The year 2020 was definitely one for the books and one no one saw it coming. Between the pandemic, riots, protests, violence, and cruelty, the world has become a different place than in 2019.
The on-going Coronavirus pandemic
By now, the only people who haven’t heard of Covid-19 are probably the ones living off the grid. But just to recap how it all started, in December of 2019, the first case of Covid-19 was discovered in Wuhan, China. At that time, there were over 4,000 deaths from this virus in China. US citizens did not expect this disease to travel to the United States, however, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in America was on January 20, 2020. There have been over 400,000 deaths in the US since and over 25 million cases. Controversy sparked between the political parties and created tension between them.
The impact on businesses and schools
This virus has taken over the world and changed almost everything. Nearly 100,000 businesses had to shut down as well as schools.
An article by Heather Long states ¨But already, economists project that more than 100,000 small businesses have shut permanently since the pandemic escalated in March, according to a study by researchers at the University of Illinois, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago.¨ There are many people struggling to make a living because their business cannot be opened during this time.
Students and parents all over the world had to learn to adjust to learning virtually. This has had a significant impact on a lot of students in different ways. Students are missing the social interaction with other students and teachers. This and other factors put a toll on their mental health and make them feel like they are all alone.
Violence/Riots
Not long after the tragic death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, the Black Lives Matter protests started. George Floyd was killed tragically in Minneapolis Minnesota by a police officer pinning him to the ground for 9 minutes. The officer continued to pin him down with his knee on his neck even after Floyd gasped for air and kept repeating the words ¨I can´t breathe.¨
The BLM protests started on May 28th and some quickly turned violent. There were several deaths, cities were on fire, windows were broken, and people were arrested. In a protest for George Floyd, there were 19 reported deaths and over 14,000 arrested. The riots continued for a while and some got pretty dangerous. In the midst of a pandemic, thousands were exposed to the virus as well. These protests offered another topic of debate between people, bringing politics into people fighting for human rights and equality.
Division of America
Many people referred to this time as World War III. Because people had different beliefs, the country split into different groups. It was a major divide between Republicans and Democrats. Also between black lives matter supporters and blue lives matter supporters. There was already so much occurring in the country and the violence and hate were not making anything better. America was and still is slowly crumbling and all of us still can’t have peace with one another. The inconsideration that many have, not realizing how their actions are affecting others also did not help stop the spread of Covid-19. We can only hope that in 2021 America makes a comeback. We, as a country, must try and turn things around for the better.
