“It really hasn't affected my faith or beliefs in any way particular. I still am able to read my Bible and pray and do all the same things I would do at church just from my home. My beliefs haven't changed everything that I feel and believe has stayed the same especially with like Easter that just happened. We were still able to celebrate that holiday as a family although we weren't like all together and at church but the point of the holiday is our beliefs so essentially we were still able to celebrate that from home.”

“You know... I've kind of given that a lot of thought just because so many people so many programs I've been watching people are saying like this is a punishment or that God is trying to say something and I actually don't feel like it's impacted my faith because I've already had so much happened to me in my past with the death of my children so this is just another glitch in life I guess.”

"Um... for me it hasn't really because I'm not religious but for people in my town it has." "Mm... they can't go to thier church services or any gatherings or anything like that so everything they're doing is now at home and they can't go to their volunteer work for their church."

“I'm not sure. On the one hand, I do not want to be run or ruled by fear over the unseen or things that I cannot control. If for some reason myself or anyone in my family were to get covid and passed from it, as upsetting and sad as it is, it is a part of life and it is how the world works and sometimes bad things happen to good people. But I feel like the biggest thing is I just don’t want to be run by fear over something that may or may not be as big of a deal as most media persons are making it out to be.”

“I don't think it has really. To a point I’d say my faith has more affected my thoughts on covid-19.” “Sure, we're not gathering in person anymore so no church on Sunday no school none of that. We do have church on Sundays it's like live streamed to everyone. It’s sent out on Facebook so everyone is still going to mass but that's been one of the changes. Some of the nuns there are holding virtual rosary and like prayer group Zoom prayer group and stuff like that. So, they're still trying to be connected as much as we can but definitely some technical changes for sure.”

“I don't think it has. I think it's just as strong as it was before.” “We've been gathering over social media platforms. We had continued to do our one stay Bible study but unfortunately the past two weeks we’ve been unable to do so hopefully in the next couple weeks they'll be back up and running again.” “Unfortunately, participation hasn't been at its best. However, I’ve been using all the teachings that our fathers at the church have taught us and I've been applying that to the past couple weeks of my life.”

"As the cases kept getting higher and higher, I felt more inclined to press into the God and press into the Lord um even as my anxiety and stress went higher and higher because of the fact that I kept thinking I might have it I might have it but I did not have it at all really."

“Covid hasn't really affected my beliefs at all. It's just kinda given me more time to spend reading the Bible and praying and stuff like that. Also, I've been putting an emphasis on caring for people and reconnecting my family using FaceTime....”

“It's really re-upped my belief in God because I know that through God we will be able to get through this and everything is going to be okay in the end.” “We're not gathering at church anymore but we're doing Zoom meetings and we are having support groups online and that's been really helpful.” “We've been doing some food drives to get food to a lot of the central workers and the elderly and also just like providing emotional and spiritual support for those in need.”

“I think it affected it in a good way where people always tell me like God's going to provide for you and he's there for you and I'm like uh-huh sure but I got lucky enough to get a job that’s essential so I still get to work and still get to be with people that I love outside of my family and get a pay raise that let’s me pay my bills and let me really believe that God is actually providing for me and made me actually have a stronger faith than I was having before covid.”

“So, I lost my faith a long time ago. I grew up in a parochial school system and as I grew older I realized that I didn't believe what I was being taught. The covid-19 pandemic has really just solidified my beliefs that I don't believe in a higher power. I think that if a higher power did it exist they wouldn't let something like this happen.”

“Well, covid-19 really hasn't affected my faith or belief other than the aspect that the church is closed but I'm still able to pray every night with my family and do Christian traditions like usual and especially with Easter last week I was still able to celebrate and was able to communicate with my family via Zoom. So that’s pretty cool.” “With me being Christian, to my knowledge it's currently not gathering. It’s all going to be over like online…”

“I would say it hasn't really impacted me directly in terms of my personal beliefs but I did grow up in a faith or an organized religion if you will that definitely takes it's strengths and its inspiration from gathering and sharing in you know social activities with one another so I could imagine those who partake in those activities are probably having a difficult time at this moment.”

"I have found it a little difficult because we can't have our regularly scheduled church services. However, I have pretty much still been going to church as scheduled because I am the head worship leader of the church so we do our live church services like our online church services so I am a big part of that."

“So far it hasn't really had any affect. If anything, it's just made connection stronger with Jehovah. I find myself talking to him and praying to him more often than I usually would. So, so far it's just been positive changes in regards to me and my religious beliefs and practicing them and putting them into practice.”

“Affected? Umm... well I guess it's affected my faith or beliefs um because my religious practice has been affected so... I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we have our biggest bi-yearly conference in May and April and that conference was canceled and it was done all remotely.”

“I would not say that covid-19 has affected my faith or beliefs really in any noticeable way.” “Because of covid-19 my religious community has held gatherings virtually through Facebook live which has been mainly online services. I still participate regularly though obviously it's a little different with the online experience not being able to physically be there.” “My religious community has been providing service by having a blessing box which has food for anyone who needs some as well as making cards to send to elderly people who are currently more isolated than normal and lonely.”

"Uh... very little. It has done nothing but support previously held faiths and encouraged me in personal growth." "Uh... the community is still gathering but not physcially. Uh... we moved everything online that is possible. As for participation within it, um the um everyone in charge has gone out of their way..."

“Covid-19 hasn't directly impacted my faith or belief system so far.” “I do not currently participate in a religious community.” “My… I don't have a current one however I have seen of churches gathering supplies for those in need and helping to take care of the elderly in their communities.”

“Covid-19 has affected my beliefs in the way that it has made me strengthen my faith and I am a Christian and believe in Jesus Christ.” “No.” “Covid-19 has affected my participation in my religious community by social distancing not being able to gather in prayer and congregate for worshipping.” “Yes, my religious community helps with passing out lunches to the kids of the community that are underprivileged and don't have access to any lunch nor breakfast because they're closing up the schools.”

“I think it has strengthened my faith actually. I don't know what all this means and I don't necessarily believe it's God sent or anything like that but I definitely feel like it's god allowed like he's allowed this thing to happen for some reason and so whether it's to get our attention or to… I don't know. I don't know but I feel like there's almost like a forced stillness and I think in this forced stillness it'd be wise to take advantage of that time and really strengthen things.”

“Covid-19 hasn't affected my faith in a negative way but it does make you think about stories that we read in the Bible where God has sent us… you know I feel like maybe God is trying to send us a message for us to open our eyes with things going around in the world. It does wanna make me think.”

“It honestly hasn't affected it too much. Like, yeah, it sucks. It's not the best but it’s something that's been happening and I’ve just kinda been dealing with it. I don't think it's like this whole like major religious thing that it's kinda being put out to be. It's not like the reckoning or anything. So, I’ve kinda just been dealing with it the best way I can.”

“I think that the covid-19 pandemic has strengthened my faith and my beliefs. I find myself looking to the Lord more and more each day as we wait for a solution. My personal practice has grown and has grown with my family as we have more time together to pray.”

“In a lot of different ways that I couldn't name exhaustively but one of the ways I can think of now is that it's strengthened my conviction about God's peace and how it allows you to transcend things beyond understanding. Like, there's a passage Philippians 4 through 7 that says rejoice in the lord always again I say rejoice and it talks about letting your gentleness be evident and not being anxious about anything but by prayer and petition and with gratitude you present your requests to God and God's peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

"It hasn't really impacted it. I mean the only really affect it has had on most religions is a lot of church has gone online um but that doesn't really affect the way I started to believe or have believed in anything."

“It hasn't affected my beliefs or faith. It's a strange time and I long to be with others but as far as my actual faith in God it hasn't changed it.” “They are not physically. We do watch weekly sermons and church service online but not physically are we able to get together.” “Unfortunately, we are not able to meet and so we haven't been able to participate in any one-on-one or group settings so it has affected us.”

“So I'm a Christian and I feel like it's affected my beliefs in positive and negative ways. In the negative ways our churches isn’t able to meet publicly and I really rely on a lot of people for emotional support and it’s kinda like a nice at the end of the week you get to go to church and see all these people and it's really refreshing.”

“I'm not really sure if it's affected my faith or beliefs. I've definitely been praying a lot more specifically for like family and just protection and things like that so I can't say it's negatively impacted but it’s probably made me use my faith a little bit more.”

“To be honest it hasn't affected my faith very much at all. I was a spiritual guy going into covid-19 and I still am. So I still believe that God's will be done so this is just part of his bigger plan and I'm doing my best to accommodate that and live in the moment.”

"Um... I wouldn't say my beliefs or faith have been changed in any way. Um... the way that I practice my faith has been changed. So, instead of going to church every Sunday, we kinda watch online um but other than that I would say it's just as strong as before."

“You know when you first asked that question or when you sent it to me to look at. I really had not even thought about the question because to me it didn't affect anything with my faith or my beliefs. Yeah, it's like from my perspective we're talking two different things. It would be like blaming my neighbor for something that someone else far away had done and I just can't do that. I can't put blame or change the way I believe about God or about mankind or people based off something someone else has done.”

“They have not affected them in any way.” “Because I mean obviously we're going to have to go through tough times but that doesn't mean that you can stop believing in a higher power.” “Yes, via Zoom so I guess not in person obviously but they're still finding a way to connect.” “It's definitely made it tougher to connect with others in my religious community obviously because we don't have that face-to-face communication anymore but still trying to keep connected by checking in with members of my community and making sure that everyone is okay.”

“It hasn't really challenged my faith or my beliefs. I think it's helped me lean on them more. It's definitely stretched it a little bit but in the sense of refocusing my faith in Jesus and just in this season allowing sometimes the difficult moments to refocus us and putting our focus on what we believe. So, it hasn't really changed it in a bad sense. It's actually strengthened it I believe.”

“I think it has brought it to light a little bit more than normal just because there's some confusion and fear and I was thinking they don't... they always say there is no atheist in a foxhole. So, yeah, it brings it to light but I think it's nice that I've always had that routine or that in the background to just rely on anyway and now it just goes a little deeper.”

“I believe my faith has grown stronger because of it.” “Yes, we’re still gathering. It is through the internet. Our small groups are through the internet as well.” Yeah, so, I belong to Saddleback Church and we’re in Orange County. We have something that's called the peace forum and we grow vegetables and fruit and also take donations. We are providing those to all of the needy in our community.”

“I feel that covid-19 has made my beliefs stronger because we have to rely on faith and that God is in control and we're not.” “No, it's just all online like all the services are online. No.” “Yeah, so our church and another church close by are offering a food drive every Thursday night and people drive through our church parking lot to receive a box of food.”

"I would say... you know the church is a community and so that's kinda one of the main things so it definitely affects my faith in the sense that I can't be a part of my faith community in person. Um... it has affected my faith in that I I work at church you know and so I can't really effectively lead that community as well as I normally would you know as when we can meet in person."

“So I would say my general theology and philosophy are not particularly affected one way or the other because I realize that these sorts of things happen in history and that they are part of earthly life. They are part of the kind of difficulties that afflict the human race…”

Calla interviews "Merinda" about how the pandemic has affected including religion.

I first heard about Coronavirus during my spring break freshman year of college. I didn't think anything of it and definitely did not predict how the rest of the semester would go. I was talking about it with one my friends from back home in Scottsdale and heard that her university had cancelled in-person classes and was transitioning to online for the rest of the semester. This was extremely shocking to me, and I couldn't even fathom staying home past spring break, let alone the rest of the school year. A couple days later, my college, the University of Arizona, did the same. We had a couple days after spring break with no classes for the university to make the transition to online classes. After that, it was time for online learning. These times were extremely unpredictable, and no one knew what was coming next. No one, especially I, never thought that we would have to move out of the dorms and finish the rest of the semester completely online. That was what came next. I was devastated. I mean, I would be missing out on my first-year college experience that I would never be able to make up. I would lose my complete freedom. I would lose the ability to make new friends. I would lose the ability to spend time with the friends I had already made. I was so upset, and at the same time I had to adapt to this new normal. It was definitely not easy. My friends and I set up a date that we would come back to campus to hang out one last time and move out. This day was so depressing, but we tried to make the most of it. Pictured is us on that day. From left to right, Val, Anna, me, and Kiera. I miss them so much right now. I'm writing this at the end of the semester, just having finished the majority of my finals. And I was right, this semester was definitely not easy. I faced an extreme lack of motivation and depression topped by loads of assignments to complete. But what I can say is that while quarantine is still not over and probably will not be over for a while, I'm proud to have finished the school year remotely. I had to adapt to such a unique situation, and I did. I'm sure this story is similar to many college students out there, but I'm glad I was able to share mine, and I hope to look back on this in the future.

A personal account of the pandemic. COVID on the Border: Part II Its been 6 weeks since I arrived in this small little border town. COVID and its accompanying regulations changed everything here since then. The mask rules went into effect two weeks ago, police will ticket on the spot if found in public without a mask. Over the past week I continue to watch the numbers climb, soon the U.S. has surpassed the rest of the world’s nations with COVID illnesses and deaths. Social distancing has just become the buzzword of the year. Everyone knows who Dr. Fauci is. I went to the local Walmart to pick up a few groceries; my hotel room has a fridge and stove. Milk, gone. Bottled water, gone. Eggs, gone. Soap, hand sanitizer, forget about it. There’s a hushed panic on the faces of many of the shoppers. I make do with the basics and head back to my hotel room. Is the zombie apocalypse coming? Working in a new places forces me to meet new people. After introducing myself there’s an awkward feeling when we both realize that shaking hands is now taboo. Will shaking hands ever return? Should we adopt the Eastern bow? We now question the traditions that have shaped our lives. Who are we deep down? We’re naked and vulnerable without tradition. Breakfast at the hotel is now a thing of the past. Can’t serve it, too many COVID concerns. Sure. And how much is the hotel saving now. We make do. The hotel receptionist now serves our coffee. She’s nice. I use it as a way to practice my Spanish again. I enjoy it, I think she’d rather me speak English. Life in the hotel consists of channel changes back and forth from CNN to FOX. I have to ensure my understanding is balanced, I guess each network cancels each other out. Although life here is at a standstill, I am impressed with the way the farms and agriculture moves forward. I still witness workers arriving at the fields in the afternoon to escape the heat of the day. They work hard, picking carrots, broccoli, spinach and lettuce. Life doesn’t stop for many. They’ll be getting no stimulus checks, yet they continue forward, doing the only thing they know to do: work to put food on a table for a family somewhere. I’m impressed. This small little border town has some grit. It’s growing on me.

Today my family put up this sign for my sister, since she won't be getting a proper graduation this year. She won't get to walk across a stage, but this way we can still brag to the neighbors about her accomplishment! #REL100

Ramadan began on Friday April 24th, in the middle of a pandemic. Muslims around the world are used to congregating at the mosque every night for the duration of the month. They gather to pray together and listen to the recitation of the Holy Qur’an. This year’s Ramadan experience is very different. Although we miss going to the mosque and praying with friends, this month is truly special because the quarantine is allowing us to focus on our relationship with God, with no distractions. It’s a blessing that we are safe and healthy, at home with family, and still able to fast and worship. In this picture, my brother, who has memorized the Holy Qur’an, is leading my family in prayer. One verse he recited on this night can be translated as: “But God is your protector, and He is the best of helpers (3:150).” This was a beautiful reminder to trust in God during these difficult times, as He is the One who provides and cares for us.

#REL101, My family enjoys going on hikes on the weekend to escape the house and free our minds after working long hours on our computers during the weekdays. This hike took place in the Kern Canyon and social distancing from others was practiced.

Landing a full-time job before graduating from college is a daunting task for every student. Now that Covid-19 has spread all over the country and social distancing has gone into full effect, it is much that harder to land a job. Before the pandemic hit, the job market was at its best it has ever been; there were more jobs than people looking. However, from one month to another that all changed. I was active in clubs and everything and anything that would make my resume stand out. I also had 3 internships in my respective major throughout the 4 years of college. During my last internship, which was during the 2019 Fall semester, I got offered a full-time job starting 2 weeks after graduation. However, the offer got rescinded a couple weeks into March. Given the circumstances, I knew that it was going to be hard to find a job. I started tracking all of the jobs I got rejected from and all in all it was 26 jobs. Most of the companies rejection letters started the same way, “Due to Covid-19…”. It would have been easy to give up applying to jobs and wait for the pandemic to die down, whenever that was. I told myself that if the next company I applied for rejected me I would stop applying. Luckily, this time I got an offer. This comes to show how the pandemic has affected every college student around the country, regardless of experience. #REL101

Photo of a woman in a church with a mask on her face. This signifies the need of a higher power during these times of hardship. We are humans who are in need of someone/ something to give us hope. This picture clearly shows that this woman is sick or trying to prevent sickness and looking for hope in a God. Photo time is unidentified. This photo signifies our absolute need for a higher power, God, in a time like we are going through with Covid-19. #REL101

In early March of 2020, it was business as usual. I had a full schedule that included a 50 hour a week job, classes at Arizona State University, friends to socialize with, and of course, my family. As the next fifty-five days (and counting) marched on, everything changed. First, my workstation, a nice area with two large monitors, printer, and scanner was reduced to my kitchen table. There I had the luxury of no commute, but I was relegated to a small ten-inch laptop and none of the other accoutrements of my office. I realized that my breaks, often taken outside, had been taken for granted all these years. More importantly, I missed the social engagement of my colleagues and supervisor. School work was the least impacted by the pandemic. I was already working on my curriculum online so there was little impact. I did miss having the option to study in a public forum, as all public areas become vacant. I think the biggest change and challenge from the current two-month quarantine revolves around my family and friends. My husband and I use weekends and vacations to go to the lake, ride motorcycles, and meet friends for dinner. Birthdays and Easter rolled by without the usual gatherings and celebrations. Churches gathered online for services; a major shift from thousands of years establishing a place for worship. Social media played a larger part in my life, but there really is not a substitute for human interaction. There is an emotional gap that is lost when the interaction is two dimensional on the phone or computer via FaceTime and Zoom Meetings. I believe that much will change once things return to “normal”. It will be commonplace to see people wearing medical masks. Social distancing (staying six feet apart) will be marked in supermarkets and malls going forward. People, homes, cars, and offices will be cleaner on a daily basis. The most positive change, hopefully, will be the inclusion and follow up on our elderly friends, family, and neighbors. Many will have similar difficulties getting out, even after the quarantine is lifted. Our newfound awareness should impact all mankind, as we work harder to take care of one another.

A first person letter shared for the world from one of the world's largest technology companies, IBM, by their CEO who started his job in the midst of the pandemic

It shows the lowest to highest industries affected by the pandemic, and sorts them by positive, low, moderate and high exposure levels. *It is an infographic categorizing industries with positive, low, moderate and high exposure (or risk) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.