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Date is exactly
2022-04-20
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2022-04-20
How COVID transformed trans-Pacific container shipping
This is a news story from American Shipper by Greg Miller. Due to COVID, our trade has changed. Data from Alphaliner shows how much the trade relationship between Asia and the United States has morphed. Carrier competition is up, with more players and less share from the three global alliances. In a breakdown of the data, Cosco was the trans-Pacific leader in mid-2020 as the United States was coming out of the first lockdowns. Maersk was at fourth place, carrying 30% less capacity than Cosco. In mid-2020, 2M, Ocean Alliance, and THE Alliance controlled 89% of trans-Pacific capacity. In 2021, that lowered to 82%. These alliances in 2022 now are at 67.7% of shares. -
2022-04-20
"Trust the Science" is Anti-Science
This is an Instagram post by city_slicker_bnswagon. This person is questioning the way we think of the science surrounding COVID. This person thinks that the virus is more political than it is about health. -
2022-04-20
'More fearful than I was': At-risk immunocompromised Americans decry lifting of travel mask mandate
This is a news story from USA Today by Ella Lee. This is about pushback against the lifting of the mask mandate, as it has made immunocompromised people afraid. "Being immunocompromised, it's already a huge risk getting on a plane with everybody masked," said Derek Schmitz, 17, of Oxford, Alabama, who takes immune-suppressing arthritis medication and has to fly for work as a disability advocate. "Now, knowing that I most likely will be one of the only people on a plane with a mask is petrifying." After the lift of the mandate for planes and other public transportation was voided, ride share companies like Uber and Lyft have followed suit in removing their own mandates. "I was angry and felt hopeless," said Erin Masengale, 33, who has multiple autoimmune diseases treated by immunosuppressants. "I just want people to realize that when they cheer for the ending of protections, they’re cheering for the ending of access to everything for people like me." Under the strict definition of immunocompromised, only about 3% of Americans fit that definition. Though, the author mentions that disabled and chronically ill people, a much larger population, also face risk with the lifted mandates. The question I have for people that read this is: is it worth it to keep the mandate even though it caters to a relatively small population? Would it be wiser for people already with these ailments to mask on their own instead of mandating it for everyone else, especially if overall cases and hospitalizations are lower? These are the questions I have after reading this article. I am not against people masking when they see fit, but it is clear that these mandates have worn many people out. -
2022-04-20
Canada Will Keep Mask Mandate for Planes
This is a news story from Skift by Anna Mehler Paperny. This says that Canada will keep the mask mandate for planes. The Canadian government said it has no plans to lift the mask mandate after a US federal judge in Florida struck down the mask mandate for planes. Canada's spokesperson for the Transportation Minister wrote in an email that “We are taking a layered approach to keeping travelers safe, and masks remain an incredibly useful tool in our arsenal against Covid-19."' The safety measures that travelers to and from Canada are beyond just masks though. The federal government also requires citizens to track close contacts for fourteen days. Masking and other such safety measures have been shown to have more popularity in Canada, with surveys in agreement with the mask mandates as they are right now. -
2022-04-20
Social distancing marks on escalator
At the Lima airport, the escalators contained the faint markings of social distancing indicators. The red Xs let you know to wait and the image of two feet is to indicate where you stand. Masks are still required inside the airport. -
2022-04-20
Oklahoma Outbreak: an okie boys experience with COVID-19
Looking back at the beginning of the pandemic seems surreal. I remember hearing in December 2019 or January 2020 about some sickness in China. However, I had lived through the Ebola scare and multiple different flu outbreaks and my life had not changed day to day. People would get scared and then it would pass after a couple months with little effect. This would turn out to be different and unlike anything seen in the developed 21st century world. I left my school for Spring Break and though I would return to my final days at Mustang HS and the fun events that came with graduating. My family and some friends traveled a few hours from our house to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and stayed nearby in Medicine Park, Oklahoma. It was a sleepy turn of the century resort town that had seen better days when the rich and powerful of Oklahoma had made it a vacation spot. Although not as popular as it once was, it is being rediscovered by local people for its natural beauty and relatively cheap costs. It seemed like a normal vacation, and we did not see very many people as it wasn’t yet summer and there are not that many locals. We hiked trails at the wildlife refuge and went into town for food and trinkets. It was a nice quiet start to the week. Then all of the sudden everything began to change. We watched the news and saw on social media that the virus that was a world away had now made its way to America. We still were not very worried because we were pretty isolated, and either were hiking outside on trails with little activity or tucked away in our cabin playing games and hanging out. Then cases started to explode, the economy started collapsing, people were getting sick everywhere and no one knew what to do. We went into a restaurant in town and did not know how to act; we were all rubbing germ-x all over ourselves and keeping our distance as best we could. At this point we still figured it would all blow over after a few weeks. As our spring break drew to a close, our school let out a statement that we were not going back the next week. This was exciting news and I figured it was all just a precaution and I would be back in class the week after with all of this just a big laugh and some extra time off. Boy was I wrong. On the drive home my dad, who is a semi-prepper, was coming up with all sorts of scenarios and making plans for if the world collapsed but it honestly still felt like we were only entertaining ourselves. As we rolled back into my town, it looked like a beehive had exploded. People were driving crazy, every gas pump was full, and the Walmart was almost wiped out. That is when it started to sink in that things might be worse than I first thought. Then the first deaths started getting reported and it really seemed serious. I never went back to a high school classroom. My whole life changed from that point on. My first 2 years of college seemed almost fake and as of right now I have had COVID 3 times; the original, delta, and omicron. My family has also had it multiple times. We were some of the lucky ones to make it through with no lingering problems and for my older family members, with their lives. It is now April 2022 and things have finally started to go back to somewhat normal, but another wave could happen at any time. Corona Virus has changed our world and is going to be with us forever. -
2022-04-20
Pandemic Privilege
This story is important for me to share because it highlights my change in perspective that culminated through the pandemic. -
2022-04-20
Travel and masks in Lima
we just arrived to Peru This morning. Before we got on the plane we were told that we would have to show two masks because in lima we would need to double mask while walking around no one seems to be checking if you have one mask or two masks but everyone is wearing a mask. This is a photo of the free breakfast the airport hotel provided this morning after waking up. You’ll notice the sign that says Masks are obligatory. We’re staying at the Wyndham Costa Del sol hotel.