Missouri Woman Grieving Eight Coronavirus Deaths in Her Family Provides Free Food and Other Supplies for Those in Need

The novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 50,000 across the country. But one woman, who is grieving the deaths of several family members in Atlanta who died following COVID-19 infections, has focused on helping others in the face of tragedy. Shana Jones, who lives in Missouri and is also coping with her own health issues, has been helping her community with a "Grab and Go" table set up outside her home. The table offers various supplies, including books, toys, canned goods, bagged lunches, toiletries, and cleaning products, which are available for free to anyone in need. "Born and raised in Georgia. I have family members who have died. It's hard, I can not go down there to see my family so right now, I'm doing this to take it off my mind," Jones told Missouri's KTVI station. "I have lupus, high blood pressure and diabetes. I cannot go out because I'm [at] high risk. I still wanted to help my community be involved." Thankful for her kindness and generosity during this challenging period, several residents in the area have made donations to Jones, while others have taken items they need.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted people across the country help their local communities during this time of need, despite difficult conditions. Missouri has seen at least 6,321 confirmed infections and 218 deaths from the coronavirus as of Thursday, according to the latest report from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Earlier this week, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, and other Chinese officials and institutions, claiming that the country's attempts "to suppress information, arrest whistleblowers, and deny the contagious nature of the 2019 novel Coronavirus led to loss of life and severe economic consequences in Missouri," the office of the attorney general announced. Schmitt said in a statement: "COVID-19 has done irreparable damage to countries across the globe, causing sickness, death, economic disruption, and human suffering. In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real - thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table. "The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease. They must be held accountable for their actions." The lawsuit claims that despite Chinese health authorities having "serious evidence of human-to-human transmission" of the virus in China by around late December, they did not report the outbreak to the World Health Organization until December 31. "Defendants are responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians, and they should be held accountable," the lawsuit states. Around the same time, a protest was held in Jefferson City, the state capital, against the governor's shelter-in-place order, which requires residents to remain at home, while restaurants, bars and other places of public gathering remain closed. The rally, organized by the group Reopen Missouri, saw many protesters without face masks and ignoring social distancing guidelines. The director of Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services, Dr. Randall Williams, noted the rally was in violation of the stay-at-home order. However, no arrests were made by police at the protest, ABC17 reported. A post on the group's Facebook page states: "The whole premise of shelter in place is based on the arrogant idea that others must risk their health so you can protect yours. There is nothing virtuous about ignoring the largely invisible army required to allow people to shelter in place. "Our economy can't withstand much more of this ... If it collapses, so will the rest of the world, and the number of deaths resulting will make this virus look like it never even happened... "Sheltering-in-place is not living, and most likely not even working...because all we're doing is changing and extending the dates we will be exposed to it!," the post read. Another post on the Facebook page read: "This virus (or whatever it is) is already circulating. Millions of people have already encountered it, as it's been circulating around the world probably since last September. You WILL have to confront this thing, if you haven't already. There is no way around it, unless you lock yourself up in your house and it somehow doesn't manage to hop on some mail or some groceries that you ordered online." The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates states with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases.