The Solutions Story Tracker® is a curated database of rigorous reporting on responses to social problems. We collect and tag every story, providing you with the ability to find coverage of effective or promising ideas and approaches— by issue, location, journalist, and success factor (strategic insights that emerge as patterns).
https://www.fastcompany.com/90482197/coronavirus-shows-how-to-fight-disinformation-about-climate-change?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Jeremy Deaton
FastCompany
26 March 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
What lessons does the United States' response to the coronavirus offer for the country's response to climate change? According to experts, governments and the media have been successful at presenting the virus as a real threat by emphasizing its urgency, empowering people by telling them what they can do, debunking conspiracy theories, and are employing other strategies to delegitimize misinformation.
https://www.secondwavemedia.com/metromode/features/MutualAidCOVID19.aspx?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Kate Roff
Metromode
26 March 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
Mutual aid at the grassroots level is about helping a neighbor in need, and this strategy has been spurred into action across the country in response to COVID-19. In Detroit, people rally across social media and technology to connect those in need with those looking to help. For those without social media, mutual aid forms are available online for residents to apply for help from community members in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and more. They provide services such as picking up groceries and medicine, childcare, or monetary donations.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csythk?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Kavita Puri
BBC
26 March 2020
Podcast / Over 15 Minutes
South Korea, despite being a close neighbor to China, where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, managed to build a swift public health and government response that may have lessons for other countries fighting the pandemic. The country mobilized mass testing with quick results, allowed public health messages to come from scientists rather than politicians, and used data to track movements before the outbreak and ensure quarantine compliance was followed - which have all contributed to a lower death rate and slower spread of the virus without needing to shut down the economy.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/26/821870173/france-transfers-coronavirus-patients-on-high-speed-train-with-mobile-emergency?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Colin Dwyer
NPR
26 March 2020
Text / Under 800 Words
France is transporting patients from areas with high concentrations of coronavirus victims to areas where hospitals have vacant beds and ventilators. This helps to relieve some pressure on some of the hardest-hit regions.
https://www.registerguard.com/news/20200325/from-spirits-to-sanitizer-local-distilleries-joining-together-to-fight-covid-19?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Matthew Denis
The Register-Guard
25 March 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, some distilleries across the United States have switched their focus from the production of alcohol to the production of hand sanitizer. This new model meets the outsized demand for sanitizing supplies and helps to keep these businesses afloat.
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/820795727/can-the-u-s-crowdsource-its-way-out-of-a-mask-shortage-no-but-it-still-helps?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Eric Westervelt
NPR
25 March 2020
Radio / 3-5 Minutes
With a massive shortage of protective gear in the medical community amidst the coronavirus outbreak, volunteer groups are filling the gap by crowdsourcing masks, gowns, and other essential items. Though the government is working on a longer-term fix to the supply shortage, these volunteer groups are able to pick up hand-sewn masks and other donated items from community members and deliver them to medical centers around the country.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/business/coronavirus-masks-sewers.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
David Enrich
Rachel Abrams
Steven Kurutz
The New York Times
25 March 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
As hospitals and healthcare workers face a shortage of protective gear in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, an army of independent craftspeople have stepped up. Around the United States, they are sewing protective masks by hand, and they are making an impact. For people who are stuck at home or out of work, this is a way they can contribute, and many hospitals have begun relying on these DIY masks that are already saving lives.
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/820595489/why-germanys-coronavirus-death-rate-is-far-lower-than-in-other-countries?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Rob Schmitz
NPR
25 March 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
Compared to its European counterparts, Germany has one of the lowest coronavirus fatality rates, around 0.5%. Experts credit the low rate to the country's decentralized diagnostic systems that allow federal states to make their own decisions about testing. The country has averaged about 120,000 tests a week since late February.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90481373/some-ceos-are-giving-up-their-salaries-to-help-stop-coronavirus-layoffs?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Kristin Toussaint
FastCompany
25 March 2020
Text / Under 800 Words
In an effort to pay employees as COVID19 containment efforts take a toll on businesses, CEOs and corporate management are taking pay cuts, or giving up their pay altogether. Companies like Delta, United, Marriott, Hyatt, Lyft, and Life Time health clubs are all seeing their leadership elect for salary cuts or decreases in order to continue to pay their employees.
https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2020/03/24/europe-eyes-smartphone-location-data-to-stem-virus-spread?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Frank Bajak
CityNews
24 March 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
Some of the governments that have had the most success in getting a handle on the spread of the coronavirus have used individual location data to conduct contact tracing and track the spread of the virus. However, some in Europe and the United States worry these tools violate privacy rights, even in the midst of a public health crisis.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/24/21188779/mutual-aid-coronavirus-covid-19-volunteering?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Sigal Samuel
Vox
24 March 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Healthy citizens desperate to find a way to help those at risk of developing severe coronavirus symptoms are creating spreadsheets detailing what services they can offer to their neighbors, whether it's grocery shopping or check-in calls. The mutual aid model is complementing the ongoing work of established nonprofits.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/covid-19-mysteries-yield-to-doctors-new-weapon-crowd-sourcing?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker
Michelle Fay Cortez
Bloomberg
24 March 2020
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Compared to information-sharing methods during previous pandemics, social media and other online platforms have accelerated the pace at which doctors across the world can share best practices related to the coronavirus. “We have already saved a large number of lives just by sharing information about social distancing, propagating stories from the front lines, helping with diagnosis and treatment and connecting physicians to other sources," one doctor said.
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