July’s virtual joy

Heal the world

With coronavirus keeping people indoors for the past few months, the Earth has healed in more ways than one. The air is cleaner and far less polluted, and the sky appears clearer. In Venice, the canals have cleared up since there’s no traffic to pollute the waterways and zoologists can see the marine life entering the Venetian Lagoon. And in Brazil, hawksbill sea turtles are laying their eggs on the country’s golden beaches without fear of danger to their nests or hatchlings.

The Earth’s ozone layer is also repairing itself and it’s a win for climate change activists around the world. It’s safe to say that the planet is healing slowly since we aren’t interacting too much with it – and proving that as denizens, we should be enjoying nature rather than destroying it.

As things begin to settle down and the COVID-19 curve flattens all but gradually in many parts of the world, some countries have begun easing their lockdown restrictions and opening certain public spaces that won’t pose a health risk to their people.

However, given that international travel is still not fully operational, there go those New Year’s Eve resolutions we made about seeing the world! Instead, we may have to stick to the virtual city tours that one finds online.

Though restrictions on movement are gradually being eased, it’s likely that many nations will continue to close their borders to visitors as a precaution against a second wave of infections. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry – at least until a vaccine is available perhaps. Virtual tours are not the only thing that’s going digital.

Since theatres will probably not open in the near future, many drama aficionados will get to watch their favourite plays online. Directors and writers such as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber are hoping that by doing so, they can share their love for the stage in these trying times.

With the success of Trolls World Tour through video on demand, Universal Studios is planning to release more movies on the available digital platforms. So we won’t need to hold our collective breath for too long as we wait for our favourite releases to be available online.

While it looks like things are heading in a more positive direction, taking each day as it comes and living every moment to its fullest may well be the order of the day.