The SIR model is perhaps the most well known method for simple epidemiological modeling we have today, and as such it is worth understanding how and why it works. This introduction will be for a very basic model that seeks to compute how many people in a given population are susceptible to, infected with, and recovered (or dead) from an infectious disease. For simplicity, we make several assumptions:

When overwhelmed by uncertainty and distress, finding a sense of progress can be a good source of relief. A way that people are creating this sense of progress now is through sharing various (and often dubious) readily accessible treatments for COVID-19. Below is a collection of these gathered from social media sources. The treatments were easy to find, and each had at least a thousand listed interactions (comments, likes, shares, views, etc.). Associated back stories and further elaborations that could be found have been included in the form that they were originally shared on social media. Feel free to add to this list if you have any additions. This is not a list of recommendations and should not be taken or disseminated as such. Hopefully, it turns out to be a good bit of entertainment and a way to think about the sentiments and beliefs prevalent during this time. Do the proper research. The “validity” of nearly all the listed treatments have been investigated by Snopes and other established fact-checking entities.

In the biblical context, swarms of locusts were seen as punishment from God. In present times, record setting locust swarms threaten to destroy the food supply for much of East Africa, which heavily relies on local agriculture. These swarms threaten the food supply for millions who are already facing a pandemic crisis. COVID-19’s biggest impact won’t its own, but how it may cause countries and individuals to take their attention away from other problems. The world’s headlines are dominated by COVID-19, tracking cases and closures as they happen. However, this has resulted in a lack of coverage in other areas. If I had not written about the initial wave of locusts as one of my weekly apocalypses, I would not have known about the current crisis facing the East Africa region. What happens if a hurricane or earthquake strikes and the world’s resources are all taken up with the pandemic? What happens if forrest fires on the scale of Australia occur in another country less equipped to fight it? What happens when locusts destroy much of the food supply of an entire region struggling to feed its people already? We’ll find out the answer to the third question soon enough as the world is digging in the fight against COVID-19. Open your eyes and recognize the world around you doesn’t stop when you do.