Summer may not be as bright as many hoped with COVID-19 precautions being extended seemingly every minute, but Los Medanos College students are optimistic. Each day is taken in stride despite an uncertainty of what the future may bring. Nonetheless, the spring 2020 semester will be ending soon and people are getting ready for their summer.

Student Michelle Escamilla is one student looking forward to summer being unaffected because she is one to “stay inside most of the time,” she said. 

Escamilla has one concern however, the virus is indirectly affecting her dog. 

“[The] only thing that would affect my summer would be the groomers being closed, since my dog needs a nail trim and she keeps scratching me,” she said.

Escamilla plans to spend her summer playing the new popular game ‘Animal Crossing’ online with her friends. 

Student Saul Palomino believes summer echoes the fact that his summer will not be affected much “unless you count the hot weather.”

He takes the social distance regulations seriously, only going outside to  “get groceries or order take out,” said Palomino. 

His advice for people having a hard time during the pandemic is to “calm down and take a chill pill.”

 Ever since the quarantine started, Palomino has done his best to keep busy so he doesn’t “die from boredom and losing my sanity,” he said.

Like many students had admitted, Palomino had to adjust to online learning. “It has been quite the turn transitioning from physical classes to online classes,” he said. 

 Many classes, like the Digital Photography and Animation classes he’s enrolled in, need “certain programs to work in those classes and I don’t have them on my laptop.”  He said a few of his teachers have had similar issues.

To date, stay-at-home orders have been extended through May 31. California Gov. Gavin Newsom believes that there needs to be more progress in slowing the virus’ spread. 

Newsom has a four-phase plan for re-opening the state of California, but there isn’t a guaranteed timeframe. According to Newsom, “We believe we are weeks, not months, away from making meaningful modifications.” 

Right now, according to the New York Times, the state is in the first phase, in which provisions such as barriers and social distancing are set to make essential businesses safe. 

The following stages will follow. In stage two, lower-risk businesses and public spaces can reopen. This will include factories, retail stores, schools and childcare facilities.

Stage three allows gyms, nail and hair salons, movie theaters and churches. Finally, stage four indicates the end of the stay-at-home order. In this stage, sports arenas, concerts and conventions can resume as normal once more.