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Karen Sanchez Villanueva

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Since the hardships of COVD-19 began to simmer in people's psyches and in communities for weeks, the creativity inevitably boiled over into new projects or ideas about how to ease the worry and how to soothe the loneliness.

GNN readers each have their own examples of corona kindness- and our inboxes have been inundated with stories of hope and compassion, too many to publish as individual posts.

So as a means of shining a spotlight on these examples of creative community and family support, here are ten sweet stories that our readers have sent in.

1) 'Please Take What You Need'

Since 63-year-old Julia Frascona has been working from her home in Wisconsin during the pandemic, and decided it would be inspiring to do something to help others.

"Since I have to work from home now, I could structure my day anyway I want. There's been such a demand for masks, I decided to get out my sewing machine and sew," Frascona said.

She hang them on a rack positioned in her front yard, so she can give them away to people who are looking for something to protect themselves against the virus.

2) Surprise Paper Bag Mask Zoom Party

GNN reader Andrea sent us a screen capture worthy of the best Halloween party, saying: "My mom threw a surprise paper bag princess-themed Zoom birthday party for my sister.

Her sibling had no idea what was happening and thought she was just having a birthday call with her immediate family members-but family from around the country joined the call disguised in paper bags that they had designed.

"When she logged on, my mom explained that she would get to ask each guest 3 questions to try and figure out who they were!"

"So many laughs, so much fun!"

3) Teachers Sharing Their Love on Easter

Teachers from the Saint Louise Parish School in Bellevue, Washington brought their students' families to tears on Easter with a video of themselves passing around "Heart-Filled Messages".

In return for the sweet gesture, the school families then brought the teachers to tears after they planted dozens of handmade yard signs expressing their love and gratitude.
4) Hospital Clowns Get Back to Their Importan Work-From Home
Kaitlin Kaufman, John LeoNimm, Julie Pasqual, Maria Peyramaure, and Andy Sapora are all clowns for Healthy Humor's Red Nose Doc program, which sends performers to hospitals for children across the country to bring joy, silliness, and laughter to the bedsides of children, their worried parents, and the hard-working hospital staff.

Since being on lockdown, they have been saddened not to be able to cheer up hospital residents in person-so they created this video to try and relieve viewers of some of their worries.

5) Pampering Our Nurses

Orange County Girl Scouts assembled 120 self-care kits to provide healthcare professionals with tokens of gratitude and appreciation for their heroic work on the frontline of the health crisis.

The troop collected a variety of fantastic donated items to include in their bags, such as essential oils, homemade sleep masks, stress balls, candles, face masks, bath bombs, energy drinks, protein bars, meditation coloring books, chocolate, lifesavers, and-of course-Girl Scout cookies. The troop met via ZOOM and each assembled the care kits in their individual homes.

To ensure compliance with social distancing guidelines from local and federal health officials, the troop is working with Lyft on a seamless, end-to-end contactless delivery system to get the kits to local hospitals.

The girls reached out to various companies looking to execute contact-free deliveries, and Lyft responded offering to act as a delivery service in order to facilitate these acts of kindness at no cost to the troop.

6) Chili Cook-off Canceled, but Spicy Kindness Results

Will and Jennifer Thorpe sent GNN the following sweet story from Tennessee:

My dad has been competing in chili cook-offs through the ICS (International Chili Society) across the United States for many years now, and has even competed in the Chili world championship in Las Vegas.

Being as passionate as he is, he was devastated to learn the chili cook-offs would not be happening this year. This past weekend, however, more than 75 chili cooks from around the US, including my dad, took place in the ICS's first virtual chili cook-off!

My dad put up his entire cooking setup in the back yard, and cooked a mess of chili. He even observed the national anthem (as seen in the image below). Much of the food that the cooks prepared is being donated to first responders, various essential workers, and churches who are feeding the hungry.

7) Kids Just Want to Be Kind

A proud mom, Marisol Mendoza, sent us this:

On Easter Sunday morning, Sofia and Astor Mendoza decided to bring good news to our neighborhood. The day before, they wrote about 150 handwritten notes to be distributed to the neighbors-all because they wanted to bring some positivity to the world. "I just wanted people to smile and feel grateful," Sofia said after they finished their route.

We are so blessed and grateful to see our kids being proactive and getting involved in serving and bringing joy to other people in the middle of this special time. I know that it is hard for an adult to be positive but for a kid time will pass and we will be just fine.

8) Letters Visit These Seniors When People Can't

One month ago, Sahil Swali-who is a high school junior in Clifton Park, New York-launched an effort to get letters and art to senior living communities that are not able to accept visitors during the pandemic.

He has now partnered with more than 30 facilities in the upstate New York area, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and has a key partnership with St. Peter's Health Partners to get messages to their facilities.

These facilities and communities are now receiving hundreds of messages-and he's looking to enroll more facilities, writers and drawers. If you want to learn how you can join Sahil's labor of love, you check out his Write to Appreciate project website.

9) Reminder Bracelets Left on Doorsteps

Cassandra Freeman-a self-professed "mompreneur" wanted to give people hope during this time of uncertainty, so she purchased a ton of wrist bands with the hashtag #CoronavirusCantWin to remind people that we will overcome this and that we will get through this.

Freeman has since started leaving the wrist bands in little bags on people's porches.

10) Climbing Stairs to Support Health Care

People from all over the world are "virtually hiking" in solidarity with children in Haiti who climb the equivalent of 200 flights of stairs in order to get to school-and the effort is raising funds to support healthcare and education initiatives in 24 schools.

Since there have been confirmed COVID-19 cases in Haiti, funding from this campaign will also support critical public health programming.

The Hike for Haiti Challenge runs through May 17th and people are committing to "hiking" the equivalent distance that these children travel simply to access education.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, Multiply The Good News By Sharing It With Your Friends On Social Media...

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Readers Have Reported So Many Good Deeds, We Can Barely Keep Up; Here's 10 to Get You Through the Day

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Since the hardships of COVD-19 began to simmer in people's psyches and in communities for weeks, the creativity inevitably boiled over into new projects or ideas about how to ease the worry and how to soothe the loneliness.

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Fiorella Massari

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Back when America was marked by cottage industries, people worked in their homes or on their land, coordinating with neighbors to produce goods and services.

Fathers passed down trades to their children, and mothers often taught school lessons and cooked from "scratch." Families had two or three meals together nearly every day, and spent their evenings reading something called "books."

Sadly, those days also were known for rampant diseases, filth and hardship.

In the era known as the Industrial Revolution, factories began to spring up, and laborers abandoned low-paying jobs in their homes for low-paying jobs on assembly lines.

As transportation and technology advanced, more and more fathers started working in any place but the home. Soon, mothers started leaving their homes in massive numbers too. Incomes started to increase, and wonderful inventions made life more convenient and comfortable. Medical advances and the abundance of food produced by modern farming techniques resulted in people living longer and healthier lives.

But as time went on, ever more moms and dads rushed through their mornings, carted even the youngest of babies off to daycare, and children headed off to long hours at school and "after care." Family members spent their days splintered from one another. Children became warehoused in colossal schools, while moms and dads became warehoused in separate, sterile office buildings.

By the time COVID-19 hit us, we had become so consumed by the busyness of life that the average family spent only a few waking hours a day together. The number of family meals had plummeted to three hurried dinners per week, many of those spent with iPhones in hand.

No one is advocating a return to the challenging days of cottage industries. But when this virus crisis has passed, should we automatically return to the mass warehousing of family members away from each other? Maybe it's time to harness what is best from both worlds.

Recent weeks have seen families spending lots of time together, even if under stressful conditions. COVID-19 aside, the majority of that stress is because the American family has forgotten how to be together. Sadly, the reality is that most have never known togetherness in the first place, so there was really nothing to forget.

But something is happening in homes across the country that is positive.

Parents are opening their children's textbooks and providing guidance while they study online. Imagine that: Parents engaged in their kids' education, learning for themselves what is actually being taught at school. Many are even beginning to wonder if there's something to home schooling after all.

When the virus mayhem passes, every parent should focus on how they can become and remain deeply involved in the education of their sons and daughters.

All of us should pledge to abandon our old habits of spending massive amounts of time with everyone but the people we love the most. If we harness the potential of new technologies with a focus on strengthening our families, America can advance to the next golden age.

It's time to redo the way we do business in America.

The fact is that we live in an era where more jobs can be done at home. I'm not sure when we developed the idea that "real work" only occurs within the four walls of an office building, but our nation has suffered from that mindset because our families have suffered.

Of course, not every job can be done at home, but some portions of nearly every position can. By allowing employees to telecommute at least part of the week, companies can save costs on office space, equipment and electricity.

And workers? The savings in gas, wasted time commuting and the reduction of the stressful daily grind can greatly improve their overall satisfaction with life.

Studies show that happier employees equals better employees. What boss doesn't want that?

When we are again free to roam as we please, the challenge is to resist resuming a chaotic lifestyle. Whether you are looking for a new job or returning to an old one, fight for more time with your family, even if it means less income. Remember, although your children might beg for the latest gadget or coolest clothes, what they really crave is more time with you.

In the meantime, take advantage of the opportunities that come with home quarantine. Rediscover those things called "books," play games and create warm memories. Let each of your family members know that you don't want things to return to normal, you want things to be better. And that starts with your commitment to spend more time with them from this day forward.
⦁ Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at [email protected]

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Quarantine shows value of spending more time with your family

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When we are again free to roam as we please, the challenge is to resist resuming a chaotic lifestyle. Whether you are looking for a new job or returning to an old one, fight for more time with your family, even if it means less income.

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Jasmine Wang

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What would this newsletter look like if we didn't write it down, but talked it out on the internet in a way that you could hear, watch, and question?

However terrible that sounds, it is going to happen, and soon. On Friday 1 May at 1300 BST, we'll be live for an hour or so and you can reserve your free ticket here.

Two weeks ago we posted a link to a podcast with the modern-day sage Mo Gawdat. He will join me on the live stream to discuss silver linings, approaches to lockdown, gratitude, fortitude and happiness. In short, the Upside. And we'll take your questions.

It'll be experimental, rough around the edges, but maybe just the start of something. And if nothing else, we'll always have the Upside journalism to fall back on, pieces like:

How Europe is tiptoeing back to life. Three-minute read

Ditto New Zealand ... Two-minute read

How South Korea flattened the curve. Three-month effort

Lockdown opens up a world for people with disabilities. Two-minute read

The car insurer giving cash back to customers. One-minute read

Healthcare heroes - a photo essay. Five-minute browse

What comes next? Milan's play for less traffic. Three-minute read

Hope in a time of crisis - a miniseries. Daily dose

The unexpected environmental upside of Covid-19. Two-minute read, part of the global Covering Climate Now initiative

All the world's a stage: Shakespeare performed in quarantine. Six-minute video

'All the world's a stage' Shakespeare performed around the world in quarantine - video

And in non-viral news:

Olaf, the IVF toad. Think I'm fibbi(a)n'? Read on

Norway's A-ha moment with electric vehicles. A day or ... two!

The antidote: your favourite reads beyond Covid-19. Daily browse

Cities quiz: how well do you know your metropolises? Three-minute multiple guess

What we liked

One of the more improbable upshots of the pandemic is the sheer volume of amateur mask makers out there. Everyone it seems is reaching for the sewing machine or the 3D printer. Like these two Irish schoolboys, featured in the Irish Times.

Clear skies and gorgeous spring weather have powered Germany to record solar power generation, according to Time magazine

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Bright spring, more power. Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, we quite like the new bite-size "tarts app" (there's always reason to smile). Though it's early days, it will be interesting to see if this kind of service takes off and sustains its appeal.

And finally, this factual explainer on how quickly we might get to a vaccine was published by the Wellcome Trust.

What we heard

Barbara Feeney, recently repatriated to Dublin from Melbourne, wrote in praise of the simple hug:

In Iceland, the country's forestry service has recommended that people hug a tree once a day during lockdown, to aid relaxation and boost their sense of wellbeing. Rangers are recommending a daily five-minute tree hug. A rather peculiar instruction, but there's something quite lovely about it too.

This got me thinking about hugging. Before now I had never thought a lot about hugging. I suppose it's just one of those things we do on automatic pilot.

There's a lot to be said for technology and how it can connect us and help us feel less alone, but nothing makes up for a good hug. So, while I wait for a government-approved hug, I'll keep hugging my teddy and maybe give the Icelandic tree-hugging a go!

Dede Callichy meanwhile got in touch from Byron Bay, Australia:

My greatest reasons for gratitude are crystal-clear air, much quieter streets, more respect and kindness between people, and the dedication of those making big donations and those in service - medical staff, supermarkets, meal takeaway outlets, garbage collectors, teachers ... and the list goes on. Thank you all.

Brooke Fandrich from Wisconsin is relishing the chance to take stock:

Over this lengthy period of social distancing, I've felt like the 'mute button' has been pressed on my life. The typical noise of my days has been silenced, and that's made a huge impact since we've finally been given some time to be alone with our own thoughts. It seems like people are using their isolation as an opportunity for self-reflection and healing. During social distancing, I've realized that myself and many others were experiencing chronic stress in our old daily life. We were finally able to work up the courage and get professional psychiatric help. Many members of my family are coming out about their own mental health, and it seemed like every website I went to for professional help gave a notice that they were receiving a significant number of new patients during the pandemic.

I know that social isolation is extremely harmful to overall wellbeing, and many people are suffering from social distancing, but a lot of us have actually been encouraged by it to start speaking up for ourselves. It may be interesting for you to research if the world of professional psychological care has really been experiencing an overall wave of new patients during the pandemic. All these changes have exposed serious faults in the way our society was being run, and I think that goes down to the most basic individual level.

It would be amazing if this crisis has encouraged people to reach out for the help that they've needed for so long. Thanks for the positives.

And thank you, Brooke.

Where was the Upside?

With everyone out there who is still singing.

What's the one thing you have learned in lockdown that you want to retain? Let us know. Keep positive - we'll get through this together. See you at the live event. Until next week.
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The good news files: joy and silver linings in the coronavirus pandemic

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What would this newsletter look like if we didn't write it down, but talked it out on the internet in a way that you could hear, watch, and question? However terrible that sounds, it is going to happen, and soon.

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Christian Aragon Lerma

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The term " frontline workers" often conjures images of doctors in Hazmat suits and soldiers in uniform. But during the coronavirus outbreak, workers across a vast array of industries have found themselves essential parts of the machine that keeps the world in motion, required to do their jobs despite great risk-whether hog farm employees or bus drivers, mental health counselors or police officers. Here, as part of TIME's new issue, frontline workers of all types share their triumphs and fears in their own voices.
Andre Anglin, 51, bus driver in Columbus, Ohio
I start at 6:45 in the morning, and I usually get off around 6:30 p.m. Before 12 o'clock, it's like a ghost town. But after 12 o'clock, people start coming out. I greet almost every passenger that comes on. Most people are going to loved ones' houses to check on them. There's a few people that might be going to the grocery store. And some people have essential jobs they have to go to.

I feel proud to be able to do my part, especially for the ones that may be going to the hospital because they're worried that they have it, so they can get checked out. I was in the military, so I still have that sense of honor. I want to do everything I can to make sure that people are taken care of and protected. My employer moved the standing line back so that we're kind of in an isolated area, and people are now coming in and out the backdoor, so there's no more up-close personal contact with people coming near the fare box. I also make sure that I'm keeping myself sanitized and everything, but I feel more proud about helping other people than, at this moment, my own safety.

When I was in [the Gulf] war, I was in an aircraft carrier and it was actually stressful in the same way. This is an enemy that we really don't have a full understanding of. So we're doing our best to fight something that we don't know, and I'm just trying to do my part. I also learned especially going to war that a smile can go a long way to making people feel better about everything that's going on.

I was talking to a gentleman yesterday and he was like, "Without y'all, this city would be shut down." And he said he wished he could do something special for us. But you know, I thought that him saying thank you was enough for me. -As told to Abby Vesoulis
Prince Paul Butau, 28, is the s enior resident medical officer at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe
At my hospital we are closed to all outpatient and non-emergency services. We are not a COVID-19 hospital, so the government says we do not need protection equipment. So we only get two masks and a paper apron a day. We have goggles, but we have to sanitize them every day with alcohol. We should have full gear. The feeling among us junior doctors is that this is not enough. I don't want to risk my life seeing a patient in casualty if I don't have protection.

We don't know who has COVID or not. Zimbabwe has only tested about 200 people, and they say there are only 11 cases. But I think the government is not being transparent, and it hasn't done enough to contain the outbreak. I think the numbers are much higher. I am worried that it might explode like in Italy or Iran, but I am just praying it won't be as bad, because if it explodes like it did in the U.S., I can't describe in words what it will be like here.

There are only a few ventilators in the public hospitals, maybe less than 20 in the whole country. We have one COVID case who died. He was 30. He died because there was no ventilator at his hospital. His family brought one privately, but there was no electricity socket in his room, and they couldn't plug it in. It shows how unprepared we are as a country. If there was a functioning system, he would have been fine. If we were not prepared for that one case, how can we handle more?

If we can't stop it, if we can't treat it, I am afraid we will become the next example of just how bad an outbreak can be. But I fear it will be even worse here. It will be the absolute worst-case scenario in the world. In the future, people will point to Zimbabwe and say, that is how bad an outbreak can be. - As told to Aryn Baker
Dennis Canale, 43, is a p hysician assistant at Staten Island University Hospital Northwell and NYPD detective Second Grade
For the past 16 years of my 22 year career I've been assigned to the NYPD's emergency service unit. ESU is an elite SWAT rescue team in the country. We do everything from typical tactical SWAT work, which includes barricaded hostage jobs, or emotionally distressed individuals that need rescuing, to high angle road rescue to water rescues to the simple response for medical aid in car accidents with people trapped in vehicles. So we encompass a lot of different areas in that unit. I'm a Board certified and licensed Physician Assistant for the past 17 years, working in emergency medicine, surgery, and various other specialties.

I've been through several terrorist events here in the city, unfortunately I've been through 9/11, I worked down at Ground Zero for several months. I worked out here in Hurricane Sandy. I've watched my colleagues as first responders dive right in, no regard for their own safety, just for the wellbeing of others.This pandemic kind of took me in a different light. Right now I'm talking to you, life seems fine. It doesn't really hit me until I walk into the hospital and see the amount of critically ill patients. It's extremely surreal. I can remember pulling into Ground Zero the night of the towers and thinking I'm on a movie set. And the same thing here, it feels like a Hollywood movie with people in protective gear that you would never dream of in a hospital setting.

Our hospital asked for volunteers of personnel who would like to go help out at the COVID-19 testing tents, so I put in for it. I watched one lady pull up and she saw us come to the car all dressed up and she just started crying. And I looked at the people around me, all the professionals, and I'm like, it looks like a horror movie. How scary and how unsettling it must be to have to go through this as a normal person who lives your life happy, no worries... then you're driving through a tent seeing people dressed up coming at you for swabbing and wondering, "What's going to happen to me?"

Even the kids come through with their family. You can't really talk to them because the windows are up, so the staff there was trying to laugh and wave at them. It's very hard when you have a mask and a shield and a hood and everything else on, nobody can see your facial expressions. I had several people giving prayer hands and a nodding gesture saying thank you, thank you, and they give you the heart sign, and saying thank you so much, thank you so much, god bless you. People complain about the world, but you really see how appreciative people are. And it makes you feel good at what you do. It makes you say alright, I'll go back tomorrow.

The most impressive thing that I see is the staff I work with. People who didn't sign up in the medical field: the physician assistants, the doctors, the nurses, and most importantly the people that clean and repair, the people that are clerical, the people that help all the medical professionals. They didn't take that job thinking, 'Hey, I'm going to go out today and put my life on the line.' I know that as a law enforcement officer I am going to run the risk of death. I know it every day. They don't. But they're all there doing it. It's amazing to watch.

When I leave there and you're alone for the drive home you think about well what if I get sick? What if I end up in the hospital or if I end up on that ventilator? What happens to your family? That's when it starts devastating your mind. When I get outside the house it's basically disrobing into a bag. It goes into a washing machine, and you take a shower. At my parents' house, we talk to them from outside. I won't even go in the same room with them because they're older. Around my family, I wear a mask.

You keep saying to yourself, eh, tomorrow it'll be over. Tomorrow it'll be over, tomorrow it'll be over. But the estimation right now is tomorrow it will be worse. -As told to Paul Moakley
Luigi Cavanna, 67, is the head of the oncology ward at Guglielmo da Saliceto hospital in Piacenza, Italy
In early March, when the epidemic hit, the situation in the E.R. was extreme. People were coming in all the time, dozens of them, already in serious condition. Beds and stretchers everywhere.

One of my patients was in the E.R. for 10 hours and then she signed a paper stating that she wanted to be taken home. She said she'd rather die in her own bed. So I visited her at home and gave her some medicine. Within a few weeks, she got better. That's when I realized we shouldn't be waiting for the COVID-19 patients to get to the hospital. We needed to go to people's homes, even of those with mild symptoms, and treat the disease before it could get worse. In the beginning the rallying call was to increase the number of hospital beds and all our efforts were directed towards that objective, but in doing so we were overlooking the territory.

We've got to remember that COVID-19 is not a heart attack or a stroke. It follows its course, and we must stop the action of the virus before the lungs are too seriously damaged. If you enter the spiral of the hospital already in serious condition, you don't always manage to leave. I started to drive around the area surrounding Piacenza with my staff on March 10, and initially we visited as many as 15 people a day. Then we gradually became better organized, and now we have three teams and we continue to work also in the hospital.

When we go to patients' homes, we do a chest ultrasound with a device the size of a cell phone, but no swabs. In this area, anyone who shows the typical symptoms of COVID-19 is almost certainly positive. We leave the swabs for later, when patients have recovered, to make sure they're no longer contagious. Up until April 2, we left two medicines to be taken by mouth, hydroxychloroquine commonly used for rheumatoid arthritis and an antiviral used for HIV. Then AIFA [Italy's equivalent to FDA] issued a note advising us to be very careful in prescribing them together, and so now, except in rare cases, we use only hydroxychloroquine. We also leave other support devices such as an oximeter, or tanks of oxygen. Above all, we stay in touch with the patients and their families, and monitor the course of treatment on a daily basis.
Keep up to date on the growing threat to global health by signing up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.
So far we have visited almost 300 patients. We can do this thanks to the hospital's resources and private donations of protective equipment. Every time we enter a patient's home we wear two gowns, two masks, caps, shoe covers. We're extremely careful. I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but even when I'm at home with my wife, I keep the mask on.

I'm one of those doctors who could have retired, but I chose not to. I'm not an alarmist by nature, but this is a tragedy. And we all need to do what we can, and what we can do best, to deal with it. -As told to Francesca Berardi
Ben Davis, 35, is the program director and a social worker at Center for Urban Community Services in New York
We're a program at the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) working with adults living with serious mental illness. The people in our program, most of whom live in the Bronx, have had multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and have tried getting help from clinics and other mental health programs without long term success. The goal of our program is to help our clients thrive in the community without hospitalization and to reach their life goals. We bring all the services to the people where they are. If they live in a private apartment we see them at home, if they're homeless we go and see them on the street, or if they are in a shelter we see them there. We provide psychotherapy, psychiatric care, and assistance with medication and other medical issues. We work with their families, address legal issues, go grocery shopping or help them with cleaning, if they're interested in employment and education-really everything we can to help them reach their goals and maintain wellness in the community.

[With COVID-19] our job is different in almost every way. We are looking at all of the different things that our clients need and how to prioritize them. Which of those can we only provide face-to-face? And which of those can we provide remotely by phone? We try to do video conferencing by phone when we can, but it's so hard to assess and really know what's going on with people that way. Some of our folks have difficulty with communication and it has been very anxiety provoking not being able to see them in person. When we think it is critical we go and see them in person because we need to. This particularly includes delivering and administering medication. We take all the precautions we can when we do this.

A lot of the individuals we work with experience paranoia as part of their psychiatric symptoms. What is happening right now feels like their fears are being made real. People who already have a lot of fear of contamination and germs and of other people in general are isolating themselves even more now. In normal times we are there to help them get out more. Now we're telling them to stay in. We are worried that this necessary isolation might be heightening their paranoia and making it worse.

I just went to see someone this morning. I'm wearing a mask and standing at a distance. When I gave him a phone, so we could be in better touch, I couldn't just hand it to him for safety. I had to put it on the ground and asked him to pick it up. He was freaked out by that. It was all very different and very confusing. I don't know how well he understood that I was doing it to help keep him safe.

The dedicated case managers, social workers, physicians, nurses, and administrators on my team have all been so willing to adapt and adjust, they are doing such great work. In less than a week we needed to redesign our entire program and change how we do everything. I'm optimistic that whatever comes, if this stretches for months on end, that we'll be able to adapt to it and step up. We are thinking long term. We are planning for this to be for months, because we have to. That's including things like our procedures around wearing masks. If we run out of gloves, we can't administer medications anymore. Everything we're doing now is planning for the long term.

The folks that we work with are among the most vulnerable in our society. When society is functioning at its best, they face incredible challenges because of their mental illness, because of trauma history, because of structural inequality, you name it. Every challenge they face in society when everything's functioning well is heightened now.

But our clients are survivors. They have been through everything, have lived through things I can't imagine. They are still here and they're persistent. I believe that they have that mindset that they've been able to get through things before and they'll be able to get through this now. I try to be optimistic that they'll be okay. We are there no matter what to help them. -As told to Abigail Abrams
Felipe, 53, works at a hog farm in North Carolina
Unfortunately those of us who work in hog farms have to work every day, since the animals need to be fed every day. If we don't go, there isn't anyone to feed them. For us, a day worked is a day paid. If we were to miss work because of the pandemic, we will not be paid.

Some of my colleagues are undocumented. My wife, who is also from Mexico, is undocumented and works at a vegetable packing shed.

It doesn't seem fair to us that immigration reform hasn't passed because really, we're the ones who are working. And we're helping a little bit to make sure the country has, for example, produce and, in our case, meats. So it seems to us a little wrong that they are not helping us for the simple fact that they are undocumented. They're not helping the people who work.

I've talked about this with my colleagues. There are some who are undocumented who are working, and they won't get anything [help from the government] and they're doing the work."
Yolanda Fisher, 48, is a cafeteria worker at T.W. Brown Middle School in Dallas, Texas
I'm still going to work because we're still feeding the kids -it's not just kids that attend my school, it's any child that stayed in Dallas and they need a meal. And if a family is really in need, we give the adults a meal as well. When it first started we would come in from 6:30 in the morning until 5 in the evening, working weekends and stuff, but now it's leveling off. I'm loving it because I miss [the kids'] faces. You miss hearing their noise. We are feeding our community, and I love that.

I'm very nervous [about contracting the virus]. I have two grandchildren at home, aged 4 and 9. I could harm my family if I bring something home. That's always in the back of my mind. We have gloves, we wash our hands, we have sanitizers. The mask I have I purchased on my own-the school didn't have masks. They told us we could tie a bandana around our face, that that would work.

My daughter takes my temperature every day I come home. If she wants to spray me down with Lysol that's fine, anything to alleviate her fears. My daughter at one point said, 'Mom you're older, older people are dying, you can stay home,' but I was like nah. Jesus was a server. That's my purpose. That's why I've been in this business 26 years. Most people look at us as a cafeteria lady, I look at it as a service. If there wasn't an epidemic we would be still serving kids who probably would not get another meal until the next day. It's an honor for us to serve those kids. -As told to Alana Abramson
Scott Gray, 49, is a client center manager at St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, Ariz.
We went from serving 500-600 people per day to, on average, 1,200 a day in the last two weeks. We did 1,500 people yesterday. The days start off with us coming in at 7:00 and the line is already going down the sidewalk with people waiting in line for food. And to see the elderly out there with their carts, and a mom with kids and they are standing in line at 7 in the morning... [I've] never seen anything like this. The first thing in my mind is what do we have available? How can I make it stretch?

Donations have increased a lot, it's by the truckloads. Most people who show up have never been to a food bank, they think we're a soup kitchen. People are shocked when they realize they are getting a basket to take home of supplies for the whole family. They see the basket and say, "This is all for me?" Not only am I feeding my family by working, but the families that are in line are feeding theirs. It's an awesome feeling.

I'm worried that this will become the norm, dealing with this many people. Will the food bank become a place we have to shut down because of social distancing? Or because it gets out of control? What are we getting in tomorrow? Will that donation be enough? But right now I don't see that being a problem for what we're doing and the way we're doing it. If I get sick it would have been for a good cause. -As told to Alana Abramson
Francesco Menchise, 42, is an a nesthesiologist on the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Santa Maria delle Croci hospital in Ravenna, Italy
Intubation operations are those where you are most exposed to the patient's aerosol. You might sweat inside the protective gear, but it's necessary. Our team consists of eight people plus a coordinator expert in emergencies and natural disasters. We are used to being under pressure, but we have never been under as much pressure as we are now. There's been no lack of protective equipment (PPE), but of course we are all afraid of getting infected. Fortunately, so far no one has shown any symptoms.

The most obvious effect of the stress is that I no longer sleep well. I work about the same number of hours as before, 40 a week, but it's more demanding on a mental level. Our patients remain on the ward for two or three weeks, much longer than on an average before the COVID-19 epidemic. More than 50% of those intubated don't make it, and one of the most painful aspects of these deaths is that relatives cannot see their loved ones one last time.

My personal therapy is cooking. When I can, I cook. Like all Italians at this moment, those who cooked already cook more, those who didn't cook have started to. We've all become 100% Italian again.

But we will have to roll up our sleeves for a long time. We must get it into our heads that our lives have changed, and until we find a therapy we have to learn to live with this virus. -As told to Francesca Berardi
Matt Monaghan, 47, is a bus driver in New York City
We have a lot of drivers that are out, many have been sick. Some have been able to recover. And as the days go by more and more get sick, and it just gets worse.

My bus was normally crowded, but now, some mornings I get five people in. They sit apart, and the first three rows are chained off to keep us safe. Our cleaners constantly disinfect the buses for us. I carry my own Lysol. My union, the Amalgamated Transit Union, supplied us with gloves and masks. New York City Transit in the beginning did not give us anything, though they have since offered masks.

Luckily, I'm a single guy who lives alone, so I really can't bring this home to anybody. But we have a lot of drivers here that have families. We have drivers that have their parents living with them who are older. We come to work because we have to keep the city moving, but my anxiety is through the roof.

Unfortunately, you see a lot of people who don't need to be out. When I'm not working on a bus, I'm home, self quarantining. I was aggravated about it. For them to put up on the busses [signs that say]: "If you have to cough or sneeze, please do it into your elbow." You shouldn't have to tell anybody that on a good day, let alone when you're in the middle of a pandemic. I think the mindset is people think it's just older people who are getting sick. Everybody's dying from it. Just take it seriously. - As told to Abby Vesoulis
Dr. Aslam Parvez, 42, and Dr. Sonia Rani Parvez, 41, are p hysicians in Patiala, India
I, Dr. Aslam Parvez and my wife, Dr. Sonia Rani Parvez, are working as rural medical officers in peripheral rural areas of district Patiala, in Punjab, India. We have been married for 15 years and we have a son, Ayaan, who is 8 years old. Before the pandemic, we could go out to walk, exercise, spend time with our kid, make him study, party or picnic. There was work and targets to meet but we never thought that we would have to work so much on ourselves to remain mentally strong.

These are never before seen times. Everywhere in the world health staff is facing the same set of problems and they need to be motivated all the time. I tell them, "We are warriors and we have to win this war either with or without weapons."

It was Feb. 10, I remember the date, that it started to affect our jobs and we started mentally preparing [for COVID-19]. Ayaan was having his final exams, starting on Feb. 18, and the day his exams finished, we took him to visit his grandparents by himself. He had not stayed alone there in the past-it's nearly 60 miles away from our home, and a 1 hour 30 minute drive. There was no pandemic declaration by WHO at the time, but when he left, we were told to have our teams ready by the state government. I volunteered to post myself in a rapid response team, and Sonia volunteered to work in the COVID isolation ward. We were mentally preparing ourselves for this fight for the last month, and figured our child would be safe with his grandparents. With a short training we were ready. It's very difficult to get excited about these things, but we consider it as an honor to serve our people.

Now, we may not see Ayaan for quite some time. We are not planning to get him till the pandemic is over, and after that, we will take quarantine for two or more weeks. Sonia sometimes gets teary eyed while talking to him but he tells his mom to keep going as he is a busy, brave kid. I miss him too but I know he is safe away from us.
Cliff Strand Jr., 50, is an employee for White Pony Express in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
I'm a product of what White Pony Express does for people. About six years ago, one of our executives found me under a bridge in Richmond, Calif., and brought me baskets of food. I was a strung-out-of-my-mind drug addict with a dark soul, ready to die. He helped me. This is absolutely my mission. It's not a job. I'm supremely blessed to be able to do this.

Not for a minute did I consider staying home during this outbreak. It takes that level of fear down to show people that we're out here and taking the right precautions. I change my gloves at every location and wear a mask.

I delivered food to the local shelter, the Contra Costa Interim Housing Shelter, and there's over 100 people in there. I know those people; they're my friends. Now they're behind a wall to prevent the virus from spreading. It brought me to tears. We're flashing up heart signs and saying, 'I love you' through the wall. I was crying, but it wasn't because there was fear. There's love going on in this whole thing. -As told to Jamie Ducharme
[White Pony Express collects excess food from restaurants, grocery stores and distributors, and delivers it to people and organizations in need. During the outbreak, they've rescued about 17,000 pounds of food per day instead of their usual 7,000.]
Contact us at letters@time.com.

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12 Stories of Frontline Workers Helping Others During Coronavirus

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From bus drivers to police officers, these frontline workers are putting their lives on the line to help others during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Rachel Herman

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Thanks to Sheltering in Place, Animal Shelters Are Empty

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A recent pet adoption boom is the feel-good pandemic story you need right now.

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Winnie Song

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People in India can see the Himalayas for the first time in 'decades,' as the lockdown eases air pollution | CNN

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People in the northern Indian state of Punjab are reacting with awe at the sight of the Himalayan mountain range, which is now visible from more than 100 miles away due to the reduction in air pollution caused by the country's coronavirus lockdown.

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Vanessa Aguilar

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It has been more than 30 years since the world banned the chemicals that were depleting Earth's protective ozone layer and simultaneously triggering some troubling changes in atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere.

Now, new research published this week in finds that those changes have paused and might even be reversing because of the Montreal Protocol-an international treaty that successfully phased out use of ozone-depleting chemicals.

"This study adds to growing evidence showing the profound effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol. Not only has the treaty spurred healing of the ozone layer, it's also driving recent changes in Southern Hemisphere air circulation patterns," said lead author Antara Banerjee, a CIRES Visiting Fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder who works in the Chemical Sciences Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The ozone hole, discovered in 1985, has been forming every spring in the atmosphere high over Antarctica. Ozone depletion cools the air, strengthening the winds of the polar vortex and affecting winds all the way down to the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. Ultimately, ozone depletion has shifted the midlatitude jet stream and the dry regions at the edge of the tropics toward the South Pole.

LOOK: 'Unprecedented' New Photos of the Sun's Surface Are Being Hailed as Landmark Achievement for Science

Previous studies have linked these circulation trends to weather changes in the Southern Hemisphere, especially rainfall over South America, East Africa, and Australia, and to changes in ocean currents and salinity.

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 phased out production of ozone-destroying substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Beginning around 2000, concentrations of those chemicals in the stratosphere started to decline and the ozone hole began to recover. In this study, Banerjee and her co-authors have shown that around the year 2000, the circulation of the Southern Hemisphere also stopped expanding polewards-a pause or slight reversal of the earlier trends.

"The challenge in this study was proving our hypothesis that ozone recovery is in fact driving these atmospheric circulation changes and it isn't just a coincidence," Banerjee said.

To do that, the researchers used a two-step statistical technique called detection and attribution: detecting whether certain patterns of observed wind changes are unlikely to be due to natural variability alone and, if so, whether the changes can be attributed to human-caused factors, such as emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals and CO2.

RELATED: Scientists Detect Tone Pattern in the Ringing of a Newborn Black Hole for the First Time, Proving Einstein Right Again

Using computer simulations, the researchers first determined that the observed pause in circulation trends couldn't be explained by natural shifts in winds alone. Next, they isolated the effects of ozone and greenhouse gases separately.

They showed that while rising CO2 emissions have continued expanding the near-surface circulation (including the jet stream) polewards, only the ozone changes could explain the pause in circulation trends. Prior to 2000, both ozone depletion and rising CO2 levels pushed the near-surface circulation poleward. Since 2000, CO2 has continued to push this circulation poleward, balancing the opposing effect of the ozone recovery.

"Identifying the ozone-driven pause in circulation trends in real-world observations confirms, for the first time, what the scientific ozone community has long predicted from theory," said John Fyfe, a scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada and one of the paper's co-authors.

MORE: NASA Happily Reports the Earth is Greener, With More Trees Than 20 Years Ago-and It's Thanks to China, India

With ozone recovering and CO2 levels continuing to climb, the future is less certain, including for those Southern Hemisphere regions whose weather is affected by the jet stream and those at the edge of the dry regions.

"We term this a 'pause' because the poleward circulation trends might resume, stay flat, or reverse," Banerjee said. "It's the tug of war between the opposing effects of ozone recovery and rising greenhouse gases that will determine future trends."

However, a 2018 report from the United Nations says that the infamous hole in the ozone layer could be totally healed by the 2060s-and in some areas of the world, it could be as soon as 2030.
Reprinted from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media...

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As Earth's Ozone Layer Continues to Repair Itself, Scientists Happily Report Good News on Global Wind Trends

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It has been more than 30 years since the world banned the chemicals that were depleting Earth's protective ozone layer and simultaneously triggering some troubling changes in atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, new research published this week in finds that those changes have paused and might even be reversing because of the Montreal Protocol-an international treaty that successfully phased out use of ozone-depleting chemicals.

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Woman Shares Free Face Masks With Neighbors

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Woman Shares Free Face Masks With Neighbors

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Bruna da Silva & Maiara Oliveira

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Rather than giving away free apples like a Shel Silverstein storybook, this giving tree in Iowa is offering free handmade face masks to the people of Lisbon.

55-year-old Deb Siggins first began making the cloth masks for healthcare workers after their local hospital began experiencing shortages amidst the novel coronavirus outbreaks. Initially, Siggins only wanted to donate 100 of her masks to medical workers; but then her family members and friends began requesting masks of their own.

Siggins has since made more than 400 masks, all of which she paid for out of pocket as a doctor's office employee.

WATCH: 89-Year-Old Sews 600 Masks While Listening to The Beatles

Because Siggins realized that she could not hand the masks directly to her neighbors without violating social distancing guidelines, she decided to hang them on a local tree so passerby could take the masks at their leisure.

Since Siggins made a Facebook post about her giving tree, the masks have been a hit with the community.

"It was really cool to see people driving up, grabbing a mask and leaving ... It's been a hit," Siggins told Good Morning America. "I'm a giver, not a taker, so I feel really good."

CHECK OUT: Sam's Club is Offering 'Hero Shopping Hours' to Healthcare Workers Regardless of Memberships

Although the tree can hold about 30 masks at a time-most of which are gone within a day of being hung-Siggins says she is constantly making new masks and using new patterns to restock the tree's inventory. She has also been making special masks for firefighters, first responders, paramedics, and grocery store employees.

Siggins is reportedly determined to continue with her labor of love until the pandemic is finally over.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here. Be Sure And Share This Inspiring Story Of Kindness With Your Friends On Social Media...

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Woman Creates Neighborhood 'Giving Tree' With Her Free Homemade Face Masks

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This "giving tree" for free cloth face masks in Lisbon, Iowa is like something straight out of a Shel Silverstein storybook.

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Kallayawadee (Q) Khaisaeng

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Jellyfish Spotted Gliding in Venice's Canals During Italy's Lockdown

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Jellyfish spotted swimming in Venice's now-clear canals as nature makes the most of the absence of humans during coronavirus lockdown

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Fiorella Massari

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We live in unprecedented times. One-third of the world is under lockdown, air traffic is down, factories have closed, and our lives are paused. But once you open the window and look up, you'll notice something different. The sky is clearer and the air feels fresh. Don't worry, it's not a cabin fever hallucination.

New scientific data shows that there's a huge global fall in air pollution. Scientists have found out that there's been a nitrogen dioxide drop by 54% in Paris, and a fall of nearly 50% in Madrid, Milan, and Rome. Meanwhile, NASA has reported a 30% decrease in air pollution over the Northeast US and up to 30% drop in NO2 In China.

The data is one thing, but seeing the transformation with the naked eye is another! Let's have a look at before and after photographs that show how global lockdown has cleared the skylines.

(h/t: insider)

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11 Before-And-After Comparisons Show The Positive Effect Of Quarantine And How It's Reducing Pollution

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We live in unprecedented times. One-third of the world is under lockdown, air traffic is down, factories have closed, and our lives are paused. But once you open the window and look up, you'll notice something different. The sky is clearer and the air feels fresh. Don't worry, it's not a cabin fever hallucination.

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"Parks & Rec" Show Returns for COVID Reunion!

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"Parks & Rec" Show Returns for COVID Reunion!

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Elena Koleva-Todorova

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'parks and recreation' cast will reunite for a special episode - cnn

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NBC to air 'Parks and Recreation' reunion episode for charity

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Get ready to return to Pawnee. NBC on Thursday announced "A Parks and Recreation Special," a scripted 30-minute episode of the comedy that will reunite the entire original cast to benefit Feeding America.

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Fernanda Mena Salem

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The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths across the world. It has also abruptly changed the way people live, work, and socialise. But amid these unwanted effects are pockets of light.

The environment, in particular, has benefited from strict social distancing rules. Just weeks after cities like Venice, New York, and Wuhan established lockdowns, citizens reported better water and air quality.

It's too early to tell if these changes will last. In fact, some experts say that the environment could suffer once quarantine measures are lifted and industries work double-time to make up for what they lost. Still, the improvements we see now can act as a preview of what a greener world looks like.

Below are illustrations that show some of the ways the pandemic has helped the environment.

Air

In China, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels dropped by as much as 30 percent after lockdowns started in late January, when factories were shut down and land travel decreased. Cars and big industrial operations are two major contributors to NO2 emissions.

According to research provider Rhodium Group, coal consumption fell by 40 percent in China's six largest power plants since the last quarter of 2019. With more lockdowns happening across the world, and populations staying indoors, the air outside is getting better.

But take note: it could just as easily get bad again. In Wuhan, emissions rose again after the lockdown was lifted on April 8.

Due to wide-spread travel restrictions, air travel dropped by over half in late March, according to The Guardian. This was marginally good news for global carbon dioxide emissions, which usually accounts for 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Water

After two months of lockdown, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment reported a decrease in chemicals like phosphorus and ammonia in the country's surface water, likely due to factory closures. Things may even seem a bit clearer now, like the water did in Venice without the tourist traffic in canals kicking up sediment from the bottom. However, the city's local government warned against the misconception that "clear" means "clean."

Land

With people advised not to venture out of the vicinity of their homes, there are much fewer vehicles on the road.

Now, even cities with some of the worst traffic in the world, from Los Angeles to Manila, are ghost towns with nearly empty highways. Less waiting in jams, less carbon monoxide from car exhaust, and better air quality for all.

Rapid urbanization has pushed wildlife to survive in fragmented pieces of land. With the humans trapped indoors, animals have less threat of being disturbed or in danger of harm. Some animals are beginning to venture out, feeling more at ease to explore their urbanized habitats.

In France, this means more singing birds in cities. Since there are fewer cars on the road, there will also be less roadkill. But experts say this likely won't last after lockdowns are eased.
VICE is committed to ongoing coverage of the global climate crisis. Read all of our Earth Day 2020 coverage here, and more of our climate change coverage here.

This article originally appeared on VICE Asia.

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Here Are Some Illustrations That Show Just How Good the Pandemic Has Been for the Environment

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The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths across the world. It has also abruptly changed the way people live, work, and socialise. But amid these unwanted effects are pockets of light. The environment, in particular, has benefited from strict social distancing rules.

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Valentina Spinelli

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When Humans Are Sheltered in Place, Wild Animals Will Play

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Goats in Wales; coyotes in San Francisco; rats, rats, everywhere: With much of the world staying home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, animals have ventured out where normally the presence of people would keep them away.

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Mayra Betancourth Soto

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As the novel coronavirus tears around the world, it’s exploiting our biggest weaknesses, from creaking health care systems to extreme social inequality. Its relationship with one pervasive and neglected problem, however, is more tangled: Air pollution has intensified the pandemic, but the pandemic has—temporarily—cleaned the skies.

When new evidence emerged this week that dirty air makes COVID-19 more lethal, it surprised no one who has followed the science of air pollution—but the scale of the effect was striking. The study, which must still undergo peer review for publication, found that the tiny pollutant particles known as PM2.5, breathed over many years, sharply raise the chances of dying from the virus.

Researchers from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data on PM2.5 levels and COVID-19 deaths from about 3,000 U.S. counties covering 98 percent of the U.S. population. Counties that averaged just one microgram per cubic meter more PM2.5 in the air had a COVID-19 death rate that was 15 percent higher.

“If you’re getting COVID, and you have been breathing polluted air, it’s really putting gasoline on a fire,” said Francesca Dominici, a Harvard biostatistics professor and the study’s senior author.

That’s because the fine particles penetrate deep into the body, promoting hypertension, heart disease, breathing trouble, and diabetes, all of which increase complications in coronavirus patients. The particles also weaken the immune system and fuel inflammation in the lungs and respiratory tract, adding to the risk both of getting COVID-19 and of having severe symptoms.

Dominici and her colleagues illustrated the impact with a specific example: Manhattan, the current epicenter of the pandemic, where PM2.5 averages range as high as 11 micrograms per cubic meter, and where 1,904 deaths from COVID-19 had been reported as of April 4. Had particle levels averaged just one unit lower over the past two decades, the researchers calculated, 248 fewer people would have died over the past several weeks. And of course the toll has mounted since April 4.

But while pollution inhaled in the past is still causing harm today, the temporary experience of cleaner air brought about by widespread shutdowns may offer lessons for the kind of world we want to build after the pandemic.

People so accustomed to pollution they hardly think about it may realize, “Actually, I really do quite enjoy clean air: Do you think we could get it, or keep it?” says Simon Birkett, founder and director of Clean Air in London, an advocacy organization. “There’s a chance to really get people to stop, take a deep breath,” and reflect on questions like “How was your asthma during this period?”

Although a near-halt in normal life and economic activity is no one’s idea of a good way to reduce pollution, the brief respite might, in Birkett’s view, turn this dark time into “a catalyst, or a tipping point, which could get us to say ‘Clean air—there’s something special about it.’”

Cleaner pandemic skies

From China’s Hubei province to industrial northern Italy and beyond, pollution levels have plummeted as lockdowns aimed at slowing the viral spread have shuttered businesses and trapped billions of people at home. In India, where air pollution is among the world’s worst, “people are reporting seeing the Himalayas for the first time from where they live,” Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said in an email.

India’s hastily imposed shutdowns have been devastating, leaving hundreds of thousands of migrant workers without homes or jobs. But in Delhi, where air is normally choking, levels of both PM2.5 and the harmful gas nitrogen dioxide fell more than 70 percent.

The declines are sure to be only temporary. To get healthier air for the longer term, Myllyvirta said, means shifting to clean energy and transportation, “not ordering people to stay at home at drastic economic cost.” But the cleaner pandemic skies do show how fast we can bring down pollution when we reduce our burning of fossil fuels.

The cleaner air is also a reminder of how deadly air pollution is. The World Health Organization says dirty air, both indoors and out, cuts short seven million lives annually worldwide.

In the United States, decades of regulation have led to air quality that is far better than in most of the world. In New York City, for example, PM2.5 levels actually fell 30 percent from 2009 to 2017, which has presumably saved many lives during the current pandemic. Nevertheless, air pollution still kills more than 100,000 Americans every year.

The realization that COVID-19 may match or even exceed that toll has rightly terrified Americans. But the lethal effects of air pollution are barely discussed—and activists and scientists are hoping that might change.

Pollution and COVID-19

Even before the new Harvard study, scientists were convinced that air pollution was likely worsening COVID-19’s impact, in addition to the wide-ranging health damage it causes on its own. A 2003 study of the outbreak of SARS, the closest relative of the new coronavirus, found that death rates in China’s most polluted areas were twice as high as in the least polluted ones.

“You could bet a fiver that London and other more polluted places will have higher mortality rates [from the virus], because there’ll be more people with underlying issues,” Birkett said. Scientists also believe viruses may bond with pollution particles, enabling them to remain in the air longer and helping them make their way into the body.

The flip side is that even temporarily cleaner air can help “flatten the curve” of the pandemic, easing the burden on health care systems by reducing the number of people who experience severe COVID-19 symptoms, said Christopher Carlsten, head of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health, in Vancouver.

Cleaner pandemic skies should also reduce other pressures on hospitals struggling with COVID-19 cases, Carlsten said. In addition to the cumulative effects of breathing dirty air for years, a large body of evidence shows that short-term changes in air quality have an immediate impact on heart attacks, strokes, and emergency room visits. All increase when pollution spikes.

Authorities in British Columbia had that hope in mind when they issued restrictions on the fires farmers typically light at the start of spring to clear old growth from fields. One region in British Columbia even banned campfires. Wood smoke is thick with PM2.5 particles.

In China, the drops in pollution resulting from coronavirus shutdowns likely saved between 53,000 and 77,000 lives—many times more than the direct toll of the virus—according to calculations done by Marshall Burke, an Earth system scientist at Stanford University. That might sound surprising, but it shouldn’t be, he said, given that air pollution causes more than 1.2 million annual deaths in China. Indeed, a 2016 study found that China’s aggressive measures to clean the air in and around Beijing for the 2008 Olympics had led to a temporary 8 percent drop in the overall death rate.

Burke emphasized that in estimating the benefit of China’s less polluted air, he was in no way minimizing the cost or the horror of the pandemic. But “these other things we do, that we can change, are also important,” he said. “Lives we lose absent a pandemic are also really important, and are lives we shouldn’t lose.”

After the pandemic—what?

There’s no doubt the pandemic-driven clearing of the air will be short-lived, with emissions sure to return to, if not surpass, their usual levels whenever factories start up again and people get back in their cars.

That’s already happening in China, where pollution has returned to its pre-coronavirus range, Myllyvirta said, even though some industries are not yet fully operational—a worrying hint that air quality could end up worse than before, he added.

That’s a danger elsewhere too. When the pandemic finally abates, polluting industries may well seek to make up for lost time with even higher production, said François Gemenne, a political scientist and environmental researcher at the University of Liège, Belgium. If the virus makes people fearful of public transportation, driving could increase also.

What’s more, “a lot of governments will be inclined to restart their fossil fuel industry, because that is the industry that is immediately available,” Gemenne said. With recession looming and credit markets taking a hit, analysts say investment in wind and solar power is likely to sag.

Economic troubles often prompt governments to loosen health-protective regulations. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has cited the pandemic as justification for a decision to all but suspend enforcement of pollution rules. The Trump administration is also rolling back ambitious Obama-era auto mileage standards, and unraveling other regulations too.

In the middle of a health emergency, it’s exactly the wrong move, said Susan Anenberg, associate professor of environmental health at the George Washington University. On the contrary, she argued, “it’s the time to be considering whether the status quo that we had in place prior to this disaster is the one we want going forward. We don’t need to tolerate this level of air pollution.”

An earlier version of this story misstated the status of the Harvard study. It has been submitted for peer review but has not been "fast-tracked" for publication at the New England Journal of Medicine.

A pair of photos from Ahwaz, Iran, that were included in an earlier version of this story have been removed. Although parts of Iran have indeed seen declines in air pollution as a result of the response to the pandemic, those photos did not show that effect.

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Pollution made the pandemic worse, but lockdowns clean the sky

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Even before the coronavirus, air pollution killed seven million people a year. Will today’s cleaner air inspire us to do better?