By Addison Schwing – Editorial and News Editor

Julien Minnick is a junior at East Hampton High School. For the past seven months, he has been studying in France, in the city of Alés, France, when the COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in Wuhan, China. At first, he didn’t think too much of it, as viruses tend to go around quite frequently. But France soon began to descend into chaos as essential supplies dried up and people began to take precautions. In a matter of months, COVID-19 started to swallow the globe. Europe became the epicenter of the pandemic, with entire countries, including France, going on lockdown. Julien had to make the difficult decision to return home early, in fear of not being able to ever return to the United States. 

Julien is now back at home, undergoing isolation under orders from his local health department. He can’t even see his family, locked in his room with his meals dropped off outside his door. “The hardest part is just having to stay in my little area,” he said. “I just wanna go downstairs, get a bowl of cereal, and sit on the couch.” Now, many other American youths share Julien’s predicament, quarantined in their houses, burdened by distance learning and forced isolation. 

But how did all this happen? How did the world go from thriving to hiding under the table so quickly? And what even is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a member of the Coronavirus family of illnesses. Other coronaviruses include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), also known as the Camel Flu. Coronaviruses have been around since the 1960s, being traced back to chickens with respiratory diseases. The Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is similar to the flu but is highly contagious. Common symptoms include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath, but it can result in pneumonia and organ failure if left untreated. 

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province in China. Health officials traced the origin of the disease to a live animal market in Wuhan, where it quickly spread within the city, to outlying provinces, and then to other countries and continents at lightning speed. 

As the virus began to spread, the price of domestic and international flights dropped exponentially. Young and overzealous travelers took to the skies, enjoying their spring break, until cases began to crop up in Europe, especially in Italy. Soon, Italy went into lockdown, forcing its residents to stay inside and banning unessential travel. Then followed France, Spain, Germany, and many more Schengen-zone countries. Then, cases cropped up in the United States, with New York seeing hundreds infected every day. State governments ordered schools closed and residents to shelter in place, threatening legal penalties for those defiant of state ordinances. Restaurants were forced to switch entirely to takeout, nonessential businesses closed their doors entirely, and millions of workers began filing for unemployment. 

COVID-19 has also changed the lives of Jonathan Law’s own students and staff. Law closed its doors on March 16, and Milford Public Schools quickly established a plan for distance learning. Junior Rachel Giers feels greatly decreased motivation from her Google Classroom filling up with assignments.

“It’s a lot easier to actually absorb material when you have teachers directly explaining it rather than just seeing ‘Do this work’ on Classroom,” she said.

Unfortunately, Giers will have to wait a good amount of time before things return to normal, as Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has ordered schools closed until April 20 at the latest, with a great possibility of schools being closed for the year. With these closures comes the postponement of many highly anticipated school events, most notably the Senior cotillion. 

Our current predicament is frightening, yes. Our favorite restaurants and stores are closed. We can’t see our friends. We can’t live life like we used to. We’ve lost trips, school dances, and our prospects for the future are in serious danger. But through all of this, our Milford community is coming together to weather the coming storm. Local businesses are giving back to the community, and there is hope on the horizon; China and South Korea have seen exponential drops in confirmed COVID-19 cases with more recoveries every day, and trials are already starting for potential vaccines. 

So don’t give up hope. Stay healthy, wash your hands, and practice your social distancing. There will be an end to these crazy times soon.