Lee McIntyre, Boston University A lot of people are facing ethical decisions about their daily life as a result of the coronavirus. Ethicist Lee McIntyre has stepped in to help provide advice over the moral dilemmas we face. If you have a question you’d like a philosopher to answer, send it to us at us-ethicalquestions@theconversation.com. […]
The Conversation
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How Apple and Google will let your phone warn you if you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus
Johannes Becker, Boston University and David Starobinski, Boston University On April 10, Apple and Google announced a coronavirus exposure notification system that will be built into their smartphone operating systems, iOS and Android. The system uses the ubiquitous Bluetooth short-range wireless communication technology. There are dozens of apps being developed around the world that alert […]
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Why there isn’t a one-size-fits-all plan for states to reopen their economies
Hilary Godwin, University of Washington Editor’s Note: How and when states reopen their economies will look different from one state to the next state depending, in part, on where that state is in the trajectory of its coronavirus illnesses. In this Q&A, Hilary Godwin, dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, explains […]
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Why Ramadan is called Ramadan: 6 questions answered
Why Ramadan is called Ramadan: 6 questions answered Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Michigan State University Editor’s note: Mohammad Hassan Khalil, associate professor of religious studies and director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University, answers six questions about the significance of the Muslim month of fasting. 1. Why is Ramadan called Ramadan? Ramadan is […]
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Cracks in COVID-19 treatment reveal need to bolster primary care
Tuba Agartan, Providence College Every day the COVID-19 crisis reveals just how unprepared the U.S. health care system was. But it’s not only the shortage of masks, tests and ventilators, nor our chaotic and contradictory public health response, evident across every level of government. COVID-19 has also brought into sharp relief how fragmented and disorganized […]
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How much coronavirus testing is enough? States could learn from retailers as they ramp up
Siqian Shen, University of Michigan As states develop plans to restart their economies, the big fear is that coronavirus cases will surge again. To keep the pandemic under control, strategic testing systems will be needed, and they will need to be scaled up fast. But how many people should be tested? Who should be tested? […]
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Global tourism industry may shrink by more than 50% due to the pandemic
Faizan Ali, University of South Florida and Cihan Cobanoglu, University of South Florida CC BY-SA Due to the coronavirus, people around the world have canceled their travel plans. Governments and health officials have warned the public to avoid boarding cruise ships and long flights. Major events like conferences, trade shows and the Olympics have been […]
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The first Earth Day was a shot heard around the world
Maria Ivanova, University of Massachusetts Boston The first Earth Day protests, which took place on April 22, 1970 brought 20 million Americans – 10% of the U.S. population at the time – into the streets. Recognizing the power of this growing movement, President Richard Nixon and Congress responded by creating the Environmental Protection Agency and […]
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Making masks at home – what you need to know about how to reduce the transmission of coronavirus
Susan L. Sokolowski, University of Oregon and Karen L. LaBat, University of Minnesota The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to use cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19 has generated numerous how-to articles and videos. As academics who focus on personal protective equipment (PPE) research and development, we are […]
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Lack of data makes predicting COVID-19’s spread difficult but models are still vital
Lester Caudill, University of Richmond Editor’s note: The question everyone in the world wants answered is how far the new coronavirus will spread and when the pandemic will begin to ebb. To know that, epidemiologists, public health authorities and policymakers rely on models. Models are not meant to predict the future perfectly – yet they’re […]
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Explainer: what Donald Trump’s funding cuts to WHO mean for the world
Adam Kamradt-Scott, University of Sydney US President Donald Trump has announced the US is cutting its funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – a decision that will have major implications for the global health response to the coronavirus pandemic. The US contributes more than US$400 million to the WHO per year, though it is […]
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Income inequality is getting worse in US urban areas
Brian Thiede, Pennsylvania State University; David L. Brown, Cornell University; Jaclyn Butler, Pennsylvania State University, and Leif Jensen, Pennsylvania State University Income inequality has increased dramatically in the United States over recent decades, surpassing its previous peak in the 1920s. In 2016, the average income among the bottom 24.9 million households was US$21,000. Meanwhile, the […]
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What is the SBA? An unheralded agency faces the unprecedented task of saving America’s small businesses
Caroline Bruckner, American University Kogod School of Business The coronavirus pandemic is devastating small businesses across the U.S. because of shelter-in-place orders that have forced millions to temporarily close. So far, Congress has devoted more than US$375 billion to helping restaurants, retailers and other small companies endure the crisis, and lawmakers are currently discussing spending […]
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The unintended consequences of marijuana decriminalization
Nikolay Anguelov, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth America’s decades-long war on drugs disproportionately harmed minorities. Now, it seems that decriminalization of marijuana hasn’t leveled the playing field. Black men are 12 times more likely than white men to spend time incarcerated in the United States. College enrollment for black men has declined since the 1986 Anti-Drug […]
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Visualizing the virus
Colette Gaiter, University of Delaware As a professor of visual communications, I can’t help but notice all the images of COVID-19 that have been circulating. You’ve probably seen some version of it: a ball with distinctive spikes that vary in style – from triangular bursts to rounded knobs. It’s become both an icon – a […]
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What does ‘recovered from coronavirus’ mean? 4 questions answered about how some survive and what happens next
Tom Duszynski, IUPUI The coronavirus is certainly scary, but despite the constant reporting on total cases and a climbing death toll, the reality is that the vast majority of people who come down with COVID-19 survive it. Just as the number of cases grows, so does another number: those who have recovered. In mid-March, the […]
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Coronavirus cases are growing exponentially – here’s what that means
Andrew D. Hwang, College of the Holy Cross In the U.S., scientists stress that the number of coronavirus cases has been growing exponentially. In ordinary speech, the term “exponential” usually means “really fast.” To mathematicians like myself, and to scientists and public health officials, the term has a precise and subtly different meaning: A quantity […]
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Should we wear masks or not? An expert sorts through the confusion
Thomas Perls, Boston University As a professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine and a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center caring for the most vulnerable in this pandemic, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about COVID-19. It turns out there is good science out there that helps us know what masks we need to […]
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Video: The fashionable history of social distancing
Anurag Papolu, The Conversation This video is based on an article by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, professor of history at Case Western Reserve University. Social distancing is the new buzzword during the current coronavirus pandemic. But historically, fashion was used as a tool for social distancing between social genders and social classes, as well as keeping pathogens […]
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Feeling overwhelmed? Approach coronavirus as a challenge to be met, not a threat to be feared
Bethany Teachman, University of Virginia You have a choice to make when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. Do you treat this time as an insurmountable threat that pits you against everyone else? This option entails making decisions based solely on protecting yourself and your loved ones: stockpiling supplies regardless of what that leaves for […]
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6 things you can do to cope with boredom at a time of social distancing
Erin C. Westgate, University of Florida More and more of us are staying home in an attempt to slow down the spreading coronavirus. But being stuck at home can lead to boredom. Boredom is a signal that we’re not meaningfully engaged with the world. It tells us to stop what we’re doing, and do it […]
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Video: Why social distancing is one of the best tools we have to fight the coronavirus
The Conversation US, CC BY Anurag Papolu, The Conversation This video is based on an article written by Thomas Perls, professor of Medicine at Boston University. Social distancing is a tool public health officials recommend to slow the spread of a disease that is being passed from person to person. Simply put, it means that […]
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Reaching out to isolated older adults is essential during coronavirus – here are 7 specific things you can do, just for starters
Basia Belza, University of Washington; Anita Souza, University of Washington, and Tatiana Sadak, University of Washington Older adults always need social connection, but they need it now more than ever. The novel coronavirus brings with it unprecedented fear and uncertainty. Vulnerable seniors need help. With face-to-face encounters discouraged, our society must develop creative strategies to […]
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Calling COVID-19 a ‘Chinese virus’ is wrong and dangerous – the pandemic is global
Mari Webel, University of Pittsburgh The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost every country on Earth. And yet, several American officials refer to it as the “Wuhan virus” or even the “Chinese virus.” U.S.-Chinese antagonism in this vein is not new. But, while this deliberate move to associate Wuhan, and more generally China, with the […]
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Why defeating coronavirus in one country isn’t enough – there needs to be a coordinated global strategy
Nader Habibi, Brandeis University Policymakers in countries where there are severe outbreaks of COVID-19 are doing what they can to slow the spread and “flatten the curve.” But so far, there hasn’t been much global coordination, raising the risk of a second wave of contamination even after individual countries halt the virus’ advance. That’s the […]