In their article for The New York Times, Tiffany Hsu and Marc Tracy cover the coronavirus global pandemic and the effect the stay at home orders are having on local newspapers across the country.  COVID-19, the virus that originated in Wuhan, China and has now swept across the globe is having devastating consequences on local economies which includes daily papers struggling to hang on.  One example of this that the article covers is in St. Louis Missouri where a paper known as the Riverfront Times tries to cope with the global health crisis.  The already struggling paper apparently knew they were in dire trouble when the local restaurants that provide the organization with advertising revenue began shutting down as a result of government containment efforts.  The loss of local events that provide sponsorship money for small papers such as the Riverfront Times have decimated these small businesses revenue streams and threaten to end their publications once and for all.  With lay offs across many of these local publications, newspaper owners are looking for creative ways to help stimulate life into their businesses. 

While I find this news to be incredibly sad and disheartening to learn how far reaching the COVID 19 virus’s affects are on our economy, I am not at all surprised.  With digital news completely overtaking print media in recent years, small newspapers have been playing catch up to try and remain relevant for years now.  All it took was one massive and unpredictable financial downturn to serve as the final nail in the coffin for many of these small businesses. 

Over the last week, our country, and others across the globe have taken drastic measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. One such action is the canceling or temporary postponement of in-person classes. Many colleges and universities, as well as high schools, middle and elementary schools, have closed their doors nationwide. These unprecedented decisions have been made in hopes of “flattening the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic. However, some argue that this decision could result in collateral damage, forcing citizens to make tough decisions to practice social distancing. An article featured in the New York Times discusses the case for and against nationwide school closures. 

The biggest concern that prompted the closure of schools was fear that infections would spread faster, leading to increased hospitalization that could potentially overwhelm the nation’s hospital systems. By limiting contact with others, and flattening the curve, the number of infected individuals can be more easily managed. Although many school-aged children appear to experience few, if any symptoms, they can still carry the virus, which is fatal to older populations. Alongside this, adults are more “reliable” in terms of their ability to carry out simple precautions such as washing their hands and avoiding touching their faces. School environments are often breeding grounds for disease, as children are in close contact with others and packed into small areas. With schools being open, older employees are at risk as they may interact with hundreds of students from across the region daily. 

Those who are against shutting down schools cite the apparent disruption to education that closures will cause. Sure, some schools can move to online learning. However, many are not prepared for this change. Alongside this, some students may have little to no access to the internet, let alone devices necessary for online class participation. Many feel this will set students back significantly, as most are losing up to an entire semester’s worth of education. In terms of concerns related to childcare, roughly 1.5 million students are homeless, using a school as a haven. Others who have a home cannot be left alone, leaving parents to forfeit their work salaries to care for their children.

In some cases, children may be left under the care of their grandparents, who are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. We could also potentially face a shortage of healthcare workers in the event they are forced to stay home and care for their children. Perhaps most importantly is the issue of food. Nearly 30 million children depend on school for lunch, 15 million depending on school for breakfast. With two essential meals lost as a result of school closures, millions of children will be left hungry. 

With all this in mind, it should come to no surprise that this has been a very tough decision for schools across the country to make. We are being forced to choose between a lesser of two evils, with no clear winners. We can only hope that these measures will contain the spread effectively and sooner than currently projected. As summer approaches, such cancellations could impact camp, and other summer programs depended on by parents and young children for child care, safety, and food. 

The Department of Health and Human Services experienced a cyber attack over the weekend. People close to the incident say the attack’s goal was to disrupt and cause disinformation as the corona virus pandemic spreads across the United States. It is believed that a foreign actor implemented the attack but at this point the federal network is functioning normally.

On Sunday night the National Security Council sent out a tweet warning about fake text messages. The tweet also prompted a message from a unknown military source saying he overheard that a mandatory quarantine was the next step for our nation. When misinformation is spread with reckless abandon it can certainly effect the population especially in weird times like this where everyone is looking for all the facts to keep themselves safe.

The attack also involved overloading the Department of Health and Human Services servers with millions of hits in only a few hours and thankfully the agency said the overloading was unsuccessful in slowing down their systems. The attack was suspected and as the intensity of the corona virus was ramping up the agency put extra protections in place to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

Along with the cyber security attacks president Trump issued a statement that at this time there is no mandatory quarantine but the issue of social distancing has gotten more traction within the last week. It started with cancelation of sporting events to cancelation of events with 250 people and now as of Monday people should limit themselves to groups of no more than ten people and people should work from home when possible.

Article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-16/u-s-health-agency-suffers-cyber-attack-during-covid-19-response

Image: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-16/u-s-health-agency-suffers-cyber-attack-during-covid-19-response

The NBA decided to abruptly suspend the rest of the season following all games Wednesday evening after Utah Jazz player, Rudy Gobert, tests positive for COVID-19.

Utah was seconds away from tipping off at their game against the Thunder on Wednesday night when they were notified that the game would be delayed 30 minutes, soon after being completely cancelled. Nobody quite knew what was happening when a member of Thunder’s medical team approached and spoke to the referees on the court. Players immediately returned to their locker rooms.

Utah Jazz later released a statement explaining how an unidentified player tested positive for coronavirus. The player identified himself as Rudy Gobert.

The NBA was already losing money due to conflicts with the Chinese government. In addition to that, playoffs were in the near future – a time where the NBA expects both an increase in viewers and ratings.

The NBA is unsure what will happen in the future with the effects of the virus.

Cacciola, Scott, and Sopan Deb. “N.B.A. Suspends Season After Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2020, http://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/sports/basketball/nba-season-suspended-coronavirus.html.

In this article, it explains the measures being taken to get information out about Coronavirus. As we know, the Coronavirus has surfaced and grown immensely in the past few months. It is now starting to spread around the United States, and people need to be prepared and educated on what’s happening. Media platforms are taking action and making sure their users are aware of it. What Instagram is doing is “highlighting links to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health authorities​ whenever someone taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19.” I think these are outstanding features to have in place. It is also mapping out longer-term solutions to help connect people who are searching for related terms that have to do with COVID- 19 with credible information. Making sure the information they are putting out in the world is correct is much needed. Instagram is taking serious measures in checking over the information before it is posted and restricting hashtags. All of the media platforms are doing an excellent job so far in relaying information and making sure everything is credible. They are taking the steps required. Instagram is one of the most popular media platforms people use, so it is great they are doing this. This article portrays just how serious the spread of the Coronavirus is getting. Making sure we are washing our hands, not touching our faces and making sure we stay home if we do not feel well are vital things you can do to stop the spread. 

If you haven’t heard were in the middle of a new fancy pandemic called the corona virus. The national and local media have been reporting on the virus on a 24/7 basis giving the public quite a good scare. This week the four biggest pro sports in the United States have closed locker rooms and clubhouses to media and all non-essential staff. This comes after the leagues all consulted with infectious disease and public health experts and they decided this was the best course of action at this time. Media will still have access to the team but all media activity is suspended to designated areas outside the locker room and in the sporting venues. When conducting press conferences from now on there will be a six-foot barrier between team coaches and players and media personal.

No games have been canceled yet but outside of the United States in countries where the corona virus is more prevalent pro soccer matches were played without fans being present. When Lebron James was asked if he would play without fans present he said, “I play for the fans; that’s what it’s all about, if I show up to the arena and there ain’t no fans there, I ain’t playing.”

Along with no direct media access MLB teams have asked their players to stop signing autographs and instead have pre signed merchandise for their fans. Some players like Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers have stopped meeting with fans all together over fears of the contagion. At the end of the day the goal of these measures are to keep everyone safe, hopefully the pandemic dissipates before it gets more serious.

Image: https://www.wthr.com/article/major-professional-sports-leagues-restrict-access-amid-coronavirus-concerns

article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2020/03/09/mlb-nba-close-locker-rooms-media-amid-coronavirus-concerns/5005660002/