Have I washed my hands enough today? Am I carrying the coronavirus right now and I just don’t know it? Have I crossed paths with someone who’s infected? What about my job? How bad will the economy get? Life in the middle of a pandemic can be a little jarring — especially with all the negative news and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.
While there is now — and always will be — plenty to be concerned about, I’ve quickly found out it’s really important, perhaps now more than ever, to find and savor the things worth celebrating. As it turns out, not all of the news is bad news.
So here’s a list of 13 good news stories relating to the novel coronavirus:
1. Wuhan, which was the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic, has closed the last of its 16 temporary coronavirus hospitals because there aren’t enough patients to keep them open.
2. Dutch researchers have discovered a human antibody they believe “offers potential for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.” The lead researcher, Berend-Jan Bosch, made clear, though, it is “still too soon” to know when it might be workable on people.
3. A 103-year-old woman in Wuhan has become the oldest person to beat the novel coronavirus. She recovered only six days after being admitted to the hospital.
4. All the Apple stores in China have reopened after being closed for one month amid the height of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
5. The Cleveland Clinic has developed a drive-through coronavirus test that can give patients results in one day.
6. South Korea is finally seeing a decline in the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus, though it should be noted they have seen an emerging cluster in Seoul.
7. Experts observing the heartbreaking situation in Italy are surmising that the catastrophic number of critical cases is due, at least in part, to the country’s aging population.
8. Israeli researchers are close to announcing the development of a coronavirus vaccine. However, a lengthy process of pre-clinical and clinical trials will have to come before it’s available to the public.
9. Over the weekend, the governor of Maryland announced the first three people in the state to have confirmed cases of coronavirus have recovered.
10. A group of scientists in Canada have successfully isolated and grown copies of the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolating the virus, researchers said, will help in developing vaccines and treatment regimens.
11. A biotech company in San Diego says it has identified a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Arcturus Therapeutics is working with Duke University and the National University of Singapore to develop the vaccination.
12. The health department in Oklahoma has said the first identified patient in Tulsa, a man who had traveled to Italy, has recovered from the coronavirus. The patient has had two negative tests, indicating a total recovery.
13. Scientists are finding it may be possible to use the plasma from recently recovered coronavirus patients to treat those who have become severely ill as a result of COVID-19 infections.
I hope these stories have been as encouraging to you as they have been to me. We will get through this pandemic. That’s not to discount the suffering that will — and already has — come. But in the midst of such a scary and uncertain time, it’s important to cling to the good stuff.
In the meantime, please continue to pray for our leaders, our medical personnel, those who are suffering from COVID-19 around the world, and remember to extend grace to one another, because we’re all learning about this at the same time.
(H/T: Erin Rose)