Kids Report on COVID-19: Mira in Kansas

We asked our team of TFK Kid Reporters for their perspective on the coronavirus pandemic. Here, TFK Kid Reporter Mira McInnes, from Leawood, Kansas, shares her experience.

For a while, the coronavirus didn’t seem like something I personally had to worry about. No one in the area where I live had tested positive for it yet, and almost all restaurants and stores were still open. Being a nervous person, I sometimes felt a lot of anxiety about it. But I felt it was very unlikely that my life would be dramatically impacted by the virus.

Ever since my family vacationed in Florida last year, we planned to go to Mexico the following spring break. But on March 11, it was decided that we would not be going. Since I had been looking forward to the trip for almost a year, this was very disappointing. It was when I first really knew that the coronavirus wasn’t as distant of a concern as I thought.

The number of coronavirus cases has been changing rapidly. As of March 17, there were 16 in Kansas. That number includes one death, a man who passed away in a nursing home.

All schools in Kansas are now closed for the rest of the school year, following orders from the governor, Laura Kelly. In some respects, this is exciting, but it also means I won’t be able to see my friends for a long time. We will be doing some sort of online learning with our teachers, but plans for that haven’t been finalized yet.

Until at least April 1, all bars, restaurants, libraries, and movie theaters here are closed. Some of the only places still open are hospitals, drive-throughs, and grocery stores. This means that most people, including my family, are staying at home all day. Having very little structure in the day can lead to boredom. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading and writing, working on my own short stories and novels. I’m also trying to finish the final season of Netflix’s Riverdale with my sister, and my family has been progressing through the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

My advice for kids who are anxious or uncertain about the coronavirus is this: It is completely fine to feel this way! To make yourself feel better, ask one of your parents to take you around your home and show you all of the supplies you have. This will reassure you that you have everything you need. Talking to someone you trust can put your mind at ease.

Kids, ask a parent or guardian if you can tell us about your experience during this time. If so, have them email us at tfkeditors@time.com. Your response might be featured on our website or in an upcoming issue.