INSIDER
VIRUS TODAY: Americans celebrate Thanksgiving differently
Read full article: VIRUS TODAY: Americans celebrate Thanksgiving differentlyHereโs whatโs happening Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:โ The coronavirus pandemic continues to encroach on traditions. Many Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday are somber, being scaled back, not held at all, or held virtually as Americans cope with their losses and restrictions aimed at beating back the virus. โ With public health officials begging Americans not to travel, the Macyโs Thanksgiving Day Parade was scaled back and aimed at a television audience instead of live crowds. THE NUMBERS: More than 12.7 million Americans have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, with deaths topping 262,000 since the start of the pandemic. ___Find APโs full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
Do you suspect youโve had COVID-19? Hereโs an easy way to get an antibody test and confirm
Read full article: Do you suspect youโve had COVID-19? Hereโs an easy way to get an antibody test and confirmIโd heard rumblings that you could give blood through the American Red Cross, and theyโd test your blood for antibodies. Worth mentioning: The Red Cross says itโs a perfectly safe time to donate, despite COVID-19. How to interpret your resultsMine said: โCOVID-19 Test Result: NEGATIVE.โ And I blanked for a second, as in, โNegative? Learn more about COVID-19 antibody testing.โ (Itโs like the Red Cross knows that weโre not all health experts). The Red Cross could use your donation one way or the other.
My pandemic pregnancy, turned pandemic homebirth: โIt was a very intimate settingโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy, turned pandemic homebirth: โIt was a very intimate settingโWhen Kriss Reed learned she and her husband were expecting their first child, she started researching homebirths.
My pandemic pregnancy: โI was lucky I acted fastโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy: โI was lucky I acted fastโAuthorโs note: This is not MY personal story, per se, (despite the โmy pandemic pregnancyโ headline), but a story told by our readers, week by week. Todayโs is shared by Yvonne.
11 times we were reminded there is good, despite the dud of a year weโve had
Read full article: 11 times we were reminded there is good, despite the dud of a year weโve hadDespite the fact that the entire world has been living through a pandemic, there has been a lot of good happening, and we have managed to find quite a bit of it. There are so many people doing good things, but weโll start by sharing these 11 stories with you. It was some time before the two were reunited, but when they did, โthey were laughing like teenagers.โWant to read more? Community raises $300K for injured, retired Army veteranโs new smart home: โPam will never be aloneโU.S. Army Sgt. โAnd I didnโt want to put anyone in danger.โThen, Knowles found out about some special face coverings for the deaf.
With no sense of smell post-COVID-19, this woman believes a โguardian angelโ alerted her to a gas leak in her home
Read full article: With no sense of smell post-COVID-19, this woman believes a โguardian angelโ alerted her to a gas leak in her homeLinda Mcgrath said missing sense of smell nearly cost her her life after a gas leak sprung in her Livonia, Michigan, home, about five months after her coronavirus diagnosis. She reached out to us in response to an article we previously published about COVID-19-related smell loss. โI had a guardian angel a couple of weeks ago when I heard a hissing noise and realized I had a gas leak." When her son arrived, it was clear Mcgrath didnโt know the extent of the leak, because she never smelled a thing. A few days later, the woman said, a house nearby in Livonia blew up from a gas leak, confirming how dangerous Mcgrathโs situation could have been.
Face mask check: Are you being hygienic enough?
Read full article: Face mask check: Are you being hygienic enough?By now, wearing a face mask when youโre out and about or around crowds of people should be nothing new. Hereโs what the WHO had to say about using a fabric mask:Wash your hands before putting on the mask. If you need to use the mask again, hold it at the elastic loops when removing it from the bag. If hot water is not available, wash the mask in soap or detergent and room-temperature water, followed by either boiling the mask for 1 minute OR; by soaking the mask in 0.1% chlorine for 1 minute and thoroughly rinsing the mask with room-temperature water (there should not be any toxic residue of chlorine on the mask). Make sure youโre continuing to socially distance yourself from people who arenโt in your household, keep washing those hands and try to avoid touching your face as much as possible.
Calling all business owners: How have you been affected by COVID-19?
Read full article: Calling all business owners: How have you been affected by COVID-19?But we do want to hear from you, business leaders and owners, if youโre so willing to share. What are the specific ways youโve been affected? Is your community coming together to order takeout in droves, or has business been flat ever since February or so? If youโre comfortable providing some details, weโd love to hear them, and possibly feature you in a future news story. And if youโre not interested in that, but youโd still like to unload, please.
My pandemic pregnancy: โWeโre 18 years old ... We had to jump inโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy: โWeโre 18 years old ... We had to jump inโWhen Delicia Garzaโs newborn daughter underwent surgery, an operation that required an overnight hospital stay, the San Antonio woman said it felt like the walls were closing in on her.
Will coronavirus cancel Halloween?
Read full article: Will coronavirus cancel Halloween?Salem is already planning for a drastically pared-down Halloween season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Boston.com. A lot remains unknown as the coronavirus situation continues to evolve -- and considering Halloween is still about two months away. Perhaps, if you have children, 2020 is the year of โHalloween at a distanceโ or โHalloween at homeโ rather than considering the holiday a complete wash or a cancellation. Perhaps thereโs a neighborhood near you that does Halloween right: Big decorations, cool lights or something else. All right, we just said it once but weโll repeat it for the people in the back: Halloween is still weeks and weeks away.
โThere was no such a thing as remote learningโ for at least 463 million children, UNICEF official says
Read full article: โThere was no such a thing as remote learningโ for at least 463 million children, UNICEF official saysAt least a third of children couldnโt access remote learning when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools, creating โa global education emergency,โ the U.N. childrenโs agency said. At the height of lockdowns meant to curb the pandemic, nearly 1.5 billion children were affected by school closures, UNICEF said. โFor at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning,โ UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. The highest number of children affection by region were in South Asia, at least 147 million, according to the report. The youngest children are also most likely to miss out on remote learning during critical years, the report said, largely due to challenges and limitations to online learning for young children and lack of assets at home.
My pandemic pregnancy: From infertility to cancer to IVF to a 20-week scare: โIt happened exactly how it was supposed toโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy: From infertility to cancer to IVF to a 20-week scare: โIt happened exactly how it was supposed toโWhen Hillary Calhounโs fertility doctor brought her in for a procedure and then a nurse called her just a few short business days later, asking her to come into the office immediately, the now-36-year-old had a hunch something wasnโt right.
Teachers could stay in classroom even if exposed to COVID-19
Read full article: Teachers could stay in classroom even if exposed to COVID-19ATLANTA โ New guidance from President Donald Trumpโs administration that declares teachers to be โcritical infrastructure workersโ could give the green light to exempting teachers from quarantine requirements after being exposed to COVID-19 and instead send them back into the classroom. โCritical infrastructure workers'South Carolina health officials also describe teachers as critical infrastructure workers, although it's unclear if any district there is asking teachers to return before 14 days. Among the first districts to name teachers as critical infrastructure workers was eastern Tennesseeโs Greene County, where the school board gave the designation to teachers July 13. In Georgia, suburban Atlanta 's Forsyth County has also designated teachers as critical infrastructure workers. Floyd County said Thursday it would reverse its designation of teachers as critical infrastructure workers.
My pandemic pregnancy: โIf we make it through this, weโre really meant to beโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy: โIf we make it through this, weโre really meant to beโWhen Jennifer Cardenas found out she was pregnant, she envisioned a baby shower surrounded by her friends and family, carefree spring days filled with walks in the park, and her delivery, with her husband and her mother by her side.
My (hopeful) pandemic pregnancy: Inside the world of IVF and COVID-19 -- โItโs terrifyingโ
Read full article: My (hopeful) pandemic pregnancy: Inside the world of IVF and COVID-19 -- โItโs terrifyingโGoing though in vitro fertilization, or IVF, under normal circumstances, can be a challenge, both mentally and physically -- and for some, thatโs phrasing it mildly.
Want to keep up on all the latest COVID news? These webinars offer an opportunity to hear from all the top experts
Read full article: Want to keep up on all the latest COVID news? These webinars offer an opportunity to hear from all the top expertsWith so much COVID-19 information constantly swirling and evolving, do you ever wish you could hear from the trusted experts themselves, directly? โCOVID-19 Conversationsโ is a weekly webinar series from the American Public Health Association and the National Academy of Medicine. Some experts who have been featured include government officials, top doctors and health care workers, top educators, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and more. You can find other trusted COVID-19-related webinars online, as well. Any interest in attending an online session to hear more about the latest in coronavirus news?
My pandemic pregnancy: โWe were sitting there with a happy, healthy newborn, and then suddenly, it switchedโ
Read full article: My pandemic pregnancy: โWe were sitting there with a happy, healthy newborn, and then suddenly, it switchedโWhen Melissa Vick gave birth to her first child, a son, in May 2017, she and her husband Greg felt like they were able to share him with their friends and family, almost immediately.
This letter brought a Publix employee to tears -- the happy kind
Read full article: This letter brought a Publix employee to tears -- the happy kindโI told him smiling is a part of our uniform and I want to make my customers happy in these hard times. And we have deaf customers. โAll other customers are so happy to see my smile and (theyโre) giving so many compliments.โNow, back to the letter. As happy as Knowles felt being able to better communicate with customers, it had nothing on what Travers wrote on her behalf to Publix management. Asli texted, โI like to smile and I think this pandemic is making everyone upset and I want to make customers happy with my smile.
This advice will make you want to drop whatever youโre doing and drive around the block: โRodents ate my carโ
Read full article: This advice will make you want to drop whatever youโre doing and drive around the block: โRodents ate my carโEven though life, in some ways, has started returning to normal, itโs safe to say that many of us still arenโt driving our cars as often. Whatever the case, Susan Reed, of Kalamazoo, has some advice for you: Take your car out every day, even if itโs just for a quick spin around the block. โRodents ate my car,โ Reed told Zak Rosen, the host and creator of โThe Best Advice Show.โIt wasnโt a cheap repair, either. But youโll definitely want to make sure youโre driving your car at least semi-regularly. โThe Best Advice Showโ is a product of Graham Media Group.
All the questions to ask yourself before planning a summer trip -- with answers from the CDC, too
Read full article: All the questions to ask yourself before planning a summer trip -- with answers from the CDC, tooSo weโll go through some of their recommendations, to perhaps anticipate some of your summer travel questions. Travel does increase your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19, the CDC said. If youโre considering cleaning your lodging area, see these guidelines on how to clean and disinfectFollow state and local travel restrictions. For up-to-date information, check the state or local health department where you are, along your route, and at your planned destination. โAlso be aware that many local, state, and national public parks have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19.โItโs just one more thing to check on.
How to get the most out of every medical visit -- especially now
Read full article: How to get the most out of every medical visit -- especially nowBut regardless of whether youโve felt sick these past few months, safe to say, you always want to get the most out of every medical appointment. Here are some tips you can use to make every medical appointment as valuable as possible. Consider a video visit. Medical offices can be overwhelmed by patients, especially lately, so if your symptoms are mild, consider a video visit to discuss your concerns and get some health recommendations. And when you choose a video visit, you will not have to drive to the office, or even get out of bed.
Still havenโt gotten your stimulus check? Some things you can check on in the meantime
Read full article: Still havenโt gotten your stimulus check? Some things you can check on in the meantimeImportant question: Have you gotten your stimulus check yet? In fact, most people donโt need to take any action, and will automatically receive the payment. Letโs talk through the tools available to investigate what might be holding up your check, prepaid debit card or direct deposit. Youโre eligible for the Economic Impact Payment, right? Hereโs a detailed list you should triple-check just to make sure youโre eligible for the payment, and see how much you should receive.
These 9 virtual or โdrive-byโ graduation party ideas are brilliant
Read full article: These 9 virtual or โdrive-byโ graduation party ideas are brilliantPlan a little watch party for your son or daughter to enjoy the Facebook graduation. Facebook is celebrating the class of 2020 with a whole week of graduation features, and a commencement program. Highlights and more will be posted to the @instagram account on Instagram, and on contributorsโ social media accounts.โGrads are encouraged to host their own virtual graduation ceremony and party via Facebook, with special features including a virtual graduation hub, custom filters, family and friends celebrations enabled by Messenger Rooms, and more. JoAnn Fabric has a whole webpage on how you can make a graduation cap embellishment out of paper flowers. This is a birthday party and not a graduation, but youโll see the general idea!
Is your skin super dry from all the hand-washing? These pantry items can help
Read full article: Is your skin super dry from all the hand-washing? These pantry items can helpWhat do olive oil, corn meal and raw sugar have in common? No, theyโre not the first three ingredients to an amazing baking recipe. They are all things that can help repair your dry hands, especially if youโve been washing them a lot more than usual, considering the coronavirus pandemic. Jordan says that using normal lotion will give you some relief, but there are many treatments you can do on your hands (or any dry skin on your body) with items that you probably have at home right now. You can watch the latest episode of StyleWise above -- and make sure you subscribe to see new StyleWise videos regularly.
You can listen to Daniel Radcliffe read chapter one of โHarry Potter and the Sorcererโs Stoneโ
Read full article: You can listen to Daniel Radcliffe read chapter one of โHarry Potter and the Sorcererโs StoneโHaving Harry Potter himself read them to you, of course! J.K. Rowling is gathering up some of her famous muggle friends to bring fans the ultimate Harry Potter quarantine entertainment. The entire first book in Rowlingโs wizarding series, โHarry Potter and the Sorcererโs Stoneโ will be available for fans to listen to, and each chapter will be read by a different celebrity once a week, starting off with Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter. The site is full of puzzles, quizzes and articles that focus on everything Harry Potter and Hogwarts. You can watch a video of Radcliffe reading chapter one of the book here, or listen to it on Spotify.
Coronavirus might mean less Corona beer on Cinco de Mayo
Read full article: Coronavirus might mean less Corona beer on Cinco de MayoBut weโre referring to Corona beer and Cinco de Mayo. Typically, the dominant choice of beer for those celebrating Cinco de Mayo is Corona. But Corona likely will be consumed way less than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic, that is unrelated in name. In February, a report in the Denver Post said Corona was taking a public relations hit due to people fearing they would get coronavirus by drinking Corona. Cinco de Mayo has surpassed St. Patrickโs Day and the Super Bowl for beer consumption on one day, with Corona virtually holding a monopoly on advertising and sales for beer on Cinco de Mayo, according to Loop Insights.
Forget pro, college sports: Why the absence of youth sports might have biggest impact of all
Read full article: Forget pro, college sports: Why the absence of youth sports might have biggest impact of allLittle League International, which announced the move, also canceled regional tournaments but said the events would return in 2021. By contrast, the NFL, the worldโs most affluent professional sports league, generated roughly $16 billion in 2018, according to USA Today. Major League Baseball generated $10.7 billion in 2019 and the NBA nearly $8 billion in 2018, according to Forbes, so youth sports generated more money than those leagues combined. The owner of Michigan Elite Volleyball Academy in suburban Detroit, an organization thatโs home to 150 youth volleyball teams and has produced numerous Division I college volleyball players over the years, Sack had been, as usual, making preparations for the clubโs signature event. โYou go from ramping up to this.โCancellations of such big youth sports events have a serious trickle-down effect, too.
All your favorite childrenโs books, reimagined for the age of COVID
Read full article: All your favorite childrenโs books, reimagined for the age of COVIDA mother of two mindlessly picked up a paintbrush in late March, and started painting the cover of one of the books she had read to her children earlier in the day -- and said she incorporated some โcartoonifiedโ coronavirus themes, to try to make the situation less scary.
Nervous someone in your house has COVID-19? Hereโs how to safely separate that person
Read full article: Nervous someone in your house has COVID-19? Hereโs how to safely separate that personFirst of all, try to give the person who is sick a separate bedroom and bathroom, if possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The person who is sick should stay separated from other people in the home as much as possible. If someone besides the person who is sick must clean up after them, only clean the area when needed, such as when the area is soiled. Shared bathroomItโs important that the person who is sick cleans and disinfects after themselves after each use. Whoever removes the garbage bag should use gloves while handling and disposing of the trash, and wash hands immediately after.
My car has been sitting and the battery is dead. Now what?
Read full article: My car has been sitting and the battery is dead. Now what?And what if your car wonโt start because of a dead battery? To revive a dead battery, first make sure each car is in park or neutral -- and turned off. Then, connect one end of the cable to the positive terminal of the donor battery, and then connect the other end to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Let the dead battery charge for a few minutes, and then turn the ignition on the vehicle of the dead battery to see if it starts. This only applies if you:a) Have someone to take you to a repair shop or the store right away to buy a new battery.
Earth Day organizers say we should celebrate 50th anniversary online -- so, how do we do that?
Read full article: Earth Day organizers say we should celebrate 50th anniversary online -- so, how do we do that?Have you ever celebrated Earth Day, perhaps by planting a tree or doing something good for the environment? Considering the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Earth Day Network has announced a shift to โglobal digital mobilizations.โItโll be Digital Earth Day! Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of these โglobal digital mobilizations," which you can follow on its social media accounts. But organizers still want to โmobilize millions in a call for transformative action for our planet.โโAt Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. Thatโs now been postponed to October 24-25, 2020 to mark the half birthday of Earth Day.
Simple, effective ways to make your Facebook conversations more civil
Read full article: Simple, effective ways to make your Facebook conversations more civilAnyone else finding themselves spending more time than usual on social media, considering the coronavirus pandemic? But like most things, Facebook is whatever you want to make it. You donโt have to give up on social media in general, or even Facebook in particular. The social media giants say theyโre working hard behind the scenes to remove bot accounts and build a better platform. In the meantime, here are some simple yet effective things you can do to make your own Facebook interactions less contentious and more civil.
A quarantine quiz: How much have you been embracing this strange time in our lives?
Read full article: A quarantine quiz: How much have you been embracing this strange time in our lives?But as the coronavirus pandemic continues sweeping the globe, we canโt be the only ones who have found ourselves doing a few out-of-the-ordinary routines and practices. Or conducting virtual happy hours or pulling out that Amazon Kindle from four Christmases ago. Weโll look back on this time someday and itโll be a strange, beautiful thing we shared: all this โalone, togetherโ business. So with that said, check all the boxes that correspond with activities youโve done recently. Did you check more boxes than you imagined, or perhaps not as many as you thought you would?
Game over? Sports bars face long-term slump without live contests
Read full article: Game over? Sports bars face long-term slump without live contestsBut the long term-prognosis might be worse because of one question: What will sports bars and restaurants do without games or events for the foreseeable future? March sadness for accounting booksJust like other sports bar employees across the country, Russell Luxton was counting down the days until March. Even when sports bars are allowed to resume dine-in services, there wonโt be games returning alongside the opening of those establishments. When those youth teams have games or practices in the evening, sports bars are usually popular destinations to go out to eat afterward. Luxton said ideas such as dart and Golden Tee tournaments have been floated about once RJโs is ready to open again.
Struggling to stay sober? Curious about cutting back? This app just might save you
Read full article: Struggling to stay sober? Curious about cutting back? This app just might save youIt includes sober dating, travel information, community groups, booze-less guides, where to find the best mocktails; you name it. Gottlieb said there has been a lot of interest in Loosidโs โsober curiousโ groups. How can the app help? For example, select โI just relapsed and I need helpโ or โWeekend and holiday support,โ and youโll be linked with people and resources. โSome people are coming out of the hospitality industry -- people with no money, who need help now,โ Gottlieb said.
Are babies supposed to wear face coverings? (No). Why do we need these now? Your mask questions, answered
Read full article: Are babies supposed to wear face coverings? (No). Why do we need these now? Your mask questions, answeredIn case you missed it, health officials are now recommending that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings, for example, in spots where it might be difficult to maintain social distancing. Just keep in mind: โThese face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing. Cloth face coverings are especially important to wear in public in areas of widespread COVID-19 illness.โGot it. Wearing cloth face coverings is an additional public health measure. โCloth face coverings can be made from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost,โ the CDC said.
How to order takeout, grocery shop, wipe down your food in the safest ways possible
Read full article: How to order takeout, grocery shop, wipe down your food in the safest ways possibleSo, how do you order or pick up food while staying in line with all the recommended precautions? Hereโs what youโll do: Grab your delivery order off the porch, open the package or packages, wash your hands, plate your food, and then dispose of the containers. Wipe down and sanitize your counter that the food sat on and wash your hands before and after eating. Wipe off those items when you bring them home from the store, or wash your hands especially after touching them, McGeorge recommended. Finally, donโt put chemical cleaners directly on your food, ever, McGeorge said.
Who are the famous people with coronavirus? A list of all the celebrities, politicians, athletes tied to COVID-19
Read full article: Who are the famous people with coronavirus? A list of all the celebrities, politicians, athletes tied to COVID-19Tom Hanks and Rita WilsonThe couple were in Australia when they tested positive. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.โSenator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as Iโm still experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Idris ElbaThe actor and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre, have coronavirus, according to social media along with published news articles. I tested positive for COVID19.
Why are liquor stores considered โessentialโ during COVID-19 pandemic? Here are 5 reasons
Read full article: Why are liquor stores considered โessentialโ during COVID-19 pandemic? Here are 5 reasonsBut diving into the issue more closely, the reasons why liquor stores remain open and thriving become a little clearer, even if they are debatable to some. Here are five reasons why it can be beneficial for liquor stores to remain open during the pandemic. Given this, liquor stores technically fall under the category of โfood and agricultureโ on the level of grocery stores and pharmacies, and thus, are considered essential. Grocery stores donโt have the selection of liquor stores. Do you agree that liquor stores should be considered essential, and thus, be allowed to remain open?
Earth Day organizers say we should celebrate 50th anniversary online -- so, how do we do that?
Read full article: Earth Day organizers say we should celebrate 50th anniversary online -- so, how do we do that?Have you ever celebrated Earth Day, perhaps by planting a tree or doing something good for the environment? Considering the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Earth Day Network has announced a shift to โglobal digital mobilizations.โItโll be Digital Earth Day! Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of these โglobal digital mobilizations," which you can follow on its social media accounts. But organizers still want to โmobilize millions in a call for transformative action for our planet.โโAt Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern. Thatโs now been postponed to October 24-25, 2020 to mark the half birthday of Earth Day.