By: Ariana Rojak, Danielle Shehee, and Lexi Jenkins
April 10, 2020
Many people’s lives have changed drastically recently due to the spread of the Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19). From social distancing to quarantine, it is safe to say that this pandemic has changed a lot in day-to-day life.
In total, the Coronavirus has claimed the lives of 88,433 people, so far. In the United States, there has been a confirmed number of 14,753 deaths. In Europe, Spain has 14,792 deaths, Italy 17,669 deaths, Germany 2,280 deaths, and France 10,869 deaths. In China, where the virus originated, 3,333 deaths have been recorded, and Iran has confirmed 4,003 deaths.
Okay, that information may look scary, but there have also been many recovery cases! In total, 330,589 people have recovered from the Coronavirus. In the United States, 23,774 people have recovered, 48,021 people in Spain, 26,491 in Italy, 32,814 in Germany, 21,254 in France, 77,279 in China, and 29,812 in Iran.
In other good news (outside of recoveries), since the global quarantine has been enforced, air pollution has improved drastically. In Venice, Italy, the water in the canals has run perfectly clear for the first time in 60 years! The water’s clarity has begun attracting more creatures than usual: swans, fish, and even dolphins have been spotted in the waterways, swimming and paddling around in the canals. All of this has occurred because, since everybody is on lock-down, there has been no need for transportation of any kind to be running.
In Venice, the main source of transportation is by boat, and since nobody is driving their boats around lately, the sediment has settled to the bottom and has not been brought to the surface resulting in clear, clean, and beautiful water. The water itself is not necessarily cleaner or in a better condition, but it is less churned-up.
The air quality in Italy has also been less-polluted since there is less boat traffic.
Furthermore, another positive impact that has been noticeable in larger cities is that you are able to see the stars more clearly at night since there is much less light pollution. There are almost no people on the streets, vehicles on the road, planes in the sky, and industries at work.
Even though this is a unique and trying time, one can always find the positives, which truly helps the mind.
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 