COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Will we see a spike in crime?; Ranking states on social distancing; Ramping up remote learning; Secrecy about case numbers & more!

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on

LinkedIn

Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders. We hope you are staying safe, and we welcome your thoughts; you can always reach out to us via email: pioneer@pioneerinstitute.org.

Our Top Picks for COVID-19 Pandemic News:

William Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences: A patient advocacy organization discusses COVID-19 treatments on its podcast. Also, here is a policy change that could get any vaccine out faster.
Don’t miss Dr. Smith’s new report warning about a methodology that poses a threat to older Americans who are more vulnerable during COVID-19.

Mary Z. Connaughton, Director of Government Transparency: A beancounter’s delight – this product’s generally sleepy sales sprinted into high gear as the public prepared their pantries for the long haul, according to the New York Times. Also, if a family member becomes infected with COVID-19, here’s a home-care kit you should have in your house, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Also from Mary: How well is your state or county doing in social distancing? Check out this site from Unacast.

Rebekah Paxton, Research Analyst: To understand the economic impact of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, we’ll need more in-depth analysis. Pioneer’s new series on Massachusetts economic trends draws on MassEconomix.org to provide invaluable data by industry and geography. Read our new report.

Andrew Mikula, Peters Fellow: Will the surge in unemployment in the U.S. cause a spike in crime? Intuitively, it makes sense that people replace legitimate business with theft and fraud during desperate times. But during a recession in which leaders are asking would-be workers to shelter in place, things might be different. According to OSU economist Bruce Weinberg, “People sitting in their houses don’t make great targets for crime. People going out spending cash and hanging out in big crowds do.” Tragically, though, rates of domestic violence are reported to be increasing.

Micaela Dawson, Communications Director: Our World in Data provides interactive charts and maps that allow you to view and compare country-level information on COVID-19 testing, cases (total and per million), fatalities (total and daily new confirmed), doubling time, trajectory, and more.

Our Picks for Public & Private Sector Best Practices:

Jim Stergios tips his hat to Florida Virtual School and greater Boston-area Catholic schools for their success with distance learning and offers some constructive suggestions for ensuring our public school students can benefit from remote learning as well, in this Boston Globe op-ed. Read our additional curricular resources for parents and guardians.

Jamie Gass, Education Policy Director, shares a story about a familiar figure to Pioneer, who is leading an effort to teach 40 million kids at home! And, a history lesson about the worst epidemic the United States has ever known. Before it was over, more than 600,000 Americans perished. Hear more about the parallels with COVID-19 from Stanford historian David Kennedy, this week’s guest on “The Learning Curve” podcast (new episodes every Friday at 11 am).

Barbara Anthony, Senior Fellow in Healthcare: Why is there such secrecy around city and town COVID-19 case numbers in Massachusetts? Right now, the state releases data by county only. In the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Barbara explains why that policy should change.

Questions for Our Public & Private Sector Leaders:

POLL: Should Massachusetts reveal know how many COVID-19 cases there are in each city or town?

— Pioneer Institute (@PioneerBoston) April 3, 2020

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

Name
First Last
Email
Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts

As COVID-19 Emergencies Ease, Some Progress on Telehealth Rules

February 15, 2023

A new report from Reason Foundation, Cicero Institute and Pioneer Institute rates every state’s telehealth policy for patient access and ease of providing virtual care. The report highlights telehealth policy best practices for states.

Khan Academy’s Sal Khan & ASU Prep Digital’s Amy McGrath on the Khan World School @ ASU Prep

September 28, 2022

This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, and Amy McGrath, the Chief Operating Officer of ASU Prep and Deputy Vice President of ASU Educational Outreach.

Pandemic Dead Reckoning: Unseen Casualties of Public Health Interventions

March 1, 2022

Hubwonk host Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Senior Fellow Dr. Bill Smith about new evidence that during the past two years of the pandemic, there were as many unseen excess deaths from non-Covid-related diseases as seen from Covid. They discuss the need for public health leaders to pivot their messaging to address this hidden mortality.

Why the jump in non-COVID deaths?

February 24, 2022

The Wall Street Journal echoes our warning about the rise of non-COVID-related deaths.

Mandate’s Constitutional Collision: Court Offers Civics Lesson with Vaccine Rulings

January 25, 2022

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Cato Institute Vice President Ilya Shapiro about the recent Supreme Court vaccine mandate rulings and what they tell us about the limits of executive branch power and the sitting justices’ views on the guidance of the U.S. Constitution.

How did COVID impact Massachusetts’ long-term care facilities?

January 24, 2022

Pioneer Institute has filed a Public Records Act request related to COVID's impact on Massachusetts’ long-term care facilities because the Institute believes this is a matter of obvious importance, both on principle (the public has a right to know the facts), and for purposes of evaluating – and where possible improving – public policy.

Massachusetts Telehealth Report Card: Are We Embracing Disruption for Better Quality of Care?

January 18, 2022

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Senior Fellow in Healthcare Josh Archambault about his newest research paper, produced with the Cicero Institute and the Reason Foundation, on states' success in implementing telehealth to improve healthcare outcomes. They discuss how Massachusetts has used remote medicine to better reach patients and serve their needs.

Long Term Care Facilities With 2+ Known COVID Cases and Facility-Reported Deaths in Massachuetts