The coronavirus pandemic is one that has had most parts of the world on shutdown, with everyone anxiously waiting to see what happens next. The virus, which initially erupted from the city of Wuhan China is spreading fast to other parts of the world, with countries such as Italy, Spain, the U.S.A and others recording alarming rates of cases than the former.
The World Health Organization (WHO) affirms that coronavirus/COVID-19 is from a large family of viruses that causes moderate respiratory illness. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illnesses.
Academic activities have been suspended in institutions since the early outbreak of COVID-19 in the TRNC, and the Eastern Meditteranean University (EMU) is no exception. In a bid to find out how students are coping with the ongoing self-isolation, Gündem newspaper contacted some EMU students who responded as follow:
“It presents extra rest time, which of course comes with a little anxiety and uncertainty, but asides from those two negatives, the rest isn’t bad, but I do wish online classes would commence soon” – Anonymous.
“It was a bit scary during the first week but now I feel a lot safer. Due to the measures being taken, I spend most of my time writing, watching movies and exploring new interests” – Anonymous.
“I think pharmacies should continue to be open and I’m sad that this would probably affect the spring festival which I have really been looking forward too” – Anonymous.
“On the island, I haven’t witnessed anyone panicking which is good, but back home my parents are really panicking. It hasn’t really been much of a problem here, my advice would be that people who are under self-isolation should not be smoking, because the virus has to do with the lungs; it affects the lungs. I think online classes would make things a lot better. I also feel masks and hand sanitizers should be more accessible” – Temple.
“Throughout this experience, I have felt everything from fear to anxiety to the hope that everything would be fine. It really feels like I am in a movie because this whole experience has really made me take note of how often I touch my face and pay more attention to making sure my environment is germ-free. I have spent most of this isolation period reading books and watching movies, although this break has been nice; I really can’t wait for everything to go back to normal” – Eri-ife.
It is clear that everyone anxiously looks forward to the end of this pandemic. In the midst of this trying moment, we urge students and locals to continue to remain strong and help each other more than ever. You can do so by volunteering to buy groceries for the elderly, by making sure you remain at home and go out only when absolutely necessary and keeping the environment clean.
Stay indoors, be SAFE and motivated. we shall soon overcome these trying times!!!
