The government doesn’t know how many people have died of COVID-19, in part because it didn’t require nursing homes to report cases to the CDC. In some states, over half of deaths are in nursing homes.
There is plenty the military could do to help protect public health, such as by helping with supply logistics and providing workers to do important tasks – including health care professionals.
Joyce Dalsheim, University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Persecution is central to Jewish collective memory. So when armed police entered ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem to close synagogues due to COVID-19, some residents reacted with fear and suspicion.
Images of religious buildings being used to treat the sick shouldn’t come as surprise. The practice has a long tradition, dating back to the Middle Ages.
Bert Ely, University of South Carolina et Taylor Carter, University of South Carolina
Every time the virus copies itself it makes mistakes, creating a trail that researchers can use to build a family tree with information about where it’s traveled, and when.
Ayfer Ali, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Drug repurposing represents our only hope for the treatment of COVID-19 in the short term. But quick and rigorous trials need to be run to provide evidence these drugs work.
While preliminary tests indicate user data isn’t being sent to the government, a publicly-available source code is needed to ensure the app’s transparency.
For many children, the pandemic means staying at home, not seeing friends or going to the playground. It’s difficult to regulate emotions with so much going on. But there are ways parents can help.
An “outlier” poll suggests most people approve of the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, but remain distrustful of the government’s performance more broadly.
Anxiety and loneliness affect many people at the best of times. The pandemic-induced isolation and stress won’t be helping, but cities can do many things to improve the ‘emotional climate’.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne