With all of the commotion that has risen due to the fear of spreading the potentially deadly COVID-19 virus, it's important for everyone in society to anticipate the changes that will soon unfold in communities.

To slow the spread of the coronavirus, countries have resorted to restricting travel by closing borders and large cities, such as New York and Los Angeles are even closing or changing the hours of stores, bars, restaurants, public gyms.

The restrictions being placed on businesses is completely necessary and will at the very least slow the spread of the virus, allowing for researchers and pharmaceutical scientists to develop medical treatments for COVID-19.

You can visit the World Health Organization's page at:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

for the COVID-19 tracker where experts have shared statistics on the pandemic and provide a visual of the areas in the world that've been most affected.

In this state of emergency, it's imperative for each state, down to the individual, to collaborate with their communities over text/direct messaging to encourage social distancing and provide the help people will need.

According to Ben May, head of global macro research at Oxford Economics, in the worldwide shutting down of businesses, from an economic perspective, "the key issue may prove to not just be the number of COVID-19 cases, but the level of disruption to economies from the containment measures."

So far, the virus has taken a toll on the global economy through unprecedented behavior in the stock market as stocks continue to plunge as a result of the crisis that grips the nation.

Although the importance of promoting healthy habits – like washing your hands and social distancing – currently take precedence over financial worries, people must anticipate the shift in possibilities that now lie for the future to avoid the rise of an economic crisis.

Students that paid to be educated in a classroom have had their courses switched to online courses as universities close, companies are losing profit, and there have been drastic shifts in the global job market.

As citizens, we must react accordingly to the impacts of these shifts and changes by holding ourselves accountable, for we're the only ones that can truly assure the prevention of the spread of COVID-19.