The spread of coronavirus across the United States has resulted in many people staying at home, thus reducing physical interaction. Nevertheless, some businesses need to communicate with others, resulting in the applications of new technologies for long distance communication.

 At Northern Essex Community College, many professors have begun using Zoom in order to communicate with their students. One of these professors, Dr.Hilmar Von Strunck, said that Zoom has been working very well for him with no real issues.

As Strunck has already conducted some of his classes online, the effect of the current situation is not major, the only real change being Zoom. Strunk sees Zoom as a reliable tool to use in these trying times, however he does not believe that it is the same as face to face conversations and will likely go back to the classroom as soon as he is able.

Dr. Sarah Spence, a neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, uses telemedicine in order to conduct her appointments. Spence commented on how much work it is to learn all the new technical systems, which do not always work, however stated that visits are going well, nevertheless.

Most families seem to like using telemedicine, especially those with kids who hate going to the doctor. That said, it is much harder to conduct physicals online. Spence has stated that she will go back to face to face visits when able but will still use telemedicine for some of her patients.

Sean Goguen, an attorney from Newburyport, has noted that business has slowed down with less people able to afford an attorney, resulting in fewer cases and making it harder to get paid.

Attorney Goguen stated that he is working okay, as most of his business is done through the phone.He has also used Zoom, however he himself does not know how to set up a session.