Items

• 
  2022-05-13

  Taking a Rapid Covid-19 Test In Public

  In this phase of my life, I have more loose ends than tied down ones. I often have to arrive at places early or multitask my use of a space or transit system. During a moving process, this is exaggerated. I have so much schoolwork and shifts at my job that often I just roam the city between events. I was notified that I had been around someone with Covid, so I grabbed a test at Walgreens. When I got back onto the street, I realized that most people would be shocked or disgusted at seeing someone test themselves for the plague in a public space. I felt like I could not go to my student center as they might tell me I could not take a Covid test there, and I could not go home as I was already downtown and had class in a few hours. I decided to go to a place where many people are dealing with their own issues publicly; the downtown public library. I knew I could take this test there and not be bothered. I entered, took a few escalators, and found a secluded desk where I was able to take the test. It felt as if I were doing something wrong, or illegal. I do not think that should be the way it is, but we tend to shun the sick and demand people to leave if they are not using a space the "correct" way. I tested negative.
• 
  2020-10-10

  Just give us a minute

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  08/01/2020

  Rorschach Test

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-03-27

  EPICC Research Study

  In October 2021 I was selected to voluntarily participate in the EPICC DoD Research Study on COVID-19. This study is focused on adulty active duty and non-active duty military service members who have tested for, had, or is vaccinated against COVID-19, and part of the Military Health System. I had never participated in a study before and honestly what hooked me was the $10 Amazon gift card they would give us for participating. Fast forward six months and I have completed three questionaries and one at-home blood sample kit. I think it's pretty cool to be participating in something that may improve the Military Health System overall and also provide data points for future research of COVID-19. Studies like this show how novel this virus really was and how we want to learn as much as we can about it in an effort to be more prepared for similar events in the future.
• 
  2021-02-07

  At-home test

  We ordered and received our free at-home COVID-19 test this Monday. My husband complained about not feeling well so I made him take one. He’s sick, but it’s not COVID.
• 
  2021-12-08

  Emily Seto and Anavi Gadari Oral History, 2021/12/08

  Remembering past pandemics and comparing and contrasting them to covid-19
• 
  2020-07-28

  Preparing Your Child for a COVID-19 Test

  A blog post from Banner Health about helping children take a Covid-19 test
• 
  2021-10-03T16:30

  Ryan Nordstrom Oral History, 2021/10/03

  I was interviewing the life of a lab pack chemist in Massachusetts during the midst of the Pandemic, from daily routine to personal feelings.
• 
  2021-10-05

  Puerto Rico Requires Negative Covid Test

  Beginning July 15, 2020, the governor of Puerto Rico ordered all tourists to show a negative, molecular Covid test in order to enter the island. The governor had tried to close down all US mainland flights from coronavirus hotspots but the FAA did not respond to her request. Instead, the governor required tourists to show proof of a negative Covid test, using this QR code (above), in order to leave the airport. Throughout one's stay in Puerto Rico, the government texted/emailed everyday asking for any symptoms. For the first several months, the questions were only in Spanish (above).
• 
  2021-10-04

  My experience and how COVID-19 affected me.

  The essay outlines what I had initially known about COVID-19, what I experienced, what close family or friends experienced, and how I saw the world change as a result. The purpose being to share my thoughts to not only get it off my own chest, but to help others feel comfortable in sharing their own.
• 
  2020-04-27

  What to Know About the COVID-19 Antibody Test

  A blog post from Banner Health about the antibody test available for Covid-19.
• 
  2021-02-10

  Seoul offers COVID-19 tests for pet dogs and cats

  Efforts are underway in Seoul to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among the pet population. The South Korean capital is offering free testing for cats and dogs exposed to carriers of the disease. The campaign to test and isolate pets comes just weeks after a kitten in Seoul became South Korea's first confirmed case of an animal with COVID-19.
• 
  2020-03-23

  Banner Health opens COVID-19 specimen collection sites

  Banner Health today announced a new process for COVID-19 specimen collection in Arizona.
• 
  07/22/21

  COVID-19 specimen collection site

  Banner Health team members collect samples from patients to test for COVID-19. More information available at http://bannerhealth.mediaroom.com/COVID-19info.
• 
  07/22/2021

  Banner Health COVID-19 fairgrounds test site

  Banner Health team members administer COVID-19 tests at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. B-Roll is available for download, editing and broadcast. More info: http://bannerhealth.mediaroom.com/COVID-19info
• 
  2020-05-25

  First Hug in Months

  My family and I have always been really close, meeting for family days as often as we can. Family gatherings will begin and end with hugs. When the pandemic started, we ensured that we isolated from everyone, even each other, as we all live in separate households and my father and sister have autoimmune diseases, and I have asthma and two heart conditions. Basically, Covid-19 was dangerous for all of us and we were afraid not only to contract it, but even more so to possibly give it to each other. While we would talk over Google Duo and Zoom, it honestly was not the same as getting to interact in person. There is huge importance and one could even say power in human contact, in human touch. It can be something that inflicts pain or reassurance. In this case, I lost the reassurance of hugs and seeing my family in person. The first time I hugged my older sister after lockdown started was about three months after lockdown began. We had both been isolated for weeks without symptoms and without having gone anywhere, and we had both tested negative for it. It had been the longest time I have gone without hugging her. I cried.
• 
  2021-06-04

  Truth during our COVID PANDEMIC

  Through this Pandemic, I personally had to mature past the age I currently am. Now having to take on such a huge responsibility to be safe and avoid as many people as possible, it really took a toll on my social skills. Especially for someone who had problems with anxiety, I found some peace and salvation being around and talking with the people I liked. now having to avoid them? Well, that was one big change. Although it was hard at first, I encourage whoever sees and reads this to embrace change and curve it to your steering. After all, I overcame my anxiety through this quarantine. Some people may say COVID has affected them in ways they may not recover from but I just assume that it is all adults speaking. I have grown as a person and have actually realized the small little injustices that happened to students and the misleading nature of the "system'. At this time, this era, highlights of racial acts have now shown itself as if you sprayed insects with raid pesticide. Surprisingly, it was more common in Police Departments believe it or not. The people who swore to protect and serve justice were the ones who were at the epicenter of injustice. Schools no longer served students but rather misled them into thinking they were being helped. The first I would love to emphasize on is the fact that nothing they simply teach us in school relates to anyone's lifestyle. Sure if you went the technical route to want a specific occupation it was helpful, but other than that, it was absolutely useless. As a straight A student, I found myself in "unknown" territory when I was outside of school. Nothing of what we were taught is to be put in use. We don't solve x to make a U turn, we don't need to do an entire analysis on a red stop light to know that it says stop and we certainly didn't need to know that the rocks that we kick on our walks to home are sedimentary rock or igneous rocks. The education system is flawed in helping individuals learn what they need to know. Handing out 7 different subjects when your goal is to be a computer engineer? that doesn't seem right does it? I'm sure you said yes and you are now beginning to see my point. A few months back, February 14, 2021, information was leaked on the edu system. These tests that they give us, these regents and state exams.. it's all a cover up to their hunger for money. They lie to us that our performance on the tests dictates whether or not we pass but that's not the case. It actually dictates how well the school is funded and how much the teachers are paid. YOUR TESTS.. they aren't doing anything for you. The better you perform, the central host that funds schools, uses that information and says "oh wait.. this school performed well. Lets fund them more and pay the teachers better for their *HARD WORK*" These things don't help us. That is why America Continues to see their homeless individual growth rate increase every year. The people are conditioned to do good on selecting a, b , c or d but have no idea how to get a job, do their taxes, get a business loan in real life!!.This problematic system needed to be changed and for my time, it won't. I hope that someone in the future sees this and does a comparison and contrasts on how things have changed or if it has even changed at all. I apologize for the long rant on school at this time, it's just at the center of all the youths' problems currently. Back on track to injustices here present. If we were to take a step back and really look at the racial events partaking currently, we begin to see how one of the most notorious orgs that stands against racism is to be considered a terrorist org. That is the BLM foundation. Now you may have thought that they do good, but I assure you it isn't what it seems. Let's first analyze what makes an organization a terrorist foundation. 1) The people sway from the cause and place the blame on someone else 2) propaganda is at the forefront of the organization 3) they destroy and hurt lives more than they help. Let's compare al Queda to BLM. al queda, the organization that was behind the 9/11 incident is no less different from BLM. 1) Al Queda sole purpose was to send a message to the US saying that they will fight back at any US involvement in the Middle east. They swayed from that and blamed all their actions on the US including the beheading of innocents and the raping of innocent women. They blamed the US even though the US was not present in the Middle east. BLM was to stand and say that there is injustice to black lives but they swayed and pinned all their problems on the White people. 2) Al queda said they were to bring peace for the people they represented but they instead lied and used those peoples as their weapons. The BLM founder used all the funds to make a large property investment. 3) al Queda, destroyed buildings and hurt the innocent. BLM riot's and protests, destroyed small business, beat and killed innocent bystanders, robbed stores, robbed innocents of all their belongings, destroyed any from of mobile property and most importantly, went against peaceful protests and went against the law. BLM representatives also took part in Black on Asian crime. This is to evaluate the fact that COVID was not only a small problem but helped highlight the true concept of humanity and it's injustice that went on in the darkness. In many ways COVID 19 was bad indeed but in high alert, it showed us what people really are when the light is shined on them.
• 
  2020-09-18

  FILM SETS 2020

  In order to work on a television show in 2020-2021 during a global pandemic, we have to get a Covid-19 test every single day and receive a temperature check before stepping into the sets. Here is a photo of my wrist with the bracelets we receive every day whenever we complete the protocols to enter stage.
• 
  2021-04-11

  EMT psychomotor exam regulations

  At the start of the pandemic, the state of Massachusetts Department of Public Health shut down EMT psychomotor exams which meant that we could not certify new EMTs for several months. This is a terrible thing for an industry that was already having staffing problems before the pandemic began. Then in the summer, the state began to allow us to hold the exams again but under significant restrictions. We had to limit our exams to 8 students which meant that we were forced to hold several small exams instead on one larger one (a logistical nightmare). The students had to do the exam in full PPE with constant hand-washing and sanitation requirements. This past week, the state sent out new provisions regarding psychomotor exams. Thankfully, now we can hold larger exams again. Many of the other regulations are still in place, but the fact that we can have all of our students test at the same time makes things so much easier.
• 
  04/03/2021

  Brittni Smith Oral History, 2021/04/03

  Brittni Smith lives in a small town in Kansas. Here, I interview her about her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about what it was like getting a COVID test. Brittni also tells me about what it was like to have family hospitalized during a pandemic. Her work furloughed her for a few months at the beginning of the pandemic, which she also tells me about. I am researching the unexpected consequences of the pandemic; a good example would be people not going to the doctor for checkups for fear of catching COVID. I interviewed Brittni for this research.
• 
  2021-03-28

  COVID story

  Hi! I'm writing in to tell my story as a college student who contracted COVID19. I currently attend Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, however, I've been participating in online classes since March of 2020. I tested positive for COVID19 on March 28th, 2021. The story begins on March 21st, 2021: My brother, James, contracted the virus at his place of work (a local bar, he was a host). He had a fever and light cough (he was sent home from work that same day); the next day, March 22nd, he tested positive. I had very minimal exposure with him. When I found out he was exhibiting symptoms, I was on a small road trip with two of my friends, Katherine and Kylei. We heard the news and immediately returned to Kylei's apartment to quarantine together until we received results. When my brother tested positive, we hunkered down in the apartment together, we ordered groceries togo from Walmart, set up our own little areas in her apartment. We also decided to set up COVID test appointments for each of us individually. On March 23rd, I began to exhibit symptoms myself, with a mild fever, headache, and body aches. I got a rapid covid test that morning, and within the hour the results came back negative. After I tested negative, I was unsure about the accuracy of the rapid, so I scheduled/got a lab test that same day. The next few days, I tried to attend my online classes like per usual, with the fever and other symptoms coming and going. The 26th of March came around and I was brought to the ER with a fever of 105.3 and vomiting. This was a turning point; at the hospital they tested me for COVID, which came back positive Sunday, the 28th. After I received my diagnosis, I still felt exceptionally terrible, so my mother had us call an ambulance for me to the ER. They, again, weren't able to do much. I returned to my home after this visit, as I wanted to be in my own bed for the duration of COVID. I had bad symptoms: vomiting, constant nausea and chills, drenched with sweat, trouble catching my breath, and all around feeling like trash and unable to keep anything down. My mom was scared for me; I became almost unresponsive at one point. My mom took me back to the ER (Wednesday, March 31), demanding they give me an IV for hydration; they did so, along with pain relief and anti nausea. This was another turning point; the next day I was able to sit up by myself, to go to the bathroom, and to take a shower. I slept for hours, healing. Friday, April 2nd was the first day I was able to stand up and keep some food down, without it coming back up. Finally, today, April 4th, 2021 (Easter Sunday), I'm able to focus back on some schoolwork and eat a full meal with my family. Both of my parents contracted the virus, and they are still recovering, like myself.
• 
  2021-03-18

  The next frontier in air travel: Digital passports as proof of vaccination or testing

  With vaccines rolling out, there have been talks of digital passports. These passports would allow for international travelers to upload proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or negative test. However, concerns of human rights and privacy violations have been raised. These fears stem from the possibility of the passports causing inequality due to vaccine accessibility.
• 
  2021-03-07

  In numbers: Tracking COVID-19 Across the Navajo Nation

  This article reports the latest Navajo Nation pandemic statistics including the number of new cases per day and percent of Indigenous Peoples who have received the COVID-19 vaccinations.
• 
  2021-03-02

  Delta launches international vacation program with onsite COVID-19 tests

  The CDC now requires all people returning to the United States from abroad to provide a negative COIVD-19 test. To assist travelers with this, Delta Airlines' package program is only offering international hotels that provide on-site COVID-19 testing for convenience.
• 
  2021-02-02

  The Unexpected Digital Benefits of Distance Learning

  When I first saw our Distance Learning schedule, I was actually relieved. When we were still thinking of re-opening back in August, the Hybrid schedule they proposed was atrocious. I would be able to synchronously (live instruction) teach a student for only 2 hours a week, the other three hours would be asynchronous. The powers that be told us “you have to just deal with the fact that you won’t be able to teach everything you usually do.” Of course, these are the same powers that be who expect the kids to pass their AP tests, and tell us that state testing (which is still happening regardless of the opening status) is “high stakes.” Contradictions, much? So, the Distance Learning schedule, which allows me to see a student three times a week, for 3 hours and 20 minutes of live instruction, was a vast improvement. Still, block scheduling? The very idea of block scheduling sent chills down my spine. Even in college, I opted for M, W, F classes because I do not sit still long enough for the 1.5-hour classes that were on T/Th. And how would I digitize an entire course? I was lucky to have already “flipped” my classroom about five years ago, when I recorded all my lectures and assigned them to watch on YouTube, freeing up class time for discussions and document analysis. But how would I do gallery walks, document analysis, Socratic Seminars, etc. digitally? Could I? Now with a semester of Distance Learning under my belt, there have been some huge advantages to being forced into this completely digitized world. First, digitized documents are amazing. So much of my course is document analysis. With digital documents, the copies aren’t blurry, the kids can zoom in if the font is small, and thanks to Google, they love to highlight and annotate the heck out of them. And Jamboards have been a godsend for collaborative analysis. I am debating whether I will ever go back to paper document analysis. Online tests have also been a game changer. I always steered away from online tests, due to fears over test security. Test days were big affairs in my class. The kids would put all their items, including phones, on the counter. I would go by each table and make them turn out their pockets to ensure no phones. I liked to joke that test days were more serious in my class than going through TSA. Because the students sat in tables of four, there were four forms of the multiple choice test and 20 versions (4 versions per period, for five periods) of the short answer portion of the test. The end of test day left me with 180 Scantrons, 180 short answer questions to grade, all with different forms, plus their notebooks, which they turned in on test day. I had to let that kind of control go this year and jump headfirst into online testing. And I am so glad this happened. It was the push I needed. The world of online testing has improved remarkably since the ten years ago that teachers at my school began to move toward it. It is SO EASY to grade and to make different forms with the click of a button. The multiple choice grades automatically and the short answer, I click the points and it pushes to the gradebook. A task that took me four hours now takes me 30 minutes. I know while the kids are at home, there is nothing to stop them from having notes on the side or on another device, but honestly, with tests that are based on historical reasoning skills, I don’t really care if they are looking up the name of an act, event, or person. I am more interested in if they can effectively use that information to support their argument. When we’re back in person, I can ensure they don’t have their phones and that Go Guardian is on to keep them from opening other windows. Without Distance Learning, I would have never made this change. Writing has also dramatically improved due to technology. I always made my students write essays by hand because the AP exam makes them write them by hand. However, with the AP exam going digital, I can now, too. It is incredible to see how the quality of writing has improved through typing. It is terrible to think that students in previous years may have been less successful on the AP exam simply because they did not formulate ideas as well with pen and pencil as they would on a computer. Block scheduling, too, has been surprisingly smooth. It is so refreshing to have time to analyze documents and follow it up with writing and peer editing - all in one period! Of course, I will be fine to return to our 55 minutes classes someday. I still don’t sit still well. Will I keep the course entirely digital when we are (hopefully) back to a normal year? Probably not everything. I miss the kids having a notebook that we build throughout the year, and will probably return to our traditional notebook for in class activities. BUT I am happy to never run a Scantron again!
• 
  2021-01-22

  Symptoms

  Covid-19 has a lot of symptoms that range from common to severe and life threatening. Some common ones consist of: coughing, loss of smell or taste, sore throat, fever and more. A severe one is: blueish lips and face. Coronavirus can be commonly mistaken for a fever or a common cold and anyone showing symptoms should be tested.
• 2021-01-26

  covid

  this is my test story...
• 
  2021-01-24

  Wearing Me Out

  I am a contrarian. When the culture seems to be telling me to go outside and enjoy the sunshine and beaches (I'm on the coast of Florida) I always did the opposite. I was a shut-in for my entire life and had always disliked being adventurous, open, courageous. Probably, I was just anxious and scared. I was just beginning to open up at the beginning of the year and when COVID became the prime news and media and the culture seemed to flip and become about isolation and shutting-in... I snapped. I said no, I won't. I won't stay inside any longer. I won't isolate myself from others. I started taking better care of myself, doing yoga on the beach, watching my diet, working out daily, threw out half my wardrobe, and bought these boots. I put myself out there and met many people that changed my life for the better. I am now adventurous, courageous, forthcoming, and open to new people and experiences and, in my opinion, it is all thanks to the quarantine and shut-down. I did contract COVID and did isolate with my family who all also caught it (my mother brought it home from work, where they all wear masks). These boots carried me through this year and have made me feel confident in myself and what I can do for the first time in a long time.
• 2020-11-21

  Plague of the year

  My family member actually came down with the virus. She said she seemed fine and normal. She had to stay in her room for 2 weeks and couldn't even go outside. She got it from one of her friends and she wasn't able to go and see her friends when she stayed in her room. After two weeks, she took another test and tested negative but still wore a mask around the house and whenever she left her room.
• 2021-01-22

  Covid Exposure

  We have a night nurse (NCS) come over to take care of my 3 month old sister. One night we were eating food when the night nurse came down and said that she had bad news. She said that she tested positive for Covid but still decided not to wear a mask when telling us and came really close to us. We had to tell her to put on a mask and go because she asked if she should stay regardless of having Covid. This was a week before Christmas so of course it ruined all of our plans and didn't have anyone over. A couple days later after she confirmed she had Covid, we went to get a rapid test, and a normal test in both of my nostrils with a total of 4 swabs and i was very much against it. They all tested negative. We then got tested again a week later with again another 4 swabs. We had a total of 9 swabs so far because i also got one in early quarantine. They felt like they were stabbing at my brain and one time gave me a gushing bloody nose. Luckily we still tested negative but Christmas wasn't as good all because our night nurse didn't tell us that she had an exposure (which she new about for days before telling us). After a couple weeks she tested negative and came back.
• 2021-01-22

  Symptoms of COVID

  In Quarantine I have had numerous friends who have had or experienced symptoms related to COVID-19. I myself have also had my fair share of symptoms. The weekend before quarantine, me and my family went on a long awaited trip to Disneyland. COVID-19 had made it's way to the USA but it had not yet become an international crisis. When I came home from Disneyland, I felt fine and went to school. On the third day of the week I felt very sick and stayed home. It was the day that it was announced school would shut down so I didn't have a chance to retrieve any of my things from my locker. My entire family got sick and my friend brought my stuff that I would need from school. We all experienced a bad cough and other symptoms related to the coronavirus. Sadly however, due to there being no testing for COVID available, we never knew if we really had COVID or not.
• 2021-01-21

  COVID

  The mild symptoms you might have from COVID is a fever or chills, cough, maybe fatigue too. They would also get muscle aches, sore throat or a runny nose. Some severe symptoms you might get are difficulty breathing, high fever, persistent pain in the chest, or an inability to stay awake or wake up. The mild symptoms you just need to stay home for but the severe cases you would have to go to urgent care for. An experience I've had with one of my relatives getting covid wasnt really serious. it was my uncle and he was dealing with it fine with no severe symptoms and he only had it for a couple days. After that, he just took the precautions until the doctor said he was ready to go out again. Now he can't have covid for about 4 more months.
• 2021-01-21

  symptoms

  My REDACTED teacher came down with the covid 19 virus. He said that he had a fever, chills, and felt really sick. So, he went to the doctors office and got tested, he was positive. He called the school and said he couldn't come because he was sick. We were all worried for him but he is doing just fine now. My family has been spared from covid, non of our family members have had it thankfully.
• 2021-01-20

  Consider some of the rules or procedures that you have to follow, and tell your feelings about them.

  There are so many rules and regulations we have to follow because of the covid 19 outbreak. For example, whenever we are indoors at a restaurant, a grocery store etc. We have to wear a face mask, which are supposedly keeping us from catching the virus. But it who knows if they really are doing anything, sure does not feel like it. In the state of California you can also not eat indoors, all restaurant seating as to be outside, but in LA county they have closed all restaurant seating. All stores currently have a maximum capacity for how many people they are aloud to have in the store at a time. Just for me to get in the store to get groceries or something you have to wait in line! It is really annoying. They have closed hair, and nail salons, so no one can go and get there hair or nails done! Furthermore, to go to certain vacation spots you have to be tested for corona. Like Hawaii, since I am supposed to go for this upcoming ski week, I will have to get a negative covid test before I am aloud on the plain to go to Hawaii. I cannot wait to go back to normal when we do not have all these regulations controlling our lives.
• 
  2020-12-29

  Happy Birthday to Me

  For my 25th birthday I found myself sitting in the passenger seat of my girlfriend's car. As we entered hour two of waiting in line at the Orlando Convention Center for free COVID-19 testing, I kept myself busy playing Animal Crossing on my Nintendo Switch. A week earlier I had thought I was getting a cold. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary since coronavirus had already passed through my house and I made it out safe. Then, on Christmas day, I took a bit of pizza and realized there was just nothingness. I could feel the sensation of what I knew the taste was supposed to be, but there was only texture. I didn’t immediately panic, thinking it was probably due to the congestion of my cold. It wasn’t until my girlfriend mentioned that loss of taste is definitely a COVID-19 symptom that the realization dawned on me. The soonest I could get tested was on my birthday, which also happened to be the day I noticed my sense of smell had completely disappeared. Even though I still had two fully functioning eyes, I felt like I was operating completely blind. It never occurred to me how much the taste and the smell of food was so essential to my enjoyment of eating. It was a humbling experience, and I’m incredibly grateful that the loss of senses was my only real symptom. I tried to use my tasteless time wisely and eat all the undesirable food that has long since been shoved to the back of the pantry. Though, I would be lying if I didn’t say the day I got my tasting back, I ordered all my favorite foods for contactless delivery. It was my little 2021 belated new years celebration.
• 2021-01-07

  Covid Christmas

  Ever since I was little I have always done the same thing every Christmas. Although the pandemic was raging everywhere, my family had the opportunity to travel and see relatives in our favorite place on earth Wisconsin. We were seeing older relatives so it was crucial that we got tested for the virus before we left. After getting our negative results back we hopped on a plane and flew to Wisconsin. The airport was empty and everyone was heavily masked and distanced. It was a ghost town. Thankfully, we were able to see everyone and still be safe during these crazy times.
• 2020-12-05

  Reflections on working at a US Military Hotel/Quarantine Facility and Getting Tested for COVID

  In this story I would like to share some of my experiences working at a Hotel that was converted into a quarantine facility for the US Military. I am a civilian employee of a US Army Lodging facility on a US Army base overseas. As a part of my job, I assist soldiers in finding temporary lodging during their permanent change of station (PCS) moves, as well as finding lodging during temporary deployments in our area. In many ways, our facility works as a hotel with an emphasis on long term stays for guests. By early February we had begun to take measures of tracking where people were traveling from and if they had any contact with people who had be sick or were sick themselves. In March, as the pandemic was heating up in Europe, many local hotels were forced to close, yet to support the military mission, we remained open and even converted a portion of our facility into a quarantine facility for US Military personnel. Establishing the new standard operating procedure for handling quarantine was difficult since we needed to coordinate it with local German Laws, Garrison policy and the policies being set by the local combatant commands. This often led to confusion and frequent changes in daily routine and standard operating procedure. When coming to work, things would change almost daily. While the Garrison went to partial manning as those who could work at home did, I was working double shifts to help in the conversion of our facility and the writing of the new SOP’s to deal with our changing circumstances. Large plexiglass windows were added to the Front Desk and all our office spaces. Per garrison orders mask wearing became mandatory throughout the facility except for guests inside guest rooms. Wearing masks for hours on end, and frequent sanitation runs to wipe down the stairways and elevators and lobby became the norm. Given the importance of maintain health and readiness, the Military took the situation vary seriously in terms of sanitation and protection measures. When One of my colleagues had tested positive for COVID, the others she had direct contact with were placed in Quarantine and sent to be tested as well. They were required to have two negative tests 5 days apart before they could leave quarantine. When I became sick with flu-like symptoms, I was sent to be tested for COVID. The Garrison established a drive through testing area. The test consisted of a nasal swab, which could be done either as the less invasive swab just inside the nose, or the more invasive same day test which required the swab to be taken deeper in the nose for 10 seconds. After filling out a questionnaire, they determined that I needed the more invasive test. After reaching the end of the line, I leaned out of the window of my car they tested me. It was a rather painful experience. Within 8 hours of the test, I was able to access my test results online. Luckily, I tested negative. As it turns out I had only a regular seasonal flu. If I had tested positive, I would have been contacted by a training team on the same day of my test, and the colleagues that I worked with would have had to enter quarantine as well. Since I tested negative, I only had to remain at home away from work until 48 hours after my last symptoms. Attached is a copy of the COVID testing information sheet provided to me after my test.
• 2020-12-01

  I've Taken the COVID-19 Test Twice in as Many Months

  I have always gotten sick during the fall semester; it's just how my immune system has always been with my allergies and all of the normal sicknesses that go around this time of year. This year the fall semester and my normal sicknesses during it have been a source of stress for me on top of my classes. I am currently attending Florida Gulf Coast University and we have to fill out a daily health screening app that puts case investigators in contact with us if we report any symptom that might be related to COVID-19. This semester I have been in contact with case investigators twice. The first time was sometime around October 26 when I got my first COVID-19 test. I had a cough, a sore throat, and was experiencing fatigue but no fever. Just to be sure, I scheduled a test at a local CVS. The test at CVS you have to administer yourself and was unpleasant to say the least. My results came back negative on October 29, I told my case investigator, and returned to class. I missed my zoom class that Monday as well as my on-campus class that Tuesday. The following month, I developed a fever that reached 103.8 at its highest but I had no other symptoms except a cough after my fever passed. I tested on November 17 at another local CVS. It was the same self-administered test. I attended my class the Monday before, my temperature during which was between 102.8 and 103. I missed my class that Tuesday and got my results on November 20. It was once again negative, and I was able to return to my on-campus classes once my cough stopped. Like many other students, this pandemic has interrupted my normal school life and has added stress to an already stressful semester. In addition to this, not being able to attend class while I was waiting on my test results like has impacted my grades though I would not have attended those classes anyway if I were allowed to while waiting on my results.
• 
  2020-11-01

  Re-entry of foreign nationals with the status of residence

  From November 1st of 2020, foreign residents who have valid residency in Japan who currently are outside finally can come into Japan just like normal citizens. Before this regulation, foreign residents such as permanent residence holders had to get this “the Letter of Confirmation of Submitting Required Documentation for Re-entry into Japan” or “Receipt for Request of Re-entry” from the closest Japanese embassy. On the other hand, Japanese citizen just need to come in with a valid negative result. This applied to me, where I could not go back because that would mean I had to go to LA’s Japanese embassy to get the form, and then go back to Japan. Now, I could go back to japan, if I have a “certificate of negative result”. However, I opened the file, and it turns out I would need a signature from a medical institution and a doctor. All students from ASU can get free test from ASU, but it is not a medical institution. This means I would have to go to other places that can give me this signature, which is not that easy for me.
• 
  2020-07

  Imitation of covid-19 test

  This is a video on Chinese TikTok imitating when healthcare workers perform a COVID-19 throat swab test on you.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-07-01

  Brunswick West Testing Blitz

  HIST30060: My suburb, Brunswick West, was marked as a ‘COVID-19 hotspot’ in late June. This image shows a line of people waiting to be tested at Dunstan Oval during the subsequent ‘Testing Blitz’. I saw several doorknockers distributing pamphlets and directing residents to the testing site. The Blitz aimed to test the majority of residents, and we had to supply permits at police checkpoints to leave the postcode.
• 
  2020-11-08

  The Bondi COVID-19 Testing Centre

  HIST30060 To accomodate the huge numbers of people needing COVID-19 tests, a screening clinic was erected in the Bondi Beach carpark. The first time I saw it, I didn’t really know what to think. Of course I was pleased, and proud, that Sydney was creating free and open spaces to test as many people for COVID-19 as possible. But seeing the clinic in Bondi, against the sunny beach, felt surreal. Even after months of living with the pandemic there’s still something indescribably strange about such a familiar place having to adapt to COVID-19.
• 
  2020-10-16

  Worrying for future scholarships

  I'm worried about applying for a future scholarship called the MEXT scholarship because supposedly international students are still not allowed to enter Japan. While this will likely change, I'm fearful that due to many governments around the world losing tax revenue due to the pandemic, that they'll will cut extraneous programs such as the MEXT scholarship. The pandemic prevented people taking the JLPT language assessment last July as well. That makes it harder to get certifications to help boost my current resume. They say that there will be a test date in December, but like many events during the pandemic, it's up in the air.
• 
  2020-10-13

  Rockstar mom

  CNN reports the story of Brianna Hill who went into labor in the middle of her bar exam, which had to be delayed because of the pandemic. Her water broke and she labored while still taking the exam. After having her baby boy, she continued on with her exam. This story not only highlights the wide effects of the pandemic but also shines a bright light on the resilience of motherhood and the power of determination.
• 
  2020-10-08

  トランプ氏「コロナ感染は神からの祝福」豪語のワケ(2020年10月8日) - Mr. Trump "Corona Infection is a Blessing from God" A reason for the bold statement (October 8, 2020)

  トランプ大統領が新たな動画を公開。「感染は神からの祝福だ」と話しました。 　7日、ツイッターに投稿されたメッセージ。トランプ大統領は自らに投薬された未承認の抗体薬を絶賛しました。しかし、この動画には批判の声も。 　そもそも、こうなったのは誰の責任か。副大統領候補による討論会。現副大統領は上司の擁護に追われます。 　共和党・ペンス副大統領：「皆さんに知ってほしい。大統領は最初から皆さんの健康が第一だと考えていた。ワクチンなどもまもなくできる。大統領のリーダーシップで」 　果たして、そうなのか。例えば、マスク。大統領がしていなかった期間はあまりに長く、感染発覚後、スタッフの前で外す様子も確認されています。対策は十分なのか。トランプ大統領はいまだに陰性かどうか明らかにされていません。その一方で、バイデン候補との討論会には意欲を示しています。新たな動画でこう主張しています。 　トランプ大統領：「抗体薬は無償化する。皆さんの責任ではないのです。中国の責任だ。中国は大きな代償を払うことになる。 [I have personally translated the debate from Japanese to English and thus, it might not be the exact meaning/words from the actual debate.] President Trump releases a new video. "Infection is a blessing from God," he said. The message posted on Twitter on the 7th. President Trump has praised the unapproved antibody drug he had been given for treatment. However, there are criticisms against this video. Standford University, Subramanian said she was appalled by Trump’s comment that his diagnosis had been a blessing from God. “It really makes my stomach turn,” she said. “So would he say that the 210,000 Americans who died, they were cursed by God?” In the first place, who is responsible for this situation? Kamala Harris: “On January 28th, the Vice president and president received the information that this pandemic will cause death and yet they did not tell the citizens. Debate by Vice Presidential Candidates. The current Vice President is busy defending his boss. Republican Vice President Pence: "I want you to know. From the beginning, the president thought that your health was the number one priority. Vaccines will soon be available. Under the leadership of the president." Is that actually true? For example, a mask. The period that the president was not wearing the mask was too long, and it has been confirmed that he removed it in front of the staff after he was known to have the virus. Are the measures sufficient? Moderator: “(Last month) During the even at the White House, people in the front row were not social distancing, most did not wear a mask, and a lot of people from that event was found to be infected. Do you think the citizens will follow the president despite this incident?” Vice President Pence: “There are great deal of speculations. But a lot of people who participated did receive the test.” President Trump still has not stated whether he is a negative or not. On the other hand, he was enthusiastic during the debate with Biden. In the new video, he insists "The antibody drug will be free. It's not your responsibility. It's China's responsibility. China will pay a big price. Please remember that."
• 
  2020-10-03T05:47

  ‘The likely outcome’: Trump’s COVID diagnosis followed waning precautions at the White House

  This article emphasizes how current president Trump and the first lady has recently tested positive for COVID-19. The article’s main points include expressing the reasoning for Trump’s diagnosis and the precautions that are being held at the White House and across America. I decided to choose this news article because right when I read the title I became very engaged in wanting to figure out what the article was all about. After my reading, I was very glad I took my article to choose and read this one. This article constantly elaborated on the Covid-19 pandemic and revealed how Trump plays a role on how it affects people’s lives. Throughout the article I believe that it was a little biased. Although the article was expressing the facts of the situation it phased it in a way that put the president down. For an example, near the beginning it said “ from holding large gatherings to resisting masks, the president, his administration and his campaign have sent conflicting messages to the American public as they sought to portray an image of strength and normality,”. This part of the article indicates the bad of Trump right in the beginning. Also, towards the end of the article it mentioned that someone spoke saying, “it really ticks me off that we have a president who has failed to do one of the most basic thighs a president should do, which is keep himself safe, “. Although the point of the article was to announce Trump's positive test, it spent a lot of time bashing Trump for not wearing a mask, and holding gatherings that violated proper guidelines. For these reasons I do believe that this article is biased. In addition, the media holds a role in the pandemic, and this article can be an example. This article does elaborate on the facts but it expressed them in a very biased way that may convince people to blame one person or not grasp the entirety of the situation. In other examples the media can rather undermine or exaggerate the truth of the pandemic and the impacts that it holds. The media has shaped many major events throughout the world, and COVID-19 is definitely one of them.
• 
  2020-08-23

  A Unlucky, Lucky Case

  This screenshot is a routine "how are you?" text I got from one of my coworkers. She is a mother figure at work, and always made sure to check on me and keep me updated on work drama, updates, and just positive thoughts. She knew I was bored and made it a point to have a conversation with me almost every day. I was so bored because I was a lucky case and barely had any symptoms. I'm a healthy, twenty-two year old who caught it after taking a trip to Iowa to visit some friends. The whole group had it and it varied on the severity, but no one was affected too badly; although, one girl did lose her sense of taste for three weeks. My boyfriend and I were holed up for nearly two and a half weeks, due to waiting for negative test results for job-return purposes. While my boyfriend had symptoms that kept him in bed for a week, I simply lost my taste, had a stuffy nose, and minor body aches. I was very lucky because I could barley tell I was sick, and after 3-4 days everything cleared up except my sense of taste, which lasted a week. I will always be thankful that I didn't experience a bad case and that all my friend were okay after.
• 
  09/18/2020

  Annie Schaller Oral History, 2020/09/18

  Annie, a university student in Boston, shares her perspective about how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled both when it began to take hold in March and now, as a student who returned to campus with hybrid classes. She also discusses how it affected her living situations, her experience with the Canadian response to COVID-19, and compares her situation to that of her brother's, who also attends university.
• 
  2020-09-04

  hermit HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 61

  D.C. name changes