A roundup of articles on the status of the Coronavirus and ways we can help….
There are so many stories coming out now, we’ll need to post several roundups throughout the day….
Great Things to Do at Home While Quarantined: Let’s Be Pandemic-Positive
As more and more people bar themselves inside their homes amidst the COVID-19 shutdowns, it may be tempting to keep your eyes fixed on the TV or social media news feeds.
You might try and keep yourself informed by reading every quarantine update that pops up on your phone—but worrying yourself can be like sitting in a rocking chair: it can give you something to do, but it doesn’t necessarily get you anywhere.
That’s why we’re encouraging our readers to use this time as a gift. Take this rare opportunity and turn the isolation to your advantage; because the world is improved when its occupants are inspired and motivated, rather than anxious and overwhelmed.
So here are 16 tips on how to face this pandemic with positivity and productivity.
1) TAKE THAT COURSE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO TAKE: There are hundreds of Ivy League courses from schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, that you can take online for free. From Art & Design and Business to Social Sciences, Engineering or Medicine, you are sure to find something to broaden your horizons and fire those sleepy synapsis.
2) COLOR THESE PRINTABLE PAGES: Get out the color pencils and markers because Just Color has some fabulous free downloadable coloring pages on topics like travel, art, nature, and history.
3) ENJOY MUSEUMS: Google Arts and Culture has partnered with more than 2,500 museums and galleries around the world in order to offer virtual tours and online displays of their collections to internet surfers (and if you screenshare with a friend, it’s like you’re touring the museum together!) You can also use the “Send Me Art” texting service courtesy of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
4) READ A BOOK: Not to brag, but our recently-published book “And Now, The Good News” is a great gift for news junkies…
5) ORGANIZE SMALL AREAS: Clean out and organize your junk door—it will feel like a huge accomplishment.
6) CLEAN YOUR SCREENS: Remove smudges and grime from your screens and keyboards.
7) TALK ON THE PHONE: Now that everyone is focused on social distancing and isolation, you can take some time to recharge old friendships by dropping them a line.
8) DO THE ONCE-A-YEAR JOBS: Flip over and rotate your mattress so you can sleep better; purge your phone of bad photos and contacts you don’t want anymore; dust the bookshelf; clean out your clothes closet and load up a giveaway bag.
9) MAKE A PANDEMIC PLAYLIST: feel-good songs only.
10) FOCUS ON SELF CARE: You now have more time to sit quietly and meditate. Do some stretches in the morning. Soak in a tub with some candles. Scrub your feet. Do a facial masque if you have some on hand. Bring flowers in the house. Use your good china and table clothes to eat a homemade dinner with some soft music playing—and remember to drink plenty of water, especially after the wine.
11) TRY A NEW RECIPE: Make something you “never have time” to cook (Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura is posting free cooking lessons to his Instagram account.)
12) SEW THOSE BUTTONS OR SMALL HOLES: Yeah, remember that hole that was left after you ripped the tag off your shirt? Repair it in 15 minutes with some needle and thread.
13) TAKE VITAMINS: People deficient in Vitamin D (and, most of us are) who start taking the supplement every day (400iu/40mcg), can get a 70% reduced risk of contracting any viral (or bacterial) respiratory disease. This is based on a rigorous scientific double blind, placebo study of 10,000 people. If you don’t get enough sunshine, take Vitamin D pills, or eat foods like tuna and egg yolks (watch this intriguing YouTube lecture to learn more).
14) DO SOME PUZZLES: traditional puzzles like crosswords and jigsaws can be wonderfully beneficial for your cognitive health. You can also play online trivia games that benefit good causes for every answer you get correct, such as helping to pay off other people’s student loans or planting trees around the world.
15) WRITE A GOOD OL’-FASHIONED LETTER: There is no limit to just how many different kinds of heartfelt letters you can write to anyone—or anything.
16) LEARN AN INSTRUMENT (BONUS TIP FROM GNN EDITOR): In addition to working for GNN, McKinley also works as a part-time music teacher and staffer at the House of Musical Traditions in Washington DC. Since the local foot traffic has died down, the online shop is offering free shipping on everything—from accordions and balalaikas to guitars and ukuleles.
So if you have ever dreamt of picking up an instrument, this is the perfect time to fulfill that dream while also helping out a local business—plus, there is not an instrument under the sun that can’t be learned through YouTube videos.
Marcello Natali had been hospitalised in Cremona before being transferred to Milan after developing double pneumonia. In one of the last interviews he gave before he was tested for COVID-19, he told Euronews that he had had to work without gloves: “They have run out,” he said.
He also said that in Codogno and a nearby town, Casale, 14 out of 35 doctors were in quarantine or hospitalised as of February 28.
“We weren’t prepared for coronavirus: as doctors of the post antibiotic era, we grew up thinking that a pill against everything was enough,” he said.
Natali’s death was confirmed by a representative of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners, who said that he too was suffering from double pneumonia because of the coronavirus.
“It’s a war,” he said.
Paola Pedrini, regional secretary at the federation, told Euronews that 110 doctors out of 600 in the sole province of Bergamo are sick.
“The situation has not gotten better since end of February. We received some mask, some gloves kit, nothing else. A mask that should last half-a-day, here lasts a week.”
“We practice a lot over the phone, when possible, to avoid the spread of the virus and getting in contact with asymptomatic people who still carry the virus”
Italy announced a record daily death toll of 475 on Wednesday, bringing the number of dead in the country to 2,978, with almost 36,000 confirmed cases.
Many European countries have struggled to find enough gloves, medical masks and items such as hand sanitiser in stories as demand is intensified by panic buying.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will do ‘whatever it takes’ to get the country through the crisis
Government ‘could give everyone up to £1,000 a month Universal Basic Income during coronavirus crisis’
Economic experts say governments need to take drastic action
With thousands of workers facing being laid off or unable to earn an income due to restrictions, many are calling for a ‘Universal Basic Income’ to help the most vulnerable.
A group of 500 academics have signed an open letter to the government published in The Independent today.
“It is time for governments to enact emergency universal basic income, ensuring that everyone in their jurisdiction has enough money to buy the food and other essentials they need to survive,” they wrote.
Daniel Susskind, a fellow in economics at Balliol College, Oxford university, suggests in the Financial Times today that a £1,000 cash payout per person, per month would cost the government about £66bn a month.
He says this is, ‘a fraction of the nearly £500bn bailout the UK needed to stay afloat during the 2008 financial crisis’ adding: “Universal Basic Income is an affordable and feasible response to coronavirus.”
The idea has been trialled in other countries around the world including Finland, Canada and the Netherlands before with mixed success.
Ireland and Denmark are have announced similar schemes in the wake of Covid-19.
Labour leadership contender Rebecaa Long-Bailey floated the prospect of universal income although she did not specify an amount of money.
The debate comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £330billion package to help businesses during the coronavirus pandemic earlier this week.
Coronavirus relief: Congressman Joe Kennedy proposes $4,000 for adults making under $100,000 a year
“An unprecedented pandemic demands an unprecedented response from our government,” Kennedy remarked in a news conference.
Adults making more than $100,000 a year would receive $2,000. Individuals 18 years old and under would receive $1,000.
Kennedy also added in the news conference that the given money must be matched with “immediate unemployment insurance and a historic investment in Medicaid.”
Kennedy is currently running against Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic Senate primary.
On Monday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney proposed giving every American adult $1,000 in response to the coronavirus.
There are currently 197 cases of COVID-19 being reported across 10 counties in the commonwealth as of Monday, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 4,281 positive coronavirus diagnoses and 85 deaths in the U.S.
