If you don’t already know: we’re in a global pandemic. It’s affecting schools, sports, education, and local communities all over the world. Two weeks ago many people were living their normal lives until everything came to a halt. 

The first thing affected by Covid-19: sports. Sports at local high schools all across Connecticut were canceled, including state playoffs. Although many people agreed with the decision, it did not come without controversy. The director of CIAC, Glenn Longer Eenie said, he hates to make the decision to end the winter sports season, but he had to take precautions for the health and wellness of the athletes and families.  He made the call on the information given by the Global Health Organization.  

Friday, March, 13th: the last day that students and teachers walked the halls of Hall High School. in school.  I had the chance to interview the principal of Hall high school in West Hartford.

“I think our first priority is always to make sure we’re looking after the safety and wellness of our students,” Principal Zittoun explained. “I think we’re all trying to figure out how to take the lead from a lot of different organizations and try to put the best practices in place.”

However later that day, it was announced that schools across Connecticut would be canceled for the next two weeks, and now online learning has exploded.   

Not only high school sports canceled but the world of sports has shut down entirely, making national news all over the world. The first to go was the National Basketball Association, with the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball soon to follow. Then, March Madness was shut down, making the pandemic real for a lot of younger age citizens across the country.

All of these events were shut down in hopes to slow the virus. With social distancing as the new normal students understand the worldwide effect of the virus.

“I think that it’s very smart trying to discourage crowd events because grandparents are very vulnerable to it.” Said Matt Shawb, a high school senior. 

Many like Matt believe that the government and business are doing the right thing by shutting and minimizing interaction.

However, some students think it’s a bit of an overreaction. “Generally I think people are overreacting to this,” said Brigit Aube, a senior at Hall High School, “I think this is an example of mass hysteria.”

Whether or not people overeat or take the right amount of percolation the virus is taking away life as we know it. From online school to staying at home with no activities, people try to adjust to a new way of living.

The Coronavirus outbreak began three months ago in Wuhan, China. The disease spread rapidly to parts of Europe, such as Italy and Spain, before spreading to the United States. Currently, the U.S. has the highest number of cases and the numbers only seem to be growing.