Category Archives: Covid-19

When conditions improve and life after COVID-19 returns to normal whatever that looks like Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said there is one lesson he is determined to carry with him: take time for personal reflection.

The member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently spoke with Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein, director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute in Jerusalem, via recorded video-conference about using time during social distancing to look inside ones self, make changes and do better.

Elder Holland is one of dozens of religious leaders around the world featured in the Elijah Interfaith Institutes Coronaspection initiative, which aims to share light and hope through introspection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seeking solitude is something the Savior did not to retreat or flee the realm but to gather strength in order to return, Elder Holland told the Rabbi.

With canceled trips, fewer meetings and minimal speaking assignments, Elder Holland has had additional hours to spend in prayer, scripture study and meditation. He said he hasnt had this much time to himself since before he was president of Brigham Young University, more than four decades ago.

I see things Id like to do better, Elder Holland said candidly, noting his general concern for others has been personalized through the COVID-19 crisis.

Now, he has a determination to return to his public service with a little more sympathy and empathy, a little more insight and feeling for those out in that congregation.

Ive seen more of their individuality and worth. Ive seen them for who they are. Ive seen them as children of God, said Elder Holland, using his 90-year-old neighbor and the young boy on the street out his window as examples. I always did, but now its a little different with a threat in the air we cant even see.

Elder Holland said the coronavirus crisis is not Gods judgment on His children. But its a reinforcement that were part of the family of God and He wants His children to turn to Him.

This lesson of rebalance of turning to God, recognizing His hand and making changes, repenting to use a scriptural word is a universal need, he said.

In the future, when Elder Holland sits in front of a congregation, meets with a youth group or talks to people at a public protest or rally, he said hell have a much more personal view.

Those arent just nameless, faceless people. Those are individual people with individual needs and hopes, with dreams and joys and disappointments, Elder Holland said. I know that intellectually. Ive always known it, and Ive tried to treat people that way. But this kind of event has underscored that individuality to me. I think I am a little more sensitive to what those heartaches are.

When asked about fear and anxiety during the crisis, Elder Holland said his faith has kept him grounded, but he has felt concern for others.

Thats most of what we discuss in our meetings, he said of meeting with other senior leaders of the Church.

But his Brethren dont act out of fear, he added. You dont see any frenzy in the room. You dont see anyone wringing their hands or fleeing in desperation.

Were just sitting in counsel trying to do the best we can for people who need to be blessed, who need to be safe, and for whom we want to do that the best we can.

After restrictions end and Elder Holland sits again next to his fellow members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their more traditional pattern, I anticipate a rich, powerful, symbiotic sharing of these kinds of lessons, he said.

To conclude the interview, the Rabbi and Elder Holland prayed together. Elder Holland asked the Lord for optimism of a divine origin and hope for those in distress. He pleaded for brotherhood and sisterhood and peace in the world.

Watch Elder Hollands interview on the Elijah Interfaith Institutes YouTube channel.

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How Elder Holland's view of himself and others has changed ...

Shortly after missionaries began returning home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christchurch New Zealand Stake held a virtual youth missionary devotional. The missionaries shared their experiences and testimonies and answered questions from the youth.

The missionary devotional gave the youth an opportunity to interact with recent and serving missionaries, feel the Spirit and hopefully strengthen their own testimony and desire to serve missions, said Jeff Clendon, stake Young Men president and high councilor.

The missionaries also benefited from relating their experiences and feeling support during a difficult time of returning home.

The stake later held a trivia quiz for youth using Zoom. Participants submitted answers using the chat feature. The quiz was a fun opportunity for youth to meet with their leaders and encourage team spirit within their wards, Clendon said.

Clendon has observed that its easy for youth to feel isolated during these difficult circumstances. Regular contact with their Church leaders and Church peers keeps them engaged with the gospel and with the Children and Youth program and supports their spiritual development, he said.

Though youth and children of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints havent been able to physically meet for a few months due to COVID-19 concerns, many have found creative ways to gather virtually.Heres a glimpse of what some stakes and wards have been doing around the world.

Gabriela Pires da Rocha, 16, of the Pinhais Ward in Curitiba, Brazil, said the youth in her ward have been meeting online twice a week for seminary. The full-time missionaries in her area recently planned a four-part virtual missionary activity for the youth. They tested their knowledge of the scriptures, played games in groups and shared on social media how they find peace in Christ.

Its so cool to see how the Lord provides various ways so that we can continue learning the gospel, she said.

In the Mayagez Puerto Rico Stake, stake Young Women President Betsy Gonzlez said youth have continued to hold weekly activities through various online platforms.

Some recent activities have focused on the new bicentennial proclamation President Russell M. Nelson announced in the April general conference. Youth from around the stake recently compiled a video of reciting the proclamation.

Latter-day Saint youth in Puerto Rico share The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.

The stake is planning an upcoming virtual youth devotional on the Restoration, and the Caribbean Area is planning an areawide virtual conference patterned after For the Strength of Youth (FSY).

Its so difficult for youth in this moment to pass through all these problems and social distancing alone, Gonzlez said. We are inviting them to invite other friends and nonmembers that are social distancing like them, so they can join us in these devotionals and activities.

Young women in the Canyon Rim 2nd Ward in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently participated in a virtual cupcake decorating contest.

Leslie Walker, secretary in the Young Women presidency, said she and other leaders delivered cupcake mixes and instructions for the activity to each girls home. The young women submitted a picture of their finished cupcake by a specific date, and the bishopric judged the creations.

The activity was a success for all involved. I think they learned that we can still do things. We dont have to be totally isolated, Walker said. Theres still things we can do to try to stay together and be together but still be safe.

Hazel Schumway, 15, second counselor in the Young Women class presidency, said the activity helped her feel more united with the young women. Sometimes you feel really alone. So its really nice to know even if you cant see the young women, theres still this community thats excited to see you when quarantine is over. It just makes you feel more supported.

Bishop Marc Child added, They need connection. Thats part of it. We all need to be touched and know that were important. Weve got to stay engaged in this. This is critical. And I need to see them too. I need to know how theyre doing.

Young women in the Charlotte North Carolina South Stake are planning to hold a two-day virtual Young Women camp in July. Stake camp director Suzy Pierson said they are embracing the unique circumstances to make virtual camp an uplifting and unforgettable experience.

Were calling it camp in a box, Pierson said. Each young woman will receive a box with supplies for activities and classes, as well as a camp T-shirt, schedule and note from their leaders. Older young women serving as youth camp leaders will have a group of younger young women to meet with virtually.

Pierson has already noticed some unexpected advantages to virtual camp. For example, classes are usually limited by time or resources at camp. But this year, youth camp leaders can teach however many classes theyd like. The young women will receive links to recordings of the classes they sign up for.

Though a virtual talent show and virtual testimony meeting will look different, Pierson hopes the activities will give young women who usually feel uncomfortable their moment to shine and be strengthened.

Even though we cant get together physically and its breaking a lot of their hearts, theres no need to erase (camp) this year, Pierson said. Theres so much growth. Theres so much learning. So lets make it memorable in a great way. Theres no forgetting this year.

Young men in the Birmingham Alabama Stake are also planning a virtual camp. Plans include a prerecorded devotional and activities in each of the four areas of the Children and Youth program (spiritual, social, intellectual and physical).

We want to make sure were giving everyone an opportunity to do something that they like and enjoy, said David Galloway, stake Young Men president and high councilor.

Despite challenges of the pandemic, he hopes youth will see, You can make lemonade out of lemons.

You can still make the most out of this time that were going through without just giving up and saying, Hey, we cant do anything. Sure, we cant do the camp in the traditional sense, but if one person is inspired to be better and do better through some of these activities, then why not do it? Galloway said.

Children in the Mountain Shadows Portuguese 1st Ward, West Jordan Utah Mountain Shadows Stake, participated in a virtual exercise activity last week over Zoom.

Primary activities leader Vanessa Lagemann said she explained the benefits of exercise and showed appropriate YouTube videos the children could dance to. Some parents also participated. The children have been participating in virtual activities about once a month since the COVID-19 outbreak.

I think its important for them, said Lagemann of continuing to hold activities for the children. At least they can say hi and see them and see that everybodys OK, and were going to be fine and were just adjusting.

To help youth, adult and Primary leaders continue to plan virtual gatherings, the Church recently published guidelines for using web and mobile tools:

Principles include focusing on meeting individual, family and local needs; giving consideration to children and youth who may not have digital access; and following the Churchs safety policies and Service and Activity Guidelines for youth and children.

Counsel together and seek revelation for adapting activities so they can be held digitally. Youth will often have solutions, the youth guidelines state.

Online safety practices include avoiding using unknown vendors and sites, sharing personal information online and displaying pictures of others without their permission. Leaders should participate in all virtual activities, and parents should be aware of activities so they can be responsible for the online safety of their children and youth.

For more activity ideas, check out articles on the Gospel Living app or visit the Children and Youth website.

Excerpt from:

How youth worldwide are gathering virtually during the ...

In these days of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and stay-at-home mandates, much of the Churchs missionary training experience remains the same.

New missionaries are assigned to companions, districts and zones. They meet each other and instructors for classes, splitting off for companionship or small-group interactions. They participate in devotionals, Sunday gospel study and a weekly preparation day.

And yet, training missionaries now is so different.

Instead of missionaries gathered in the Churchs 10 missionary training centers worldwide, new missionaries can be found in literally hundreds of MTCs across the globe, as training has gone online as one of a number of missionary adjustments due to the coronavirus pandemic. Companion study and classes are done through video conferencing, and a new missionarys own residence becomes his or her virtual MTC.

Todays at-home training is the realization of a statement less than a year ago by Elder David A.Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as he summarized in April 2019 general conference the basic implications of gospel learning becoming increasingly home-centered and Church-supported: The ultimate missionary training center is in our homes; secondary missionary training centers are located in Provo, Manila, Mexico City, and in other locations.

Said Elder Brent H. Nielson, a General Authority Seventy and Missionary Department executive director, of training through online technology: Virtual MTC training is following a similar pattern. It is quite amazing to watch.

The Church News takes a brief look at todays online missionary training from the perspectives of the Missionary Department, training missionaries, instructors and families.

With traditional training at the Churchs10 MTCs now suspended,new missionaries are being trained online by instructors working either from their own home or an MTC classroom.

Theres really no difference in the type of things that are going on online than had happened face to face with missionaries, except theyre not face to face, said David N. Weidman, Missionary Department managing director.

As of March 30, 820 missionaries representing two weeks of mission starts are participating in online training originating from six MTCs, said Kelend Mills, the departments administrative director of MTCs.

By the end of this week, those numbers will be 1,400 missionaries and eight of 10 MTCs, involving some 410 instructors, he added. The numbers will increase until an expected peak is reached in about seven weeks.

We are trying to provide the standard MTC experience in a new and amazing way, including training on doctrine, missionary skills, language and more, Mills said.

Districts are composed of eight to 12 missionaries just as at an MTC. Missionaries are assigned an online companion and participate in teacher-led instruction, practice activities, large-group instruction and break-outs in small groups and companionships, he said. The training schedule includes daily personal and companionship study and daily assignments to complete, with a weekly preparation day and the chance to participate in Sunday worship in the missionarys own home.

Sister Hannah Hargrave of San Tan Valley, Arizona, began her training on March 18, disappointed that her six-week preparation to serve in the Spain Madrid Mission wouldnt be at the Provo MTC as expected. Disappointment and tears were comforted by prayers and a fathers blessing, as her at-home training began online.

Her first email home to family and friends indicated she found the joy and power of the virtual MTC, along with a sprinkling of humor.

I made it safely to the MTC, and I love it here. If were being honest, though, my roommates are loud and a little odd , she wrote. Being able to be set apart as a full-time missionary, name badge and all, at home with my family is the coolest thing ever (and always having access to snacks doesnt hurt).

She outlined a typical day a three-hour class with her district over Zoom; then personal study; then Facetime study with her companion, Sister Amy Noval from Dana Point, California, also assigned to Spain; then language study and finally another three-hour district class until about 8 p.m.

The lessons and devotionals Ive had this last week have been some of the most spiritual things Ive ever experienced, she wrote. There truly is power in doing the Lords work. I was worried at first that I would miss out on feeling the spirit as strong as I would if I were at the actual MTC, but I truly believe it is the same. When we are on the Lords errand, we are entitled to the Lords help, and Ive definitely felt that.

One concern was missing out on creating strong bonds with others in a traditional MTC classroom, Sister Hargrave acknowledged to the Church News.

Ive noticed that although its different and will take longer, Ive still been able to get to know them and love them, she said of those in her virtual classroom. Im looking forward to the rest of the weeks we have together to get to know them.

In a recent anonymous survey by the Missionary Department on the online training experience, other missionaries offered:

Kimber Young, a Provo MTC instructor and returned missionary from the New York New York South Mission, teaches Mandarin Chinese to an online class of six new missionaries situated in homes across the United States and who are assigned to serve in Taiwan and U.S. missions.

She misses the in-person interactions and combined presence of missionaries at an MTC. It is inspiring to see the sheer amount of missionaries at the MTC who spend every minute of every day striving for the same purpose: to bring others to Christ, she said. In the virtual MTC, it is the same thing, but my missionaries arent physically surrounded by people from all over the world who have that same purpose.

Provo MTC instructors initially anticipated concerns ranging from scheduling to technological issues when moving to online training, but the transition has been quite seamless, Young noted.

The process has honestly felt incredibly smooth, she said, adding her surprise at how much more the missionaries are willing to participate. The discussions we have are filled with the Spirit, and it seems like the missionaries feel even more comfortable expressing themselves over the medium of technology.

One of her elders told her that that after participating his first day in the class he wanted his room to be a place where he could feel the Spirit. So before the second day, he deep-cleaned his room.

He said it made a big difference in how he could focus in class and act like a missionary in general and have it be a place where he could learn from the Spirit, Young said. He even showed me how clean it was on his screen. For me, this was a testimony builder because it helped me see the practical applications of living a Christ-centered life.

I believe this generation of missionaries are going to be the best we have ever seen simply due to the fact that they are learning now in their comfortable home environment what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and what they really need to change to live up to that standard.

Sister Hargrave is the second of Jim and Wendy Hargraves children and their second missionary to be affected by COVID-related adjustments to missionary service. Elder Adam Hargrave, her older brother who is serving in the Utah Ogden Mission, had his release date moved up from October 2020 to July 27.

Jim Hargrave expresses how wonderful it is to have her spirit and a missionary still with Sister Hargrave training in their San Tan Valley home.

We try to be quiet and not interrupt her during training, he said, commenting of noticing after the first week her personal growth and increased understanding of the Spanish language. She is following all of the rules as if she were in the MTC. She even goes to bed on time, which honestly was our only concern.

He added: I believe it takes special missionaries to be disciplined enough to make a bedroom, office or small space in a home their extension to the MTC.

Hannah Arnold of Eagle Mountain, Utah, documented with photos her family accompanying daughter Sister Aubrey Arnold as she entered the MTC on March 25. Sister Arnold has been assigned to serve in the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission.

The silver lining to all of this is getting tobe part of her MTC experience and seeing her start to grow as a missionary, Hannah Arnold said. Its been a very sweet experience.

The rest is here:

What online training and a virtual MTC means for ...

As essential workers, farmers and ranchers need quick access to the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure a stable food supply chain. Micheal Clements shares how the American Farm Bureau Federation is helping promote vaccine acceptance.

Clements: The American Farm Bureau Federation is helping farmers and ranchers, and farm workers, get the COVID-19 vaccine. AFBF Congressional Relations Director Allison Crittenden says they are doing so through the COVID-19 Community Corps.

Crittenden: So, its a group of organizations organized by the White House that are committed to fighting COVID-19 by promoting COVID-19 vaccination and making sure that the members of the different organizations understand the benefits and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Clements: Crittenden says Farm Bureau is working at the grassroots level to get the word out about the importance of getting vaccinated.

Crittenden: We are making sure that these farmers and ranchers understand the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and have the appropriate tools to handle any sort of issues with vaccine hesitancy or concerns and questions about the vaccine. Through our work in the COVID Community Corps we have all kinds of messaging available to us that we plan to share with our state Farm Bureaus and all of our members in order to get the word out about the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Clements: Deemed essential workers, Crittenden says it is important those in agriculture get the vaccine as soon as possible.

Crittenden: Farm workers and farmers are an essential part of our critical infrastructure. They never had the option to work from home. So, its important that they have access to the vaccine to ensure that they are protected while they are still going to work each day and still farming.

Clements: Micheal Clements, Washington.

Here is the original post:

Farmers and Farm Workers Should Be Prioritized for COVID-19 Vaccine - Farm Bureau News

MADISON (WKOW) -- Wisconsin reported one new death due to COVID-19 on Sunday, according to the latest numbers from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Deaths for each day arereported by DHS HERE.

DHS also reported 72 people were newly hospitalized.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 241COVID-19 patientswere being treated in Wisconsin hospitals, up six from the day prior.

Of those, 64 are in the ICU, up two from the day before,according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

There have been 886 positive COVID-19 tests since yesterday in Wisconsin and 2,422 negative results.

(CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL DHS DASHBOARD)

The Department of Health Servicesdashboardshows the seven-day average of positive tests.(CHART)

(App users, see the daily reports and charts HERE.)

Of all positive cases reported since the pandemic began, 566,646, or 97.6 percent, are considered recovered.

As of Tuesday, a total of 3,120,369 vaccines have been administered throughout Wisconsin.

So far, 33.4 percent of Wisconsinites have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and 20.4 percent of the state has complete the vaccine series.

Vaccination numbers can change on a rolling basis as the state gets more data each day.

DHS has a county-level dashboard to assess the COVID-19 activity levelin counties and Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition regions that measure what DHS calls the burden in each county.View the dashboard HERE.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services updates the statistics each dayon its website around 2 p.m.

(Our entire coronavirus coverage is available here.)

The new strain of the coronavirus causes the disease COVID-19. Symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. A full list of symptoms is available onthe Centers for Disease Control website.

In severe cases, pneumonia can develop. Those most at risk include the elderly, people with heart or lung disease as well as anyone at greater risk of infection.

For most, the virus is mild, presenting similarly to a common cold or the flu.

Anyone who thinks they may have the disease should call ahead to a hospital or clinic before going in for a diagnosis. Doing so gives the staff time to take the proper precautions so the virus does not spread.

Those needing emergency medical services should continue to use 911.

(County by county results are available here).

See original here:

Eight new deaths from COVID-19 in Wisconsin; 20.4% fully vaccinated - WKOW

FILE PHOTO: Gravediggers wearing protective suits carry a coffin of a 32-year-old man who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as spotlights illuminate the graves during night burials at Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazils brutal surge in COVID-19 deaths will soon surpass the worst of a record January wave in the United States, climbing well beyond an average 3,000 fatalities per day, scientists predict, as contagious new variants overwhelm hospitals.

Brazils overall death toll trails only the U.S. outbreak, with nearly 333,000 killed, according to Health Ministry data, compared with more than 555,000 dead in the United States.

But with Brazils healthcare system at the breaking point, the country could also exceed total U.S. deaths, despite having two-thirds the population, two experts told Reuters.

Its a nuclear reactor that has set off a chain reaction and is out of control. Its a biological Fukushima, said Miguel Nicolelis, a Brazilian doctor and professor at Duke University, who is closely tracking the virus.

Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has pushed back against mask-wearing and lockdowns that public health experts consider necessary. The country dragged its feet last year as the world raced to secure vaccines, slowing the launch of a national immunization program.

With weak measures failing to combat contagion, Brazils COVID-19 cases and deaths are accumulating faster than ever. On the other hand, a widespread U.S. vaccination campaign is rapidly curtailing what has been the worlds deadliest outbreak.

Nicolelis and Christovam Barcellos, a researcher at Brazilian medical institute Fiocruz, are separately predicting that Brazil could surpass the United States in both overall deaths and the record for average deaths per day.

As soon as next week, Brazil may break the record U.S. seven-day average for deaths, forecasts the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. The U.S. average for daily deaths peaked at 3,285 in January.

The IHME forecast does not currently extend beyond July 1, when it projects Brazil could reach 563,000 deaths, compared with 609,000 U.S. casualties expected by then.

More here:

Brazil's COVID-19 death surge set to pass the worst of record U.S. wave - Reuters

The World Health Organization released a report at the end of March that shares the results of a four-week trip by an international team of scientists searching for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the Covid-19 illness.

The 120-page report details both genetic research and interviews with labs and early Covid-19 patients. The goal of the joint investigation between 17 scientists from the WHO and 17 from China was to identify the most likely ways that the virus was introduced to humans, Erin Garcia de Jess writes for Science News.

The report concludes, in the most likely scenario, the virus started in an animal that carries many kinds of coronaviruses, like a bat. That animal probably transmitted the virus to an intermediate host, like a mink, pangolin, civet or racoon dog, which then passed the virus to a human. The investigation found that SARS-CoV-2 was making humans sick many days before it appeared at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Michaeleen Doucleff reports for NPR. But there, the crowded, indoor aisles provided an environment where the respiratory virus can easily spread.

This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers.

Early in 2020, researchers in China collected about 1,000 samples from the Huanan Seafood Market from the surfaces of doors, stalls, toilets and trash bins, as well as from animals at the market, including mice, stray cats and 18 other species sold there. Most of the samples that contained SARS-CoV-2 came from stalls that sold seafood, livestock and poultry, Amy Maxmen reports for Nature News.

The WHO investigators also spoke with scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology to address concerns that the virus may have leaked from a lab. Some experts have pointed out that the evidence both for and against the lab leak theory is the thinnest section of the report, reports Amy McKeever for National Geographic. The report does not entirely rule out the possibility, but concludes that it is extremely unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab.

The lack of evidence may be due in part to the difficulty inherent to proving a negative. I dont think well ever be able to provide enough evidence to convince people who are convinced that it escaped from a lab that it didnt, says University of California, San Diego, molecular epidemiologist Joel Wertheim says to Science News. Even if you find a virus literally identical to SARS-CoV-2 [in animals] they could still argue that that virus had previously been found and isolated and brought into a lab and it escaped just the way it was.

Wertheim led research, published last month in the journal Science, that uses genetic data and computer models to suggest that the virus may have jumped from an animal to humans in mid-October to mid-November 2019.

One possibility is the virus jumped from an animal to a human at a farm that supplied animals at the Huanan Seafood Market and other markets, says University of Sydney virologist Eddie Holmes to Nature News. Chinese officials have said the market did not sell live mammals or illegal wildlife, although media reports have said otherwise.

A farmed animal would probably have been an intermediate between an initial host of the virus and humans. A strain of coronavirus called CoV-RaTG13 that is found in bats is the closest relative of SARS-CoV-2, but those bats are a thousand miles away from Wuhan, per National Geographic.

The WHO report concludes that it is likely to very likely that SARS-CoV-2 originated in an animal, like bats, and reached humans through an intermediate, like a farmed mammal.

The researchers tested 18 species of animals from the Huanan Seafood Market for signs of the coronavirus, and all came back negative. But the report outlines more than three dozen species of wild mammals that are bred on farms in China, per NPR.

The samples gathered for the report are a fraction of the animals that are farmed or captured or transported for this purpose in China, says Georgetown University Medical Center virologist Angela Rasmussen to National Geographic. I think we havent done anywhere near enough sampling.

The report recommends future studies focus on disease surveillance in captive animals and wild bats both in China and Southeast Asia. It also recommends closer epidemiological studies of the earliest Covid-19 cases.

A lot of good leads were suggested in this report, and we anticipate that many, if not all of them, will be followed through because we owe it to the world to understand what happened, why and how to prevent it from happening again, says the WHOs Peter Ben Embarek, co-leader of the investigation, to Nature News.

See original here:

WHO Releases Results of First Investigation Into the Origin of Covid-19 - Smithsonian Magazine

We're making this important information available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider supporting independent journalism in Alaska, at just $1.99 for the first month of your subscription.

Although case counts and hospitalizations in Alaska remain below what they were during a peak in November and December, the state has been experiencing a slight increase in its average daily case rate over the last few weeks. Many regions in the state are still in the highest alert category based on their current per capita rate of infection.

Alaska in March became the first state in the country to open vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older who lives or works in the state. You can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to sign up for a vaccine appointment; new appointments are added regularly. The phone line is staffed 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.

By Tuesday, 259,419 people about 42% of Alaskans eligible for a shot had received at least their first dose, according to the states vaccine monitoring dashboard. At least 189,781 people about 32% of Alaskans 16 and older were considered fully vaccinated.

By Tuesday, there were 38 people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the state, far below a peak in late 2020 but a slight increase compared to recent weeks.

Of the 83 cases reported in Alaska residents on Tuesday, there were 24 in Anchorage plus two in Eagle River and one in Girdwood; four in Valdez; two in Kenai; one in Seward; one in Sterling; two in Fairbanks plus three in North Pole; three in Big Lake; one in Houston; five in Palmer; 20 in Wasilla; one in Douglas; and one in Juneau.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there was one in the Copper River Census Area; one in the Mat-Su Borough; and 10 in the Bethel Census Area.

There were also two cases reported in nonresidents: one in Homer and one in Prudhoe Bay.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

The states data doesnt specify whether people testing positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the nations infections are transmitted from asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.

Read more:

Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 85 new infections and no deaths reported Tuesday - Anchorage Daily News

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Active cases of COVID-19 are down in South Dakota, as no new deaths were announced by theState Department of Healthon Tuesday.

According to the latest update, 163 new total coronavirus cases were announced bringing the states total case count to 118,680, up from Monday (118,517).

There are 98 current hospitalizations as of Tuesday, compared to 88 on Monday. Total hospitalizations are at 7,068.

Active cases are now at 2,419, down from Monday (2,485).

No new deaths reported by the Department of Health. The death toll remains at 1,938.

Total recovered cases are now at 114,323, compared to Monday (114,094).

Total persons who tested negative is now at 329,968, from Monday (329,409).

There were 722 new persons tested in the data reported on Tuesday for a new persons-tested positivity rate of 22.5%.

The latest seven-day all test positivity rate reported by the DOH is 9.1%. The latest one-day PCR test positivity rate is 10.7%.

According to the DOH, 234,261 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered with 9,844 doses of the Janssen vaccine and 209,765 of the Moderna vaccine given out to a total number of 276,846 persons.

There have been 82,665 persons who have completed two doses of Moderna and 94,351 who have received two doses of Pfizer, according to the DOH.

More here:

COVID-19 in South Dakota: 163 total new cases; Death toll remains at 1,938; Active cases at 2,419 - KELOLAND.com

CURT NICKISCH: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. Im Curt Nickisch.

The creative economy may be having a bit of a moment. Im saying this partly from feeling, but look at job postings or TV ads, or just listen to CEOs talk nowadays. And you get the sense that more and more companies realize that creative workers are key to value creation. Now, content has always been king, right? But there have been some significant developments lately. New technologies, the explosion of the gig economy, digitization plus social pressures to give more credit to people behind the products. To say nothing of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is exerting new forces on workers and employers.

Our guest today believes that companies will fall behind unless they make themselves more attractive and rewarding for writers, designers, artists, producers, or just anybody who values creativity in the workplace.

And hes here to explain some of the latest development in this macro trend. Scott Belsky is the chief product officer at Adobe. He joined the company in 2012 when he sold his startup Behance to the firm. Scott, thanks for coming on the show.

SCOTT BELSKY: Its my pleasure.

CURT NICKISCH: 10 years ago, back around when you sold your company, the creative economy, creative class, that was a popular concept. What has been happening since then to take this kind of from buzzword status to a real material trend?

SCOTT BELSKY: Well, I think the most significant work changes that have benefited the creative worker, some of them are trends in terms of technology and media in general. And certainly some of them relate to the tools that creatives use themselves. So lets just talk quickly about both.

On the media distribution side, first of all, you have the rise of all of these new streaming services. You have this need for every small business, medium sized business and large business to constantly create content in real time, as opposed to the traditional lets do one or two campaigns a year and lets have a big agency do it for us. Now across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, I mean, you have to be creating a high velocity of original content on a daily basis to engage with your community of customers.

And so with that is the need for 10X more creative content, right? That is developed in real time, that is optimized real time. And so that translates to a ton of opportunity for creatives. Of course, when Netflix is competing with Amazon and Apple and all the traditional movie studios to get original content that also benefits at the end of the day creators.

And the rise of platforms like Patreon and many others that allow creatives to get paid directly to create work. And then most recently the rise of CryptoArt and NFTs and the ability for digital artists to mint limited edition versions of their creations on the blockchain and sell them and monetize their talent. I mean, these are massive opportunities and seismic shifts in the space.

And then on the tool side, the tools are becoming more accessible. Theyre becoming cheaper. And hen also the tools themselves are collaborative. So instead of working isolated on an island, you can jump into a link and start to work with somebody else. You can have a collaborative experience. So both on the distribution as well as the creation side, this is an entirely different world for the creator.

CURT NICKISCH: And what about on the organizational level? We mentioned the buzzword of creative class and the creative economy. That does reflect of just a growing understanding and a growing awareness among organizations that part of what their job is and part of what the job of a manager is, is to unleash the potential that creative people have. And thats one reason weve seen a lot of companies move into places like San Francisco and London, because they want to be around where creative workers are. What have you seen on kind of the organizational management level?

SCOTT BELSKY: Well, its a great question because I think every company knows that design is now a competitive advantage. That you can actually compensate for higher prices that youre charging your customer. You can compensate for worse off technology frankly. And you can stay more competitive in the market by having a superior experience that youre delivering.

And a lot of enterprise products are competing based on design and interface and better experience and a lot of consumer products. And so with that realization, every manager is properly thinking, well, how do I make that were best in class on design? How do I make sure that we are creatively competitive? Part of that is how do you expose your employees to culture? How do you aggregate great talent, of course. But more importantly, internally, how do you set up those folks to have influence and to really change the company.

And thats where it gets hard, right? Because traditionally design is either outsourced or its a small organization within the company that reports up to many people who report up to many people. How do you give designers this elusive seat at the table. And that I think is one thing that some companies figure out and many companies dont.

And then I also think on a more execution level, how do you change the way a company markets and creates content? I love this a few years ago, the Super Bowl. The lights went out in the middle of the Super Bowl. And then within 30 seconds, the social media accounts for Oreo, the brand Oreo, came out with a little campaign called, you can still dunk in the dark. And that got shared widely, right?

And it was so clever. And it was such a representative moment for me of the future of creativity in brands and business, because some individual was empowered to think and act in real time on behalf of the brand creatively.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah. What other examples of companies or strategies have you seen where the creators are getting a seat at the table and are being heard, rewarded, et cetera?

SCOTT BELSKY: Well, I think theres many different models for this. And so theres no one right answer. And there are many different companies that do this. I mean, obviously Apple is one of the very best examples of a company where design is at a different level of the power stack in the company. They really have a lot of veto power, designers are deeply respected, coveted, protected. And then you have other companies where the product leaders are designers. You have other companies where the designer is represented at the executive level of the company and can really go through and make sure that whats being shipped is what was intended from an experience perspective. That is an organizational change endeavor for most companies.

CURT NICKISCH: So amid these changes we now have the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed how creative people work, how everyone works, how everyone works together. What are the biggest developments from the past year that youve been watching?

SCOTT BELSKY: On the creative side of things and also the digital transformation of every type of business, which a lot of people talk about, but like why, right? Why did this suddenly transform us? And I really go back to this idea that all these technologies were using today en mass have been around for years, right? Zoom has been around. Slack has been around. A lot of these tools have been around, but in every team there were the holdouts. There were always the people who still sent emails. There always the people who said, no. We still have to meet in person on this one. We still have to meet in person on that one.

And as a result, all of us were kind of brought down to the lowest common denominator of the weakest link of the team as it relates to digital transformation. And so in some weird way, we had never fully realized the gains from technology in our teams until the pandemic hit, when that suddenly forced all of us to make the leap including that last 10% of people who were the holdouts.

And in one fell swoop, within a matter of maybe weeks, we suddenly fully realized the gains from the productivity that weve actually been able to access over years. And that was really exciting to me because in some weird way, were all going to be off way more productive going forward because of that massive COVID forcing function.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah. Has the pandemic shifted the way creative workers work?

SCOTT BELSKY: Well, I think in some ways empowered them to work the way theyve always wanted to work. A lot of creatives have been forced to come into the office for face time. They are kind of pulled away from an optimal situation where they can kind of work on their own terms to working on other peoples terms and-

CURT NICKISCH: And hours too probably, right?

SCOTT BELSKY: And hours as well. Absolutely. And now suddenly-

CURT NICKISCH: The night owls are freed.

SCOTT BELSKY: The night owls are free. Exactly. Youre not confining to a workforce cadence that isnt optimized for you anymore. Now that being said, there also are some real big detriments for creatives that Ive spoken to. The primary one being the source of inspiration. How do creatives get ideas? I mean, I always like to call creativity the worlds greatest recycling program because its people going out in the world seeing things, mistakes of the eye, other peoples creative work, traveling, culture, clashes of culture, subculture, all of this type of stuff. These are the inputs that then express themselves in the outputs, meaning the work.

And so a lot of us have been deprived from those inputs, right? Weve been confined to our four walls and what we see on a screen. Hopefully again, we rise out of this from the best of both worlds and embrace of the inputs once again and the rediscovered autonomy and optimal working conditions for better output.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah. I also want to ask about geography here because a lot of companies have moved into cities and revitalize them, right? Because they want to be around this creative class of workers and also have people working together so that you have that collision of ideas and innovations coming out of that interaction from people from different disciplines and different backgrounds and different areas of expertise. And so I just wonder now that everybody can kind of work the way that they want to. Is that going to disrupt some of this positive congregation that was happening?

SCOTT BELSKY: My macro thesis here is that we are going to want to work together again. Were going to want to have physical experiences. However, as opposed to them being forced on us or circumstantial, theyre going to become more intentional. And so if a creative team gets together, its because they want to have an offsite and they want to have a deeper conversation and dialogue or debate over something, as opposed to Monday morning.

CURT NICKISCH: Got it and theyve cleared their meetings.

SCOTT BELSKY: Yeah.

CURT NICKISCH: And they dont have deliverables due that day. And their minds are really free for that.

SCOTT BELSKY: Right. Its like really jointly intentional and purposeful time. And I think that the outcome of those aggregations are going to be fantastic. I also think that the idea of cities or living geographically bound to an office or a job, is the question of was that because was it a power center or creative center.

Power centers are where were in a city, because its the city to be in when youre in that industry. And if you need to be known, if you need to be taken seriously, you have to be in that city. So, the power center era told us that San Francisco is where youre serious about tech. I remember many VC firms would say, we only invest in companies in San Francisco. Which now it sounds insane. But that was only a few years ago. If you want to be in real estate and finance, you got to be in New York.

If you want to be in Madison Avenue marketing, you got to be in New York. If you want to be in Hollywood, you got to be in LA. Thats the power center era. And thats over.

But now theres a question of creative centers. Like where do you want to be for your inputs, your stimulation, the people you want to collaborate with? In some ways, I think that creative centers, by the way, can be much smaller and more dispersed. So, I know a group of people that are aggregating like-minded talent in Omaha, Nebraska. I know groups of people that are moving to places in Utah and Montana, where theyre going with a handful of other creatives from different disciplines. And theyre saying, Hey, wait a second. We can own land. We can have the ultimate office space. We can have some great cross-pollination with people we respect.

CURT NICKISCH: Go trail running at lunch.

SCOTT BELSKY: Yeah, exactly. And we can still do our best work.

CURT NICKISCH: Its interesting because weve done interviews on this show about how companies can access talent clusters. But it raises the question, if creative workers can disperse and congregate in more places, like what do companies need to do now?

SCOTT BELSKY: Companies need to evolve in embracing talent on their own terms. And that includes where they live, how they work, what tools they use, et cetera. I mean, to me, the best companies over the years have kind of figured this out, but its more so true than ever before now, because the best talent knows that they dont have to conform anymore. They dont have to compromise and they can in fact, work on their own terms.

Think about it this way. Just a few years ago, if you were one of the best animators in the world, one of the best motion graphics artists, one of the best videographers, you would look for a stable career working for an agency or production company or whatever. Now youre realizing, well, I can actually work for anyone and everyone. I can command top dollar. I can have autonomy over my work.

I can pick my clients. Why would I ever have a career in one company? And I think you could argue the same thing has happened in the publishing world to some extent and where instead of working for penguin, youre independent and youre working with authors directly and youre creating content and you have people paying you. And youre making a great fee on a monthly basis from a large group of people that love your work. I mean, theres a lot of analogies here for whats happening across different creative spaces.

But what companies need to do is evolve their policies to be able to embrace these folks. So if you dont allow a remote working policy in your company, then you are not able to attract and retain the best creative talent that you need in order to stand out in your space. And so you have to rethink that.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah, it sounds like the growth of the gig economy and the creative economy are kind of at interplay here.

SCOTT BELSKY: Thats true. And by the way, theres also an economic side to this. Not only can you attract better talent by enabling them to work on their own terms and having a flexible workforce. Its also economically easier to hire some of this talent outside the city centers, where a lot of these companies are located. So theres a talent arbitrage situation to some degree here. You could maybe get better talent for specific functions for less by thinking more expansively about where you can hire people.

CURT NICKISCH: I want to talk a little bit about how the pandemic has affected creativity and productivity, right? Weve all experienced this. It seems like even if youre a creative worker, there was a crisis mode there for a time. Difficult working conditions as well for many people. And so sometimes it feels like its just hard to be creative at a time when things feel so serious. How we value creativity during the pandemic changed?

SCOTT BELSKY: In this regard, I actually think there was a more macro trend underway that maybe the pandemic just accelerated. Humans for decades have succeeded in the workplace based on their productivity. And so the deployment of tools like Excel and Word and all the other tools we use in the enterprise and the modern technology stack for companies was all designed to help people be more productive, so they could be successful in their jobs.

But now were entering an age where artificial intelligence and outsourcing tools and better project management tools, et cetera, have in some ways replaced a lot of the human sources of productivity. The machines are making us more productive now more than people making us more productive as companies.

And therefore, if you fast forward this, what is the role of the human in the enterprise? What is the role of the human in any business or organization? To me, its clearly to do the things that only humans can do, which is to be creative, to visualize data, as opposed to just presenting it, to tell a story, as opposed to just reporting an outcome. To compel people, to take action on things, to better merchandise publicly, to innovate and brainstorm and think about contrarian views, et cetera.

And so if thats what humans are going to be looked to in the future, if thats whats going to make human stand out in the future and be successful in their jobs, well, then we have a problem. We have to outfit these people to be creative. We have to either teach them how to use the current creative tools of the day or we have to build new tools that are more accessible to more people.

CURT NICKISCH: It sounds like you were saying that theres an argument here for a manager at a company thats not sort of in a creative industry, like film or art or multimedia. That that manager really needs to be caring about these things as well?

SCOTT BELSKY: Yeah. Its hard for me to think of an industry where this doesnt apply. The number one reason I would give is that at the end of the day, we are all individual human consumers, right? We have phones with a certain level of intuitive architecture of how we get things done in our personal lives. And we all have the expectation to be as efficient and have the delightful user experience in our professional lives. And that means that whether you are an auto repair shop, whether you are a company that builds some big enterprise-yy tool, whatever you are in, whatever your business is, your employees are going to want to have a better designed experience.

And when they get one, theyre going to better retain and theyre going to better perform, and your customers are also going to want to have a similar quality experience. And theyre going to be more loyal when they have a frictionless interaction with your brand.

CURT NICKISCH: I wonder what you would recommend to somebody whos a creative worker in an organization who feels like theyre not doing enough for that person. The future is accelerating as youve explained. Its not equally distributed in the sense that some companies are further along on this learning curve than others. If youre a creative worker in an organization and you feel like theyre just not doing enough for you or not really helping you unlock all the potential that you have. Like, what should you do?

SCOTT BELSKY: Thats a great question, because all too often, what an ambitious creative does in that situation is they leave.

CURT NICKISCH: Right. Which is an option.

SCOTT BELSKY: Which is an option. And so what can you do if you care about the company, you care about your customers, you feel passionate about the mission of the business, and you want to lead change. And perhaps youre in the middle of the management stack, but you know in your core that this has to happen.And theres two ideas there that Ive seen work. One is to build a union, not like a union in the traditional term. But unionize the creative organization in the company with a senior sponsor, and then start to advocate for the role and the rights so to speak of the creative in every team. I think centralizing a creative or design organization, as opposed to having all these people scattered about under managers who dont appreciate them or empower them is one way to make sure that creative has a seat at the table.

CURT NICKISCH: And of course the option to leave and go work for another company, which is always on the table, maybe is even more accessible now because so many places are hiring remotely or at least remote for now. I suppose you can use that recognition, right? That you are now more marketable because you can literally work for more companies without moving as a way to flex a little bit of that influence within your own company before you decide to leave.

SCOTT BELSKY: Yeah, its a market tendency, right? The more in demand great talent is the more selective therell be of the customers that they can work with or want to work with. And the more friendly the company has to be to its talent in order to keep them and hospitable of their ways of working. So theres a bit of a market tendency going on there. And for some functions its really helpful to have a design 100% immersed and focused on your product and in other functions its actually helpful to have creatives who have exposure to many different brands and companies and products. Because then theyre actually better at their jobs than if theyre only working for you and your one brand. So it really depends. But I agree. The degree of hospitality a company and brand is to its talent these days especially is critical.

CURT NICKISCH: Scott, thanks so much for talking about where creative workers and the Ah sorry. Let me just sum this up in a more HBRie way. Scott, thanks so much for talking about the landscape of creative workers and how its changing.

SCOTT BELSKY: Its my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

CURT NICKISCH: Thats Scott Belsky. Hes the chief product officer at Adobe. This episode was produced by Mary Dooe. We get technical help from Rob Eckhardt. Adam Buchholz is our audio product manager. Thanks for listening to the HBR IdeaCast. Im Curt Nickisch.

Read more here:

How the Creative Economy is Changing with Covid-19 - Harvard Business Review