Each week, we answer frequently asked questions about life during the coronavirus crisis. If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." Does putting a reusable mask in the oven for 30 minutes at 165 degrees Fahrenheit kill the virus that causes COVID-19 and other pathogens?

Thanks to long, dark winters, Minnesota is the perfect breeding ground for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Add COVID-19 to that already dicey mix, and you have a mental health powder keg. School used to be one of the few places screen-inundated kids could go for a respite from devices. But now, in an era where, for many, distance learning is the norm for the foreseeable future, school is screens.

Like most doctors, Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, grabs a wipe to disinfect her stethoscope every time she examines a patient who might have an infectious disease. But the usually ubiquitous canisters of commercially-made wipes have been in shorter supply during the past few months.

Last spring, when Cliff Willmeng, RN, was working at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, he'd take off his personal protective equipment (PPE) in the same hallway where children were transported from ambulances to the neighboring Children's Hospital emergency department.

Olivia Schultz was at the Venice Carnival when the pandemic hit. Her trip to the festival came to a screeching halt, and less than two weeks later, so did her stint studying abroad in Italy. Her next stop was quarantine at her parents’ house in St. Separated from her Colorado College classmates, she sat in front of the TV all day and spent hours scrolling through social media.

Remember how hard it was to buy hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes back in March? Not many people were stockpiling portable air cleaners or purifiers back then. But engineers and doctors say these devices could play an important role in protecting your family from COVID-19 — especially as people start spending more time indoors as outdoor air temperatures fall in the Northern Hemisphere.

When Paula Vasquez Alzate teaches her husband to dance at their home in Burnsville, she tells him to feel the music in his stomach. From the time she was in her mother’s belly, merengue, salsa, and vallenato music has felt so visceral, “it’s as if it’s part of my digestive system, from my guts,” she says.

At a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, nurses allege they were retaliated against for speaking out about safety concerns, including inadequate PPE.

To battle COVID-19 effectively, doctors in Minnesota need to respond swiftly and strategically to adapt to changes in protocol and care. Despite high patient volume, shortages of equipment, and a disease that’s not wholly understood, these health care workers are innovating process and practice with unprecedented collaboration between systems.

When Lonnie McQuirter, owner of a beloved gas station in south Minneapolis, saw the clip of

On a Sunday afternoon in early June, two weeks after George Floyd’s murder by police, nine Minneapolis City Council members gathered on a stage at Powderhorn Park. Big letters below the stage spelled out DEFUND POLICE. But in official language, the council deliberately avoids that term. The “defunding” terminology “sometimes can be powerful and helpful, and other times it can be confusing and maybe even scary,” says city council member Cam Gordon.

The show must (eventually) go on: A single light illuminates the empty stage at the Jungle Theater, in Uptown. It’s August and Cabaret should be wrapping its summer run at the Guthrie. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra should be practicing for September performances of Beethoven’s 7th at the Ordway.

When people in Houston find out that Hilary Fairbrother, MD, works in emergency medicine, they give her an extra-wide berth — even though she always wears a mask. At home, if she has a sniffle, she wonders if it's allergies or COVID-19. And she can't forget what it was like to put a previously healthy 35-year-old on a ventilator.

Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. When Daniel DelCastillo, DMD, takes his disposable gown off after a day of work at his dental office in Miami, he sprays it down with a mixture of water and Pinesol, then carefully wipes it down with a towel.

Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. In March, Jason Goldman, MD, couldn't find a supplier to sell him personal protective equipment (PPE) for his independent general practice in Coral Springs, Florida. As he watched COVID-19 cases pop up, he resorted to begging family and friends to share their personal supplies of N95s: "You're not a doctor," he'd say, "so can I please use them to see my patients.

When police surrounded a group of volunteer medics after curfew ended a protest on Sunday night in St. Paul, Mary Roach was mystified. As a cop zip-tied her, she asked why she was being arrested and reminded him that medics were exempt from the curfew.