The infamous coronavirus: are people taking it seriously? To fully pick a side on a seemingly nationwide debate, one would have to check the daily cases and draw from personal experiences to garner whether or not people are staying inside and taking the necessary precaution to keep safe when they do go out to get essentials. As I’ve watched the days of quarantine go by, I find myself arguing that citizens are taking this pandemic seriously.

  As a Publix associate, I witness how people and businesses are taking this virus as if it’s a true enemy during wartime. Citizens (including my fellow associates) don’t undermine the possible threat of the disease. At Publix, we enforce that no customer is allowed inside the store without a mask, a rule put into effect on April 10; but, days before this was announced, most customers began to wear gloves and masks, visible evidence to the caution that people are trying to put forth. 

  Social distancing has become a trend throughout these past couple of weeks, so much so that even celebrities are sharing on their social media accounts the importance of staying inside in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People are taking into consideration the advice given by celebrities and, of course, health officials like Dr.Fauci. And as a result, the daily amount of new cases has decreased tremendously according to worldometers.info. Their graph shows that from April 1st to April 15th, the daily amount of cases has dropped from 33,752 to 26,641. That’s a significant decrease which many can accredit to people following the guidelines. Although citizens are working hard to isolate, people still utilize the great outdoors. When I go outside to ride my bike, I see people running or going on family bike rides. While doing so, they still wear their protective gear and stay clear from other people. Outside of my community the streets are quiet as people stay close to sanitized areas. 

  With everyone taking this seriously, we will all see the end of this pandemic soon. Sports will continue, students and teachers will go back to school, and traffic (sadly) will resume. We as a community will see what we did wrong beforehand, and we’ll correct ourselves. We should consider this a warning from mother nature.