The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 2 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on October 16, 2020.
Jovana Jovanovska ’23
Staff Writer
Another month has passed and our lives continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students at Lake Forest College are already halfway into the Fall semester, and learning from various locations, whether that’s on campus with the small number of students who were allowed to remain there, a nearby town, a faraway state, or even across the ocean. Even now, students at Lake Forest College, as well as at other schools that have decided to have a completely online fall semester, are still uncertain about whether they will be able to return to campus in the spring.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there have been 7,835,007 cases in the United States as of October 14. In the past week, the most cases have been recorded in Texas, California, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Illinois is in 3rd place for most cases in the country, with 20,031 new cases. The majority of the deaths occurred in Florida, Texas, and California. Although Florida did not place among the states with most cases, it is a leader in deaths, with 764 deaths in the past seven days, as of October 14.
In the past week, there also has been an increase in the average incidence rate among Lake Forest residents, rising from 0.74 per 10,000 people on October 5 up to 1.49 per 10,000 people on October 12. In Lake County, Illinois, however, the rate has been more stable with 1.32 per 10,000 on October 5 and 1.37 per 10,000 residents on October 12.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide, as of October 14, there are 38,002,699 cases and 1,083,234 confirmed deaths. Most of the cases are in the United States, India, and Brazil. In terms of continents, the most cases can be found in America (18,144,366), followed by Asia (11,858,004) and Europe (6,250,851). The least number of cases are in Oceania, where there are only 35,862 cases on the entire continent.
COVID-19 is still a concern in our everyday life and should not be neglected. Remember to wear your mask, practice social distancing, and take time for yourself whenever you need to combat Zoom fatigue.
