Have We Rounded The COVID-19 Corner Yet?

Have We Rounded The COVID-19 Corner Yet?

– By Ed Kociela –

I’m sure I am not the only one who felt a certain bit of relief when the president talked the other day about returning to a sense of semi-normalcy by July 4, if everything goes according to plan.

That probably doesn’t mean we are out of the woods yet on this COVID-19 thing just yet. I mean, we still have a certain level of ignorance as states begin lifting limits on how many people may gather in certain places and that masks are no longer required. It is foolhardy at best to believe that we have developed the herd immunity to knock this thing down. While it is true that we have put a lot of needles in people’s arms, we’re not quite to the point where we can let our guard down yet. We’ve gone way beyond the place where we sat a year ago when we were told that, perhaps, drinking bleach would save us; that when the warmth of summer arrived the disease would miraculously disappear because it could not survive the heat and sunlight; that we were “turning the corner” and better days were just ahead. Except, they weren’t and people died. Lots of people died. And, they continue to die. The trend is that the number of infections and deaths is dropping, but are we setting ourselves up for another round of accelerated transmissions by opening everything up too quickly?

I’m sure I am not alone in my dislike for wearing a mask. I am sure I am not the only one whose hands are fairly raw from all of the hand sanitizer and washing. I am sure I am not the only one who resents the idea of being restricted in my travels.

The mask thing is uncomfortable, a pain. I stepped out the door not long ago to run to the grocery store for some necessities and panicked because, about two blocks from home, I realized I had forgotten my mask.

I’ve scrubbed away all the callouses on the fingertips of my guitar-fretting hand from the constant washing and sanitizing and there are times when my hands look like withered snakeskin.

Although I am not much of a social butterfly, I don’t like being told where I can and cannot go.

But, I will wear my mask, I will scrub my hands, and I will continue to binge-watch Netflix because you know what? I would rather do that than have a ventilator shoved down my throat. Besides, I have grudgingly given a year of my life to avoiding this disease and I don’t want to offer up another minute more than necessary.

I know a lot of people who have had COVID-19 and it has not been a party for them. It hurts, it is debilitating, it is frightening and I want no part of that and neither should you. That’s why when I finish up with my vaccinations, I will continue to wear a mask when out in public, I will continue to practice social distancing, I will still slather sanitizer on my hands because I not only want to not catch it, I don’t wish to spread it to anybody, whether friend or foe.

I’m angry at this COVID-19 thing and what it has done to us, whether through the polarization of the maskers against the anti-maskers or the constant threat of a potentially lethal disease hanging over our heads.

There are lessons to be learned from all of this.

We learned that truthful, supportive leadership is vital to keep us heading in the right direction.

We learned that we really do need to rely on each other to make it through, regardless if we are liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between.

We learned that we should trust science and not the rambling of some Tweet-a-holic with a Messianic complex.

On the other hand, we have learned some things that will have tremendous positive impacts on our new normal.

Perhaps the greatest lesson is that we have learned how to work more smartly. I think more and more companies will see the financial advantages of closing up the big offices and having a workforce that, for the most part, is home-based. That will, of course, lead to other advantages such as helping to clean up our environment. Fewer vehicles on the freeway means less pollution. Fewer miles driven means a decrease in dependency on fossil fuels. That hybrid or electric car will suffice just fine, thank you.

Through necessity, we have learned how to better use telemedicine to help us stay healthier. Doctors will keep Zoom hours instead of strictly office hours for routine visits.

Our shopping habits have also changed and instead of being so dependent on those big, ugly malls, we’ll do the bulk of it online. This won’t, however, kill the Mom and Pop shops if they play it smart and find their niche in the local market. There will still be plenty of artisans and craftspeople around for those special items you just will not find on Amazon, goods that are geographically specific.

Our higher levels of education will benefit as well as more and more colleges find that they can move from the classroom to online. It may not provide the same social experience, but it will move the needle in the direction of becoming higher sources of enrichment and education, which also means that there could very well be a more level playing field in worker salaries. A college professor in Southern Utah, for example, will not be paid less because of geographic discrepancies if they are serving a student population scattered by distance learning.

Even our means of entertainment is changing. We will see a decline, overall, in the number of people who clamor to the movies as more and more studios figure out that their films can have just as much impact on the home screen as in the theater. Seriously, who wants to pay $8 for a box of popcorn, $4 for a soft drink and $5 for a hotdog when you can prop your feet up at home and enjoy all the goodies you want for a fraction of the price? I’ll trade the big screen for the comfort of my couch.

People will still feel the need for community and need places to gather whether at sporting events – from the high school to professional level – or even just at social clubs, whether a bar or restaurant. But, date night in the future is more likely to consist of grabbing some onion rings, a burger, and shake at Iceberg and heading home to catch the latest Netflix release.

And, I think we’ll all be doing more things outdoors, which is probably a good thing both mentally and physically.

We’re not there yet, but I think if we focus well, we might just see a little bit of light at the end of that dark, foreboding tunnel.

I just hope it’s not an onrushing freight train coming to flatten us yet once again.

Do your part and get your shot and regardless of what some politician tells you, mask up and keep your distance until the scientists say it’s OK to put it away.

It’s how we will hop onto the expressway to normal.

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