How I have experienced the 2020 lockdown
A) Jonas
Right now, in the world we are in a
fight of our lives against the coronavirus. It has
affected many people including myself. I'm
now at home every day and it really is
affecting me socially. Not being able to speak
to friends and see people I see on a regular
basis is hard for me. Also, now that school is
closed for the rest of the year it has really had
an effect on my school life. I am not used to
being at home all the time and working on the
computer. I'm usually in a classroom
surrounded by my peers. However, I am
human so I will learn to adapt, but for now it is
hard. With social distancing, we now separate
ourselves from other parts of society. This has
made me feel very much disconnected from
my friends. This has allowed my mind to go to
the dark side, where my fears come out. My
main fear is “How long will my life be on
pause?” I’m afraid of how long I will be stuck
in the house and can’t see my friends.
 
B) Samantha
Being a senior in high school during
lockdown has really been difficult to deal with.
Milestones for a graduate like senior pinning,
prom, graduation, senior picnic, senior skip
day, and open houses are all being canceled or
postponed because of the virus. This
disconnect from people is heartbreaking and
hard to say the least; this year is supposed to
be the year where I live it out with these
people who are so close to me because I don’t
know when I will see these friends again after
I graduate. But I cannot say that I am angry
that this is happening; there probably would
have been more cases of positive COVID-19
diagnoses had facilities been open and had
there not been such a big disconnect. Having a
member of my family that has contracted the
virus, I have really become more fearful of this
pandemic. It has really made me think about
the statewide shelter-in-place order and how
important it is to ensure the safety of myself
and others.
C) Katelyn
Many things have changed as a result
of COVID-19. Instead of being in a classroom
and learning, we are sent projects and given
work online. School being closed is just one
way COVID-19 has caused a lot of damage.
When I first left my house in weeks to restock
on supplies and groceries, I wasn't expecting
the world to be in such a panic. Many stores
were sold out of supplies. Hundreds of
homeless or disadvantaged people were
standing in long lines outside Social Service in
need of food and home supplies. As we stood
in that line, I silently watched the people
around us. Many adults and kids were wearing
face masks, with latex gloves to protect their
hands. Though everyone was so close, we
were so separated. Usually, people would be
socializing but everyone just wanted to
protect themselves. That’s when it hit me:
COVID-19 won't just blow over — it's a
pandemic that's slowly sweeping throughout
the nation wreaking havoc everywhere it goes.
While standing in that line I overheard a
conversation with two elderly men and a lady.
They were talking about how many jobs were
being cut and how the government was
setting a curfew. That was a few weeks ago,
the last time I left my house.
D) Kevin
I'm an introvert but I’m used to a
little social interaction. Now that’s not even an
option, and I feel isolated from the real world.
I try not to worry much when thinking of
COVID-19, but one fear always creeps in. My
mom works two jobs. When she goes to work,
she makes sure she disinfects her whole work
area. She also brings a personal hand sanitizer
with her to clean her hands. When her shift is
over, she still has to put back stock, so she
wears latex gloves to prevent any
contamination. When she gets off work every
day she comes straight in and takes a shower.
Every night she washes her clothes; she says
it’s to stop the germs from traveling. My mom
fears catching the virus and spreading it to our
family. But she knows she still has to provide
for her family and keep her commitment to
her job.
Read the previous texts and match them with the questions below. Write A, B, C or D.
1. Who is shocked by the extent of the crisis in the world? ……
2. Who misses out on important and unique things in their lives? ……
3. Who thinks that eventually they will get accustomed to the new way of learning? ……
4. Who mentions the effects of the pandemic on employment issues? ……
5. Whose family member has been infected by the virus? ……
6. Whose family member tries hard to avoid contacting the virus? ……
7. Who mentions their personality traits? ……
8. Who is really afraid of losing their ordinary way of life? ……
9. Who believes that the lockdown has more advantages than disadvantages? ……
10. Who talks about the ways people try to protect themselves from the virus? …… ……

Greece comes out of lockdown

9 May 2020
Choose and write:

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A (1) staged lifting of the lockdown measures imposed by the Greek government early in March
in response to the COVID-19 (2) pandemic began May 4.
In a televised address a few days before, the Prime Minister announced that, as of May 4,
citizens will no longer need to have (3) documentary evidence justifying any outing,
although travel outside of the prefecture of residence still remains restricted.
The gradual opening of retail stores will take place over a two-week period, except for
shopping malls, which will open again on June 1 along with bars, restaurants and hotels. High schools
will gradually start to open on May 11 starting with the senior year, while primary and nursery schools
will remain shut until June 1.
Greece’s relatively low death toll is largely due to the (4) prompt imposition of the
lockdown measures, which were enforced earlier than other European countries. Before a death had
been recorded in the country, carnivals were cancelled at the end of February. Schools were shut
March 10, while commercial businesses except for supermarkets, bakeries and grocery stores were
shut in the week that followed. Greece imposed a (5) nationwide lockdown early in this
coronavirus (6) outbreak, a move that has been credited with keeping the number of deaths and
severely ill at low levels.
But while Greece has so far managed to (7) weather the health crisis quite well, it’s
expected to be one of the European countries to suffer the most from the pandemic's economic
fallout - even as it had finally showed signs of a recovery after a decade of (8) recession, austerity
and sluggish growth.
According to the IMF’s (International Monetary Fund) latest (9) forecast, Greece’s GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) is now expected to drop by 10 per cent this year. That would make the
Greek economy the hardest hit across the entire Eurozone, largely because of its heavy (10)
reliance on tourism.