As the pandemic has strengthened its grip on the world these last couple months, it’s producing one interesting side effect: people are seeking out positive, cheerful news items like never before.

Although the reports of COVID-19 in Vietnam are relatively low (with 267 cases and zero deaths as of April 15¹), social distancing measures have led to the closures of several small businesses and the loss of thousands of jobs.²

Some are pointing out that the coronavirus shutdown presents an opportunity to test a major climate change assumption.^1-3 Because global industrial activity has been curtailed due to the pandemic, pollution in certain urban areas has decreased dramatically.⁴ This decrease in industrial activity should also theoretically decrease global carbon dioxide emissions.

You probably have noticed over the last several weeks that your visits to the local store have demonstrated a new phenomenon—empty shelves in many parts of the grocery department.

As the world faces the need to speedily (yet safely) recover from quarantine-like lockdowns, some fear the danger of over-delayed returns to normal, while others fear the opposite and assume that the coronavirus is still a greater evil than hunkering down at home. Denmark began reopening its country, but faced its share of controversy among its citizens.