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California lessons from the 1918 pandemic: San Francisco dithered; Los Angeles acted and saved lives

James Rainey Rong-Gong Lin II

April 19, 2020 |

Los Angeles Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Two of California’s major cities – Los Angeles and San Francisco – are learning from their history with the Spanish Influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic. The two cities had different approaches, with San Francisco strongly requiring masks, shutting down later, and opening up earlier and Los Angeles shutting down almost immediately and waiting an extra month to open up. Over one hundred years later, leaders are looking back to learn from mistakes to save lives.

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Long before coronavirus, Philly ran a quarantine center for another deadly contagion

Frank Fitzpatrick

April 18, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

From 1802 until 1895, Philadelphia ran a quarantine center that required all in-bound ships to stop and all on-board to be quarantined until cleared of any possible infectious diseases. Although the center is no longer in use, it provides a unique history lesson for the current coronavirus pandemic of the success that can come by restricting movement to prevent further spread.

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Covering Coronavirus: A Tale of Two Washingtons

Miles O'Brien

April 17, 2020 |

PBS Frontline |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Kirkland, Washington

When the novel coronavirus spread to the United States, local government in Washington State responded more proactively than the federal government in Washington, D.C. The state's approach included widespread testing at a nursing home that was the epicenter of the outbreak and quickly introducing social distancing measures, which have helped the region already notice a decrease in the rate of transmission.

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An Army of Virus Tracers Takes Shape in Massachusetts

Ellen Barry

April 16, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

While East Asian countries have found success in deploying technology to do contact tracing, or a method of virus containment in which disease detectives track and monitor the interactions and movements of known infected people, U.S. states like Massachusetts is relying on people power. In a $44 million program, the state government is hiring more than 1,000 tracers. San Francisco is using 150 volunteers, and Ireland is sending out 1,000 furloughed government workers.

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In Vietnam, There Have Been Fewer Than 300 COVID-19 Cases And No Deaths. Here's Why

Michael Sullivan

April 16, 2020 |

NPR |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Vietnam

Vietnam has been praised for their collective response to containing coronavirus which was predicated on early and aggressive action and applying lessons learned from earlier communicable disease outbreaks. Although the country did not implement a lockdown until April 1, political leaders began taking actions as early as January.

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The big lesson from South Korea's coronavirus response

Christina Thornell Danush Parvaneh Ranjani Chakraborty Mac Schneider

April 10, 2020 |

Vox |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: South Korea

Having learned lessons from the 2015 MERS outbreak, South Korea was quick to implement both widespread testing and contact tracing at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although cases were only just beginning to be reported in the country, government officials were already working with bioengineers to create test kits in order to "prepare for the worst."

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Prisons' Use of Solitary Confinement Explodes with the COVID-19 Pandemic, While Advocates Push for Alternatives

Jean Casella Katie Rose Quandt

April 10, 2020 |

Solitary Watch |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisiana

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, prisons are having to figure out ways to keep it from spreading across inmate populations. A popular response has been cell lockdowns, drawing criticism from advocacy organizations and judges across the country. Being compared to solitary confinement, which takes extreme physical and mental tolls on individuals, groups like Amend, the Vera Institute, and the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture are offering alternative plans that are less punitive while still protecting those experiencing incarceration.

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Sweden's government has tried a risky coronavirus strategy. It could backfire.

Alex Ward

April 09, 2020 |

Vox |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Where government restrictions are lax, residents adopt social distancing measures voluntarily to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Sweden, the trust between much of the country’s population and a public health system disinclined to advise for long-term shutdowns at the national level has left residents and businesses to enact social distancing and sheltering measures more gradually. In the long-term, there appears to be a relationship between Sweden’s relatively higher caseload and voluntary containment policies when compared to its neighbors.

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Lessons From the HIV Epidemic for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Heather Boerner

April 08, 2020 |

Medscape |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Both the successes and failures of the nationwide Ending the HIV Epidemic plan offers lessons for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for rural parts of the United States. One significant lesson is that of addressing health disparities linked to social determinants that prevent community members from accessing affordable or reliable health care. When "structural access to healthcare," was addressed in cities where HIV rates were higher, many saw those rates decrease, especially when the Affordable Care Act led to the expansion of Medicaid.

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How South Korea is running a nationwide election in the midst of a pandemic

Suhyoon Lee

April 07, 2020 |

Quartz |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: South Korea, Seoul

While countries around the world have delayed elections due to lockdown measures and fear of further infections, South Korea plans to go ahead with its nationwide elections, and the country does not have to rely on mail-in ballots to pull it off. Thanks to stringent testing, contact tracing, and isolation, the infection rate is currently low. The government also plans to disinfect polling stations, provide hand sanitizer, check temperatures of voters, and encourage mask-wearing and social distancing.

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