COVID-19

Ranjana Dwivedi (in purple sari) is a health worker in her village in India. Coronavirus education is a top priority. Center: Iceland's chief of health, Dr. Alma D. Möller, leads the pandemic response. Right: Sheeba Shafaq, a doctor who left Afghanistan

3 Female Health Care Heroes: From Iceland's Top Doc To A Village Protector In India

12:01pm October 19, 2020

by NPR Special Report

The world is fortunate to have many dedicated professionals dedicated to combating the coronavirus. Here are portraits of three women from far corners of the globe who are playing a key role.

COVID-19 Exposure Prompts Rockingham County Schools To Close Two Kindergarten Classes

11:15am October 19, 2020

by Neal Charnoff

Two Rockingham County kindergarten classrooms have temporarily closed because of COVID-19 exposure.

Richard Wang, who calls MLB games for Fox Sports Taiwan in Mandarin Chinese, had never called a baseball game in English. This spring, as the pandemic shut down baseball in the U.S., he was tapped to introduce Taiwan's professional baseball league to a gl

For Fans Hungry For Baseball, Taiwanese Announcer Made Right Call In Unusual Season

10:50am October 19, 2020

by Andrea Hsu

Since 2014, Richard Wang has called Major League Baseball games in Chinese for fans in Taiwan. When COVID-19 delayed the MLB season, he had a chance to bring Taiwan baseball to the world in English.

Queue Listen Now

A worker at Thinova Magnet Co. Ltd. puts rare earth magnets into a press at a factory in Zhejiang province.

China's Economy Bounces Back As Pandemic Is Brought Under Control

10:17am October 19, 2020

by Emily Feng

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging globally, China will be the only major economy in the world to post positive growth this year.

Queue Listen Now

Karin Huster was diagnosed with breast cancer during the pandemic. As she yearned for human contact, memories of her work with Ebola patients in Africa came flooding back.

Health & Safety

My Breast Cancer Diagnosis Came In The Pandemic. I Wanted More Than A 'Virtual Hug'

7:01am October 17, 2020

by Karin Huster

The diagnosis — delivered at a distance of 6 feet in the doctor's office — was a shock. It brought back memories of my work in the Ebola ward. Then as now, an intimate touch was a rare thing.

Coronavirus FAQs: Open Windows In Winter, Holding Your Breath, Sprayed Masks?

6:42pm October 16, 2020

by Pranav Baskar

This week our readers have lots of ... interesting ... queries involving opening windows during winter in North Dakota, trying not to breathe during a micro-encounter and spraying a mask with ... oil?

Shoppers stroll through the newly reopened Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia, Calif., on Oct. 7.

Shoppers Came Back To Department Stores In September, Lifting Retail Sales

3:36pm October 16, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

U.S. retail spending grew 1.9% last month, delivering a slight boost of confidence amid a recent spate of signs that the economic recovery has lost momentum from the pandemic's toll.

The government shortfall for the fiscal year that just ended is far greater than was seen during the height of the Great Recession. The national debt now exceeds the size of the U.S. economy.

$3.1 Trillion: Pandemic Spending Drives The Federal Budget Deficit To A Record

3:18pm October 16, 2020

by Jim Zarroli

The government shortfall for the fiscal year that just ended was more than triple that of 2019. The national debt of $21 trillion now exceeds the size of the U.S. economy.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, residents line up for coronavirus tests in Qingdao this week. China says it has carried out 10 million tests in the northern port city with no new cases found.

City In China Tests 10 Million People After 13 COVID-19 Cases Are Found

11:02am October 16, 2020

Qingdao city officials say no new infections were identified. The extraordinary testing effort followed the appearance of a small cluster of COVID-19 cases centered in a city hospital.

Geraldine Roman, the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Philippine Congress, visits a vegetable garden in Bataan. She leads a program called Oh My Gulay â gulay is Tagalog for "vegetables." It encourages people to grow vegetables to

Got A COVID Problem? These 7 Women Changemakers Have A Solution

10:09am October 16, 2020

by NPR Special Report

Women often bear a heavier burden at times of crisis. But in this pandemic, they're also part of the solution. Read about inspiring women from China to Iceland to India.