The novel Coronavirus (or COVID-19) outbreak that has caught the world by surprise in recent months has led to dramatic lifestyle changes for people the world over. As of this writing, three-fourths of the United States population is quarantined and over one million Americans have gotten the disease. In Massachusetts alone, there have been 62,205

confirmed cases as of April 30th. Cambridge has documented 758 cases and 53 deaths so far among city residents. These numbers are likely inaccurate, as 80% of those infected are estimated to have mild symptoms, meaning that they can carry and spread the disease without even knowing it. Massachusetts has responded to this unprecedented crisis by closing all businesses deemed “non-essential,” closing all schools, and issuing a statewide stay-at-home advisory until at least May 4th. 

With school closed for the foreseeable future, students are, for the most part, stuck in their homes. Forced to avoid contact with other people, students have had to find ways to entertain themselves. Elena Cooper ’21 told the Register Forum, “It’s not been that bad for me because I’ve been finding things to keep myself entertained like running, starting my search for colleges, school work, and other stuff.” Sophomore Carson Latimer-Ireland said, “I’ve mainly just been playing video games, watching TV, going to the park with my dog, and going on bike rides when the weather is nice.” Junior Nora Iammarino stated, “To entertain myself while stuck at home I’ve been focusing on art, which I don’t have time to do during the school year.” Iammarino added, “I also have been baking and taking my dogs on walks.” 

The distinct possibility that school will not return into next year has affected many students. Senior Jasper Sienewicz said of the potential to not have prom and graduation, “it’s tough having it cut short because these are events we’ve been waiting for for years, and to not be able to share these last months with your closest friends before you don’t see them is really hard.” Junior Natasha Serfaty described the situation, saying, “It feels really surreal like we’re in the middle of some weird dystopian movie and it won’t be normal again for months.” Serfaty concluded, “Honestly, I’m pretty sad about it. I wanna see everyone before summer and say ‘bye’ to the seniors one last time.”

Coupled with the hardships of quarantine, students also have to face the reality of a dangerous pandemic in their own city. Senior Henry Schmitt said of the experience, “everything is different and you gotta always think about it.” Sophomore Imran Hussain agreed, saying, “The pandemic completely changed the way I’m going about life right now, and I can only hope that everything gets better.” Hussain has said he has “taken extra precautions whenever going outside, like wearing a face mask and standing six feet away from people.” He continued, “I’m not sure if I’m more worried these days or hopeful for everything to stop and get back to normal.”

Overall, the general consensus among students seems to be that, although quarantining is hard, it’s necessary for the safety of our community. Iammarino said that she believes “It is important to quarantine in order to protect others and yourself and help hospital workers by slowing the amount of patients coming to get treated.” Cooper said she thinks that “people need to be taking this way more seriously and trying to practice social distancing better.” She continued,  “[We have to] think about the people who aren’t able to protect themselves as easily as most high schoolers can, and take that into consideration when leaving our houses.”