COVID-19 Coverage
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COVID-19 and its Effects on Georgia’s Unemployment Numbers
Unemployment initial claims have greatly risen in the state of Georgia since the arrival of the novel coronavirus pandemic. In the United States, numbers of unemployment claims are reaching historical highs. The U.S. Department of Labor reports the number of unemployment initial claims being filed are marking “the highest level…
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Mental Health Under COVID-19: Using Self-Care to Cope
The worldwide lockdowns occurring due to COVID-19 are creating unique and unprecedented challenges for people who now find themselves stuck at home and dealing with keeping their mental health in check. To cope with this new challenge of keeping sane while working from home, people are turning to methods of…
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Art Lessons in Minecraft: How Liberty County Schools Are Pivoting To Online Learning
Core classes like English or math translate relatively easily from classroom to computer. “Connection classes,” like art and band, require a little reworking in order to successfully make that transition. Liberty County, Georgia, is experiencing these transitions with all of their courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the county…
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Rent Forgiveness, Grocery Donations Offer Relief to Members of Restaurant Industry
Restaurant servers never imagined a day where there would be no demand for their jobs. “What’s funny to me is there was a time not that long ago where I thought, ‘Well, there’s always restaurant work for me to do,”’ Erica Strout, a former employee of LRG Provisions said. “Yeah,…
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Small Farms Come To Rescue During Pandemic
First the chicken, then the eggs. These were some of the products (after toilet paper) to fly off the shelves of corporate grocery stores when the panic hit. In the midst of a global pandemic, when many stores were experiencing supply shortages, a local farm-share program teamed up with the…
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Campus Career Communication: On-Campus Work Goes Online to Nonexistent in Midst of Pandemic
On an early morning in February 2020, the Market at Tate shop was a hub for student workers and those who wanted to purchase a snack between classes. With campus left deserted after Spring Break, on-campus jobs that were normally occupied by student workers have been left vacant due to…
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We’re Home: An Essential Worker, An Elderly Woman, A Child and COVID-19
When COVID-19 began shutting down schools, people flooded grocery stores, buying up essential items like toilet paper. Many companies started encouraging employees to work from home, but not everyone got that luxury. Publix customer service staff member Sara Hammond lives at home with her son, Davis Hammond, 10,…
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Some Local Athens Restaurants Face Extinction During Pandemic
COVID-19 has forced Mimi Maumus, the owner of Home.made in Athens, to commit what her friend refers to as a “mercy killing.” Maumus has had to lay off 21 employees in order to keep her restaurant alive during the pandemic, or at least what is left of it being that…
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Athens Service Industry Looks to Online Donations to Survive COVID-19
Four weeks ago, Evan Adams, a server at a restaurant on East Clayton Street in Athens, Georgia added her name to the Athens Virtual Tip Jar. Since then, she has received six online donations — and she’s not alone. Adams has not been able to work since the Athens-Clarke County…
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Community Service in a Pandemic: Local Meals on Wheels Chapter Works to Ease COVID-19 Impact on Older Population
The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a culture of uncertainty, prompting questions like “Can I go to the grocery store?,” “If I go outside, will I get sick,” or “When will I be able to see my family and friends again?” For the older population, these questions hold…