The COVID 19 pandemic has put our nation and the world in a situation  we’ve never seen before. We are on high alert, with anxious people all around. All over the world, people are dealing with not only the health risks and deaths, but also the serious economic implications of a shutdown in America. People are losing their jobs or are left unable to find one with the government closing most non-essential businesses. The crisis had made it difficult for the economy to remain stable. In Texas there have already been more than one million unemployment claims for people who have lost their jobs, according to a KXAN News in Austin article  on April 10, 2020.

According to United Nations University, “Our estimates show that COVID poses a real challenge to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty by 2030 because global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990…”

While people try to end or decrease poverty, this pandemic could be harder to decline by 2030. In addition to KFF, “The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to create a ‘new era’ of poverty, putting decades of progress at risk, research from the United Nations University suggests.” So as much as we want to stop poverty and to get out of being quarantined, we need to stop spreading the virus. most importantly.

To stop the Coronavirus, the Coronavirus Guidelines For America  advise us to quarantine for now. Even though most of us hate it, we must protect each other before we can end another serious global crisis. To stop the spread, we have to stay in our homes. We can explore ideas with one another about how we can stop the population of poverty increasing, by staying home and doing a zoom chat. 

When you’re at the store to pick up essentials, please don’t take more supplies that you already have. Hoarding supplies is really wasting everybody’s time. While they come to the store by searching stuff that they need and leaving them with nothing to bring to their families. Even poor families or families with low income try to save their money for essentials that they really need. “What we can do is to not buy a lot of stuff that we don’t necessarily need,” said Abigail Martinez, an 8th grader at Dobie Jr. High. 

Another way to help local less fortunate families during this pandemic is to donate to nonprofit foundations or make a care package for a neighbor in need. “What we can do is buy stuff for them like food, gloves, masks, etc. And give it to them. Even while we are distancing from each other,” said Martinez. And if you’re feeling extra generous, you can donate money or essentials to small local businesses and restaurants. We can all do something to help, even if it is small in our own homes or in the community.