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World
Territorial Impact of COVID-19
Governments at various levels across the world are taking measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in their jurisdictions. The boundless nature of the disease requires focused coordination effort between governments to slow travel patterns and safeguard public health. A recently published report, The Territorial Impact of COVID-19: Managing the Crisis Across Levels of Government, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), analyzed differences in health care governance across member states. This map highlights the different levels of decentralization of healthcare with countries in dark green displaying high levels of decentralization, and light green low level. In federal countries, with high levels of decentralization, most of the responsibility for health care falls to state governments, whereas in unitary countries, healthcare most frequently is a regional-level responsibility. The authors of the report advance ten takeaways to build more resilient responses to the pandemic, including launching multi-level coordination bodies to minimize the risk of a fragmented crisis response, promoting cross-border coordination, and fostering continued dialogue between health care response agencies.
This map depicts the level of decentralization of healthcare authorities in OECD member states. Click on the map to learn more.
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United States
Presidential Inauguration
Today marks the end of United States President Donald Trump’s term and the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. In light of the recent attack on the United States Capitol Building on January 6th, security in Washington D.C. has been increased dramatically. Several metro stations have been closed and seven-foot unscalable fences have been added around the building’s perimeter. In addition, law enforcement has expanded the areas closed to traffic. The inauguration is set to start at 10:30 am with the arrival of Biden and Harris at the Capitol Building. The ceremony will continue at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 2:25 pm for the Wreath Laying Ceremony. Lastly, at 3:15 pm Biden and Harris will be escorted to the White House. Due to COVID-19 regulations, there is no gala following the inauguration and in-person crowds are limited to 1,000 people.
This map depicts the organization of scheduled events for the United States Presidential Inauguration. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: AFP News
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China
Trapped Miners
Chinese rescue crews continued their efforts to save up to 22 miners trapped more than 600 meters underground. The men were trapped at the Hushan mine near Yantai in eastern Shandong province on January 10th when an explosion damaged the exit and the communications system of the mine, which was still under construction. A week later, at least 12 miners were found to be still alive after a note retrieved from the mine said: “We hope the rescue won’t stop.” As of Tuesday, the located miners were able to commute with the rescuers via a wired telephone. They also received more medical and food supplies. Reports indicated one worker was in a coma after sustaining a head injury in the blast, two were “mildly unwell” and eight in good health. The fate of the 10 other miners and the cause of the explosion both remain unclear. Mining accidents are common in China, with the most recent incident occurring last December when 23 miners died in a carbon monoxide leak at a coal mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
This map depicts the location of the Hushan mine and where the miners are trapped. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Estimated to hold about 10 million tons of asphalt and approximately 250 feet deep, the world’s largest deposit of natural asphalt is located on what island nation?
A: Trinidad
Located in southwest Trinidad in the village of La Brea, the Pitch Lake measures approximately 100 acres (41 hectares). The asphalt in the lake is an emulsion of water, gas, bitumen, and other mineral matter (largely fine silica sand and a lesser amount of fine clay). The lake was first recorded by Sir Waiter Raleigh in the year 1595 when he used the asphalt to caulk his battered ship. Pitch Lake attracts about 20,000 visitors annually and occasionally, people swim in the waters which are said to be therapeutic because of the sulfur content. The site also has significance to the indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago who believe the lake was formed when the winged god opened up the earth to swallow a village as punishment for eating the sacred hummingbirds believed to hold the spirits of their ancestors.
Source
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Q: The first ever Presidential Inauguration in the United States took place in 1789 in what city, approximately 204 miles (330 km) from the current Capitol Building in Washington, DC?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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