January 2, 2021
Winter break has been underway, but what activities are safe for kids during the pandemic? Pediatrician Gina Robinson is with the Cleveland Clinic and told Michigan News Network many wintertime activities are OK as long as there aren’t many people around.
“Those things are actually going to be safer because you’re outside and so there’s more room for the particles to disperse and there’s less risk of transmission, but then those places tend to get crowed at certain times too,” Robinson said. “So you have to keep that in mind.”
Dr. Robinson says there are all kinds of outdoor activities that can be safe for kids this winter, like ice skating, cross country skiing and of course building a snow man – which you could turn into a neighborhood contest. She said the key is to practice social distancing no matter what you’re doing.
January 1, 2021
It is no secret that people have been stressed during the pandemic, and stress is a leading cause for insomnia. Some people are even calling it “corona-somnia.” Dr. Michelle Drerup with the Cleveland Clinic told Michigan News Network this week it’s important to remember to wind down, and put electronics away.
“Something to be mindful of are the impact of being on our screens all of the time,” Drerup said. “The light exposure that we’re getting, especially if that’s in the evening as well as the content of what we’re doing can be very disruptive to sleep. So be mindful of that.”
January 1, 2021
Healthcare workers who have been getting the COVID-19 vaccinations are feeling a bit more relieved and not as stressed. That’s according to Beaumont Director of Infectious Disease Research Matthew Sims. Sims told Michigan News Network many workers who have been dealing with the virus for nine months see the vaccine as light at the end of the tunnel.
“The vaccines coming, and especially it going to the frontline healthcare workers first has really been, for a lot of people, a real stress reliever, a real reduction in anxiety, a ray of hope that this may end,” Sims said.
The Michigan Supreme Court will work on implementing solutions after the release of the Justice for All Task Force report on civil legal problems. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack told Michigan News Network this week these are questions like landlord-tenant issues and family law disputes.
“Unlike criminal cases where you can’t afford a lawyer, if you have a civil legal problem, you’re not entitled to a lawyer if you can’t afford one,” McCormack said. “You just have to figure it out on your own. That can be pretty devastating because civil legal problems are things like evictions and family law problems and consumer debt problems, things that really might change someone’s life.”
This is normally a busy time for Amtrak with travelers heading out for the holidays. However, this year Amtrak spokesman Mark Magliari expects travel will be down 80% below normal. He told Michigan News Network this week they’ve been forced to cut routes. Usually, there are three routes daily between Chicago and Detroit.
“Up to Pontiac, right now we’re only running one of those daily round trips,” Magliari said. “The other services we have in Michigan, up to Port Huron, there’s one daily train that continues. The one daily train to and from Grand Rapids continues. But down at Toledo and across Indiana, those trains are only running three days a week.”