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Toward a Cure: Cities Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis

Tamara E. Holmes

August 26, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee was one of the first U.S. cities to show that communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic because of a framework that had been established and implemented after the city and county declared racism a public health crisis. The resolution allowed for city officials to track data that framed "disparities in health outcomes through a racial lens." Now, 70 other jurisdictions have made similar declarations and additional efforts are underway to address a range of health issues tied to racial trends.

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As COVID-19 cases rise, experts question effectiveness of contact tracing in S.D. and across the U.S.

Nick Lowrey

August 21, 2020 |

South Dakota News Watch |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, South Dakota

Contact tracing has been touted as an effective tool for slowing the spread of COVID-19 and has shown success in countries such as South Korea – helping to not just identify potential superspreader events, but to also help the economy remain largely open. In the U.S., contact tracers in South Dakota have been able to "identify 35,000 close contacts of coronavirus patients during the pandemic so far," but health experts question if the workforce spans enough of the state.

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Courts rule

Emma Athena

August 20, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Almost half of U.S. states guarantee citizens’ rights to petition for ballot measures, but the coronavirus made gathering signatures in person infeasible. Massachusetts courts allowed electronic signatures, but other states have not approved virtual citizen initiative campaigns. Ballot initiatives allow citizens to advance solutions and enact structural changes without relying on support from elected officials. MA groups used DocuSign to gather 30,000 signatures to get a proposal for ranked choice voting on the ballot. Not all MA groups were able to quickly or successfully pivot to the e-signature process.

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Flu was all but eliminated in South Africa this year. Coronavirus is to thank.

Lesley Wroughton Max Bearak

August 18, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa

When South Africa's government implemented measures to protect its citizens from the spread of COVID-19, it also drastically reduced its flu cases down to 1 single case for its winter season as a side effect. Stringent mask requirements and complete school closures, along with a sharp increase in people getting flu vaccines, contributed to South Africa's record-low flu season, despite being one of the countries with the highest recorded cases of coronavirus.

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How Taiwan is battling coronavirus with tech, crowdsourced data and trust

Jessica Yarmosky

August 17, 2020 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Taiwan

Taiwan has recorder fewer than 500 cases of COVID-19, and it is largely due to the country's reliance on "digital platforms to keep the public updated about medical supply availability and to monitor the status of quarantining citizens." From strict quarantine protocols – that include both monetary incentives and consequences – to a crowdsourcing app that shows mask availability, technology is driving much of Taiwan's response.

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As Malheur County struggles with pandemic, other rural counties provide clues to control

Pat Caldwell

August 13, 2020 |

Malheur Enterprise |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wheeler County, Oregon

Several rural counties in Oregon and Idaho have managed to slow the spread of the coronavirus through early intervention strategies and community compliance. Although the low population and rural nature of the regions also played a role in the success of the counties, the areas still adopted tactics such as mask-wearing and social media campaigns and implemented collaborative efforts between elected and emergency officials. Because of these efforts, several of the counties have been removed from Covid-19 watch lists.

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Here's a look at the security precautions in Colorado's mail-in ballot system

Rachel Lorenz

August 13, 2020 |

Colorado Politics |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

Colorado has fine-tuned an effective mail-in ballot protocol for statewide elections and has one of the highest voter turnouts. Ballots are stored in tamperproof locked rooms that are continuously monitored and voters’ signatures are compared by bipartisan election judges to signatures in a state database. An audit of election results is also conducted to ensure the accuracy of the results. Officials in other states are reaching out to learn more about Colorado’s system, which is well-suited to keeping voters safe during a pandemic, but a lot goes into the system’s success and it takes time to implement.

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How New Zealand went 100 days with no community coronavirus transmission

Julia Hollingsworth

August 10, 2020 |

CNN |

Multi-Media |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: New Zealand

New Zealand went 100 days without a single new case of Covid-19 after implementing strict restrictions which included "no takeaways, no beaches, and no driving outside of your neighborhood." Because of the government's quick action, the county remained in lockdown for only seven weeks. The government is now keeping focus on elimination rather than eradication as it is expected that the virus could resurface.

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In New Zealand, Life Was Ordinary Again With No Virus Spread, But It Didn't Last

Laurel Wamsley

August 10, 2020 |

NPR |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: New Zealand

New Zealand has been able to nearly eradicate Covid-19 due to rapid intervention strategies taken by the government that were predicated on quickly identifying clusters of cases and implementing rigorous contact tracing. Although the country went 101 days without a single case reported, a few cases have once again surfaced. However, because residents had already been using a contact tracing smartphone app and were "encouraged to add masks to their emergency kits," many were prepared for the onset of any new cases.

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How San Francisco succeeded more than other U.S. cities in fighting the coronavirus

Christina Farr

August 08, 2020 |

CNBC |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

San Francisco has reported thousands of cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, but public health experts believe it could have been far worse had the city not implemented early protocols and procedures. An early adoption of mask wearing and remote working as well as ceding communications and guidance to scientists helped keep the hospitals below their maximum capacity and avoid overburdening available resources.

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