Gofundme webpage created by the West End Museum to help sustain itself during the CoVid-19 pandemic. Webpage asks for donations that will assist the institution with the transition to creating more virtual content, as well as the maintenance of their collection. Reflects the challenges under-funded and community museums face as they have been forced to close their doors and rely more heavily on online platforms.

Service offered by the Boston Public Library in response to continued closure related to the CoVid-19 pandemic. Service allows for library members to pick up books, movies, and CDs from library locations. FAQs and press releases related to the program highlight the compliance with social distancing, as well as quarantine protocols for materials that are loaned out. This service highlights how libraries are coping with the coronavirus, both in terms of being unable to welcome visitors but also how the coronavirus affects their lending of physical items.

An Instagram page created by the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture in 2020. This page's first post was from April 5th, during the pandemic. The page posts photos, offers activities during social distancing, and different ways to engage with science and other cultures in one's neighborhood or immediate surroundings. The page also promotes virtual events that are put on by the Harvard museums. This page highlights new approaches to engagement that museums have had to develop as they have been forced online, and how they're relating their collections and expertise to the current pandemic.

With the pandemic came online learning and being forced into a class room situation where everything was mediated through our screens. I found this learning style to be mentally draining and had felt that I was alone in my experience when all I saw online was people celebrating the wonders of connecting through zoom. Seeing this infographic which acknowledges zoom exhaustion and breaks down why it happens and ways to overcome it was really nice. It shows that my experience is felt by many and while technology has allowed many of us to stay connected it isn't with negatives. HUM402

It talks about how the small nation of Bhutan is fighting the pandemic and the challenges it is facing as a small state sandwiched between India and China. It shows how the pandemic revealed not only the flaws of the nations economy but also the society.

Centerville, Utah (June, 2020)- My daughter is a creative soul; she loves to sing, dance and act out her vivid imagination. She loves the theatre and going to summer camp. COVID-19 stopped her from doing that this year. But Molly is resourceful and resilient, and even found opportunity to perform in her Anna costume for all her family at her own birthday party. The arts have a way of making us whole, filling us up with joy and hope; even in the midst of a pandemic. For the little ones, they always find a way back to their imagination and the safety it provides.

In this article written for the Atlantic on May 12, 2020- Helen Lewis writes, "As a live art form, theater is particularly affected by the coronavirus, along with concerts and stand-up comedy performances. As I talked with writers, directors, and producers, the same refrain recurred: When will anyone want to be in a dark room full of strangers again? Many of those I spoke with were quietly updating their scenario-planning documents to account for a return next spring, and warned that, without a bailout, that long of a shutdown would financially cripple some institutions. Even when theaters reopen, social-distancing rules could hamper rehearsals, and force venues to sell fewer (and therefore more expensive) tickets. Most believe theater will eventually rebound, but there is talk of a generation of artists and audiences being lost." The effects that COVID-19 will have on the performing arts industry are innumerable but elusive to define. We know things will change, but how and to what extent remains to be seen.

1. Due to COVID-19 fears, theaters on Broadway and across the country have shut down. Legendary actor and director, Joel Grey reveals the mental health strain this loss has caused for himself and so many in his position, including the loss of work and the community he relied on for support and companionship. Joel Grey writes "Because of the coronavirus, we’re facing a future that sure feels more tenuous and fragile than ever. Projects have been canceled, milestones have already been missed, and all the shows have gone dark. These are hard times, for sure, and in hard times I, like so many others, have always turned to the theater for comfort. Where do we turn now? This tragedy has been made that much more devastating by having to face the nightmare without the laughter, tears and sense of community that a night in the theater delivers."

A month or so ago, Arizona State University sent out some of these magnets to online students. The magnet advertises ASU's "360 Life Services" which allows students to connect with counselors and explore different resources to allow students to cope, especially during this time. We stuck this magnet on the side of our fridge. I'm grateful to be a student at a university that cares about the mental health and well-being of its student body, and that has the resources to provide students in need with help. This is particularly important during these times, and especially makes me think about students with inadequate access to healthcare and LGBTQ+ students, people of color, and other minority communities whose mental health has likely been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.

This is my makeshift desk that my boyfriend made for me amid the pandemic. Having worked at a school and being out for the summer, I had to find a job over the summer in order to pay rent, bills, and student loans. I was fortunate enough to find a job working for a company in Salt Lake City. Due to the pandemic, the hiring and on-boarding process was completely virtual. Trainings were conducted through Adobe Connect and the company provided the monitors and the computer, as well as the mouse, keyboard and headset. We've been informed we will not actually have to go into the building until at least the end of the year. Working from home is an adjustment from what I'm normally accustomed to. I'm not used to sitting for a long period of time or having the convenience to be able to work from home. There are perks that are really nice, in terms of not having to travel or worry about getting infected with the virus. I'm enjoying my job, though like all jobs, there can be rough days.

I've had a Foreign Affairs magazine subscription since my freshman year of college, when I took an international relations class. I've enjoyed reading Foreign Affairs ever since. This is the latest edition of the magazine that arrived in the mail yesterday. Some of the latest discussions regarding the pandemic that I've seen taking place in the context of foreign policy, is how COVID-19 will forever change the world, like 9/11. I found the cover art to be very poignant and powerful. It's a ticking bomb with the rendering of what COVID-19 looks like on a microscopic level as the fuse. I don't think I've fully comprehended the ways in which COVID-19 will forever change the world, and I'm not sure it's possible at this moment in time. The cover of this Foreign Affairs magazine is really powerful in its representation of the crisis.

On June 6, 2020, the California Department of Food and Agriculture informed the Board of Directors of the Colusa County Fair that an in-person junior livestock sale would be prohibited to combat the spread of COVID-19. As a result, local students who raised livestock with 4-H and FFA were left with little choice but to participate in a virtual auction hosted by EZ2Bid. For students who were unable to care for their livestock at home and relied on school facilities, raising animals quickly became difficult as campuses closed. Having already purchased their livestock well before the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, local students had to adapt to the shifting climate to avoid losing thousands of dollars in invested time and money. In Colusa County, agriculture is an integral part of the educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the local economy. In an all-too-real scenario, students received an irreplaceable life lesson on the unexpected challenges faced by farmers and ranchers. While COVID-19 might have negatively impacted the education of K-12 students overall, there are some lessons that could not have been taught any other way.

When the Princeton Joint Unified School District campuses unexpectedly closed on March 17, 2020, students were unable to collect personal belongings left in lockers and desks. As a school employee, I was tasked with collecting these items, placing them in plastic bags, and making them available for pick up. From the well-kept lockers of eager freshmen to the trash-filled desks of fifth graders, removing student belongings felt like an invasion of privacy, looting personal spaces thought to be their own. These belonging bags contain much more than physical items, however. They contain the last sense of normalcy for these students, the final laughs shared before an extended summer vacation, and the unfounded security in knowing that tomorrow will be just another school day.

The fourteen graduates of Princeton High School’s Class of 2020 sit six feet apart as supporters watch the graduation ceremony from the confines of their cars. After months of coordinating distance learning efforts and planning for graduation amid ever-changing guidelines, there was an incredible sigh of relief knowing that this challenging school year was over. Although staff members and graduates alike were celebrating the end of a difficult journey, there is no denying the uncertainty as to what lays ahead. Graduates are entering adulthood at a time when the economic outlook is bleak, the college experience is altered, and the threat of illness is troublesome. Certainly, the academic response to COVID-19 will redefine education, proving just how irreplaceable physical classrooms and in-person interactions are to our students.

Starting June 1st, Oklahoma Governor Stitt's Phase 3 of Oklahoma's reopening began. The Richey Insurance Agency of Blanchard, Oklahoma has still not opened partly due to the company's employees being in the vulnerable categories. One of the other reasons is the difficulty in obtaining much needed cleaning supplies and the creation of new office protocols to maintain CDC suggested safety measures. Being a small independent business in a rural area, we are not given strict corporate or state regulations to enact. Instead, we are reliant on state and CDC information as well as our own ingenuity of how to best observe these suggestions. Some of the items that we've recently obtained include: plexiglass barriers for two desks, new easily cleanable office chairs, automated hand sanitizer stations, 70% isopropyl alcohol for spray bottles, bulk bottle of hand sanitizer, brightly colored tape for marking distancing locations on the floor, emergency masks, emergency gloves, and document exchange trays. All of these items are newly purchased and weren't necessary before COVID-19. The barriers will help maintain sanitary work spaces and create social distancing gaps. The chairs are especially important because they are replacing the previous cloth chairs. These new chairs' entire surface is either vinyl or metal, making it easier to clean after every customer. The social distancing rules will be a maximum of four customers in the office. This is approximately one third of its usual heavy customer points normally. All of these changes are based on a downward progression of COVID-19 cases to prevent our employees from unnecessary risk. Right now, three of the employees work from home and will continue until the office is officially open. Currently the new COVID-19 cases are on an upward trend in Oklahoma, with 225 new cases on Saturday June 12th, the single largest day since the beginning of the outbreak. With numbers like these, Phase 3 seems to be more of risk than we had planned. Much of the ramp up to open will be stalled until Oklahoma numbers show a significant decline. Personal story submitted for the #ruralvoices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580.

As a 7th grade, social studies teacher I follow a few different teacher pages on Facebook. One of the pages shared this meme in June as schools began to describe their reopening plans for the fall. Many schools are moving towards individual supplies only. While this does make sense, it's hard to imagine this working well. Many students usually don't show up to class with a pencil! I can't imagine asking them to remember to bring their paper, colored pencils, and pens to every class.

I had a recent death in the family caused by the ongoing crisis. The huge spike in cases put hospitals and the whole health care system at risk of collapse. There are simply no funds, space, and people to control the rapid climb in cases. Because of this, many people who routinely need to go to the hospital had to pause their treatments. My grandpa, for example, had a small, stomach surgery to prevent his fluids from seeping into his chest cavity. A week or so after the surgery he was feeling ill again and very weak. He started getting chest pains so he went to the hospital. They found no leakage and were confused as to why this was happening. They gave him some medication and sent him home. Over the next few days, cases continued to sky rocekt...they doubled each day. He had had enough of the pain and was keen on seeing a more specialized doctor. But, he couldn't. All doctors were taking up 12-hour shifts to help with COVID-19. He finally got a slot with his regular pediatrician and she determined he must have had a small infection after the surgery. She prescribed him with many antibiotics and more pain meds and scheduled him for another appointment a week after. At that point, the hospitals were completely filled. Field hospitals were opening up, surgery rooms, and maternity wards were quickly being converted to ICUs (Intensive Care Units). He was not able to schedule a surgery to fix the problem and died at home a couple of weeks later. Although he did not die from COVID-19, COVID-19 caused him to die.

On June 16th I took a picture of a message that is on a control box for the traffic light on Main Street in Blanchard, Oklahoma. The message is located near a memorial statue that was dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Tony K. Burris for his valor during the Korean War. The message of hope was first spotted in early April when the lock downs of COVID-19 were well underway. The message of hope reminds the local residents that hard times have been witnessed before and like those times, "We Will Get By." The message is located on the North East corner of the intersection between State Highway 76 and U.S. Highway 62; many people drive past this prominent intersection daily. The message itself appears to be spray painted with a stencil. Since the message's arrival, no one has attempted to remove it - despite a strict city stance towards graffiti. This message seems to resonate with locals for the sheer fact that it has remained in its location past several public events in the general area that normally would've caused a reaction to have any other graffiti removed. The framing of the sign, the flag, and the statue in the same photograph really resonates with me. This is the way rural people see and feel the sense memory of past sacrifices, the resiliency that resides in hope.

With everything that we have to be afraid of in the current day, a bit of humour helps to lighten the mood. Someone edited a Daily Mail article, changing germs to germans, as one of the things that can be spread when someone coughs.

The rest of the world collectively decided that coronavirus is the most important thing that is happening at the moment, and that it will take a global response to get things under control. The U.S., as part of the global community, was supposed to chip in and do its share to flatten the curve and get things under control. We also just happen to be trying to dismantle systemic racism at the same time.

There seems to be three separate stories occurring in the world right now. America is currently trying to reopen across the various states, while also confronting its' systemic racial issues. This has generally created chaos across the board both locally and nationally. Europe, and large parts of the world, are trying to handle their own coronavirus issues and wondering what is happening in America. China is trying to alter the narrative on its handling of the coronavirus and probably grateful that the U.S. has provided a distraction.

The photograph depicts what the washing machine always looks like at my house in Oklahoma, multiple cloth masks inside. It has become our daily routine of placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we get home from public places. Before we only used masks to go to the post office and grocery stores, the only two public places we went with other people there. Now that the June 1st Phase 3 of reopening Oklahoma has begun, we have noticed more and more people everywhere we go. As people are becoming more active and very few wears masks, we've begun having to take multiple masks with us everywhere to remain vigilant and have backups. Our daily routine now includes placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we enter from the garage, before going further into the rest of the house. If we go somewhere that includes carrying lots of things that touch our clothes, then we will also throw our daily clothes in the washing machine immediately. On one occasion we came face-to-face with a person without a mask that was actively coughing without covering their mouth in the produce section. We skipped purchasing any produce that day and went straight home. On days like that, we would immediately wash whatever clothes we were wearing, to prevent spreading anything in to the house. Photographs like this are a constant reminder of how our daily routines were completely changed because of COVID-19.

In the middle of America trying to mismanage its Covid-19 response, racial tensions have bubbled over after the death of George Floyd. As the entire country shifts its focus towards the protests, we all seem to be collectively forgetting that there still is a health crisis occurring at the same time. America has a lot on its plate right now.

2020 has offered up a number of crises back to back without any break in between. We started with a global health crisis that eventually caused the economy to suffer and millions to lose their jobs. In the middle of the fight over whether or not we were opening too fast, a racial crisis occurred over the death of George Floyd. Halfway through June, I don't know what else to expect from the remainder of the year.

As states rushed to reopen, there were multiple warning signals put up by scientists and concerned citizens about the unforeseen consequences. There was a reassurance by politicans and those in positions of power that things would be handled properly, and that the idea of a second wave was a ridiculous thought. As states have reopened, cases have surged, and I don't think that I am the only that is not surprised.

Grocery stores have altered the way that their stores function to accommodate for the new guidelines put out by the CDC. At the local Stater Bros store, this mean plastic barriers at all registers, tape on the floor to show proper social distancing, and the halt of the usage of reusable bags brought by the customer

I normally don't remember my dreams, but since quarantine has started I've either been having weird dreams or have just not been sleeping well at all. After speaking with friends and family to see if they have experienced something similar, it seems to be across the board that everyone's sleep patterns have changed. In doing some research, apparently it's enough of a noticeable impact that scientists are investigating what is happening.

When the various stay at home orders were announced around the middle of March, I was optimistic that things hopefully would be managed in a fairly quick manner. Working from home, extra time to work on hobbies, zoom meetings, and the opportunity to drive less all seemed appealing. As time wore on, and various factors and wrong decisions meant that we did not as a country have this under control, staying at home lost its appeal. I don't think anyone wants to do this anymore.

From the inception of the coronavirus crisis, businesses across the spectrum have had to adapt their operating procedures. For restaurants, this proved to be a tricky adaptation. As dining halls closed across the world, restaurants moved towards offering curbside pickup for almost anything that they sold; this included alcoholic beverages. Now, it is not unusual to see advertisements offering up a full pitcher of margaritas or the like, able to be ordered and picked up curbside.

This meme is poking fun at all of the people, myself included, who include their travels as a defining part of their lives. On Instagram, it is usual for people to have airplane emojis and the names of their favorites cities to travel to. With the pandemic restricting all but essential air travel, those influencers/users that use travel emojis have this user worried for their mental health

New Zealand has been crushing it on the global stage with their response to the pandemic. More recently, they have announced that their restrictions are being loosened and they are able to resume normal functions. Jacinda Arden has shown how proper government leadership responds to a crisis.

At the start of 2020, my group of college friends planned a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a dear friend's 40th birthday. As we all live in different areas of the country, it was clear by the start of April that the trip would not be happening due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 20 years of friendship, we couldn't let a milestone like this pass us by. We decided to throw her an over the top Zoom birthday party. I put together party packs, complete with colorful wigs, dessert plates, confetti and cocktail stirrers, and sent to each party guest. The birthday girl's package had strict instructions directing her to wait to open right before the start of the party. Together, the guests made a photo slideshow that included the top 40 things that we love about our friend and read it to the guest of honor during the party. We also decided to make a cocktail together and brought our own desserts and candles so that we could sing to her. The group coordinated with her husband to make sure that she had the cocktail supplies and a dessert to join in the fun. It certainly wasn't what she had imagined for her 40th birthday. But it was unique, thoughtful, a lot of fun, and definitely a memory to last a life time.

Contra Costa County COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were announced on March 13, 2020. As is typical for me, my calendar was full of various activities in the summer months. I love summer! And, as a teacher, I have more freedom during the summer months to travel and to spend times with loved ones. One of the upcoming events I was most looking forward to was a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate one of my best friend from college's 40th birthday. Somewhere between college and now, life began to move at warp speed and we don't get as much time together as we would like. So, for many reasons, this was a major trip for us all. In early April, it was clear that the trip would no longer happen. We all received a text from the birthday girl letting us know the trip was officially cancelled. While I am sad, it is definitely the right decision. I am hopeful that 2021 will give us the opportunity to reschedule! It is hard to imagine that it could possibly be an entire year before we can all comfortably travel and be together once again.

While coronavirus is a horror unique to itself, there are also ripple effects caused by the stress that it is putting on the healthcare system. This manifests itself in hospitals being unable to cope with regular, daily issues; for Baltimore, this is gunshot victims that are either occupying beds that could be used by coronavirus victims, or vice versa.

As States and businesses across the country reopen, there appears to be a divide on what is best practice. One camp is of the opinion that we should go back to how we were pre-quarantine, and should treat the virus as something that has passed. The other camp desires a reopening that is done cautiously, guided by medical/scientific data. Memes are reflecting the divide.

This is a photograph of a lay out for a bride getting married on July 4, 2020. She began her wedding process with approximately 250 guest and a wedding party of 6 not counting herself and the groom. She is now down to 50 guest, and a wedding party of 3, not counting herself or the groom. She had us move the chairs to a circular pattern around her rather than looking into a void of empty space by leaving them in an aisle. This is a representation of how much COVID-19 has altered plans made by individuals and the thought process that must be applied to rectify them and have some semblance of happiness.

This is a photograph of the past weekend from my bridal shower. Everyone who came was more than willing to utilize hand sanitizer and brought mask if it made them feel comfortable. However, we did break the social distancing rule in order to snag a group picture. It was so nice to break out of the quarantine mind set and enjoy a day with friends celebrating my upcoming wedding!

This is a picture of our venues calendar in May. All of the white out spots that you see are dates which couples either chose to cancel/postpone their wedding, or our venue staff was forced under mandates to tell them they had to reschedule. It has been a very messy battle that included two law suits and endless disappointment on our venue's end and especially on the couples end. COVID-19 is robbing people of their mile stones and we are so ready for it all to be over. This is also a good example of how detrimental COVID-19 has been on small businesses. The amount of money they have lost makes it extremely hard to stay afloat.

The way the restaurants advertise is typically by word of mouth or since the emergence of social media, food influencers. Food influencers specialize in creating social media posts that garner the attention of followers and persuade them to patron the restaurant. As the article by Jenny Dorsey points out since the coronavirus pandemic hit restaurants have had to re-evaluate their relationships with influencers and influencers have had to re-evaluate themselves. Restaurants can no longer comp meals to influencers and they want influencers to be more skilled to create story-driven reviews that give a heart to the restaurant. One of the most important parts of this article is the desire to know the line cook who continued working during the pandemic. The people who kept the restaurants alive and continued to serve the community and the push for influencers to include their stories with their posts.

This article discusses the emergence of the phrase “quarantine 15” and the impact of anti-fatness on our society even as it is being ravaged by a global pandemic. Author Virgie Tovar ties the phrase to people's need to connect and the ease of doing so through self-deprecation. Dr. Lindo Bacon attributes the trend to the anxieties of dealing with isolation and other factors directly connected to the coronavirus pandemic and our social stigma against mental health issues. Which reason is more accurate is tough to say and may differ from individual to individual. What is certain is that while people are dealing with changes to their food habits and environmental stressors they are also being pressured to lose weight.

It's not a topic people want to talk about, and most people do not even know the history behind diet culture and fatphobia in the United States. Food is a powerful tool that has been used to convey morality and racial supremacy to Americans for more than a century. As Americans have been in lockdown since March, terms like "quarantine-15" and "the covid-19," have become common phrases to shame weight gain due to anxiety, disrupted eating habits, and food scarcity. The current protests and push for the end of racism has many anti-diet culture dieticians and nutritionists speaking up about not only the ugly history of diet culture and fatphobia but the current situation of fat-shaming people for gaining weight during a global pandemic. This meme shared publicly through an Instagram story is one such attempt by nutrition professionals to call attention to the issue of racism, diet culture, and fatphobia. Contributed by Stephanie Berry, a curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST580.

This is an adorable story of 3 penguins named Bubbles, Maggie, and Berkley who were taken on a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Since the museum was closed due to the Coronavirus, the penguins had the place to themselves. They walked through the galleries admiring the paintings on the wall. I thought this was so cute and also shows another way that animals are "able" to inhabit environments they normally can't due to the presence of humans.

Due to the closer quarters and overcrowding in the nation's prisons they are a breeding ground for easy transmission of the coronavirus. As this article states the "public health catastrophe" inside the country's prisons was "predictable and preventable." California has over 25,000 covid positive inmates as of this article’s writing (05/20/2020), and more in other detention facilities. The outbreak doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon. This article discusses the conditions inside of California prisons based on inmate communications and talking with family members. HST580, ASU

Since the covid pandemic reached the United States a discussion began relating to the nation's prison inmates. With the inability to protect oneself from the virus in a prison environment the question has become, should nonviolent and other inmates receive an early release to protect them from the possibility of dying from covid. This question has resulted in a deeper discussion regarding the humanity of inmates and if a prison sentence should be allowed to turn into a death sentence. This news story covers the early release of Felix Walls. ASU, HST580

Once the covid pandemic settled in across the nation it was obvious that schools, preschool through university, had to be shut down. Many schools turned to online instruction and learning but this presented a problem for a large number of students who don't have the hardware or access to an internet connection. One population you wouldn't expect to also struggle with this issue are prisons. Many prisons across the country offer college to inmates. Conducted by professors who visit the prison to provide instruction. As a precaution to lessen the introduction of the virus into the prison many facilities stopped visitors including the college professors. This article discusses how this has impacted the inmates. ASU, HST580

Video from Today on NBC News about a 90-year-old couple who was separated when the wife contracted coronavirus and their celebratory reunion.

As covid-19 spread across the nation it's inmates began expressing their fear of dying. The living situation inside prisons and other similar facilities, like jails and detention centers, make social distancing impossible and right now frequent hand washing, and wearing a mask are the only tools the world has to combat the virus. Prisoner's and their advocates state that a prison sentence should not be turned into a death sentence. In this phone interview and article published by ACLU Smart Justice Michigan, inmate, Quentin X Betty, shares his fear of dying and the reality that employees and the prison do not see inmates as humans with a right to life. HST580, ASU

The covid pandemic has shown the world, especially the US, how suceptible certain populaations are to any communicable disease. The virus has hit hard in places where social distancing is at best difficult. Places like elder care facilities, meat packing plants, and prisons. In the final installment of her three part series, covering covid inside Arkansas State prisons, NPR reporter Anna Stitt, looks at the history and future of the Arkansas prison system. Much of her focus has been on the Cummins Unit. A prison opened in 1902 and named after one of the plantations who formerly owned the land. Upon opening and through present day the prison operates a farm that is worked by inmates for no pay. They were still farming cotton, with guards on horseback, holding rifles, in the 1990's. An image that looks like it could have been taken one hundred years ago. This prison has been part of numerous scandals and appears to be in the midst of one today. When the NAACP Legal Defense Fund sued to gain early release for the medically vulnerable the judge denied the request saying there wasn't sufficient proof that the Corrections Department was mishandling the pandemic. Inmates report being denied testing even once exposed to the virus. When inmates attourney's requested security footage the Department of Corrections filed a motion to block the request but the judge allowed the attorney's to see the footage. The treatment of inmates has resulted in their families and friends staging a protest outside the Arkansas Governor's Mansion on May 16th and a coalition of organizations delivering demands to the governor on June 1st. HST580, ASU

A video of COVID deniers speaking at a public Board of Supervisors meeting in Orange County.

This article is the second in a three-part series by NPR reporter Anna Stitt. Sponsored by the National Geographic Society's COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists. In this article Stitt mostly focuses on the death of inmate Derrick Coley. He was a healthy 29-year-old inmate who had been up for parole since June of 2017 but once he contracted covid in the Cummins Unit, part of the Arkansas State Prisons, he passed away. In exploring his death Stitt finds that inmates who pay $3 each time they request medical attention ( this was waved from March 23-April 30, 2020) were often not receiving any medical attention and at other times would only see a nurse. The process relayed to her was that inmates must request medical attention four times before they can see a doctor and the only doctor is one whose medical license has been revoked. After several inmates died from covid some inmates began to rebel. Prison staff used tear gas to quell the uprising. This was surprising to inmates Stitt spoke with because the coronavirus is a respiratory virus and at the time over 900 people were infected. As with many large bureaucracies, the prison blames the company contracted to provide medical care, Wellpath, and they pass the buck back to the prison. The concern for prisoners, their family, friends, and advocates is that they could die. Without the ability to social distance, 100% mask wearing, and being able to wash their hand frequently the fear is that a prison sentence, even a relatively short one, could turn into a death sentence.