This is an alternate final assignment created for the course HIST 380: History of Public Health, an upper level history course at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Given the challenges of transitioning to online-only instruction, the upheaval of the pandemic, and the reframing of the course to address historical precedents of COVID-19 more explicitly, students were given the option of creating content for this archive.

This is an email sent by the President of the small, locally-owned movie theater I work at telling us that the theater will close down due to state-wide mandates that non-essential businesses close. It also suggests signing up for unemployment insurance, and what may happen once we are allowed to re-open.

My friend Diane, who lives on my street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, is a quilter. I met her at her Lutheran church, a beautiful old stone building on our street, with a vegetable garden on one side. I’m Jewish, but the church has arts events, and we met that way. When I read that quilting cotton is the best material for homemade masks, I asked Diane if she could make two for me because I have asthma, which puts me at high risk for Covid complications. She said yes immediately because she was already making masks, and she invited me to the church garden, where I could retrieve them from a bench without getting close to her. The next day, with spring in all its glory, I found her sitting there with a mask on. With my face covered as well, I stood across the garden and had the first face-to-face conversation I’d had with anyone in several weeks, which was such a relief. And Diane said that because of her quilting, “I felt called to make masks.” With her generosity and those six words, what a surprise and consolation: Life in its richness had blossomed again, under the sun and flowering trees. Thank you, Diane.

As an empty nester couple at retirement age, with certain underlying health issues, our main concern is not our jobs,or cash flow, but rather the future of our children and grandchildren. While they are close, we are separated and isolated from them and this is very hard to accept, especially with no specific end in sight.

This graph shows the impact Covid-19 has had on stocks. As the virus spread and got worse as time passed you can see the dramatic dip in stocks and its obvious impact on the world economy.

Experiencing the coronavirus.

A personal journal of our quarantine and current events

A journal of one physician's experience under Covid19 lockdown standed in a foreign country

Excerpts from emails to friends, Facebook posts, blog posts.

While we were having lunch in the bar section of D.C.'s Hamilton restaurant the orders came through to close all bars in the city. We watched as staff took away all the barstools but this one on which a man was sitting with his drink. It seemed that as long as he stayed with his drink there would be one last man at the bar.

Items to stored in car to prevent viral contamination - hand sanitizer, bandana to cover mouth and nose and disinfecting wipes.

[Curator's Note]: Link and screenshot of news article about Arizona's capital lighting buildings around the city blue in honor of first responders and healthcare workers.

Plastic covering credit card number pad telling customers it has been disinfected.

Appeals to tribal citizens about practiciing social distancing during ceremonial season, particularly the tribe's more vulnerable population. To date, two deaths have been confirmed in the tribe due to the pandemic. #IndigenousStories

Tribal leadership invests in the welfare of its rural tribal community and their neighbors through a donation for coronavirus testing and treatment equiptment. #IndigenousStories

597 people in Navajo Nation have tested positive for Coronovirus while people also are running out of water. National Guard rushing potable water to rural Navajo families while also setting up emergency health facilities. #IndigenousStories

Indigenous peoples connect through a Facebook Group called Quarantine Dance Specials 2020 where they record themselves dancing while self-isolating.This article follows Laryn Oakes performing the women's fancy shawl dance in downtown Saskatoon where she was reminded "This is our land. You're dancing...you're doing something positive." #IndigenousStories

This is the second set of observations created specifically for this by an historian located in the Australian regional city of Ballarat

Personal observation of lockdown in a regional Australian city

Motivation Reflection text

I was running low on toilet paper so my sister sent me some via priority mail. She wrote a funny message on it.

A sign posted on a mailbox in Glendale, Arizona regarding postal service work during COVID-19

Motivational Text

On any given morning Bourbon Street is filled with tourists and delivery trucks making drop offs. On this particular Friday, the first after lockdown, it’s quiet.

Personal Reflection

James Anear. Age; 23 Race; White Occupation; Art student Gender; Nonbinary trans masculine Sexuality; Bisexual; Middle class.

Primavera Sound has been releasing archived, pro-shot live footage to their YouTube channel during these trying times. And in this case, it’s full-set videos!

Un grupo de pobladores pertenecientes a la Región de Huancavelica , partieron del VRAEM con niños de todas las edades y personas adultas, pobladores que se encontraban por distintos motivos en en Picharia, C.P de Natividad y Mantaro Vraem, a falta de movilidad y en acato de estado de emergencia optaron por viajar a pie, según reportes ya no pueden estar más días de la cuarentena en el Vraem debido a que no cuentan con recursos económicos. NOTA : La gran mayoría de pobladores se dedicarían a la cosecha de coca e incluso muchos de ellos fueron con toda su familia para poder trabajar, debido al Estado de Emergencia, no pueden trabajar y ahora solo buscan retornar a su tierra natal. A group of residents belonging to the Huancavelica Region, left the VRAEM with children of all ages and adults, residents who were for different reasons in Picharia, CP de Natividad and Mantaro Vraem, due to lack of mobility and in compliance with state of emergency chose to travel on foot, according to reports they can no longer be more days of quarantine in Vraem because they do not have financial resources. NOTE: The vast majority of residents would dedicate themselves to the coca harvest and many of them even went with their entire family to be able to work, due to the State of Emergency, they cannot work and now only seek to return to their homeland.

Religious organizations unable to congregate in person during the stay-at-home order, Refuge Church NOLA advertises online and virtual spiritual services on a posting hung on a telephone pole.

Pet stores are considered essential businesses and may remain open during the stay-at-home order in New Orleans. This business offers curbside pick up and delivery to ensure proper social distancing protocol is in effect.

At a fundraiser held weeks before stay-at-home orders were put into effect, this event hall put out miniature bottles of sanitizers for their guests to take with them. A sign on display at the entrance of the event encouraged guests to not hug or kiss when greeting one another.

Burnell Cotlon, owner of a small grocery store in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, shares how COVID-19 is effecting his community.

Self Reflection

Since COVID-19 is forcing people to stay indoors and isolate from others, I have had the opportunity to spend more time with my family. Every night, we try to eat dinner together and do something as a group, whether we watch a movie or play a game. The other evening my brother, Joshua, elected that we play a game on his Oculus VR headset. We played a game called Beat Saber. In the game different colored blocks come flying towards you and you have to hit them, following the beat of the song playing in the background. This proved to be a fun way for us to get together and hang out. I will say that if you ever elect to play this game be prepared for sore arms the next day. It is definitely a workout. Even though COVID-19 has disrupted everyone’s plans, don’t let it stop you from hanging out with loved ones (at home). I was really frustrated when I had to leave college and come back home, but I’ve actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Even though I miss being in class and seeing my friends, it is nice to finally have some time that I can spend with my family.

One example pulled from hundreds of how powwow dancers are dealing with the pandemic by sharing their social distancing powwow videos to stay connected. The gathering of people at powwows may be disrupted, but the chain remains unbroken. #IndigenousStories

Lummi Tribal Health Center braces for the worst as it struggles to get federal stimulus funding to buy protective gear for health workers as the tribal fitness center is converted into a field hospital for coronavirus patients. #IndigenousStories

21 of Arizona's tribal nations establish steps for emergency/unplanned telework to help protect tribal employees. #IndigenousStories

A one-time event where the tribe's Wassaja Memorial Health Center distributed surgical masks in the back-parking lot of the facility to community members to "flatten the curve of COVID-19 infection rates." #IndigenousStories

Tribal leadership launches social media campaign in collaboration with Gila River Health Care staff to inform community on status of Covid-19. Addresses the status of the positive cases and reassures community that there are also an "overwhelming number of negative" cases of people who were tested, which means "we are getting a handle on what is actually going on and that is key to our success in beating this." For questions, the community is encouraged to call a reservation Coronavirus Hotline. #IndigenousStories

“As matters progress with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional advisories and Orders may follow,” said Hopi Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma, “but we are implementing what precautions and restrictions that we feel are currently warranted to ensure the public health and welfare of our people. It is important to remember, as has been said before, ‘a virus does not move, people move it’, so we encourage the Hopi public to take charge of their own health and welfare and be cautious in their daily interactions with others during this time.” #IndigenousStories

Text describing the Grocery Stores in New York

Unique ways to sign off in emails related to social distancing as a result of the pandemic

A PDF resource for Stop and Shop customers on what they are doing to provide safe grocery shopping.

This was a project I made while dealing with the stress of the coronavirus affecting my family and friends in Queens. I drew up, 3D modeled, and rendered a model of the coronavirus with spherical polygons shaped using python and math. The model was made with repeating spheres distorted by different variables. Using these variables, I can also duplicate the computerized version of the virus indefinitely. Living just a walk away from the current epicenter of COVID-19, Elmhurst, Queens, every day of life now is profoundly shaped by this disease, with family members currently hospitalized and suffering from this pandemic. This piece is me taking the power back by making the virus, manipulating it, and containing it within my own virtual creation.

A love letter to New Orleans' Carnival, concerts, cuisine, and culture - with lots of photos.

Story

This is a gift card sale for my family's business. At the given moment, this is the only way our business can earn any money.

This is a temporarily closing flyer for my family's business. We had originally decided to close for two weeks, but that was extended to the end of March, and now until the end of April.

This is a questionnaire that my family's business may use when they decide to reopen. It is to be used as a precautionary measure, to decide whether or not a customer is allowed inside.

‘Minnesota Nice’ has found a way to interact with neighborhood dogs while maintaining social distance. Chalk drawings and words of encouragement have become a common occurrence. first warm day in St. Paul since the shelter in place One of the lesser talked about results of social distancing has been the drop of interaction of neighbors with local four-legged friends. Although people are unable to say in person what good dogs they are, their owners are sure to relay the message. #DePaulHST391