Orange County has seen a new wave of the coronavirus, leaving victims and those affected frustrated and confused. 

Covid-19 made history in 2020 with its arrival to the U.S. in early March. After a couple years, the pandemic came to an end and people were able to go back to their normal lives consisting of work, school, and activities. The virus returned around the end of summer 2023 and began picking up speed while infecting a handful of individuals, vaccinated or unvaccinated. 

Senior, Eli Gunn, was a victim of the second wave of this virus. After being interviewed, he said, “Getting covid during this resurgence was scary and upsetting, but luckily I had little to no symptoms. Even then, I had to wait 5 days before I tested negative and could return to school. Thankfully it’s not as bad as it was when it started, but still should be avoided.”

This virus was a huge problem at the beginning of 2020 as it was a worldwide phenomenon. School had to be shut down, and online school was the only option for an extended amount of time, which was later deemed to be unreliable to maintain education. Many employees became self-employed and the USA broke down into depression. We are hoping this will not be an outcome of this new wave. 

The disease unexpectedly began appearing in Orange County at a rapid speed, causing California to create a mask mandate which was later and more recently denied by majority rule. Although this mandate was denied, folks are still having some troubles maintaining their work and school life around this virus which seems to be making its way towards a large variety of people.

Ticket Broker and Alcoholics Anonymous speaker, Scott Jannard, shared, “Covid-19 severely hurt my business back in 2020. I was unable to make any money off of tickets and I had to resort to my unemployment benefits. Social events almost never occurred for me anymore, and I could not do the thing I loved the most anymore, speaking to a crowd. 

This not only hurt my income but also my mental health. Now that we have surpassed Covid, I am on a much better track and things have finally gone back to normal. Hopefully this virus will not be a huge issue this time, and if it is we should be able to find solutions much better than we did last time.”

As Covid cases increase throughout Orange County, we encourage people to take precautions and follow rules meant to keep everyone safe and healthy.