In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many meat processing and food production facilities have temporarily closed or reduced operations, raising concerns about shortages and the safety of our nation’s food supply. West Virginia University Extension Service Livestock Specialist Kevin Shaffer provides some insight about West Virginia’s beef supply and what we can do to help producers and fellow consumers.
Geoffrey Bradford practices at the West Virginia University Eye Institute. He also directs the residency program in the School of Medicine’s Department Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and he is the department’s vice-chair of education. He has tips for keeping SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—out of our eyes. And none of them involve handcuffs or a doggie cone.
A constitutional quagmire of issues, stretching from the exercise of religion to labor law, have arisen in the United States amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Ednilson Bernardes, chair of the Global Supply Chain Management program within West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics, says companies like Smithfield and Tyson Foods closing their meat-producing plants is unlikely to lead to a food shortage. Instead, he says, the bigger threat is a shortage in the workforce.
As farmers markets across West Virginia open for the season, West Virginia University Extension Service Agribusiness Economics Specialist Dee Singh-Knights has provided a few recommendations to help market managers and vendors safely sell their products to customers and allow communities to continue supporting local farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
History has a way of reminding us that we are not the first generation to experience either hardship or the spread of disease. John Cuthbert, curator and director of the West Virginia Regional History Center and Special Collections at West Virginia University Libraries, said the parallels between WVU’s response to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and COVID-19 are as interesting as they are telling.
Being resilient and positive is difficult during a crisis. We may not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them. Cheryl Kaczor, West Virginia University Extension Service Family and Community Development Agent in Marshall County, offers sound advice on coping with adversity and finding silver linings to help you navigate challenging times.
With a stay-at-home order in place across West Virginia and a majority of the United States, one West Virginia University physical activity expert suggests it’s a critical time to add exercise to your daily routine to strengthen your immune system and manage stress during the tumultuous COVID-19 pandemic, said Eloise Elliott, Ware Distinguished Professor at the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.
The entire country learned to lean on songwriter Bill Withers, a West Virginia native whose music became “part of the American soundtrack.” West Virginia University assistant professor of musicology Travis Stimeling says Withers’ music was intensely personal. Withers, who was given an honorary doctorate at West Virginia University in 2017, died this week.
Heather Stephens, assistant professor of resource economics and management in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, notes an industry-structure reliant on tourism and oil and natural gas, and West Virginia’s lack of broadband access are key areas to watch.