The view from the front lines of the pandemic

Editor's note

Every day, at hospitals across the country and globe, health care workers are putting their health and safety on the line to care for patients with COVID-19, while also facing a shortage of protective gear and supplies.

“As emergency and critical care doctors and nurses, we think about and train for these types of situations regularly, but nobody expects to be the epicenter of a pandemic in the U.S.,” writes Nicholas Johnson, an emergency and critical care physician at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, which is part of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

In this first in a series of dispatches from those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, Johnson describes what it’s like caring for patients amid this strange new reality.

Also today:

* Don’t blame bats for the coronavirus

* Zoom and evolving religious rituals

* The need for global cooperation and COVID-19

Michelle McAdams

University Relationship Manager

Top story

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Clare McLean/UW Medicine

‘My first question every time I see a new patient now is: Could this be COVID-19?’ A Seattle doctor on the frontlines

Nicholas Johnson, University of Washington

An emergency and critical care physician gives a dispatch from the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

Politics + Society

Coronavirus restrictions could lead to remote voting for Congress

Stanley M. Brand, Pennsylvania State University

It may become impossible for the hundreds of members of Congress to meet in person. One legal scholar says the language the Founders used 233 years ago could allow voting remotely.
Should Congress demand America’s youth give a year of service to their country?

Amy Rutenberg, Iowa State University

A commission looking at the future of service is set to makesits recommendations. It is hoping to make a year of service 'a norm' for all Americans. What does it mean to serve?

Education

COVID-19 closures could hit historically black colleges particularly hard

Ivory A. Toldson, Howard University; Gregory N. Price, University of New Orleans; Marybeth Gasman, Rutgers University

Without government intervention, three experts warn, HBCUs will have a difficult time bouncing back from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
With schools everywhere suspended, an education expert answers 4 questions about the upheaval

Jon Pedersen, University of South Carolina

As long as teachers are creative and resourceful, kids will keep learning. What's less clear is how schools will make up for the lost time if they remain closed for several months or longer.

Economy + Business

Workplace age discrimination could become even harder to prove in court

Catherine Harnois, Wake Forest University; Vincent Roscigno, The Ohio State University

Plaintiffs in age discrimination cases often find it difficult to prove their cases. Now, a Supreme Court case could further undermine workplace protections available to victims.
Why defeating coronavirus in one country isn’t enough – there needs to be a coordinated global strategy

Nader Habibi, Brandeis University

Countries have tried a variety of approaches to contain the spread of COVID-19 – except a coordinated one.

Environment + Energy

It’s wrong to blame bats for the coronavirus epidemic

Peter Alagona, University of California, Santa Barbara

The value that bats provide to humans by pollinating crops and eating insects is far greater than harm from virus transmission – which is mainly caused by human actions.
Tagging data show that blue sharks are true globalists

Jasmin Graham, Florida State University

You won't see a blue shark near the beach, but thanks to 50 years of tagging data, scientists are learning about their wide-ranging lives at sea.

Health
Just as in coronavirus, young people are key in stopping tuberculosis Leslie A. Enane, Indiana University School of Medicine Today is World TB Day. With attention turned toward coronavirus, it might seem too much to think about. But there's a lot to consider about the role of young people in stopping both diseases.

Ethics + Religion
Religious communities are offering baptism by Zoom - such innovation has deep historical roots Samuel L. Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder In view of the rapid spread of the coronavirus, faith communities are changing many traditional practices. An historian of the Bible argues how innovation has long been part of religious practice.

From our international editions

Social distancing may be worth it, but we need to talk about economic costs

Ross Guest, Griffith University

We need a frank public conversation about the full economic costs versus benefits of social distancing.
Ibuprofen and COVID-19 symptoms – here’s what you need to know

Parastou Donyai, University of Reading

There is currently no evidence showing it makes COVID-19 symptoms worse.
Police and governments may increasingly adopt surveillance technologies in response to coronavirus fears

Joe Masoodi, Queen's University, Ontario

Recently, police forces have come under criticism for their engagement of facial recognition technologies. But pandemic response plans may increasingly incorporate surveillance.