16/10/2020
COVID-19: The new normal (Part 1)
As I write this, the virus continues to wreak havoc on people’s everyday lives all over the world. In light of rising infection rates, hospital beds filling with Covid patients and overworked medical personnel, lockdowns, curfews and other restrictions reinforce what has become ‘the new norm’. This raises a certain number of questions. What does this mean exactly going forward? What can we do to ensure that our lives continue to feel as normal as possible? And most importantly, what can we do to make the most of our time and lead happy, fulfilling lives?
The virus: what we know
There is so much information out there that it is difficult to distinguish between information and misinformation (and sometimes even disinformation). This is a brief summary of what we know:
ü You can catch the virus from simple physical contact or being in physical proximity with an infected or contagious person.
ü The more contact you have with an infected or contagious person, the higher your virus load, which can lead to more severe symptoms.
ü You can be contagious even if you are asymptomatic.
ü Just because you caught Covid once, it doesn’t mean you can’t catch it again. It is possible to catch the virus more than once. There have been reports that people have been known to become sicker the second time around.
ü Wearing a mask, frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitiser protects you and the people around you.
The consequences
After many countries went into lockdown in the spring, life seemed to begin to get back to normal for a while. Yes, we were still wearing masks and long-range travel plans had been put on hold, but we were able to enjoy summer and go back to work and school. People were hopeful again. Then the numbers began to take a turn for the worse in September and beginning of October. The summer had been a bit too carefree, and people had forgotten to be careful. Now here we are, and once again, lockdowns, curfews, quarantine and isolation are all over current events.
What does that mean for us and our immediate future? How can we, despite the restrictions, lead happy, fulfilling lives?
To be continued…
