It's Not All Bad News: Here's a list of Uplifting Coronavirus Stories
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GAFFL
29th Mar | 7 min read

We’re living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 lockdowns, which started in Wuhan, have now spread throughout the whole world. International travel has grinded to a complete halt and many of the biggest countries in the world have asked their citizens to stay home in an attempt to stop the rapid spread of this virus. Thankfully, most of us are listening. 

So now we’re all, more or less, stuck in the same routine. We sit at home, get inundated with scary coronavirus news, have mini panic attacks, try to rationalize, find something else to do, until we’re hit with the headlines again.

These headlines worry us. We’re concerned for the wellbeing of our healthcare workers, our immunocompromised friends, and our parents/grandparents. We’re constantly thinking about paying our bills, cancelling our plans, and whether or not we have enough toilet paper. It's all getting exhausting.

At GAFFL, we wanted to do something to help lift spirits. It’s not all bad news out there! We’ve collected some positive COVID-19 headlines from around the web in an attempt to cheer you up. Hope this helps :)

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The coronavirus pandemic began in China. Today, it reported no new local infections for the first time 

There weren’t any new reported cases of COVID-19 in China today, a first time occurrence since the pandemic began in the country late last year. This marks a major turning point in the global battle to contain COVID-19.

Flu drug used in Japan shows promise in treating COVID-19

There is a drug that’s been used in Japan to treat influenza that is seemingly also effective in treating COVID-19. It’s called Favipiravir or Avigan, and it shows positive results in clinical trials involving 340 people from Wuhan and Shenzhen. According to Zhang Xinmin of China’s science and technology ministry, “It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment”.

China's Hubei cleared of suspected Covid-19 cases

Hubei Province, which is where COVID-19 first started, have reported zero new suspected cases for two consecutive days, the provincial health commission said Wednesday (March 18).

Elsewhere in Hubei...

Coronavirus: 103-year-old woman becomes oldest person to beat disease

The Independent reported last week,  Zhang Guangfen, a 103 woman from Wuhun, recovered from COVID-19 after receiving treatment for just six days at a local hospital.

That’s not it for the good news out of Wuhan...

China shuts down all 16 temporary coronavirus hospitals in Wuhan

China has recently shut down all of the hospitals that they built as a direct response to the coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan. New Viruses in China have declined in recent weeks, a sign that the lockdowns have worked. The final group of 49 patients walked out of the Wuchang temporary hospital in the capital of Hubei province on the afternoon of March 10th to cheers.

In other parts of Asia...

Coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in South Korea. What’s the secret to its success?

Amid soaring deaths in many European countries, South Korea has emerged as a model of hope in the fight against COVID-19. Turns out, South Korea learned a lot from the 2015 MERS outbreak, and because of it, were better prepared to handle coronavirus through a program of mass testing and social distancing. South Korea has tested more than 270,000 people, which amounts to more than 5200 tests per million inhabitants—more than any other country except tiny Bahrain.

What’s being done worldwide in regards to testing, treatments, and vaccinations for COVID-19…

U.S. Approves Abbott Labs Coronavirus Test For Hospital Use

Abbott Labs won U.S. approval for its molecular test for COVID-19, which will be used by hospitals and academic medical centers to speed up testing. They will begin shipping 150 000 tests immediately, and hope to reach a capacity of 1 million tests per week by the end of March. Abbot says that its systems have “the ability to run high volumes of up to 470 tests in 24 hours, helping to meet the increasing demand for testing.”

Cleveland Clinic developed a COVID-19 test that gives results in hours, not days

The Cleveland clinic developed a  COVID-19 test that takes hours to get results rather than days. Although the clinic didn’t develop the test, they worked in-house to get faster results. 

Canadian scientists make COVID-19 research breakthrough, isolating virus

A few days ago, a group of Canadian scientists successfully isolated and grew copies of the novel coronavirus, paving the way for a possible vaccine. Isolating the virus will help researchers develop treatments, vaccines and tests for COVID-19 and allow them to conduct long-term research to understand the biology of the virus.

First Person Injected With Trial Coronavirus Vaccine In Seattle

A new phase 1 clinical trial of a potential vaccine for the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus began on Monday in Seattle, with the first person to enroll in the trial receiving the vaccine.

Dutch researchers find antibody which may lead to anti-corona medicine

Researchers from the University of Utrecht and the Erasmus medical centre have developed a human antibody that they claim “offers potential for prevention and treatment of COVID-19”.

This discovery is promising but shouldn’t give people false hope. It’s far too soon to speculate about this working on people. The research is currently awaiting peer review before it can be published in the science journal Nature.

Combination of two anti-HIV drugs proved crucial in Coronavirus treatment, Rajasthan official

Doctors in India have been treating coronavirus with anti-HIV drugs to some success. 

Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said the patients' condition improved after they were administered the anti-HIV drugs.

He added that "It appears it (combination of drugs) is working because three patients have recovered. Good thing is that all the three patients are elderly and the successful result of the drug on patients of such age is a big thing".

Other nice stories to cheer you up...

This stunning chart shows the coronavirus spreading slowly in tropical countries

From the top, this article clearly states that “living in a warmer environment doesn’t mean you can’t catch coronavirus”. However, it is trying to say that warmer weather slows the spread. The graphical data from this article would seem to support as much, but there is one big refrain. These tropical countries are usually less developed, particularly in regards to their health-care systems, meaning that they aren’t able to sufficiently test. As a result, scientists have yet to be sold on the link. 

Divorce rate spikes across China after 'couples spend too much time together during coronavirus home quarantine', officials claim

While not a necessarily positive story, it may still bring a smile to your face. Officials in China are saying that divorce rates in the country have jumped following coronavirus quarantines. One office saw over 300 couples applying for divorces in the last three weeks. Another registry in Xi'an received 14 requests in one day, hitting the upper limit. One city has even put a daily limit to allow no more than 10 couples to divorce in a day.

No Joke: Jared Leto just learned about the coronavirus pandemic.

This one’s a bit strange, and might give you a good laugh. Jared Leto, in all his minimalist glory, just (and I mean just) found out about COVID-19. In an Instagram post he told his followers: 

“Wow. 12 days ago I began a silent mediation in the desert. We were totally isolated. No phone, no communication etc. We had no idea what was happening outside the facility,” “Walked out yesterday into a very different world. One that’s been changed forever. Mind blowing — to say the least.” 

Turns out Jared Leto’s been a master at social distancing. 

Some grocery stores create 'elderly hours' to protect older shoppers during coronavirus

This story restored my faith in humanity, after it was ripped away from me a few days ago due to a severe lack of toilet paper as a result of hoarders at my local stores, but I digress. Some grocery stores around the world are creating “elderly hours”, which will allow older customers to get their shopping done during the earlier hours of the day in and effort to lower their risk of catching the virus.

And it isn’t just grocery stores doing their part during this pandemic.

50 Ways Companies Are Giving Back During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Whether its major sports franchises banding together to pay their part time workers, Loom making their pro version free for teachers and students, or simply Uber Eats and grab offering free delivery services, many corporations have come to the aid of consumers and employees during these challenging times. 

Italians singing from their balconies 

This entry isn’t a particular article or video, but rather, a series of videos. People all across Italy have been singing and dancing from their balconies, lifting spirits and showing tremendous resolve while under quarantine. These videos are guaranteed to make you smile.

So as you can see, it's not all bad news. Let’s all continue to stay safe and considerate of our neighbours. If we stay together we will undoubtedly see this pandemic through. 

Bring some positivity to someone’s day by sharing this post!

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