United States

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.”