csmonitor--2020-05-14--Why youth migrants at U.S. border face immediate deportation

Young migrants and asylum seekers swim across the Rio Grande and clamber into the dense brush of Texas .
Many are teens who left Central America on their own ; others were sent along by parents from refugee camps in Mexico .
They can be as young as 10 .
Under U.S. law they would normally be allowed to live with relatives while their cases wind through immigration courts .
Instead , the Trump administration is quickly expelling them under an emergency declaration citing the coronavirus pandemic , with 600 minors expelled in April alone .
The expulsions are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entry of migrant children , following other programs such as the since-rescinded `` zero tolerance '' policy that resulted in thousands of family separations .
Border agencies say they have to restrict asylum claims and border crossings during the pandemic to prevent the virus ' spread .
Migrants ' advocates call that a pretext to dispense with federal protections for children .
In interviews with The Associated Press , two recently expelled teens said border agents told them they would n't be allowed to request asylum .
They were placed in cells , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Then , after four days , they were flown back to their home country of Guatemala .
The AP is withholding the teens ' last names to protect their privacy .
Brenda , 16 , left Guatemala in hopes of reaching the United States to eventually work and help her family .
Her father works on a farm , but it 's not enough .
`` We barely eat , '' she said .
Her family borrowed $ 13,000 to pay a smuggler , and months later she crossed illegally .
Authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a Texas stash house , she said .
`` I did ask to talk to my brother because he wanted to get a lawyer , because he wanted to fight for my case , '' she said .
`` But they told me they were not letting people talk to anyone .
No matter how much I fought , they were not letting anyone stay . ''
She is now under quarantine at her family 's home .
Similarly , Osvaldo , 17 , said agents would n't let him call his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children in a cold room and issued a foil blanket as well as a new mask and pair of gloves each of the four days he was in custody .
Someone took his temperature before he was deported , but he was n't tested for the coronavirus until he was back in Guatemala .
Osvaldo was given no immigration paperwork , just the medical report from his examination .
`` I thought they would help me or let me fight my case , '' Osvaldo said , `` but no . ''
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the AP is not identifying because she fears retribution for speaking publicly , spent months at a squalid camp in Matamoros , Mexico , across from Brownsville , Texas , waiting for their immigration court dates under the Trump administration program known as `` Remain in Mexico . ''
When she lost an initial decision , she decided he would be better off temporarily with her brother in the United States .
She watched him swim across the Rio Grande .
The woman expected he would be treated the same as before , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Border Patrol and taken to Department of Health and Human Services facilities for eventual placement with a sponsor , usually a relative .
But the mother heard nothing until six days later , when her family received a call from a shelter in Honduras .
`` They had thrown him out to Honduras , '' she said .
`` We did n't know anything . ''
The boy now lives with a family member in the capital , Tegucigalpa .
Another relative has agreed to take him back to the family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returns to care for him .
But she fears her former partner , who abused and threatened both of them .
`` He does n't want to eat .
All he does is cry , '' the woman said .
`` I never imagined they would send him back there . ''
Their case was first reported by CBS News .
Amy Cohen , a psychiatrist who works with the family and leads the advocacy group Every Last One , criticized the government 's treatment of the boy and other children .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ending with the experience of being placed on a plane by himself and flown to a country where no one knew he was coming , '' she said .
Under a 2008 anti-trafficking law and a federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement , children from countries other than Canada and Mexico must have access to legal counsel and can not be immediately deported .
They are also supposed to be released to family in the U.S. or otherwise held in the least restrictive setting possible .
The rules are intended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ falling into the hands of criminals .
U.S. Customs and Border Protection began the expulsions in late March , using the emergency as justification for disregarding the Flores rules .
CBP said it processed 166 children last month as `` unaccompanied '' minors , meaning they would be taken to HHS youth holding facilities and allowed to stay in the U.S. at least temporarily , and the remaining 600 were expelled .
But HHS says it received just 58 unaccompanied minors in April .
Spokesmen for both agencies were not immediately able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exempts children from expulsion on a `` case-by-case basis , such as when return to the home country is not possible or an agent suspects trafficking or sees signs of illness . ''
An agency spokesman declined to provide more specifics .
CBP acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said last week that the U.S. may keep expelling migrants even as states begin to ease coronavirus restrictions .
Meanwhile , as the virus has spread through immigration detention facilities , the U.S. has deported at least 100 people with COVID-19 to Guatemala , including minors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights at the Women 's Refugee Commission , said the virus is an excuse for expelling children , and the Trump administration could admit them and still counter its spread through measures like temperature checks and quarantines .
`` At the very heart of it , '' she said , `` it has always been about trying to block access to protection for children and families and asylum seekers . ''
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage .
It ’ s free .

Young migrants and asylum seekers swim across the Rio Grande and clamber into the dense brush of Texas. Many are teens who left Central America on their own; others were sent along by parents from refugee camps in Mexico. They can be as young as 10.
Under U.S. law they would normally be allowed to live with relatives while their cases wind through immigration courts. Instead, the Trump administration is quickly expelling them under an emergency declaration citing the coronavirus pandemic, with 600 minors expelled in April alone.
The expulsions are the latest administration measure aimed at preventing the entry of migrant children, following other programs such as the since-rescinded "zero tolerance" policy that resulted in thousands of family separations.
Border agencies say they have to restrict asylum claims and border crossings during the pandemic to prevent the virus' spread.
Migrants' advocates call that a pretext to dispense with federal protections for children.
In interviews with The Associated Press, two recently expelled teens said border agents told them they wouldn't be allowed to request asylum. They were placed in cells, fingerprinted, and given a medical exam. Then, after four days, they were flown back to their home country of Guatemala. The AP is withholding the teens' last names to protect their privacy.
Brenda, 16, left Guatemala in hopes of reaching the United States to eventually work and help her family. Her father works on a farm, but it's not enough.
"We barely eat," she said.
Her family borrowed $13,000 to pay a smuggler, and months later she crossed illegally. Authorities later took her into custody in April at a Texas stash house, she said.
"I did ask to talk to my brother because he wanted to get a lawyer, because he wanted to fight for my case," she said. "But they told me they were not letting people talk to anyone. No matter how much I fought, they were not letting anyone stay."
She is now under quarantine at her family's home.
Similarly, Osvaldo, 17, said agents wouldn't let him call his father. He was held with other children in a cold room and issued a foil blanket as well as a new mask and pair of gloves each of the four days he was in custody.
Someone took his temperature before he was deported, but he wasn't tested for the coronavirus until he was back in Guatemala.
Osvaldo was given no immigration paperwork, just the medical report from his examination.
"I thought they would help me or let me fight my case," Osvaldo said, "but no."
A 10-year-old boy and his mother, whom the AP is not identifying because she fears retribution for speaking publicly, spent months at a squalid camp in Matamoros, Mexico, across from Brownsville, Texas, waiting for their immigration court dates under the Trump administration program known as "Remain in Mexico."
When she lost an initial decision, she decided he would be better off temporarily with her brother in the United States. She watched him swim across the Rio Grande.
The woman expected he would be treated the same as before, when such children were picked up by the U.S. Border Patrol and taken to Department of Health and Human Services facilities for eventual placement with a sponsor, usually a relative.
But the mother heard nothing until six days later, when her family received a call from a shelter in Honduras.
"They had thrown him out to Honduras," she said. "We didn't know anything."
The boy now lives with a family member in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Another relative has agreed to take him back to the family's rural village, if the mother returns to care for him. But she fears her former partner, who abused and threatened both of them.
"He doesn't want to eat. All he does is cry," the woman said. "I never imagined they would send him back there."
Their case was first reported by CBS News.
Amy Cohen, a psychiatrist who works with the family and leads the advocacy group Every Last One, criticized the government's treatment of the boy and other children.
"This boy has gone through multiple traumas, ending with the experience of being placed on a plane by himself and flown to a country where no one knew he was coming," she said.
Under a 2008 anti-trafficking law and a federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement, children from countries other than Canada and Mexico must have access to legal counsel and cannot be immediately deported. They are also supposed to be released to family in the U.S. or otherwise held in the least restrictive setting possible. The rules are intended to prevent children from being mistreated or falling into the hands of criminals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection began the expulsions in late March, using the emergency as justification for disregarding the Flores rules. CBP said it processed 166 children last month as "unaccompanied" minors, meaning they would be taken to HHS youth holding facilities and allowed to stay in the U.S. at least temporarily, and the remaining 600 were expelled.
But HHS says it received just 58 unaccompanied minors in April. Spokesmen for both agencies were not immediately able to address the discrepancy.
CBP says it exempts children from expulsion on a "case-by-case basis, such as when return to the home country is not possible or an agent suspects trafficking or sees signs of illness." An agency spokesman declined to provide more specifics.
CBP acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said last week that the U.S. may keep expelling migrants even as states begin to ease coronavirus restrictions.
Meanwhile, as the virus has spread through immigration detention facilities, the U.S. has deported at least 100 people with COVID-19 to Guatemala, including minors.
Michelle Brané, director of migrant rights at the Women's Refugee Commission, said the virus is an excuse for expelling children, and the Trump administration could admit them and still counter its spread through measures like temperature checks and quarantines.
"At the very heart of it," she said, "it has always been about trying to block access to protection for children and families and asylum seekers."
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This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-04-13--Daily for April 13, 2020

Daily for April 13, 2020

Rep. Vikki Goodwin ’ s district in Texas took swift action to protect residents from the novel coronavirus in early March .
Austin canceled the popular SXSW festival for the first time in more than three decades , losing an estimated $ 350 million in revenue .
But last week , 30 miles out in her district , which stretches into the sparsely populated Hill Country , the town of Lago Vista 's golf course was still open – a week after Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott issued a statewide stay-at-home order .
In more suburban and rural stretches of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense that the virus is a distant , perhaps overblown , crisis .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
“ That ’ s a concern to me , ” says state Representative Goodwin , a Democrat .
“ In rural areas the feeling is it hasn ’ t gotten there yet and it won ’ t spread .
There ’ s maybe a false sense of security.
” The U.S. , as has been widely reported , has adopted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
But there ’ s also a divide between steps taken in America ’ s large cities , where the disease hit first , and its rural counties , where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor and social distancing has long been a way of life .
The idea that “ it can ’ t happen here ” also plays on cultural suspicions that date back to Aesop ’ s Fables , where the country mouse tells the city mouse she prefers her plain food and simple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and security that go with it .
Now , as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging .
In a recent poll , 74 % of Democrats support restrictive policies to protect people , including some infringements on civil liberties , as did 71 % of Republicans .
“ The initial take among a lot of elected officials and Southerners in general , especially in rural areas , was ... ‘ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t see it , ’ ” says Cal Jillson , a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas .
“ When you put the importance of church with the small government ethic and where people don ’ t want to be told what to do , it ’ s true , you can do the wrong thing for a good and understandable reason and still pay a very heavy price.
” In rural America , that ’ s playing out from pews to boat ramps .
In St. Augustine , Florida , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ petition to reopen the beaches of St. Johns County , despite the state ’ s 20,000 confirmed cases .
“ People have called me selfish , but this has become much bigger than me , ” says Mr .
Hires , a surfer in his 30s , in a phone interview .
He points out the golf course was allowed to stay open , and says he just wants early and late-morning hours with no congregating .
“ I ’ m more libertarian .
I don ’ t like the government infringing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also an element of personal freedom .
If you live near the beach and the ocean is your sanctuary , you should be able to go there.
” Where social distancing is built in Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a big city , but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland , scrub , and desert .
Until early April , Governor Abbott preferred to let cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action .
As more cases were reported , Lyle Larson , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been calling for weeks for a statewide order .
He understands the various interests the governor had to balance , however , including politics and broader health care realities , including that 26 rural hospitals have closed across the state since 2010 .
“ Some people don ’ t like the government making blanket declarations on what they can and can ’ t do , and there are others who want a total shutdown , ” says Representative Larson .
People in rural areas have social distancing “ already built into their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when the statewide order went into effect , “ people took that seriously.
” A handful of states with large rural populations have yet to order statewide lockdowns , trying to balance local interests against what former FEMA director Craig Fugate calls a “ slow-rolling disaster.
” “ What is happening is that there is much less coordinated federal control in this emergency than in past ones , so you do see an absolute flowering of federalism driven by ... geography , demography , and ideological makeup , ” says Mr. Jillson .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the South or Mountain West and you have a diverse state geographically – a few major cities and large open stretches between them – you have been conflicted as to how to proceed.
” Noting a regional difference , “ we ’ ve been pretty aggressive as a geography and I think that ’ s important , ” Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , a Democrat , said on CNN .
Governor Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order in March , one of the first governors to do so , but Michigan remains one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25,000 cases .
In contrast , South Dakota Gov .
Kristi Noem , a Republican , told a press conference in early April that “ the people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.
” And , she added , “ South Dakota is not New York City.
” Over the weekend , one of the largest pork processors in the U.S. , Smithfield , announced it was shutting down its Sioux Falls plant indefinitely after 293 workers tested positive .
People talk about infringements on constitutional rights , but “ what I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibilities : You live in this country and you have a duty that includes not endangering others , ” says Polly Price , a professor of law and global health at Emory University in Atlanta .
“ This kind of effort relies on citizen participation.
” On Tybee Island , the stakes have risen dramatically .
On March 20 , after spring break crowds flocked along Tybrisa Street , the city barricaded the beach .
But in early April , as part of a statewide lockdown order , Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access their common outdoor property .
His chief of staff even urged , “ Go to the beach !
” As a precaution , Governor Kemp sent dozens of state troopers and game wardens to patrol to make sure social distancing protocols were observed .
Ken and Jessica Branch drove down from North Carolina , where beach communities have closed off access to outsiders .
“ As long as we abide by the rules , I think we ’ ll be OK. We needed a break .
We needed this , ” says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lockwood , on the other hand , watched beachgoers violate six-foot distancing orders as they passed each other on narrow dune overwalks .
“ Governor Kemp is basically saying , ‘ Stay at home , but don ’ t take it seriously , ’ ” says Mr. Lockwood .
Like many Republicans along the conservative Georgia coast , state Rep. Jeff Jones , a carwash operator , has struggled to come to terms with the governor ’ s decision .
On one hand , he says , “ I think media reporting of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Representative Jones disagrees with Mr. Kemp ’ s decision to reopen the beaches , including those in his district at St. Simons Island .
“ I am scratching my head , ” he writes in an email .
“ Locally , we logically knew that if people travel away from their homes , the chances of spreading the highly contagious CV-19 increased exponentially .
This has , no surprise , turned out to be correct.
” To Mr. Fugate , who served as Florida ’ s emergency director under former Republican Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic President Barack Obama , the case-by-case approach underscores larger failures of communication as the pandemic moves into arguably more vulnerable populations , given health and welfare disparities in the South .
“ Until we have enough ability to do rapid testing and until everybody self-isolates , we are still on the front end of the pandemic , ” says Mr. Fugate , who hails from a Southern tobacco farming family and vacations on Georgia ’ s Jekyll Island .
“ We ’ re seeing places like New York explode , we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then now Albany , Georgia , and these micro-areas that don ’ t have a lot of depth [ in their health care systems ] .
We know what to do , yet we are reluctant or slow to embrace the only tools that we have .
It ’ s a brutal math : Do people die or do businesses die ?
” No cruise ships , but no lockdown The fears of outsiders played out in Huntsville , Alabama , as the crisis began in late February .
A federal plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decommissioned Army base fell apart amid a conspiracy theory-fueled pushback from residents and politicians .
Seeing what he considers a lack of resolve in the federal response , Michael Barton , Calhoun County emergency management director , initiated the state ’ s first infectious disease task force .
Until two weeks ago , Alabama had not recorded a single death and Republican Gov .
Kay Ivey had resisted a lockdown .
“ Y ’ all , we are not California , ” she said .
“ We are not New York .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week , as the state recorded 1,400 cases – including 200 nurses – Governor Ivey switched course , ending a press conference with a prayer for Alabamans ’ safety .
“ Those numbers are increasing and that gets people ’ s attention , ” says Mr. Barton , a former special deputy United States marshal .
“ Sure , we have some people saying it ’ s overblown .
But the mantra we are following here is we are going to prepare for the worst and work for the best.
” On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrived .
While the beaches are technically open , the city fought to keep the majority of narrow dune crossovers closed to enforce distancing .
And after the town of 3,000 people – which has at least six first responders in quarantine and two hospitalized city employees – became inundated with requests for short-term rentals , the governor reinstated the ban on rentals in an amended order Wednesday .
“ This is the challenge with mixed messages in a crisis : Telling people what to do isn ’ t really always effective , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is effective is telling people the why and giving them the information to make a decision.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

‘It can’t happen here.’ Coronavirus hits rural America. Collapse
Rep. Vikki Goodwin’s district in Texas took swift action to protect residents from the novel coronavirus in early March. Austin canceled the popular SXSW festival for the first time in more than three decades, losing an estimated $350 million in revenue.
But last week, 30 miles out in her district, which stretches into the sparsely populated Hill Country, the town of Lago Vista's golf course was still open – a week after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide stay-at-home order.
In more suburban and rural stretches of Texas, there seems to be a sense that the virus is a distant, perhaps overblown, crisis.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
“That’s a concern to me,” says state Representative Goodwin, a Democrat. “In rural areas the feeling is it hasn’t gotten there yet and it won’t spread. There’s maybe a false sense of security.”
The U.S., as has been widely reported, has adopted a state-by-state approach to battling the novel coronavirus. But there’s also a divide between steps taken in America’s large cities, where the disease hit first, and its rural counties, where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor and social distancing has long been a way of life. The idea that “it can’t happen here” also plays on cultural suspicions that date back to Aesop’s Fables, where the country mouse tells the city mouse she prefers her plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.
Now, as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging. In a recent poll, 74% of Democrats support restrictive policies to protect people, including some infringements on civil liberties, as did 71% of Republicans.
“The initial take among a lot of elected officials and Southerners in general, especially in rural areas, was ... ‘This is their problem. We don’t see it,’” says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “When you put the importance of church with the small government ethic and where people don’t want to be told what to do, it’s true, you can do the wrong thing for a good and understandable reason and still pay a very heavy price.”
In rural America, that’s playing out from pews to boat ramps.
In St. Augustine, Florida, some 10,000 people have signed Eric Hires’ petition to reopen the beaches of St. Johns County, despite the state’s 20,000 confirmed cases.
“People have called me selfish, but this has become much bigger than me,” says Mr. Hires, a surfer in his 30s, in a phone interview. He points out the golf course was allowed to stay open, and says he just wants early and late-morning hours with no congregating. “I’m more libertarian. I don’t like the government infringing on rights or freedoms. But there is also an element of personal freedom. If you live near the beach and the ocean is your sanctuary, you should be able to go there.”
Where social distancing is built in
Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a big city, but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland, scrub, and desert. Until early April, Governor Abbott preferred to let cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action.
As more cases were reported, Lyle Larson, a Republican state representative from San Antonio, had been calling for weeks for a statewide order. He understands the various interests the governor had to balance, however, including politics and broader health care realities, including that 26 rural hospitals have closed across the state since 2010.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman/AP View caption Hide caption Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism during a coronavirus news conference, April 10, 2020, in Austin, Texas. Governor Abbott also said the state's death toll was lower than many other states.
“Some people don’t like the government making blanket declarations on what they can and can’t do, and there are others who want a total shutdown,” says Representative Larson. People in rural areas have social distancing “already built into their lifestyle,” he adds, but when the statewide order went into effect, “people took that seriously.”
A handful of states with large rural populations have yet to order statewide lockdowns, trying to balance local interests against what former FEMA director Craig Fugate calls a “slow-rolling disaster.”
“What is happening is that there is much less coordinated federal control in this emergency than in past ones, so you do see an absolute flowering of federalism driven by ... geography, demography, and ideological makeup,” says Mr. Jillson. “That means if you are in the South or Mountain West and you have a diverse state geographically – a few major cities and large open stretches between them – you have been conflicted as to how to proceed.”
Noting a regional difference, “we’ve been pretty aggressive as a geography and I think that’s important,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said on CNN. Governor Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order in March, one of the first governors to do so, but Michigan remains one of the hardest-hit states, with about 25,000 cases.
In contrast, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, told a press conference in early April that “the people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.” And, she added, “South Dakota is not New York City.” Over the weekend, one of the largest pork processors in the U.S., Smithfield, announced it was shutting down its Sioux Falls plant indefinitely after 293 workers tested positive.
People talk about infringements on constitutional rights, but “what I think people forget about is their constitutional responsibilities: You live in this country and you have a duty that includes not endangering others,” says Polly Price, a professor of law and global health at Emory University in Atlanta. “This kind of effort relies on citizen participation.”
“Scratching my head”
On Tybee Island, the stakes have risen dramatically. On March 20, after spring break crowds flocked along Tybrisa Street, the city barricaded the beach.
But in early April, as part of a statewide lockdown order, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp reopened the beaches to allow Georgians to access their common outdoor property. His chief of staff even urged, “Go to the beach!”
Patrik Jonsson/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Two Georgia state troopers try to keep a minimum six foot distance on April 5, 2020, as they prepare to patrol the beach at Tybee Island. Gov. Brian Kemp reopened Georgia's three beaches, including Tybee, superseding local closure orders. That means law enforcement is walking a thin line ‘between a rock and a hard place,' says one trooper after his shift.
As a precaution, Governor Kemp sent dozens of state troopers and game wardens to patrol to make sure social distancing protocols were observed.
Ken and Jessica Branch drove down from North Carolina, where beach communities have closed off access to outsiders.
“As long as we abide by the rules, I think we’ll be OK. We needed a break. We needed this,” says Ms. Branch.
Tybee local Dan Lockwood, on the other hand, watched beachgoers violate six-foot distancing orders as they passed each other on narrow dune overwalks. “Governor Kemp is basically saying, ‘Stay at home, but don’t take it seriously,’” says Mr. Lockwood.
Like many Republicans along the conservative Georgia coast, state Rep. Jeff Jones, a carwash operator, has struggled to come to terms with the governor’s decision.
On one hand, he says, “I think media reporting of the CV-19 outbreak is overblown.”
Yet Representative Jones disagrees with Mr. Kemp’s decision to reopen the beaches, including those in his district at St. Simons Island.
“I am scratching my head,” he writes in an email. “Locally, we logically knew that if people travel away from their homes, the chances of spreading the highly contagious CV-19 increased exponentially. This has, no surprise, turned out to be correct.”
To Mr. Fugate, who served as Florida’s emergency director under former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and as FEMA director under Democratic President Barack Obama, the case-by-case approach underscores larger failures of communication as the pandemic moves into arguably more vulnerable populations, given health and welfare disparities in the South.
“Until we have enough ability to do rapid testing and until everybody self-isolates, we are still on the front end of the pandemic,” says Mr. Fugate, who hails from a Southern tobacco farming family and vacations on Georgia’s Jekyll Island. “We’re seeing places like New York explode, we’re watching New Orleans explode, and then now Albany, Georgia, and these micro-areas that don’t have a lot of depth [in their health care systems]. We know what to do, yet we are reluctant or slow to embrace the only tools that we have. It’s a brutal math: Do people die or do businesses die?”
No cruise ships, but no lockdown
The fears of outsiders played out in Huntsville, Alabama, as the crisis began in late February.
A federal plan to house stricken cruise ship passengers on a decommissioned Army base fell apart amid a conspiracy theory-fueled pushback from residents and politicians. Seeing what he considers a lack of resolve in the federal response, Michael Barton, Calhoun County emergency management director, initiated the state’s first infectious disease task force.
Until two weeks ago, Alabama had not recorded a single death and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey had resisted a lockdown. “Y’all, we are not California,” she said. “We are not New York. We are not even Louisiana.”
But by last week, as the state recorded 1,400 cases – including 200 nurses – Governor Ivey switched course, ending a press conference with a prayer for Alabamans’ safety.
“Those numbers are increasing and that gets people’s attention,” says Mr. Barton, a former special deputy United States marshal. “Sure, we have some people saying it’s overblown. But the mantra we are following here is we are going to prepare for the worst and work for the best.”
On Tybee Island, the crowds never really arrived. While the beaches are technically open, the city fought to keep the majority of narrow dune crossovers closed to enforce distancing. And after the town of 3,000 people – which has at least six first responders in quarantine and two hospitalized city employees – became inundated with requests for short-term rentals, the governor reinstated the ban on rentals in an amended order Wednesday.
“This is the challenge with mixed messages in a crisis: Telling people what to do isn’t really always effective,” says Mr. Fugate. “What is effective is telling people the why and giving them the information to make a decision.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-04-13--‘It can’t happen here.’ Coronavirus hits rural America.

Now , as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging .
The U.S. has adopted a state-by-state approach to battling the novel coronavirus .
But there ’ s also a divide between steps taken in America ’ s large cities , where the disease hit first , and its rural counties , where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor .
People in rural areas have social distancing “ already built into their lifestyle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the statewide order went into effect , “ people took that seriously.
” As more cases were reported , Lyle Larson , a Republican state representative from San Antonio , was calling for weeks for a statewide order .
He understands the various interests the governor had to balance , however , including broader health care realities , such as 26 rural hospitals that have closed across the state since 2010 .
Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a city , but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April , Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott preferred to let cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action .
Rep. Vikki Goodwin ’ s district in Texas took swift action to protect residents from the novel coronavirus in early March .
Austin canceled the popular SXSW festival for the first time in more than three decades , losing an estimated $ 350 million in revenue .
But last week , 30 miles out in her district , which stretches into the sparsely populated Hill Country , the town of Lago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – a week after Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott issued a statewide stay-at-home order .
In more suburban and rural stretches of Texas , there seems to be a sense that the virus is a distant , perhaps overblown , crisis .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
“ That ’ s a concern to me , ” says state Representative Goodwin , a Democrat .
“ In rural areas the feeling is it hasn ’ t gotten there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There ’ s maybe a false sense of security.
” The U.S. , as has been widely reported , has adopted a state-by-state approach to battling the novel coronavirus .
But there ’ s also a divide between steps taken in America ’ s large cities , where the disease hit first , and its rural counties , where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor and social distancing has long been a way of life .
The idea that “ it can ’ t happen here ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back to Aesop ’ s Fables , where the country mouse tells the city mouse she prefers her plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it .
Now , as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging .
In a recent poll , 74 % of Democrats support restrictive policies to protect people , including some infringements on civil liberties , as did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initial take among a lot of elected officials and Southerners in general , especially in rural areas , was ... ‘ This is their problem .
We don ’ t see it , ’ ” says Cal Jillson , a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas .
“ When you put the importance of church with the small government ethic and where people don ’ t want to be told what to do , it ’ s true , you can do the wrong thing for a good and understandable reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In rural America , that ’ s playing out from pews to boat ramps .
In St. Augustine , Florida , some 10,000 people have signed Eric Hires ’ petition to reopen the beaches of St. Johns County , despite the state ’ s 20,000 confirmed cases .
“ People have called me selfish , but this has become much bigger than me , ” says Mr .
Hires , a surfer in his 30s , in a phone interview .
He points out the golf course was allowed to stay open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and late-morning hours with no congregating .
“ I ’ m more libertarian .
I don ’ t like the government infringing on rights or freedoms .
But there is also an element of personal freedom .
If you live near the beach and the ocean is your sanctuary , you should be able to go there.
” Where social distancing is built in Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a big city , but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland , scrub , and desert .
Until early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action .
As more cases were reported , Lyle Larson , a Republican state representative from San Antonio , had been calling for weeks for a statewide order .
He understands the various interests the governor had to balance , however , including politics and broader health care realities , including that 26 rural hospitals have closed across the state since 2010 .
“ Some people don ’ t like the government making blanket declarations on what they can and can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want a total shutdown , ” says Representative Larson .
People in rural areas have social distancing “ already built into their lifestyle , ” he adds , but when the statewide order went into effect , “ people took that seriously.
” A handful of states with large rural populations have yet to order statewide lockdowns , trying to balance local interests against what former FEMA director Craig Fugate calls a “ slow-rolling disaster.
” “ What is happening is that there is much less coordinated federal control in this emergency than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see an absolute flowering of federalism driven by ... geography , demography , and ideological makeup , ” says Mr. Jillson .
“ That means if you are in the South or Mountain West and you have a diverse state geographically – a few major cities and large open stretches between them – you have been conflicted as to how to proceed.
” Noting a regional difference , “ we ’ ve been pretty aggressive as a geography and I think that ’ s important , ” Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Governor Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order in March , one of the first governors to do so , but Michigan remains one of the hardest-hit states , with about 25,000 cases .
In contrast , South Dakota Gov .
Kristi Noem , a Republican , told a press conference in early April that “ the people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.
” And , she added , “ South Dakota is not New York City.
” Over the weekend , one of the largest pork processors in the U.S. , Smithfield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sioux Falls plant indefinitely after 293 workers tested positive .
People talk about infringements on constitutional rights , but “ what I think people forget about is their constitutional responsibilities : You live in this country and you have a duty that includes not endangering others , ” says Polly Price , a professor of law and global health at Emory University in Atlanta .
“ This kind of effort relies on citizen participation.
” On Tybee Island , the stakes have risen dramatically .
On March 20 , after spring break crowds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barricaded the beach .
But in early April , as part of a statewide lockdown order , Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp reopened the beaches to allow Georgians to access their common outdoor property .
His chief of staff even urged , “ Go to the beach !
” As a precaution , Governor Kemp sent dozens of state troopers and game wardens to patrol to make sure social distancing protocols were observed .
Ken and Jessica Branch drove down from North Carolina , where beach communities have closed off access to outsiders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the rules , I think we ’ ll be OK. We needed a break .
We needed this , ” says Ms .
Branch .
Tybee local Dan Lockwood , on the other hand , watched beachgoers violate six-foot distancing orders as they passed each other on narrow dune overwalks .
“ Governor Kemp is basically saying , ‘ Stay at home , but don ’ t take it seriously , ’ ” says Mr. Lockwood .
Like many Republicans along the conservative Georgia coast , state Rep. Jeff Jones , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to terms with the governor ’ s decision .
On one hand , he says , “ I think media reporting of the CV-19 outbreak is overblown.
” Yet Representative Jones disagrees with Mr. Kemp ’ s decision to reopen the beaches , including those in his district at St. Simons Island .
“ I am scratching my head , ” he writes in an email .
“ Locally , we logically knew that if people travel away from their homes , the chances of spreading the highly contagious CV-19 increased exponentially .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ out to be correct.
” To Mr. Fugate , who served as Florida ’ s emergency director under former Republican Gov .
Jeb Bush and as FEMA director under Democratic President Barack Obama , the case-by-case approach underscores larger failures of communication as the pandemic moves into arguably more vulnerable populations , given health and welfare disparities in the South .
“ Until we have enough ability to do rapid testing and until everybody self-isolates , we are still on the front end of the pandemic , ” says Mr. Fugate , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and vacations on Georgia ’ s Jekyll Island .
“ We ’ re seeing places like New York explode , we ’ re watching New Orleans explode , and then now Albany , Georgia , and these micro-areas that don ’ t have a lot of depth [ in their health care systems ] .
We know what to do , yet we are reluctant or slow to embrace the only tools that we have .
It ’ s a brutal math : Do people die or do businesses die ?
” No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fears of outsiders played out in Huntsville , Alabama , as the crisis began in late February .
A federal plan to house stricken cruise ship passengers on a decommissioned Army base fell apart amid a conspiracy theory-fueled pushback from residents and politicians .
Seeing what he considers a lack of resolve in the federal response , Michael Barton , Calhoun County emergency management director , initiated the state ’ s first infectious disease task force .
Until two weeks ago , Alabama had not recorded a single death and Republican Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Y ’ all , we are not California , ” she said .
“ We are not New York .
We are not even Louisiana.
” But by last week , as the state recorded 1,400 cases – including 200 nurses – Governor Ivey switched course , ending a press conference with a prayer for Alabamans ’ safety .
“ Those numbers are increasing and that gets people ’ s attention , ” says Mr. Barton , a former special deputy United States marshal .
“ Sure , we have some people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mantra we are following here is we are going to prepare for the worst and work for the best.
” On Tybee Island , the crowds never really arrived .
While the beaches are technically open , the city fought to keep the majority of narrow dune crossovers closed to enforce distancing .
And after the town of 3,000 people – which has at least six first responders in quarantine and two hospitalized city employees – became inundated with requests for short-term rentals , the governor reinstated the ban on rentals in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the challenge with mixed messages in a crisis : Telling people what to do isn ’ t really always effective , ” says Mr. Fugate .
“ What is effective is telling people the why and giving them the information to make a decision.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

Now, as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging.
The U.S. has adopted a state-by-state approach to battling the novel coronavirus. But there’s also a divide between steps taken in America’s large cities, where the disease hit first, and its rural counties, where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor.
People in rural areas have social distancing “already built into their lifestyle,” Representative Larson says, but when the statewide order went into effect, “people took that seriously.”
Where Americans live can have a lot to do with how they see the coronavirus crisis. In rural areas, there was initially a false sense of security. But that may be changing.
As more cases were reported, Lyle Larson, a Republican state representative from San Antonio, was calling for weeks for a statewide order. He understands the various interests the governor had to balance, however, including broader health care realities, such as 26 rural hospitals that have closed across the state since 2010 .
Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a city, but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland, scrub, and desert. Until early April, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott preferred to let cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action.
Rep. Vikki Goodwin’s district in Texas took swift action to protect residents from the novel coronavirus in early March. Austin canceled the popular SXSW festival for the first time in more than three decades, losing an estimated $350 million in revenue.
But last week, 30 miles out in her district, which stretches into the sparsely populated Hill Country, the town of Lago Vista's golf course was still open – a week after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide stay-at-home order.
In more suburban and rural stretches of Texas, there seems to be a sense that the virus is a distant, perhaps overblown, crisis.
Why We Wrote This Where Americans live can have a lot to do with how they see the coronavirus crisis. In rural areas, there was initially a false sense of security. But that may be changing.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
“That’s a concern to me,” says state Representative Goodwin, a Democrat. “In rural areas the feeling is it hasn’t gotten there yet and it won’t spread. There’s maybe a false sense of security.”
The U.S., as has been widely reported, has adopted a state-by-state approach to battling the novel coronavirus. But there’s also a divide between steps taken in America’s large cities, where the disease hit first, and its rural counties, where people might not be able to even see their nearest neighbor and social distancing has long been a way of life. The idea that “it can’t happen here” also plays on cultural suspicions that date back to Aesop’s Fables, where the country mouse tells the city mouse she prefers her plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it.
Now, as COVID-19 sweeps into small-town America – with two-thirds of rural counties reporting at least one confirmed case as of last week – a new pandemic geography is emerging. In a recent poll, 74% of Democrats support restrictive policies to protect people, including some infringements on civil liberties, as did 71% of Republicans.
“The initial take among a lot of elected officials and Southerners in general, especially in rural areas, was ... ‘This is their problem. We don’t see it,’” says Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “When you put the importance of church with the small government ethic and where people don’t want to be told what to do, it’s true, you can do the wrong thing for a good and understandable reason and still pay a very heavy price.”
In rural America, that’s playing out from pews to boat ramps.
In St. Augustine, Florida, some 10,000 people have signed Eric Hires’ petition to reopen the beaches of St. Johns County, despite the state’s 20,000 confirmed cases.
“People have called me selfish, but this has become much bigger than me,” says Mr. Hires, a surfer in his 30s, in a phone interview. He points out the golf course was allowed to stay open, and says he just wants early and late-morning hours with no congregating. “I’m more libertarian. I don’t like the government infringing on rights or freedoms. But there is also an element of personal freedom. If you live near the beach and the ocean is your sanctuary, you should be able to go there.”
Where social distancing is built in
Some 9 in 10 Texans live in or near a big city, but the state boasts vast stretches of ranchland, scrub, and desert. Until early April, Governor Abbott preferred to let cities and counties decide for themselves the wisest course of action.
As more cases were reported, Lyle Larson, a Republican state representative from San Antonio, had been calling for weeks for a statewide order. He understands the various interests the governor had to balance, however, including politics and broader health care realities, including that 26 rural hospitals have closed across the state since 2010.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman/AP View caption Hide caption Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed optimism during a coronavirus news conference, April 10, 2020, in Austin, Texas. Governor Abbott also said the state's death toll was lower than many other states.
“Some people don’t like the government making blanket declarations on what they can and can’t do, and there are others who want a total shutdown,” says Representative Larson. People in rural areas have social distancing “already built into their lifestyle,” he adds, but when the statewide order went into effect, “people took that seriously.”
A handful of states with large rural populations have yet to order statewide lockdowns, trying to balance local interests against what former FEMA director Craig Fugate calls a “slow-rolling disaster.”
“What is happening is that there is much less coordinated federal control in this emergency than in past ones, so you do see an absolute flowering of federalism driven by ... geography, demography, and ideological makeup,” says Mr. Jillson. “That means if you are in the South or Mountain West and you have a diverse state geographically – a few major cities and large open stretches between them – you have been conflicted as to how to proceed.”
Noting a regional difference, “we’ve been pretty aggressive as a geography and I think that’s important,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said on CNN. Governor Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order in March, one of the first governors to do so, but Michigan remains one of the hardest-hit states, with about 25,000 cases.
In contrast, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, told a press conference in early April that “the people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety.” And, she added, “South Dakota is not New York City.” Over the weekend, one of the largest pork processors in the U.S., Smithfield, announced it was shutting down its Sioux Falls plant indefinitely after 293 workers tested positive.
People talk about infringements on constitutional rights, but “what I think people forget about is their constitutional responsibilities: You live in this country and you have a duty that includes not endangering others,” says Polly Price, a professor of law and global health at Emory University in Atlanta. “This kind of effort relies on citizen participation.”
“Scratching my head”
On Tybee Island, the stakes have risen dramatically. On March 20, after spring break crowds flocked along Tybrisa Street, the city barricaded the beach.
But in early April, as part of a statewide lockdown order, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp reopened the beaches to allow Georgians to access their common outdoor property. His chief of staff even urged, “Go to the beach!”
Patrik Jonsson/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Two Georgia state troopers try to keep a minimum six foot distance on April 5, 2020, as they prepare to patrol the beach at Tybee Island. Gov. Brian Kemp reopened Georgia's three beaches, including Tybee, superseding local closure orders. That means law enforcement is walking a thin line ‘between a rock and a hard place,' says one trooper after his shift.
As a precaution, Governor Kemp sent dozens of state troopers and game wardens to patrol to make sure social distancing protocols were observed.
Ken and Jessica Branch drove down from North Carolina, where beach communities have closed off access to outsiders.
“As long as we abide by the rules, I think we’ll be OK. We needed a break. We needed this,” says Ms. Branch.
Tybee local Dan Lockwood, on the other hand, watched beachgoers violate six-foot distancing orders as they passed each other on narrow dune overwalks. “Governor Kemp is basically saying, ‘Stay at home, but don’t take it seriously,’” says Mr. Lockwood.
Like many Republicans along the conservative Georgia coast, state Rep. Jeff Jones, a carwash operator, has struggled to come to terms with the governor’s decision.
On one hand, he says, “I think media reporting of the CV-19 outbreak is overblown.”
Yet Representative Jones disagrees with Mr. Kemp’s decision to reopen the beaches, including those in his district at St. Simons Island.
“I am scratching my head,” he writes in an email. “Locally, we logically knew that if people travel away from their homes, the chances of spreading the highly contagious CV-19 increased exponentially. This has, no surprise, turned out to be correct.”
To Mr. Fugate, who served as Florida’s emergency director under former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and as FEMA director under Democratic President Barack Obama, the case-by-case approach underscores larger failures of communication as the pandemic moves into arguably more vulnerable populations, given health and welfare disparities in the South.
“Until we have enough ability to do rapid testing and until everybody self-isolates, we are still on the front end of the pandemic,” says Mr. Fugate, who hails from a Southern tobacco farming family and vacations on Georgia’s Jekyll Island. “We’re seeing places like New York explode, we’re watching New Orleans explode, and then now Albany, Georgia, and these micro-areas that don’t have a lot of depth [in their health care systems]. We know what to do, yet we are reluctant or slow to embrace the only tools that we have. It’s a brutal math: Do people die or do businesses die?”
No cruise ships, but no lockdown
The fears of outsiders played out in Huntsville, Alabama, as the crisis began in late February.
A federal plan to house stricken cruise ship passengers on a decommissioned Army base fell apart amid a conspiracy theory-fueled pushback from residents and politicians. Seeing what he considers a lack of resolve in the federal response, Michael Barton, Calhoun County emergency management director, initiated the state’s first infectious disease task force.
Until two weeks ago, Alabama had not recorded a single death and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey had resisted a lockdown. “Y’all, we are not California,” she said. “We are not New York. We are not even Louisiana.”
But by last week, as the state recorded 1,400 cases – including 200 nurses – Governor Ivey switched course, ending a press conference with a prayer for Alabamans’ safety.
“Those numbers are increasing and that gets people’s attention,” says Mr. Barton, a former special deputy United States marshal. “Sure, we have some people saying it’s overblown. But the mantra we are following here is we are going to prepare for the worst and work for the best.”
On Tybee Island, the crowds never really arrived. While the beaches are technically open, the city fought to keep the majority of narrow dune crossovers closed to enforce distancing. And after the town of 3,000 people – which has at least six first responders in quarantine and two hospitalized city employees – became inundated with requests for short-term rentals, the governor reinstated the ban on rentals in an amended order Wednesday.
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“This is the challenge with mixed messages in a crisis: Telling people what to do isn’t really always effective,” says Mr. Fugate. “What is effective is telling people the why and giving them the information to make a decision.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-04-13--Easter storms sweep through South, governors call for resilience

Storms that killed at least 30 people in the Southeast , piling fresh hardship atop a pandemic , spread across the eastern United States on Monday .
Striking first on Easter Sunday across a landscape largely emptied by coronavirus stay-at-home orders , the storm front forced some uncomfortable decisions .
In Alabama , Gov .
Kay Ivey suspended social distancing rules , and some people wearing protective masks huddled closely together in storm shelters .
Many people spent part of the night early Monday sheltering in basements , closets , and bathroom tubs as sirens wailed to warn of possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the night , causing flooding and mudslides in mountainous areas , and knocking out electricity for nearly 1.3 million customers in a path from Texas to Maine , according to poweroutages.us .
Andrew Phillips crowded into a closet-sized `` safe room '' with his wife and two sons after watching an online Easter service because the pandemic forced their church to halt regular worship .
Then , a twister struck , shredding their house , meat-processing business , and vehicles in rural Moss , Mississippi .
The room , built of sturdy cinder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their property left standing .
`` I 'm just going to let the insurance handle it and trust in the good Lord , '' said Mr. Phillips .
The National Weather Service tallied hundreds of reports of trees down across the region , including many that punctured roofs and downed power lines .
Meteorologists warned the mid-Atlantic states to prepare for potential tornadoes , wind , and hail on Monday .
The storms knocked down trees across Pennsylvania , and an apparently strong tornado moved through southern South Carolina , leaving chaos in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the air .
Power lines are down , trees are all over the place .
It 's hard to get from one place to the other because the roads are blocked , '' Hampton County Sheriff T.C .
Smalls said .
A suspected twister lifted a house , mostly intact , and deposited it in the middle of a road in central Georgia .
In Louisiana , winds ripped apart a metal airplane hangar .
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries in Louisiana , even though the storm damaged between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city of Monroe , Mayor Jamie Mayo , told KNOE-TV .
Flights were canceled at Monroe Regional Airport , where airport director Ron Phillips told the News-Star the storm caused up to $ 30 million in damage to planes inside a hangar .
Roderick Sykes doesn ’ t remember much of what happened Sunday morning .
He was turning the channel on his television around 9 or 9:30 a.m. when he saw the back end of his mobile home raise up before he was flipped and tossed around .
Now , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in for nearly 40 years in the Kingston-Frierson area of DeSoto Parish is scattered and splintered .
“ I could have been dead , ” Mr. Sykes said .
“ I ’ m taking it as it comes to me , right now .
I ’ m hurt about my house , but I didn ’ t lose my life .
I can replace the house.
” In DeSoto Parish , Sheriff Jayson Richardson estimated about 10 to 15 homes are uninhabitable .
Fortunately , no injuries were reported , and all residents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mr. Richardson told The Times .
“ That ’ s the biggest thing to take away from today is even with all the severe damage – and some of it looks like something you wouldn ’ t expect anybody to walk away from – certainly , it ’ s a blessing that we don ’ t have even an injury… ” Mr. Richardson said .
`` This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter , '' said Mississippi Gov .
Tate Reeves .
`` As we reflect on the death and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have faith that we will all rise together . ''
`` To the people of Mississippi , know that you are not alone , '' Mr. Reeves said on Twitter on Sunday night .
`` The state and our first responders are working around the clock and will not rest until this is over .
We are mobilizing all resources available to protect our people and their property . ''
Deaths were tallied in small numbers here and there , considering the storm front 's vast reach and intensity .
Mississippi 's death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state 's emergency management agency tweeted , promising details later in the morning .
The deaths in Mississippi included a married couple – Lawrence County sheriff 's deputy , Robert Ainsworth , and a Walthall County Justice Court deputy clerk , Paula Reid Ainsworth , authorities said .
`` Robert left this world a hero , as he shielded Mrs. Paula during the tornado , '' said a Facebook message by the sheriff 's office .
Six more died in northwest Georgia , where a narrow path of destruction five miles long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County Fire Chief Dewayne Bain told WAGA-TV .
`` On the ground in Murray County , surveying the damage from yesterday ’ s storms '' said Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp on Monday afternoon on Twitter .
`` Our prayers are with the people who were affected and the families who lost loved ones .
We ’ ve got your back , and we will get through this together . ''
Apparent tornadoes damaged dozens of homes in a line from Seneca to Clemson .
Emergency officials also were working to open shelters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rainfall there .
In Chattanooga , Tennessee , the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado struck , damaging at least 150 homes and commercial buildings .
More than a dozen people were treated , but none of their injuries appeared to be life-threatening , Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman said .
As much as 6 inches ( 15 centimeters ) of rain fell over the weekend in the Tennessee Valley .
The Tennessee Valley Authority said it expected to conduct water releases to regulate water levels in swollen lakes and rivers in Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shakira Hall tweeted : `` Despite losing possessions , I just want to thank God for just protecting my mama , daddy , and the rest of my family . ''
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writer Jay Reeves in Birmingham , Alabama , and AP photographers Rogelio V. Solis in Carson , Mississippi , and Brynn Anderson in Chatsworth , Georgia , contributed to this report .
Material from Shreveport Times was used in this report .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Storms that killed at least 30 people in the Southeast, piling fresh hardship atop a pandemic, spread across the eastern United States on Monday. Striking first on Easter Sunday across a landscape largely emptied by coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the storm front forced some uncomfortable decisions. In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey suspended social distancing rules, and some people wearing protective masks huddled closely together in storm shelters.
Many people spent part of the night early Monday sheltering in basements, closets, and bathroom tubs as sirens wailed to warn of possible tornadoes. The storms blew onward through the night, causing flooding and mudslides in mountainous areas, and knocking out electricity for nearly 1.3 million customers in a path from Texas to Maine, according to poweroutages.us.
Andrew Phillips crowded into a closet-sized "safe room" with his wife and two sons after watching an online Easter service because the pandemic forced their church to halt regular worship. Then, a twister struck, shredding their house, meat-processing business, and vehicles in rural Moss, Mississippi. The room, built of sturdy cinder blocks, was the only thing on their property left standing.
"I'm just going to let the insurance handle it and trust in the good Lord," said Mr. Phillips.
The National Weather Service tallied hundreds of reports of trees down across the region, including many that punctured roofs and downed power lines. Meteorologists warned the mid-Atlantic states to prepare for potential tornadoes, wind, and hail on Monday. The storms knocked down trees across Pennsylvania, and an apparently strong tornado moved through southern South Carolina, leaving chaos in its wake.
"Everything is up in the air. Power lines are down, trees are all over the place. It's hard to get from one place to the other because the roads are blocked," Hampton County Sheriff T.C. Smalls said.
A suspected twister lifted a house, mostly intact, and deposited it in the middle of a road in central Georgia. In Louisiana, winds ripped apart a metal airplane hangar.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries in Louisiana, even though the storm damaged between 200 and 300 homes in and around the city of Monroe, Mayor Jamie Mayo, told KNOE-TV. Flights were canceled at Monroe Regional Airport, where airport director Ron Phillips told the News-Star the storm caused up to $30 million in damage to planes inside a hangar.
Louisiana's Shreveport Times reported:
Roderick Sykes doesn’t remember much of what happened Sunday morning. He was turning the channel on his television around 9 or 9:30 a.m. when he saw the back end of his mobile home raise up before he was flipped and tossed around. Now, the mobile home the 63-year-old man has lived in for nearly 40 years in the Kingston-Frierson area of DeSoto Parish is scattered and splintered. “I could have been dead,” Mr. Sykes said. “I’m taking it as it comes to me, right now. I’m hurt about my house, but I didn’t lose my life. I can replace the house.” In DeSoto Parish, Sheriff Jayson Richardson estimated about 10 to 15 homes are uninhabitable. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and all residents of the area have been accounted for, Mr. Richardson told The Times. “That’s the biggest thing to take away from today is even with all the severe damage – and some of it looks like something you wouldn’t expect anybody to walk away from – certainly, it’s a blessing that we don’t have even an injury…” Mr. Richardson said.
"This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter," said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. "As we reflect on the death and resurrection on this Easter Sunday, we have faith that we will all rise together."
"To the people of Mississippi, know that you are not alone," Mr. Reeves said on Twitter on Sunday night. "The state and our first responders are working around the clock and will not rest until this is over. We are mobilizing all resources available to protect our people and their property."
Deaths were tallied in small numbers here and there, considering the storm front's vast reach and intensity.
Mississippi's death toll rose to 11 early Monday, the state's emergency management agency tweeted, promising details later in the morning.
The deaths in Mississippi included a married couple – Lawrence County sheriff's deputy, Robert Ainsworth, and a Walthall County Justice Court deputy clerk, Paula Reid Ainsworth, authorities said.
"Robert left this world a hero, as he shielded Mrs. Paula during the tornado," said a Facebook message by the sheriff's office.
Six more died in northwest Georgia, where a narrow path of destruction five miles long hit two mobile home parks, Murray County Fire Chief Dewayne Bain told WAGA-TV.
"On the ground in Murray County, surveying the damage from yesterday’s storms" said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday afternoon on Twitter. "Our prayers are with the people who were affected and the families who lost loved ones. We’ve got your back, and we will get through this together."
Apparent tornadoes damaged dozens of homes in a line from Seneca to Clemson. Emergency officials also were working to open shelters in the North Carolina mountains after heavy rainfall there.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado struck, damaging at least 150 homes and commercial buildings. More than a dozen people were treated, but none of their injuries appeared to be life-threatening, Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman said.
As much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell over the weekend in the Tennessee Valley. The Tennessee Valley Authority said it expected to conduct water releases to regulate water levels in swollen lakes and rivers in Tennessee and Alabama.
In South Mississippi, Shakira Hall tweeted: "Despite losing possessions, I just want to thank God for just protecting my mama, daddy, and the rest of my family."
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, and AP photographers Rogelio V. Solis in Carson, Mississippi, and Brynn Anderson in Chatsworth, Georgia, contributed to this report. Material from Shreveport Times was used in this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-04-27--Can I go out and play? After six weeks, Spain tells kids, ‘Sí.’

“ It was awesome !
” says Ms. Parreño .
“ She skated for an hour .
We never stopped moving .
On her way home , she was actually tired … and went to bed before 11 p.m. for the first time since the lockdown started.
” On Sunday , Ms. Parreño took Maya out to Rollerblade along the mostly empty streets of Barcelona .
Elena Parreño says her 7-year-old daughter Maya has been waking up with nightmares since the lockdown began .
The desire to protect the small in the hard-hit country was understandable , parents say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diagnosed with COVID-19 than seniors .
Denying them fresh air felt punitive , especially in cities where small apartments without balconies are the norm .
The lifting of some of the most onerous restrictions in Europe not only provided kids with fresh air , but a much-needed break from the monotony of life indoors .
Most families have coped by doing schoolwork , activity circuits , or increasing screen time .
On Sunday , Spain ’ s children got to do something they have n't been able to do for six weeks : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cecilia Pagliotta played outside , it was still blustery winter in León .
But on Sunday , the trees lining the streets were full of green leaves ; flowers blossomed .
Children spilled across the riverbank of this northern Spanish town , some with bikes , others with Rollerblades .
“ It ’ s the city of children !
” Cecilia exclaimed to her father , Marcel , who took her out for a walk along the riverbank , greeting friends – at a distance – along the way .
Cecilia , like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , finally went outside on Sunday for the first time in 43 days .
Since March 14 , kids have been shuttered indoors , subject to the most restrictive coronavirus lockdown measures in Europe .
Next to Italy , Spain has been the hardest-hit by the coronavirus in Europe , with more than 23,500 people having died so far .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .
The desire to protect the small and vulnerable would be understandable , parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than seniors .
Denying them fresh air and an outlet for pent-up energy felt unnecessarily punitive , especially in cities where small apartments without balconies are the norm .
Confusion over who qualified as a “ child ” also didn ’ t help , with cooped-up 15- to 17-year-olds suddenly hearing last week from the government that they could have been outside , at least to run errands , all along .
But despite the monotony and mounting outrage , the six-week confinement may not have the long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Children are generally more resilient and flexible than adults , ” says Catherine L ’ Ecuyer , a researcher in childhood development based in Barcelona .
The exception would be households that are already struggling , either financially or emotionally .
“ Children are more at risk if they belong to households where the parents are depressed or anxious .
Children tend to use their principle caregiver as a basis for exploration and to reproduce the mental state of adults.
” And while normalcy still feels light years away , Spanish families say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and creativity as they adjust to their new normal .
“ For sure , my kids are feeling that something is wrong … they have their own fears and worries , ” says Marcel Pagliotta , father to Cecilia and her 13-year-old brother Aldo .
“ We ’ ve tried to explain the situation since the beginning .
We should learn as much as possible from all of this.
” For parents of young children , the ability to go out and play spells immeasurable relief .
For the past six weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ educate their children , as well as manage the psychological repercussions of lockdown .
Elena Parreño says that her 7-year-old daughter Maya has been waking up with nightmares .
On Sunday , Ms. Parreño took Maya out to Rollerblade along the mostly empty streets and visited her nearby school .
“ It was awesome !
” says Ms. Parreño .
“ She skated for an hour .
We never stopped moving .
On her way home , she was actually tired … and went to bed before 11 p.m. for the first time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures have not only provided kids with fresh air , but a much-needed break from the monotony of life indoors .
Most families have coped by doing schoolwork , exercise or activity circuits , or increasing screen time .
“ I ’ m bored at home almost all the time , ” says Claudia Millan 11 , who lives with her parents and 6-year-old brother in Bailén , in southern Spain , “ except when I ’ m playing on my phone or with my pet mouse.
” Even with the newly relaxed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are bound to continue for the time being .
Not having school means families have had to adjust .
Francisco Millan is working longer hours to keep his small business afloat .
His wife , Manuela , works at a supermarket and is stressed that her job may expose her family to disease .
“ Sometimes the kids have to be home alone for up to three hours at a time – it ’ s the only way we could make our schedules work , ” says Mr. Millan .
“ Before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alone.
” Teenager Daniela Alonso , a nationally-ranked swimmer in Tenerife , in the Canary Islands , has gone from training 20 hours per week to doing burpee challenges alone in the living room and homework with classmates via video chat .
At 15 , Daniela isn ’ t allowed outside for exercise until May 2 , when Spain relaxes lockdown measures for adults .
“ I ’ ve been a little anxious and stressed because at this time last year , we were already training on the beach , having fun with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Right now , it ’ s sunny all day , and all I want to do is go out and run and breathe fresh air.
” For Aldo Pagliotta , Cecilia ’ s older brother , lockdown hasn ’ t been too much of a grind .
He ’ s been using the extra time at home to read classic books , learn dialects , and make burgers for his family .
And while he went for a walk Sunday with his mother , the teen was not overly excited by the prospect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s been stuck inside with for six weeks .
“ Of course I ’ m excited that now I can go out , ” says Aldo .
“ But I ’ d rather be playing handball with my teammates.
” Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

“It was awesome!” says Ms. Parreño. “She skated for an hour. We never stopped moving. On her way home, she was actually tired … and went to bed before 11 p.m. for the first time since the lockdown started.”
On Sunday, Ms. Parreño took Maya out to Rollerblade along the mostly empty streets of Barcelona.
Elena Parreño says her 7-year-old daughter Maya has been waking up with nightmares since the lockdown began.
The desire to protect the small in the hard-hit country was understandable, parents say, but children are less likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than seniors. Denying them fresh air felt punitive, especially in cities where small apartments without balconies are the norm.
Fresh air and freedom – both sound alluring as coronavirus lockdowns continue around the world. On Sunday, Spain’s children got their first taste of both.
The lifting of some of the most onerous restrictions in Europe not only provided kids with fresh air, but a much-needed break from the monotony of life indoors. Most families have coped by doing schoolwork, activity circuits, or increasing screen time.
On Sunday, Spain’s children got to do something they haven't been able to do for six weeks: Go outside.
The last time 8-year-old Cecilia Pagliotta played outside, it was still blustery winter in León.
But on Sunday, the trees lining the streets were full of green leaves; flowers blossomed. Children spilled across the riverbank of this northern Spanish town, some with bikes, others with Rollerblades.
“It’s the city of children!” Cecilia exclaimed to her father, Marcel, who took her out for a walk along the riverbank, greeting friends – at a distance – along the way.
Why We Wrote This Fresh air and freedom – both sound alluring as coronavirus lockdowns continue around the world. On Sunday, Spain’s children got their first taste of both.
Cecilia, like the rest of Spain’s children, finally went outside on Sunday for the first time in 43 days. Since March 14, kids have been shuttered indoors, subject to the most restrictive coronavirus lockdown measures in Europe. Next to Italy, Spain has been the hardest-hit by the coronavirus in Europe, with more than 23,500 people having died so far.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
The desire to protect the small and vulnerable would be understandable, parents say, but children are less likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than seniors. Denying them fresh air and an outlet for pent-up energy felt unnecessarily punitive, especially in cities where small apartments without balconies are the norm. Confusion over who qualified as a “child” also didn’t help, with cooped-up 15- to 17-year-olds suddenly hearing last week from the government that they could have been outside, at least to run errands, all along.
But despite the monotony and mounting outrage, the six-week confinement may not have the long-term consequences that many parents fear.
“Children are generally more resilient and flexible than adults,” says Catherine L’Ecuyer, a researcher in childhood development based in Barcelona. The exception would be households that are already struggling, either financially or emotionally. “Children are more at risk if they belong to households where the parents are depressed or anxious. Children tend to use their principle caregiver as a basis for exploration and to reproduce the mental state of adults.”
And while normalcy still feels light years away, Spanish families say they will continue to draw on patience and creativity as they adjust to their new normal.
“For sure, my kids are feeling that something is wrong … they have their own fears and worries,” says Marcel Pagliotta, father to Cecilia and her 13-year-old brother Aldo. “We’ve tried to explain the situation since the beginning. We should learn as much as possible from all of this.”
For parents of young children, the ability to go out and play spells immeasurable relief. For the past six weeks, they’ve had to entertain and educate their children, as well as manage the psychological repercussions of lockdown. Elena Parreño says that her 7-year-old daughter Maya has been waking up with nightmares.
On Sunday, Ms. Parreño took Maya out to Rollerblade along the mostly empty streets and visited her nearby school.
“It was awesome!” says Ms. Parreño. “She skated for an hour. We never stopped moving. On her way home, she was actually tired … and went to bed before 11 p.m. for the first time since the lockdown started.”
The new measures have not only provided kids with fresh air, but a much-needed break from the monotony of life indoors. Most families have coped by doing schoolwork, exercise or activity circuits, or increasing screen time.
“I’m bored at home almost all the time,” says Claudia Millan 11, who lives with her parents and 6-year-old brother in Bailén, in southern Spain, “except when I’m playing on my phone or with my pet mouse.”
Even with the newly relaxed measures, some aspects of lockdown life are bound to continue for the time being. Not having school means families have had to adjust. Francisco Millan is working longer hours to keep his small business afloat. His wife, Manuela, works at a supermarket and is stressed that her job may expose her family to disease.
“Sometimes the kids have to be home alone for up to three hours at a time – it’s the only way we could make our schedules work,” says Mr. Millan. “Before the lockdown, they had never been home alone.”
Teenager Daniela Alonso, a nationally-ranked swimmer in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, has gone from training 20 hours per week to doing burpee challenges alone in the living room and homework with classmates via video chat. At 15, Daniela isn’t allowed outside for exercise until May 2, when Spain relaxes lockdown measures for adults.
“I’ve been a little anxious and stressed because at this time last year, we were already training on the beach, having fun with friends,” says Daniela. “Right now, it’s sunny all day, and all I want to do is go out and run and breathe fresh air.”
For Aldo Pagliotta, Cecilia’s older brother, lockdown hasn’t been too much of a grind. He’s been using the extra time at home to read classic books, learn dialects, and make burgers for his family.
And while he went for a walk Sunday with his mother, the teen was not overly excited by the prospect of hanging out with the same person he’s been stuck inside with for six weeks.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
“Of course I’m excited that now I can go out,” says Aldo. “But I’d rather be playing handball with my teammates.”
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-04-28--One way the world is changing pandemics

One way the world is changing pandemics

In this week ’ s cover story , Peter Grier looks at five ways the coronavirus could change the United States .
Across the world , our lives have been so thoroughly upended , it ’ s natural to wonder how they can return to what they were before .
But we can also look at the question from the opposite direction .
How is the world shaping the coronavirus ?
Admittedly , that ’ s a very weird question .
But bear with me , because it yields answers that can help us all get a better handle on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very good reasons to be optimistic .
One of the most noteworthy aspects of COVID-19 is how rapidly it has spread .
Since first appearing in China late last year , it hopscotched to other parts of East Asia , Europe , and North America .
Its path has been shaped by globalization , tracing the routes of commerce .
This has put these countries on a “ war footing.
” American President Donald Trump has cast himself as a wartime president .
French President Emmanuel Macron has said his country is at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation room ” in the Élysée Palace .
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “ people ’ s war.
” It is a natural piece of rhetoric .
“ Troops ” must be mobilized ( be they fusiliers or fruit grocers ) , supplies and logistics managed , sacrifices made , and costs minimized – both to the economy and human life .
But in some ways the comparison is more appropriate than many of us imagine .
War , in its highest sense , is a desire to protect at any cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dramatically during the past few centuries , other kinds of “ wars ” have emerged – against poverty , against drugs , against terror .
Even actual wars have occasionally taken on humane motives ; the overthrow of Libya ’ s Muammar Qaddafi was to prevent a genocide .
Just as all these so-called wars have met with mixed success , so our new war against the coronavirus has been uneven .
Taiwan and South Korea have done remarkably well .
Many other nations have floundered .
But in that is a lesson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are won on logistics and supplies as much as strategies .
And in having to deal with SARS and the bird flu , Asian nations have learned hard lessons .
Now the rest of the world is learning .
And the lessons we are learning are key .
Even amid the world ’ s struggles , one fact is clear – pandemics are leading to fewer deaths .
In the distant past , the bubonic plague and smallpox killed more than a quarter of the populations of Europe and Central America .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as many as 50 million people worldwide .
And so globalization is shaping the coronavirus in another way , too .
It is dramatically reducing its toll .
“ This is because the best defense humans have against pathogens is not isolation – it is information , ” notes a report in Time magazine .
In that way , ironically , the best defense we have against pandemics is each other and the knowledge we share .

In this week’s cover story, Peter Grier looks at five ways the coronavirus could change the United States. Across the world, our lives have been so thoroughly upended, it’s natural to wonder how they can return to what they were before.
But we can also look at the question from the opposite direction. How is the world shaping the coronavirus? Admittedly, that’s a very weird question. But bear with me, because it yields answers that can help us all get a better handle on what is happening and why there are very good reasons to be optimistic.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of COVID-19 is how rapidly it has spread. Since first appearing in China late last year, it hopscotched to other parts of East Asia, Europe, and North America. Its path has been shaped by globalization, tracing the routes of commerce.
This has put these countries on a “war footing.” American President Donald Trump has cast himself as a wartime president. French President Emmanuel Macron has said his country is at war and conspicuously set up his “situation room” in the Élysée Palace. Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “people’s war.”
It is a natural piece of rhetoric. “Troops” must be mobilized (be they fusiliers or fruit grocers), supplies and logistics managed, sacrifices made, and costs minimized – both to the economy and human life. But in some ways the comparison is more appropriate than many of us imagine.
War, in its highest sense, is a desire to protect at any cost. And as actual wars have declined dramatically during the past few centuries, other kinds of “wars” have emerged – against poverty, against drugs, against terror. Even actual wars have occasionally taken on humane motives; the overthrow of Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi was to prevent a genocide.
Just as all these so-called wars have met with mixed success, so our new war against the coronavirus has been uneven. Taiwan and South Korea have done remarkably well. Many other nations have floundered. But in that is a lesson. Generals will tell you that wars are won on logistics and supplies as much as strategies. And in having to deal with SARS and the bird flu, Asian nations have learned hard lessons. Now the rest of the world is learning.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
And the lessons we are learning are key. Even amid the world’s struggles, one fact is clear – pandemics are leading to fewer deaths. In the distant past, the bubonic plague and smallpox killed more than a quarter of the populations of Europe and Central America. Even in 1918, the flu pandemic killed as many as 50 million people worldwide.
And so globalization is shaping the coronavirus in another way, too. It is dramatically reducing its toll. “This is because the best defense humans have against pathogens is not isolation – it is information,” notes a report in Time magazine. In that way, ironically, the best defense we have against pandemics is each other and the knowledge we share.