In the past couple of weeks, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the end of California’s COVID-19 State of Emergency. Although the pandemic has been a tumultuous time for all, California and our local community have adapted to support one another and pave the way for a better tomorrow.

Local downtown shops, such as Amador Valley Quilters, pivoted to making and selling masks and fabric at the height of the pandemic. Restaurants and cafes followed suit, offering curbside pickup and delivery services to keep their customers safe.

“During the pandemic, my family restricted ourselves from going outside too much. We did this by using online shopping and grocery apps and wearing the strongest N95 masks. But, now that everything is lifted, we have been adjusting back to old practices,” said Alan Deng (‘24).

In addition, during the first stages of the pandemic, Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) took steps to ensure that students were able to continue their education in a safe environment (pivoting to online learning). Such action has allowed California students to experience less learning loss than the rest of the nation.

“My first year of high school was remote, and because my grandparents were high-risk, I never participated in hybrid learning. I felt like I had some learning loss because the transition from digital to in-person was abrupt. Although, it was freshman year, so it did eventually balance out,” said Deng.

Experts have cited that California, having one of the lowest COVID-19 fatality rates nationwide, appropriately handled the outbreak in comparison to other states in the US. California has distributed over 88 million vaccinations (almost 73% of the state’s population) since the inception of its vaccine program.

“Even though the statistics [of vaccinations] show that it’s relatively safe now, I still wear my mask to school daily, because a lot of my friends have been getting COVID regularly. So, I just don’t want to risk it,” said Jeremy Li (‘23).

All in all, Pleasanton has shown to be resilient in the face of difficulty. Despite the numerous hardships that the pandemic brought, the community rallied together to support one another, and businesses and schools put forth endless effort to keep everyone safe.

“As California moves forward, it is important to consider how far we have come as a community, and how stronger we are together,” said Agash Morekonda (‘24).