"Artists in the time of Coronavirus" is an ongoing virtual exhibition published by Artblog - an independent online publication that fosters dialog and community through commentary and discussion about art and culture. Their primary focus is on the Philadelphia region and they have received over 200 submissions. Their twentieth post of the series included artists, Gerri Spilka and Laura Lyn Stern, both currently on exhibit at Eilandarts in Merchantville, NJ. If you want to participate, send your statement (250 words max) and 2 photos to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. More details here. Stay safe and stay positive, and come back in the days to come for more art!

As government leaders consider how to reopen society, officials in many countries have latched onto the idea of issuing “immunity passports” to people who have recovered from COVID-19. In the United States, immunity passports could “have some merit under certain circumstances,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN this month. However, the concept of immunity passports raises other concerns as they could become a condition for traveling on an airplane or attending concerts or sporting events or divide society into two groups: those who have immunity and can resume normal life, and those who are required to remain under lockdown.

On April 24, 2020 the number of American deaths from Covid-19 infections surpassed 50,000 and, as the month of April draws to a close, testing has yet to ramp up to the levels experts say would give an accurate picture of the spread of the coronavirus.  A survey of infectious 21 disease modeling experts and researchers by Thomas McAndrew and Nicholas Reich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst makes for sobering reading. The experts predict the U.S. death rate to increase to approximately 70,000 by May 9, and to reach 150,000 deaths by the end of the year.

Camden County's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will be delivering approximately 25,000 pieces of assorted personal protective equipment (PPE) - including protective gowns, N-95 masks, surgical masks, protective gloves, face shields, and hand sanitizer - from its inventory to local OEMs who will then distribute directly to 18 long-term care facilities in Camden County. According to Freeholder Jon Young, last week the County Health Department took over inspections of 56 long-term care facilities from the state in order to audit and inspect operations. "One of the first things to become clear upon our initial audits was a severe shortage of PPE." 

While a safe, effective vaccine is still more than a year away, researchers are rushing to repurpose existing drugs and non-drug therapies as well as testing promising experimental drugs that were already in clinical trials. More than 70 vaccine are also in development around the world, with at least five in preliminary testing in people - one in Seattle and one in China. Reuters offers a look at some of the experimental drugs, vaccines and other therapies currently in development.

The community shared lots of "thank-yous" on social media for the efforts of the Merchantville Police Department and Merchantville Fire Department - Niagara Fire Company in bringing the Easter Bunny around town on Saturday, April 11th to compensate for the Covid-19 cancellation of our annual Egg Hunt. As promised, on a beautiful afternoon, the EB tour visited every street in Merchantville bringing kids and parents outside - while maintaining a safe social distance - to enjoy seeing and waving to this folklore symbol of Easter as he passed their home.