by Victoria Masson, BGSU History major. This is one in a series of posts written by students in HIST 4800 in Spring, 2020, putting our world into historical context for the public.

In 1918, the world was fighting the “Spanish flu” which came from birds. It was thought to have come from Spain, but researchers showed that it came from New York. More than 50 million people have died from this according to the article “1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic Versus COVID- 19″. (.https://www.biospace.com/article/compare-1918-spanish-influenza-pandemic-versus-covid-19/).  At that time there were no vaccines for it and currently no vaccines for COVID-19. The current pandemic helps us understand the past because it affected people all over the world.   

In March, the virus took over. It is affecting elderly people the most. Not a lot of young people are affected by this virus. Some are responding to the treatment well and others are not. This has changed a lot of things. Some examples are that classes have moved to online for the rest of the semester.

“Most of the population is at risk of catching this sooner or later Dr. Amy Acton said.” She also said that the spread is starting to slow down.  42,000 Ohioans have been tested for COVID-19. 102 Ohioans have died from this virus as of April 4, 2020. This is according to the article Dr. Amy Acton says Ohio has not tested enough to draw certain conclusions about COVID-19. People have tested negative for the virus, but they can still catch it later. Dr. Acton mentioned that the curve is flattening.

The New York Times mention that there have been 937 deaths from the corona virus in Ohio. There have been 17,303 cases confirmed as of April 4, 2020. This has affected people and their families because they must put things on hold for now. They must not be around each other because of this. People have been video chatting each other, bringing food to other people and supporting local businesses.

People who owned small businesses are barely hanging on. Some cannot be open because of this outbreak. Most people have been supporting their local businesses by ordering takeout. This is affecting a lot of things for people. Some small businesses may never reopen.

Small businesses are being affected by the Corona Virus. Some employers have to layoff employees or even shut down their businesses. There is a $2 trillion stimulus package for small businesses and people are getting direct payment from it. The small businesses are being affected by this pandemic.

Jon Husted mentioned that there will be an office to help small businesses with the COVID-19. It is supposed to help small businesses in Ohio. The office will help by giving federal funds to small businesses in Ohio. The second thing is that it will determine regulations for employment and jobs in Ohio. The last thing is that it will help with the efforts of Small Business Development Centers in Ohio. Jon Husted said that “business should also be planning for the long term.”

There is the U.S. Small Business Association which offers low- interest loans for small businesses that are suffering. The Governor of Ohio has issued the Small Business Association to all of Ohio. This means that it can help assisting small businesses with these loans. They are trying to help small businesses recover from the impact of the Coronavirus. If a small business has been financially impacted by this virus, they can get up to $2 million to help them. They must be eligible for it. Also, there is a 3.75 percent interest rate .

Businesses are being greatly affected by the pandemic in Ohio. Many businesses will not survive because people are not going out to support them.  Businesses cannot pay their rent because of what is going on. They must take caution to keep their employees and customers safe.