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Date is exactly
2021-04-19
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2021-04-19
Bill Gates Feedback
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2021-04-19
Three Sisters' Patriots Day Parade, Concord, MA
Three sisters raised in Concord, MA take up the American flag, fife, and drum and march up to Old North Bridge and subsequently through Concord Center to commemorate Patriots Day in Concord, MA, one of the battle sites in the Battle of Lexington and Concord that sparked the American Revolution. Due to COVID-19, the famed Patriots Day Parade in Concord has been cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and the Concord Minutemen--mainstays for the parade's performers--have been unable to play for the holiday. These three sisters, during both 2020 and 2021, took initiative to keep the long-standing tradition alive for the town and others who are typically attracted to Concord on this historical day. One of the sisters, the fifer, is a member of the Concord Minutemen. -
2021-04-19
The pandemic gave parents the chance to work from home. Now they don’t want to give it up.
Teleworking has provided advantages to parents - they are able to spend more time with their child during the day, not commuting has given them more time to devote to parenting, and the flexible schedule available in teleworking allows them to work around their children's schedules. Many parents don't want to give up their ability to telework after the pandemic. -
2021-04-19
Health Equity Considerations and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
The pandemic has brought the issue of health inequity in the United States, based on factors such as race and ethnicity, to the forefront. Racial and ethnic minority populations make up a disproportionate essential workers. Poverty restricts access to health care for many individuals. The country must address these issues of health equity and social justice now and continue to address it t ensure the health and safety of all those living in the United States. The website provides references, information, and data on the link between ethnicity and race and COVID-19. -
2021-04-19
Rollercoaster Fun
Safe activities outside including amusement parks. -
2021-04-19
She’s Back and I’m Terrified
After 400 days to the day, my daughter walked back into her gym. A competitive gymnast who has been training with the same gym since the week before she turned 3, this has been a long year. We are privileged in the sense that the hardest decision we had to make during the pandemic was not related to jobs security, hunger, or even health (beyond keeping ourselves from COVID). Our hardest choice was not allowing our daughter to return to her gym to train when they reopened in June. My husband and I knew COVID was just beginning. We knew the spike would come and the health of our family wasn’t something we were willing to risk, especially because our jobs allowed us the luxury to work from home and distance. At first, we made case rates dropping our marker of when she’d go back. Then, with the announcement of the vaccine, we decided to wait until our household was vaccinated. By the end of March, the adults of our household were vaccinated and our local case count had dropped considerably, to an infection rate percentage of 1.4%. Still, we wondered “should we just wait until she’s vaccinated?” But she’s 10, there is no vaccine being publicized for her age. How long can we keep her from her life? It’s not just the training. It’s about mental health. We’ve kept her physically safe, but she’s 10 years old and hasn’t seen a single friend in person for almost 14 months. She hasn’t shown any signs of a mental health crisis, but even if she isn’t showing anything, this has to have taken a toll on her. It was a difficult and scary choice, but my husband and I decided her mental health and emotional health are worth the risk. She is so happy. She’s had two one on one sessions with her coach and we are all shocked (and relieved) that her daily solo workouts EVERY SINGLE DAY for 400+ days now paid off. She not only kept all her skills but learned enough her skills to advance to the next level. I know her coach is shocked. I don’t think she really believed that a kid would work hard enough on her own to keep in shape. I know my daughter is very proud and very relieved to know she can compete again. And the timing is perfect - the new season starts in May, so she’ll begin in a new level with other girls she knows who also leveled up. She never acted unhappy during quarantine, but since going back, she’s seemed lighter and happier. Still, the two times she went were one on one. The beginning of May will see her going back full time, three practices a week for ten hours a week of practice. I’m happy they’re letting her keep her mask on and that the coaches are wearing masks but I’m still nervous. It’s so hard to send your kid into a situation that may lead them to contract a deadly illness. But it’s also so hard to keep your kid in a bubble. I never in a million years imagined I’d have kept my child home for 400 days. I’m a public school teacher, I’m the first person to tell you the importance of socialization. But in a pandemic, I guess my mothering deep instinct to my child overpowered anything else. I hope and pray with everything in me that we don’t regret allowing her to go back. I hope we are turning a corner in CA and that a vaccine for kids arrives soon so I can feel slightly more relaxed. -
2021-04-19
Surviving a Global Pandemic
Never in my lifetime did I ever think I would live during a time where there would be a global pandemic. I've read about the Spanish plague, I've watched movies such as I Am Legend and others - but never did I think in my lifetime I'd ever experience this. It was hard to see friends lose loved ones, businesses close for good, the U.S. government mishandling the pandemic, pandemic deniers, BLM slander, no justice for the people of Armenia, and so many other things. It's been a long year, and so much has happened but not enough progress was made when I feel there was a lot of room for progress to be made. I'm unsure what moving forward and post-pandemic looks like. In a sick way I've gotten used to living in pandemic mode that I'm not sure if I'm ready to 'go back to normal' yet. Work has been operating in pandemic mode still and I'm not bothered by it or eager to go back, but I do miss attending sporting events and live concerts. But I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too, right? -
2021-04-19
Navajo Department of Health COVID-19 Case Infection Data by Region through 19 April 2021
This image, taken as a screenshot from the Navajo Department of Health website on 19 April 2021, shows COVID-19 infection case data by region within the Navajo Nation. -
2021-04-19
Covid, my Next Door Neighbor
John, a close family friend who lived in the corner house at the end of our neighborhood. John, a father who held the best Fourth of July and New Years’ Eve Party growing up. John, a veteran and assistant coach to his son’s soccer team. John, who got covid. John, who spent months at the VA on ventilation and his family spent Christmas not knowing if he was going to make it. John was the first person who I personally knew who got Covid and watching the struggle his wife and children faced largely impacted me. My family had known them for years as my older brother and his youngest son were in the same grade, in the same little league, and even in the same classes. It was a very sudden progression as one minute his wife was posting photos of them together on Facebook, and the next minute my mother anxiously checked Facebook multiple times a day as that was the only outlet to post updates on John’s condition. Updates that were rapidly changing from John being in stable condition to being unsure if he was going to make it through the night. For months these updates were given through close family friends of John’s on Facebook. However, the last update came on March 19th, over 100 days after John had been in the hospital. The update started in big bold words “INCREDIBLE NEWS” as John was now in rehab and had a release date to go back home and hug his family. Before John got Covid, it felt like it was all just numbers. Increasing numbers of mortality, increasing numbers of positive tests. However, after watching the struggle John and his family faced for over 100 days as he battled Covid, the numbers became heavier and Covid was no longer a disease that seemed far away, covid was my next-door neighbor. The 17,000 people who have passed away from covid in Arizona were just like John, but their family and friends never got an update with incredible news. The weight of Covid has largely impacted everyone from those who have fought Covid, to their loved ones, to their communities. Covid was once something that was promised to go away in two weeks, now it is the root of many families’ struggle and grief. -
2021-04-19
Navajo Department of Health Public Health Emergency Orders through 19 April 2021
These eight documents are the eight Public Health Emergency Orders issued by the Navajo Department of Health issued through 19 April 2021. -
2021-04-19
Navajo Department of Health Data & Website
Despite recent data and statistical successes, the NDOH has left its 10pm to 5am curfew in place. The site offers a dashboard with current COVID-19 information, in terms of both resources and data. -
2021-04-19
News Article: Navajo Nation reports no COVID-19 deaths for 8th day
By Associated Press, 19 April 2021 WINDOW ROCK (AP) — The Navajo Nation is finding no new COVID-19 related deaths for an eighth consecutive day. The tribe on Sunday afternoon reported seven new virus cases but no additional deaths on the vast reservation. The latest numbers bring the Navajo Nation's pandemic case total to 30,366 with the death toll remaining at 1,262. Tribal officials said 16,477 people have recovered from COVID-19 thus far. The tribe had been easing into reopening but that slowed somewhat after coronavirus variants were confirmed on the reservation, which stretches into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. Tribal officials urged residents to stay vigilant. Navajo President Jonathan Nez said the tribe recently had a cluster of COVID-19 cases as a result of a family gathering where people were not wearing masks. Tribal public health orders mandate that masks be worn on the reservation and a daily curfew is in effect. Restaurants cannot have dine-in services. Navajo Nation roads also are closed to visitors and tourists, which doesn’t affect travel on state highways that run through the reservation. Meanwhile, health care facilities across the reservation continue to offer the vaccine by appointment or at drive-thru events. -
2021-04-19
New Phase of the Pandemic
It was just announced that in all 50 states, anyone who wants to get the vaccine can get the vaccine (or at least anyone who is 16 years old or older). First of all, this is an amazing accomplishment: just a few months ago, COVID-19 was rapidly proliferating and all we had was the hope of a viable solution. Now, we have all the tools we need to essentially end the pandemic. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the pandemic has reached a new phase. Now that vaccines are freely available, mandatory restrictions and protections -- social distancing, masking, etc. -- should in the next month or two be made voluntary. This is not just a matter of pandemic fatigue. Rather, the point is to incentivize those people who remain resistant to getting vaccinated to change their minds. If everyone is going to keep up these virus mitigation measures in perpetuity, many unvaccinated people may think there is no reason to change their behavior. More generally, we as a society should prioritize helping people who lack -- for whatever reason -- the means to help themselves. By this standard, the willfully unvaccinated -- who could simply go get the shot and therefore take the pressure off the rest of us -- should be closer to the bottom of our priority list. My guess is that the end of mandatory social distancing and masking, along with various entities -- restaurants, concert venues, universities, etc. -- requiring the vaccine will convince many vaccine hesitant people to change their minds. -
2021-04-19
Susan Rafie's COVID-19 Reflection
My text submission covers my experiences during the pandemic. -
2021-04-19
Mask trash #32
Blue and white disposable mask trash caught in the shrubs off to the side of Priest and near Rio Salado. -
2021-04-19
Faith Guided Man to Make 1200 Face Masks for Community
I remember vividly on March 12, 2020, when I told my students that school might be canceled next week because of Covid-19. At that moment, I was confident that we won’t be coming back to school the following week because of the events that were occurring around the world and the scenes that we have never seen before that were happening in our own backyard. The shortage of food and essential items were something that I have never imagined would occur in our local store. It was a horrible feeling of uncertainty and a feeling of being powerless about what to expect. My parents, brother, and I have underlying health issues thus living this year has taken a toll on the way we interact with other people from outside of our household. We feel like we are living on an island. In April, CDC had a constant voice in what we should do and recommended that we should wear face masks with two layers of fabric, wash our hands and be socially distant. At that particular moment, I was stressed out because how in the world will I get face masks when almost everything in the store is gone. I then told my mom about this and my mom said that there is a sewing machine under the stairs that I can use to make face masks. As a 6 foot latinx man, my parents didn’t have any issue with me using or learning how to use a sewing machine. In a Mexican household, only women can use the sewing machine, but in my household, my parents have embraced the new identity of America, and believe why would there be a problem in me doing things that are normally done by females? I used faith to guide me in understanding how to use the 1960’s sewing machine. I prayed and said that I have good intentions of helping my family and community to be safe from this virus so please help me financially and physically in making face masks. That same week, I received a check in the mail, and with that money, I purchased a lot of fabric and materials to make facemasks. I created a universal design that uses less material and in some way helps the environment and I created about 1200 face masks. I also found a way to create 50 face masks per hour and that helped me a lot. Even though many people feel reluctant to wear face masks, it breaks my heart that few don’t care about the people who have underlying health issues. They may be asymptomatic to covid, but wearing a face mask is a moral thing to do, and a thought that comes to my mind is, “Father, please forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” For a whole year, my family and I were protected from contracting Covid-19, and the first week of April of 2021, we got our vaccine. I truly believed that my prayer was answered because God knew my intentions and in some way protected my family and me for doing basic things to help us not to get this horrific virus.