I took this photo at LAX on March 9, 2020. My father died suddenly the evening before. The Coronavirus was beginning to change our daily lives. Little did I know that this trip would be the last for many months. Each day offers us a chance for a new beginning. I hope we remember the lives lost. I hope we remember the quiet beauty of an empty city. I hope we remember the gratitude we felt for all the doctors, nurses, service workers, delivery drivers, teachers and frontline workers. I hope we remember the creative outlets we found. For all the missed birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, barbeques and gatherings, I hope we now embrace one another in the joy of each new day.

Humor is one of the best ways to deal with stressful situations, such as working from home. This collection of memes take a humorous look at the teleworking lifestyle.

The nature of the lockdown experience varies according to many factors, including geographical location. In talking with friends and families in other parts of the country and the world, I’ve learned that going through lockdown in southern Arizona is different than going through lockdown in other places due to our unique climate. When we were first sent home in March 2020, I was thrilled because the spring in the desert is beautiful; during previous years, I was stuck in an office building. Now I could work outside! How great! This feeling of elation gradually changed to one of dread as the long Arizona summer came into being. In southern Arizona, we’re used to being in lockdown to a degree. When the temperatures are 100+ degrees outside during our long summer, many of us hibernate inside our houses. However, we do leave the house in the morning to go to work and are able to work in an air-conditioned building during the day, which mitigate some of the difficulties. Not so during the lockdown. I was basically chained to my house, a situation that was extremely difficult and detrimental to my mental health. I wasn’t going to the office, I couldn’t walk around the block, I couldn’t have an outside party with friends or neighbors. Cabin fever definitely set in. In addition, my internet access was disrupted by the heat and/or the torrential monsoon rains, which left me even more isolated. The spring, fall, and winter lockdown in southern Arizona were fabulous in that I was able to enjoy the outdoors more than when I was in the office; the summer lockdown (almost half the year) was a harsh lockdown.

It’s difficult to work from home and maintain a boundary between home and office. When your personal life is conflated with your professional life, it can be a struggle to keep your professional life from intruding on your personal life and vice versa. My friends have developed various rituals to establish a break between their working life and their home life. One friend gets into her car each morning, as she did formerly when she went into the office, and drives around the block. She then enters her house and goes directly to her desk and begins work. At the end of her workday, she reverses the process. I have a ritual to begin and end my workdays that is aligned with my yoga practice. I do a specific yoga sequence that is different from sequences I do at other times of the day as well as do meditation. This clears my mind and signals to me on a subconscious level that it’s time to work. At the end of the day, I do another unique yoga sequence and meditation to dispel the work energy and switch my mind and feelings towards personal matters. I’ve heard colleagues mention other “tricks” they use to differentiate their work life from their home life. Some change their clothes when they start work and then change them again at the end of the workday. Others take a walk outside before and after the workday, take all their work supplies and computers and put them away in a closet so that you don’t see your work while you’re focusing on your personal details, or take a shower to both begin and end the workday. The importance of these rituals can’t be overstated. When you’re working, whether at home or in an office, you should approach the situation in a professional manner. When you’re not working, for the sake of your mental health and happiness as well as the quality of your relationships with your friends and families, you need to leave the work behind and focus on personal matters.

I was grateful to be able to do my martial arts classes through Zoom. My dogs, though, didn’t know what to make of it. Daisy, my young lab mix, consistently tried to participate in the classes. She seemed to love the group dynamic, even though most of it was on screen. Zoey, my older dog, needed to be in the room with me and often made appearances on screen. During such a trying time, these small moments brought a lot of joy.

This Buffalo News article discusses the racial disparities impacting the residents of Erie County during the pandemic. The article claims that the pandemic shined a light on the racial disparities as more African American community members were becoming infected and dying from COVID.

This CNN article discusses a recent letter sent out by Gov. Doug Ducey's education adviser, that said requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine after a COVID exposure is against state law because Arizona does not require students to be vaccinated or wear face masks. I am from NYS and this is drastically different than what Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requiring and/or recommending for students in public schools and state universities. It is bizarre how different states and governors are handling the COVID and vaccination situation.

This article from the Associated Press discusses a study done by Nevada-based scientists, that have found a correlation between wildfire smoke and positive COVID cases. The study showed that "for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter of small particulate matter known as PM2.5 in the air, the positivity rate increased about 6.3% two to six days later". The study acknowledges, however, that the uptick in cases may be from other factors, such as a second surge, or students going back to school. Although further studies are required, the study done by the Nevada scientists may suggest that higher pollution levels can make people more prone to viruses.

This CNN article/photos show how the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is impacted by COVID for the second year in a row. The article states that, typically, 2 million Muslims worldwide go to Mecca for the Hajj, but this year, it is expected that only 60,000 residents will attend. Worshippers must be fully vaccinated and nonresidents are not allowed to attend.

This article discusses "misleading claims and outright lies about COVID-19 vaccines that proliferate on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter". According to the article, 12 people are behind the majority of the misinformation surrounding COVID and the vaccine that leads to conspiracy theories. Many of these theories have led some social media users to avoid the vaccine and ignore scientific facts. It is scary to think that such a small group of people are in control of so much of what we see on social media. What this small group shares and communicates to users are so widespread... I can't open a social media app without seeing some sort of conspiracy theory about COVID or the vaccine. We are so close to overcoming the pandemic, but this type of misinformation is holding us back.

My grandmother's birthday is in May, so last year, during the beginning of the pandemic, we were unable to visit her and celebrate her birthday or Mother's Day. So, we sent her a nice card, and in it, my brother and boyfriend made up the poem. It reads "roses are red, violets are blue, when coronavirus is over, we'll come see you! xoxo Owen + Andrew"

Have work to do? Not on Romeo's watch!! While we have been working and learning from home, Romeo loves to sit on our laps in front of the computer and help us with our work. The video shows what he does nearly every time someone in the house is typing on a keyboard.

The pandemic has brought the issue of health inequity in the United States, based on factors such as race and ethnicity, to the forefront. Racial and ethnic minority populations make up a disproportionate essential workers. Poverty restricts access to health care for many individuals. The country must address these issues of health equity and social justice now and continue to address it t ensure the health and safety of all those living in the United States. The website provides references, information, and data on the link between ethnicity and race and COVID-19.

Language is ever evolving, and an event such as the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly led to new words and phrases in the English language and to new definitions for existing words and phrases. It remains to be seen which words that were coined during the pandemic will survive long-term and which ones will remain in a dictionary rather than in regular usage. This article, describing the English language from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), describes changes in British, Indian, Canadian, and Australian English during these pandemic times. It discusses the speed of the linguistic change brought about by the pandemic and the coining of new words and phrases and new definitions of existing words and phrases.

Information on COVID-19 must be available to all individuals if the US as a society and as a country are to successfully deal with this virus and prevent deaths and illness. This information must be available in a variety of languages other than English to meet the needs of those who are not proficient in the English language. The CDC created a website with a wealth of information and materials for individuals in languages other than English, including materials for migrants and refugees. The CDC also has a website for Spanish-speaking individuals.

Before the pandemic, most people didn't know many of the terms associated with epidemic diseases and SARS-type viruses. In order to understand what was happening, people had to quickly acquire a whole new vocabulary. This article from Yale Medicine helps define some of the most critical and widely used terms.

In this article, Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Director of Harvard Chan C-CHANGE, answers questions about how climate change and COVID-19 are related. He discusses the problems that animal agriculture causes for both the environment and human health. Hopefully, more people will hear the words of a world-renowned scientist and make the change to veganism like I did 4 years ago.

This article captures images of the continuations of and changes in rituals around the globe during the pandemic.

This article discusses why Arizona's Covid rate was the highest in the country as of February 1, 2021. Contributing factors included a lack of mask-wearing and cross-border traffic.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Blog published this article which contains the words of 5 different experts on health inequity during the pandemic.

Banner Health team members collect samples from patients to test for COVID-19. More information available at http://bannerhealth.mediaroom.com/COVID-19info.

Members of Banner Health's Innovation Team convert sterilization wrap into surgical masks in an effort to conserve supplies. More: http://bannerhealth.mediaroom.com/masks

Ten nurses from Banner Health’s Arizona hospitals are heading to northern Colorado to assist their colleagues at the Banner-owned hospital in Greeley, North Colorado Medical Center.

To protect our patients and health care workers, Banner Health is erecting triage tents at several of its medical centers to process patients upon arrival.

The 3D printing community is coming together to ensure Banner Health employees have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need. Manufacturing is taking place across the Banner Health service area.

Members of Chinese American COVID-19 Relief AZ deliver thousands of masks to Banner Health medical centers, including this delivery to Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix.

Chief Clinical Officer Marjorie Bessel, MD, outlines ways Banner Health is ensuring our facilities are a safe place for care for patients. Changes include using thermal cameras to detect fevers and continuous masking.

Entrevista con Melody Nungaray-Ortiz en Español. Nungaray-Ortiz es una miembra del equipo de ECMO en Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix.

Interviews with members of the ECMO team at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix describe efforts underway to treat patients with severe symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians and others throughout Banner Health work around the clock to care for patients with COVID-19. B-Roll available for download, editing and broadcast.

Members of the ECMO team at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix show how they use special equipment to stabilize and treat patients who are unable to maintain blood oxygen levels.

Banner Health team members administer COVID-19 tests at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. B-Roll is available for download, editing and broadcast. More info: http://bannerhealth.mediaroom.com/COVID-19info

Cox Business donate more than $200,000 worth of filtration and surgical masks. Community partners such as Cox Business continue to show their support for Banner Health's frontline health care workers.

Banner Health experts are encouraging cardiac screenings for student-athletes as new research has revealed potential heart damage as a potential after effect from COVID-19 infection.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, is on site at Arizona State Fairgrounds where Banner is administering thousands of vaccines.

Interview with Nancy Zismann, chief clinical services officer, Banner Health Zismann talks about Banner's vaccine operations. As of Feb. 5, 2021, Banner has provided more than 130,000 vaccines.

Samantha Chapman, Ambulatory Pharmacy Operations coordinator, speaks about how Banner prepares and handles vaccines administered at Arizona State Fairgrounds.

Banner Health vaccination experts demonstrate the correct handling of COVID-19 vaccine at demonstration at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in central Phoenix.

B-roll of Banner Estrella Medical Center in west Phoenix where more than a thousand COVID-19 patients have been successfully treated during the pandemic.

Pritesh Patel, MD, speaks about what it was like to provide ongoing care for COVID-19 patients and families at Banner Estrella Medical Center in west Phoenix.

Sarah Asel, RN, talks about what it is like to care for COVID-19 patients and the joy she experiences as one returns to thank her and colleagues for their care.

Debbie Olsen, a former COVID-19 patient, returns to say thank you to the "life-saving'' doctors, nurses and staff who treated her for this life-threatening virus.

Both Banner Estrella and Banner Thunderbird Medical Centers celebrated 1,000+ lives saved from COVID-19. Each hospital reached that milestone within a few days of each other.

Interview with Medical Director Steven Erickson, MD, as well as a physical therapist and a patient about COVID-19 effects on myocarditis, including diagnosis and treatment.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer at Banner Health, provides a system-wide update on Banner's response to the COVID-19 surges in many of the states it serves.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, talks about the pandemic, increasing numbers of hospitalizations and what to expect in coming weeks

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, provides the latest updates on how the health care system is caring for a patient surge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief medical officer of Banner Health, provides an update about how the six-state healthcare system is handling teh COVID-19 surge.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, gives an update on how the health system is dealing with the pandemic and the importance of masking up to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, gives an update on how the health care system is managing the COVID-19 surge in six states.