Tag Archives: coronavirus

Things You Can Do This Weekend Inside

Things You Can Do This Weekend Inside

By Patrick Wilson

While increasing numbers of us are spending more time social distancing, attempting to avoid the Coronavirus, we are finding ourselves with a whole lot of time to worry about the situation at hand. Many of us have had a very high stress level since the 2016 election. The ineptness of our government to handle the situation, or even let us know the seriousness of it is apalling. If we are to persist, we need to take care of ourselves.

Yoga

Yoga blends a bit of the mind, body and soul. There are many proven benefits both physically and mentally. Yoga reduces stress. It improves respiration, energy and vitality. Maintains metabolism. Improves cardio and circulatory health. Some studies have shown that yoga helps increase the maximum uptake of oxygen. According to healthline.com, “After a three-month yoga program, the women had significantly lower levels of cortisol. They also had lower levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression.”

Spa Night(or Day)

There are so many times that we wish we had a day or two to nurture our needs. For some, it might be lighting those candles and actually soaking in the tub without thinking about the time. A facial, manicure/pedicure, massage, we can by treating ourselves stay a little healthier. Others might like to organize their space, polish that gear, start to get rid of that extra stuff that’s just sitting around. Cleanse the body, cleanse the house, cleanse the soul.

Read a Book

What a great opportunity after a spa night or day, or even perhaps during, to rekindle our love for books. The smell, the crispness of the pages, the first fold. Letting our imaginations take us to different times and places, learning new things. Maybe pull out that old copy of ‘Rules for Radicals’. This is a great time to read a book.

Have a Party

Having a Party is a social event. Going to a bar/club many times is a social thing. Having tea with the ladies is definitely a social thing. Even that afternoon sesh is a social thing. Just because we can’t do those things in person right now doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the same things virtually/remotely. Facebook live allows you to add other users to your stream which goes out on facebook. There’s also Hangouts(google), and YouTube(also google) which offers ways for you to make that stream public or private(you and your guests).

Live Performance

Many musicians and bands are playing online shows using facebook or other online mediums. They are doing it for good causes. Many of these performances, although free, offer the opportunity to donate a few bucks, which normally goes to struggling artists and the places that they normally perform. Maybe you haven’t performed in a while, but why not. People are doing it informally in the comfort of their kitchen or living room. You don’t even have to be a musical artist. Now is a great time to share our passions.

Do a Cooking Show

Have something that you’re really good at making? We all have plenty of devices that are connected to social media. Why not get things organized and do a facebook live and teach others how to make your dish too. People are able to interact with your stream as well, so this is also great social interaction. If you can’t break bread together, why not kinda make it together this way.

Play Board Games

If you’re at home with family and loved ones, think about pulling out some of those old dusty board games. Sooner or later you are going to want to do something besides stare at television and computer/device screens, and board games offer not only a diversion from the news but an opportunity to interact on other subjects. With televised sporting events canceled, those that like to wager are finding different outlets for their entertainment.

Germinate Seeds

Marijuana is legal now in many states. Thank Goodness, right?! In many states, it’s also legal to grow your own. In the northeast, it’s about the right time to start seedlings. This is very simple to do. You obviously have to get some seeds. I would recommend buying some legally, that way you at least have an idea what you are going to get. There are tons of how-to videos and instructions online that can help you with the process. Grow and Share. This is also a great time to germinate flowers and vegetables for planting in spring.

Make a Podcast or VideoBlog

Are you a media junkie? Do you have expertise in an area that is of public interest and pertinent? Maybe you teach a college course or two. Share your knowledge as it relates to current events. You can help to not only educate the public, but also give diminished voices a place to be heard. There are many simple ways that you can do this using your phone, tablet or computer.

Take an Online Class

Students around the world are going to be continuing their educations online for the near future. Part of our health is our mental health, and nourishing the mind is as important as the body. It doesn’t matter what your age or educational level is, there are free educational opportunities online that are structured and will allow you to learn valuable new skills.

‘They Are Saving Our Lives’: Demand Grows for Grocery Store Employees, Other Frontline Workers to Receive Hazard Pay Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

‘They Are Saving Our Lives’: Demand Grows for Grocery Store Employees, Other Frontline Workers to Receive Hazard Pay Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

“Crewmembers are terrified, knowing their job is putting them on the frontlines of a global pandemic.”

byJake Johnson

Grocery stores and other U.S. businesses remaining open amid the coronavirus pandemic are facing pressure from unions and activists to provide hazard pay for employees whose jobs involve tasks that put them at direct risk of exposure to the infectious disease.

“Trader Joe’s needs to provide workers hazard pay starting right now,” tweeted Trader Joe’s Union, an account formed by a group of workers pushing for the store’s employees to unionize. “Crewmembers are terrified, knowing their job is putting them on the frontlines of a global pandemic. It is not enough to receive [paid time off] only after being proven sick.”

“We have been hearing from workers across the country interested in unionizing,” the group added, “but we’ve also been hearing from workers who feel forced to work until they get sick, who don’t have the means to find safety or security in calling out, and who are terrified at what’s to come.”

A video posted by chef José Andrés of supermarket employees stocking shelves in the early hours of the morning Monday sparked an outpouring of gratitude for the essential role grocery store workers are playing in providing Americans with food and other necessities during the outbreak.

Supermarket jobs are overwhelmingly low-wage and often don’t come with decent benefit packages—or the luxury of working from home until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides.

“They deserve hazard pay and paid sick leave,” said one Twitter user. “They should also get some [paid time off] once this crisis passes.”

Andrés, founder of a non-profit devoted to providing meals following natural disasters, amplified that demand:

Unions are also demanding hazard pay for public-sector workers facing possible on-the-job exposure to COVID-19, which has infected at least 3,600 people and killed 66 in the United States.

“The federal government has hundreds of thousands of workers who come in daily contact with the public—workplace inspectors, mail carriers, hospital workers, park rangers, passport processors, Social Security representatives, museum workers,” the Washington Post reported Saturday.

In written testimony to Congress last Wednesday, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) demanded that government employees facing possible exposure to the novel coronavirus receive adequate protections and hazard pay.

Government Executive reported last week that three Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers in San Jose, California tested positive for COVID-19 and “a couple dozen employees deemed to have had contact with those workers are home on self-quarantine.”

TSA workers are not currently eligible for hazard pay, despite their jobs requiring daily interactions with hundreds of travelers.

“We do everything we can to protect passengers, but who is protecting us?” Hydrick Thomas, president of AFGE’s TSA Council, asked in a statement last Thursday.

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Source: ‘They Are Saving Our Lives’: Demand Grows for Grocery Store Employees, Other Frontline Workers to Receive Hazard Pay Amid Coronavirus Outbreak | Common Dreams News

Amid Years of Funding Cuts to Public Health, First US Case of China’s Coronavirus Detected

Amid Years of Funding Cuts to Public Health, First US Case of China’s Coronavirus Detected

Public health advocates say state, local, and federal agencies are underprepared to cope with the spread of a new infectious disease.

By Julia Conley

Officials in Washington State reported Tuesday that a resident was diagnosed with the coronavirus which was first detected in Wuhan, China last month, leading federal public health agencies which have suffered billions of dollars in cuts in recent years to issue warnings and post information about the illness.

“This is an evolving situation and again, we do expect additional cases in the United States and globally,” Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Washington Post.

On social media, observers in both the U.S. and Canada noted that the spread of the coronavirus follows cuts to the CDC and other agencies.

The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a nonpartisan public health advocacy group, published a report last April saying that public health efforts are currently underfunded by $4.5 billion.

“Recent increases to funding for public health emergency preparedness, including for weather-related emergencies, have not made up for resources lost in earlier years, let alone emerging threats,” the group wrote. “The CDC also lacks sufficient dedicated funding to adequately support the cross-cutting, foundational capabilities that form the backbone of comprehensive public health systems at the federal, state, and local levels.”

As Modern Healthcare reported at the time, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) provides state and local health agencies with the bulk of their funding, but the fund has been slashed numerous times in recent years.

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed a bill that diverted more than $6 billion from the fund over nine years to make up for cuts to Medicare physician payments. President Donald Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in 2017 slashed the fund by $750 million.

The budget bill passed by Congress in 2018 cut the fund by $1 billion over 10 years. The Trump administration in 2018 further diverted millions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“When CDC funding is cut, state and local governments are often forced to reduce funding for critical programs including those to prevent chronic and infectious diseases, to protect environmental health and to provide vaccinations for children, among many others,” said John Auerbach, CEO of TFAH, last year as the group released its report. “These are programs Americans need and support. They shouldn’t be constantly on the chopping-block.”

Public health cuts in recent years have already sent federal officials scrambling to allocate funding in the midst of potential crises, according to Modern Healthcare. The CDC had to request emergency funding in 2014 when a number of people in the U.S. contracted Ebola during West Africa’s epidemic, and in 2016 to fight an outbreak of Zika.

“That kind of funding impedes the ability of public health to actually prevent risk or to respond in a timely manner,” Auerbach told Modern Healthcare. “If the funding comes in the midst of an emergency you’re quickly doing catch-up.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) is meeting Wednesday to determine whether the coronavirus should be considered a global health emergency.

The respiratory illness has killed at least six people in China and has sickened nearly 300 people there, as well as several in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

The risk for the general population in the U.S. is considered low, according to the CDC; older adults with health conditions may be at increased risk for infection.

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Source: Amid Years of Funding Cuts to Public Health, First US Case of China’s Coronavirus Detected | Common Dreams News