Candace Thomas – Tucson, AZ

“I’m out of work until further notice and schools are shifting to online.”

“We aren’t leaving the house unless it’s to go grocery shopping.” 

“All restaurants, bars, schools and entertainment places have been shut down. A lot of people are mad that they’re out of work and filing for unemployment. I think that it’s necessary to slow the spread but it still sucks that it had to happen. My dream vacation got ruined because of the Disneyland shutdown, and I’m super upset about it.” 

Molly Stephenson – Bentonville, AR

“My family had a dream trip to Europe planned while my brother was studying abroad, and we had to cancel it.” 

“We haven’t been going out as much and my parents are working from home to reduce the exposure of it.” 

“My school has been shut down through April. My community is kinda freaked out and lots of restaurants are closed. I think it’s slightly exaggerated but I get it.” 

Candace Thomas – Tucson, AZ

“I’m out of work until further notice and schools are shifting to online.”

“We aren’t leaving the house unless it’s to go grocery shopping.” 

“All restaurants, bars, schools and entertainment places have been shut down. A lot of people are mad that they’re out of work and filing for unemployment. I think that it’s necessary to slow the spread but it still sucks that it had to happen. My dream vacation got ruined because of the Disneyland shutdown, and I’m super upset about it.” 

Lilly Lavier – Alamosa, CO

”People in my area are taking the COVID-19 fairly well. Schools and restaurants in town have closed and stores have changed their hours in order to restock. There’s currently no toilet paper so that’s cool. 

“The first cases in the valley were reported today, a 20 year old woman and a 50 year old man, but there aren’t any reported cases in my town.”

“In terms of my life only sports have been impacted because our track season has been postponed and we aren’t allowed to have team contact which is sucky, but people are still hanging out which I imagine will change now that there are cases beginning to appear.”

Rebecca German – Centennial, CO

“My life has actually been impacted pretty badly. I’m out of school and my mom’s salary has been cut in half and my dad’s is soon going to be cut 40 percent so we’re going to struggle financially these next few months.” 

“We have taken the steps of social distancing, washing our hands before we eat, and avoiding crowded areas.” 

“My school has been shut down as well as the local skating rinks. I’m happy I don’t have to attend school, but without figure skating, I don’t have an outlet to exercise so I’ve been sitting at home all day which isn’t good for my health.”  

Luke LaVigne  – Boise, ID

“There have been like 50 confirmed cases and around 1,000 people tested.”

“A lot of people are going into self-quarantine and all the schools are shut down until April. Prom was cancelled and all other school events as well as concerts, as well as any fast food and restaurants are only doing take out or drive through.”

“I have been impacted because I’m currently sick and have had a high fever of 104.5, but am fortunately, getting better. I’ve been sick for about a week and I went to the doctor where they started to ask me questions about my symptoms and stuff, and I responded yes to pretty much every questions, yet they refused to test me for COVID-19.”

Rocky Liu – Westford, MA

“I have to stay at home and social distance from my friends.” 

“My family and I stocked up on hand sanitizer, we social distance and only leave the house when groceries are needed.” 

“Schools, restaurants, ice rinks, etc have all closed down. I feel these closings are the best for the community so the virus can be slowed.”  

Karagan Bulger, – Manahawkin, NJ 

“I’m not sure how many cases in NJ specifically, but I think over 1,000, and in my county alone there’s around 20.”

“At first everyone took it as a joke but now everything is shut down by the state, my school and “non-mandatory” things included. We are only allowed out of our homes to exercise and food shop”

“Personally, I’m upset because of how many seniors are being impacted. I miss all my friends and I am upset I don’t get to do all the fun seniors things I thought I was going to be able to do, such as prom.”

Andrew Liu –  Cleveland, OH

“I’m mostly just staying at home and avoiding contact with other people. Ohio received testing capabilities quite late which significantly hindered containment efforts, but, luckily, the state was quick to lockdown bars and other social gatherings. Based on these precautions, the coronavirus has not hit my area particularly hard; however, I still avoid going out to avoid receiving and spreading infections to people. I’m especially worried about my parents who are more at risk than myself. This means I haven’t been able to visit friends, go out to eat, and, in general, I’m mostly cooped up in my room.”

“Since my family is Chinese, they were already keeping a close eye on COVID-19 when it was initially spreading in China. This means that my house has been fairly well-stocked on soap, hand sanitizer, and other critical cleaning materials to limit disease transmission. Additionally, my parents are both doctors, so we have some medical supplies at home in case someone does get sick. Ultimately, most of our protective measures boil down to social distancing unless absolutely necessary.”

“Bars, restaurants, schools, public playgrounds, gyms, movie theaters, and other non-essential places with large groups of people have been closed down. We also have a state-wide stay-at-home order which means most non-essential businesses have been closed to limit people’s contact within the state. I’m not particularly sure how the community feels about this, but most of the people I know are fairly well-educated and view the measures as protective and necessary to limit the disease’s transmission. I generally agree with these protective measures even though I’m not in a particularly high-risk demographic.”

Kate Barber – Nashville, TN

“ There are 505 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tennessee as of now.”

“In Nashville, all schools as of now are shut down until April 3rd. Online school is being activated until further notice. All restaurants in my area are closed, and the only thing that is open is grocery stores, which at this point are mainly empty. There aren’t any curfews issued, however the majority of people are staying indoors.”

“My AAU basketball season has been cancelled. Also, one of our local dentists and his wife both have the CoronaVirus, and he is currently in a coma. Personally basketball being cancelled and living far away from my friends makes it hard, and trying to make the most of staying home has been challenging. However, staying in is keeping everyone safe. I just hope all of this ends soon!”

Sierra Pennock  – Lindon, UT

“I don’t know how many cases.”

“Well in Utah, there is not allowed to be more than 10 people gathered at once so most things are shut down and the economy is going to struggle from that, especially in Utah because there are many small businesses that people own.”

“I have been majorly impacted because my whole life has been put on pause. I no longer go to soccer everyday, but instead have to work on my own and watch soccer games online to learn”

Kennedy Benson – Logan, UT

“There are 181 known cases in Utah.”  

“All schools in my state have had a mandatory close down including colleges in tell further notice. All restaurants have closed their dining areas (take out only).” 

“Personally it’s affected me by my track season being canceled, and you aren’t allowed to be in groups larger then ten. So you can’t hang with friends are do any clubs of any kind. They even canceled church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) which is a big deal because I live in Utah and church is a huge part of people’s lives here.

Grace Yoon – Fairfax, VA 

“COVID-19 has impacted my life a lot. I have to social distance myself and I can’t interact with anyone. My school just closed today for the rest of the school year because of the state governor’s decision. My life is out of routine and it is hard for me to adjust to this.”

“My family has been making sure that we always wash our hands and avoid touching anything in public.” 

“Every restaurant has been closed off for dining in. Takeout is only allowed and they have limited hours. Everything is shut down and closed. The only thing open is the grocery stores. Because of this, many people lost jobs. Some of the people have been taking extra precautions to help this pandemic, while others (like many teenagers and younger people) hangout with each other and don’t practice good social distancing. Personally, this has been really bad for me because I am not able to go outside as much. All the gyms are closed so I can’t workout as much. School is closed so I can’t see my friends or learn in a normal setting. We might start online school next week. I am taking FaceTime bassoon lessons and it is weird to adjust to. And for mental health, it is a long time being alone and inside. It is not good for me, or anyone struggling with mental health, to go through during this time.”

Evan Van Egdom – Chilliwack, British Columbia

“There are cases, there are about 150-200 cases in my area I believe.”

“People are reacting pretty well no one that I know or have seen around are panicking, schools are shut down, I don’t think that you can go into restaurants but I believe that you can order for pick up at most restaurants. Hairdressers and things like them have all shut down. Stores are putting limits on how many people are allowed in at one time.”

“I’m not allowed to go out and see my friends or hangout with them. My school’s club basketball got cancelled so I can no longer play that, I am no longer allowed to ride in the same vehicle as my friend that I always used to go biking with so now we have to figure out other ways to do that. My work got shut down so I can’t go to work.”

Laysa Rocha – Fortaleza Ceará, Brazil 

“Now everything is closed so I’m just staying at home most of the time because I actually can’t leave my house.”

“My family decided not to go out unless it’s really necessary, we’re washing our hands way more than often and taking some new vitamins to help our body to get stronger so we don’t get sick.” 

“Right now pretty much everything is closed, I think most the community understands it but there are a lot of people that think it’s not really necessary. My grandma, for example, really wants to leave her house even with everything closed and with us telling her not to do it, since the eldest are in most risk, she gets really annoyed by us warning her. I hear that most of my friends family’s actually care about the disease and are taking the necessary precautions, but also they told me their grandparents don’t really care and want to go out anyway, which is what’s not recommended. For me, I felt pretty scared to be honest, it’s really crazy to think that this is actually happening cause it’s something we see in movies. But I really have hope that it’ll go away soon.” 

Valentina Grueso-Arroyave  – Bogotá, Colombia 

“My life has been affected in many ways, primarily school, which I can’t go to normally anymore as it is all online now. I miss not being able to go out and see my grandparents for example.”

“First off, we are staying inside, and second, we are just mainly being hygienic by washing our hands and such.” 

“I normally spend the majority of my time at school so that has been challenging for me, but it made me realize and reflect that I’ve taken school for granted and not value it for what it brings.” 

“Bogota is never this empty. There is always heavy traffic.” 

Hyunseo Kim – Seoul, Korea 

“My life hasn’t really changed except for school shutting down, but all the tutor classes have started back up again.” 

“We wear face masks and carry hand sanitizer with us to avoid the Coronavirus. I heard that Americans started hoarding toilet papers and waters but in Korea no one does that. Also in Korea, when someone gets the virus, the government takes care of them, like they will pay for all of their medical bills. I feel really safe in this country because our government tracts everyone who has the virus or has a symptom of it so anyone who was in a close area with them could get tested too.”

“Most of the stores, work places, and restaurants are still open, but no one really goes out to eat.”

Haruna Morimoto – Kyoto, Japan

“The corona virus has limited the activities and the transportation I can take, because we take the train in Japan.”

“My family has been extra careful to make sure our hands are clean before we eat. We bought a lot of hand sanitizers in the US before moving back to Japan.”

“ALL public schools are shut down as well as most private schools because of the virus. The students are taking that privilege not to stay at home but to hang out with friends outside, which makes the virus spread even more.”

Adrienne Prabowo – Jakarta, Indonesia 

“Honestly as a teen I’m not so worried about getting corona myself, but my parents aren’t the healthiest so I have to be very cautious so that they can stay safe.” 

“My mom is a psycho about leaving the house. I haven’t been able to go anywhere at all for at least the past week. The government hasn’t technically placed a serious lockdown (because many street vendors and sales people work on the street to get income) but my family has their own lockdown.” 

“I go to an international school and we have been off since early March. Our school has extended online learning till the end of the year. Personally, I’m really disappointed about that because I won’t get to see my friends, but I guess I gotta live with that.” 

Farell Prabowo – Jakarta, Indonesia

“School is closed for the remainder of the year! We have to attend online schooling until summer and normal school only starts after senior year. Our external AP exams are shortened and online, which is unprecedented, and I have no idea how it will affect university applications later on. Currently, there still a lot of unanswered questions regarding how internal exams will be dealt with and how the virus will affect our schooling and future. In terms of how we are living, my family and a lot of others are staying at home. I miss my friends but generally, everything else is okay. One thing that bothers me though is that there seems to be a lot of sketchy news articles and facts spreading through my parents’ Whatsapp groups which claim crazy things like, for example, that keeping chopped onions in your room will protect you from the virus or that drinking a lot of ginger will help. My family tends to ignore those things but I know many families who believe those superstitions perhaps just to not feel so helpless and feel like they are actually doing something to stop the virus, even if it might be placebo.”

“We’ve made sure to practice social distancing and stay at home. While we have tried to avoid moving around too much, my dad still needs to work and therefore still is out a lot. Some things are unavoidable. Other than that, I feel like we’ve just continued being hygienic in general.”

“Yes! School is over for the rest of the year. I feel like it was a good choice, not for the fact that students/faculty may contract the virus, but to potentially halt the spread of the virus so that it doesn’t spread even faster around the city. Although this means that our education may not be as effective, I feel that the risks far outweigh the fact that we have to attend online learning. And this is not only for our school. In Jakarta, students typically attend private school and the decision to cancel school was made by the individual schools and not the government. Many schools have decided to close their doors.Generally though, outside of school, office buildings are still running, malls are still open and all businesses are still on. Here in Jakarta, there are a lot of people who really need to continue working even if they fear contaminating themselves and their families. We live in a country where securing food is prioritized higher than avoiding the virus. Many men and women still work on the streets to sell food or provide any other service. One way large the malls and office buildings have decided to lessen the spread of the virus is to provide hand sanitizers and deny entry of people with unusual temperatures. This is ensured through having security at each entrance measure your temperature before allowing entry. It’s strange though to provide hand sanitizers as hand sanitizer is an antibacterial and will do little against a virus. Like I said before, there is not a lot of knowledge here about the true nature of the virus.” 

Isa Cuppen – Venray, Netherlands 

“The politics in our country have decided that all the shops and restaurants etc. have to close, except for supermarkets and pharmacies. All the schools are closed, and now I have online school, until 1 June for now. The people who are going to graduate this year don’t have to take the final exam. The only time that happened was after world war 2. We have to be 1,5 metres away from everybody. I see that not everyone is keeping up with these rules and that’s rude, because if they keep ignoring the rules, there may come a lockdown. I can’t see my grandma and grandpa, because of the risk they will get Covid-19. I can’t do my volunteer work (among elderly people with dementia) anymore, also because of the risk.”

“We aren’t visiting anyone anymore. We stay inside, except for sports we have to do outside, like running. My dad works at home. My mom is a nurse so she has to help at the hospital.” 

“Like I said, everything has been shut down. I think that not everyone is taking the rules very seriously, and neither is the risk of the elderly people who can die of the virus. Some people still visit each other and stuff.”

“I think it’s logical that everything shut down, and I’m happy it did actually. I don’t want my grandmas and grandpas to get the virus and all the elderly people, because they have the high risk of dying. So I think the rules are very good to protect them.”