Pre-COVID “Normal” isn’t Coming Back
It was not long ago that I wrote an article about our new, post pandemic normal and what it would look like. In that article I talked about the steps businesses needed to take for us to stay safe and to go back to the normal way of doing things in this COVID reality.
We did that. States reopened and life as we knew it resumed in a sense as we went back to our jobs, the gym, movies, restaurants, and basically everywhere else within our country and the results were good on the surface, but in the grand scheme of things, they were not good and just now we are starting to see what reopening too soon does.
The new normal was not normal at all and now it appears that even the new normal will not happen.
Pre-COVID normal will not be something that we can ever go back to and even the “New normal” during this pandemic may not happen either, or at least not the way that we want it to happen. The places I mentioned tried there best to open in a safe and controlled manner, but when you have humans who do not know how to follow the rules even in a non-pandemic world, the situation you get is chaotic.
That is what we have been seeing happen as places reopened and people tried to resume their lives. The suggestions and even demands of wearing masks and practicing social distancing do not go over well with many and they defy these measures and this is why we now have more cases, more deaths, and a pandemic that may not leave us — ever!
For example, the new normal for gyms are social distancing guidelines where people remain six feet apart at all times, multiple sanitizing stations and to clean weights and machines after every use and those measures are not even enough to prevent the spread of the virus. The gym that I attend did require using masks only upon entry and exit and now requires them at all times while in the gym.
This is our new, new normal.
The way things were where we went into stores, gyms, movie theaters, places of worship, and so on unmasked and without having to stay away from each other, not having to constantly wash our hands, able to go where we want and when we want are not going to return, or at least not anytime soon and this is something that we must accept.
I know that this may be a hard pill to swallow but this is where we are at as we stand now with the pandemic.
This is where we are at because we did not take the right actions at the right times and get this thing under control. The leaders of this country at various levels did not take the correct steps to prevent the spread and those that did still fell short. They fell short because of the states that reopened too soon allowed the virus to spread and that spread brought the virus even to states that did do the right things at the right times.
The only way that we get back to pre-COVID normal is through a vaccine as well as getting into stay-at-home orders in every state until that vaccine is ready and available. The reason for this is because slow containment is no longer an option as too many now have the virus, it has spread far and wide throughout this nation and there is no end in sight.
We had a chance, we blew it
There was a chance to get it under control and we did not do that. The window of opportunity passed and for that we will continue living the way things are now with masks when we are out and about, social distancing, and other guidelines.
If we are not careful, we will get locked down again. Some states are starting to do just that. Here in California it has already begun to get locked down again where dine-in restaurants that reopened are having to go back to take out and delivery only and bars that were once again operational are shut down again.
People are mad but it was their own behavior and refusal to follow a few simple rules that got us here once again.
The only way out is through. This is an old saying and it holds much weight in our world today with this pandemic. If we had been patient with reopening the economy and had just waited and stayed at home, then we would not be in this situation where things are closing again and cases are rising to the highest level that they have been.
Things are different and they will remain that way.
Sporting events without fans, bars without dance floors, socially distanced shopping, gyms without classes and machines spread apart from each other, distanced learning in school, and much more. This is the way things are and the way that they will be.
This is our normal. It is all we have.
Just wear a mask. It is simple.
It really is simple. Wearing a mask is a simple thing that we can do to reduce the spread of the virus, yet so many refuse to take this common sense action that protects themselves as well as others. If they just would do this then it would go much smoother for us all and things could be open and in a safe way.
Masks are our new normal, but they are also our main way back to the pre-COVID normal.
Those who refuse to wear one are not helping themselves or their fellow citizens and certainly are not helping us get back to normal. Wearing a mask is the fastest way that we can get through this and get back to the way things were, yet there are so many who will not do it, and the same goes for social distancing.
When you go out, wear a mask and keep your distance from people. It is by doing these things that we get back to the normal and can do the things that we like to do, like going to the gym, parties, the movies, on our vacations, and so on.
The war against masks are one of the things that are making it that the return to normal may not happen. It is like this, people are against the lockdowns but they are also against the measures that are in place so we do not have to be stuck at home and can go out and enjoy our lives. They want it both ways but it does not work that way in a global pandemic.
Normal Seems So Far Off
I mean, doesn't it?
Go driving down the road and see all the cars out and people walking down the street and you would think that there is no public health crisis at all and that things are normal as can be. I mean, that is the way it seems by the way people are acting, but in reality, we are in the middle of the worst health crisis that our nation has seen in decades, perhaps ever.
The fact is that the pandemic is worse now than it was when it first began, yet you would not know that by the way people are acting.
People are acting as if it is over, but as I wrote about a week ago, this virus will be with us for a very long time and this pandemic is FAR from over. In fact, it has just begun in many ways and regardless of what the Republican leaders will tell you or the behaviors of those who act as if things are normal, things are a long way from the way they used to be.
Things will not ever be the way they were before.
I am sorry to be the one to break the bad news to you, but this is our new reality. The way things are now is the best that it is going to be for a very long time and if we do not adjust to this new way of living then it will get far worse and we could be locked down and this time, not just for a couple of months but for a very long time.
Adapt or Suffer
These are our options.
We either adapt to the new way things are of wearing masks when we go out places and maintaining social distancing, or we have a situation where the death rate reaches the millions and our hospitals become so overwhelmed that they cease to function.
Things can be worse than simply being inconvenienced by having to cover our face and physically separate from each other. Things could get to the point where every single American becomes infected and where the loss of life is that of a war, in some ways we have already arrived at that point and it for sure could get worse.
It is a simple thing when you look at it from a common sense approach. We adapt and change our way of living or we never recover from this both as a nation and as individuals. I know that Americans do not like changing the way that we do things, but it is simple, we change or we die. There is no other way around it, we must make these adjustments.
Those who do not adapt to change usually do not survive. This is a known fact of societies all around the world that when they do not make adjustments in times of crisis, then they crumble. It is nothing new what we are experiencing, yet for some reason, Americans are fighting it and because of this, any kind of normal may never happen again.
We adjusted to changes after 9/11 with airport checkpoints and other type of changes, we adapted to active shooter drills, we adapted to being required to wear a seatbelt in a car and so much more. This is no different, no different at all and this is a global pandemic and a very serious situation, a situation that we as Americans must come together on.
The New Normal after the New Normal
Just as we got used to the new normal of wearing masks and social distancing those who did not listen and follow the rules put us in a situation where that may end and we may be on a long term lockdown, one that may last for much longer than the original one.
This may bring us to a new, new normal.
We may have to expand the social distancing to 12 feet, instead of six and have to legally enforce the use of masks. I mean, if people do not want to wear a mask when it is suggested in order to keep themselves and others safe, then the powers that be may have to legally require those masks in more and more places.
Something must be done. Thousands of our citizens are dying and people just are not taking it seriously.
Just look at Trump. I kept this article mostly non political as public health and wearing masks should not be a political issue, but sadly there is a political side to this, a political side that is a serious issue that our leaders just do not take as the serious issue that it is.
Trump holds these political rallies where nobody wears masks or social distances and as a result there has been a spike in infections, so much so that his son’s girlfriend became infected at his July 4th event at Mount Rushmore and staffers of his were infected at his Tulsa rally.
We need a president who accepts our new normal and encourages the use of masks that will protect us. We need more leaders in our government that take this pandemic seriously and who help the people to adapt to the new, new normal that we find ourselves in.
The bottom line is that this virus is here to stay. We must accept that fact and take steps to slow the spread and protect ourselves and our fellow Americans while we wait for that vaccine. It is by adapting to the new way of doing things that we get less infections and fewer deaths and that we can get back to our jobs, our hobbies, and our lives.
Things will never go back to the way they were before COVID-19 came into our world, but they can be somewhat normal, but what that looks like and how close it is to the way things used to be depends on us and our actions as what we do matters and it can be the difference between living and dying and that is what matters most.
Change our behaviors and maybe, normal could return, or at least a sense of it.
