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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 24 december 2020
Season's greetings: Cards solicited for COVID-19 patients

SOMERS POINT, N.J. (AP) — field hospital in Cranston,
Joseph Johnson was going Rhode Island, that opened
about his life, getting ready in a former bank call cen-
for the holidays at the Jer- ter. Its operator, Care New
sey Shore, when he started England, asked the com-
to feel ill and wound up in munity to send cards to
a hospital. It turned out he patients, as well as health
had diabetes, and it was care workers caring for
threatening his life. them; more than 5,000
The shock of a sudden ill- have been received so far.
ness and hospitalization "I was expecting an out-
was compounded by the pouring of support from the
coronavirus pandemic. To community, but 5,000 really
slow its spread, most hospi- is a huge response, and we
tals are forbidding visitors, are so grateful," said Raina
meaning patients like John- Smith, a company spokes-
son find themselves alone person.
during what is supposed to In Arizona, a 12-year-old
be a joyous season. boy and his 15-year-old
"Because of the plague, my brother started Project
wife can't come visit; all she Smile, a drive to collect
can do is call and text," he and send cards to hospital-
said. "It's pretty depressing." ized patients. They made
Then one day a small bit 2,400 on their own and
of cheer came his way. are encouraging others to
Tucked next to the cov- send in more.
ered dish on his meal tray Kathleen Schallus sort through holiday cards sent to Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, N.J. on In Cincinnati, a doctor at
at Shore Medical Center Dec. 8, 2020. The Christ Hospital, his three
in Somers Point were two Associated Press children, 10 neighborhood
Christmas cards, hand- children and a kindergar-
made by local children, adults, organizations and from the hospital. "If you could give these to ten class wrote 120 Thanks-
wishing him a speedy re- schoolchildren to either It put out a request for people on the top floor giving cards to COVID-19
covery and a happy holi- make or buy holiday cards cards in late November where my husband died, patients there.
day season. and send them to the insti- and had received nearly I would appreciate it," a Young patients at Arkansas
It was part of a wave of tutions for distribution to pa- 1,000 by early December. woman named Lori wrote. Children's Hospital created
greeting cards being col- tients. The goal is for every- They range from elabo- The holidays arrive as the Christmas cards to sell and
lected independently by one in the hospital to get a rate store-bought cards nation undergoes a grim raise money for the hospi-
hospitals this December for card and at least a tiny bit to hand-drawn construc- December, with the virus tal. A nurse at Lexington,
patients cut off from the of holiday cheer. tion-paper creations from surging to record levels in Virginia's Carilion Stonewall
support of visitors. It does "It was definitely a surprise," grade-school children, many parts of the coun- Jackson Hospital started a
not appear to have any Johnson said of his two several wishing the recipi- try. Hospital beds are filling holiday card drive for pa-
central coordination; many cards, one of which had ent "Happy Hoildays!" or a up and some facilities are tients, and Robert Wood
hospitals just decided on plastic jewels glued to it. "It "Meery Christmas!" opening overflow centers Johnson University Hospi-
their own that it would be a was really cute, and quite A more somber note came in parking lot tents or build- tal Rahway in New Jersey
kind thing to do. enjoyable, and it made me tucked inside a box of ings used for other purpos- has gotten 300 cards from
Realizing this year's unique feel a little better." Christmas cards that was es. schools and local Girl Scout
dynamic, hospitals asked He has since been released short and to the point. One of them is a 353-bed troops.q

Lava lake forms as Hawaii volcano erupts after 2-year break

HONOLULU (AP) — Lava spewed some 2 billion gal- tends to spew large vol-
was rising more than 3 feet lons of lava (10 million cubic umes of sulfur dioxide,
(1 meter) per hour in the meters), enough to cover which forms volcanic
deep crater of a Hawaii 33 acres (13 hectares). The smog, or vog, when it mixes
volcano that began erupt- lava has been contained with oxygen, sunlight and
ing over the weekend after inside the deep crater. other gases in the air. The
a two-year break, scientists It isn't threatening to get state Department of Health
said Tuesday. close to people or cover warned residents to reduce
Kilauea volcano within Ha- property, like when Kilauea their outdoor activities if
waii Volcanoes National erupted from vents in the they encounter volcanic
Park on the Big Island was middle of a residential smog conditions.
gushing molten rock from neighborhood in 2018 and Kilauea is one of the world's
at least two vents inside destroyed more than 700 most active volcanoes,
its summit crater, the U.S. homes. having erupted some 50
Geological Survey said. A Still, the Hawaiian Volcano times in the last century.
lava lake has formed, rising Observatory has warned Between 1983 and 2018,
In this photo provided by the National Park Service, people
watch an eruption from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on the Big Is- about 440 feet (134 meters) residents to beware of po- it erupted almost continu-
land on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. from the bottom of the cra- tentially high levels of vol- ously.
Associated Press ter. canic gas, rockfalls and It had a lava lake in its cra-
Since the eruption began explosions. ter for the last decade of
By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press Sunday night, Kilauea has When erupting, Kilauea that eruption.q