The rapid spread of COVID-19 has prompted containment measures across continents to respond to this urgent crisis. National health care systems, and city/local health care resources have been stretched to the limits. Hospitals and clinics have had to protect their workers on the front-line. Government policies have restricted movement and to varying levels of degree enforced or advised social distancing measures. These stories highlight how communities are containing the virus, stopping or reducing its spread, and how these responses are effectively reworking distribution systems and re-strategizing emergency preparedness.
To explore Containment stories, click on our collections or the selection of tags below.
https://news48.it/safar-travel
Isa Grassano
News48
19 July 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
An Italian travel writer and a publishing house partnered to recreate the experience of travel to new places, providing tourists with a virtual experience and tour guides with a source of income to replace their lost businesses when the pandemic shut down actual travel. Called the Sarar project (Arabic for travel), the service charges 15 euros for one and a half hour Zoom tours featuring live explanations and interactions with local people, limited only by time zones and cellular reception. An average of 50 tourists have signed on with the seven tour guides who have been recruited so far.
https://www.abc15.com/news/uplifting-arizona/phoenix-hotel-turned-homeless-shelter-is-seeing-success
Melissa Blasius
KNXV-TV
24 June 2021
Broadcast TV News / 3-5 Minutes
The Central Arizona Shelter Services, with help from the City of Phoenix and federal CARES Act COVID relief money, contracted a local hotel to turn 100 rooms into a shelter for the growing number of seniors experiencing homelessness. Known as Project Haven, the rooms help people remain socially distanced and restore people’s dignity. The success of the model brought in other partners, such as behavioral health services and on-site caseworkers to assist with job searches, family reunification, or rental assistance. In the first year, 70% of the 217 seniors it served found positive housing outcomes.
https://therealnews.com/the-forgotten-worker
Jaisal Noor
The Real News Network
1 June 2021
Video / 5-15 Minutes
Homecare aides traditionally receive low wages in an industry with high turnover and great stress during the pandemic. Women of color typically care for their companies' elderly or disabled clients. Cooperative Homecare Associates started in 1985 as a worker-owned cooperative, to be run democratically. It is now the nation's largest co-op, with 2,000 employees, half of them owners. During the pandemic, it partnered with other co-op homecare companies to line up personal protective equipment supplies, one example of how it prioritizes worker safety and satisfaction over profit.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-a-village-in-india-reached-100-vaccination-in-the-face-of-misinformation-and-hesitancy
Puja Changoiwala
National Geographic
21 May 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
To increase the rate of those receiving the Covid vaccine, the village of Janefal in India implemented a public awareness campaign founded on building trust with local community members. Leading the charge was a task force comprised of public health officials. The group set up a vaccination camp in the village so that residents didn't have to travel to a hospital, which was successful enough to inspire other villages to ask Janefal's Primary Health Centre to serve their areas as well.
https://dailyyonder.com/the-cherokee-nation-to-produce-its-own-ppe/2021/05/13
Kristi Eaton
The Daily Yonder
13 May 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
The Cherokee Nation had a hard time sourcing personal protective equipment for health workers, citizens, and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tribal leaders decided to use a portion of the CARES Act funding to create their own manufacturing facilities to produce PPE for both Cherokee Nation citizens and non-citizens. Though still in the testing phase, the facilities are already training 10 people and plan to employ a minimum of 25 people. They will make about 200,000 surgical masks a day and will also produce N95 and N99 masks that they will distribute to healthcare workers and other organizations.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-australia-kept-covid-in-check-and-what-lessons-the-world-can-take-from-it
Nick Schifrin
PBS NewsHour
11 May 2021
Broadcast TV Programs / 5-15 Minutes
Strict and early knockdowns and consistent public health messaging have helped Australia effectively eliminate Covid-19. Now, the country and its residents have largely returned to business as usual, despite many citizens still waiting to receive the Covid vaccine.
https://klcjournal.com/sedgwick-county-black-community-covid-19
Audrey Korte
KLC Journal
4 May 2021
Text / Over 3000 Words
To help protect the predominantly Black community in Sedgwick County, Kansas, the county collaborated with local leaders and residents to create an information and messaging campaign that specifically addressed community concerns. Although the funding allocated to these efforts wasn't as plentiful as community leaders were asking for, the targeted outreach has helped to increase communication and trust around public health messaging.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/28/1023983/india-covid-crowdsourcing
Varsha Bansal
MIT Technology Review
28 April 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In India, citizen-led small-scale digital efforts are helping to connect Covid-19 patients with the resources, supplies, and medical equipment they need to survive. The citizen groups are largely using online platforms to crowdsource what they need, with some matching buyers and sellers and others "debunking inaccurate leads."
https://gradynewsource.uga.edu/uga-multicultural-organizations-find-success-with-drive-ins-for-in-person-events
Tylar Norman
Grady Newsource
27 April 2021
Multi-Media / 800-1500 Words
To maintain community connections, University of Georgia’s Multicultural Services and Programs hosted socially-distanced drive-in events on UGA fields. The Vietnamese Student Association hosted its annual Night In Saigon, where attendees could watch the performances from their cars, with masks on if their windows were down. Over 200 people attended the Black Affairs Council’s BACYard Bash event celebrating Black culture. A COVID-19 committee walked around the event to ensure people wore masks and remained six feet apart. Food trucks served attendees to comply with food preparation restrictions.
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/26/988165812/how-a-u-k-imam-countered-vaccine-hesitancy-and-helped-thousands-get-the-jab
Frank Langfitt
NPR
26 April 2021
Multi-Media / 5-15 Minutes
Sheikh Nuru Mohammed uses weekly sermons as imam at Al-Abbas mosque to dispel false information about the COVID-19 vaccine, inspiring hundreds of skeptical congregants to get vaccinated. He also turned the mosque into a vaccination center and 50 mosques have since done the same. Mohammed’s public vaccination and his sermons, which emphasize getting information from experts not social media posts, make an impact because it is coming from a trusted source rather than government officials. The mosque also delivered over 15,000 doses to people in the area, making an important connection with the local community.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/us/vermont-prison-covid.html
Danya Issawi
Derek M. Norman
The New York Times
21 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
Vermont is the only state where no people incarcerated in prison died of COVID-19 in the first 12 months of the pandemic, and its infection rate is relatively low. The prisons took steps that other prison systems either didn't try or didn't do soon enough, including universal testing at least six times over the year; strict isolation of newly admitted prisoners for 14 days; occasional lockdowns of up to a month; early releases from prison; and keeping corrections officers housed separately from the community. The isolation measures hurt people's mental health, including one suicide and one attempt.
https://www.ideastream.org/news/clevelands-211-helpline-has-helped-thousands-get-vaccinated-for-covid-19
Conor Morris
ideastream
15 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a phone line has helped tens of thousands of residents access information about Covid-19 as well as make appointments to receive their vaccinations. The helpline is a "natural extension of the services" already provided by United Way of Greater Cleveland’s 211 HelpLink.
https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2021/04/14/cleveland-was-slow-to-address-language-and-culture-barriers-to-reach-spanish-speaking-residents-during-pandemic
Rachel Dissell
Claudia Longo
Cleveland Scene
14 April 2021
Text / Over 3000 Words
Cleveland failed to provide Spanish translation services even though 11 percent of its residents identify as Hispanic. The oversight is a threat to public health, especially in the midst of a pandemic. The Spanish-speaking community did not have translated guidelines and health updates, putting them at an increased risk of danger despite directives from the CDC that recommend the employment of bilingual contact tracers and community health workers. Those resources are critical in stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/australia-coronavirus-aboriginal-indigenous/2021/04/09/7acd4d56-96a4-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html
Rachel Pannett
The Washington Post
9 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
Indigenous Australians have fared far better than tribal regions in other parts of the world during the coronavirus pandemic due to a collaborative and proactive health campaign between health experts and aboriginal leaders. According to an Australian epidemiologist specializing in public health, “This is a most amazing response to the pandemic from a community that is so marginalized. This is probably the best evidence we have that if you put Aboriginal people in charge, then you get better outcomes.”
https://fierceforblackwomen.com/2021/04/09/black-churches-work-to-combat-vaccine-fears
Anna Almendrala
Fierce for Black Women
9 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In the Bay Area of California, Black churches are helping to encourage trust around Covid vaccines for those in their congregations who are hesitant to receive the shot. After focusing on dispelling misinformation and extending reliable resources, one church leader says "the majority of his 125-member congregation, about half of whom are senior citizens, want the vaccine."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/europe/covid-uk-vaccination.html
Geneva Abdul
The New York Times
6 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
To discourage the spread of misinformation about the Covid vaccine and decrease vaccine hesitancy in minority communities, religious leaders and other influential people in Britain have launched campaigns to dispel concerns. According to a survey about overall willingness to take the vaccine, the efforts – which include posters, sermons, a help line, and WhatsApp chats – have been working.
https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/mexico/citizen-led-initiative-faces-uphill-battle-dangerous-infodemic
Aline Suárez del Real
Global Press Journal
6 April 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
Verificovid was started by a group of friends to combat pandemic-related misinformation in Mexico. They work with a group of government doctors to identify, track, investigate, and disprove misinformation. The group posts infographics with updated COVID-19 statistics on social media – mainly Whatsapp and Telegram – and offers medical tips via short audio messages and texts. They prioritize fast-moving misinformation that could cause the most harm and, along with sharing the truth, they investigate the origin of the misinformation and teach the public how to identify and stop fake news.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-03-30/gambia-invests-in-genome-sequencing-to-reduce-chances-of-covid-19-mutations
Mustapha K. Darboe
U.S. News & World Report
30 March 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus variants throughout the country, Gambia has launched a genome sequence initiative that to monitor active strains. For a country that has received very few doses of the vaccine, this effort is important for identifying potential outbreaks before they become unmanageable.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/public_health_targeted_covid_19_testing_drop_in_sites_20210327
Brooke Holland
Noozhawk
27 March 2021
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Santa Barbara County, county officials have used findings from the Latinx & Indigenous Migrant COVID-19 Response Task Force to inform the placement of testing pop-up locations during the pandemic. Most recently, the county has also partnered with the local school district to offer walk-in testing clinics on school grounds.
https://www.wkyt.com/2021/03/25/wkyt-investigates-using-drones-to-save-lives
Garrett Wymer
Sam Dick
WKYT-TV
25 March 2021
Broadcast TV News / 3-5 Minutes
A drone company and Kentucky Homeplace, a University of Kentucky initiative to address rural health, have used drones to deliver personal protective equipment packages to isolated, rural homes that can become inaccessible by road flooding or other bad weather. The flights, called the Jericho Project, so far have served as tests that the sponsors hope will lead to deliveries of medicine and other necessities during natural disasters or simply to speed delivery in remote areas.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seattles-success-at-fighting-the-pandemic/id699004174?i=1000513356546
Mike Baker
Bill Radke
KUOW
16 March 2021
Radio Talk Show / 5-15 Minutes
Despite a tumultuous start to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seattle area has one of the lowest per capita death rates of any metro area in the United States. Because of actions taken early on by government officials and individuals, they were able to save lives and prevent an economic downturn due to lockdowns. This longterm investment in public health infrastructure could be a model for other cities.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/how-the-west-lost-covid-19.html
David Wallace-Wells
New York Magazine
15 March 2021
Text / Over 3000 Words
Although no universal set of policies were likely to have prevented the spread of Covid-19, the general inaction and lax interventions by countries in the western hemisphere prevented Europe, North America, and South America from containing the spread of the virus. Comparatively, actions taken by governments and citizens in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia allowed that region to prevent a high death toll. Similarly in East Asia, South-East Asia, and Oceania, the region experienced "inarguable success."
https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/how-norways-prisons-have-weathered-pandemic
Ted Alcorn
Think Global Health
12 March 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article249725998.html
Virginia Bridges
The Charlotte Observer
12 March 2021
Multi-Media / 1500-3000 Words
Three incarcerated people and a coalition of social justice groups sued North Carolina over its prison COVID-19 policies, winning a settlement that is accelerating releases from prison that began at the start of the pandemic. The state's prison population is already 17% lower than it was before the pandemic. Under the settlement, 3,500 more people will be granted early releases, which have begun to occur, under new criteria that changed prison rules to recognize the urgency of getting people away from a virus breeding ground.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/us/coronavirus-seattle-success.html
Mike Baker
The New York Times
11 March 2021
Text / 1500-3000 Words
When Covid-19 cases began to be reported in Washington state, the state government – at the suggestion of local health officials – enacted some of the most stringent restrictions in the nation. Although these actions did not come without trade-offs, in Seattle, the strategy has resulted in "the lowest death rate of the 20 largest metropolitan regions in the country."
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