On April 23rd, Gov. Pritzker extended the Stay At Home until May 30th. This means that for hopefully most of us, we have been “quarantined for approximately 2 months. I reached out to some students to hear their thoughts about the situation and how they think it will change.

While the order is called a “Stay At Home” it is not necessarily what it sounds like. A “Stay At Home Order”, not to mistaken for a “Shelter In Place Order” means you should stay at home as much as possible while still going to get food, medical care, and working if you are essential.

With the extension of the “Stay At Home” some may think they won’t be able to do anything outside of the home for another month, but that is not the case. “Public Distancing” is a better phrase than “Social Distancing”. The government doesn’t want you to completely cut off all human interaction, they still want you to be social, but still take it seriously. Jade Monroe takes it pretty seriously, having only left her property “maybe five times” during quarantine.

The new modified order taking place May 1st has changed a lot of things. Parks will slowly open up, and people will be able to fish and golf in groups of no more than two. This doesn’t mean you should ignore all the previous advice, still follow public distancing and stay six feet away from others. Seth Bailey is a great example of this. He says “I’m taking it (distancing) somewhat seriously. I don’t go outside and mess with others often, but I don’t stay home all the time.”

To stay updated on current Covid-19 talks tune into the news! While it can be hard to find an unbiased news-source, you can always watch the governors and White Houses live press conferences to get information as soon as it is released. You also get to hear questions from all sides of the political spectrum. That is, if they actually get answered instead of being called losers. Jade Monroe says she is “pretty updated on Covid-19” because she has to read the news everyday. Whereas Seth Bailey, “reads the news every once in a while” but doesn’t follow it too closely.

A big debate in the news recently, is opening the state back up. Some feel it is unfair that the whole state is shut down when most cases are up in Chicago. Jerika Coffman is one of these people saying, “I feel like Illinois isn’t opening back up because of Chicago making the numbers go up, so I think we should do regional opening back up because in places like here it’s not as bad.”

Schoolwork has been a very confusing time right now. While we still should be learning and getting an education right now, it shouldn’t necessarily be priority. We are in the muddle of a global pandemic. There are other things to be worried about right now. However schoolwork can be a relaxing distraction from this dystopia we are living in. Jade says “Relaxing is definitely something that is difficult right now, because staying distracted has typically been better for getting me out of my head.”

However, it can also be hard to stay focused on homework. There currently isn’t any driving force that makes us get up and “go” to school everyday. Take Seth for instance he says “I’m engaged for the most part, but I lack the motivation to really get into it like normal schoolwork.” The teachers have been doing excellent work to help us understand that we are not alone in this situation, it is just something none of us have ever done so it can be difficult.

With the cancellation of on campus school for the 19-20 school year, some wonder what is to come in the fall. Will school remain the same? Will the teachers have to change their style of teaching to help get students back in the swing of things? These are all questions I can’t answer because I won’t be coming back in the fall :(. So, I turned to junior Jerika Coffman to hear her thoughts. Jerika thinks that because of the way things are currently going, the 20-21 school year could possible be online, but if students got the opportunity to go back in the fall, it would most likely stay the same as it has in the past.

Well there is your Covid-19 update leading into May. I hope everyone stays happy and healthy. And remember you are not trapped inside. Go for a walk! Explore the woods! Swim in the creek! Just remember to stay 6 feet apart!