Going forward- Pandemic and beyond
As we now incorporate coronavirus, quarantine, isolation, vaccine and many such other words into our daily vocabulary we should also be cautious of what lies ahead after this. By now all of us should have gotten an idea that this virus is not something that will go away easily. It is going to stay with us like a common cough and cold. And I hope there comes a time when it is treated the same way as a cough and a cold. Now that everything is slowly starting to reopen, is everything the same as before? The answer is No. While earlier you had to just order a table for five and it didn’t matter even if the restaurant was jam-packed. Now only two people are allowed to sit at one table. Also the restaurants need to be following the social distancing norms or else forget eating out.
We all are ready to accept the ‘new normal' but none of us are willing to follow and implement it. Why? Because all of this is ‘new' for us. We have not been familiarized with this culture of greeting people from a distance or the regular habit of washing hands frequently. Have you ever thought why the spread of this virus was not so rapid in countries like Japan and South Korea? Because they have been following all of these habits since their culture’s inception. Even we as country used to greet people with our symbolic ‘Namaste' but what happened with us was an influence from The West.
Do you know the rapid testing and quick decison making of the government of South Korea played a major role in controlling the virus’s spread? It was the product of great efforts and most importantly a rational population. The people of that country were far away from believing the taboos and myths surrounding the virus and not only that they were quite cooperative enough. It is true that in a pandemic situation it is the moral responsibility of the government to handle it well, but even the government can’t do anything without the proper cooperation from its people. Well it is not the time to play a blame game on different issues, cultures and traditions, it is the time to bring back what was lost and forgotten. In order to adapt to the new normal we need a strong will. We need to get acquainted with masked faces around us everytime. It was just that earlier people wore them around you without your knowledge and now the difference is just that you can see people wearing them clearly. We need to get familiarized with the idea that it is a part of our life and can only be cured if taken precautions.
Nobody when welcoming this decade knew that it did held new beginnings but just in a different way. New beginnings to a ‘brand new normal world’. With so much of hatred, negativity and sadness consuming our lives since this pandemic began we need to focus on what lies ahead. We all need to stop complaining and lamenting of all the time that we lost. We need to focus on the good things that are still alive. Respect for the hardworking professionals who protected us during this tough times and a prayer for the speedy recovery of all those who are still suffering. There is hope but with a promise to a better and healthier future. And we all should together fufill this promise no matter what because we are stronger together.
