Today on AirTalk, we continue our daily AMA with a medical expert. Also on the show, we discuss how teenagers how handling an increased amount of anxiety; talk with listeners with joint custody over their children how they're coordinating between households; and more.
COVID-19: LA County Death Rate Rises, Cases Worldwide Grow
On Wednesday afternoon, L.A. County reported 620 new cases and 29 new deaths, marking a rise in the mortality rate to 2.6%. There have now been more than 7,500 total confirmed cases here. Meanwhile, the United States is among a number of countries experiencing large-scale epidemics.
At a press briefing Wednesday, L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer said that 131 institutions in the county have at least one case. Those include assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities, shelters, treatment centers, supportive living, and correctional facilities. As of Wednesday, there are 596 total cases in these settings, including 314 among residents and 282 among staff. Ferrer stressed that for the cases reported in institutional settings, the majority are not outbreaks. So far, L.A. County is reporting 198 deaths. As of Wednesday, 1,714 people have been hospitalized in the county at some point during their illness. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest with the coronavirus pandemic with a physician. We’ll also continue taking your questions. Call 866-893-5722.
With files from Laist. Read the full story here.
Guest:
Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets
Are COVID-19 Mortality Rates Really What They Seem?
Quantifying mortality rates is more difficult than it seems. A recent Wall Street Journal article explains that the numbers often only tell part of the story because only a certain number of people who die from COVID-19 actually make it into the hospital or get tested. The piece explains that the fatality rate is likely much higher than reported and policy makers should be careful when making decisions based on these numbers.
Testing in the U.S. and California has been limited as well. Gov. Gavin Newsom even announced a task force that will focus on increasing testing capacity daily, according to the L.A. Times. That impacts what we see in mortality rates, and it’s often misleading. A group of researchers at UCLA is looking into different ways that mortality rates can be more clearly tracked and portrayed. Today on AirTalk, one of the research scientists from UCLA sits down with Larry to discuss their findings.
Guest:
Lucas Böttcher, research scientist at UCLA who’s been working with a group of researchers to model fatality rates for COVID-19
Anxiety, Loneliness, Phone Use: How American Teens Are Experiencing COVID-19
With school disrupted for so many American teenagers due to COVID-19, it’s not surprising teens are turning to technology in a time of increased anxiety.
A new survey by Common Sense Media took a look at teenager’s worries and habits as they shelter in place, and found that 60 percent reported concerns that their families’ health and financial stability will be impacted by the virus. Teens of color especially were more likely to report these worries, with Latino teenagers being the most concerned about financial repercussions.
While 83 percent of teenagers are texting to stay connected, phone calls are the second most frequently used method of contact. 42 percent of teens said they feel lonelier than normal, with a slightly higher percentage of girls reporting the feeling.
We dive into these findings with one of the researchers who worked on the survey. Plus, if you are a teenager or the parent of a teenager who’s currently at home, we want to hear from you. Have your feelings of anxiety or loneliness increased? What are you doing to stay connected with friends? Are observing differences in anxiety among your friends of different backgrounds? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Jim Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media in San Francisco, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that focuses on issues surrounding children, technology and media; their recent survey is “Coronavirus and teenagers”
Are You Exhausted By Zoom Meetings? An Expert Explains Why That Could Be
Zoom, a video conferencing software, has become wildly popular thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic. It allows you to connect with tons of people through video at the click of a link, so many companies are using it for their staff meetings throughout the day. But it can get exhausting.
A Stanford University professor and researcher suggests that we’re experiencing “nonverbal overload.” In an opinion piece he wrote for the Wall Street Journal, he explains there are consequences from a constant gaze. Long stints of direct eye contact is typically reserved for close relationships, but it’s now happening with colleagues and acquaintances. All this isn’t to say Zoom is a bad thing. It’s allowed people to connect with others beyond work. People holed up in their homes have hosted parties, happy hours and game nights. Jeremy Bailenson with Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab suggests we simply rethink the way we conduct video conferencing.
Today on AirTalk, Bailenson joins Larry to further discuss the consequences of close up virtual interaction and some different ways to think about video conferencing. Have you felt exhausted by Zoom or other video conferencing software? Have you had to adapt your meetings? We want to hear from you. Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Jeremy Bailenson, professor of communication at Stanford University and founding director of the school’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, which focuses on the psychology of virtual communication and how people behave online; author of the book, "Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do" (W. W. Norton, Inc., 2018)
How Are You Negotiating Child Custody During COVID-19?
With stay-at-home orders in place, children of divorce can be put in difficult situations.
While court-enforced custody orders mandate a certain splitting of time between households, there’s a variety of other factors at play right now that might mean you’ve decided to negotiate an alternate arrangement. We sit down with a family law attorney to discuss what the law does and doesn’t say about custody at this time.
Plus, we want to hear from you about how you’re negotiating parenting if you are not living with your child’s other parent. Have you decided to keep your child in one home? Are you traveling and splitting your children’s time between homes? What health and safety variables are going into your decision making and was it difficult to come to that agreement? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Peter M. Walzer, family law attorney in Woodland Hills