Outside Iona

Krystal Ortiz, News Editor
September 18, 2020

Throughout our hectic student lives, we should always remain aware of what is happening

around us. In this column, I find the most significant things going on around the world and

provide you with a small blurb of all the nitty-gritty details! Here are some of the major events

that have been happening:

General Coronavirus update.

According to the CDC, the total amount of COVID-19 cases in the United States has passed 6 million as of Sept. 8. As New York City continues its reopening process, Governor Cuomo has allowed indoor dining at restaurants to start on Sept. 30 as long as there is a 25% capacity limit. New York’s daily COVID-19 cases are seeing a steady decline, with each county reporting less than 50 daily cases, with the exception of New York City, which has been reporting 200 daily cases. Governor Cuomo announced on Sept. 7 that New York has gone one month with an infection rate below 1%, a new milestone for the state that was once deemed the epicenter of the virus in the United States.

Information from the CDC, the New York Times and NYS Governor website.

Portland Fires

This past week, Oregon has had over 650,000 acres of land destroyed due to wildfires. Governor Kate Brown has been warning Oregon residents that they expect many lives to be lost, and many towns to be destroyed. Heavy winds are expected to make fire storm down on small communities. This isn’t one big fire, but rather several big fires combining to cause uncontrollable damage. Known causes for the wildfires include a 15-year-old boy setting off fireworks, a family using a pyrotechnic device to reveal the gender of an expected child in California, which burned over into Oregon and Washington, and transmission lines giving off sparks that ignite fires. It is currently unknown how many lives have and will be lost at this time.

Information from KGW8 News and the NY Times.

Funeral home finds Michigan woman alive after being declared dead

On Aug. 23, the Southfield Fire Department answered a phone call claiming that a woman was unresponsive. Paramedics responded to the call and arrived on the scene, performed CPR on the 20-year-old woman for 30 minutes. After giving her many tests, it was determined that the woman had no signs of life. While sources claim that the woman was responsive and breathing, paramedics claimed that it was a side effect of the medication the woman was taking. She was transported to a Detroit funeral home, where her family was told to make arrangements for her passing. However, employees of the funeral home found the woman showing vital signs of life. Emergency crews took the woman to a hospital, where she is recovering.