COVID Stories Worldwide
Arts Heal Hearts
'C-19' for sure has affected ALL of us to some degree. And I can see how its particularly affecting the students and high school students for sure, leaving them high and dry about their future plans. This is not how a school year was supposed to be!
High school years are supposed to be delicate/exciting/unnerving/fun times in a student's life. They engage in activities and academics, giving their very best and look forward to seeing the fruits of their hard but all this has suddenly vanished into thin air, making them think less or more about their future - well this depends on the individual.
'C-19' situation, has definitely taught them to think out of the box, be open to ideas and make the most of what comes along their way. C-19 has forced them to expanded their boundaries, shed the normal they were use to and had taken for granted! Some positive out of this - again it depends on the individual!
I wish all the students and high schoolers ALL the VERY BEST for their future. Look at the positive side of this situation, just as I tell my high schooler son.
-P B, Lethbridge, Canada
I kept up with the rapid spread of the coronavirus as it travelled from China, to British Columbia, to here in my city. I feared what the virus would do to the world, and well, all these deaths have truly horrified me. I can't help but be reminded of those close to me while watching photos, videos, and stories of those suffering under the pandemic. However, I'm keeping optimistic about our progress in stomping out Covid-19 for good.
-Amanda D, Lethbridge, Canada
I am mbbs student from India when I chose this profession I felt very happy that I can serve people but few situations made me change my opinion like we being doctors every second we are risking our life to save the patients but people are not giving respect to doctors and abusing them badly and beating doctors. Everyday morning when I go through social media I am seeing the news about how patient attenders are treating doctors ,abusing them, beating them . It’s very sad to see all these every day.Sometimes I will be thinking one day I might be in that situation but whatever it might be WE ARE ALWAYS THERE TO TREAT PEOPLE.
-Rakesh, Guntur, India
Before covid-19 pandemic came my mother was constantly in and out of the hospital for lung issue. When the pandemic came and the government put restrictions it made it difficult to visit my mom. Each visit required who I was, get my temperature checked and call to ward to make sure I could come. When the covid restrictions changed my father was only person able to see my mom. When she moved to the Hotspice three could go at a time, however, you had to put on a mask, shield, gloves, shoe cover and gown every visit. It was tough, but with the doctor and nurses doing what they can to protect families from covid they are doing the best they can with the information they have. For the doctors and nurses they see covid patients first hand and know they are putting their lives on the line to save others. When this pandemic is under control the Healthcare workers need a big thank you for being there when we needed them. Also all the people who work in retail like myself who kept on working during the pandemic to help people get the basic needs such as food, medicine and other goods during this time deserve thanks.
-Anupam C, Canada
Personally, I DESPISE COVID. In school, I am not allowed to play with other classes and I constantly have to wear a mask and all the teachers must ask me to speak up. Gym class at school is a nightmare! We must always stop gym 10 mins early so that we can sanitize all of the equipment. Now we get zones at recess and we have zone 1 Monday zone 2 Tuesday zone 3 Wednesday zone 4 Thursday then again the worst zone, zone 1 on Friday then Monday again! Another thing is all of the events I partake in are now online! That is sad and all, but the worst part is our protection. Each day before I sleep I watch the news and the thousands of infections and deaths from COVID and the VARIENTS. It is heartbreaking to know how many people are dying and how hard the frontline workers are trying. I know for a fact that every time a patient dies the doctors are thinking ''Could I have done better?'' and I hate to see doctors being so hard on themselves right after they tried their hardest. We are also too hard on doctors we normally would go to a doctor tell them our problem then expect something to cure us. If they don't have an answer we should respect that they are trying their best and not think that they should have an answer to everything because they are doctors. That is why I think all of these ''Human rights'' of not wearing a mask or not getting the vaccine must stop because this does not only help us it helps those around us. A famous influencer once said and I quote ''If we want to get out of this virus WE must think as WE, not ME.
I am a final year mbbs student from India. Before covid 19 the learning process was a very good interactive session to learn from patients, we see . We talk to them daily and discuss the cases with our professor but as this pandemic started everything became online classes ,exams, postings it affected my clinicals a lot ,learning from online classes is different and difficult. But this pandemic affected everyone both physically and mentally . Staying strong in this tough times is important. Recently during our exams it was very difficult to give exams online then I understood how our lives are changed with this pandemic. Seeing people die everyday with covid , hearing all this news affects our mental health a lot . Staying with good mental is very important now . Wearing a mask is not only the thing but wearing mask correctly is more important . I observed many people wearing mask but not covering their nose properly .
-Akhila N, Anantapur, India
Life has been changed due to COVID -19. I was off work almost an year but recently I have been working. Its hard to believe how much COVID has changed my work environment. There are so less children in the center, even parents are not allowed to enter the centre. Educators are so limited when it comes to planning the activities such as water play, sand play, dress play or any other types of sensory play. As an educator, I have been noticing how these little children also concern about COVID when at this age they should be spending their time playing and enjoying their life. COVID has been affecting them socially and mentally. COVID has changed how I used to participate seminars with other professionals. We do it now too but its all virtual. I had planned to see my family in Bangladesh but now it worries me and I dont feel comfortable during COVID. I am not sure when i will be able to visit my family. I have been missing going out parties and places with my friends. COVID has been worring me about my Family and friends as i want everyone to be safe.
Read stories on how Covid-19 has impacted people from across the world.
-Mita C, Lethbridge, Canada
-Avinash C, Grade 5, Lethbridge, Canada
With the COVID cases raising in USA in March 2020, my Hospital infectious physician called me and told that the patient I provided clinical care was positive for COVID. Even though we took the universal precautions during the clinical care, I have to be in home quarantine for 14 days. With the high risk family member in house, I stayed in one small room to prevent any possibility of transmitting the COVID virus. First 2 days,I was passing my time by watching movies and doing some exercises. On 3rd day, I got so bored and my wife gave me the art supplies (canvas, brushes and acrylic paints) that she got for my daughter. I started painting, and realized how relaxing and fun it could become to paint. By the end of my home quarantine, I did almost 10 paintings. The last time I did painting was in 2002, because the life got so busier later with lot of things. I have to make some sacrifices to achieve my goal, my painting and writing poetry passions have been sacrificed. With the support of my family and friends, I started my passion of painting art again and enjoying it . For the past one year, I almost painted 50 paintings inspired from youtube art videos, nature, and women in my life (Mom, Sister, Wife, Daughter). The past one year has been tough time for all including me. Introducing arts into our daily lives will heal the hearts and minds to bring safe and healthy future.
-Lucky, USA
In this time of pandemic all of our normal day to day activities are altered. We missed going out with friends, meeting people. There will be something good in everything. I utilised the lockdown to improve my personality. I focused more on self care. This helped me not to succumb to depression. I used to go for walk. I used to workout daily and attend classes online. I hope all of you who are reading find a hobby and cope up with the current situation. Wear a mask, use sanitizer, stay home and stay safe.
-Pushkar Sai V, Kolar, India
Covid really took us all by surprise. Complete involuntary isolation with no end in sight drained all of us, but we got through it as a community. It has been an opportunity of self growth and reflection, and has led to us appreciating everything even that slight bit more !!
-Appu, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Greetings everyone. Recently, I joined in Government Health care service after 13 years of long service in Private Health care sector. We never expected a second wave of Covid of that fast and dangerous. Started in the middle of April, still continuing all over the India... we are currently working in ACSR Government general hospital, Nellore, AP. Intially 150 Covid admissions were there and very few Discharges. We formed a discharge protocol team and I am the Nodal officer for the Discharge team. We made rounds in every Covid ward and started discharging stable patients who are not having any complications, so that needy patients will get their Beds. Joint Collector Harendra prasad IAS did everything for the Establishment of necessary Oxygen beds which is a herculean task. Now daily Discharges and Admissions are equal, meaning that the second wave is in Plateau stage. Hopefully we will reach normalcy within a month. All the Government doctors have been divided into 3 teams, 1. 8am to 2pm, 2. 2pm to 8pm and 3. 8pm to 8am and working continuously without any single holiday... No Sunday.. No Ramzan... Daily one thing continuously runs in our minds... Responsible Duty...as we promised in our Hippocrates Oath... So we are doing, and what may come...
I hate this Covid! I go to school every day and I hate to wear a mask because it's annoying but I wear it for safety. Covid in school is terrible. We no longer get to play with other classes. I go to elementary school but my sister's school has a lot of cases. It was my birthday in February and I couldn't have a party. I really hope no one goes to other peoples houses. If they went, someone else could've had a really bad struggle. Don't do that. I hope you all are safe and good. I got sick a bunch but I got a covid test and it was negative. It went away in a few days and it makes it really hard. I hope there's not much more bad stuff. I hope every one gets covid vaccines. I am lucky to not get covid. I hope you get lucky too.
-Abhi, Grade 3 Canada
It has been a difficult journey so far with COVID times. I am a pediatrician and working in hospital wearing PPE everyday has been difficult. Most kids/young patients need friendly rapport and connection with their doctors for better care. Due to distancing and safety protocols this has been affected. Many of our pediatric team members had to go into isolation because of contacts with COVID patients. This has been hard on rest of the team and patient care in general. Unfortunately staff has been stressed due to constant risk from exposure. We have more kids impacted by stressed parents, financial burden and increased anxiety. Many mothers were separated from their babies who were admitted to the baby unit because of COVID restrictions. It was heart breaking to see people go through this. We unfortunately lost a colleague to COVID recently. He had been an amazing and supportive human being which has caused a major deficit to the team.
-Ram, Canada
I hate this COVID virus! All my activities like Karate, swimming have been shut down due to COVID-19. I can't play with other classes and was restricted to go only to certain areas inside the school. I wish to go to any zone, anytime and do whatever I like. It is sad to see many people getting sick and dying from COVID-19, which is stressful. Wearing masks is hard and it sometimes irritates your ears at the end of the day. I am also sad since I can not have playdates with my friends. I hate the protocols and my least favorite one is wearing a mask in the gym. I don't like to have dry hands and I get that from using the sanitizer even though it helps me stay safe. I hope COVID-19 goes away very soon and the world would become lively like in the past.
-Satvik G, Grade 5, Canada
I hate Covid-19 because I can not play with friends during the pandemic. People are dying because of covid-19!!!!!. I also can not do karate during Covid-19. In school, we can not play outside with people in other classes. In school, we have to follow a lot of covid protocol. In online school is boring. It is very very very boring being stuck in the house and being not able to go to places because of covid-19. Covid has made people more sanitary.
There are many reasons why I don't like COVID.
#1. I cannot see my brother at recess time because each class need to go at different time
#2.One of my friend named Ethan could not come for a playdate or to my birthday party.
#3. In music class, I am not allowed to touch any music instruments
#4. I don't like wearing my mask at school
#5. I cannot go to any of my friend's house
-Anish C, Grade 1 Lethbridge, Canada
I would like to share my experience and thoughts on this pandemic so far. Being a doctor I have faced many challenges myself in caring for my patients. We have had to change the way we connected with patients by doing phone calls and making video conferences without seeing in person which was challenging. I have seen many effects of covid leading to mental health issues, deaths, sicknesses leading to multiple health issues which has been very hard on all of us. It was challenging to learn everyday about new developments in vaccines and how this virus mutates. Our travel plans were ruined and having to stay away from all friends/family has been very hard. However, I felt like we as a family spent more time together and wearing masks/ sanitizing also helped reduce various other infections. I learnt that we are all dependant on each other and the community. On a positive note,I have seen people standing up for each other and helping others in crisis which is inspiring.
-Niva, Canada
When COVID was declared a pandemic in March 2020 and all restrictions were imposed we were in USA doing our kid's dream vacation trip to Disneyland. We have to drop our vacation and rush back to Canada. We did two weeks of self-isolation being very anxious about what was happening around the world. I never thought that the week before vacation will be my last week in the office. We never go back to the office after that. Working from home was very challenging especially if your kids are doing homeschooling online. I really miss my daily interactions with my colleagues and all the fun we were used to having like Christmas potluck, Charitable events. I wish it would never happen in the first place. Pandemic made me think about our front-line health workers who are fighting for every Canadian. My respect for them is growing every day. We have one family member who contracted COVID and extremely stressful time when he was admitted to the hospital for breathing trouble. I really miss all the social gatherings with my friends, community. I hope the future holds good for every human being and science defeats this virus. The normal world having all social life back is my dream now.
-Gurdip V, Canada
-Dave V, Grade 4, Canada
-Dr N Khadervali, Nellore, India
It's been really hard to learn during Covid. Online classes are boring and I don't really learn much. For me specifically, it's been really hard to focus on learning. At school, I really understand what I learn, while during online, It's a lot harder paying attention. School was pretty stressful online. Since it was hard to pay attention, getting assigiment in was hard. After coming back to regular school, it was hard for me and many of my classmates to really understand what was going on. Extracurricular activites are really hard to do during the pandemic too. During the start of the pandemic, all of my after school activity shut down. I used to do Karate, and it shut down due to covid. I only started doing it again in november, with high restrictions, and a lot less people in the class. It shut down after a month due to new covid restrictions in my province. It got moved online, and I find it a lot less fun then it used to be.
I was in my high school history class when I first heard about the pandemic and how it would be affecting all of us as a whole. School got shut down, sports got cancelled, and I was not able to go outside for weeks. My only hope was that everyone I was close to was going through the same thing as me. I lost most of my senior year of high school and missed most of the opportunities that I would have received in a normal year. While this has been super unfortunate and I have not been able to participate in the things I hoped to, I have created new memories and learned more about the world as a whole. Although this wasn’t the outcome I was hoping for, I believe that it was better. I got to meet new people, discover new technological methods of communication, learn to face challenges and still accomplish my goals, and continue to make more and more memories unlike I ever have before. As I finish out my senior year, I tell myself every day that I will always remember the year of 2020 and 2021 as the year that we all got through the COVID-19 pandemic together.