By Shannya Morales

As of right now we are living through the history of an unprecedented global pandemic. . Something that was on the other side of the world in Wuhan China has been spread throughout the whole globe. This virus has affected every country in the entire world and has damaged the world economy a lot. COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, has been our invisible enemy for the past couple of months. Life has changed and the government enforced that we stay home and not go outside.

Restaurants, schools, movie theaters, have been closed until further notice. We are asked to wear masks and gloves when we go outside. Our quality of life has been changed, hopefully not forever. While we have been asked to sacrifice to stop the spread of this disease, it is tough to take away all the things that we as the senior class have been wanting to do for years. Everything we look forward to has been taken away.

Our whole country has been put on lockdown. A couple months ago back in January 2020 there were no cases reported but later on in March of 2020 the numbers have skyrocketed from zero to 17,000 cases. We were told about the different symptoms and what to expect if we have contracted the disease such as coughing, shortness of breath, and fever. This pandemic has affected people in so many ways people have been laid off, others couldn’t afford rent anymore, etc.

Different states had different ways to deal with the situation. Lockdowns for instance have been administered differently in different states. For example, the state of Florida is no longer on lockdown while other states like New Jersey and New York have set up a curfew where we could not go outside at a certain time. New Jersey has a 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Some states like California and Florida have reopened their beaches to the public. All states have agreed to practice social distancing meaning we stay 6 feet away from each other.

The economy has also tanked since we’ve been put on lockdown. It disrupts the global supply of goods making it more difficult for U.S. companies to fill orders. It also affects workers in affected areas such as reducing labor supply and slows down the demand for U.S. products and services. This has also hurt New Jersey, and Passaic. Jobs are going away, and that means, money is going away. People are hurting and need help to get by.

Right now, during this pandemic, we have to do our part and stay home as much as we can and protect our loved ones and those around us. We should wear masks and wear gloves when we go outside so this pandemic can come to an end.

When this ends, we will all remember thinking at first that this was a joke, then we would be off from school for two weeks, and then the entire senior year disappeared. We can do it, though. We are living through history.