Background: As nursing colleges rapidly closed due to the global coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, students and faculty faced unprecedented challenges. COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all campus curricular and extra-curricular activities. The traditional face-to-face nursing education method was quickly shifted online. It had to be administered via various virtual platforms as distance education. The shift to distance education forced the nursing faculty to reconsider the appropriate method to deliver their course contents to their students. The impact of COVID-19 has prompted rapid changes in nursing education at a pace not previously experienced, which impacted theory classrooms, laboratory demonstrations, and clinical practicum. Implementation of distance education was to safeguard the safety of all involved in the nursing colleges and ensure accomplishing the learning outcomes and professional competencies without any suspension. However, the challenges faced by nursing faculty and students were unprecedented and had to be noted and considered. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for everyone to learn from such an unanticipated shift in education. Objective: The emphasis of this review article is searching the internet for studies geared towards the effect of COVID-19 on nursing education and the nursing students' perceptions on shifting from traditional face-to-face education to distance education. Methodology: Google Scholar, Medline, and PubMed searches were used for articles selection from 2019 to 2021 that discussed COVID-19 and its effect on nursing education. Conclusion: COVID-19 impacted everyone on earth. It impacted nursing education; however, alternative education methods were used to compensate for the delays and keep the academic calendar running. Students have mixed feelings about their perceptions of the sudden shift of traditional education to distance education.