As the US completes 1 year trying to adapt to the changes forced by COVID-19, let’s take a look at how life has changed due to the pandemic:
Travel
The second half of 2020 witnessed halted air travel plans and airlines took fewer passengers on.
(ABOVE) Allegiant Air flight attendant Chris Killian prepares his passengers for the Laredo, Texas, bound flight before it pushes back from the terminal at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, as seen in this May 9, 2013, file photo. (BELOW) An almost empty British Airways passenger plane flies from Milan to London on March 5, 2020 in Milan, Italy. Photos: DAVID BECKER, AP & LAUREL CHOR, GETTY IMAGES
Beaches
From shutting down restaurants, bars and beaches to a gradual reopening of certain tourist hotspots.
(ABOVE) Santa Monica Beach was fairly empty at lunchtime as Los Angeles County reopened beaches May 13, 2020, for active recreation activities such as swimming, surfing, running and walking only. (BELOW) Kim Campbell, a student at the University of Louisville, left, joins friends on Clearwater Beach, March 2, 2021, in Clearwater, Fla., a popular spring break destination, west of Tampa. Photos: ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY & CHRIS O’MEARA, AP
Sports
Sports arenas went from being packed to sitting empty as the nation struggled fighting COVID-19 in 2020.
(ABOVE) The Dallas Stars fans celebrate the win over the Nashville Predators during the overtime period in game six of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center on April 22, 2019. (BELOW) A view of the arena before the game between the Dallas Stars and the Carolina Hurricanes at the American Airlines Center on February 11, 2021. Photos: JEROME MIRON, USA TODAY SPORTS
Education
Due to COVID-19 in 2020, even the field of education witnessed major shifts. Virtual learning came with its own set of challenges as parents worked from home and students struggled with technology and broadband issues.
(ABOVE) Courtney Gronbach, center, a first-grade teacher at Avery Elementary School, teaches students how to use the app Canvas, which they’ll use to submit their class assignments and maintain contact with teachers, at Avery Elementary School in Hilliard, Ohio on Mar. 13, 2020. (BELOW) Marco Messorri speaks to his second-grade students during a lesson, at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary school in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Photos: JOSHUA A. BICKEL, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH-USA TODAY & NOEL LYN SMITH, USA TODAY NETWORK
Entertainment
America just can’t do without entertainment. As concerts were postponed and movie theaters were closed, Americans turned to streaming platforms and after getting bored with their small screens, they went to drive-in movies.
(LEFT) View of a sanitized movie theater at the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City on March 4, 2021. (RIGHT) An aerial drone view shows a temporary drive-in movie theater at the Rose Bowl stadium, known for its spectacular Fourth of July fireworks which were canceled this year to reduce large public gatherings due to COVID-19 concerns, on July 4, 2020 in Pasadena, California. Photos: ALFREDO ESTRELLA, AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES & DAVID MCNEW, GETTY IMAGES