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Date is exactly
2020-08-16
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2020-08-16
Mask Breath and Swamp Mouth
In 2020 it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 + Celsius) in August in the eastern area of San Diego, California. I was working as a delivery driver for Amazon delivering packages around greater San Diego County. Having been about six months into the pandemic, masks were required pretty much everywhere. For health and safety, we were required to wear those masks while delivering. The picture above shows me wearing one of the masks which is made of cotton and double layered. These masks have a sleeve inside to insert a filter. Elastic strips with a stopper on the end goes around the ears to hold the mask over the nose and mouth. Because this mask irritated my ears, I took a bread wrapper twist and hooked it to the back and tied it so it wouldn't sit on my ears and was instead tied around the back of my head. This jerry rigged mask led to a tighter fit on my face. This in turn led to sweat and moisture collecting in the fabric of the mask throughout the day which led to an extremely pungent stench because of the sweat, mucus from a runny nose, and stinky breath. The other issue that caused more distress was the soaked mask. Especially on this particularly hot day, I was essentially breathing through a wet rag. Breathing through my mouth was the only option because my nose wasn't strong enough to draw in enough air. Climbing up stairs and up and down drive ways made it more difficult to breath. I had to take intermittent breaks to pull down the mask to get air and breath fresh air. Needless to say, mints, gum, and breath freshener was regularly on hand after this day. Along with lots and lots of water. -
2020-08-16
Cancell...
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2020-08-16
Dorm Life During A Pandemic
Last year in the fall of 2020, while the pandemic was still raging on, I began my first year of college at Arizona State University. Like every college freshman, I was ecstatic and beyond ready for this next chapter in my life, even with COVID-19 taking control of the world. I was ready for new friends, fun experiences, and making connections. I kept this positive attitude even when we found out all classes had been moved to online, and all freshmen welcome events had been canceled. I told myself I would make the best of the situation, and considering I was living in the dorms, I would still feel a part of a community, make new friends, and have somewhat of a college experience. I was incredibly wrong. When I arrived at the dorms, it was brought to my attention that the dining halls were not to be used as a recreational area, and we had to take our food right back up to our dorm after getting it. There was a strict no guest policy. Campus was a ghost town. I ate, slept, and did school all from my small twin sized bed. All day, everyday. My roommate and I felt like our dorm had almost become a prison, and this started to seriously affect my mental health and general well being. Students were moving out of the dorms by the hundreds due to all the reasons I listed above, so the already empty and quiet hallways became emptier and quieter. The photo attached is one of myself the day I moved in, taken by my mom. I had no idea at the time how miserable I would become being completely isolated at one of the biggest universities in the country. If I had not joined greek life, my only friend from my freshman year would have been my roommate. Eventually, I was able to move out of the dorms to an apartment, and I immediately saw a change for the better within my life. Now, with life slowly returning back to normal, it is odd to think about how different life was just one year ago. I will never again take for granted the simple pleasures of sitting in a dining hall with my friends, or walking to class with hundreds of other students. -
2020-08-16
I guess this is what College is like?
After my first semester of college comes to a close, sitting on my bed at home, not with my friends back on campus, a time for reflection is definitely necessary. I have been told time and time again what a hard of a semester this was, how hard it was for everyone and how not normal and weird it turned out to be. I would have to agree that it was quite weird and not exactly what I thought college would end up being like. Having limitations in the caf, awkward zoom classes, little face to face contact, masks -everywhere- and very few activities from student life; like my picture at the beginning of the semester we had a virtual paint night, we picked up our own set of paints and brushes and got on a zoom call to follow some steps for the painting. This has all just felt like normal college antics because this is all I know. I came in with this idea of what it could be like but one thing that 2020 has definitely taught us is to just go with the flow and understand that things are going to be different. Now this semester really held true to 2020, but I had plenty of redeeming times. Made new friends, live with a really awesome roommate, get a little taste of what college is like and become the person that I really want to be. -
2020-08-16
Jewish Melbourne: Chabad on Carlisle food for isolated seniors
Chabad on Carlisle 'Cookoff August 2020': "A great team of very hard working volunteers cooked up delicious Shabbos packages today which will be delivered to isolated seniors. (Covid-safe protocols were followed). We may be physically distant but the love and care is always there! A big thank you to the awesome volunteers!" -
2020-08-16
Nurse Meme
This is a meme that was sent around the COVID unity among the nurses that my sister shared with me. I thought it was a funny way the nurses make the best of their situation and try to laugh whenever they can. -
2020-08-16
Senior Pictures During Covid
I took these photos of some of my family members during our time at a state park where we were taking my sister’s senior pictures. There were scarcely any other people around, and those that were had masks as well. While we were taking pictures at this park, I thought of how strange it is that years into the future, people in our family will look back on my sister’s senior pictures and will be reminded of the pandemic. Her picture will go up in our house next to ones of her from earlier years and will stand out due to that mask. It will be an interesting sight one day to look back on pictures of us with masks on and be reminded of what it was like to live through a global pandemic. -
2020-08-16
“El consumo de alpaca y llama combate el coronavirus. Está comprobado científicamente que combate al COVID-19”.
News article from EL Comercio that fact checks the statemet from Arequipa's governor: “El consumo de alpaca y llama combate el coronavirus. Está comprobado científicamente que combate al COVID-19”. A number of different solutions have been proposed to combat COVID in Peru, but the idea of eating llama meat is one of the strangest. -
2020-08-16
Gobernador peruano dice que comer carne de llama cura el COVID-19
Carne de llama y dióxido de cloro es la receta sin sustento científico para combatir la COVID-19 del polémico gobernador de Arequipa (Perú), Elmer Cáceres, que ahora pide obtener la vacuna rusa después de que el gobierno peruano lo haya despojado de sus competencias en la administración de la salud. -
2020-08-16
The Hottest New Accessory
Masks. In the span of just a few weeks, I went from never having worn one before to wearing one nearly every day. As a person with several autoimmune diseases, COVID-19 poses an existential threat to my health. Masks are not just about being allowed in a grocery store, or avoiding the ridicule of others; they are a matter of survival. I have now amassed quite the collection, partly out of convenience- I never want to find myself without a clean one- and partly out of fear. We are now in the fifth month of COVID restrictions, with a distinct possibility of another five or more to come. What if there is another PPE shortage? What if I become too sick to sew my own? So dutifully I collect, buying and making and sharing, just in case. Written by Meghan E. Donahue, incoming junior at Suffolk University. -
2020-08-16
A Lucky Star Adventure
Victoria Lee-Brewer Professor Dominguez Politics in a Global Pandemic 08/15/2020 Moakley Visual Memory: New York I went to New York for a day, which not only showed me how serious some states are taking this but how officials in certain states are not enforcing some of the policies causing more problems. From the Boston Lucky Star Train terminal, is where I started my adventure to Manhattan, New York. As we got on board, they checked our temperatures I noticed the mandatory mask wearing sign on our way there inside of the bus but not on the way back. I stayed at the Courtyard Marriot in Midtown Manhattan on 34th street which not only had the best stores but the best sales as well. As I walked down the strip shopping with my boyfriend we notice, how all of the police officers are not wearing a mask while 75% of the civilians had on a mask. Which creates answers to questions like, why is the virus still spreading? Officials are not following the CDC and Health guidelines themselves, which explains why the spread in New York is continuous. I even rode the train to the Bronx and observed how Hospitals are not making sure their Sanitizers are staying full and officers once again were not wearing a protective face mask. Why should the citizens in New York wear a mask if the officers are not going to? Police officers are supposed to set examples and protect the public, instead they seem like a danger to public health. -
2020-08-16
Spread Love Not Germs
This is a photo I took at a wedding I directed this weekend. The bride had me place a bag on each individual chair. The bags contained mask and hand sanitizers. The little tags read "Spread Love Not Germs". This has been a popular response to the pandemic. -
2020-08-16
Wedding Options
This is an email I had to send to a bride who was upset over COVID-19 ruining her wedding plans. These options were developed after deciding what was doable under mandates at the time. The bride ended up moving her wedding to 2021 and had an intimate ceremony in her home. -
2020-08-16
Two Worlds, One Virus: Campaigning During Pandemic
In the heat of one of the most consequential Presidential Campaigns, both President Trump and Vice President Biden still have to get their deliver their messages of the future to the American people. Vice President Biden has headed warning of the virus and switched to a campaign that mitigates the risk of spreading the virus: online events and restricted in-person events that follow social distancing and mask rules for the speakers and news there. Meanwhile, President Trump has insisted on holding his rallies with no precautions in place, thus resulting in lower than expected turnout. For the average American, who sees campaigns as a race to kiss the most babies and shake the most hands, this race is far from normal. However, both of the candidates have still been getting extreme news coverage, and many people are seeing more to politics as a result of staying home. -
2020-08-16
Elections during a pandemic
The 2020 election is arguably going to one of the most important ones in American History. Not only because of the explosive tension between the two candidates but also because of COVID-19. This invisible enemy has crippled not only our nation but the world. It has forced countries to shut down, leaving economies unstable and politics shaky as ever. In some countries, the virus has brought leaders together. In the U.S, it has deepened the bipartisanship. Rather than reaching across the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats use this pandemic for their political gains. The conversation of COVID has not only a global issue but is also treated as a Presidential Candidate debate topic. The health of our nation is vastly essential; however, politicians do not hesitate to point fingers when numbers continue to rise. Not surprisingly, the most controversial opinion is coming from President Trump, who boldly stated he would be pushing back the Presidential Election. This is not Constitutional legal, nor does he have the power to enforce this. With Americans eager to vote for the upcoming election, we are faced with the following predicament; how do we ensure our voters' safety? Many leaders are leaning and enforcing, state by state mail-in ballots. Eligible voters are mailed ballots before the official election day and send it back to the appropriate party. However, even with this solution, there has been push back from Washington. Currently, the Trump administration has cut funding for the United States Postal Office. In an interview, he "frankly acknowledged that he's starving the postal service of that money to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots" (Riccardi, N. 2020). Studies have shown that Democrats are more willing to vote via mail. With this, Trump is taking every precaution to slow the Democratic wave that is approaching the White House. Obama, who is usually silent during politics, has called Trump out for financially starving the postal service. Not only is COVID changing the way we vote, but it is also changing the landscape of American Health Care. More than ever, Health Care for all Americans is being supported and pushed onto the next president. When casting their ballot, Americans are now asking themselves, 'who can take care of my family and I best during a pandemic?'. It has been clear that this virus is not going away, and we are expecting another wave. With this in mind, we have to ask who is best suited to guide us through this apocalyptic world. -
2020-08-16
Shop Local to Support Local
As COVID-19 spread across the country, many small businesses have been battling to stay afloat. My family restaurant was one of the ones affected by all the changes in regulation that were put in place due to COVID-19. Some of the regulations were tough and challenging for businesses especially those who mainly relied on dine in. Luckily for us, our community is very supportive, and they continued to purchase take-out from us. I’m very fortunate that we were able to stay open, but many businesses had to shut down permanently which is devastating especially in a small town of entrepreneurs. -
2020-08-16
Paint the Void
Artists around the world have faced insurmountable challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. San Francisco Bay Area artists are turning public spaces into canvases to inspire hope. In the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paint the Void emerged. This organization's mission is "to match local artists with boarded up businesses to create murals as a response to the void left behind in the wake of COVID-19." The group is raising money to grant artists stipends "for their hard work as guardians of hope and beauty in these unprecedented times." To date, the organization has helped 91 local artists create 100 murals across 84 storefront in the San Francisco Bay Area.