Beginning in Wuhan, China the disease known as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has swept through several nations and has now arrived in the United States. When it first broke out in Wuhan, COVID-19 was originally named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as stated by cdc.gov. Now, as of March 5, the flu-like virus has infected 98,422 and has taken the lives of 3,385 people according to worldometers.info. As reported by washingotnpost.com, 12 of those fatalities were discovered in the U.S. with the most recent one being in Washington.
As the epidemic continues to cause worry worldwide, people have begun cancelling their spring break plans to avoid contracting the virus. This not only has negative impacts on vacationers, but also the airlines who are usually busiest around this time of year. Delta airlines for example are limiting the number of flights to Japan and South Korea. Additionally, all flights to China are suspended until April 30 according to nypost.com.
In relation to the vacationers more specifically, the virus has ruined the plans of an abundance of people not just around the world but also in OHS.
English teacher, Jill Hartley, had a trip scheduled to Japan in April to tour the country and see the cherry blossoms in bloom.
“We made the decision at the end of February. One of the museums we had tickets for refunded our admission because they had closed down the museum altogether through at least April, and then I saw that some airlines were starting to cut flights to Japan. We decided that we may as well face the inevitable at that point,” Hartley said.
Whether people are worried about contracting the virus or getting quarantined, several vacationers are rescheduling cruises and trips every day.
“I was concerned about what would happen if we couldn’t get back home. If the US started blocking flights or instituted a mandatory 14 day quarantine after we were already in Japan, that would be a real problem for us,” Hartley said.
This is causing panic among cruise and airlines as they continue to lose money due to the amount of refunds being demanded. According to aarp.org, certain cruise lines are not offering refunds but rather “credits” on future cruises.
As the virus continues to sweep the nation and trap people in their homes, not only vacations are being cancelled but also senior trips.
“Softball always goes on a spring break trip and we have been looking forward to this since freshman year so it sucks that it got cancelled,” Payton Cox ‘20 said.
As the flights and hotels were cancelled, opportunities to make memories and have fun were taken away also.
“Spring break is the time where we become a team and bond so that’s a big chunk of our season taken away,” Cox said.
No one could have ever expected their 2020 spring break to be ruined by a viral outbreak but, it is important to stay optimistic and hope for the best summer break yet.