Olivia Kahane was a Freshman at Katz Yeshiva High School in 2020. She was 14 years old living in a Modern Orthodox community in Hollywood, Florida with her 2 brothers, sister, and parents. Olivia recalls when the Coronavirus, which began in 2019, began to impact her life in 2020. She discusses how her lifestyle, family relationships, and mental/emotional health changed throughout the pandemic. She recalls the precautions her family took, she took, and her friends took to protect their health and the health of others.

Interviewed by Penina Kahane

In 2020-2021 Benjamin Freedman was a doctor living in Boca Raton, Florida. He was in his 50s and working at memorial regional hospital. He was the Chief of Staff of the hospital, and was head of radiology for Envision Healthcare. He also was working as part of the COVID-19 task force at Katz Hillel Day School and was very involved with the decisions and COVID protocols that were in place at the school. In this interview he discusses his initial reaction to the coronavirus and how they’ve changed. He also discusses how his job and all medical practices have been affected and changed by this virus. Lastly, he discusses his role on the COVID task force at Katz Hillel Day School and what they’ve done to keep the school safe and corona free.

Interviewed by Jacob Freedman

Anne Deakter was a middle aged woman working from home as a life coach and author, living with her son and husband. Anne discussed the effects on many aspects of her life which had been affected by COVID such as her social life, finances, religion, and how the government handled it. She talks about mental health too and it’s detrimental effects on people who are alone during COVID.

Interviewed by Michael Deakter

Huvie Gately lives in Parkland, Florida and is currently in nursing school. She lives in a Chabad Jewish neighborhood but is Modern Orthodox. She has seven children, ranging from 18 to 2. Huvie discussed how Covid-19 affected her student life, her family, and her mental and physical health.

Interviewed by Hailey Gately 

David Kahane is a 19 year old college student at Syracuse University in New York. When is in college he lives in a dorm room but when he comes home to Florida he lives with his parents. David talks about how the virus as a whole impacted him such as him having to quarantine multiple times and how his social life was impacted. He then goes on to talk about how he feels about the federal and local government and how they controlled the virus. Lastly, David talks about how he felt emotionally during this pandemic and how he feels that life could be different in the upcoming years because of it.

Interviewed by Benjamin Kahane

Debbie Reichenberg was a citizen of Boynton Beach, Florida in 2020. She had grown up in Brooklyn, New York in an apartment with her parents and her older brother. She met her husband Paul when he moved into her apartment building in Brooklyn. Debbie and Paul had two kids. Debbie worked as a middle school teacher for the better part of her life. Debbie recounts the time before the pandemic when she slowly became more aware of the harsh reality that laid ahead. Debbie notes how a global pandemic affected her and her family's social life, her religious practices, and her anxieties. She also mentions the economy, the future of our post-pandemic world, and what she would tell her pre-pandemic self.

Interviewed by Naomi Reichenberg

Jordan Brown is a senior software engineer at Facebook. He lived in New York with his soon to be wife and moved to Florida in March 2020. He turned 26 years old and got married during Covid. In the interview, he discusses how covid affected his work life, wedding, and overall routine. He reveals his first thoughts and feelings about the lockdown.

Interviewed by Leila Brown

Martine Newman was a mother of three and happily married to her husband, Steven Newman. She lived in Hollywood, Florida. In this interview, she recalls her growing awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in January 2020, and she shows her corresponding reactions. She discusses precautions her family took to maintain their health, as well as changes to her job, social life, and lifestyle. She was a realtor for over twenty years and specifically expresses the effect of the pandemic on her job, and her predictions of the future in real estate.

Interviewed by Chantal Newman

Ilan Mussaffi was a college student at Florida State University in 2020 except during the months of December through February when he was studying in Italy. He was a 20 year old male who lived in Tallahassee until he moved to Italy to study. Mussaffi recalls his fear of the pandemic began when Trump closed the borders from Europe to America. His fears became heightened during his 28 days of complete isolation due to contracting the virus. Mussaffi discusses the timeline of his journey as well as his perspective shifts, his school life, his personal experiences with the virus, his struggles of accepting older citizens dying, his personal relationships, and his career he pursued due to the pandemic.

Interviewed by Liad Mussaffi

Bernardo Gelman, the interviewee, was a 44 year old father when COVID-19 began. Bernardo is married and a father of three. He first heard about the virus in late January–mid February. Bernardo didn’t panic over the virus as the media and government did, but instead he prepared for the upcoming months in being able to continue living a healthy life with good habits. Bernardo speaks on how Covid-19 affected his relationships with friends and family and how he managed to continue living a normal life.

Interviewed by Menachem Gelman