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Illustration by Afra Almazrouei

The Brief: Corona at Your Door

From a lawsuit filed against New York University to a professor's heartfelt letter to his student, we bring you the latest Covid-19 news.

Oct 18, 2020

By the numbers: Cases and Deaths
Note: North America Cases and Deaths now includes the United States. All case and death statistics are derived from WHO and ECDC. For more information about coronavirus cases around the world and interactive maps, visit Our World in Data.
NYU New York is Sued
NYU New York is currently being sued in three different lawsuits by three students after they were suspended for the fall semester for allegedly attending "a large gathering at an off-campus location without proper use of masks and social distancing.” The students are represented by the same law firm and are asking the university to remove the suspension from their records and allow them to return to fall semester classes. An interim stay granted last month allowed the students to return to online classes.
John Beckman, NYU Chief Spokesperson, cited photos on social media as evidence that these students engaged in activities that promoted the spread of the Covid-19.
"NYU's plan to safeguard the well-being of the University community is not based on sanctioning students … The coronavirus doesn't care whether your unsafe, rule-defying activity takes place on campus or off, and our concerns for the health of our community don't stop at the doorstep of our facilities,” said Beckman.
Flu or Corona
As flu season begins in the United States, the New York Times has published a guide that identifies whether symptoms might be due to coronavirus or the flu. Experts have explained that it is possible to catch both diseases at the same time. With the guide, people can distinguish between a cold, the flu and the coronavirus.
European Infections
European nations have broken Covid-19 records with large numbers of daily cases, prompting a World Health Organization warning that the death toll could be five times that of April. Some countries that had managed to earlier contain infection rates with lockdowns are now seeing surges as restrictions have been relaxed.
WHO Europe director Hans Kluge stated that social distancing and mask-wearing could save up to 281,000 lives in Europe by February 1.
Desk Takes
Matt Cheung has written A Letter of Recommendation in the Age of Zoom, a sweet and funny fictional letter detailing a professor’s connection to a student during the pandemic.
Google Maps now shows information about new Covid-19 cases in an area, averaged over the previous seven days. The data is obtained from sources including the New York Times and Wikipedia and is available at the national level for all 220 countries and territories the application supports.
Kenya’s GDP fell 5.7 percent, marking the first time in 12 years its economy has shrunk .
PBS NewsHour offers a global view of the coronavirus crisis: an 8 minute video detailing the status of the virus around the world.
This article is a collaborative effort by The News Desk. Email them at feedback@thegazelle.org.
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