This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at GSU chapter.
The coronavirus outbreak has infected over 685,000 individuals worldwide in only a span of three months. For those of us have who have not contracted the virus it has still had a significant impact on our daily lives and even our mental health. With added stress due to loss/change of job, increasingly strict social distancing measures and a constant stream of negative news it can be difficult to find hope and focus on positivity.
That being said, here’s some good news that will bring you some light during these dark times:
1. China coronavirus cases have diminished significantly in the past few days.
Being that the coronavirus began in the city of Wuhan located in China other countries have been following their lead on how to effectively tackle this outbreak. China has recently announced that they will be lifting the lockdown that was imposed on Wuhan on April 8th due to the city managing to drop the rate of new cases from 1,000+ daily to zero new cases daily for 5 consecutive days. This showcases the benefits social distancing can have during our collective fight against this virus. If we can keep it up and continue to follow suit the rest of the world should be able to experience a huge drop in new cases as well.
2. Volunteers in New York are bringing essentials to people most vulnerable to the virus.
New York has the most cases of coronavirus in the United States thus far making it even more difficult and scary for individuals most at risk for infection to leave their houses to obtain essential items such as food, medicine and various other supplies. Wanting to help those in need two New York residents, Liam Elkind and Simone Policano, started a movement called Invisible Hands where they have managed to organize 1,300+ volunteers that are helping bring essentials to those who are most vulnerable to the disease. They ensure that volunteers have not traveled outside of the United States at least 14 days prior to volunteering.
Other volunteer qualifiers to keep everyone as safe as possible include, not having any symptoms of coronavirus, not having come in contact with any individual who has tested positive for the disease and they must have been practicing social distancing. They will be wearing gloves while shopping, use self-checkout when possible and wipe down the bags and groceries they deliver. Some volunteers even take mini breaks to engage in social distancing conversations with those in need as well!
3. High temperatures and humidity could significantly reduce the transmission of coronavirus.
With spring in its prime and summer right around the corner, this is great news. Warm weather is here for most and soon approaching for others. Now, this isn’t guaranteed and will most definitely not stop the virus, but it should help slow the spread of it. Scientists are seeing some correlation between the flu and the coronavirus. Being that the transmission of the flu decreases during period times when temperatures and humidity are high they believe that this also will help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Let’s hope their hypothesis is right!
4. Netflix launched a Netflix Party in response to social distancing.
Netflix is providing its users with the service Netflix Party to help make social distancing a little less terrible. Netflix Party allows individuals to watch Netflix in sync with their friends. It synchronizes shows, playbacks and even offers group chats to discuss with your friends for no additional cost! Thank you, Netflix!
5. A 103-year-old woman recovered from coronavirus in Wuhan, China.
A 103-year-old woman contracted the coronavirus and was diagnosed on March 1st in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. After only 6 days of receiving treatment in the hospital, she recovered and was able to return home. The media has been constantly telling us that older individuals are one of the groups most at risk for infection at the fatal level. While this is true, hearing this constantly can be scary and extremely discouraging. It gives us hope to see an individual from an at-risk group recover and be able to return home to their loved ones.
6. Large corporations are contributing to the crisis.
Original Illustration by Gina Escandon for Her Campus Media
Companies such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford, Rolls Royce and Dyson are producing ventilators and respirators for the National Health Service to save lives during this crisis.
7. Many celebrities have contributed to aid during this pandemic.
Rihanna donated $5 million to coronavirus rapid response efforts worldwide. Nina Dobrev has pledged $10,000 to coronavirus relief efforts. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively pledged $1 million to Feeding America and Foods Banks Canada. Justin Bieber pledged $29,000 to the Beijing Chunmiao Charity to help with coronavirus relief in China back in February. Plenty of others have also contributed during this time of need.
8. Brewdog is making hand sanitizer and providing it for free to those in need.
A distillery company named Brewdog has begun producing its own brand of hand sanitizer called Brewgel that they are giving out for free to those who need it.
9. Apple is offering unlimited paid sick leave to staff.
Apple is offering its retail workers unlimited paid sick leave to staff members showing symptoms of the coronavirus. This can be extremely helpful to individuals who aren’t able to halt their bills during this pandemic.
The current recovery rate is pretty high. Out of the 178,000+ global closed cases to date, 146,000+ of those have recovered. That’s an 82% recovery rate thus far. The virus is still extremely dangerous and should be taken seriously, but to anyone who is panicking hopefully the knowledge that there is a high chance of recovering will ease your mind.
11. Every day we are getting closer to finding a vaccine.
It is no surprise that scientists around the world are working daily towards finding a vaccine to help end this pandemic. Here’s an update on how that is going: Doctors in India were successfully able to cure an individual infected by using a combination of HIV drugs. This could be a possible route to developing a vaccine that could be used on a global scale.
Also, a different potential vaccine is currently being tested on humans. Typically new vaccines can take around 15-20 years to perfect. Testing a vaccine on humans now indicates that we are already ahead in the process and officials are aiming to have one ready for the public as early as summer.
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It’s going to be a difficult journey, but we can make it through this pandemic as long as we work together.
Wash your hands, social distance, stay hopeful and stay safe.
