COVID-19 Brings Mixed Feelings to the Pack

As COVID-19, also known as the Corona Virus, continues to spread, different reactions to the pandemic bring out the panic within each person. Now, panic is seen in different ways. One way is trying to stay clean and avoid contact with others while panic may be seen in every superstore as the aisle of the water bottles and toilet papers are empty.

“It’s a very exciting time to be in the world because nothing like this has happened in our lifetime,” says Elizabeth Provencio, the choir instructor.  “So it’s been interesting as a cool and social thing to watch happening. Realistically nothing much has happened in Bakersfield, yet. I’m not afraid or worried at all.”

While the public carries on to their peculiar way of taking care of the pandemic and their panic, students speculate these events along with Provencio.

  “I think there is a certain amount of concern that needs to be made, but I do think right now people are acting hysterical about it,” says Senior Ravneet Pannu. “Logic should dictate you don’t need to stock up toilet paper like it’s the apocalypse.”

“It’s hilarious!” Provencio adds. “I think people are buying toilet paper in particular because they’re afraid they will be locked in their houses for months. And that’s really something you don’t want to run out of because that would be an unfortunate situation. I get why that’s the weirdly targeted thing. I think it’s because the internet has perpetuated a lot of this.”

Most can agree that social media has a great part to the panic running around the crowd that drives people to react this way.

“If you’ve seen the headlines and the memes, the headlines were exaggerating to the point where you should be in full-blown panic three weeks ago before it got to this point,” says Pannu.

“I think they’re going overboard with it,” says Senior Johnathan Juarez. “People just need to stay home. Just read stuff that’s important and not take everything so serious.”

“A lot of panic being produced by the media for sure, but it’s also the media’s job to make sure the public is aware of what’s going on,” says Provencio. “The public will react how the public will react. It’s a balancing act.”

These turn of events due to Corona Virus has even impacted the school as nearly all events have been cancelled one after another. 

“I have mixed feelings about it. I see the idea behind it and I see the necessity because they’re trying to prevent a massive spread of this disease. On the other hand I’m worried because a lot of our students rely on school for their two meals a day, for shelter, for safety, or for internet access. My hope is that they find a way to balance that.”

This is especially surprising for the senior class of 2020 as Juarez states, “For seniors it sucks because it pushes us back and if they close our school, it will really push back what we had in plan for graduation… It will hold us.”

“The High School events, I get it,” says Pannu. “I think it’s fair, but it still means it sucks. Things that we were looking forward to for seniors, it’s all gone, and that really sucks!”

Despite all these surprising events and the weird reactions of the public, everyone ends on the same note of staying safe and fighting against Corona Virus in the future.

According to Juarez, “A couple people have died from it. We just need to make sure that our elders are taken care of and the little ones are healthy and stay inside.”

“If this continues, we are not gonna be in a good place from what I know,” Pannu adds. “And maybe we’ll learn our lesson. We’ll learn better measures in preventing a pandemic.”

“Stop hoarding toilet paper! Please!” says Provencio.