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Shared experiences on life in the time of Covid-19
With 4 million Covid dead, many kids left behind
The 4 million people who have died so far in the coronavirus pandemic left behind parents, friends and spouses — but also young children who are navigating life now as orphans or with just one parent, who is also mourning the loss.
Amish put faith in God’s will and herd immunity over vaccine
Though vaccine acceptance varies by church district, the Amish often rely on family tradition and advice from church leaders, and a core part of their Christian faith is accepting God’s will in times of illness or death.
The poor, the rich: In a sick India, all are on their own
When a pandemic wave hits, everyone is on their own. The poor. The rich. The well-connected bureaucrats who hold immense sway here, and the people who clean the sewers. Wealthy businessmen fight for hospital beds, and powerful government officials send tweets begging for oxygen. Middle-class families scrounge wood for funeral pyres, and in places where there’s no wood to be found, hundreds of families have been forced to dump their relatives’ bodies into the Ganges River.
Sniffing Labrador retrievers join Thai coronavirus fight
Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad in hopes of quickly identifying people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases, with clusters at construction sites, crowded slum communities and large markets.
The World Isolates. A New Zealand Band Plays To 50,000 Fans
While much of the world remains hunkered down, the band Six60 has been playing to huge crowds in New Zealand, where social distancing isn't required after the nation stamped out the coronavirus. The band’s tour finale on Saturday night was billed as the largest concert in the world since the pandemic began.
Pandemic redefines ‘public’ access to government meetings
A year after COVID-19 triggered government shutdowns and crowd limitations, more public bodies than ever are livestreaming their meetings for anyone to watch from a computer, television or smartphone. But in some cases, it's become harder for people to actually talk with their elected officials.
Anxiety, confusion, terror, relief: Giving birth in pandemic
As the pandemic stretches into a second year and economic worry persists, demographers are studying the reasons for an anticipated pandemic baby bust. Women, meanwhile, have learned to go through labor in masks and to introduce fresh arrivals to loved ones through windows.
Will work from home outlast virus? Ford’s move suggests yes
A report this week from the employment website Indeed says postings for jobs that mention “remote work” have more than doubled since the pandemic began. Such job postings are still increasing even while vaccinations are accelerating and the pace of new confirmed COVID cases is declining.
Warp-speed spending and other surreal stats of COVID times
The $1,400 federal payments going into millions of people's bank accounts are but one slice of a nearly $2 trillion relief package made law this past week. With that, the United States has spent or committed to spend nearly $6 trillion to crush the coronavirus, recover economically and take a bite out of child poverty.
Dragon dance ban saddens Manila residents
The Philippine government's ban on large public gatherings and street parties to fight the coronavirus dealt a big blow to hundreds of dragon dancers and production crews who are struggling to find other sources of income.
Romania activist urges people to do something good every day
“It should be the basics: do good things for others!” he said. “Even a tiny bit of good for someone around you, and no bad at all.”
From Zoom to Quibi, the tech winners and losers of 2020
We streamed, we Zoomed, we ordered groceries and houseplants online, we created virtual villages while navigating laptop shortages…
Some businesses thrived, many lagged during pandemic in 2020
A look at businesses that benefitted from the pandemic and those that faltered.
India vaccine maker sees virus as wake-up call
NEW DELHI — The coronavirus pandemic is a “wake up call” for governments to invest more in health…
In pandemic era’s isolation, meaning of ‘self-care’ evolves
The pandemic has forced people to spend more time with themselves than ever. Along the way, it has reshaped and broadened the way many think about and prioritize how they treat themselves — what has come to be called self-care.
High court blocks NY coronavirus limits on houses of worship
WASHINGTON — As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide the Supreme Court late Wednesday barred New York from enforcing…
Lights, camera, sell: Retailers want you to watch and shop
Livestream selling, already popular in China, is taking off in the US, ushering in a new way for Americans to shop online. Instead of searching for what they want, they pick up their phones, sit back, and click to buy if they like what they see.
As virus mutes Dubai nightlife, Filipino bands feel the pain
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Eric Roman struts onstage in his torn jeans and grasps the microphone. It’s…
Biden faces tough choice of whether to back virus lockdowns
Talk of lockdowns are especially sensitive. For one, they're nearly impossible for a president to enact on his own, requiring bipartisan support from state and local officials. But more broadly, they're a political flashpoint that could undermine Biden's efforts to unify a deeply divided country.
Pacific isles, secretive states among last virus-free places
From Argentina to Zimbabwe, from the Vatican to the White House, the coronavirus has spread relentlessly. It's been confirmed on every continent but one and in nearly every country. Yet a few places have yet to report even a single case of infection. Some have been genuinely spared so far, while others may be hiding the truth. Here's a closer look:
Artist gives life to Belgian boot-scrapers during pandemic
ANTWERP, Belgium — Life can feel smaller, even tiny during the coronavirus pandemic as public health restrictions limit…
Rolling with it, Keith Richards is chilling in the garden
While some performers in their seventies, including Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen, fear the pandemic is preventing them from hitting the road during their key years, Richards isn’t too concerned: “I can’t say I feel like a year has been stolen. I’ll just make up for it later.”
New Hong Kong park shows ‘Jaws’ to socially distanced crowd
Hong Kong’s first socially distanced outdoor entertainment park opened its doors to the public on Tuesday in an…
Hard-hit Peru’s costly bet on cheap COVID-19 antibody tests
Unlike almost every other nation, Peru is relying heavily on rapid antibody blood tests to diagnose active cases – a purpose for which they are not designed. The tests cannot detect early COVID-19 infections, making it hard to quickly identify and isolate the sick. Epidemiologists interviewed by The Associated Press say their misuse is producing a sizable number of false positives and negatives, helping fuel one of the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks.
Social media and Covid shaming: Fighting a toxic combination
Shaming people who get sick or don’t follow the rules in a public health crisis has been a thing since well before coronavirus, researchers say. But the warp speed and reach of social media in the pandemic era gives the practice an aggressive new dimension.
A look at virus’s impact as deaths near 1 million
The effects were global — but also personal. The virus changed how people socialized and shopped, worked and dressed. It changed how they cared for their loved ones and how they mourned them.
Indian couple run street-side classes for poor students
While many private schools switched to digital learning and online classes, children in most government-run schools either don’t have that option or don’t have the means to purchase digital learning tools like laptops and smartphones.
Cairo choir sends musical message of hope amid virus gloom
With their concerts on hiatus and their usual routine of rehearsals upended by the coronavirus, members of the Cairo Celebration Choir joined virtually with musicians and soloists to put out a hopeful message amid the virus gloom.
VIRUS DIARY: One midnight moment in Taiwan’s virus battle
More than eight months after the outbreak, the island has only had seven deaths from COVID-19 and 488 confirmed cases. How was Taiwan able to keep the numbers so low? I got to see for myself.
How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors
By paying attention to air circulation and filtration, improving them where you can and staying away from places where you can’t, you can add another powerful tool to your anti-coronavirus toolkit.
Is it safe to reopen schools during the pandemic?
Children and teens often have only mild illness or no symptoms when infected. That means they could unknowingly pose a risk to other students — who may pass the virus on to their parents and grandparents — or to teachers and other adults who might be vulnerable to severe illness if infected.
Is it safe to ride public transit during the pandemic?
Is it safe to ride public transit during the coronavirus pandemic? It depends on a variety of factors,…
Parents hoped baby Kobe Christ would play basketball
Kobe was heralded as the country's youngest Covid-19 survivor. But the relief and joy didn't last. Kobe died on June 4 from complications of Hirschsprung disease, a rare birth defect.
Donated bikes help ease difficulties through pandemic
A year after he passed away at age 17, Benjamin Canlas is still making the world a better place — one bike at a time.
In-store dancing leads to Hawaii visitor quarantine arrest
The state's news release said Salamanca is from Birmingham, Alabama. She's also a “social media influencer" in the Philippines who goes by Mika Salamanca and arrived from Manila, KITV reported.
Small businesses worldwide fight for survival amid pandemic
In New Orleans, the owner of a gallery and lounge that launched just before the pandemic hit reopened it as a takeout eatery, with himself as the lone employee. In Tokyo, a florist grabbed a lifeline from shut-in customers who bought blossoms to keep their spirits up. In Minneapolis, a dentist who refitted his office to protect patients from infection is starting over after it was destroyed in riots.
All acknowledge that reopening is just the beginning. But it is a critical milestone, nonetheless, a testament to their grit, creativity and no small amount of desperation. It’s about finding whatever works, because for now, there is no such thing as business as usual.
Profile of a killer: Unraveling the deadly new coronavirus
The coronavirus has rescripted daily life. And fighting it takes knowing the enemy, the essential first step in what could be an extended quest for normalcy.
How risky is dining out during the Covid-19 pandemic?
The coronavirus spreads through droplets that are emitted when people talk, laugh, sing, cough or sneeze. Indoor spaces are more risky than outdoor spaces because it might be harder to keep people apart and there’s less ventilation, the CDC says.
VIRUS DIARY: Trying to work while the mind works against you
This is an extraordinary time meant for asking philosophical questions, even transforming ourselves. Instead, a parade of well-worn insecurities has set up camp inside our brains and set them on spin.
Is it safe to form a Covid-19 ‘support bubble’ with friends?
Support bubbles, also known as quarantine pods, may help fend off loneliness and anxiety after months of social distancing. The idea, which originated in New Zealand, calls for two people or households to agree to socialize in person only with each other to limit the risk of infection.
In the name of the father
On the wide expanse of the Marcos Highway along the boundaries of Barangays Dela Paz and Bagong Nayon in Cogeo, Antipolo, DPWH personnel are constructing a rip-rap to prevent soil erosion beneath a high-voltage transmission line.
Gravel, sand and other construction material aside from 26 culverts can be seen next to the construction area. And a family lives there.
This is the ballad of Artemio and Armida.
Cosmetics company CEO apologizes after backlash from confronting Filipino homeowner
The CEO of a cosmetic company issued an apology Sunday after she and her husband confronted James Juanillo, who is Filipino, and threatened to call police because he stenciled "Black Lives Matter" in chalk on his San Francisco property, as the couple asserted that they know Juanillo doesn’t live there and is therefore breaking the law.
Bolivian schoolteacher gives virtual classes as superhero
In Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, a schoolteacher lives out his childhood dreams by dressing up as superheroes for the locked-down students who attend his virtual classes.
Face masks with windows mean more than smiles to deaf people
The Communicator was developed before the pandemic to address a problem that lip readers have long faced in trying to understand masked workers in hospitals. The problem has been worsened by the pandemic; many interpreters for hearing-impaired people have been unable to go into medical facilities because of the highly contagious coronavirus. But as masks have proliferated outside hospitals, so have the miseries of deaf people.
Unemployed Filipina feeds other jobless migrants in Dubai
Feby dela Peña, herself unemployed in Dubai because of the economic shutdown due to the pandemic, launched her own Ayuda project to feed jobless migrants, offering 200 free meals each day to the hungry of Dubai, all of them foreigners, like her own family.
CALL HIM ‘ALI’ | Baby boy born to OFW up in the sky on repatriation flight
The baby was born while the A330-340 was cruising over Bengal Bay at 37,000 feet, flying from Dubai to Manila with hundreds of migrant Filipino workers aboard.
DFA pays tribute to OFWs on Migrant Workers’ Day
In celebration of Migrant Workers’ Day, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will release tomorrow (June 7) at…
Quarantine bottlenecks add to woes of returning Filipinos
The sudden influx combined with the government’s limited quarantine and virus-testing capability and bureaucratic snags to set off chaotic delays and congestion in Manila hospitals, hotels and makeshift isolation structures. With public transport and flights restricted in the capital, the populous epicenter of the viral outbreak, the hordes of workers were effectively trapped from moving on to their provincial destinations.
Street dog helps see Chinese nurse through virus traumas
Zhang was among the first to respond when the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan needed help. Shipped out in early February, the 36-year-old nurse worked grueling days in heavy layers of protective gear, ministering to patients who needed assistance from breathing to eating as the coronavirus raged. Amid the emotional and physical trauma, a little street dog helped her through.
Hello and welcome: Robot waiters to the rescue amid virus outbreak
RENESSE, Netherlands—You can always count on a robot for perfect timing. When Shaosong Hu saw robotic waiters serving…
Indonesian choreographers provide digital stage for dancers
Two Indonesian choreographers are helping fellow dancers who lost their jobs due to the new coronavirus outbreak in the country by setting up a YouTube channel as a platform where dancers, choreographers and dance teachers can perform, then receive donation from viewers.
In pandemic, this airport worker controls not just ramp traffic–but also his inner fears
Asked how he feels about out working when almost everyone else is locked in their homes, Naia Ramp Controller Engr. Michael Barbieto shrugs his shoulders, not in submission, but more as a defiant gesture. “Mahirap ang napasukan ko, pero ito ay privilege, ito ang sinumpaan kong tungkulin, kaya kailangan gampanan.”
A decision taken in desperation
Desperate Indian girl bikes 1,200 kilometers home with disabled dad
Waiting for ‘new normal’ | The hunger, uncertainty deepens sorrow of this jeepney driver
Job Calayo, 62, is a jeepney driver from Antipolo City. He is one of those plying the Antipolo-Cubao route that serves thousands of middle- and lower-income workers to keep industries spinning. These days, he is anxiously waiting for the official pronouncement that jeepney drivers can already ferry passengers from Antipolo City and other areas since Antipolo attained General Community Quarantine (GCQ) status.
Detective, nurse, confidant: Virus tracers play many roles
An army of health professionals around the world is filling one of the most important roles in the effort to guard against a resurgence of the coronavirus. The practice of so-called contact tracing requires a hybrid job of interrogator, therapist and nurse as they try coax nervous people to be honest. The goal: To create a road map of everywhere infected people have been and who they’ve been around.
BALIK PROBINSYA | Lola Emiliana, 72, longs for clean air of her hometown in Pangasinan
Lola Emiliana Feliciano, 72, of Rodriguez compound, Rosario, Pasig, marked her birthday recently with a simple wish: to be back home in Pangasinan, where the clean air would be good for her ailing lungs, and food can be easily harvested.
There’s a pot for that
So began the ritual of drawing up “The List”: good for two weeks, supplying everything else that the “ayuda” didn’t cover. And that list always included leafy greens such as kangkong, talbos, alugbati, and basil—heralding his return to childhood memories of his Ilongga Lola’s backyard garden somewhere in the middle of busy Cubao to boot, and our family’s renewed love affair with potted gardening.
An antidote to coronavirus blues? A Picasso on your wall
After an eight-week delay caused by France’s COVID-19 lockdown, the Christie’s auction house in Paris is hosting a raffle draw Wednesday for “Nature Morte,” an oil on canvas that Picasso painted in 1921. Proceeds will help provide villagers in Cameroon, Madagascar and Morocco with water — a basic need more essential than ever now for people to wash and protect themselves against the global pandemic.
Recovered Filipino doctor back helping patients
Uncertainties over the coronavirus remain, but there have been heartwarming anecdotes too, like the acts of courage and sacrifice of people helping deal with the unprecedented crisis at their life’s peril.
Broadband specialists risk Covid-19 infection to keep people connected
Almost everyone is online right now, but participating in the digital economy — be it socially or for…
Plexiglass houses: Parliaments adapt to the coronavirus age
Across Europe and beyond, parliaments and governments have had to adapt their operations to stop the virus spreading through the corridors of power. Social distancing, online debates, masks, plexiglass, hazard tape, each country's legislature has its own measures.
Crematorium workers struggle with more tasks, and the pain of witnessing rushed good-byes
They’re used to the "drill" of helping grieving relatives give a proper sendoff to their dearly departed. They'd give them all the time they need to say their final good-byes, with their prayers and flowers and rosaries. These days, however, all those extended farewells are gone. Under strict health protocols prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, they must help those in mourning make swift goodbyes, before they cremate the dead.
Grit and red wine: Famous war photographer beats virus at 97
Amid the bleakness of the pandemic, some veterans still know how to win that 2020 war too — spurious comparison or not. Vaccaro, 97, was thrown into WWII with the 83rd Infantry division which fought, like Charles Shay, in Normandy, and then came to Schmetz's doorstep for the Battle of the Bulge. On top of his military gear, he also carried a camera, and became a fashion and celebrity photographer after the war. COVID-19 caught up with him last month. Like everything bad life threw at him, he shook it off, attributing his survival to plain "fortune."
Colombian company creates bed that can double as coffin
A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them.
Foreigners on front lines of pandemic in Gulf Arab states
Across the Gulf countries, the workers on the front lines are uniquely almost entirely foreigners, whether it’s in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, an isolation ward in Kuwait or a grocery store in the United Arab Emirates. They carry out the essential work, risking exposure to the novel coronavirus, often with the added strain of being far from family.
In Latin America, face masks become a form of expression
Motifs showing up on masks are varied, often reflecting local cultures. There are lucha libre-themed masks in Mexico, logos of soccer clubs in Argentina, Batman characters in Peru and colorful swimsuit prints in Colombia.
Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science’s march
In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other COVID-19, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks. Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.
Cycle power: Bikes emerge as a post-lockdown commuter option
As countries seek to get their economies back on track after the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, bicycle use is being encouraged as a way to avoid unsafe crowding on trains and buses.
Virus-era glimpses of a world without humans
For weeks in some places, months in others, swaths of humanity have zipped themselves into hibernation, trying to ride out a viral storm that has killed some and sickened many more. As humans have disappeared into that coronavirus cocoon, though, other things have asserted themselves.
Undefeated, high schoolers head online for isolation proms
In party dresses or come as you are, with colored lights flashing in their bedrooms and teachers-turned-DJs spinning, high schoolers have turned to virtual proms to salvage at least one slice of fun and tradition for the Class of 2020.
Locked down in power plants, they ensure people can tolerate being cooped up at home
Walter Alimusa, 55, has not come home for three weeks now. While most Filipinos work from home while the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is in effect, Alimusa needs to be physically present in his work area to make sure that the supply of electricity is not disrupted so people would stay at home.
Need beds? PPEs? Sanitation solutions? Call CDC’s Covid-19 logistics chief
Zoraida Camello, Clark Development Corp.’s (CDC) AVP for Administration and Finance, has the unenviable task of being the head for logistics of Clark Covid-19 Task Force, with a mission to source hard-to-find and sometimes exorbitantly priced supplies needed in response to the pandemic.
In the toughest battle of our time, they keep the lights on
Their lives are at risk every day, but mostly from hazards they constantly train to handle—the possibility of electrocution. In the era of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they concede the perils are different, sending a certain chill down their spine as they set out to work each day. Handling huge voltages of electricity is something they know about, but dealing with an unseen virus, and worse, possibly infecting one’s loved ones, is mental torture.
Have feet, will walk
Some Zambales residents locked in by the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) are heading back to their hometown on foot, their stories tugging at the heartstrings of those monitoring their difficult journey back home.
To love and to cherish: Nurse couple unites to fight virus
The Florida pair share a home, a profession and, now, a mission — shouldering the high-risk duty of placing breathing tubes in surgery patients, any of whom may have COVID-19.
A phone call, a song: Small gestures soothe COVID-19 stress
In a time of anxiety and isolation, simple acts of kindness from medical workers are giving comfort and hope to patients and their families.
A city under siege: 24 hours in the fight to save New York
Over 24 hours, a taxi driver will cruise those desolate streets, searching for the few workers who need to keep moving. A bodega owner will make a promise to a customer he hopes he’ll never have to keep. An emergency room doctor and a paramedic will labor to hold down a death toll that on this day threatens to surpass the number killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
For them and 8.5 million others, today will be nothing like just another Monday. Because long before the sun has risen, the clock has already begun counting down the latest, most punishing round in the fight for New York.
Hopeful birdsong, foreboding sirens: A pandemic in sound
The coronavirus crisis has drastically transformed the world in sound. The routine cacophony of daily life has calmed, lending more weight to the noises left behind. And in those mundane sounds, now so unexpectedly bared, many have found comfort, hope and dread.
Virus Diary: Isolation and patience on a quiet Gaza farm
As the virus invaded country after country, many Gazans hoped we would finally enjoy some benefits from the blockade. We have no tourists or cruise ships. Travel is heavily restricted. And Israel and Egypt sealed their borders early on.
Rising from sick beds, COVID medics head back to front lines
In the brutal months since France reported Europe's first coronavirus cases in January and then, in February, the first death on the continent, the scourge has infected so many thousands of doctors, nurses and other health workers in Europe that some have now recovered and are going from their sick beds back to the front lines.
‘Everybody is very scared’: Struggle to keep apart on subway
They let trains that look too crowded pass by. If they decide to board, they search for emptier cars to ride in. Then they size up fellow passengers before picking the safest spot they can find to sit or stand for commutes sometimes lasting an hour or more.
As Easter nears, virus deaths test Italian priest’s faith
Within two weeks of sitting with his parents and a fellow priest at lunch, the 53-year-old Catholic priest was grieving the deaths of both his father and the colleague who assisted him at three mountain parishes above Lake Como in northern Italy. As Easter approached, Riva prepared for his mother to die, too.
Despite lockdown-induced controls on food trade, they’ll keep farming
Filipino farmers and fisherfolk, who mostly live from the profits of their seasonal harvest, were caught in a different storm. The impact of Covid-19 on food trade comes at a time when farmers like Homer Bucad and Samson Velasco, of Gerona, Tarlac, are still reeling from the plunge of palay prices in the past two cropping seasons as rice imports increased. But for backliners like Bucad and Velasco, one thing is certain: they will continue to farm as long as they can.
103-year-old Italian says ‘courage, faith’ helped beat virus
To recover from the coronavirus, as she did, Ada Zanusso recommends courage and faith, the same qualities that have served her well in her nearly 104 years.
One fortunate 90-year-old survived COVID-19, and offers hope
Anna Fortunato, a 90-year-old survivor of COVID-19, has a message for the rest of us: Do not be afraid. Do not despair. “Keep on fighting, have that positive attitude, and pray,” she says.
She counts our money, without counting the risks. Her pledge: just to be there.
Grace Zerrudo-Estonilo admitted that she was scared at first when the management instructed her to come to office, because this meant increasing her exposure to the virus as well. Many things could go wrong once you step outside your home during this pandemic, she stressed. Being the dedicated employee that she was, however, she heeded the call of duty.
The hardest part: Coming home from work each day, and avoiding your loved ones’ embrace
Although most workers can afford to do their tasks from the safety and comfort of their homes, work never stops for Mark John O. Almase and the rest of about 30 people who are part of the skeletal workforce at Customs NAIA — even if there is no public transportation.
Rio firefighter trades hose for horn to extinguish the blues
Decked out in full firefighting gear, Elielson Silva stands 150 feet above the ground atop a retractable ladder poking up from a red fire truck. He raises his silver trumpet to his lips and the notes soar toward his audience, helping extinguish the blues from being cooped up inside their homes.
Why people need rituals, especially in times of uncertainty
Ritual is an ancient and inextricable part of human nature. And while it may take many forms, it remains a powerful tool for promoting resilience and solidarity.
Grocery workers are key during the virus. And they’re afraid
From South Africa to Italy to the US, grocery workers — many in low-wage jobs — are manning the frontlines amid worldwide lockdowns, their work deemed essential to keep food and critical goods flowing. Some fear falling sick or bringing the virus home to vulnerable loved ones, and frustration is mounting as some demand better workplace protections, including shorter hours to allow them to rest, and “hazard” pay for working closely with the public.
Bustling London life stilled by Covid-19 lockdown
When Associated Press photographer Frank Augstein moved to London in 2015, what struck him most was the crowds. In years of covering political dramas, moments of celebration and tragedy and major sporting events, Augstein's photographs have captured the city's ceaseless movement: Pedestrians swarming over the Millennium footbridge spanning the River Thames. Travelers from the U.K. and continental Europe thronging St. Pancras railway station. Commuters following London transit etiquette by carefully ignoring one another on a crowded Tube train, or waiting patiently in a snaking bus queue. Augstein revisited those sites in recent days after Britain — like other countries around the world — went into effective lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
Asian Americans use social media to mobilize against attacks
Asian Americans are using social media to organize and fight back against racially motivated attacks during the pandemic, which the FBI predicts will increase as infections grow. A string of racist run-ins in the last two weeks has given rise to hashtags — #WashTheHate, #RacismIsAVirus, #IAmNotCOVID19 — and online forums to report incidents. Critics say President Donald Trump made things worse by calling Covid-19 the “Chinese virus.”
US Navy fires captain who sought help for virus-stricken ship
The captain of a US Navy aircraft carrier facing a growing outbreak of the coronavirus on his ship was fired by Navy leaders who said he created a panic by sending his memo pleading for help to too many people.
Coronavirus survivor: ‘In my blood, there may be answers’
Tiffany Pinckney remembers the fear when COVID-19 stole her breath. So when she recovered, the New York City mother became one of the country’s first survivors to donate her blood to help treat other seriously ill patients.
Virtual volunteers offer help to strangers amid virus stress
WINTER PARK, Florida—Sitting cross-legged in her living room, Donna Borak rested her palm on her heart as she…
Music never dies: “Bolero” busts out of coronavirus lockdown
Like building a musical jigsaw puzzle, the National Orchestra of France used the magic of technology to weave together the sight and sounds of its musicians, who filmed themselves playing alone in their homes into a seamless, rousing whole.
Coronavirus hits rich and poor unequally in Latin America
Many of the wealthy are already recovering, but experts warn that the virus could kill scores of the poorest people, who must work every day to feed their families, live in unsanitary conditions and lack proper medical care.
Fake news or the truth? Russia cracks down on virus postings
Russian authorities declared a war on "fake news" related to the new coronavirus. The crusade was triggered by what looked like a real disinformation campaign, but as the outbreak in Russia picked up speed and criticism of the Kremlin's "it is under control" stance mounted, the authorities cracked down on social media users doubting the official numbers and news outlets questioning the government's response to the epidemic.
Volunteers fill gaps amid UK pandemic lockdown
Britain is in the process of mobilizing around 750,000 volunteers to help vulnerable people after the government ordered a nationwide lockdown. So many individuals have offered to help — three times more than requested — that the government put recruitment on hold until it could process the number who had already come forward.
Indian migrants walk hundreds of miles to go home
It was an exodus unlike anything seen in India since the 1947 Partition, when British colonial rule ended and the subcontinent was split between Hindu-majority India and mostly Muslim Pakistan.