Items

• 
  April 10, 2020

  2020 Grocery Store Fashion

  “This morning’s grocery store fashion,” I wrote on April 10, 2020 when I posted this photo to Instagram. I tagged #socialdistancing #maskedcrusader and #newyorktough. This was the first time I wore a mask when I left the house and it was one of only a few times I’d gone farther than my backyard or front stoop since lockdown began the month prior. I had been listening to public health officials who advised wearing “face coverings” to help “flatten the curve” (reduce the number of new infections to prevent overcrowding in hospitals). I also followed their advice to opt for cloth and save the real masks for health care workers on the “front lines” of the pandemic who were facing a shortage of “PPE - personal protective equipment.” So many new words and phrases had entered the lexicon and I was struggling to keep up. Masking felt like a way I could protect myself and family and contribute to the effort to squash Covid-19. I found a video tutorial for how to make a “no sew” mask using a bandana folded over hair ties for ear loops. I added a coffee filter in the middle of the folds for good measure. I used this type of mask into the summer of 2020 when I realized masks weren’t going away anytime soon and started wearing more fitted cloth versions. I remember masking felt strange and changed the way I interacted with people I passed who couldn’t see my customary polite smile of acknowledgment. I started nodding slightly and learned to squint my eyes to indicate a smile when I passed people to make up for this impediment. Masking made it difficult to be heard and understood especially through other precautionary barriers like plexiglass shields at checkout counters. These days when I encounter people I first met when masking was more widespread, I sometimes don’t recognize them because I’ve never seen the bottom half of their face. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances. Now I usually only mask if I have respiratory symptoms or if I am around someone particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. When I do mask, I choose an N-95 respirator which is readily available and more effective than my cloth mask and coffee filter creation of April 2020.
• 
  2020-12-01

  Five Experts Reflect on the Health Equity Implications of the Pandemic

  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Blog published this article which contains the words of 5 different experts on health inequity during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-11-04

  Architecture Studio During a Pandemic

  As college student studying architecture, it has been quite hard for me to adapt to this new reality of Covid-19. I would like to talk about is a picture that I received from a friend, of the current state of our studio space that we had last year. To put you in context, I have not been at school since December 2019, therefore I have not seen the measures put place by the school to allow students to use the architecture studio space. I was shocked and sad when I saw the picture because with all the preventions that the school put in place, I realized that the studio does not have the same feel and energy that it had before. I found it very sad because most of what made studio classes so fun was the fact that you could interact with people and talk about different projects and ideas. I can see most of this good energy is now gone and being at home is beginning to take its toll on everyone. This contact that we all cherished is now gone and it is getting harder to keep pushing forward.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Wentworth Institute of Technology - Beatty Cafe

  What you are seeing in this picture is what a Beatty cafeteria attendant has to sit behind all day to be able to read people's IDs and sell them the “delicious” meals. It is a different situation compared to what we all used to know. The world is having to live behind plexiglass shields 24/7 just to be able to slow down the spread of this terrible virus. We are in such drastic times that our best option is to wall others off and create as little interaction as possible. Yes, the glass is clear but it is not the same as being able to walk up to them and just ask them how their day is going while they sell you an overpriced cheeseburger. Seeing this for the first time opened my eyes to what our lives may look like if this goes on for much longer. People will no longer have the in-person conversations that helped to turn their day from bad to good.
• 
  2020-11-03

  Non-Scalable Election Day Barrier Around the White House

  Apparently, a fake-concrete wall went up around the White House on election day, for what reason? Only time can tell.
• 
  2020-02-06

  The way Chinese government face the virus

  That is Chinese government how to sovle the virus in school. They protect the garden, playground and some public areas so that forbidden the entrance so that no one can enter in the area and reduce the possibility of the virus
• 
  2020-05-31

  Plexiglass Barriers Are Becoming the Norm for Businesses Re-Opening During COVID-19

  The photograph depicts two plexiglass barriers suspended over counters at a Domino gas station in Blanchard, Oklahoma. These barrier are suspended from wire chains connected to the ceiling. These barriers act as a "sneeze guard" much like similar system have placed in restaurants in the past. Much like CDC recommended social distancing, these barrier act to protect employees and customers while they stand closer than six feet for transactions. This particular barrier at Domino was installed specifically in response to COVID-19. Local businesses, such as Domino, Spencer's Grocery, Subway, and China House were just a few of thoes that had been observed with these plexiglass barriers installed since COVID-19. In addition, local state and federal government offices such as Gayla's Tag Agency and the Blanchard Post Office had made the transition to these plastic protective barriers as well. As many locations make the shift to re-opening, the plexiglass barrier has become a growing standard of how people do face-to-face business, even in rural communities. Personal story submitted for the Rural Voices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580.
• 
  2020-04-21

  Government's Māori Covid-19 Response All Words, No Action

  "A Māori Touchstone Group would be formed to advise the government on its Covid-19 Māori response, and the ministry would partner with iwi to develop Covid-19 response strategies, and conduct surveillance and monitoring of Māori across district health boards (DHB)." As we emerge from this pandemic, we must be guided by the examples and teachings of Indigenous Peoples practicing reciprocal obligations of responsibility to do everything possible to ensure that Nature can continue to thrive.”
• 
  05/18/2020

  A different world

  Grocery shopping has become an experience. At the grocery store floor guides direct the flow of traffic and spacing. Masks were required in this grocery store. Plexi-glass shields separate grocers from patrons. This is a photo of my feet, maintaining a six foot distance from the patrons in front of me.
• 
  2020-04

  "I don't think that it has really affected it that much..."

  "I don't think that it has really affected it that much um other than a positive way. I mean it always uh ur it made me feel strong in my faith and to uh trust that you know my higher power has a plan and that we will be able to get through this um through the practice of my beliefs."
• 2020-04-22

  Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

  This is an report form the CDC giving statistics of the rate in when Black and Brown people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19
• 
  2020-04-01

  Talking through Barriers

  In this image at a Gas Station called Bucees plastic barriers have been set up to prevent exposure from cashier to customer to prevent the spread of Covid-19
• 
  2020-04-16

  Checkout at the Supermarket

  Workers at the checkout at Woodman's supermarket in Onalaska, WI wear different types of masks as they bag food. A clear barrier between customers and workers was also installed to protect people. Woodman's, like many supermarkets, had to put limits on the amount of certain items customers could buy due to hoarding of those items
• 
  2020-04-30

  Low Barrier COVID-19 Cultural Relief Grants, MACCNO, New Orleans, LA

  While numerous non-profits created grants to assist New Orleans musicians out of work due to COVID-19, many required financial paperwork and immediate access to a computer. Many of New Orleans culture bearers most in need were unable to apply for assistance. MaCCNO created a low barrier grant to assist these folks. The document reads: "MaCCNO remains committed to ensuring all members of our cultural community have access to relief during the COVID-19 crisis, but we know many musicians, traditional culture bearers, and other cultural practitioners are struggling to access the resources they need. To meet that challenge, drawing from the lessons learned by Sweet Home New Orleans, we have launched our own “low barrier” $250 mini-grants, which are available to members of the cultural community who work/practice in and around New Orleans. To date, we've already given out nearly 100 grants to working musicians, street performers, Black Masking Indians, dancers, Social Aid and Pleasure Club members, burlesque performers, and many others. Grants are distributed on a rolling basis, so the more money we can raise, the more people we can assist. We know those most in need of aid are often the least likely to be able to access it, so we are operating via referrals, proactively reaching out to members of the cultural community who then connect us with people they know are in need (however, self-referrals are also possible). When we connect with a person in need of aid, we conduct a roughly 10 minute intake session over the phone. Once complete, funds are distributed via Paypal, CashApp, or paper check as soon as possible. Priority is given to those aged 70+ and individuals who are having difficulty accessing other forms of financial assistance."
• 
  2020-04-01

  “Exposure: Quarantine in the Valley” Photo Series

  Ansonia, CT-based photographer Jason Edwards is compiling a photo series to document daily life in the Naugatuck Valley during the Covid 19 pandemic. He has set out to capture the many ways people are adapting during this uncertain times. His photos highlight precautionary measures put in place, like social distancing, as well as the strength of family and local communities.
• 
  2020-04-03

  The Joys of Petting a Dog

  Reflection of a dog owner and taking care of it during COVID.