What is COVID-19 and How is it Affecting the World?

By Natasha Petrenko, Myles Franklin-Bey, and Kateryna Maslovska

Loyola University junior Jasmine Puria took a trip to Miami for her spring break at the end of February, not thinking anything of it as the United States had just a small number of COVID-19 cases.

She felt fine when she returned in early March, but by March 11 she had common cold symptoms, just a few days went by and it progressed and she began to worry as she retraced her steps.

“I was very fatigued after doing just simple things and I was showing other symptoms of COVID-19,” she said. “I also had found out that my roommate had indirect contact with someone in Chicago who tested positive.”

Five days later, Puria was tested for the coronavirus, and a few days after that she got some good news — the results were negative.

Puria was one of the lucky ones, getting a test very quickly amid a global pandemic where testing kits aren’t readily available in the U.S. According to the CDC, the number of individuals tested for COVID-19 in the U.S. is 3,024,059 since March 1, 2020. With rates like that requires a lot of time for testing. In a New York Times story, it has been reported that individuals had to show up to a drive-through testing site the night before just to make sure they could get a chance to get tested the next day.

Garima Pudasaini, a physician at John H Stroger Hospital of Cook County, said some test results used to be back in 3-5 days, but currently, Hospital of Cook County has tests whose turnover time is 16 hours, so they get the result in a day or the next day. Newer tests are coming up with faster test results.

“The tests used to be sent to outside labs, but now the hospital has in-house testing so it has become faster,” Pudasaini said.

Testing is starting to become more available in all of the United States, but it can currently still be very difficult to find a place to be tested. However, not everyone needs to be tested for COVID-19.

The CDC recommends for those with mild illnesses to stay home and practice social distancing

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and would like to be tested, the CDC recommends to call your state or local health department or a medical provider.

Pudasaini said that recovery time for patients with COVID-19 depends on the severity of the disease. Mild disease can last up to seven to 10 days while moderate to severe disease can last longer than 2 weeks, depending on the patient’s condition.

She recommended staying home, eating healthy foods, minimizing unnecessary contacts with people, avoiding contact with persons at households who are at risk of developing severe disease like elderly people, people with obesity, diabetes, lung disease, heart disease and liver disease.

“We advise treating mild disease symptomatically with Tylenol for fever and myalgias, drinking lots of fluids, keeping hydrated,” Pudasaini said. “For moderate to severe disease, we admit the patients and keep them under strict isolation and manage according to the severity with oxygen, antiviral, or immunomodulators and manage the symptoms. Patients might need ICU care for severe disease.”

How to wear a face mask properly. (Venngage/Kateryna Maslovska)

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that are common in both humans and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control website. There are seven different types of coronaviruses found in humans, four of which are common and mild. However, the other three are much more serious such as MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, which cause coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The novel coronavirus leads to COVID-19 which is an infectious disease that was originally thought to have been spread from animals to humans because it is common in animals such as cats, bats, camels, and cattle.

Due to travel, COVID-19 has spread much faster and stronger than anyone would have imagined. According to the Johns Hopkins website, there are over two million confirmed cases and thousands of deaths worldwide.

To put the growth rates in perspective, the WHO reported that there were 228 total confirmed cases on Jan. 20, and on April 29 there were 3,024,059 total confirmed cases. The Google Map below shows all confirmed cases worldwide as of April 29.

Click here to view Google Map (Map/Myles Franklin-Bey)

There are now over 1 million confirmed cases in the United States alone. With the total deaths closing in on 58,000 nationally. New York has been hit the hardest of the 50 states with over 165,000 reported cases according to the CDC.

Take a closer look at COVID-19 rates at these hot spots in the United States:

Symptoms of the Coronavirus have been described as very similar to flu symptoms, and include cough, fever, and shortness of breath and in some cases lack of taste and smell. But there are also chances of individuals testing positive for the virus while not showing any symptoms. It is very important to stay at home and limit contact with others as there is currently no way to be certain who is carrying the virus and who is not.

Because of the symptoms of COVID-19 being very similar to flu symptoms and some allergy symptoms, as well as some people even being asymptomatic, COVID-19 was able to spread quickly. Testing was very limited in the United States during the early stages of the pandemic, leaving many wondering whether they had the virus or not. And leaving no way for them to know for sure.

This was Puria’s situation when she returned from Miami. She quickly contacted her parents, who live in Nashville, and her father drove straight to Chicago to make sure she could get home without posing risk to others as she did not know if she was positive for the virus.

“When I got home I went straight into my room to be quarantined,” she said. “My mom is a physician at a hospital associated with Vanderbilt University so she was able to get me an appointment to get tested very quickly. The test itself was very uncomfortable,” explained Puria. “The nurse inserted a long cotton swab first in my throat and then pretty far up one of my nostrils. The nurse also administered a flu test before the COVID-19 test.”

*Illustration of COVID-19 swab test (Photo/Google Images)*

Puria got tested on March 16, at that time it took longer for test results to appear. She had to wait for the test results for about 48 hours.

“I immediately went back into quarantine after I got tested,” she said. “I was in quarantine the day before as well so that I wouldn’t infect anyone in my family.”

When she got her results back, she, fortunately, tested negative. Those that test positive are urged to stay home and stay in touch with their medical doctors if they have minor symptoms. However, when symptoms are most severe those with COVID-19 may need hospitalization and ventilator access. The graphic below shows the states with the highest amount of people hospitalized as of April 29.

Hospitalization rates by state (Datawrapper/Myles Franklin-Bey)

Testing for COVID-19 has been continuously evolving since the beginning of the pandemic. In Puria’s experience, testing results for COVID-19 took two days, which is a long time to wait for testing results for this sort of virus.

Renee Kunkel, a Chicago Clinical RN explained that there is now rapid testing but it may not always be reliable. “The other ones we usually give about 24 hours because they look at chest X-Rays and other stuff too,” she explained.

According to the World Health Organization, the incubation period for COVID-19 is said to be 1-14 days. That means in the past, someone could get tested for COVID-19 and then contract the virus during the waiting period for their results.

This created a lot of problems in terms of public perception of the virus and testing for it. Because it took longer than a day for results to get back, those looking to get tested would either need to stay overnight at hospitals for their results, or go back home and isolate themselves from everyone. The latter option became more prevalent once hospitals began filling up with patients and running out of available ventilators.

The whole world started wearing medical masks like never before, however, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about this type of protection. The first myth is that wearing a scarf or any sort of fabric over your mouth will protect you from the coronavirus. The truth is germs can spread in the cloth even faster. When you breathe, it creates a perfect environment for the growth of viruses.

The second myth is that those with masks must change their mask every two hours, however, people sometimes can wear the same mask for days. And the last myth is that people should wear a mask at all times. WHO says that it is necessary to use the mask only when sick or in contact with a sick person.

“Please take social distancing seriously. Fortunately for me, my results were negative, but if they were positive I would have been fine,” said Puria. “We need to strictly practice social distancing because if young people, 18 to 25 have the disease but don’t know it and end up having contact with multiple people, you could infect so many people and possibly loved ones who are more at risk of having complications if they contract the virus.”

——

What to do to avoid catching the coronavirus
According to the WHO, the risk of getting sick can get higher if a person neglects the basic rules of wearing a face mask. We prepared an infographic that shows you four steps of the proper way of using the medical mask.

Remember five essential rules that will help you to stay away from the COVID-19.

Do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Consume thermally processed food only.
Always wash your hands with warm/hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds.
Avoid crowded places.
Wear a medical mask when you are sick or in contact with a sick person.

Tips to stay away from COVID-19 and symptoms (Venngage/Kateryna Maslovska)

Things to Know About the Coronavirus Pandemic

By Natasha Petrenko

As we all know the whole world is currently affected by the Coronavirus also known as COVID-19. The first case of COVID-19 was detected in Dec. 2019 in China and then spread into 2020 through person to person contact and travel. It quickly spread throughout the world which is why many have anxiety out this in addition to its uncertainty.

According to the World Health Organization as of 10 a.m. of Mar. 14 there are 142, 539 confirmed cases and 5,393 deaths, The United States has 1,678 confirmed cases and 41 deaths. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health as of Mar. 14 there are 64 confirmed cases in Illinois.

Although there have been many cases worldwide, many of them have been mild and patients have been cured. However, there are vulnerable people such as elders, those with breathing problems, and diabetes who are at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and a more difficult time recovering. It is important to distance yourself from others and limit touch, especially in larger crowds. COVID-19 can also spread by fluids or droplets that come from the nose and mouth when someone sneezes or coughs, it is very important to use tissues to prevent those fluids from spreading. We cannot forget the simplest way to limit COVID-19 from spreading, which hand washing for 20 seconds or more and using hand sanitizer that has 60% or more alcohol in it.

It is also important to thoroughly clean frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, stair railings, and sink handles. The CDC provides an extensive list of effective cleaners from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Be sure to stock up but leave some for others too!

As this pandemic spreads, anxiety levels increase and so does false information. This isn’t to say that we should not worry however, we should pay attention to where we receive our news and information from. Credible sites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and many more have all the correct statistics and facts about this pandemic.

Note: Info-graphic made on Venngage By Natasha Petrenko

Remember to keep yourselves up to date with the latest news, practice healthy habits, and distance yourselves from large crowds until further notice. We will get through this.

Chicago Police: Do We Hire More?

By Natasha Petrenko

There are many neighborhoods within the city of Chicago but have you ever stopped to think how many police stations there are? Chicago is a very large city and unfortunately has been battling with high crime rates. CBS actually ranked Chicago as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States.

According to an analysis of data from the City of Chicago Data Portal, there are 23 police stations and thousands of officers serving the city. Although those numbers seem high, we need to consider the number of people living in Chicago as well as the crime rates. Shootings and gun-related violence are major factors in Chicago’s crime rates in addition to burglaries and assault. How can Chicago reduce the number of these crimes? Some might argue that the city should hire more police officers to help cover more areas of the city’s neighborhoods. Additionally, there is an increase in the job outlook for police officers in general in the next few years.

Below is a map of Chicago neighborhoods highlighted in blue and police stations represented as the red pinpoints.

Here is another map of Chicago with data from the City of Chicago Data Portal, both Chicago police stations and all the crimes that have occurred through Jan. to Feb. of 2020 to put things in perspective.

Now the question is should Chicago hire more police officers or go about reducing crimes in other ways? The city already spends millions of dollars on the Chicago Police Department. Last fall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot expressed her frustration as she found out about the overtime funds being abused by the police department, which took even more money away from taxpayers. Something else to consider is that raising the size of the police force does not always decrease crime rates. We must consider that there are risks for over-policing which may bring tension between Chicagoans and police officers. An article from Vox presents other suggestions, such as changing certain laws that would help reduce crime rates in cities like Chicago. However, reducing crime in cities like Chicago will never be easy the question is where do we start?

Kobe Bryant and the Coronavirus

By Natasha Petrenko

On Jan. 26, 2020 the world lost Kobe Bryant, a former basketball player who played on the Lakers. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant along with seven other individuals died in a helicopter crash on the way to a basketball game. Bryant did not only play basketball, but he was also a father, a husband, an Acadamy Award winner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and so much more. It is safe to say that he was a role model for many individuals, leaving a worldwide impact.

Another popular story that has affected the world is the Coronavirus. It was detected in China in 2019 however, it did not stop there. As the new year came, the virus spread all over China, then the whole world. On Feb. 26, 2020, a community transmission of the Coronavirus was found in California. As the virus spreads, so does the worry of people worldwide.

Source: Google Trends |100 indicates the highest point of a search during a certain point and time. More information here.

Both stories have been on many news outlets this past month. According to an analysis of Google search data on Google Trends in the United States, Kobe Bryant’s search rates were quite high for a few days, after he had passed away. The Coronavirus started to beat Bryant in searces starting on Jan. 30, 2020 and continued to rise even during the Bryant’s “Celebration of Life “memorial. This could have been due to the aggressive spread of the Coronavirus.

Here is another analysis of Google search data on Google Trends that shows which states have been looking up those topics the most. The blue represents states that have the most Kobe searches and the red represent the most Coronavirus searches within a 30 day period.

Music: Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift

Both Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift have been in the music industry for quite some time now. They have fans from all over the world because their music, music videos, and style inspire their fans.

Lady Gaga released her newest single, “Stupid Love”, on Feb. 28, 2020, along with a music video to her single. Gaga’s fans were so excited about this because it is the first release since her soundtrack for “A Star is Born” which included features with Bradley Cooper, her co-star in the movie. Before the soundtrack for the movie, she hasn’t released any music since 2016, which was her album, Joanne.

Taylor Swift’s song “The Man” was originally released on Aug. 23, 2019, in her album Lover. However, on Feb. 27, 2020, Swift released a music video for the song where she transformed herself into a male. She did this to bring awareness about sexism and the oppression of women. This caused her fans to be thrilled because she expressed her feminism through the video.

Both stars were searched heavily through the weekend in the United States. According to an analysis of Google search data on Google Trends, Swift has slightly searched more than Gaga at the beginning of the week. However, the day before Gaga’s new release of her single, her searches skyrocketed by a lot within just a few hours.

Although Gaga was dominating Google search, it seems that Swift is being searched more throughout the United States from this past week. Below is another analysis of Google search data on Google Trends that shows which states have been looking up Gaga the most and which states have been looking up Swift the most. The blue represents Gaga and the red represents Swift.

The interactive chart below shows how the number in searches has increased so drastically in just a week.

Chicago Blackhawks Attendance Throughout the Years

By Natasha Petrenko

Have you ever wondered if the Chicago Blackhawks have struggled with their home game attendance when they don’t get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

According to ESPN, the Blackhawks home game attendance has been averaging about 21,000 to 22,000 since the 2008/09 season. Before that, the home game attendance ranged from just under 13,000 to 16,000. Those are interesting statistics because the Blackhawks did not start winning until 2010. The last time the team won the Stanley Cup was way back in 1961 so it makes sense that in the early 2000s the attendance was not as high as it is now.

2010 was not the only year the Blackhawks thrived, they also won in 2013 and 2015. However, lately, the team has not been in the playoffs but that is not stopping the fans. As previously mentioned, according to ESPN, the average home game attendance has still been relatively high, even if the Blackhawks haven’t been in the playoffs since 2015.

It could be that since Chicago hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in so long that the recent wins have given the team a lot more attention and fans. Since then a social media study done by Fanatics in 2017 reports that Chicago Blackhawks fans were the most loyal in the NHL even after two years since their most recent Stanley Cup win.

You can see that even during the 2018/19 season when they did not do so well the number of fans attending almost reached 1 million. In addition, Coach Q, who helped the team win the playoffs previously, was fired in November of 2018 because they were not doing well. Let’s hope that the new coach, Jeremey Colliton can help the team in the next few seasons and bring Chicago more wins!

Chicago Pride Parade Attendance

By Natasha Petrenko

Since June of 1970, Chicago hosts a very fun, colorful and meaningful parade every year. It is the Pride Parade. It is held in June because that is when a group of individuals who identified as part of the LGBT community fought against the harassment they faced by the police in New York on June 28, 1969.

This led to the Stonewall Riots. A year later, Chicago along with Los Angeles celebrated the anniversary of the fight for freedom for the LGBT members. The parade is hosted every year on the last weekend of June as a tradition that has gotten well known throughout the years.

Since the parade first came to Chicago the number of people attending has drastically grown. It has changed throughout the years when it first started it was more of a march to make a political statement. However, from 1985- 2014 there was tremendous growth in the number of attendees at Pride. The Pride Parade is still making a statement, however, the attendees go all out and have fun celebrating equality and pride in the LGBT community.

In 2013 Chicago’s Pride Parade attendance has reached 1 million and the same goes for 2014. There was a strong increase in those years because in November 2013 same-sex marriage was legalized in Illinois.

The parade is held in Boystown where Pride is celebrated the whole month of June. The parade is on the last Sunday so it is safe to say that it is a grand finale of the month-long celebration.

Quinn: Pensions Threatening MAP Grant Program

Gov. Pat Quinn talks about MAP Grants at DePaul University (Photo/Bob Smith)

By Bob Smith

Gov. Pat Quinn visited DePaul University’s Loop campus on Wednesday to discuss how pension reform is harming the Monetary Award Program (MAP) college scholarships and access to higher education in Illinois.

“This is so important to our state, not only in the past, but certainly now and in the future,” Quinn said. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to go to college that has the ability to go to college.”MAP grants are need-based college scholarships that allow merit students who are in need across the state and do not need to be repaid by the student. Quinn said that due to cutbacks and having to pay more money in the pension amount, almost 18,000 students lost their MAP grant scholarships this year.

“We do not want anyone denied that opportunity because of finances,” Quinn said. “We can’t afford to lose all the talent that exists, all the ability that exists for higher education to help our economy and to help all of us, because there are financial challenges that deny someone the opportunity to go to community college or a four-year university — public and private — in our state.

“Every year over 5,000 DePaul students receive MAP grants, and just like the students who have already spoken here today, all of these DePaul students rely on this funding in order to continue their college careers,” Clemmons said.“Because the number of Illinois students eligible to receive MAP is currently increasing, existing funding does not allow the state to assist all the eligible students. As a result, without action by the Illinois state leadership, more DePaul students than ever will see their MAP funding disappear this year and will be forced to give up their education due to finances.”More than 150,000 students nationally receive MAP grants each year. Clemmons told the audience that on Tuesday, DePaul’s SGA unanimously

Ken Thomas, a University of Illinois Board of Trustees student member, MAP recipient and University of Illinois Chicago student, told how he wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for the MAP grant.

“My mom, when I was in high school, had to work two jobs just to keep food on the table,” Thomas said, “and if we didn’t have [the] MAP program like we do today, I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today; graduating with a degree, hoping to be a productive member of society.”

Having a productive and functioning society and economy is what Quinn says it’s all about.

“Jobs follow brainpower,” he said. “We want to make sure we have smart people in Illinois. Well skilled, well-educated students coming out of college with graduate degrees and diplomas so they can create jobs, create new businesses,” he said. “Our goal in Illinois is to have at least 60 percent of the adults in our state with a college degree or college associate degree or career certificate by the year 2025. In order to achieve we have to make sure we have a good scholarship program.”

Clemmons said that in order for that to happen, state legislatures need to reflect upon the question, “What must be done?” and do what’s required.

How Public Transportation Leads To Less Pollution

Adobe Spark Graphic Made By Natasha Petrenko

By Natasha Petrenko and Gianni Hrobowski

Katie Polanski is a sophomore at DePaul University who lives in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

She takes the Red Line and the No. 5 bus seven times a week to get to classes and run errands. Public transportation is a big help for those like Polanski who may not have a car or just avoid driving in the city.

“Parking is hard to find in Lincoln Park and buses and train will get you pretty much anywhere you wanna go,” Polanski said.

Polanski is one of 3 million people in the greater Chicago area who use public transportation to get to work, school or just have fun. In doing so, it reduces the number of cars on the road and, as a result, pollution.

According to the Federal Transit Administration, 29% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. It also states that trains produce 62% less and the bus produces 33% less when compared to cars

Kate Yoshida who works in the Office of Sustainability at The University of Illinois at Chicago stated, “We are in a non compliant zone here in Chicago for a certain size of particulate matter and those are triggers for asthma and other respiratory diseases so anything we can do to reduce diesel emission will help people breathe.”

Ryan Reyes, a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago, lives in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and takes public transportation every day to commute to school and work. During his commute, he rides his bike to save time and gets on the Red Line.

“Being without a car in the city makes it harder to get to places quicker, but with the CTA it helps a lot,” Reyes stated.

Reyes said, “The CTA helps me a lot and gets me to my destinations faster. If I had to walk everywhere in the winter it would be a pain.”

The Chicago Public Authority has been providing Chicagoans rides on trains and buses since 1947. Another form of public transportation are the Divvy Bikes, which were introduced in the summer of 2013.

Both companies are great ways to start creating a more sustainable city. This is not something that could be easily fixed but if Chicagoans narrow their focus down to neighborhoods within the city then progress can be made in making Chicago more sustainable.

Lincoln Park is a well-known neighborhood in Chicago that offers all three options. It includes the Armitage and North and Clybourn CTA red line stops, the Fullerton and Sheffield CTA bus stops and a handful of Divvy Bike Stations.

The Numbers

The Community Data Snapshot, Lincoln Park from June 2019 provides data from surveys that have been taken from 2013 until 2017. According to the study, 40,668 residents that commute to work, 18,874 who use transit, and 4,118 who either bike or walk. These numbers seem great however, 14,662 still drive alone and 1,736 carpool on a daily basis.

The Community Data Snapshot also provides statistics on the methods that Chicago uses as a whole. There are 1,228,651 total commuters, 363,149 who use transit, and 107,662 that walk or bike. There are still 633,387 commuters who drive alone and 101,904 that carpool.

More individuals, especially those near many transit options, such as in Lincoln Park, should utilize other forms of transportation instead of driving to help improve the environment. In addition, the amount of traffic would also be reduced in the city overall.

By Natasha Petrenko

The Expert Insight

Buses and trains are a lot more efficient cars, according to Dr. P.s. Sriraj, the Director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He explained that there are about 40 seats per bus and if we know how many riders there are per car, which he said is about 1.2 then we can calculate to see how many cars are not in use just from buses alone.

“When buses are operating in mixed traffic,” said Sriraj, “they are stopping and going, there’s a stop on every block, every stop and start comes with more pollution, and that’s then the same thing you will find in the cars.”

Sriraj explained that it would not be a good idea to create more bus stops due to all the pollution that is emitted when stopping.

Sriraj added that El trains are a cleaner option than buses because they are electric.

“Even with all of that the CTA bus system coupled with the train system will be far better to the environment than having that many cars on the street,” he said.

Applying this calculation to Lincoln Park provides more specific insight. There are around 18,874 individuals who use transit, after dividing that number by 1.2 the number of cars that are not on the streets is about 15,728.

Edward Bury, who works with Sriraj, said that programs such as Divvy allow many individuals to get to a destination where a bus or train may not be able to get to. This is called the last mile and transportation methods such as Divvy Bikes allow many more individuals get to where they need to go.

In addition, Bury mentioned that the city as a whole is trying to make biking safer by installing bump-outs in the street to prevent vehicles from making sharp turns.

Another good reason to utilize forms of public transportation, especially in Lincoln Park where there are a handful of stations there and in surrounding neighborhoods.

By Natasha Petrenko

Kate Yoshida who was mentioned previously provided good information on how people in the community can get involved and improve how the environment is in our interview.

If you live in the Lincoln Park area and want to start helping the first step is to be aware of the harm that goes on in the environment and let others know about it. Being self-aware and having the ability to spread the message to others is a way the problems can get fixed.

“We need to not see easy solutions as a solution because at some point we need to come to terms with the harm that’s been done,” said Yoshida.

This statement states that people are looking for an easy solution to fix problems that have been going on for many years. The things wrong in our society can’t be fixed overnight and will take a lot of work to rebuild.

“Start by looking at the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and how we get from place to place. Those are all parts of sustainability,” she said.

Top 10 Ice Cream Shops in the Chicago Area

Tastee Freeze in Berwyn. Photo by Natasha Petrenko.

Ice cream is always a good treat to have and now there are so many options that it is hard to know which places are worth going to. It also makes it harder when we live in a big city like Chicago and have many options.

Whether you are craving just a few scoops, dairy-free flavors, or an outrageous shake, the Chicago area has got you covered. Take a look at the map below to see which ice cream shops are worth trying.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1s9Kkc-kg_3hwVcSK2TJIt50EJ5EhCFpw&ll=41.88901206536204%2C-87.81141218289139&z=12

Link to Google Maps. 10 Best Ice Cream Shops Map by Natasha Petrenko.

Google Trends: Hurricane Dorian Sways E-Cigarettes, Trudeau Dominates Kavanaugh in Searches

Hurricane Dorian was a hurricane that began at the end of August and got stronger as days went by. Storms along the East Coast in the United States and the Bahamas have affected many communities. Around the same time, e-cigarettes have been in the news due to their unhealthy effects.

According to an analysis of Google searched data Hurricane Dorian has been searched substantially more than e-cigarettes in the United States within the past seven days.

The first known death from e-cigarettes was on August 23. On the same day, Hurricane Dorian was put into a low-pressure system, that quickly escalated into a hurricane within days.

The number of teenagers who smoke e-cigarettes has risen in the past two years. Studies and reports have been out for months, however, the public is now having anxieties about this problem due to the increase in illnesses and deaths that have been linked to e-cigarette usage.

Although this topic is seen as a health crisis, Hurricane Dorian has been given more attention because many homes and lives have been damaged by the storm

Google Trends United States. Past 7 days.

Trudeau Dominates Kavanaugh in Google Searches

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau has been caught wearing brownface and blackface on multiple occasions in school photos. Brett Kavanaugh is facing new allegations again, all in the same week.

According to Google’s search data, Kavanaugh has been searched at high rates in the past. Since Trudeau’s photos have been found he has taken the lead in Google searches in the past seven days in the United States. In Canada, Trudeau has been searched drastically more than Kavanaugh overall.

Trudeau’s photo appeared in the West Point Grey Acadamy yearbook from the early 2000s. He is pictured at an “Arabian Nights’ themed party with dark makeup all over his face and body. This is not the only photo of Trudeau that has been found in blackface and brownface. There is also a video that has resurfaced of Trudeau in high school performing in blackface.

Kavanaugh has faced allegations before regarding sexual misconduct. He is now being accused of pulling his pants down at a party when he was in college and pushing himself onto a fellow female student. The New York Times is caught up in these allegations because they posted the story but, failed to explain that the female student who was involved does not remember it happening.

Both scandals are breaking news and it will be interesting to keep up on the updates to see what will happen to both Trudeau and Kavanaugh.