It has been 2 months since the quarantine has started in New Jersey. All nonessential business have been closed indefinitely and schools have officially been closed for the rest of the school year. However, things seem to be looking up as the coronavirus curve in New Jersey is on a downward trend, according to data from the New York Times titled, “New Jersey Coronavirus Map and Case Count”. This begs the questions, what will happen to summer vacation? Will there still be a quarantine? Will life finally return to normal? What about the shore?  In these unprecedented times there is no certainty but everyone has an opinion on the subject. Governor Phil Murphy thinks that by June 7, 2020 things will be able to reopen. In addition, parks have already reopened and beaches are open to residents. On Memorial Day weekend, beaches will be opened up to the general public. Some WMC students speculate on what summer break will look like here in New Jersey.

To start, a survey was conducted to get the thoughts of students at WMC. When asked about travel plans most students said that they did not have any summer travel plans, or are  cancelling plans. This means domestic and international travel will not be in the picture for a little while longer. However, things do not look so bleek locally. Most people said that they think beaches and boardwalks will be open all summer, with a few obvious safety protocols. For example, people will be social distancing on the beach and may even use masks for extra precautions. While Gov. Murphy has tentatively extended social distancing measures until June 7, most people think quarantine will last into July. WMC junior, Anna DiEduardo stated that life won’t return to normal until “sometime in the summer considering a lot of people have not been listening to the social distancing.” Junior,  Katie Archer had a very different take, she thinks life it won’t be until, “a year from now. We will go back to school next year but with precautions and social distancing still in place. When a vaccine is created and can be distributed probably a year from now, these precautions will end.” While opinions differ on when life will completely return to normal, it can be agreed that there will be some sort of normality this summer.

     Most think interaction will be limited but quarantine will be lifted. Isabel Greco thinks her summer break will be, “spending a lot of time with [her] friends to make up for the time [they] couldn’t spend together the last few months.” Katie Archer agreed that she would be able to see her friends again but her outings would be limited. Things seem like they won’t be 100% normal for a while but this summer will bring back some things lost during this quarantine.

Photo Courtesy: www.visitnj.org

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/new-jersey-coronavirus-cases.html 

https://patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/watch-live-gov-phil-murphy-issues-nj-coronavirus-update-5-6-20