All tagged COVID

The complicated world of contact tracing

The complicated world of contact tracing

Madeline Laguaite

Many students choose to take it easy during their summer break. But instead of spending the remaining days of her summer vacation sleeping in, Sombal Bari is on the phone for hours at a time to stop the spread of COVID-19 through her job as a contact tracer.

Bari, from the southwest Georgia town of Cairo, is a student in the master’s program for social work and public health at the University of Georgia. She has a passion for promoting health in rural areas, so when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the UGA College of Public Health sent out an email looking for available students, she answered the call.

The ‘last responders’: A new normal for funeral directors

The ‘last responders’: A new normal for funeral directors

Madeline Laguaite

Billy Hendrix, a 30-year veteran of the funeral industry, thought he had seen it all. But the last few months have changed his mind. He says he has experienced ups and downs in the business over the years. But he said he’s never seen anything affect what he does quite like COVID-19, which has put some funerals on hold and limited which services can be offered.

“Sometimes we feel defeated — that we’re not giving our family everything that we should and we’re restricted to some degree,” Hendrix said.