Students at Pascack Hills are quickly becoming obsessed with the rapid spread of the coronavirus around the globe. The coronavirus is an airborne virus that has affected people all over the world. 

“I’m getting nervous. My mom and I went to Wegmans and bought 3 bottles of purell. Wegmans was packed, everyone was buying stuff like it was the zombie apocalypse,” Sophomore Nora Fendian said. 

People are becoming frantic about the virus. People are trying to stay away from anything associated with the virus. For example, a major brewing company, Corona Light, has had sales drop drastically in 2020 due to the false affiliation with the Virus.   

“My whole family is staying away from anything related to the virus. I wash my hands and use purell more than I ever have. I’ve never done anything like this before,” Lindsay Fleishman said.

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death. 

“I don’t know anyone personally who got coronavirus, but my brother was directly affected by the virus. He was studying abroad in China for the semester and he had to leave early. This was when the virus was on a much smaller scale, but it still affected him and our whole family,” Gavin Gross said. 

People are getting quarantined, along with arguing for airports to be shut down. This virus has caused a racket that was unexpected. Standard recommendations to prevent infection include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. 

“The most unbelievable part of all of this is that people are trying to profit off this whole situation. I was looking on Amazon to buy Purell and prices were like $80,” Jessica Diamond said. 

Although this whole pandemic seems deadly and scary, it often does not kill people. There are actually more deaths from the flu than from CoronaVirus. The virus is only potentially fatal for elderly people, young babies, and individuals who have pre-existing medical conditions. 

“I’m not too worried about the virus. It will figure itself out. Someone will find a cure, or it will stop spreading. The media is making it into a bigger story than it actually is just to get their ratings up,” Nate Mintz said.