Italy has added additional security because Covid-19

As of Sunday, Italy has added additional coronavirus measures on the entire country, including restrictions on travel and the ban of any public meetings. Their prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, ordered that individuals stay home and has restricted people from gathering in public. Additionally, he recommends that people limit contact with any outside sources. Individuals should only travel if necessary, which is to be determined with government approval. Essentially, only people who have a work or valid family reason are allowed to travel. People who are leaving Italy or are coming into the country have to justify themselves. However, temporary visitors are excluded from these rules. Cruise ships are banned from docking at many ports within the country. Before being able to use public transportation, all passengers must be checked for symptoms of Covid-19. Also, he has suspended all sporting events. All schools and universities have to remain closed until April 3rd or until any further notice. During a televised address on Monday, Mr. Conte said to the public that “[they] all must give something up for the good of Italy''. These precautions have been put into place because the Coronavirus death toll in Italy has risen from 366 to 463 and all 20 regions of Italy have been affected. Thus, it's the most infected country aside from China. 

1. Is the government's strict restriction on travel in and out of the country an excessive precaution that they are taking?
2. Should those who are just temporary visitors be held to the same standards as those who are living in Italy?
3. Do you think the precautions that are in place are too extreme or should there be additional safety measures?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673

UC Berkeley and Stanford University Switch to Online Classes

On March 9th UC Berkeley and Stanford University made the final decision to switch to majority online classes. Although there are no confirmed cases at UC Berkeley, the spread of the virus throughout the Bay Area pushes campus officials to take extra precautions. The situation differs at Stanford, where a faculty member at the university tested positive for Corona. Both campuses remain open, meaning students can still access dining halls and student housing. Classes are now offered through digital platforms and students continue to take exams online. One exception to fully online classes is If a course requires the students to learn physically. This hands-on learning includes labs and performing arts. Both universities plan to resume in-class learning on March 29th assuming no more cases form.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-09/expect-more-california-schools-to-close-amid-coronavirus-spread-newsom-says

1. Do you think school closure is justified if there are no cases on campus?

2. Why do you think schools are taking extra precautions regarding the Corona Virus?

3. Should other schools in affected areas consider closure?

US Senator Kamala Harris Endorses Biden

After months of debating, Kamala Harris chooses to endorse Biden after ending her 2020 presidential campaign in December 2019. Along with Harris endorsing Biden, several other political leaders such as Amy Klobuchar,Pete Buttigieg, and Beto O'Rourke. Before the 2020 presidential campaign, Harris and Biden shared a unique past. As a past attorney general for California, she shared a relationship with Biden's late son, Beau as he was the attorney general of Delaware at the time. Over the past few years, Biden has also encouraged Harris to stay in politics despite rough start. But, despite having an amiable relationship, they have both previously clashed in the past. In June 2019, Harris attacked Biden for his opposition over a policy fight segregation in schools. In addition, Harris also ridiculed Biden siding with two democratic senators who preferred racial segregation.  At the time, Harris did not believe Biden was racist, but saw it as hurtful towards her and her community. But, despite this incident, Harris said she would "do anything in her power" to have Biden win, claiming that Biden is honorable,caring and will listen to the people of America. Harris has also been seen helping Biden and his family cope with troubling times after the lost of their son. Officials have also noted that Biden is willing to consider Harris as a potential Vice President if he were to become the next President of the US.

Questions:

1. Is it possible that Kamala Harris endorsed Biden in hopes to become Vice President, or was her words really what she meant?

2.Why would Harris want to endorse Biden despite their argument in 2019?

3.How would Harris' endorsement affect Biden's campaign?

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/08/politics/kamala-harris-endorses-joe-biden/index.html

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/486480-kamala-harris-endorses-biden-presidential-bid

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51792561

Italy Closes Schools Due To Coronavirus Outbreak

Coronavirus, also known as Covid-19 has spread across the globe and one of the most notable outbreaks is in Italy. Italian officials revealed that the virus has infected over 3,000 Italian citizens and is responsible for 107 fatalities. Due to the increase of cases, the Italian government made the executive decision to cancel all schools, universities and daycare centers until March 15. Public health officials believe that closing off places where people gather such as schools is an effective strategy to battle the virus.  Alongside Italy, France, as well as other Asian countries including China and Japan, have also closed schools until April. According to Giovanni Rezza who is the leader of the infectious-disease department at Italy’s National Health Institute, children are at risk of “amplifying” and “spreading” the disease to their families and the rest of the population. Rezza also claimed that school closures were conducted in protecting the elderly which make up the majority of the casualties.

Questions: 

1. Is it a good idea for schools to be closed?

2. Will there be a ripple effect and more countries follow Italy's footsteps by closing schools?

3. Besides shutting down schools, is there another strategy that may be more effective to battle the spread of the coronavirus?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/04/italy-orders-closure-of-schools-and-universities-due-to-coronavirus

https://www.vox.com/2020/3/4/21164938/coronavirus-italy-schools-closed

How the spread of the coronavirus has halted the amount of pollution in China

While the coronavirus has been spreading around China, millions have gone on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. Because of the lockdown, it resulted in temporary factory closures and a dramatic fall in motor traffic. This means that there was a massive drop in pollution stated by NASA. Typically there is a decrease of pollution during the Lunar New Years, but NASA said that this year had more of a reduction than usual. An air quality researcher, Fei Liu, stated: “This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event.” Pollution it’s emitted by cars, power plants, burning fossil fuels, and construction. This can lead to aggravated respiratory symptoms and asthma, among other possible long term effects. The cities in China are rated as one of the most polluted in the world. In the photo, you can see how pollution affects the town compared to the cities after the lockdown on January 23rd. This photo also shows drastic drops in pollutants around Wuhan, which was the first city to be quarantined. Research proved that nitrogen dioxide rates dropped an average of 30% than usual, which is compared to the standard of 10% lower during the same time of year. 

1. Because of the lockdown, do you believe that this will improve or hurt China’s economy? 
2. How do you believe the people of China feel about this situation? 
3. Do you believe that China should start to decrease the amount of pollution that they create in the world?

 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/04/811019032/why-chinas-air-has-been-cleaner-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak

House Makes Lynching a Hate Crime In Memorial of Emmett Till

Lynching has finally been made a federal hate crime for the first time in U.S. history. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was approved on February 26, 2020. Only four voted against it making the vote 410-4. Emmett Till was a fourteen year old that was lynched in the 1950s because a white woman claimed that he offended her. This act was said to start the civil rights movement. Although there are no lynching's happening currently, there are still hate crimes going on like nooses being found and attacks on African Americans. Lynching remained after slavery and truly shows the expression of racism and violence in America. That's why this act is so historically important because it serves as a reminder to not let history repeat itself. There have been over 200 attempts over the last 100 years to get this passed and this current legislation was in the works for over two years. Kamala Harris, Bobby Rush, and Cory Booker introduced the legislation and the President is predicted to sign.  https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/809705702/it-s-about-time-house-approves-historic-bill-making-lynching-a-federal-crime 1. Do you think that this should have been passed earlier? Why do you think it wasn't? 2. Do you think hate crimes are accurately portrayed by the media?

Thousands of pets abandoned by their owners due to Wuhan lockdown

It has been over a month since China imposed a lockdown on Wuhan (and the rest of the Hubei province) in an attempt to quarantine the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. With this lockdown enforced, people who have traveled out of the city cannot get back in. The city is completely sealed off, and residents can only leave their homes once every three days. The mayor of Wuhan stated that there were around 5 million people who had left the city before the quarantine. As many of these people are pet owners, at least 30,000 pets have been left alone in their homes without food and proper care. This growing problem has led to many volunteers and animal shelters in the area making an effort to rescue these abandoned animals. With animal shelters overcrowding, some volunteers are keeping these unaccompanied pets in their own homes. One volunteer revealed that she is currently holding 35 dogs and 28 cats in her apartment; she fears that she will soon run out of food for the animals, as the lockdown imposes restrictions on people from simply leaving their homes. In addition to this issue of pets being trapped alone inside of homes, some paranoid owners are purposely deserting their pets in fear that they may transmit the virus to them. Currently, there are no cases nor evidence of pets being able to contract or spread the virus. As the situation intensifies, immense community support has been growing. Volunteer groups and animal protection groups have been working around the clock to rescue these animals, but they can only do so much.

Discussion Questions:

1. How can animal rescue groups gain more support/assistance in helping these stranded animals?

2. Do you think that these volunteers could be putting their efforts elsewhere?

3. What are some other issues that can develop from placing an entire province on lockdown without warning?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51614957#

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/coronavirus-volunteers-rush-help-pets-trapped-locked-down-wuhan-n1131456