COVID-19 has impacted the modern world to a degree few have ever seen. This extremely contagious strain of coronaviruses started in a fish and poultry market in Wuhan City, China in December 2019, and has made its way all across our world in just a few months. While COVID-19 shares similarities with other coronaviruses, like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), it has been spread much faster, and far more than either of the other diseases. As COVID-19 makes its way into every crevice of the world, it is inevitable that some people harbor the disease, whether they know it or not.

Kayla Andrade was one of the first ten COVID-19 cases in Bowling Green, Kentucky. When she found out she had the virus, she immediately started a self quarantine for two weeks with one of her roommates. “It felt like it was never going to get better. I would cry myself to sleep because I had forgotten what it was like to be healthy,” said Andrade.

 Standstill

The presence of the virus has sparked rapid change in the small, college town, of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The closure of Western Kentucky University has caused the liveliness of Bowling Green to dwindle and small businesses to wonder whats next. Health Officials everywhere remain perplexed by COVID-19, and there are currently no remedies in production. This has prompted governing bodies across the world to implement preventative measures to ensure the safety of civilians as medical professionals desperately search for a cure. From travel restrictions, to 6-foot distance mandates, the presence of COVID-19 is continuously felt throughout the globe.

Altered Activities

The copious amount of policy changes have constricted the normal flow of life for the city and its inhabitants in a way they were not prepared for. Still, people everywhere are trying to make the best of it. Companies, businesses, and the people of the community have began to adapt to their new way of life.

Working Through

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) provisional death counts, as of May 23, 2020 there have been over 73,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States since the first recorded death in the country on February 8, 2020. Despite societies inability to combat the disease, many facets of the world we live are too important to be inaccessible. The people who are vital to the function of these essential businesses continuously risk the well being of them and their loved ones to help the rest of us. Businesses are deemed essential if they provide services, or items, that humans cannot live without, like food or healthcare. For some employees, this stems from wanting to enhance people’s quality of life. For others, it’s to ensure the wellbeing of their dreams. Regardless, these people continue to work regularly despite the ever-present societal changes around them.

Bowling Green’s response to government issued mandates based around slowing the spread of COVID-19 are just a few examples of what the human race is dealing with as a whole. In these times of uncertainty, adaptation has proven to be essential in dealing with a foe that has never been seen before.