The Latest: At-home tests, a new aid bill, and “survival mode”
Dear Reader,
This week, I’ve read several great stories about humans’ ability to adapt to trauma and even thrive afterward. It’s a mixture of brain science and incredible natural resilience. “We often emerge from extremely difficult times with a fresh perspective of what ‘bad’ is and a new appreciation for what is good,” writes Robert Roy Britt for Elemental.
Experts say people’s survival mode is in high gear right now, and you can tell by the amount of baking, gardening, and sewing on social media. Turns out there’s more to the sourdough trend than simply filling time — homemaking tasks offer a bit of control and a sense of accomplishment that many of us were lacking even before the pandemic. Competence = confidence.
What’s New:
- The first at-home Covid-19 test approved: The Food and Drug Administration gave LabCorp the green light for a test that allows people to provide samples at home. (Read more).
- First Covid-19 death was earlier than thought: Santa Clara County Public Health in California announced that autopsy results found three early cases of Covid-19 deaths. The first case was a person who died on February 6. The first known death from Covid-19 in the U.S. was previously declared on February 29 to be a person in Washington state. (Read more).
- Senate passes aid bill: The Senate passed a $484 billion relief package to replenish the small-business loan program, fund hospitals, and help coronavirus testing. The House is expected to pass it on Thursday.
- Beware of the second wave: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that a second wave of Covid-19 infections in the winter could be “more difficult” because it could happen earlier in the flu season. (Read more).
Follow our Medium Coronavirus Blog for regular updates, and read some of the essential stories we’ve curated below.
Be well,
Alexandra Sifferlin
Editor, Medium Coronavirus Blog
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Powerful Perspective:
“People say this isolation is like a prison, but it’s not. In there, you never have the chance to see something like this, to maybe even one day be a part of it.” — Vanessa Santiago, “I Served 22 Years in Prison and Was Just Released Into a Pandemic”
New On The Blog:
Early Antibody Studies in California Suggest High Infection Rates
The Two Coronavirus Tests You Need to Know About
The FDA Gave the Green Light to the First At-Home Coronavirus Test
Helpful Stories for Our New Normal
What Survival Experts Say About Quarantine Baking
‘A New Greatest Generation’: How Our Natural Resilience May Surprise Us
The Four Pandemic Emotions, Explained
It’s Not Ethically Wrong to Enjoy Quarantine
Personal Pandemic Stories
I’m Being Held at a Border Detention Center. I’m Scared They’ll Let Us Die.
“You Can’t Kill a Legend” — My Mother’s Battle Against Covid-19
Immigrant, Dad, NYC Cab Driver: A Son’s Tribute to a Father Lost to Covid-19
6 Smart Reads
Howard Schultz: America’s Small Businesses Need a Marshall Plan
The Absurd Reason ‘Covid-19 Is a Lie’ Ended Up Trending on Twitter
Death Can’t Take the Stories Our Elders Pass On
Trump Should Lead a Strategy to Improve Testing, Not Abdicate to the States
There Are Not Enough Covid-19 Tests. There Are Also Too Many Covid-19 Tests. (FiveThirtyEight)
Why Some People Get Sicker Than Others (The Atlantic)
