The spread of the virus in the country is having a significant impact on many people’s daily lives as authorities scramble to contain the illness. Some businesses are asking employees to work from home, and schools across the country are struggling to determine whether to continue meeting. Some school systems are temporarily closing, including the Fulton County school system in Atlanta, which is the largest school district in the U.S. Some school districts are having students work from home, but even this solution can be highly challenging for students who “don’t have computers, home internet access or parents with flexible work schedules.”
Concern over the coronavirus has led to the cancellation of the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, potentially resulting in the loss of tens of millions of dollars. Santa Clara County in California has instituted a mandatory ban on all mass gatherings after the first known coronavirus death occurred in the area.
Fears about the coronavirus dramatically impacted the stock market Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.8 percent and the S&P 500 fell 7.6 percent, with “both posting their worst day since 2008,” reports CNBC. The impact of the virus on the stock market (and therefore upon retirement accounts) could very well be increasing the stress on older people, already vulnerable because they are more susceptible to the virus.
Plenty of Hope
Yet despite the growing concern over the coronavirus, there are also reasons to have hope—even apart from the truth that God is powerful and faithful. According to data from Johns Hopkins, over 50,000 people around the world have recovered from the illness.
Greg Laurie encouraged his congregation to pray for the United States, asking God to protect our nation, give wisdom to our leaders, and heal those who have been infected. “Here’s what I believe,” he said. “A Christian is indestructible until God is done with them. So I don’t walk around living in fear. I walk around living in faith.”
