Currently, there is a global emergency due to the threat that imposes COVID-19, the virus that has killed nearly 30000 and has infected nearly 600000. In order to prevent the further spread of the virus, many countries have been put on lockdown by their governments, including the United Kingdom.

This means that no one is allowed to leave their house, with only a few exceptions:

• Exercising once a day in an open area
• Emergencies
• Necessary food shopping
• Travelling from and to work if absolutely necessary

Shops have been closed, restaurants only offer deliveries and the streets are empty.

When the lockdown was first announced people began to panic once again. Supermarket shelves were left empty, as everyone was panic-buying:

In order to stop people from panic-buying and using food shopping as an excuse for people to go out, supermarkets decided to put out new policies. People are allowed to buy 1-3 units of each item, and before entering the supermarket everyone must stand in a queue, two metres away from each other, in order not to spread the virus. The supermarket shelves are now full again, and if anyone needs to buy food it will be available for them.

I spent the first couple days of the lockdown on the couch, watching Netflix and eating nonstop. I’ve always been quite an extroverted person, so sitting at home made me feel trapped. Apart from that, not going to school made me feel useless as I felt like I had nothing productive to do.

It wasn’t until a few days into the lockdown that I finally accepted that this was my new reality and that I had to adapt. I knew that if I kept being lazy and doing no activities my behaviour would take a toll on my mental health, and I wanted to avoid that. So I decided to create a routine for myself, something that allowed me to be active and productive, and therefore stop me from getting bored.

Every day I wake up at around 9:00. I eat breakfast and then I take my dog Roxy on a walk in the big park next to my house. This allows me to get some fresh air and some exercise.

When I get home, I do some school work until 12:00, which is when I do exercise with my mum who is a personal trainer. For me, the best part about the fact that we are in lockdown is that I have the time to do exercise. I used to go to the gym three to four times a week, but once I started 2 Bachillerato I had no time to do so, and on top of that I was always tired! Now I have all the time in the world to do one of the things I love most. I’ve been doing this in my garden lately as lately the weather has been extremely hot and sunny! When it’s sunny I also sunbathe and play with my dog, who loves to run around in the grass 🙂

I then take a shower and have lunch. After lunch, my family and I all sit together and watch a film. Most of the time I end up having a nap from how tired I am! Usually after my nap I have to do more school work.

At around 21:00 I have dinner while I watch some Youtube videos, and sometimes I do more homework, while other times I call my friend on the app Houseparty. This app allows groups of up to 8 people to join a call at once, and it lets me socialise even though I’m stuck at home!

I usually stay up quite late talking to my friends, and I go to sleep after that.

During the quarantine, I have seen a lot of challenges going around in social media. Many of the challenges involved toilet rolls, as they were the item that everyone kept panic-buying! I attempted to do one of the challenges, where the objective was to touch the toilet roll 10 times, however, I failed miserably. Hopefully I will be able to complete one of the future challenges!

The coronavirus first surfaced in China in late 2019. It is said that it surfaced in Chinese seafood and poultry, in the city of Wuhan. The first cases of the virus became known after cases of pneumonia appeared in China. By January 2020, the virus started to get known by the rest of the world, although it didn’t look like much of a threat.

I remember when I first heard of the virus. It was through Instagram, on a video of a Chinese man eating bat soup. The caption was borderline racist, as they were blaming Chinese people for the emergence of COVID-19. Everyone quickly began to make jokes about the situation, as no one had a clue how serious and scary it would get for everyone.

By late January, they started to confirm cases in different countries, and shortly after Wuhan went into lockdown in order to stop the disease from spreading. A global health emergency was declared, and panic was slowly beginning, as travel from China was restricted and tourists in the country were being sent back to their own countries.

Throughout the month of February, more cases began to appear and some deaths caused by the coronavirus started to occur in many countries. The coronavirus got the name of COVID-19, and people began to become more aware of the issue, although most people carried on with their normal lives. By late February, Iran and Italy had a very major surge in coronavirus cases, and Italy went on lockdown. The virus had then spread to most places in the world, including South America, while in Europe cases of the virus were increasing rapidly.

March was the month in which everyone began to really understand the severity of the situation, and measures began to be taken by different countries in order to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. This was when I started to worry about the situation, as the problem was no longer far away from us, it was present in our lives and it became our problem, it became a global pandemic.

More countries began to be put on lockdown, including France and Spain. In Spain, the situation began to resemble that of Italy, as more people were becoming infected and the death toll was increasing. Everyone began to panic, as the supermarkets were empty and people wore gloves and masks in public. Everyone was travelling back to their homes, including university students and tourists.

Most schools are now closed everywhere in the world. The UK was put on lockdown as of the night of the 23rd of March 2020. China has started to go back to normal, as they were able to combat the cases of the virus during their three month lockdown. The situation in Italy is critical, while Spain is simply following it with nearly 40000 confirmed cases. Iran is helpless as they keep getting more and more confirmed cases, but their sanitary system cannot cope with the pandemic.

Everyone is concerned, as people die every day in different parts of the world due to the deadly virus. People are advised to stay at home and practise social distancing. The global economy is deteriorating, while governments have to spend billions on trying to stop the virus and help vulnerable people on their death beds.

This is the moment for everyone to unite. We need to support each other and help those in need, as the virus is a threat to everyone and all their loved ones. If people unite, it is possible to win the combat against the virus.

This is our chance to appreciate the world we live in, and give the Earth a break from pollution. While we stay at home, our planet can get the chance to breathe again, while we get the chance to relax and enjoy the little things in life before we go back to our routine.

Hopefully, we will go back to normal shortly, but become aware of the value of life and the people around us. We should all take this chance to better ourselves while the global pandemic gets resolved.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain. It is situated on the coast in the northeast, and it is the capital of Catalonia. It is known for its great culture and its amazing climate.

Climate

The climate of Barcelona is Mediterranean, with mild, relatively rainy winters and hot, sunny summers.

Winter, from December until February, is quite mild in Barcelona. Usually there are highs of roughly 15ºC with lows of around 9ºC.

Summer, from June until August, is very hot in this city. It is hot and sunny, with highs of over 30ºC and lows of only 25ºC. There is a lot of humidity in Barcelona, especially during this season. However, since it is on the coastline the constant breeze makes it bearable. Barcelona is a tourist favourite in summer!

Spring and autumn are both very mild and slightly rainy, although there are many sunny days during these seasons too.

Overall, Barcelona´s climate is very regular and it is mostly warm throughout the year, with a very hot climate during summer and mild winters.

Culture

In Barcelona there is a mix of Catalonian and Spanish culture. This also means that there are two main languages spoken in the city: Catalan and Spanish.

There are several museums in Barcelona, such as the Picasso Museum, the «Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya», the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and the «Museo Martítim de Barcelona». These museums cover different areas and eras, and they are worth visiting.

Barcelona is known for its architecture, thanks to architects such as Gaudi and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. There are many building that date from the medieval times in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. Places such as Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and Casa Battle are very popular for their design.

Popular places

Some popular places in Barcelona are:

• La Sagrada Familia
• Gothic Quarter
• Plaça d’Espanya
• Park Güell
• La Rambla
• Casa Batlló
• Montjuïc
• Plaça de Catalunya
• La Barceloneta
• Ciutadella Park

Barcelona is a great place both to visit and to live in. The people there are warm and friendly, and the city itself is beautiful.

5G is the next generation of mobile internet connection which offers much faster data download and upload speeds.

In our society technology is part of our daily lives. This means that we consume a large amount of mobile data daily, therefore existing spectrum bans are becoming congested, leading to breakdowns in service, especially when lots of people in the same area are trying to access these services at the same time.

5G is most likely initially going to be used by network operators in order to boost capacity on existing 4G core networks to ensure a more consistent service for customers. The speed one gets will depend on which spectrum runs this 5G service and how much one´s carrier has invested in this service.

In the UK, EE has invested a lot of money in this service. They offer phones that run 5G. The fact that this mobile network has invested in phones that run 5G will benefit its customers as it is necessary to get a new phone that runs this service in order to be able to use it. The same thing happened when 4G came out, but soon no more phones were being sold that did not offer this service.

5G is a new kind of network that will enhance today´s mobile broadband services greatly.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44871448