A Whole New World

The coronavirus completely transforms lives

By Ronak Regan

The gym is almost completely empty. This is the result of the lockdown. Photo by Gina Lin.

It’s March 11, everyone is beginning to panic about the coronavirus. About a month ago the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Few cases have been reported in the United States, but worry is beginning to spread. A cruise along the coast of California is rumored to be full of passengers infected with the virus. In mere weeks the entire country will be shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The quarantine has caused almost everyone across the globe to live a much more secluded, quiet life. By the end of March, 2020, the United States is on lockdown in order to decrease the spread of the coronavirus. This has changed lives in many ways including working, shopping, and much more.

Brian Kelly is one of the many people who went into lockdown when COVID-19 grew out of control. He agrees that the quarantine greatly affected his daily routine, and his overall life.

“It’s been a lot different,” Kelly said. “The quarantine has changed my work and home life a ton.”

The coronavirus made it unsafe to be inside with other people, making offices a hazardous work environment. Many businesses have had to quickly adjust to working online to stay afloat in the economy. Kelly said that this was a big change to get used to.

Many are reluctant to travel in airports due to COVID-19. Most airports around the world are next to empty. Photo by Ellen Jeni.

“Once we started opening up our gyms again, we started going into work on a limited basis,” Kelly said. “On a normal day, I would get up and go to work. Quarantine [has] obviously changed that, in that we closed down our offices for a long time.”

The quarantine has caused many businesses to struggle. The stock market plummeted at the beginning of the lockdown and took a long time to recover. Several companies went bankrupt due to the virus, including large corporations like J. Crew and J. C. Penny. Kelly’s workplace also felt the repercussions of the pandemic in a major way. “We operate gyms... and we had to close our gyms in some cases for up to three months and not let anybody come in,” Kelly said. “So that was hard to manage, having to close things down and not earning any money during that time.”

The lockdown has caused many negative changes to people’s lives like staying away from other people. Despite the many negative effects, Kelly believes that it has also brought some benefits.

“I like not having to drive to work,” Kelly said. “Not having to spend, even 15 to 20 minutes in the car [is] a real nice element.”

The coronavirus shut down airports and borders all over the world, greatly prohibiting travel. Across the globe, tons of work trips and vacations were canceled. Kelly both benefited and was bummed out by the travel restrictions.

“I used to have to travel a lot [for work] and people would come visit us and all of that stopped,” said Kelly. “[My family] always goes to Canada every summer to be at [our] cottage there, but the Canadian border closed down so we can’t cross over.”

With the absence of going to work, numerous people have extra freetime. Lots of people have been trying to keep themselves busy, by participating in different hobbies and activities. Kelly talked about how keeping yourself busy can help keep your mind occupied.

“Mary-Alis, [his wife], and I have gotten really good at crossword puzzles,” said Kelly. “We do the New York Times crossword puzzle almost every day. We’ve gotten [to] the point now, where we can do the big Sunday crossword puzzle in just about 30 minutes. So we feel pretty good about that exercise.” As vaccinations begin to quickly spread throughout the United States, coronavirus cases are quickly decreasing. After a large percent of the population gets the vaccine, things will quickly start to open up.

“[I think] once everybody’s vaccinated things will change,” Kelly said. “Things will come back to normal pretty quickly, I think a lot of the closures and restrictions and things will go away.”

Many restrictions are beginning to be lifted as the coronavirus settles down. The past year will be an unforgettable experience for everyone affected by it. The quarantine will be completely cleared within the next year, and a few years from now there may be no remaining evidence of the pandemic in society.

A man stays at home wroking on the crossword hoping to beat his personal best.

Photo by Alexaandra Lowenthal.