Covid 19: How quickly it changed ZIS lives

On Friday the 13th March 2020, ZIS middle school students were rounded up after lunch into the school auditorium. The air was buzzing with rumors and anxious whispers about what was going on. At the time there were 1,125 Covid-19 cases in Switzerland. The week prior the first death from Covid-19 in Switzerland was confirmed. ZIS students had recently been told all sporting trips were canceled, and that school was going to be closed on Monday to prepare teachers for online courses in case the school was to shut down. Otherwise, everything else was up in the air. Clusters of students began to sit down and the air was thick with tension. Students left that auditorium with mixed reactions, but all with the common knowledge that school was moving online and all overseas trips were canceled. What we didn’t know at the time is how much this virus would impact every aspect of our lives, and how quickly this pandemic would create our new normal. 

On Tuesday the 17th of March 2020, just four days later Swiss lives were about to be turned upside down. 2,650 people had tested positive for Covid-19 and almost 20 people had died. Over the course of the last four days, 1’525 people contracted Covid-19. From midnight all bars, restaurants, sports facilities, cultural spaces, and all private or public events were banned by the Swiss government until April 19th (for now). At 11:35 that same day Mr. Wood emailed students their online school schedules. ZIS campuses were now officially online. 

Source: www.swissinfo.ch

On Friday the 27th of March 2020, ten days pass and another school week has come to a close, but this is the first full week of Online classes. The new normal for teachers and students. 13,543 people had the virus. The death toll in Switzerland was 197 (according to The Guardian). Every morning middle school students log into google meets at 9:00 am ready for their first block. Teachers check emails for questions and give out assignments on Google Classroom. News channels report the increase in Covid- 19 cases across the globe, and families wait to hear whether or not things are getting better. One ZIS family sits at the dinner table eating pasta bolognese with their eyes glued to the T.V waiting to hear news about the virus.

“In Italy, there’s been the biggest rise of deaths since the beginning of the outbreak there. Almost 1,000 people have died in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths in Italy to more than 9,000…”, the BBC news broadcaster announces. 

They said their dinners used to consist of questions about their school day and banter. Now, their routines have changed. Earlier that day the family was taking a cycle ride to get some fresh air, then later on the two children went to get groceries. Now in local Coop Supermarket staff wear masks, and hand you yellow cards to supervise the number of people inside. Screens are set up in front of the cashiers to stop the spread. Meanwhile in the heart of Zurich what used to be the busiest streets are now deserted. This being only 16 days before this virus was declared by the WHO (World Health Organization) a pandemic. 

Overall ZIS lives have changed dramatically. What started as school being moved online and our first death in Switzerland, has now snowballed into something much bigger. Now, students don’t whether the school will ever return to how it was in February and over 1,800 Covid-19 deaths in Switzerland. Experiences that students across campuses had been working diligently for or were excited to do have been canceled or postponed. MMUN, sports competitions, IB tests, Overseas trips such as Spain and Italy, were all canceled. Our new reality consists of interacting with a two-meter distance and learning online. Small things we’ve taken for granted like seeing our friends each morning or simply going to practice for school sports. The silver lining of all this death, chaos, and isolation is the fact that when restrictions lift we will be more grateful for the small things we have taken for granted. This pandemic is an eye-opening event but should it take a deadly virus to sweep the nation for us to be mindful of what we have and how quickly we can be stripped of our privileges.