Due to travel bans, social distancing, and working from home, the coronavirus has helped lower the number of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases and improved the world’s overall carbon footprint. In Italy and China, the air quality has increasingly improved because the population is to remain at home. According to the BBC, both countries have recorded lower nitrogen dioxide levels and the changes can also be noted through satellite images. A European Space Agency satellite image shows Italy’s levels decreasing and NASA shows that China’s levels between January 1-20, 2020 and February 10-25, 2020 have significantly decreased. There has also been a 5-10% drop in carbon dioxide in New York with addition to a decline in methane.

Because we cannot have physical contact with people who have obtained the virus, this is the perfect time to experiment and improve technology to help solve these problems. A practice called telehealth or telemedicine could be our potential savior. According to Medicaid.gov, telemedicine is interactive communication between the patient and the physician without physical contact. We can achieve this electronic communication through the use of interactive telecommunications such as videos, audios, and eventually robots. At MedStar Washington Center, there currently are six robots that navigate the hospital halls to deliver medicine, linens, lunches and more. Their services help free up human health providers to do more substantial tasks. This does not include surgical robots that assist professional, certified surgeons. In fact, the usage of these surgical robots has resulted in more precise and accurate outcomes that have led to better patient recuperation.

The coronavirus has caused the economy and businesses, whether big or small, to decline. Unfortunately, many businesses are expected to go out of business or bankrupt and many people are getting laid off. But because of this, people have learned to better appreciate workers at their local grocery store and small businesses by increasing the service gratuities and participating in activities, such as “The Great American Takeout” day to help boost local businesses.

Social distancing has made it difficult for us to see our friends and family.  However, technology allows us to keep “close” even while we are keeping everyone safe from the virus.  A great example of this is through the use of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and even group video chats such as Zoom. A choral organization in Ontario Canda called “Choir! Choir! Choir! (CCC)” organized, a worldwide social singing event named “Choir!ntine” using Facebook, to provide assurance that we are not alone in this fight. Other ways organizations are using social media to bring comfort into peoples’ homes, is via the usage of live streaming. One of the local churches in Wexford, Saints John and Paul, live streams its masses every day at 9 am.

With all this downtime during the quarantine, many are able to complete projects or pursue other hobbies that they didn’t have time to do before. Families are able to spend more time together, people are able to cook or learn new dishes, and some people are even able to clean a room in their house that they never had time to get around to. People are also able to try new activities, try different styles, or trying to get in shape before the summertime. For example, I have seen many trendy videos or TikToks that have shown people gettings bangs, dying their hair, demonstrating workouts, or attempting new projects such as making whipped coffee.  

I don’t know about you, but even though I love my family dearly, sometimes I just need to get out of the house and to be away from them, and I think many can agree. So, people now want to have more time to clear their minds and to walk, run, or play outside. With that said, many people have been utilizing community parks and trails as a form of a “getaway” because many of the non-essential businesses have closed. Not only will there be the revival of parks, but more people will appreciate nature’s beauty and be more conscious of their steps in preserving the planet.

The coronavirus is affecting everyone, everywhere, and in doing so, it could possibly bring people to together to fight for one common goal. Everyone has their own beliefs, such as political or religious, but with the same external threat, COVID -19, we might be able to put our differences aside and fight the “enemy”. This could possibly be shown through the indomitable spirit of the public. On Saturday, March 27, at exactly 7 p.m., New Yorkers leaned out of their windows and applauded for all essential workers for several minutes. Events similar to this, are happening worldwide in Italy, Spain, and India, to show that we are all in this together.