Items

• 
  2022-04-10

  Virus Questions Raised in China

  This is a newspaper article detailing the repercussions of China's "Zero-COVID" policy and the impact it has on families. The story reports a rise in deaths at a Shanghai hospital for the elderly and a further rise in COVID cases in Shanghai. Extensive regulations at the hospital have forced a decrease in hospital staff to manage the many elderly patients suffering with COVID. The article details that a significant number of patients are asymptomatic, yet are placed in strict quarantine to minimize the spread. There are reports of several patients dying due to a lack of proper care from medical professionals who are forced to be absent from the patient as they are locked in strict quarantine. The article further suggests that perhaps China's "Zero-COVID" policy approach is creating far more significant damage to individuals and their families than good. I think this article is interesting because it details an alternative approach to U.S. policy which has maintained a very relaxed and hands-off attitude for a majority of the pandemic. While many states took arguably excessively extreme measures, many states were lax on quarantine, mask enforcement, lockdown protocols, etc. Furthermore, China's policy seems a bit excessive, so perhaps the right answer lies somewhere in the middle. This Article was published April 10th, 2022 in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
• 
  2020-08-26

  Emily Karreman Oral History 2020/08/26

  C19OH
• 
  2020-01-30

  WHO Declares Coronavirus a Global Public Health Emergency

  The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Thursday as the coronavirus outbreak spread well beyond China, where it emerged last month. The move reversed the organization’s decision just a week ago to hold off such a declaration. Since then, there have been thousands of new cases in China and clear evidence of human-to-human transmission in several other countries, including the United States.
• 
  2020-04-06

  The Year 2020

  2020 was supposed to be everyone's year. The year when everything would be alright. Well, Covid-19 had other plans.
• 
  2021-09-21

  COVID cases 2021-2022 School Year

  This article shows the amount of COVID cases at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year compared to the number of cases from the 2020-2021 school year in Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ended the mask mandate in March 2021, although many school continued their use until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. A May 2021 executive order issued by Abbott banned local governments from requiring mask wearing. Thus, many Texas schools did not require masks to be worn on campuses. The article provides data that there are more COVID 19 cases in the first two months of the 2021-2022 school year than there were the entire previous school year.
• 
  2021-08-23

  Just when you thought it was safe...

  This is an article from Duke Global Health Institute that theorizes that pandemics such as the one we are in now, are actually relatively common and most people are likely to experience one in their lifetime.
• 
  2020-11-11

  Holyoke Soldiers' Home Coalition Website

  The Holyoke Soldiers' Home coalition created this website in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It provides updates on the efforts to build a new facility, the motivation for constructing a new and larger facility, the need for more staffing, and the possibility of new programs.
• 
  2020-11-10

  "Those who died during COVID-19 outbreak at Holyoke Soldiers' Home honored with virtual tribute"

  This MassLive article reports on a coalition attempting to memorialize the veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who had died throughout the pandemic, most of them as a result of contracting COVID-19.
• 
  2020-10-06

  "Staffing concerns predated coronavirus outbreak at Holyoke Soldiers' Home

  This MassLive article reports on a pre-existing staffing shortage at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that influenced the gravity of the COVID-19 outbreak in the facility.
• 
  2020-10-20

  "Bennett Walsh resigns as Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent; suit over firing dropped"

  This MassLive article reports on Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent Bennett Walsh's decision to drop a law suit after Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had him fired in light of the facility's poor response to the pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-13

  "Plight of Holyoke Soldiers' Home residents, families becomes political flashpoint in state Senate race"

  This MassLive news article discusses how a state senate candidate was using the poor response to the pandemic at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home during his opponent's term in office to gain popularity for himself.
• 
  2020-06-25

  "Holyoke Soldiers' Home investigation: 6 takeaways from Mark Pearlstein report on coronavirus outbreak"

  This article comes from MassLive and reports on the major takeaways from a report that documents where the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, failed in its COVID-19 response.
• 
  2020-04-28

  "Coronavirus at Holyoke Soldiers' Home: 2 more veterans die in worst outbreak at health care facility nationwide

  This article, published by MassLive, reports on the rising death count among residents at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Nearly three-quarters of the residents had contracted COVID-19, and about one-third had died from it. The title is evocative of the scale of the tragedy.
• 
  2020-04-06

  "Coronavirus: Holyoke Soldiers Home residents struggle with relocation as one-third of residents infected with COVID-19

  This article produced by MassLive reports on the efforts to relocate residents from the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, to Holyoke Medical Center in attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus after 76 of the 210 residents had already tested positive. The article also discusses the continued investigation into the COVID-19 situation at the home.
• 
  2020-04-03

  "Coronavirus: Western Massachusetts legislators call for 2nd investigation into Holyoke Soldiers' Home COVID-19 Deaths"

  This article published by MassLive reports on local legislatures' desire to issue a second investigation into the COVID-19 response at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in light of the number of deaths among residents and the number of cases among residents and staff.
• 
  2020-03-31

  "Coronavirus: 'We were just shocked' to learn of Holyoke Soldiers' Home deaths, Mayor Alex Morse says"

  This article describes Holyoke mayor Alex Morse's reaction when he found out about the magnitude of the COVID-19 situation at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home.
• 2020-03-12

  "Coronavirus in Massachusetts: Soldiers' Home in Holyoke limits visiting hours, screens visitors"

  This article appeared on MassLive on March 12, 2020. It discusses the safety precautions that went into effect at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The article acts as context for the tragedy that would unfold at the home within the first few months of the pandemic.
• 
  2021-01-25

  Why camels are worrying coronavirus hunters

  In northern Kenya, researchers are working to prevent a dangerous coronavirus – Mers – from jumping from camels to humans again. But climate change is making their job more difficult. I It’s thought that Covid-19 originated in animals before jumping to humans. Now experts are warning that the chances are the next pandemic will, too. Seventy-five percent of the newly emerging diseases currently affecting people originate in animals, according to Predict, a US government-funded collaboration by infectious disease experts across the globe. Already, Predict scientists have identified 1,200 new zoonotic, or animal-borne, diseases. But scientists estimate there are some 700,000 more zoonotic diseases we don’t even know about yet. ... “That infection” is Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), a novel coronavirus that so far has proven to be at least 10 times more deadly than Covid-19. It was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012. By 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) had identified “1,761 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers-CoV, including at least 629 related deaths”. Later that year, an outbreak at a hospital raised the alarm that it’s not just camel herders who are susceptible to the disease, but anyone at all. But while camels can be carriers, the Mers threat to humans is mostly man-made. As human-induced climate change makes droughts more frequent, prolonged, and severe, herders have had to abandon cows and other livestock for camels because only they can survive weeks without water. The result is a growing number of camels in close contact with humans – the perfect conditions for the spread of a deadly disease. Mers causes the same sorts of respiratory system complications as Covid-19, including pneumonia. Symptoms often start with nasal congestion, a cough, chest pains, or difficulty breathing. In the worst cases, it may cause fibrosis – irreversible scarring – in the lungs. This can be deadly. More than one-third of all humans known to have contracted Mers have died from it, according to the WHO. Once it jumps from animals to humans, a Mers outbreak could grow rapidly. Saudi Arabia alone saw 15 people infected in December 2019 and January 2020 – three of whom were hospital workers infected by their patients. “The fact that RNA viruses such as coronaviruses mutate means you never know what could happen with that particular virus,” says Zimmerman.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Our New COVID-19 Vocabulary—What Does It All Mean?

  Before the pandemic, most people didn't know many of the terms associated with epidemic diseases and SARS-type viruses. In order to understand what was happening, people had to quickly acquire a whole new vocabulary. This article from Yale Medicine helps define some of the most critical and widely used terms.
• 
  2021-07-13

  Indonesia’s Daily Cases Surpass India, Marking New Epicenter

  Indonesia surpassed India’s daily Covid-19 case numbers, marking a new Asian virus epicenter as the spread of the highly-contagious delta variant drives up infections in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The country has seen its daily case count cross 40,000 for three straight days -- including a record high of 54,517 on Wednesday -- up from less than 10,000 a month ago. Officials are concerned that the more transmissible new variant is now spreading outside of the country’s main island, Java, and could exhaust hospital workers and supplies of oxygen and medication. Indonesia’s current numbers are still far from India’s peak of 400,000 daily cases in May, and its total outbreak of 2.7 million is barely a tenth of the Asian giant’s 30.9 million. India, with a population roughly five times the size of Indonesia’s 270 million people, saw daily infections drop below 39,000 on Wednesday as its devastating outbreak wanes. The Southeast Asian country reported about 900 deaths daily on average in the past seven days -- compared to just 181 a month ago -- while India reported an average of 1,027 daily fatalities.
• 
  2021-04-28

  COVID-19 Has Hit The Amish Community Hard. Still, Vaccines Are A Hard Sell

  Officials are having a hard time convincing Amish populations to get the COVID-19 vaccine. This has been attributed to cultural differences and it's believed they'll start getting the vaccine once it's been around for some time. In the meantime, there are fears that the communities will have more COVID-19 outbreaks.
• 
  2020-03-11

  Minnesota Department of Health Travel, and Covid-19 Information in ASL

  This video covers the basic information of the 2020 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. For more information on COVID-19 visit: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseas...​ ASL talent - James Paul Beldon III, Keystone Interpreting Solutions Video Transcript - Hello. This is a message from the Minnesota Department of Health. Lately we’re hearing a lot about an outbreak associated with novel coronavirus. This outbreak started in China, and now has spread to other countries including the United States. The novel coronavirus causes respiratory illness in people and can spread from person to person. Symptoms of infection include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. While most people recover, it has led to serious illnesses and death in some cases. Minnesota’s public health community is working hard to protect you, and we’re asking for your help by following the same precautions we all use to prevent colds and flu: ▪ Wash your hands often and well with soap and water. ▪ Cover your cough every time. ▪ Stay home when you are sick. Also, if you’ve recently traveled where novel coronavirus is spreading and have symptoms, be sure to call your doctor or health care provider to let them know of your symptoms and your travel history. They will work with you to assess your condition and take appropriate steps to get any needed treatment while limiting the risk of passing along an infection to others. We are learning more about this outbreak and will share key information as it continues. You can stay up to date by visiting the Minnesota Department of Health’s website at health.state.mn.us.
• 
  03/14/2021

  Layne Williams Oral History, 2021/03/14

  Layne Williams is a Physical Therapist Assistant who was working in a hospital during the pandemic. Her role shifted during the early months of the pandemic and she found herself doing any job that was needed to help with the increased numbers of patients coming into the hospital. She recalled the surreal feeling of walking into her first Covid positive patient’s room and how the mentality of healthcare providers shifted as more information came out about Covid. She also discussed the challenges of being a healthcare provider while living with her husband who is not in healthcare. Her job certainly exposed her to increased risks and those risks spilled over to impact her home life. However, her overall impression from the pandemic is that it showed what the healthcare field is capable of achieving when challenged.
• 
  2020-12-01

  Senior Year mixed with Covid-19

  In 2020, I was a senior in high school receiving my high school diploma and my associates degree. I worked so hard for 4 years, taking so many college courses and pushing myself so hard at a young age to get both degrees. I was very upset when I had my senior year taken away from me. It was like I didn't know what hit me. March 13, 2020 was any normal day until we find out that was the last day of high school and seeing our friends for a while. I still tried to make the best out of the situation. My year was ruined and to top it all off I couldn't even enjoy time with my friends due to lockdown. Up until the summer if 2020, everyone was very cautious, but then people acted like the outbreak didn't exist. Sadly, I fell under that category of people. My friends and I decided that a good way to celebrate graduation would be going on vacation to Mexico. Of course with my luck guess what gift I came back to NYC with? YUP, covid! I'm not going to lie it was the scariest days of my life. I never took anything so seriously until after I had it. I was apart of the lucky people who had slim to none symptoms and only for 2 weeks. Ever since then I have been extremely cautious and paranoid of getting sick again, even going to the supermarket I'm paranoid. This was covid-19 experience so far and hopefully epidemiologists can put an end to this outbreak soon.
• 
  2020-11-11

  Just One Positive Wedding Guest

  What started with one positive wedding guest, led to 50 infected guests, 10 infected households, and a deadly outbreak in a long-term care home which resulted in 81 cases. In total, this large outbreak triggered three hospitalizations and one COVID-19 death.
• 
  2021-01

  COVID-19 deaths soaring in Tennessee's more rural counties

  Over the past several weeks, Knox County and the rural counties surrounding Knox have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Tennessee and its rural areas were not hit hard initially by the pandemic, but have become a major area for concern as of late.
• 
  2020-09-29

  Largest outbreak of COVID-19 in an Indigenous community in Canada offers important lessons

  In the wake of a large outbreak of COVID-19 in northwestern Saskatchewan — the most serious of any Indigenous community in Canada — health officials and local leaders are relying on what they learned during the three-month ordeal to plan for potential outbreaks in other remote, rural areas.
• 
  2020-12-07

  Untraced Outbreak Causes Stress on P.E.I.

  A statement from Prince Edward Island Public Health Department concerning a recent outbreak with no known source
• 
  2020-09-15

  University of Western Ontario Student Outbreak

  Three University of Western Ontario students test positive for COVID-19. Sadly, their movement around the city, visiting downtown bars and restaurants, and with students in neighbouring housing units, has led to a large outbreak.
• 
  2020-10-19

  SpinCo Hamilton Outbreak

  What started with a COVID-19 case in one person at a downtown Hamilton spin studio has led to at least 74 people being infected. The Hamilton Health Services created this visualization of the super-spreader event to reveal to the public how the virus can easily spread.
• 
  2020-12-07

  COVID-19 in long-term care: a report from inside

  An analysis of the report on long term care homes in Canada. The author explains the findings of a commission to understand what went wrong in the administration of the homes.
• 
  2020-12-08

  Canada Post workers describe crowded working conditions at Saskatoon plant

  Article on working conditions for Canada Post workers
• 
  2020-12-01

  Wet'suwet'en women urge B.C. to declare oil and gas work non-essential amid COVID

  Article discussing the Wet'suwet'en women petitioning for the oil and gas industry to not be considered "essential"
• 
  2020-11-18

  With Cases Surging, Colleges Turn To Students For Help

  As COVID-19 cases at universities surge, universities have started to hire students to help with contact tracing.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Having a Negative COVID-19 Test Still Requires Social Distancing

  Some people have started to get tests for the coronavirus as a way to clear themselves to attend dinner parties without needing to wear masks or keep their distance. That’s absolutely the wrong thing to do.
• 
  2020-11-19

  California Governor Announces Curfew

  California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a limited stay at home order on Thursday that would require non-essential work and gatherings to stop between 10 pm and 5 am in counties with high rates of COVID-19. The order is set to take effect on Saturday at 10 pm and will last for one month.
• 
  2020-07-23

  Snap Judgment podcast episode on covid-19 in San Quentin state prison (CA)

  Podcast episode produced by Snap Judgment in which they look at covid-19 outbreaks in San Quentin prison
• 
  2020-11-19

  東京534人感染 最多を更新　警戒レベル「最高」に（2020年11月19日） - Updated the highest number of infections in 534 people in Tokyo to the highest alert level (November 19, 2020)

  This is a news that talks about the highest number of COVID cases in Tokyo. I believe this is caused by all the GO TO Travel which promoted people to travel despite being in COVID, and how all restaurants are open to dine-in and no one doing take-out. Also, Izakaya, a drinking/eating type of restaurants are usually have seats close to each other and do not have good ventilation. 東京都できょう、新型コロナウイルスの感染者が534人確認され、２日連続、過去最多を更新しました。 都は４段階の警戒レベルを「最高」に引き上げました。 きょう、都内で感染が確認されたのは534人できのうの493人を上回り最多を更新しました。 １日の新規感染者数が500人を超えるのは初めてです。 重症者はきのうから１人減った38人です。 こうした中、都は専門家と会議を開き、「感染状況」についての警戒レベルをおよそ２ヵ月ぶりに４段階で最も深刻な「感染が拡大している」に引き上げました。 特に重症化のリスクがある高齢者が大幅に増加したとして注意を呼びかけました。 （小池知事）「急速な感染拡大の局面にあるということ。高齢者・基礎疾患のある人は会食への参加を控えてもらいたい。避けてもらいたい。」 ただ、飲食店の営業時間の短縮要請については、「時短の効果とマイナスの影響を比較して考える必要がある」など慎重な意見もあり、現時点では行わない方針です。 In Tokyo, 534 people were confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, which was a highest number for the second consecutive day. Tokyo has raised the four levels of alertness to "highest". Today, the number of confirmed infections (543) in Tokyo exceeded 493. This is the first time that the number of newly infected people exceeds 500 per day. The number of seriously ill people is 38, one less than yesterday. Under these circumstances, the city held a meeting with experts and raised the alert level for "infection status" to the most serious "infection is spreading" in four stages for the first time in about two months. In particular, Tokyo has stated that the number of elderly people at risk of becoming severe has increased significantly. (Governor Koike) "We are in a phase of rapid infection spread. We would like elderly people and people with underlying illnesses to refrain from attending dinner. Please avoid it." However, regarding the request to shorten the business hours of restaurants, she stated that "It is necessary to compare the effect of shortening the time with the negative effect", so we will not make that decision at this time. Video translated by Youngbin Noh
• 
  2020-11-18

  As COVID-19 soars in many communities, schools attempt to find ways through the crisis

  As schools reopened around the world, countries saw surges in new COVID-19 cases. In response, some countries have re-closed schools while others have remained upon and employed strict guidelines.
• 
  2020-11-12

  Chicago Stay at Home Order

  Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced on Thursday that the city is issuing a 30-day COVID-19 stay-at-home advisory that will begin on Monday, November 16. The mayor also asked residents to “cancel traditional Thanksgiving plans” and stay indoors as cases continue to rise in the city.
• 
  2010-11-12

  COVID-19 is so bad in the US we can't even decide who has it the worse

  The US literally cannot determine which state has the worst COVID infections because it's all just bad.
• 
  2020-09-18

  "How We Survive the Winter" - The Atlantic Monthly

  As the winter of 2020 approached, James Hamblin, a staff writer for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, published a longform article providing readers with a comprehensive overview of the dangers the oncoming winter would pose during the pandemic. These dangers included, but were not limited to, rising infections (i.e. a second wave of infections), the lack of socially distant amenities (i.e outdoor restaurants and public parks) for people, rising rates of depression due to further social isolation, and the lack of proper ventilation in indoor areas contributing to further infections. These increased risk factors, according to Hamblin, will make winter one of the deadliest periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hamblin’s warning is supported by a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in Australia and South Africa, which at the time of the article’s publication was experiencing a Southern Hemisphere winter. To manage the risks associated with winter, Hamblin provides a list of actions that readers can take. These measures include accepting that the pandemic will not be over anytime soon, preparing for more lockdowns, and cancelling holiday gatherings involving extended families. Furthermore, Hamblin implores federal and local governments to establish testing infrastructure to track and contain COVID-19, which will minimize the infection and death rates. However, Hamblin notes that the Trump administration’s mishandling of the pandemic and misinformation of the public do not bode well for controlling the virus. In sum, Hamblin’s article provides a comprehensive overview of what informed writers thought of the dangers of the then oncoming winter of 2020, and what measures could be taken by the average person and the federal government to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
• 
  2020-10-08

  COVID-19 in Lebanon

  An article outlining the COVID-19 situation in Lebanon and how it is straining the already fragile healthcare system.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Spain and France Reach 1 Million Cases

  Both Spain and France reached 1 million COVID-19 cases this week. Spain was the first country in Europe to reach a million and France followed only a day later. This came as a result of the spike in Europe's cases in the past few weeks.
• 2020-10-05T08:49

  covid world map

  The article shows where their cases are globally and what trends they are following in different countries.
• 2020-09-27

  Covid policy and my mom

  I have uploaded this text conversation between my mother and I because it represents how dissatisfied people in Florida are about the very caviler attitude towards the handling of the covid outbreak. According to some of my friends in other states this appears to be an attitude many republican governors share.
• 
  2020-09-17

  Ready for Round 2

  Scanning facebook, I came across this article stating that the number of Covid cases in Europe are increasing again. This is disheartening because recently the number of cases of covid had seemed to be leveling off and declining. As the pandemic began in Europe and Asia before the US, this could be an indicator of things to come for us if we are not vigilant. Hopefully, this is just a small hiccup and not a major setback.
• 
  2020-08-19

  Russian Ballet Returned to the Stage. Then a Covid Outbreak Hit.

  This article discusses the Mariinsky Ballet, one of Russia's premier ballet companies. As Europe is a bit ahead of the United States in reopening their performing arts, they began performing in July, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, only to have to close three weeks later when the virus spread throughout the ballet corps. Since then, the Mariinsky Ballet has been criticized for returning to the stage too early, despite the precautions they made against the virus. This incident has caused several other ballet companies across Europe to rethink their own return to the stage. In spite of these issues, many dancers are also wanting to return to the stage.
• 
  2020-05-05

  Professional Seafarers are Covid Essential Workers

  My covid-19 story started at the end of January, 2020. I was working as a Marine Operations Manager for Holland America Group, which is comprised of four cruise companies: Holland America Line, Seabourn, Princess Cruises, and P&O Australia. As covid-19 spread across Asia in January, we stood up our Emergency Response Center, which involved taking 12-hour shifts to support the ms Westerdam, which had been denied docking in multiple ports in Asia as a result of the covid outbreak on the Diamond Princess. Though there were no covid cases onboard the ms Westerdam, she was denied docking in Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, Guam, Philippines, and Taiwan. Our job was to ensure that our full complement of guest and crew had enough fuel and provisions, with toilet paper being of critical importance (seriously!), to make it until we could find a port that would allow the ship to dock. Eventually, the Cambodian government allowed the ship to dock in Sihanoukville to disembark guests, which became a political photo op of good will for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen who attended the ship himself when it docked. But this story was just the beginning of the nightmare for cruise companies, and other maritime organizations. After working to disembark guests, the next hurdle was to repatriate crew, which was next to impossible with the extreme disruption to global travel, some crew members had spent months longer on the ships than anyone could have ever envisioned. Using our ships like ferries, we made plans to transport crew to their homes, but to compound the problem, local governments like South Africa and Mauritius were unwilling to accept their own nationals back when the ships arrived, which meant they had to keep sailing and further plans had to be made to get the crew home. What you see in the object attached is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and that of its member companies making a humanitarian appeal in their interactions with local port authorities who were blocking their own citizens from returning home during this crisis. We were working long days, 7 days a week to get our colleagues home - but there is only so much you can do when local authorities will not cooperate. The object speaks to a desperate time in the maritime industry during the covid-19 pandemic. (Arizona State University, HST 580)
• 
  2020-08-21

  Nearly half the population at Michigan prison tests positive for COVID-19

  This Tweet and it's responses show how the public feels about the Covid-19 outbreak within one of Michigan's prisons. The article referenced also explains how this particular facility had spent months with no cases and then had a sudden outbreak, illustrating how dependent prisons and the communities they are a part of are when it comes to the spread of Covid=19.