Mar. Issue
What Will Summer 2021 Look Like for Us?
Alyssa Santos
With the news that vaccinations will be open to everyone on May 11th, many are starting to plan their summer, but it still begs the question: how will summer 2021 look? Hopefully, by May, everyone in Massachusetts will be able to get vaccinated. That is the current goal, while Americans are anxious to see their family, friends, and loved ones, especially for big holidays like Independence Day. It’s easy to say that you think things will go well, especially in a more progressive state like Massachusetts, but it’s difficult to gauge how other states will handle vaccinations and precautions that can affect people across the country if they travel. While it is enticing to travel, see friends and family, and return to normal, I don’t think that we will fully return to normal for a while. The summer is encroaching upon us, and only 15% of Americans have been fully vaccinated. And while that is a start, is it enough for a summer full of adventure and excitement? That is the concerning factor of all this, but keeping optimistic and doing our parts is what really matters. Taking care of yourself is also taking care of others, so it takes a community effort to make sure people are safe. It will be exciting to get back to beaches, pools, vacationing, cookouts, and other summer festivities once the time comes as we all really need a break from working through a whole year of difficulties.
This whole experience has felt as though the universe is paying the world back for all the bad that we as humans have put into it; but hopefully with this summer things will be different from yesteryear’s. A disappointing update however, is that unvaccinated college students are travelling and celebrating their Spring Break in ill-equipped parties and causing Covid cases to spike in states like Florida. This is really concerning as it not only ruins their time, as they are being kicked out of hotels, AirBnB’s, and other establishments, but it damages what the communities that live there have worked to maintain. Because of these parties, things are shutting down again, making it harder for small businesses to function, and affecting other people negatively. This is a good representation as to why we have to be cautious in the upcoming months and do our best to follow guidelines, so that we don’t revert back to last summer. If all goes well, we can return to business as usual in the next few months or year, and look back at our times in isolation in a sanguine light.
Covid 19: A Year In Review
Anthony Bilis-Gruson
It feels like just yesterday was that famous week in March 2020 when we all marched out of NHS, protesting the fact that we were still in school. A nice one week, maybe two week, break if we were lucky….or so we thought. As we know, things escalated quickly and now, as the globe has officially lived through one year of Covid 19 it is time to reflect. Reflect on everything, the good and the bad, the ups and the many downs, that this crazy pandemic year has brought us.
Countries
The first topic we will look at is countries. It is no secret that the entire world has suffered through this pandemic, but what countries have had it worse than others? Topping the list is the United States. As of the writing of this article, March 19, 2021, the United States has suffered over 29 million cases of Covid 19 and lost over 540,000 of its citizens.[1] The U.S has lost almost double as many people as Brazil, the country with the second greatest number of deaths. If all the people in the U.S who have contracted the virus formed a country, it would have the 48th largest population on Earth. In March of 2020, when the outbreak began, the U.S averaged around 20,000 new cases a week.[1] As we entered the summer, those numbers grew and grew, peaking at just under 70,000 cases a week in August.[1] Things started to look better as we transitioned into the fall, going as low as 35,000 new cases a week in September. However, the situation took a turn for the worse as winter began, and in January, the U.S had the most cases it ever had, averaging over 250,000 new cases a week.[1] The states with the most cases include California, Texas, and New York as the top three. Other major countries hit hard by the virus are Brazil, as mentioned earlier, which has had almost 12 million cases and 287,000 deaths.[1] India, Russia, and the U.K complete the top five of the countries with the most cases in the world. In April 2020, about half of the world's population was under lockdown, with more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories having been forced to stay at home. Overall, the world has suffered 122 million cases, and 2.7 million deaths.[1]
Industries
Covid 19 has had a huge impact on the world economy and on many industries. Almost every industry has been affected by this pandemic, but here are a few of the biggest. We start with the industry hit the hardest: the airline industry. With no one booking flights during the pandemic, airlines have faced huge losses. The International Air Transport Association projected that the U.S. and Canadian airline industry could lose as much as $21.1 billion in revenue.[2] The worldwide airline industry could see a decline in passenger revenue of nearly 20% and face $113 billion in lost revenue.[2] These are staggering numbers that many airline companies will never recover from. On the day after Thanksgiving, November 29, 2020, often regarded as the busiest travel day of the year, there were 964,000 flightakers.[3] Compare this to the year before the pandemic, when over 2.5 million people traveled. Another industry that faced huge losses was the hospitality industry. Restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, and resorts. Hotels lost 42.3% of jobs from February to April of 2020.[4] Restaurants lost 48.1% of jobs from February to April 2020.[4] Casinos and resorts lost 59.9% of their jobs from February to April 2020.[4] Many experts predict that these places will not be able to fully recover until at least 2023. The sports and entertainment industries have also lost big money. Without fans, ticket revenue has gone way down. Without the ability to shoot movies, box office numbers have taken a giant dip. It is safe to say, few industries have been spared by this pandemic.
Positives From the Pandemic
I know that it is hard to look through all of these losses and negatives and see a bright side, but is there anything that we can say has actually improved since the pandemic? The biggest positive outcome: the environment. Carbon emissions are down globally and with manufacturing and air travel coming to a halt, the planet has had a chance to recover. China recorded an 85% increase in days with good air quality in 337 cities between January and March 2020.[5] It turns out that it only took a global pandemic for the environment to start to improve. Another big gain came in the 2020 U.S election. With so many stuck at home, millions voted by mail, and 2020 saw the biggest voter turnout in modern American history. 62% of Americans voted in this pandemic election, compared to the 54% and 53% who voted in 2016 and 2012 respectively.[6] Another aspect that has benefited from the pandemic is innovation. Many companies have had to reinvent themselves around Covid 19. There has also been a huge transformation in education. With schools closing down all around the world, many teachers are digitizing the classroom, offering online education, educational games, tasks and self-led learning. Companies like Zoom have also benefited hugely from so many having to connect online. The pandemic has also brought us closer together with everyone spending more time with their family, and it has made us better connected. People clapping for health workers on their balconies, internet challenges, pandemic themed everything, it feels like Covid has forced us to look at ourselves better and come together as a global community through this life changing experience.
It is clear that this pandemic shook things up. We have all had to readjust, and then readjust again, to our constantly changing world. We have suffered so much loss, so many hardships, but also some bright spots along the way. And now as we slowly crawl towards the light at the end of the tunnel, we can have some hope. Vaccines have been developed at a rate never seen before, and millions have already been vaccinated. As a worldwide community, it is time to come together, while still social distancing, more than ever before and always remember that time when we lived through Covid 19, one of the craziest times to be alive.
[1]https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+numbers+usa&safe=strict&sxsrf=ALeKk00FU_cVYqf
[2] https://www.techrepublic.com/article/top-5-industries-hardest-hit-by-the-pandemic/
[3]https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104036/novel-coronavirus-weekly-flights-change-airlines-region/
[5]https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/april-2020/seven-positive-outcomes-of-covid-19
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_United_States_presidential_elections