By Emma Goularte, Special to the Herald

COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, has been a non-stop talked about topic in the news and social media. This new virus attacks the respiratory system and shows itself by illuminating flu-like symptoms such as a fever, dry cough, sore throat, and in extreme cases difficulty breathing. It can be spread through human contact by a person infected with the virus by coughing, sneezing, or saliva.

This infectious virus can be deadly when it is contracted by older generations or people who have preexisting conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease. This makes people more susceptible to the virus and can make symptoms more severe.

Due to the lives that have been affected by the Coronavirus, Benicia has taken the next step to help prevent the spread of the disease. Benicia Unified School District started out by canceling all extracurricular activities, including anything not part of the students’ class schedule. All sporting events were canceled, along with the New York Band trip to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and many others.

This brought seasons and events that students worked toward all year long to a close abruptly.

“It’s very disappointing overall,” said senior Jett Walker. “My friends and I have been looking forward to 2020 ever since we got into high school and now everything seems to have gone down the drain. It feels like one big, bad dream in a way.”

On March 13, Solano County took precautions and closed down all schools for the next two weeks. The shutdown began March 16 and was supposed to end March 27. Recent updates from Benicia High School Principal Brianna Kleinshmidt have been exchanged between students, parents, and faculty to keep up with what to expect for the remaining school year.

As of March 17, the school closure has been extended through April 10, which includes spring break.

“I think that the school closure is a good idea to mitigate the spread, but I feel like a lot of college students and high school seniors are having a harder time because we are missing out on so much,” said senior Kenzie Bradley. “I feel like there are so many unknowns about where the rest of our year will go that it’s hard to focus on school work when you don’t know how your last few months in school are going to be.”

For Benicia High students, a worry is that seniors that have worked hard over the past 12 years won’t get to experience the events senior year normally has in store – including prom, grad night, graduation, etc. As this year is coming to a close, students are worried they won’t get to walk across the stage and graduate.

“The school closures really suck because this is the seniors last year in high school and it is supposed to be fun,” said senior Nick Austin. “It is anything but fun now considering all the extracurriculars that have been shut down, and with the likely postponing or even cancellation of prom and talks that the school may be closed for the rest of the school year.”

All of this is new and is being taken one step at a time. During this closure students are expected to keep up with classwork and homework as teachers use online outlets to distribute work and offer help as needed.

“COVID-19 has become a pandemic that must be taken seriously,” said senior Joseph Birdseye. “The school’s closing has only made life as a student harder to keep up entirely on computers.”

Outlets such as Classroom, Clever, and others are being used as communication between students and teachers. These are places teachers can send students reminders and post assignments, so students can continue to learn.

“From an educational perspective, the current situation is not ideal for teachers or students,” said BHS teacher Kent Higginbotham. “We are missing those daily face to face interactions that I feel are extremely important in the learning process. That said, we must adapt to the situation and maintain a system of normalcy to best of our abilities. I am proud of the way that BHS seniors have responded to the changes since the school closure.”

There is an uncertainty that has come with this situation and it is scary. We don’t know when things are going to get better and we don’t know what to do to help the situation.

“This is uncharted territory for all of us,” said BHS teacher Kristin Grubbs. “I am impressed daily by not only the teachers in Benicia Unified, but around the nation in their ability to adapt and provide quality educational opportunities online for students with hardly any notice. There are so many unknowns when it comes to the virus and how our lives will continue to be affected by it.”

In this time of crisis, Benicia is doing its best to keep everyone safe and healthy to the best of their ability.