Before this year not many people could say they lived through a time of a pandemic that changed everyone’s life this drastically. The last time the United States fell victim to a deadly virus was in 1918, when Influenza swept the nation, killing millions of all ages. But luckily Covid-19 isn’t considered deadly to over 80% of the population, as reported by the WHO (World Health Organization). But that doesn’t mean that 80% can be careless, it takes 100% of the         people to care and take action to beat and overcome a Pandemic. But, what does taking action mean? 

Many states and countries around the world are putting together laws that close all non essential businesses. This is to limit the amount of exposure to the virus people have outside of their houses. Taking action means staying home and practicing social distancing. This will make it so that people will be able to leave their houses sooner and get back to regular life. People all around the US are taking this very seriously by staying home. HB Math teacher Elizabeth Kolb said, “ I haven’t left my house once, we did a big grocery shopping trip and haven’t needed to leave yet.” This is what health officials are trying to do. They want people to stay home as much as possible to slow down the spread of the virus.

While there are a lot of negatives you can take away from Covid-19, it is very important that you take the positives as well. Many lucky people are getting the opportunity to spend valuable time with their family that they don’t usually get. Brian Szewczyk 21’ said, “Both my siblings don’t usually live with me anymore, they have their own places, So it is nice to have them back in the house. We have been going on walks together and playing board games.” This is a great way to look at the positive side of the virus. It has brought many people closer together with their families. 

Along with going on walks, many people have been finding ways to keep themselves occupied by playing board games. Joey Oetjens 21’ said, “That is definitely a way me and my family have been spending time together; it’s a good way to spend two hours of your day doing something other than sitting on your phone.”  

Now that the nation has been completely switched to remote learning, it has left students stuck at home without seeing their friends. This might seem like something students would love, not having to wake up early and go to school. But that is not necessarily the case., “At first I was happy to be able to get some time off, but now I definitely can say I miss it all, seeing my friends everyday. It has definitely made me appreciate and not take for granted how good we have it,” said Oetjens. Oetjens continued to say that before this, he took for granted all the simple things in life, such as getting a sandwich with his friends. This virus has opened the eyes of millions and taught everyone very valuable lessons to appreciate the simple things. It has also taught everyone that while not always fun, staying home right now is the best way to help. 

But staying in the house is not the only thing you can do to help everyone. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) strongly recommends washing your hands frequently. As well as wearing protective masks and gloves when you need to make necessary trips to the grocery store, pharmacy, ect. By listening to our health officials, it will get us closer to being able to return to our normal day lives and save people from losing loved ones.