Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Wiley - PMC COVID-19 Collection logoLink to Wiley - PMC COVID-19 Collection
. 2020 Aug 2;36(4):17–19. doi: 10.1111/1467-8322.12591

Between Georgia and Ohio: Constructing the Covid‐19 Disaster in the United States

Jaymelee J Kim 1,✉, Amanda J Reinke 1, Erin R Eldridge 1, Maya Grant 2
PMCID: PMC7436821  PMID: 32834340

Abstract

As the Covid‐19 pandemic continues to unfold around the world, governments engage in diverse decision‐making processes that shape everyday living patterns, rituals and livelihoods. This article compares and examines state‐level governmental influences on the social construction of the Covid‐19 disaster in the United States, specifically analyzing the states of Ohio and Georgia. The authors interrogate how governing bodies and officials in these states differentially construct the crisis and reshape social norms during periods of liminality.

 

References

  1. Afifi, W.A. et al. 2012. The impact of uncertainty and communal coping on mental health following natural disasters. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping 25(3): 329–347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bynum, R. 2020. Georgia governor weighs ‘new options’ after facing coronavirus backlash. Time, 7 April.
  3. County Cobb 2020. Cobb County COVID-19 community hub. https://cobb-county-Covid-19-hub-cobbcountyga.hub.arcgis.com/.
  4. Cresswell, T. 2020. Mobility: The lifeblood of modernity and the virus that threatens to undo it. Mobile Lives Forum, 18 March. https://en.forumviesmobiles.org/2020/03/18/mobility-lifeblood-modernity-and-virus-threatens-undo-it-13266.
  5. Cross, I. 2020. The one thing Ohioans do together during coronavirus: The daily DeWine press conference. News 5 Cleveland, 26 March. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/continuing-coverage/coronavirus/the-one-thing-ohioans-do-together-during-coronavirus-the-daily-dewine-press-conference.
  6. Department of Public Health (n.d.). COVID-19 daily status report. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Department of Public Health. https://dph.georgia.gov/Covid-19-daily-status-report.
  7. Desjardins, M. et al. 2020. Rapid surveillance of COVID-19 in the United States using a prospective space-time scan statistic: Detecting and evaluating emerging clusters. Applied Geography 118: 1–7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Goodnough, A. & Haberman M. 2020. White House rejects CD.C.’.s coronavirus reopening plan. The New York Times, 7 May.
  9. Hallerman, T. 2020. As Georgia fights coronavirus, Kathleen Toomey catches spotlight. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6 April.
  10. Irons, R. 2020. Quarantime: Disruption of the routine and the global suspension of lived temporalities. Medical Anthropology at UCL blog, 3 April. https://medanthucl.com/.
  11. Jordheim, H. et al. 2020. Epidemic times. Somatosphere, 2 April. http://somatosphere.net/2020/epidemic-times.html/.
  12. Namigadde, A. 2020. Coronavirus in Ohio: Mutual aid network emerges to help neighbors in need. WOSU Radio. https://radio.wosu.org/(accessed 5 April).
  13. Office of the Governor 2020a. Governor Kemp names coronavirus task force. 2 March. https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases.
  14. Office of the Governor 2020b. Kemp, Toomey, Carden, Bryson give COVID-19 update. 1 April. https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases.
  15. Office of the Governor 2020c. Executive Order 04.02.20.01. 2 April.
  16. Office of the Governor 2020d. Executive Order 04.03.20.01. 3 April.
  17. Office of the Governor 2020e. Executive Order 04.03.20.02. 3 April.
  18. Office of the Governor 2020f. Kemp, Duncan, Ralston announce plans to extend public health state of emergency. 8 April. https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases.
  19. Ohio Department of Health n.d. COVID-19. https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/ (accessed 5 April 2020).
  20. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services 2020. Ohio jobless claims soar to 468,414. The Highland County Press. https://highlandcountypress.com (accessed 5 April 2020).
  21. Sopory, P. et al. 2019. Communicating uncertainty during public health emergency events: A systematic review. Review of Communication Research 7: 67–108. [Google Scholar]
  22. Sun, L. & Faas A.J. 2018. Social production of disasters and disaster social constructs: An exercise in disambiguation and reframing. Disaster Prevention and Management 27(5): 623–635. [Google Scholar]
  23. Thomassen, B. 2016. Liminality and the modern: Living through the in-between. New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  24. Tierney, K.J. 2007. From the margins to the mainstream? Disaster research at the crossroads. Annual Review of Sociology 33: 503–525. [Google Scholar]
  25. Warren, M.S. & Skillman S.W. 2020. Mobility changes in response to COVID-19. Descartes Labs. https://www.descarteslabs.com/.

Articles from Anthropology Today are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES