As Holy Family is temporarily closing the school for a week and canceling all activities until further notice, other schools, workplaces, and restaurants are doing the same. And with all that you’ve heard on the news of toilet paper being out of stock, people rushing to stores to pick up supplies and leaving the aisles deserted, sporting events being canceled, and the celebrities who have it, it’s easy to get caught up in the panic that’s hit the US seemingly out of nowhere. Here’s a guide on all of the measures you should take, in the midst of all of this.

So, last week, the WHO officially named COVID-19, the coronavirus, a pandemic. In addition, President Donald Trump addressed the nation, urging us, as a nation, to keep calm and help in whatever way we can to slow the spread of the virus. This Sunday, he declared a state of national emergency due to the coronavirus. While most of the cases remain in China, the US and other countries have experienced outbreaks. Currently, there are 4,043 cases in the US, which comes in 8th in countries with the highest number of cases. It’s become difficult to look at the number of cases found in countries, as the coronavirus spreads quickly, and to help, Microsoft has just released a Bing COVID Tracker, a new interactive map that allows you to see where the outbreaks are and how many people have it at all times.

On the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) website, advice for the public lists: avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth; practice respiratory hygiene; and if you have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, seek medical care early. To help stop the virus, the WHO has recently taken aggressive measures to help prevent the spread of the virus in multiple countries across the world like China and Italy. Its current method of action is the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which will help send supplies (like protective equipment) to health workers, help all countries be able to detect and track the disease, ensure that all global health workers have the most recent science-based information to care for those in need and protect themselves and accelerate the discovery and implementation of vaccines across the world.

In the United States, the CDC has recommended canceling all events with more than 50 people for eight weeks, and the Trump Administration is strongly urging people to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Cities like New York and Los Angeles find themselves in the middle of lockdown, with movie theaters, casinos, restaurants, and such closing. In New York, the governor has allowed restaurants to stay open for delivery, putting some much-needed relief on the restaurant business. In the San Fransisco Bay area, which covers five counties, residents have put under a ‘shelter in place’ order, meaning find a location indoors and stay there until told to do so.

Nationwide, everyone is staying home. So… what should we do? Take advantage of spending time with your family, get outside, watch a movie. With all of the time you have on your hands, do something you’ve been meaning to do for a while. It’s a stressful, hard, and confusing time for all of us. The best thing to do is to not panic. As we go into Spring Break and continue online school at Holy Family, something very important is to practice social distancing. While you may not be in any serious risk, the elderly, disabled, and those with weak immune systems are, and the most important thing we can do is to slow its spread.

For more information, and things to do while you’re at home, here are some more articles:

Bing COVID-19 Tracker: https://www.bing.com/covid

Washington Post, “Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

CDC COVID-19 Page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

WHO COVID-19 Page: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

CNN COVID-19 Live updates: https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-03-17-20-intl-hnk/index.html

USA TODAY, “100 things to do while stuck inside due to a pandemic”:                                        https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2020/03/16/coronavirus-quarantine-100-things-do-while-trapped-inside/5054632002/