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Today we highlight a story by Alia E. Dastagir of USA Today. She reports that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing major distress among children ages 5 and younger, a critical time for child development. But the national conversation has not focused enough on the problem, according to researchers with the RAPID-EC project, who are surveying caregivers of young children.
“The project has been conducting weekly surveys since April and has found caregivers of young children are experiencing distress, material hardship and loss of emotional supports,” Dastagir reports. “Since the project’s data is sequential, it also is able to show a chain reaction. When a family is stressed about meeting basic needs, the next week they report more emotional distress, (and they later) report increases in their child’s emotional distress.”
Phil Fisher, the project’s director, told Dastagir that such distress could manifest years later as health effects ranging from increased rates of heart disease to diabetes.
Top Stories
La Crosse Tribune
Birds hang out on the first clarifier at the La Crosse wastewater treatment plant, where wastewater testing for COVID-19 will begin.Here’s how Wisconsin health officials say schools should respond to a COVID-19 outbreak — USA Today Network-Wisconsin
57 inmates at Green Bay Correctional Institution test positive for coronavirus, prompting widespread testing — Green Bay Press Gazette
La Crosse joins state in testing wastewater for novel coronavirus — La Crosse Tribune
Forty years ago, an international effort wiped out smallpox. Eliminating COVID-19 would be harder. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Confused about what Racine County high schools are doing for sports? Some of the coaches are too — Journal Times
Free clinics across state are ‘challenged’ by loss of volunteers — WPR
Over 100 people gathered to protest a proposed Sheboygan County ordinance about public health orders — Sheboygan Press
What are we missing? And how are you coping? Help us provide critical information and accountability by filling out this form or emailing us at tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
Quotable
“The block in the Jenga puzzle that makes the whole thing collapse is really the piece about personal responsibility. A university can do everything in their power to make the campus safe, but if the students returning don’t do their part to make the campus safe, the whole thing falls down together.”
Dr. Jeff Pothof, chief quality officer for UW Health, as quoted by WKOW-TV
Data to note
Here are the latest visualizations of COVID-19 cases and deaths from our partners at WisContext.
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People helping others and showing resilience during this time of anxiety. Send suggestions by tagging us on social media — @wisconsinwatch — or emailing us: tips@wisconsinwatch.org.
The state Department of Health services on Wednesday launched a new “decision tool” that helps people weigh the risks of various activities during the pandemic.
“The safest choices are to stay home and wear a face covering when you are out,” Gov. Tony Evers said in statement. “At the same time, we know from the data that people are choosing to participate in activities that put themselves and others at risk, and we hope this tool will assist people in making safe choices.”
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The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
