Covid Awareness

Post-COVID-19 Era: Will the world ever be able to go back to normal?

The world is embroiled in a significant health crisis that has led to grave suffering all around the world. In times of extreme uncertainty, it is difficult to imagine normal life again. Our lives have been transformed in ways that we could not have possibly imagined. Coronavirus has affected the world beyond our anticipation. Dealing with the unforeseen challenges caused by pandemics has taken a significant toll on people all across the world. It has now been over 4 months since the virus started spreading from Wuhan in China. Numerous questions are being asked around the globe such as “When will life go back to normal?”, “Will we ever be able to get back with our normal lives?”, “Will we ever feel comfortable eating out again?”, “What will the new normal look like?” The current situation has forced people and governments around the world to introspect and wonder when things will return to normal. 

On March 24, 2020, the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership ordered a nationwide lockdown, which is still in power. It is too soon to expect things to get back to normal. There is still no vaccination in place to help cure the virus. Most experts believe that the world will slowly start going back to normal, not before the fall of 2021. This pandemic has affected lives in devastating ways wherein families have been separated; people have lost their loved ones. The massive social disruption imposed by COVID-19 has naturally led people to wonder when things will return to pre-pandemic normalcy. Stuck at home, rarely venturing into hauntingly empty streets, most of us are still at a loss at how life will look post lockdown. Will restaurants survive and jobs come back? Will people still travel in crowded subways? The current situation has caused extreme emotional, mental, and physical damage, and the government all around the world is coming under extreme pressure to outline their strategies for bringing different sectors of the economy out of the coronavirus lockdown. Some things might permanently be changed while others might return to how they used to be. Along with supermarkets that have been opened, slowly, we can see parlors, restaurants, and small shops reopening as well. Difficult as it is, our current lifestyle has become our routine. Education and work have moved onto the platform of virtual learning on digital mediums such as zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Skype. Students are slowly being accustomed to the new ways of learning compared to the old traditional face-to-face learning. Plans for recovery are already being discussed, with a focus on the fiscal stimulus needed to help economies recover. However, we require a systemic change that goes far beyond financial instruments to recalibrate societal values and provide a more sustainable underpinning for the future. 

People around the world are hoping for everything to go back to normal. People are following practices such as social distancing which we are all new too. Not being allowed to meet in big groups, flights being canceled, restaurants remaining shut, working from home, schools, and universities switching to remote learning, and most importantly staying away from family and friends for a long period of time has affected the majority of the people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has made people feel extremely vulnerable about their health and employment status. Several businesses have undergone several losses. Sadly, we must accept the new reality and must actively adapt to a different lifestyle, even if some restrictions are eased. We might have to continue to live at least partially isolated, maybe for a few months or a whole year. No one can confirm and say with surety when we will be able to fight this pandemic away but what we do know is that slowly, our economies are recovering and we are being made to follow a protocol, which must be taken seriously by all if we want to get back with our normal lives in the near future.