Coronavirus, which started in China, has now spread to other countries, including the United States. The virus has flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever and in some more severe cases, pneumonia. The virus is spread through coughing, sneezing, sharing food and drinks, not washing your hands and saliva. Having the virus in the United States has caused fear in many and an overall panic.

“Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment.  Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness,” said the World Health Organization.

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of speculation about how prepared government officials were in terms of dealing with COVID-19.

“While I have not been following the policies closely, I believe the government is doing everything in its power to contain the virus. There are certain restricted flights and quarantines at airports which have affected people I know, which leads me to believe the government is being thorough in its attempt to eradicate the virus,” senior Nick Simcik explained.

Pandemics do not occur often, but many times serious precautions are taken within governments for these types of situations. A major epidemic has not happened for decades, and this one has taken the world by surprise. This unexpected event caught everyone off guard.

“I believe there already are many safeguards to epidemics. As I’m not a scientist, I am not sure if there is an important step that was missed to allow the spread of the coronavirus to occur so my answer is no. I don’t believe there was anything that could have been done to prevent the start of this disease,” Simcik said.

Many people believe the coronavirus is population control. Some believe it was created purely by nature, while others believe this was done in the hands of humans.

This virus may control the population. “I personally don’t believe it was invented to do so. Despite many negative effects, China has had success in population control with policies such as the one-child policy. I would like to believe in the good of humanity, that this disease hasn’t been purposefully spread,” Simcik added.

Fear is not only within contracting the virus, but also from a business standpoint. Many commodities are imported from around the world to many different countries; with the virus, many goods can not be shipped. This has caused stocks to crash. Also, prices might go up on imported items because of a lack of supplies.

“I think people are overreacting way too much. It’s really not even that dangerous. It’s more of a hassle from a business standpoint than anything. Also, I think it’s brought out just how uneducated many Americans are when you look at how many people have decided to boycott Corona beverages due to the outbreak… Americans are uneducated and tend to jump to conclusions on topics they know nothing about,” junior Caleb James explained.