COVID-19 and Novel Coronavirus Updates

NCSE answers questions about coronavirus for teachers.

Person wearing a mask on a commuter train
Person wearing a mask on a commuter train
How do I decide what’s safe, Part I: Assembling your tool kit
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. Everybody’s got a lot of questions: Is it safe to go back to school? How about the skate park? My friend’s basement? In this article, we’re going…
Math problem and an overhead shot of a sewage treatement facility
Math problem and an overhead shot of a sewage treatement facility
Of math, and poo
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. How can we know how much coronavirus is out there without massive testing? If we want to start sending people back to…
Yarn representation of a network.
Yarn representation of a network.
Contact tracing: disease detectives in action
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. Will contact tracing help ensure people’s safety as shelter-in-place orders are easing up throughout the world? The…
COVID-19 closure sign in storefront window
COVID-19 closure sign in storefront window
How can we tell we’re ready to reopen?
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. When I wrote about the question "How Will We Know if Social Distancing Is Working?" on March 27, 2020, there had been 2,110 deaths from COVID-19 in…
A scientist working on a vaccine
A scientist working on a vaccine
Antibody Hopes and Vaccine Dreams, Part 2
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. Why will it take so long to develop a vaccine against coronavirus? Let's figure this out together. Let's agree that our end goal…
Scientist examining an antibody test.
Scientist examining an antibody test.
Antibody hopes and vaccine dreams, part I
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. Are antibody tests the "golden ticket" the media is making them out to be? While Americans have been asked to shelter in…
two hands wearing gloves and shaking
two hands wearing gloves and shaking
Can I catch COVID-19 from that?
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. How do scientists figure out how long the novel coronavirus remains infectious on surfaces? Just when you thought you had enough…
facemask
facemask
Don't jump the gun
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. Should we all wear masks? Will anti-malarial drugs be the cure we so desperately seek? And what about those poor pangolins? We…
social distancing sign
social distancing sign
Is social distancing working?
Check out our entire series explaining the science involved in the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to receive our coronavirus update each week. How will we know whether social distancing is working to stop the spread of COVID-19? It might be by studying graphs like these: