Families have been strained in many ways during Covid-19 pandemic

Editor:

During the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of communities are under lockdown. And with the virus, a lot of families might have to mourn the loss of a loved one, have to deal with the stress of being unemployed, and live in close quarters with their family.

All of this can affect a family’s lifestyle while in self-quarantine.

• Dealing with loss of a loved one from afar

Mourning the death of a loved one is never easy. But in self-quarantine, it is even harder. For example, you cannot go out to a funeral as you would normally. If a loved one was in the emergency room, or the ICU, you cannot go there without full protective gear, or being tested for coronavirus. The only easy way for a family to see and talk to the loved one would be through technology. Nurses and doctors can call you, and then hold the phone up for the loved one so you can see them one last time.

• The mass loss of jobs during the pandemic

With the pandemic, there is a large loss of jobs throughout the country. Your parents may not be the only ones, as the Department of Labor reported more than 700,000 jobs have been lost over the past two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has even been reported that 10 million people have filed for unemployment in the last few weeks of March. That can affect a family’s lifestyle very much.

Parents who worked jobs that brought in large amounts of income now have to deal with not making nearly as much as they did before. However, some workers have not lost their jobs. These workers are called essential workers.

Regarding essential workers, Tennille Richards, owner of Liv Acupuncture, said, “The way we work has changed profoundly, as we have to take extra safety precautions. For example, we can only have three patients inside of the office at a time, even with everybody spaced out. Also, every patient and worker must wear a face mask and gloves.”

Tennille Richards also states, “That’s not all, though, as we have split the waiting room up into multiple sections with red tape. That way, we can make sure everybody is spaced out.”

• How families can deal with stress during the pandemic

Most families, (including my own), have dealt with the stress by taking it slow. For example, the unemployment problem. My grandpa is now unemployed. Every so often, he might look at if he can get unemployment insurance from the state. Instead of spending days and days going through every article, going onto every website, and sending messages to government officials, he will put in an application and wait. That will resolve a lot of stress for him, and he won’t be as tense. Because of that, he has time to do other things. For example, prepare the pool for summer. Or, he can go ahead and clean his barbeque.

I hope this article has helped you recognize what other families are doing during the pandemic, and maybe even help you with your own.

Jax Richards-Dyson

Holley sixth-grader

Miss Rider’s homeroom