The Last Dance

     The Last Dance, a 10-part mini-series about the end of the 1990's Michael Jordan Bulls Dynasty, is the closest people have to watching sports given that the NBA, NFL, EPL, and Olympics have all been canceled. While nothing new in terms of watching the actual game footage can really air, there's plenty of unseen footage of the historic team and the extremely historic player, Michael Jordan. It also gives people the new lens through which to view the season, that of the Chicago Bulls themselves, in a way changing the way the game is seen and therefore offering a new type of entertainment. The release of this series was pushed forward to meet this very need the coronavirus has created: people's need for something new in sports. I think this is a brilliant solution and will help keep people from getting too bored without their favorite programs.


https://www.cnet.com/news/the-last-dance-and-michael-jordan-are-perfect-distractions-in-a-world-desperate-for-sport/

Hypertension and Covid-19

Researchers decided to look at the 5,700 patient records of those infected with Covid-19 between March 1 and April 4 to see if there were any common demographics among them. They found that over half of the patients with severe cases had hypertension, which is high blood pressure. Additionally, less than half were obese and a third had diabetes. Hypertension, obesity and diabetes are all known risk factors for covid-19, but they also found that asthma doesn't seem to have as much of a role in outcomes as it seemed to. Since hypertension exacerbated the virus in the majority of patients, professionals are now recommending that people with this condition talk to their doctor as soon as they become symptomatic or exposed to the virus.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/coronavirus-ventilators-survival/

Journalists' Visas Revoked

         A little over a month ago, the Trump administration limited and started revoking the Visas of Chinese news reporters. Then, China retaliated by expelling at least 13 US Journalists from major publications such as The Washington Post, New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Not only are actions like these escalating tensions between the two superpowers in a time when cooperation is key, but also, when the administration presents a policy that seems to blame people from a certain place, people are bound to pick up on it and maybe take undesirable actions. What do you guys think? Do you think that the ban is going to help lessen the spread of the virus? Do you think it could lead to hate crimes?


https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/mar/18/us-media-accuse-china-of-cold-war-mentality-after-move-to-expel-journalists

How long will social distancing last?

It’s been over a month since Santa Clara County announced its shelter-in-place. While it’s supposed to end May 3rd, that may not be the case. Until a vaccine is developed (around 12-18 months), measures have to be taken in order to make sure the virus doesn’t create a surge of cases. One reason social distancing is extremely important is due to Santa Clara not having enough hospital beds to care for everyone (about 4,500). It also allows health care providers to increase their resources and delays the peak of cases. If it’s lifted too quickly, a resurgence will happen. Social distancing may transition to what is called the “lightswitch” method where there are periods of heavy social distancing and periods without. This way, hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed with a large number of cases until a vaccine is ready. The website these predictions are from also has an interactive model in which you're able to see what could potentially result from doing social distancing and the light switch method.

If you look at the graphs, you’ll notice that these graphs call for social distancing/the lightswitch method to last until July 2021 for it to be effective and minimize damage as much as possible. Of course, there is no absolute predictor for how long this will last, I doubt it will end on May 3rd. San Jose State University, as well as California State Fullerton, just announced it’s classes for fall 2020 will be online. While the future remains unknown, I hope that we all get the first semester of college we deserve, considering our last semester of high school has abruptly ended. 

Sources:

https://covid-measures.github.io/

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/21/839623300/cal-state-fullerton-announces-plans-for-a-virtual-fall-will-other-colleges-follo

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/22/sjsu-cal-state-east-bay-considering-hybrid-of-online-and-in-person-classes-for-fall/

Quarantine in Peru

The president of Peru, Martin Vizcarra, had declared a 15-day shelter in place essential and stated that if anyone was seen outside they would be arrested. Later on, he declared that the quarantine would be extended but that it would be acceptable to go to get essential needs.  The only condition was that men and women would go out on designated days. Men would only be allowed to go out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Women would only be allowed to go out on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This was the rule for the next 26 days.

Coronavirus is causing a spike in Hate Crimes

   During the Coronavirus, we are faced with new challenges every day. Another problem that has sparked because of the Coronavirus is hate crimes. In the United States, part of the problem is that a portion of Americans believe that Coronavirus is race-related and is spread because of Asians. This misinformation that is spread around the internet is not only racist, but it is causing harassment and in severe cases assault and battery. To combat this the FBI is trying to alert local authorities around the country to be more vigilant in impacted minority communities. The real root of the issue is the wide variety of information available on the internet. People can easily share radical and incorrect information. This creates a wide spectrum of beliefs and fears. Americans need to question the credibility of their information. 

Campbell, Josh. “FBI Concerned about Potential for Hate Crimes during Coronavirus Pandemic.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/politics/fbi-hate-crimes-coronavirus/index.html.

Serology tests

This Wednesday, April 22, the governor of California declared that the “state-ordered 1.5 million coronavirus serology tests or antibody tests “ and are to be used in 130 Californian facilities. The will be used to detect the antibodies of those who were previously infected with the virus. This test will help scientists learned more about how long the antibodies stay inside the body and if they provide any immunity at all. This information can also be very useful in developing a possible cure or treatment for COVID-19, etc.


https://patch.com/california/temecula/1-5-million-abbott-serology-tests-ordered-ca-coronavirus