Media spitting out alerts. Students told not to return to school for three weeks. H-E-B flooded with customers. Seniors fear that they are missing the final days of their high school experience.

The COVID-19 situation seems to be worsening by the day.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there are 124,021 active global cases, up about 40 percent from March 1st. About 94 percent of current cases are in mild condition, leaving roughly six percent of patients in critical condition.

The United States has the seventh-most active cases in the world, behind Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, France, China and South Korea respectively. China, where COVID-19 originated in the city of Wuhan, has endured a total of 80,894 cases, far more than any other nation. 69,614 patients have recovered, however, which could foreshadow a recovery for other nations. 

Locally, schools in Comal ISD have been shut down until at least April 6th, including all UIL-sanctioned activities: band, theater, sports, etc.

According to KSAT News, Comal County officials have confirmed the first case in the county. The case is travel-related and the patient remains in self-quarantine. The county judge, Sherman Krause, signed a disaster declaration for Comal County this morning. The declaration will remain in effect for seven days.

Many students and athletes have been struggling with the suspension of their activities and seasons. Senior soccer player Esther Hicks is one such person. 

“It is very disappointing,” Hicks said. “I had high hopes for our varsity team, and for our season to possibly be taken away by a virus that hasn’t hit us yet is ridiculous. Others will believe otherwise, but as a soon-to-be college athlete, you have a responsibility to your sport and to yourself. I hope the other girls on the varsity team understand that during this break we have.”

As a soccer player myself, I understand the struggle of losing the opportunity to finish out the season, and I sympathize with athletes of other sports, especially seniors, who are unable to compete in the sport they love. I also fear that the constant stream of negative information coming from the media is becoming detrimental to those quarantined at home.

Fear is a dominant emotion in those of us locked inside, listening to the steady torrent of pessimistic news coming from our televisions. The hope for a global recovery may be enough to shine a light on the world’s nightmare.