With all this doom and gloom surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, it’s easy to get caught up in negativity. But as the world gradually enters a lockdown, good news is still breaking, and each day we’re making progress on tackling the disease.
From penguins to DJ sets, here are some of the good stories to come out of the coronavirus pandemic and lift people’s spirits.
Animals are returning to Venice
Venice is known for its canals, its Carnival, and, well, pollution. But now that Italy has gone into lockdown, the tourist magnet has been a little quieter than usual.
With its canals and piazzas devoid of people, the animals have taken it upon themselves to roam free.
https://twitter.com/ikaveri/status/1239660248207589383
The fish and swans are back in town! Of course, they never disappeared, but now that humans have cleared out of the streets, there are more of them than ever.
Now there’s been a bit of debate online as to the legitimacy of these claims. Firstly, the pics from the above tweet were taken in Burano, an island just off Venice. Secondly, there has not necessarily been a reduction in water pollution.
While the canal water definitely is less murky and the mayor’s office has attributed this to a lack of boat traffic, it’s not due to less pollution but rather because all the sediment has finally been able to settle on the sea floor.
Elsewhere in Italy, nature was also reclaiming the streets, although the animals were a little bit less beautiful.
https://twitter.com/Cosodelirante/status/1239203236927680512
Penguins can run free in aquariums
Over in Chicago, the Shedd Aquarium took advantage of its empty halls to let a couple of rockhopper penguins roam free.
Edward and Annie are a pair of penguins who are quite frankly much more deserving of the space than any human I know, and I wish them well on their brief expedition.
The adventure continues! 🐧🐧
This morning, Edward and Annie explored Shedd’s rotunda. They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Springtime is nesting season for penguins at Shedd, and this year is no different! (1/3) 👇 pic.twitter.com/VdxN3oQAfe— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020
“While this may be a strange time for us, these days feel normal for animals at Shedd,” the aquarium explained in a later tweet.
“Our caregivers are constantly providing new experiences for the animals to explore and express their natural behaviors with.”
More of this content, please.
Australia is getting more test kits
Back home, around 100,000 new COVID-19 test kits were shipped to Australia on Tuesday. The new equipment can turn around results in just three hours and was fast-tracked onto the market by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
This means that more people can be tested for the virus, which is excellent news. Until now, only people who had returned from an overseas hotspot or who had close contact with a confirmed case were eligible for testing. Many more people displayed symptoms but were not able to get tested because they did not meet this critrea.
Now more and more Aussies will able to be tested for the disease, and it will be done faster than ever. Win, win.
Kids are growing up in the cutest way possible
There comes a time when every child must utter their first profanity. For some, the coronavirus pandemic is that time.
This British boy asked for permission before he let rip that the coronavirus is “bloody serious.” He’s not wrong.
I know I’m not allowed to use this word but corona virus is bloody serious pic.twitter.com/kLjNccPDVj
— Max (@maxgribben99) March 16, 2020
They grow up so quickly.
Italians are having fun on their balconies
In perhaps the most Italian response to the coronavirus lockdown, people have began singing classics with one another off of their balconies.
A whole Roman neighborhood singing a popular Italian song “Volare” from their balconies and waving at each other. An amazing flash mob to lift the spirit in these crazy times ❤️ #Italy #coronavirus #forzaitalia #roma #flashmob #love pic.twitter.com/xjeZTeO0GO
— Jenna Vehviläinen (@jennavehvi) March 13, 2020
The phenomenon spread pretty quickly, and so did the memes.
Stan Twitter even decided to swap the audio of some of the footage. Katy Perry, bless her soul, was duped by an edited clip that claimed to show Italians singing “Roar” off their balconies. It wasn’t to be – the original footage is of Italians singing the national anthem.
https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/1238964946316046337
Back to the real footage – it’s not just classics that Italians have been singing. One guy performed a whole DJ set off his balcony, complete with lights. While in some places this would result with a visit from the cops, *cough* Sydney *cough*, this set was apparently well-receievd by his neighbours. You can even hear them singing along.
The guys who hoarded hand sanitiser were forced to donate it
When two Tennessee brothers, Matt and Noah Colvin, bought 17,000 bottles of hand sanitiser after the cornavirus pandemic had broken out, the world collectively groaned. The two began flipping the sanitiser for a profit on Amazon almost immediately, until the website caught wind and shut down their operation.
Left with thousands of bottles of hand sanitiser at a time when supermarket and pharmacy shelves were bare, the brothers received a bunch of hatemail for trying to profit off a crisis. Eventually, the two buckled under the pressure and donated the bottles to “people in need” across the state.
So it’s a bad-news story turned good. Let’s hope Tennesseans’ hands are slick with sanitiser for weeks to come.
Pandemic music slaps
New Orleans bounce artist Gotty Boi Chris dropped this coronavirus-inspired anthem and it’s a goddamn banger and a half. Probably the only thing keeping me sane at home is “FUCK THE CORONA”.
