COVID-19: A&S news stories and media coverage

Since the earliest days of the pandemic, A&S scholars, scientists and students from across disciplines have been contributing to the public discourse on the impact of COVID-19.

Featured A&S News Stories

The A&S news team has been covering the pandemic both close to home — on campus and in our city — and around the world. Here are a few examples of some of our coverage:

• A&S experts discuss the impact of COVID-19
  The pandemic is far from over. However, it’s been with us long enough to expose fault lines, inequities and deficiencies in virtually every sector of society. As a result, many have concluded there's a need for a “new normal.” A&S experts weigh in on lessons learned.
• U of T statistician Jeffrey Rosenthal's advice on understanding COVID-19 numbers
  For many weeks, media outlets reported ever increasing numbers of new cases and deaths as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. The disease — caused by a new strain of coronavirus that appeared late last year — spread globally and resulted in hundreds of thousands of cases and thousands of deaths.
• COVID-19 spread portrayed in A&S students’ computer simulation
  Two undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts & Science created a computer simulation showing the effectiveness of social distancing and isolation at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
• Spike in ageism during pandemic
  When COVID-19 first emerged and began to spread, the rush to identify common characteristics shared by those infected included geographic location, lifestyle and pre-existing health conditions. It soon emerged that advanced age was likely a contributing factor in being vulnerable to the virus.
• A&S political scientist shares how the social sciences can help us better understand the COVID-19 pandemic
  During times of crisis like COVID-19, many are looking to the life sciences and medical fields for answers. But Faculty of Arts & Science political scientist Sylvia Bashevkin says the “social science toolkit” is just as important these days.
• Tired of taking the same old walks during the pandemic? Try taking a walk through Indigenous history
  In response to restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people re-discovered simple pleasures like baking, gardening and taking walks. And many used various digital apps to turn their walks into guided cultural or historic tours.

Featured A&S Media Coverage

Meanwhile, many faculty members have commented on myriad aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic in a wide range of media — from local to international in scope — on television and radio, in print, and online. Here are a few examples of A&S experts in the media:

• Department of Sociology professor and chair Scott Schieman advised on best practices for employees working from home in CTV News and the CBC.
• Rafael Gomez, associate professor and director of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources, participated in a panel on TVO’s The Agenda about the pandemic’s effects on small- and medium-sized businesses, and predicted the extent of overall job losses in the Toronto Star (paywall). Gomez also discussed the fate of restaurants specifically on TVO’s The Agenda.
• Professor Margaret MacMillan of the Department of History joined a panel discussion on BBC Radio’s Any Questions program, speaking about analogies to a wartime situation and commenting on global supply chains and government responsibility for public safety. MacMillan also examined the states of societies around the world, and their abilities to cope with the pandemic in a Globe and Mail op-ed.
• Lisa Strug, a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and the Department of Computer Science and director of the Ontario Regional Centre of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI), was featured in a Globe and Mail story about the varying ways COVID-19 affects people in different age groups. Strug was also quoted in a USA Today story about the role of genetics in the extent to which someone is affected by the virus.
• Lynette Ong, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, spoke about various topics related to China and the pandemic including actions taken by the World Health Organization during the early days of the outbreak in CBC News, and Canada-China relations on TVO’s The Agenda.
• Matti Siemiatycki, a professor in the Department of Geography & Planning and interim director of the School of Cities, commented on the various ways in which the pandemic may change Toronto and cities in general in a CTV News story, in CBC News, and in the Toronto Star (paywall).
• Professor Marcel Danesi in the Department of Anthropology commented in the Toronto Star (paywall) on the growing interest among millennials in so-called ‘old-time’ hobbies such as stamp collecting, jigsaw puzzles and knitting, and in the Washington Post (paywall) about the satisfaction experienced in completing a jigsaw puzzle specifically.