Coping with COVID
Staying emotionally well and socially connected in a time of distancing and isolation
Cover Stories
Into an Unknown Wilderness
This morning, like many of you reading this, I woke hoping it had passed. That we could proceed with our lives as we lived them prior to COVID-19. But alas, we are living this new reality of “social distancing” and “shelter-in-place.” Cable news networks are committed to ongoing analysis and release of information, and social…
Coping with COVID-19
The novel coronavirus has had a sudden and dramatic impact on our public and private lives, and we are entering a period of real uncertainty about what the future holds. The statewide shelter-in-place order we’ve been given is unprecedented but it is a necessary response to an emergency situation. Still, it can be disorienting to…
‘You May be the World’
We are living in uncertain times and with uncertainty can come anxiety, which can affect the way we interact with and parent young children. Consider how your child or the young children in your life will look back at this moment in time five years from now. Will they remember long walks and snuggling with…
HumBug: Early Spring Pollinators
Spring is on the way. I saw my first trillium bloom of the year, and the daffodils and stone fruit trees are in full bloom. The last few sunny days have brought forth pollinators. I think it’s kind of a chicken-and-egg problem. The flowers get pollinated by bugs. If the flowers aren’t open the insects…
HumBug: A Recipe for History
Driving back from San Francisco, I stopped on the side of the road to take a couple of pictures and collect a few oak apple galls. About a year ago a tiny wasp laid an egg in the freshly growing leaf bud. When the egg hatched, the larva that emerged secreted a chemical that stimulated…
Public Health Announces County’s 28th COVID-19 Case, Releases Limited Demographic Information
Humboldt County Public Health has confirmed another positive case of COVID-19 locally, bringing the total to 28, and released limited demographic information about the infected population. See the full press release below. April 1, 2020 – One New Case of COVID-19 Confirmed; Limited Demographic Information Now Available The number of COVID-19 cases in Humboldt County…
‘Warm Hearted City’ Lends a Hand
A volunteer group in Rio Dell is living up to the riverside hamlet’s motto of “Warm Hearted City” by putting out word that support for residents is available during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, as well as making home deliveries — with precautions, of course. When it became clear a few weeks ago that some of…
Property Taxes are Still Coming Due Although Late Waivers May Apply
The second installment of Humboldt County property taxes is still due by April 10 regardless of the COVID-19 shutdown, although officials say late penalties may be waived. The payments were actually owed in February but the stiff fees and interest accrued for missing the deadline don’t begin accumulating until after the two-month grace period ends.…
Public Health Announces Six New Positive Cases of COVID-19, Bringing the Total to 27
Public Health announced today that it has recorded six new positive COVID-19 cases. Humboldt County’s number of COVID-19 cases continued to climb yesterday, as Public Health announced three new positive cases. Today’s announcement brings the county-wide total to 27. All but one of those have been reported in the last 11 days, including news last…
Kinetic Grand Championship Goes the Social Distance
Hang your heads, for the Kinetic Grand Championship Race as we know it will not take place this year with an Arcata Plaza kickoff and all its attending fanfare. Instead, as Queen Professor President Kati Texas stated in a press release, a three-day Kinetic Sculpture in Place event will take place online, with teams completing…
Arcata Fire District Will Close One of its Fire Stations April 1
The Arcata Fire District is closing one of the three fire stations in its area of service tomorrow as a result of the voters defeating Measure R, a special property tax that would have increased the district’s budget by $2.2 million and allowed for maintaining current staffing levels and rebuilding depleted reserve funds. “The failure…
Blue Lake Rancheria Delivers Meals to Tribal Elders During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe’s Elder Nutrition Program is delivering three weeks’ worth of meals to the 70 tribe elders enrolled in the meal program amid the COVID-19 outbreak. “We know coronavirus poses a greater threat to the elderly,” Jason Ramos, Blue Lake Rancheria tribal council member, said in a press release. “So we are…
Public Health Announces Two Community Transmission COVID-19 Cases (VIDEO)
Humboldt County has recorded its first cases of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus, Humboldt County Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich announced at a virtual town hall meeting moderated by the Journal last night. Frankovich said contact investigations in two recent positive cases failed to find the patients had any contacts with other people confirmed…
New Shelter-in-Place Restrictions Include Ban on Tourist Rentals, Golf Games
Humboldt County Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich issued new shelter-in-place requirements today, including limits on hotel rooms and short-term rentals, as well as golf course closures and a ban on playing team sports. The announcement came on the same day Sheriff William Honsal declared a local emergency. Among the other updates in Frankovich’s new order…
Humboldt County COVID-19 Cases Now at 21
Public Health announced this evening that it has recorded three new positive COVID-19 cases. Humboldt County’s spike in COVID-19 cases continued Saturday, with Public Health announcing four new positive cases. Today’s announcement brings the county-wide total to 21. All but one of those have been reported in the last 10 days, including news last week…
Sheriff Declares Local Emergency Amid COVID-19
Sheriff William Honsal today declared a local emergency in response to the coronavirus, a move described as a proactive step to allow the county of Humboldt “to request all available response and recovery assistance from state and federal agencies.” “[T]he imminent threat posed by aforesaid conditions warrant and necessitate the proclamation of a Local Emergency…
Redwood National and State Parks Close Parking Lots, Recommend Virtual Tours
If you’ve been scanning the list of Redwood State and National Parks to see which ones still have open parking lots, you can stop now. They’re all closed, effective immediately. Hikers, walkers and cyclists are still welcome, just not their cars. Also, campgrounds, visitors centers and bathrooms remain closed. According to a press release, the…
HumBug: Bugs in the City
A quick trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago, when that was still possible yielded familiar creatures. At a rest area we saw at least three California tortoise shell butterflies frolicking in the sun. There were western box elder bugs on one of the picnic tables. They suck juices from box elders, maples and…
COVID-19 Spike Continues with Four New Positive Cases
Humboldt County’s spike in COVID-19 cases continued Saturday, with Public Health announcing four new positive cases, bringing the county’s tally to 18. Public Health said the source of infection for the four additional cases is currently under investigation, as are the county’s three previous positive cases, and investigators will work through the weekend. The county…
Unemployment Claims hit Record Levels with COVID-19 Shelter Orders (Video)
The number of Californians filing for unemployment benefits eclipsed the state’s highest number on record, dating back to the aftermath of the Great Recession. Experts fear that the worst is yet to come, especially for sectors of the economy still reeling from the state-ordered closure of non-essential businesses to reduce the spread of the coronavirus…
HSU Partners with Public Health to Produce COVID-19 Test Kits
Humboldt State University announced it is partnering with Public Health to locally produce desperately needed COVID-19 test kits. According to a university press release, a group of HSU faculty, staff and alumni spent Thursday in the Department of Biological Sciences developing 1,250 test kits, supplies that are in high demand and short supply locally and…
Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center and the Eureka Rescue Mission Seeking Non-Contact Infrared Thermometers
The Betty Kwan Chinn Day Center and the Eureka Rescue Mission are seeking non-contact infrared thermometers to check clients’, volunteers’ and workers’ temperatures for symptoms of the novel coronavirus to keep everyone in their facilities safe. Betty Chinn said that she has 20 open beds in the shelter she’d like to fill, but in order…
Humboldt COVID-19 Cases Climb to 14, with Two Additional Positives Announced Today
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed two additional local COVID-19 cases today, bringing the county’s total to 14. Earlier today, Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich said two cases confirmed late yesterday are not related to an international traveling group tied to seven of the county’s cases to date. She said her department is still conducting…
County Announces Virtual Town Hall Meeting on COVID-19 Response
Humboldt County Public Health is urging local residents to participate in a virtual town hall meeting with local officials Monday evening to discuss the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting, which will be be broadcast and streamed live, will include Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Director Connie Beck, Board of…
Eureka City Schools Changes its Meal Distribution Schedule (Spanish and Hmong Translation)
Eureka City Schools will change its meal distribution schedule on March 30 to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. When Humboldt County schools began shutting down due to growing concerns of COVID-19, schools started distributing meals to children under 18 years old. Eureka City Schools announced in a press release that…
NCJ Preview with Access Humboldt
This week: We’re talking about positive COVID-19 tests in Humboldt County and how the virus made its way behind the Redwood Curtain. We’ve also got help with the mental and emotional strains of life under shelter in place orders, including how we keep our community together while keeping social distance. Distance Zumba, anyone?
Public Health Announces Two New COVID-19 Cases, First Hospitalization
Humboldt County Public Health announced two more positive COVID-19 tests this afternoon and that a different local resident has been hospitalized with the disease. An investigation is underway into how the latest positive residents contracted the virus, and Public Health released no information regarding the condition of the person hospitalized. The number of confirmed COVID-19…
Together Apart
As of 12:01 a.m. March 20, Humboldt County residents have been ordered to shelter in place, sitting tight at home to protect one another from the spread of COVID-19, the international death toll for which has topped 16,500 and climbs each day. We at the Journal thank each and every one of you taking these…
Blame Evolution
Many conspiracy theorists, who seem to make up about half the posters I’m seeing on Facebook these days, have glommed onto the idea that SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 epidemic) was engineered in a lab. Where? Wuhan, China. Why? To cull China’s aging population and to sow chaos around the world. You’ll be relieved…
Not to Be
Leira Satlof and her team chose Clue: The Musical for Ferndale Repertory’s 2020 season because they thought people needed some fun. “We chose it because things were already kind of bad,” says Satlof, the theater’s artistic producing director. “We chose a season of things we thought were fun. We thought our patrons would appreciate it.”…
The Aptly Named Life is Strange 2
Life is Strange 2 is an episodic, choice-based adventure developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. In a re-imagining of the road trip trope, the main characters, Mexican-American brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz, are forced to set out on a journey south from Seattle to Puerto Lobos, Mexico. Throughout the tale, the brothers…
Of Penguins and Chickpeas
Fifteen years ago, my husband and I visited New Zealand for the first time. One day we kayaked in the Kenepuru Sound, located in the country’s South Island. It was a memorable day because, while paddling, I saw my first penguin: It was what’s called a little penguin, a specimen of the smallest species, also…
‘Critically Important’
Humboldt County awoke March 24 with two confirmed cases of COVID-19 amid a shelter-in-place order that had shuttered businesses across the county and drastically altered North Coast life. By the time this edition of the Journal went off to the press that night, three additional positive tests had come back from the labs. Two of…
Space
Space Is how we say I Love You, For Now.
Getting Help and Helping the Helpers
Across Humboldt County, nonprofits and other organizations are providing a life-line to community members in need, a group that is steadily growing as the impacts of COVID-19 and the county’s shelter-in-place order reverberate. Here are a few ways to help those who are helping others access some of the services available. Access Humboldt: The nonprofit…
Touch as Little as Possible
Grocery stores and pharmacies throughout Humboldt County began to adjust to being on the front lines of efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 this week. Many have reduced hours to allow for extensive restocking and the thorough cleaning of surfaces, and some are offering special shopping hours for vulnerable populations, like those over the…
