By: Brycen Woodin

Since the start of Covid-19, school work has been a struggle because the area that my father resides in doesn’t have the best of Wi-Fi. To fix this issue, I have made the decision to spend my time in quarantine with my mother in Rochester, NY. Since being here, I have noticed many struggles that my mother has endured during this Covid-19 pandemic. Some of them have hurt us not only financially, but have put an emotional strain on our family, in addition to all of us being in such tight quarters for the last six weeks.

My mother is the owner of Pawsnickety Grooming, in Gates, NY. With a 4.7 rating and a great name made for herself in this area, everyone wants to get on to her client list. When Covid-19 started, the main idea of the quarantine was to shut down for the start of two weeks and hopefully stop the rapidly inclining spread of the virus that now has been known to claim the lives of thousands. We started the quarantine off with closing shop and staying in for the two weeks that Governor Cuomo mandated. Once the two weeks were up, we had to search for questions about whether it was safe to re-open. With no direct answer, we had to call the state for answers and, even with five people calling trying to get through to someone who could help us, there was still no answer. With no ability to bring in any money, my mom applied for unemployment with hopes to receive the flat rate unemployment as well as the six-hundred-dollar bonus; six weeks later there’s still no word and still no money. With no way to work, and no ability to make money elsewhere, there is not any way for us to eat, either.

The state of New York mandated that we closed everything on March 23. Since businesses have been closed, Governor Cuomo has made a list of promises for New York. A lot of those promises are, for example, if in violation of social distancing and caught within this violation, it calls for a thousand dollar fine. Also, Governor Cuomo promised free Coronavirus testing to the public, so they get the opportunity to see whether they have the virus or not. Governor Cuomo has promised to hand out to all of New York state alcohol-based hand sanitizer and has not followed through with this promise, unless you are within the tri-state area. Since these promises have been provided to the public for the safety of all those living in New York, the cases have dropped rapidly, for those who follow through with the recommendations.  All Covid-19 facts are being provided and updated on the Governor.nys.gov website, including the information I have stated above.

To get everyone back to work and into normal routine again, it’s going to take everyone to follow temporary state laws and the police, as well, to enforce these laws to decrease the curve of the growing Covid-19 cases. If these simple laws are not followed, there will be no estimated time of return to work, schools, and life as it is.