions, Mr. Millerand the president, who also em-braced these ideas, were talkeddown by cabinet secretaries andlawyers who argued that the pub-lic health situation at the time didnot provide sufficient legal basisfor such a proclamation.

That changed with the arrival ofthe coronavirus pandemic.

Within days of the confirmationof the first case in the UnitedStates, the White House shutAmerican land borders to non-essential travel, closing the doorto almost all migrants, includingchildren and teenagers who ar-rived at the border with no parentor other adult guardian. Other in-ternational travel restrictions

Adviser’s QuestTo Tie DiseasesTo Immigrants

Pushing Obscure LawLong Before Crisis

By CAITLIN DICKERSONand MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Continued on Page A8

After 18 of our writers shared a silverlining during the pandemic, over 300people sent in submissions. PAGE A12

Our Readers’ Bright Things

In Lebanon’s capital, it’s a point of pridethat the party never stopped, despitewar and protests. But will the frivolityreturn after the lockdown? PAGE A15

INTERNATIONAL A15-16

Virus Withers Beirut’s Nightlife

Andrew Cuomo. The C.E.O. of Marriott.Anderson Cooper. The old rules of whocan cry in public are changing. PAGE A17

NATIONAL A17-20

We’re All Crying on the Job

One hundred years ago, while a pan-demic raged, the 19th Amendment hungby a thread in Congress. PAGE A20

Women’s Suffrage vs. the Flu

“Just about everyone knows someonewho has died,” one maker said aboutwhy the cards are hard to find. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-8

Sympathy Cards Selling Out

A new breed of union activists may beable to do what publishers thus farhaven’t, Ben Smith writes. PAGE B1

Changing the Newsroom

The top federal infectious disease ex-pert tells James Wagner that he missesthe sport, and especially misses hisbeloved Nationals. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

Talking Baseball With Dr. Fauci

A lawsuit contends that a gallery thathelped lift up black painters in the 1980salso took advantage of them. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Art, Money and Race

TV’s talking heads have found that awell-stocked bookcase can lend author-ity to an amateurish video feed. PAGE C1

Credibility, in Walnut or Pine

Ronan O’Rahilly’s Radio Caroline be-came the soundtrack of British andEuropean youth. He was 79. PAGE A24

OBITUARIES A21, 24

Pirate Radio Entrepreneur

Jennifer Senior PAGE A22

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

Zev Buffman brought both ElizabethTaylor and Muhammad Ali to theBroadway stage. He was 89. PAGE A21

Prolific Theatrical Producer

President Trump did not welcome avideo by former President George W.Bush appealing for solidarity. PAGE A9

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-14

Scoffing at a Predecessor

Late Edition

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,683 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

Today, partly sunny, afternoonshowers, high 63. Tonight, clear topartly cloudy, chilly, low 44. Tomor-row, partly sunny, cool, high 61.Weather map appears on Page B6.

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