States begin reopening, unnerving some experts

By Rachel Mills

Georgia became the first state Friday to allow nonessential businesses to reopen including businesses where people are at close proximity, according to CNN.

Barber shops, hair salons, tattoo parlors, gyms and bowling alleys are among the businesses reopening. Businesses took appointments Friday, and some state parks and outdoor recreation areas also reopened, according to CNN.

But some mayors say their cities shouldn't reopen yet because a surge in coronavirus cases would set the economy back further.

CNN reports that in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, Mayor John Ernst said he would rather nonessential businesses wait until Georgia reaches a 14-day downward trend in cases.

"Even the (business owners) who open up say, 'I don't know if I'm doing the right thing,'" Ernst said.

Some businesses owners are seizing the opportunity because they feel the profits are necessary. 

Royal Rose is reopening her Colorado tattoo studio next week after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because the bills are piling up and she says she has no choice, according to Reuters. 

Coronavirus causes sudden strokes in people of all ages

By Rachel Mills

According to CNN, the novel coronavirus appears to cause strokes in young and middle-aged patients with no underlying conditions. Many patients were unaware they were infected.

The strokes are cause by a link between coronavirus and blood-clotting, which CNN reported on Wednesday April 22.

Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, gave details of five people they treated. All five were under the age of 50 and had either mild symptoms of coronavirus infection or no symptoms at all, according to CNN.

"The virus seems to be causing increased clotting in the large arteries, leading to severe stroke," Oxley told CNN.

"Our report shows a seven-fold increase in incidence of sudden stroke in young patients during the past two weeks. Most of these patients have no past medical history and were at home with either mild symptoms (or in two cases, no symptoms) of Covid," he said. 

The Washington Post reports the coronavirus, once thought to be a pathogen that primarily attacks the lungs, has turned out to impact nearly every major organ system in the body.

Coronavirus patients are mostly experiencing the deadliest type of stroke. They can damage large parts of the brain responsible for movement, speech and decision-making in one blow because they are in the main blood-supplying arteries, according to the Washington Post. 

Media Ethics for 6th Graders

If I were to teach a 6th grade media ethics class, I would focus on the principles of telling the truth and remaining independent. Those are the easiest to explain and the most essential for building a strong foundation for a journalist. 

I would tell the class that a journalist must always seek the truth, even if it's difficult. The truth exists somewhere, and its a journalist's job to find it. Even if you think you've found the truth and you're ready to report it, triple check. You can never verify your information too many times. This means re-conducting interviews, conducting new interviews, making phone calls, and searching for numbers to support your claims. The biggest mistake a journalist can make, is reporting anything but the facts. 

I would also make sure they understand why a journalist must remain independent. It's important for a journalist to try and iron out as much of their own bias as possible. This means staying out of a story you are personally involved in or have some stake in. You can't be an objective reporter otherwise. It also means remaining objective when it comes to the subjects of stories. You shouldn't let a source buy you lunch or give you gifts because then it may appear that you owe them something with your writing. You want to keep yourself out of your stories. 

Gunman kills at least 16 people in rural Canada

By Rachel Mills

CNN reports a gunman killed at least 16 people, including one Mountie, during a weekend shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

At a media conference Sunday evening, police described chaos with multiple 911 calls coming in late Saturday at a property in Portapique, Nova Scotia, according to CNN. 

The deceased officer was identified as Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP. Another officer is in the hospital for non-life threatening injuries, the RCMP said on Facebook.

The BBC reports police earlier said the suspect was driving what appeared to be a police car.

The 12-hour rampage ended with the death of the attacker. The BBC said the cause of death has yet to be released. 

The gunman shot people in several locations across Nova Scotia which meant authorities were still trying to establish the final death toll, police said on Sunday, according to the BBC. 

The BBC also reports that mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada where gun ownership laws are stricter than in the neighbouring United States.

Dozens of Seniors moved from a Wayzata care facility following Covid-19 outbreak

By Rachel Mills 

Forty residents were relocated from Meridian Manor, a 50-bed assisted-living facility in Wayzata, based on recommendations from state and local officials, the Health Department said in a statement to the Star Tribune. 

Most staff members and administrators also fell ill, the state said, and were unable to care for residents, according to the Star Tribune. 

According to KSTP, five residents were taken to a nearby hospital, and others were either relocated with family or moved to another long-term care facility nearby.

The exact number of confirmed cases at Meridian Manor is unknown.

KSTP also reports that according to MDH statistics, 26 percent of all Covid-19 infections in the state most likely occurred in congregate living facilities, and more than 80 such facilities across the state have reported exposures in either a resident, staff member or a contractor.

Meridian Manor said residents began testing positive for Covid-19 at the hospital on April 7, according to the Star Tribune. The facility then tested all residents; as of Saturday, 18 had tested positive. On Friday, one resident died because of complications from Covid-19, the facility said.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Meridian Manor community, our residents and their families,” Torsten Hirche, president of the facility’s parent company, said in the statement.

Eighty-seven residents of long-term care facilities in Minnesota have died from Covid-19, accounting for more than two-thirds of the statewide death total, according to the Star Tribune. 

feature analysis

By Rachel Mills

The New York Times published a story on Tuesday in which an E.R. doctor in New York chronicles her experience week-by-week dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak in the city.

The story is incredibly long, but it's so well written and informative that I found myself reading all the way to the end.

One thing the story does well is taking this doctor's experience and making it relevant to any reader in the U.S. or the world, really. All the information the doctor provides is useful for the public, whether they are in quarantine and curious about the effects of the virus, or if they are a doctor who needs to know what to expect in their city.

The story was very personal, and it paints a picture of the toll the virus is taking on doctors. She describes the stress and anxiety around making life-or-death decisions many times a day and knowing she'll have to live with those decisions.

One thing I would have done differently in the story would have been giving the doctor more of an introduction. I want to know how old she is, where she went to school, more about her career, and other biographical information that would help me understand her experience better. 

With less traffic due to quarantines, drivers are speeding more frequently across the U.S.

By Rachel Mills

Traffic has dramatically decreased in the United States because of quarantines and stay-at-home orders, and drivers more likely to speed on the open roads, according to The New York Times.

The NYT also reports traffic levels have dropped more than 90 percent in some major cities, and at least 50 percent nearly everywhere.

In New York City over 14 days in mid-March, traffic reportedly dropped 71 percent as speed cameras caught 12 percent more infractions than during a comparable period in January. The average speed on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway has gone from 13 miles per hour to 52.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said there is usually bumper-to-bumper traffic on San Diego County freeways during peak commute times. But far fewer cars have been on the roads lately, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

“With no traffic, people are pushing the envelope a little more. The crashes are a little more dynamic, fewer fender-benders,” he said. “Almost every one has an ambulance responding.

In California, the spike in speeding tickets for driving more than 100 miles per hour — 543 citations written by the highway patrol over 10 days in March — grew in inverse proportion to the cars on the road, according to The NYT.