With a pandemic going on, it’s hard to know when to take a deep breath. But is everyone’s perception of this pandemic the same? Does everyone think of COVID-19 in the same way? Here at The Buzzer, we interviewed people ranging from kindergarten to adulthood to better understand what people actually know about COVID-19, how they feel about it, how it has affected them, and how it relates to them. 

Third Grader

“[COVID-19 is] a sickness that harms people, mostly the elderly. It has made [life] a nightmare because it is destroying everything and making people nuts. It’s been a little rough because I just really want to be at school all day.”

Fourth Grader 

“Coronavirus is a horrible virus that nobody likes and is keeping people from things they want to do and from other people.”

Fifth Grader

“I think the coronavirus is a horrible disease that has killed many people, but I also think it has shown how people respond to a global crisis and how even though humans have so many resources and how organized we are we still have a hard time against a disease. Even though it is a deadly disease, we should have been able to slow this, but because humans are imperfect some people would have been lost but not as many as have been.”

Seventh Grader

“It’s lonely.”

Eighth Grader

“To me, corona is an obstacle, a blockade from my goals, my dreams. It has been a struggle to work on overcoming it, the mask-wearing and the political chaos doesn’t help. The best I, and any of us, can do is show love and kindness and solve the problem together. I define it as of course a virus, but also as an important moment in our lives. It will also be an important event in history that will be remembered.”

Ninth Grader

“An isolating pandemic that changed the world as we know it. …. The consequences have been drastic in terms of lives and quality of life. It brings to light a lot of biases and issues that we should’ve been dealing with for a long time. It’s definitely changed social climates and learning environments such as camp and that’s in the eyes of a teenager. I can’t imagine working environments especially given the unemployment rates. It’s also interesting to be dealing with this under President Trump …. and he even had corona himself!  It would be a real shock to go back to normal life because we don’t know what normal life looks like anymore.”

Tenth Grader

“To me COVID is the thing that makes me question whether or not I’ll ever have a normal year of high school.”

Eleventh Grader

“Corona, to me, is a deadly, rapidly spreading virus that has greatly impacted people globally. It’s the sort of thing I thought I would only ever see in the movies, much less experience it in my own lifetime. In some ways, I believe that Corona has brought us together. Surviving a global pandemic has humbled us as a society and shown us that we will get through even the toughest of circumstances.”

Twelfth Grader

“To me, the coronavirus pandemic is a test of responsibility. Especially since I’m both eighteen years old and a senior, I need to be responsible for my health and the health of those around me. These days myself and others my age are definitely being put to the test. I’m confident that we can show discipline and push through this for ourselves and everyone else, though!”

Parent 

“Poop storm”

Grandparent

“Covid-19 is a deadly disease that can affect your entire body. It is a serious disease for the senior adult whose health is already compromised.”

STATISTICS:

1. 38 percent of Americans said they “would not buy Corona [beer] under any circumstances now because of coronavirus” (The Blaze). 

2. The founder and CEO of Zoom, Eric Yuan, has made over $12 billion since March and now ranks among the 400 richest people in America (Business Insider)

3. “U.S. video game usage during peak hours has gone up 75 percent since the quarantine first went into effect last week” (Hollywood Reporter).