Covid-19: We Will Not Be Returning To the Old Normal
Do you remember when the pandemic began in China? Back then, the rest of the world couldn’t even imagine how far the reach of Covid-19 will expand. Our government officials told us that everything would be fine by the start of summer. Afterward, optimists claimed that everything would return to normal in autumn. Now, with only a month until winter, the second wave of the epidemic is hitting.
People are tired of social distancing and continuous restrictions. Furthermore, experts are now afraid to predict anything, so optimistic scenarios are lacking. Let’s see what we have at this time.
When Will Things Go Back to Normal?
Professor Julian Hiscox hopes that things will go back to normal next summer. However, it will take us at least five years to fully recover from this coronavirus. Likely, we will have to make permanent changes in some aspects of our lives.
Based on how the pandemic has evolved in the past, many are speculating that Covid-19 will become endemic. That is, it will continue to appear in certain areas from time to time. It means that humanity needs to introduce new approaches to better protect people against it.
Most of the projections still boil down to five years. Some hope vaccines will help cope with the coronavirus. At the moment, 11 vaccines are in the final stage of development worldwide. However, they are not a cure-all either.
In a best-case scenario, they will reduce the number of hospitalizations and casualties, allowing the medical systems to keep up instead of being overwhelmed. Some have similar hopes regarding people developing immunity.
Unfortunately, it is too early to tell; first, we need to get through the winter. Although the situation is not as catastrophic as it was in the spring, the second wave is forcing many government officials to develop and implement new restrictions.
No one can predict how our Christmas celebration will go. Seasonal respiratory illnesses, along with the global pandemic, could make this winter very difficult. While spring will bring relief, the likelihood of a third wave is real.
One way or another, due to Covid-19, things won’t go back to how they were. We have only two options left: an effective vaccine or immunity, both of which take time. Unfortunately, we cannot expect to return to normal for at least a couple of years.
