TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: Monsoon rains and rising rivers submerged a dozen districts in the greater Jakarta area starting Wednesday after extreme torrential rains hit on New Year’s Eve, causing landslides in hilly areas on the outskirts of the capital that buried scores of people. It’s the worst flooding in the area since 2007, when 80 people were killed over 10 days. More than a thousand soldiers and health workers sprayed disinfectant in hard-hit areas on Sunday to anticipate possible diseases spread by flooding, such as dengue and leptospirosis, a potentially fatal disease spread by rat’s urine, said Ridwan Carman, who is in charge of emergency response and recovery for the Indonesian Red Cross. About 11,000 health workers were deployed to provide medical care for people affected by the flooding, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said in a statement. He said there had been no recorded cases of leptospirosis, tetanus or serious waterborne diseases. In Lebak, a district in neighboring Banten province, where flash floods and mudslides swept away more than 1,700 houses and destroyed several villages, rescuers were still searching for a 7-year-old boy reportedly dragged away by flash flooding that killed at least nine people, said Zainal Arifin, a local search and rescue agency chief. He said mudslides that covered much of the area, blackouts and lack of telecommunications were hampering the search efforts. Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday failed to meet survivors in the devastated village of Sukajaya, where the highest number of deaths were reported, as his helicopter was unable to land due to bad weather, the presidential secretariat said in a statement. The village is in the hardest-hit district of Bogor, where 16 people were killed by flash floods and landslides. Waters have receded in most parts of greater Jakarta, allowing many residents to return and clean up, but scores of tightly packed settlements close to rivers that often suffer from floods during the rainy season remained inundated or covered in mud and debris. Tens of thousands of people remained crammed in damp shelters, mostly in western Jakarta and its satellite city of Bekasi. Government data on Sunday showed that some 92,200 people were still unable to return home as the filthy waters submerged their houses up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) high. In a cramped and damp emergency shelter at a sports center in south Jakarta, mothers breast fed their babies near piles of smelly wet garbage. “My baby is not sleeping as the rain comes in, the wind comes in,” Yuyun Yuniarti said while holding her 7-month-old baby in a sling. “It is disgusting here, but we are stuck.” Yuniarti said food and medicine appeared to be sufficient, with most shelters visited in recent days by authorities and private organizations delivering regular supplies of food. A temporary clinic was treating patients close to where Yuniarti was sleeping, including many suffering from respiratory illnesses. Save the Children, an international child rights organization, expressed its concern about the dire situation for children. At least six kids have died from the floods and tens of thousands have had to leave their homes in Jakarta. “We call on all involved to make sure children are kept safe and have a roof over their heads, and food to eat,” Dino Satria, Save the Children’s humanitarian director in Indonesia, said in a statement. He said his organization would provide school kits, tents and hygiene kits to prevent the outbreak of diseases. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said that more downpours were forecast for the capital in the coming days, and that the potential for extreme rainfall would continue until next month across the vast archipelago nation. The government on Friday started cloud seeding in an attempt to divert rain clouds from reaching greater Jakarta to prevent possible flooding, the agency said. Indonesia is hit by deadly floods each year, and Jakarta, the capital of Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is not immune. But this year’s floods have been particularly bad, with nearly 400,000 people seeking refuge in some 270 shelters across the greater metropolitan area as floodwaters reached up to 6 meters (19 feet) in some places.

SOLUTION: Indonesia’s flooded capital disinfected to fend off disease.

PROBLEM: Instead, he said, he met them on their front lawn, where he popped the girl’s joint back in. “It is a very easy thing to do, but it made a huge difference for them,” he said. Gulbransen has had to rethink how he runs his pediatric practice on Long Island since the coronavirus crisis started. “We’re in the heart of the storm,” said Gulbransen. His practice remains open and now also welcomes some non-pediatric patients who have had trouble being seen by a doctor. He said his practice has been physically rearranged to keep sick patients away from those who are well. Other recent adjustments include doing telemedicine, although he is unsure how insurance reimbursements will work with such consultations. He said he was worried about his pediatric patients picking up on their parents’ anxieties, as well as the health and financial welfare of his staff. “The anxiety level is palpable,” said Gulbransen. “But it’s a privilege,” he said, adding, “you’re here for your patients. You gotta push and do whatever it takes.”  New York state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, had a coronavirus death toll exceeding 10,000 as of Tuesday, out of more than 28,000 across the country. The disease looks different in children than it tends to with adults, said Gulbransen. “We had a 6-week-old with COVID, and really (the infant had) no other symptom than a runny nose,” said Gulbransen. He has also treated “quite a few toddlers and plenty of schoolage children,” who were all doing well. Cases of the illness involving children are “dwarfed by adult cases, although some of the (child) cases can be quite severe,” according to Dr. Lorry Rubin, director of pediatric infectious diseases at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, part of the Northwell Health network. Sometimes previously healthy children, often adolescents, develop pneumonia “and that can be severe and possibly lead to them needing oxygen or ventilatory support,” Rubin said. Still, most pediatric COVID-19 patients do well. Rubin said he was aware of only one child who had died, who also had a terminal congenital illness. Among infants under 60 days old in whom COVID had been detected, “all of them have done quite well,” he added. “The frequency of pediatric illness requiring hospitalization is low,” Rubin said. “No question, it’s not as bad in children and less common than in adults.”  But with New York’s healthcare system at full throttle treating coronavirus patients, Gulbransen wants to take no risks. His motto is: “Whatever you do, don’t send someone from this office to the ER.”

SOLUTION: 'Don't go to the ER': how a New York pediatrician is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

PROBLEM: The North Dakota Department of Health says the Herbology store will open in Minot on Thursday. Another dispensary is expected to open in Jamestown next Tuesday. State officials say more than 1,200 registry identification cards have been issued to qualifying medical marijuana patients. Division of Medical Marijuana director Jason Wahl says an estimated 85% of the state’s population will be within 50 miles of one of the seven open dispensaries by the end of the month. The final dispensary location, in Dickinson, is expected to be open by the end of the calendar year.

SOLUTION:
Sixth medical marijuana store opens this week in ND.