COVID-19 Daily News Digest – August 3, 2020
These Vancouver hotels help pay for social programs. COVID-19 is threatening to put an end to that
What makes this hotel different from the dozens of others around Vancouver is that the money it generates directly supports social programs at the YWCA Metro Vancouver, a non-profit organization focused on women and their families.
But some of those programs could soon be in jeopardy as the hotel struggles to both fill its rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, and recuperate from lost revenues during the lockdown.
Turning air into water: how Native Americans are coping with water shortage amid the coronavirus pandemic
One company is trying to address that by bringing drinkable water to homes using hydro panels. Two of Zero Mass Water’s SOURCE Hydro panels can harvest up to 10 liters of clean drinking water per day from the air by absorbing water vapor from the air and condensing it using solar energy. As part of an initial demonstration, the company is collaborating with Navajo Power to bring this technology to residents of Navajo Nation, which at one point had the highest coronavirus infection rate in the country.
Indigenous Peoples are Using Ancestral Organizing Practices to Fight Mining Corporations and Covid-19
“Our ancestral practices are reflected in how we organize and share information among ourselves. We create a plan to ensure important information is shared directly with each member of the community,” says Luis Fernando Garcia Monroy, who works with the Xinka Parliament and who survived a 2013 shooting carried out by the Escobal mine’s private security. “These ancestral organizing practices are helping prevent the spread of Covid-19 in Xinka territory.”
Professor draws parallels between B.C.’s leprosy island, COVID-19 racism
Sociology professor Renisa Mawani says the recent increase in hate attacks against East Asian people in British Columbia and across Canada has echoes in the late 19th century when the City of Victoria established a leper colony on D’Arcy Island in 1891.“Of course COVID-19 is not leprosy, but the social, political and legal responses to it – especially the connections between racism, disease, and white supremacy – feel very familiar to me,” she said.
As COVID-19 spreads, Blackfeet Nation rallies to protect elders, preserve culture
The tribe reported nine people tested positive for COVID-19 on June 28, and many people would soon need help.
That same day, Racine created a Facebook group, called “Blackfeet community help,” to connect elders and other vulnerable people with “good Samaritans.”
Kwanlin Dün chief says overcrowding contributing to opioid deaths
Bill said COVID-19 also contributed to overdoses and other drug related problems, as drug users were told to distance themselves and stay home to curve the spread.
“Unfortunately, this also led to people being more isolated, to be alone, and to use alone. At the same time, we saw a decrease in support and services reaching out to vulnerable citizens,” she said.