Photo: Wikimedia Commons

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e cannot avoid coronavirus, or Covid-19. It's shutting down Church facilities right and left, and this isn't the end. We're happy that Josie is here once again to bring as an international perspective on things.

Coronavirus Hysteria

So let's list out all of the Covid-19 madness, shall we? First off, the Church has announced meeting restrictions in Europe. The Rome Italy Temple has also closed earlier than planned and will remain so indefinitely. A meetinghouse in Newcastle, United Kingdom will remain closed after a ward member was diagnosed with Covid-19. The Seattle Washington Temple has also closed its doors, the first temple in the United States to do so.

To add to the fun, a student in attendance at Brigham Young University's universe-altering win over Gonzaga also has the disease! You knew something was going to come around and ruin that sweet victory, didn't you?

It's not all bad. The Saints in Hong Kong are finding creative ways to minister to each other and worship even as they cannot meet in person. The Church also donated 100,000 masks to Daegu, South Korea, an area hard hit by the viral outbreak.

International News

* Latter-day Saint Charities donated water tanks to a primary school property in the Solomon Islands, where the students previously had to walk a kilometer into the forest to retrieve drinking water when they were thirsty.

* Cambodia celebrates the first generation from the BYU PathwayConnect. Twenty-one students completed the program and many are continuing on to other studies.

* A small congregation on Waiheke Island in New Zealand has begun holding Sunday meetings on the island instead of traveling 1.5 hours by car, ferry, and bus to get to a chapel in Auckland. One of the families stopped attending in Auckland because the ferry cost alone for their family of seven was over $100, more than they could spare each week for transportation.

* Elder Bednar becomes the first apostle to visit Sudan. Why Sudan?! It's a fascinating visit, and it's interesting to see where Church leadership engages even when there isn't more th...