<p><strong>Slovakia walls off Roma villages:</strong> Amid coronavirus fears, Slovakia's government has walled off several<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/04/09/world/europe/09reuters-health-coronavirus-slovakia-roma.html" target="_blank"> Roma settlements</a> in the country's east, preventing their people from leaving, even to access essential services. Many of Slovakia's 500,000 Roma live in <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/04/life-slovakia-roma-slums-poverty-segregation-170425090756677.html" target="_blank">crowded and impoverished shantytowns</a>, which the government says are a "high risk" for spreading COVID-19. Roma leaders point out that although testing has been scarce, only 31 out of Slovakia's 700 cases have been reported in Roma communities, and say that the isolation measures are just another example of the discrimination long-faced by Europe's 12 million Roma, the EU's <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-roma-rights/roma-people-10-ways-europes-biggest-minority-faces-discrimination-idUSKCN1RK01Y" target="_blank">largest ethnic minority</a>. The Slovak prime minister said he would ensure food and medical deliveries to these enclaves despite restrictions on movement, but the Roma communities argue that if the government insists on blocking off their villages, which prevents them from getting to essential jobs in the informal economy, it needs to ensure a more generous social safety net for them. </p><p><strong>Stars of the Black Plague return:</strong> You've probably seen pictures of animals around the world reclaiming urban and suburban spaces abandoned by quarantining humans. Goats <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/europe/wild-goats-wales-streets-lockdown-scli-gbr/index.html" target="_blank" title="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/europe/wild-goats-wales-streets-lockdown-scli-gbr/index.html">roaming the streets</a> in Wales. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/fighting-monkeys-highlight-effect-of-coronavirus-on-thailand-tourism" target="_blank" title="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/fighting-monkeys-highlight-effect-of-coronavirus-on-thailand-tourism">Monkey brawls</a> in Thailand. Coyotes <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241616581.html" target="_blank" title="https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241616581.html">leaving their hearts </a>in San Francisco. But one aspect of nature's return might be less fuzzy and fun and endearing. Robert Corrigan, a famous rodentologist in New York City <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/infrastructure/491421-is-a-plague-of-rats-following-the-coronavirus" target="_blank">has warned</a> that as restaurants close and streets fall silent, public spaces and people's homes could be overrun by rats in search of scarcer food. We've already <a href="https://twitter.com/JCovid19/status/1244777699685675009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1244777699685675009&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fchanging-america%2Fsustainability%2Finfrastructure%2F491421-is-a-plague-of-rats-following-the-coronavirus" target="_blank" title="https://twitter.com/JCovid19/status/1244777699685675009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1244777699685675009&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fchanging-america%2Fsustainability%2Finfrastructure%2F491421-is-a-plague-of-rats-following-">seen video of the pests having a party</a> on a deserted street in the heart of New Orleans. If the rats are unable to turn up the usual survival scraps by running through our homes, Corrigan told The Hill, they could turn to cannibalism – devouring each other instead. Rats of course have a bit of a history with pandemics. They are remembered as the villains of the Black Plague – though the rats we've spoken to are quick to point out that fleas were the real culprit then. Keep your trash tightly covered, readers.</p>
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