Man’s best friend, COVID-19’s newest target

By: Haili Luevano

With the ongoing pandemic affecting people all across the globe, news of how COVID-19 is affecting pets and their owners has gone widely unnoticed.

“You hear conflicting stories,” said Kaci Schacht, a local farmer. “One moment they say dogs can contract and be affected by the virus and the next they’re saying that they’re safe from it. But I have also heard that dogs can carry the virus on their fur, but that’s only if they are exposed to someone who has the virus.”

While it’s true that animal cases are few and far between, especially in regards to their human counterparts, there are still ways that the coronavirus can make life difficult for pet owners and their companions.

In the past two decades, coronaviruses have caused two major pandemics: SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome. Scientists of the World Health Organization (WHO) previously thought that another outbreak could only be caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARSr-CoV), which is mainly found in bats.

It’s also speculated that COVID-19 originated from Chinese horseshoe bats in one of Wuhan’s many food markets. The closest confirmation of this data was given by WHO Spokeswoman Fadela Chaib on April 21, stating, “It is probable, likely, that the virus is of animal origin.”

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is able to affect animals by binding to a cell surface protein known as ACE2, thus injecting itself into the cells. This protein is found in many animal species. As of April 22, it was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that SARS-CoV-2 had found its way into two pet cats. This marked the first pets to test positive for the coronavirus in the United States.

The pandemic could also pose problems for more exotic species, especially those who are flagged as endangered or threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Already, a 4-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 5.

“I think [COVID-19] might actually help [endangered species] right now,” Schacht said. “Due to the fact that travel is restricted and people aren’t allowed into different areas, [this] helps restrict access to them.”

While opinions on the matter may differ, the fact still stands that the current pandemic isn’t just affecting pet owners, but their pets and other animals as well. The first confirmed pet cases in the U.S. might have been two cats, but Hong Kong’s first pet case was a dog.

The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department reported that a pet dog who had previously been in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus tested “weakly positive” on February 28, through samples taken from the nose and mouth.

“People don’t think about it, but animals are a big part of life and the economy,” said Bibiana Luevano, a local pet owner. “Police dogs. Service dogs. Military dogs. If service dogs are affected, then how will people be affected? The dog food business is a huge market.”

While COVID-19 has seemingly expanded its sphere of influence, the next logical step is to find a vaccine for both humans and animals.

“I know that even though this virus is new to humans, it’s not new to certain animals,” Schacht said. “For instance, cattle actually have some strand [of coronavirus] and they have a vaccine … but it is not safe for human injection.”

A statement released by Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that developing, testing and approving a vaccine for humans could take 12-18 months, though most new vaccines usually take years to approve and release to the public. In the meantime, pet owners must use their own methods to protect their animals.

Much of the same safety measures that people use for themselves can also be applied to pets. With the recent closing of parks, there’s less places to socialize or walk your animals, encouraging people to keep them at home. Make sure to carefully monitor their behavior and take them to the vet if they get sick.

“Wash your hands,” Luevano instructed, sharing the precautions she takes with her own pets. “Clean their bowls, and avoid sneezing or coughing near them. Keep an eye out on their behavior. Sometimes it’s easy to spot when animals are feeling under the weather.”

Kaylee Cellar, an English teacher at GISH, offered the same advice, stating that she has taken to isolating her own animals at home and keeping them six feet away from other animals.

Ensuring that your pet is happy and healthy is simply one more weight off of your shoulders. Animals are still susceptible to disease, so it’s better to make sure that they truly have nothing to fear from COVID-19.

“Animals are important,” said Pamela Robledo, a local pet owner. “They are family as well.”

Toss your dog their favorite toy, feed your bird some fruit, redecorate your fish tank or simply cuddle with your cat. Quarantine may be boring at times, but with a safe and healthy animal at your side, at least it won’t be lonely.

*Photo by Haili Luevano

COVID-19 makes both hashtags and headlines

 

By: Haili Luevano

In recent months, COVID-19 has not only affected 500,000+ people in the U.S., as of April 12, 2020 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but has also spread across the news and social media.

With quarantine allowing more time for media, news networks have received a rapid increase in attention, as well as various other media platforms. 

“The most influential social media platforms at this time are Facebook, Instagram and TikTok,” said Eli Flodman, a junior from GISH. “With so much free time, one always has to scroll through their phone.”

Most apps and websites offer a complementary warning about COVID-19 when you first log in or open the site, such as TikTok and lesser-known forums such as Sufficient Velocity and SpaceBattles. Pinterest even restricted the search of ‘Coronavirus memes’ in an effort to stop the spread of misinformation and instead replaced all results with posts about how to effectively wash your hands and prevent the growth of the virus.

Even with these restrictions, people are still finding time to make light of the situation in humorous ways. A quick scroll through Tumblr shows the many memes being posted about the coronavirus. The same can be said for TikTok and other YouTube channels that upload content pertaining to the pandemic. 

In addition, the majority of ads of YouTube have been overtaken by various celebrities declaring their support for quarantine and urging others to stay home to lessen the spread of the pandemic. The hashtag #withme has also increased by 600 percent since March 15, according to YouTube. Videos with titles such as “work at home,” “craft with me” and “cook with me” have received an ever-growing amount of views.

“I’ll admit, a few of [the jokes] are kinda funny,” said Autumn Graczyk, a sophomore. “But we could probably stand to dial down the amount of them. I understand that some people cope with situations through humor, but I think the humor should be respectful because for some people this situation is absolutely terrifying.”

Contrasting this, news channels are providing real-time, hard facts over COVID-19. Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN, referred to as the “Big Three,” continue to cover this topic the most. They tell of the rapidly-climbing number of cases, as well as the face mask shortage that hospitals and clinics are trying desperately to solve. 

With the mix of content being distributed to the public, it’s easy to confuse humor with horror. 

“I’ve seen some news articles saying how hospitals are needing supplies,” said Beau Studley, art teacher. “Other people are saying everything’s okay and we’re going to be over this in a couple weeks … No one’s really sure how to take it.”

While jokes may help alleviate the tension and help pass the time under the restrictions of quarantine, it’s important to remember that while the threat of COVID-19 is avoidable, it’s still dangerous.

Whether you pass your time watching the news, scrolling through social media posts or doing something else, remember to keep a safe distance from others and take the necessary precautions to keep the community as healthy and safe as possible.

*Photo by Haili Luevano

Reading behind the lines: The inner workings of the Viking Saga

By: Haili Luevano

Writing for a high school newspaper is an arduous yet rewarding task that can rival any other extracurricular activity. However, the actual process of writing these articles goes widely unnoticed.

For the students behind the Northwest Viking Saga, the first step in publication is a content meeting. This is held at the beginning of every issue, allowing members to decide what stories are to be written and by whom. Each issue allows 17 to 18 stories, without taking into account any room that needs to be spared for ads.

“A lot of people, I feel like, think that [stories are] pre-chosen,” said Emily Krupicka, a sophomore. “Because I know I’ve had people come to me and say ‘Do you get to choose?’ It’s…free-range of what you want to do.”

The enjoyment that comes from writing, editing and publishing your own work is indeed rewarding, but it isn’t an easy task. Interview questions are expected to be written up and sources contacted within a day or two of the content meeting’s conclusion, followed by setting up interview dates. Photos need to be obtained in a timely manner and edited in Photoshop, which entails adding a black and white filter and lightening the image since the newspaper prints much darker than what it looks like on screen.

First-round edits are held roughly eight days after the start of the issue. During this time, students’ work is printed off and passed around to be peer reviewed. After three people have looked over and signed off on the article, Kirsten Gilliland, the newspaper teacher, adds her own edits before handing the papers back to their owners. Once the edits are applied by the writer, the process is then repeated at least two more times.

Close to the time of first-round edits, students begin transferring their articles onto Adobe InDesign. The program allows students to preview their work on the actual newspaper before printing.

“Sometimes I have to shorten my story even though I may not want to,” said Trinity Sossong, a sophomore. “To make it fit on the page.”

Spacing, alignment and font are also things that are looked at very closely at this stage in production. Compromises have to be made when more than one person needs to work on a single page, sometimes resulting in a conflict when two different versions of the same page are saved onto the server. This is why each version is titled alphabetically, with the furthest version reaching so far as M, and then saved as an entirely new document.

Once final edits have been made and the InDesign pages are deemed complete, the pages are sent off to be printed.

“We print through the Grand Island Independent,” Gilliland said. “Each month we create an issue, they print 800 copies.”

After the copies are brought back to Northwest, they’re distributed during advisement. Each student is given a stack of papers and a list of teachers to hand them out to. Newspapers are to be handed to each individual student rather than just left on the teacher’s desk, to ensure the most publicity. Despite this, there are always extras.

“After our first round of distribution, I would say that there’s half left, or a third left,” Gilliland said. “Even that stack goes down because I take tickets and run clock quite a bit, so I make sure that copies always go to ticket-taking tables and then parents and family members and adults in the community can pick them up too. That gets rid of a couple hundred more.” In addition, copies are handed out to board members during their meetings.

Of course, with the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and the shutdown of Northwest, all previous methods of publication were forced aside in order to produce quality content despite the setback. Adjusting to change and working around an altered time frame is something that the Viking Saga crew is currently handling with the help of multiple communal platforms.

A content meeting was held on Monday, April 6 at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom, a platform for video and audio conferencing. Gilliland led the discussion over the newspaper’s March edition. All articles pertaining to the issue had been put on hold due to the school’s closure, but were urged to be completed so that they could be posted on WordPress and shared with the community as normal.

The April edition was also discussed, leading to the conclusion that each member would write at least a single article for the issue. Interviews are expected to be conducted and transcribed as normal. With the constrictions of InDesign no longer applicable, students don’t have to worry about their articles surpassing a word limit.

All of this will be conducted while adhering to the safety regulations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the threat of COVID-19 presents many problems to the community as a whole, the Viking Saga crew will continue to provide the students, staff and the families of Northwest the best quality news in the most timely manner.

An old system risks young lives

By: Haili Luevano

“The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” is a true crime documentary that was released on Netflix on Feb. 26, 2020. It takes place in Los Angeles, California and covers the story of an eight-year-old boy who was tortured and murdered by his mother and her boyfriend in 2013. Directed by Brian Knappenberger, this six-part documentary depicts graphic images of the physical and emotional trauma that Gabriel went through leading up to his death. If you choose to watch this show, viewer discretion is advised.

Each episode focuses on a different aspect of the Fernandez case. The show’s exposition introduces Gabriel as a happy, caring little boy who lived with his great-uncle and his partner. When circumstances changed, Gabriel was placed under his grandparents’ custody before being re-homed with his biological mother, Pearl.

The inadequate care that Gabriel received under Pearl and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, is quickly exposed. He was both physically and verbally abused by both of his caretakers, while his two siblings, Ezequiel and Virginia, were forced to watch or participate in the abuse, while never incurring it themselves.

While Gabriel’s death is the main focus in the documentary, Knappenberger also branches off and delves deep into the inner workings of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) as well as the involvement of the LAPD. While the police visited Pearl’s household multiple times, they rarely conferred with the boy himself and on occasion would threaten him if he continued to lie about his injuries.

The evidence of abuse and neglect regarding the Fernandez case is simply overwhelming, bringing to light the deficiency of care and regard the DCFS put into Gabriel’s conditions, as well as the conditions of countless other child abuse victims.

The last two episodes encompass the trials of Pearl and Isauro in full, as well as the four DCFS social workers entrusted with Gabriel’s well-being. The strive for justice displayed throughout the film impacts the viewer on an extremely emotional level.

While not for the faint of heart, “The Trails of Gabriel Fernandez” is an enrapturing show that reveals the blatant evil existing in the world, with the educational aspect urging scrutiny over the way the government runs the DCFS. The trial’s results will offer you a mixture of closure and devastation, with a final conclusion that will rock you to the core.

If you or another is suffering from any type of abuse, please contact 911.