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THURSDAY • January 21, 2021
COVID-19
It’s not
‘the fl u’
and masks
do work
Addressing four areas of
too-common COVID-19
misinformation
By KALEB LAY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Misinforma-
tion surrounding the COVID-19
pandemic has proven persistent,
even a year after the fi rst case of
the disease was documented in
the United States. Despite wide-
spread and consistent messaging
from public health experts, false-
hoods about the danger and
severity of COVID-19 and mea-
sures aimed at protecting against
it have become commonplace.
Some of that misinformation
has been spread in letters to the
editor or in the comments section
of The Observer’s Facebook page.
This article will address some of
those claims and provide the fac-
tual information from reliable
sources.
‘It’s just like the fl u’
A common misconception is
comparing COVID-19 to the sea-
sonal fl u. Other similar sympa-
thies include beliefs that nearly
everyone who catches COVID-19
recovers or that COVID-19 death
rates are negligible, near zero
percent.
Some people experience only
mild symptoms from COVID-19,
which often mirror those from
the fl u, including fever, chills,
muscle ache and fatigue. Others
may experience no symptoms at
all and risk spreading COVID-19
unknowingly.
However, COVID-19 is far
deadlier than the fl u.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
an estimated 22,000 people in the
United States died from infl uenza
during the 2019-20 fl u season,
34,000 died during the 2018-19
season and 61,000 died during the
2017-18 season.
During the worst of the past
three fl u seasons, in 2017-18, the
CDC estimated around 45 million
contracted infl uenza. In the three
fl u seasons since 2017 combined,
an estimated 118.5 million cases
of the fl u resulted in 117,000 U.S.
deaths, for a death rate of roughly
.099%.
By comparison, roughly
24 million confi rmed cases of
COVID-19 have resulted in more
than 400,000 deaths in the U.S.
in a single year of the pandemic.
That comes to a death rate of
See, COVID-19/Page 5A
• $1.50
Good day to our valued subscriber Kelly Martin of Cove
Fiddle Club Zooms
Music teacher’s mastery
of virtual teaching
platform leads to success
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Music teacher Carla
Arnold is Central Elementary School’s go-to
person for many technology questions related
to distance education.
The educator, who helps put on workshops
on distance education technology, delights in
fi elding queries about the subject, just as she
does teaching students online.
Make no mistake, Arnold would prefer to
instruct students in person, but when she has
to do it virtually, she embraces the task with
a zeal befi tting her glass-is-always-half-full
perspective.
“There are so many options for doing
things (with distance education),” she said.
Arnold puts these options to the test each
school day afternoon during meetings of the
La Grande School District’s La Grande Fiddle
Club, which is run in conjunction with the
Grande Ronde Symphony. The club’s mem-
bers meet online to play the violin, cello, bass
and other related instruments under the guid-
ance of Arnold, Grande Ronde Symphony
members Denise Hattan and Kathy Thimmes,
and additional educators. They deliver the
instruction via the online meeting platform
Zoom.
Central Elementary Principal Suzy
Mayes credited Arnold with developing an
excellent understanding of Zoom, which
Central used earlier this school year when
teachers could provide only online instruc-
tion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayes
said Arnold is so respected for her expertise
that some teachers refer to her as Central’s
“Zoom Queen.”
The pandemic restrictions still dictate that
Arnold must lead her string club sessions
virtually — but that’s not necessarily a bad
thing. Going online has helped the club not
only survive but thrive. Prior to the pandemic,
the club had a little more than 30 members
and met once a week during the school year.
Today, the club boasts 47 members and meets
every school day afternoon.
Arnold attributed the club’s growing pop-
ularity to the fact students now have fewer
activities, such as athletics, competing for
their attention and time due to the pandemic.
“Kids have always been curious about
playing stringed instruments. Because there
are now no sports, our musicians don’t have to
make choices between sports and music,” said
Arnold, who credited Mayes and LG School
District Director of Education Scott Carpenter
Dick Mason/The Observer
Carla Arnold, music teacher at Central Elementary School, La Grande, teaches students in
the La Grande Fiddle Club virtually on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
“In these times especially we crave being with other
people, especially the kids. On Zoom, we can laugh and
giggle and tease and get teased and yet still hunker down
and learn the fi ne art of playing such cool instruments.”
— Carla Arnold, Central Elementary School music teacher
with providing valuable support for the online
Fiddle Club.
Arnold is thankful for distance technology
because it gives the strings club a chance to
continue meeting and helps fi ll a void when
many feel isolated because necessary state
COVID-19 rules restrict public gatherings.
“In these times especially we crave being
with other people, especially the kids. On
Zoom, we can laugh and giggle and tease
and get teased and yet still hunker down and
learn the fi ne art of playing such cool instru-
ments,” said Arnold, who also now is pro-
viding in-person instruction to Central classes
each school day.
Teaching music online can provide an
advantage over in-person instruction because
students can more easily focus on their
teacher.
“Teachers can spotlight themselves so
students can see up close demonstrations
of playing or fi nger patterns,” Arnold said.
“Having the focus on the teacher without the
sounds of kids doodling on their instruments
helps many students focus on the concept
being demonstrated.”
Zoom also allows small groups of stu-
dents to play together or receive individual-
ized instruction in virtual breakout rooms,
while Arnold teaches a large group. She said
See, Music/Page 5A
Biden takes the helm as U.S. president
By JONATHAN LEMIRE,
ZEKE MILLER and
ALEXANDRA JAFFE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden
became the 46th president of the
United States on Wednesday, Jan.
20, declaring that “democracy has
prevailed” as he took the helm of
a deeply divided nation and inher-
ited a confl uence of crises argu-
ably greater than any faced by his
predecessors.
Biden’s inauguration came
at a time of national tumult and
uncertainty, a ceremony of resil-
ience as the hallowed American
democratic rite unfurled at a U.S.
Capitol battered by an insurrec-
tionist siege just two weeks ago.
The chilly Washington morning
was dotted with snow fl urries, but
the sun emerged just before Biden
took the oath of offi ce, the qua-
drennial ceremony persevering
even though it was encircled by
security forces evocative of a
war zone and devoid of crowds
because of the coronavirus
Andrew Harnik/Associated Press/East Oregonian
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden
holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday,
See, President/Page 5A Jan. 20, 2021, as their children Ashley and Hunter watch.
INDEX
Business ....... 1B
Classified ...... 4B
Comics .......... 7B
Crossword .... 4B
WEATHER
Dear Abby .... 8B
Horoscope .... 4B
Nation ........... 8A
Lottery........... 3A
SATURDAY
Obituaries ..... 3A
Opinion ......... 4A
Spiritual ........ 6A
State .............. 7A
Full forecast on the back of B section
Tonight
Friday
29 LOW
37/25
A snow squall
Partly sunny
SCHOOLS REOPENING UPDATE
CONTACT US
541-963-3161
Issue 9
3 sections, 24 pages
La Grande, Oregon
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