COVID Affects Sports and Small Businesses

“The Governor is in an unenviable position.  He needs to balance public health with mental health and economics,” Coach Zeller said.

COVID has been hitting hard on all of us, but small businesses and sports might be the ones who are getting hit the hardest.

“I feel bad for those who have lost their jobs and for those who have lost family or friends due to COVID.  There are many things, like high school sports, that we will no longer take for granted when we return to normal,” Zeller said.

The first case of COVID-19 was on 17 November  2019; it was a 55-year old citizen in the Hubei province in China. Since then, numbers have escalated, leading to Governor Wolf’s announcement to take further action to stop the spread of the virus. Part of his plan includes stricter gathering regulations and the temporary shutdown of all high school sports; however, collegiate level and professional sports teams are still allowed to play with no spectators. Along with sports, in-person dining is now prohibited, which has been hitting small businesses hard. While some people agree with Governor Wolf’s announcements, many are starting to get annoyed at his seemingly over-cautious plans.

“It’s unconstitutional and too extreme. We are not the size of New York and should not follow the same things that New York’s Governor is setting,” sophomore wrestler Adrian Heffelfinger said.

Along with many Americans, Heffelfinger does not plan on getting the vaccine despite working in a restaurant. Part of it is because he simply does not believe there is enough research on the vaccine, but his mother and himself are also anti-vaxxers.

On the other hand, Zeller fully plans to receive the vaccine in order to keep himself and those around him more protected. Zeller also is helping small businesses by ordering out from local restaurants and bars. 

Both Heffelfinger and Zeller adhere to the COVID guidelines on wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing guidelines, and avoiding small gatherings. 

There is a lot of debate on when COVID will be out of American lives, but Zeller is hopeful that it will at least be under control by late summer of 2021.

Some people believe that the vaccine isn’t necessary and getting COVID is as simple as getting the flu.

“I believe that it should run its course and everyone will get it, so there is no need to shut down,” Heffelfingr said.