What’s it all about?
April 17, 2020 – A look at the spread of disease by WLM
What is all of this distancing and quarantine about? Why does it matter? Have a look!
If you’re thinking that social distancing and quarantine are too excessive, try watching the simulations published in the the Washington Post showing how the coronavirus, and any contagious diseases spreads.
If you have questions about the current data in Maine, visit the State of Maine, Division of Disease Surveillance
Two Parts of the Same Story
April 3, 2020 – An historical account by CDL
Covid-19 Definition: “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus.The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing.” Source: World Health Organization
Downfalls of Corona & What It Has Done…
- Social Distancing: Families are quarantined in their homes and some places are worse than others… People aren’t supposed to leave their homes because it just isn’t safe in crowded streets like New York City (which is practically the epicenter of the disease in the United States). Being stuck at home and being distanced from family and friends is tough, leaving most with very little outside social interactions.
- Planned Trips & Celebrations: People may have had their dream vacations planned during this time or families had travel plans to go somewhere… But these have all been cut out entirely. It’s not safe to be out in public or travel over borders (especially if you have the disease or were exposed). This may have included school events or graduations. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 3.7Million U.S. students were expected to attend their high school graduation ceremony this year.
- Money & Job Losses: Many states across the U.S. are being hit hard by coronavirus-related job losses. States like Nevada and Florida will be hit hardest due to the heavy dependence on tourism. The impacts of the virus are unfortunately wreaking havoc on the economy, and many people with jobs don’t have enough money to support them anymore due to quarantine (stopping many from going to their daily jobs that support them financially).
Benefits For The Earth & People… Is there a bright side?
- The Earth is able to breath! Coal and oil industrial activities have dropped, which means carbon dioxide emissions are now decreasing. China’s air pollution levels are lower than they were before. Additionally, in Seattle and New York City satellite imaging has shown significant reductions in air pollution!
- Families are able to bond and have time with each other more than ever! Love it or hate it, this is a pretty positive thing and allows space for family activities and doing more things together in person.
- Ship Shape: Coronavirus is making us cleaner people and we’re more prone to washing our hands and keeping these habits up!
- Animals have more freedom! Animals are being stuck in their cages at zoos less and less since some are allowed to walk out and about where humans typically walk with supervision of staff.
- Oceans are happy! Ocean pollution is decreasing, and polluted waters are progressively clearing up. The famous canals in Venice have seen clearer and cleaner water lately, and are practically fully see-through. They certainly weren’t weren’t before!
- Stimulus Bill! This bill that cost close to 2 trillion dollars is supposed to help aid small businesses and corporations, provide aid for some workers and their families in unstable financial situations, and support state/local governments, healthcare providers, and education as well.
Although this may be a frustrating time and difficult for many families, there is hope for the environment. Progress to fight this disease will be made over time, and it will hopefully slow down in the near future. Vaccines are being worked on every day, and there are many people working to help fight the virus. Now more than ever, the world is ready if ever a pandemic comes up again in the future…
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