August 20 - Updates on COVID-19
Section 1
CAMPUS SNAPSHOT
Outside the COVID cocoon. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI
UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS
Code Lavender: How hospital chaplains grapple with COVID-19
The coronavirus has profoundly altered the work of UCI Health chaplains. “One thing the pandemic has taught me is the importance of touch — holding a hand, a hug — the human element has been lost and that deeply affects people,” one minister says.
Pandemic oral histories project
To encourage efforts to document the experiences of various groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives created a video, “Collecting Pandemic Histories: Experiences of Underrepresented Communities,” on how to preserve COVID-19 experiences.
HOPE, INSPIRATION, LAUGHTER
Amid the heartbreaking loss of life and economic hardship wrought by the coronavirus, we recognize the need for stories of kindness, hope, courage and humor.
Satire: Classrooms and COVID-19
As schools reopen for in-person or remote learning, humor websites are lampooning the situation. “High school adds cardboard students between distanced desks to maintain normal feeling of oversized classes,” says a headline in The Onion. And a Babylon Bee headline says, “Public schools now preparing kids for a lifetime of soul-crushing Zoom meetings.”
Domino’s delivers surprise to couples who had to postpone weddings
Sure, it’s a publicity stunt, but sweet nonetheless. The pizza chain found five couples who had to delay their nuptials because of the pandemic, told them to expect a surprise, then delivered everything listed in their wedding registries.
GENERAL COVID-19 NEWS
Note: Some news organizations require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal for students, faculty and staff.
Orange County records first child death from COVID-19
A teenage girl with “significant underlying medical conditions” has become the first Orange County resident under age 18 to succumb to the virus, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Reopening elementary schools is risky — but so is keeping them closed
Online learning worsens educational disparities for lower-income children, raises anxiety and depression in students and adults, causes higher levels of obesity, increases child abuse and domestic violence, and spurs job losses because of the need to care for children at home, a one expert says. Officials face a difficult choice.
Going remote makes it harder for colleges to reach first-gen students
The pandemic has upended support systems for many students.
The virus isn’t going away. That’s why colleges need to reopen
Defeating COVID-19 is likely four or five years away, according to epidemiologists, but pausing in-person education that long would be devastating to colleges and their students, a campus president argues. “The decision to reopen is high-stakes, and hardly simple … [but] universities need to take control of the virus — and show our communities how to do the same.”
Who is and isn’t wearing masks
To check on mask compliance, the Los Angeles Times and The New York Timestallied face coverings in selected spots. In both cases, men were much less likely to wear masks. And overall compliance varied.
L.A. Zoo to reopen Aug. 26
The attraction plans to reopen to the public after a five-month shutdown during the pandemic. Capacity will be limited.
FDA warns about UV lights to disinfect
Lamps that use ultraviolet light to kill germs can deactivate the coronavirus, but they are not all safe and it’s unclear how well they kill the virus, the agency said. The FDA also said UVC wavelengths are better than UVA and UVB.
Third antigen test to diagnose COVID-19 authorized
The FDA has approved a third antigen test to diagnose coronavirus. The test requires a nasal swab and can give results right away.
U.S. jobless claims top 1 million again
After two weeks of declines, the number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week.
The virus has mostly spared Africa. Scientists can’t explain why
Theories include genetic factors, past exposure to other coronaviruses and regular exposure to malaria and other diseases that boosts African immune systems.
UCI IN THE NEWS - COVID-19 Article List
Physics Today, Sept. 1, 2020
Cats and llamas could offer a path to coronavirus therapies
Spectrum News 1, Aug. 20, 2020 (Video)
UC Irvine hosts contact tracing training with an eye on health equity
Phys.org, Aug. 19, 2020
Research team develops low-cost, accurate COVID-19 antibody detection platform
News Medical Life Sciences, Aug. 20, 2020
Lab-on-a-chip technology detects COVID-19 antibody
MORE INFORMATION
OC-COVID19.org - powered by UCI and UCI Health, a website devoted to providing timely, useful, evidence-based information about the novel coronavirus pandemic to our friends and neighbors across Orange County
UCI Coronavirus Information Hub - more information on campus status and operational updates
UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health