COVID-19

A view of the U.S. Capitol Building, as seen reflected on an ambulance in Washington, D.C. AP Photo by Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA

What can we learn from past pandemics?

National leadership, a communication strategy supported by science, and consistent disease surveillance, helped previous administrations handle past global health crises, said Dr. Mark Dybul, a former U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, and Kathleen Sebelius, a former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, as part of a virtual Civic Experience event hosted by Northeastern.

by Khalida Sarwari May 7, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Northeastern graduate Ben Morris temporarily turned his Bonner, Montana pedicab plant into a face shield manufacturing site. Photo by Erica Zurek

How one company shifted gears from pedicabs to personal protective equipment

COVID-19 forced Northeastern graduate Ben Morris to stop manufacturing three-wheeled cycles. But he has kept his company, Coaster Cycles, going, and brought his employees back to work, by making the protective face shields worn by healthcare workers.

by Jenna Pelletier - contributor May 7, 2020

Full Code, developed by Michael McLinn, a 2003 graduate of Northeastern, is an online application that gives medical professionals access to a simulated emergency room in a virtual hospital. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The patients are digital. The nursing students are real.

Nursing students had a problem: They needed experiential learning hours, but hospitals couldn’t take on students because of COVID-19. An app created by Northeastern graduate Mike McLinn simulates patient care so that students can stay on track despite the pandemic.

by Sean Deveney - contributor May 6, 2020

Students perform their final projects for Movement for the Actor, in which they interpret a dramatic piece of literature through a school of movement discussed in class. Clockwise from top left, Donovan Holt performs from <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, Sydney Love and Bianca Vranceanu perform <i>Antigone</i>, Devon Whitney performs <i>Sonnet 34</i>, and Erin Fitzpatrick performs <i>The Crucible</i>. Screenshot by Northeastern University

When theater moves online, actors get creative

Any other semester, students would wrap up their Movement for the Actor class by filming their performances in a studio on campus. This spring, the scenes were shot in backyards, empty living rooms, and wherever else they could find space.

by Kaitlyn Budion May 5, 2020

A nurse wore rubber gloves for the city's coronavirus testing site to open next to Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia on March 20, 2020. Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Nurses are taking care of COVID-19 patients. Who’s taking care of the nurses?

Nurses often put their own health on the back burner to care for others, says Maria van Pelt, dean of the School of Nursing. But caring for COVID-19 patients could put them at greater risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and increased substance use disorder, she says.

by Khalida Sarwari May 5, 2020

Nursing student Alyson Dahlberg works as an emergency department technician at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

To those on the front lines: Northeastern is with you

To the people on the front lines of this crisis, the Northeastern community is with you: Whether it’s providing housing for first responders; sharing cutting-edge…

by Benjamin Bertsch and Adam Fischer May 3, 2020

The Supreme Court is opening up the phone lines. Here’s what to listen for.

The court will hear arguments by telephone to comply with public health guidelines in response to COVID-19. For the first time, the public can listen live, and we might see that the justices are “human, just like us,” says legal scholar Dan Urman.

by Molly Callahan May 1, 2020

Ming Wang, distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern, developed a testing device to monitor glucose levels using rapid saliva samples. The device, he says, can be tweaked to test for COVID-19. Photo illustration by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Could a new tool for diabetes patients solve the problem of coronavirus testing?

Ming L. Wang, distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been perfecting a new home testing kit to monitor diabetes using saliva. Now, he’s redesigning the sensors within it to test for SARS-CoV-2.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa May 1, 2020

While observing the distance requirement to contain the coronavirus, numerous visitors enjoy the sunshine in the a Berlin park on April 22. Photo by: Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Will contact-tracing apps infringe on data privacy? Germany may soon find out.

BERLIN—Contact-tracing apps, such as the one being developed in Germany, could be a way to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But such apps come with a risk: “The pandemic’s not going to last forever, but the data that’s collected from the pandemic might,” says Woodrow Hartzog, who studies privacy and data protection law.

by Andrew Curry - contributor April 30, 2020

A solitary pedestrian walked across the usually busy Columbus Drive, which bisects Chicago’s Grant Park, on the first work day after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave a shelter-in-place order in March. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Here’s how COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill

Photos of barren streets and empty subway trains have become regular images of the COVID-19 pandemic, and data newly made public by Apple Maps gives us a glimpse at how people around the world have stopped going out.

by Tyler Machado April 29, 2020