Coronavirus & Cabin Fever Survival Guide
Dr. Janna Andronowski’s lab created a Coronavirus & Cabin Fever Survival Guide for students.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Click the link to jump to the section of the page
- Information from experts
- Resources: Including hotlines, free storage, free internet, and free airfare
- What you can do to help
- Tips for combatting cabin fever: includes recommendations for how to maintain social connection, new hobbies you can pick up, and of course, TV shows
INFORMATION FROM EXPERTS
Epidemiology and general explainers
- What is 'flatten the curve'? The chart that shows how critical it is for everyone to fight coronavirus spread. (NBC News)
- The three phases of COVID-19 – and how we can make it manageable (The Spinoff)
- The Vox Guide to COVID-19 Coronavirus (Vox; links out to tons of other articles)
- ‘Catching up on the Corona Virus’ webinar (Dr. Hazel Barton, Professor of Biology, The University of Akron)
Spotting misinformation
- How to Spot Coronavirus Misinformation (Time Magazine)
- Separating the Facts From the Misinformation About COVID-19 (Medium)
- Coronavirus: Fact or Fiction: Short (5-15 min) daily podcast hosted by CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Social distancing and you
- What Is 'Social Distancing?' Here's How to Best Practice It as Coronavirus Spreads (Time Magazine)
- The Dos and Don’ts of "Social Distancing" (The Atlantic)
- Social Distancing: This Is Not A Snow Day (Medium)
- How to practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic (MIT Technology Review)
- 'Social distancing' shouldn't mean losing human connection (The Washington Post)
- The ultimate guide to hanging out virtually with your friends (The Los Angeles Times)
“Oh no, did I just cough?”
- How to Tell If You Have the Flu, Coronavirus, or Something Else (Medium)
- Video: ER doctor explains what to do if you start showing coronavirus symptoms (MSNBC)
- How to self-isolate if you think you have coronavirus (Vox)
Dealing with anxiety
- Tips for managing coronavirus anxiety: "Limit the level of intrusions" (CBS News)
- Coronavirus Anxiety: How to Cope (Teen Vogue, which, for the record, has been doing incredible reporting)
- Mental Health Professionals Are Preparing for an Epidemic of Anxiety Around the Coronavirus (Mother Jones; a discussion about the impacts of the virus on mental health and how it may specifically impact those with mental health disorders)
RESOURCES
- National Domestic Violence Hotline (in case you or someone you know is self-quarantined in an unsafe household): 1-800-799-7233
- Phone/text/chat mental health hotlines: 7 Cups of Tea (international), National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA), Crisis Text Line (USA, UK, and Canada)
- 30 days of free self-storage from U-Haul (subject to availability; college ID required)
- Low-income families are eligible for two free months of in-home internet access from Comcast Internet Essentials
- Vitalsource is offering free access to their e-textbook library through May 25th
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
- SOCIAL DISTANCING
- “Donate” your computer’s processing capacity to Folding@Home, a program that is working to simulate the spread of COVID-19 in order to help stop it in its tracks. (More details on this effort right here, courtesy of 500 Women Scientists.)
- If you know how to sew, make fabric facemasks for first responders
- Local food banks could use the help of the community for food distribution, etc.
TIPS FOR COMBATTING CABIN FEVER
Pick up a new hobby
- Writing about science for popular audiences
- Training is available through the Massive Science Consortium for $10 and you become a published author at the end of it! (If the $10 donation is prohibitive, just let me know and I’ll search my inbox for their latest coupon code, no questions asked)
- Yoga/fitness/meditation
- Touchstone Climbing will be live-streaming several of their fitness and yoga classes while their gyms are closed (through at least April 1st). Recordings will also be available if you’re unable to join the live classes (all times PST/Los Angeles, CA).
- Down Dog is offering free subscriptions to their online classes (yoga, barre, HIIT, and general fitness) through May 1st
- Tons of free classes are also available through Yoga with Adriene on YouTube
- The Mindful USC mobile app offers free guided meditations
- Headspace always offers a free two-week trial of their meditation classes
- Knitting/crocheting
- Tons of free patterns available through Yarnspiration (yes, you can get yarn delivered!) and Ravelry (registration required)
Read for fun
- Did you know you can check out e-books from the Akron-Summit Public Library and that you can even register for an e-library card online? Now you do!
- The creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has released free PDF versions of five of his books until this is all over.
Learn something new
- Skype A Scientist usually connects K-12 teachers with researchers so students have the opportunity to learn from a real-life scientist, but they also have live sessions that are a bit less structured and open to all! Upcoming topics include insect neurobiology (4/7/20), animal keeping (4/8/20), and big cats (and everything wrong with Tiger King!) (4/13/20). Sign up for email updates (to get notified about future live sessions) here.
“Go” to the zoo via live cam
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Cincinnati Zoo (home of Fiona the Hippo; “home safaris” streaming on Facebook Live weekdays at 12:00 PM PST)
- Big Cat Rescue Kitten Cabana
Maintain social connections even if you can’t get together in-person
- FaceTime game nights! (I just bought Punderdome explicitly for this purpose.)
- Pick up a new show and make a group chat with a bunch of friends who are watching at the same time
- You can use Netflix Party (only available for Chrome) to create a group chat and sync video playback to ensure you’re watching the same thing as your friends