OUR PATH After the coronavirus crisis
When the coronavirus pandemic hit Connecticut, life immediately transformed.
The regular became forbidden and things we had never imagined before became the norm.
Some may revert back to the way it has always been once the crisis has passed, but others have likely changed forever.
Handshakes
Once the standard greeting, handshakes have quickly become non grata.
If you must interact, an elbow touch or foot tap may be acceptable, but a wave or namaste bow that allows for greater distance is preferred.
And that friendly hug to say hello or goodbye? Those days are long gone.
The handshake may not be gone forever. However, it also may no longer be a faux pas to fail to offer one or to decline an outstretched hand. A friendly smile and head bob may be just as good.
Telemedicine
Telehealth — or telemedicine, as it’s also known — covers a broad range of services via video, telephone or email. Patients can consult with doctors about everything from flu symptoms or a backache to a psychiatry visit.
Advocates argue they have successfully stepped in to fill a void caused by many doctors temporarily shutting down their offices and they have no plans to roll it back postcoronavirus.
“Telehealth is going mainstream,” said CEO Geoffrey Boyce, CEO of InSight + Regroup, a national telepsychiatry company. “It has been on the fringes for a number of years. We’re at the point now where there is no going back.”
Grocery delivery
Previously for those too busy — or unable — grocery delivery options are now de rigueur.
Millions of people across the country have turned to online meal kit providers like Blue Apron and delivery services like Peapod, InstaCart and FreshDirect to get their regular groceries as the pandemic has forced them to remain at home, fearful of going to the local supermarket or convenience store.
This severe and sudden change in lifestyle has brought a surge of new orders and customers to these companies, which have been trying for years to convince shoppers to buy more of their food online.
Chalk
Inspiration is contagious, too.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought an outpouring of messages from stranger to stranger — many of them colored onto driveways, blank walls and sidewalks.
Chalk drawings are an easy, at- home activity with the added benefit that the end result can inspire and entertain those who see them afterwards be they the Postal Service, delivery workers or just neighbors out for a stroll.
Dog etiquette
You’re out on an errand when you spot a wriggling ball of fluff. Score! Time for some pets and puppy love.
Not anymore. Dog etiquette has changed for both people and the pets themselves.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising pet owners to avoid letting their dogs interact with other canines and other humans, dog parks and other public places where once man’s best friends frolicked have become ghost towns.
Other people’s pets have become a see- anddon’t- touch experience. And, even after social distancing relaxes, asking before touching will likely be a new hard rule.
Long- distance family gatherings
Not just for work purposes, video- conferencing apps mean that family dinners no longer require everyone to gather round the same table. Instead, all you need is a sign- in code and a time slot.
Stuck on the New York Times crossword? Call up your sister and share your screen.
In need of a workout? Tune in for your brother- in- law’s tai chi or sister- in- law’s yoga class.
Have news to share and want to do it all at once? Get the whole family — including grandma and your favorite uncle — online and voila!
Bird watching
A plane? There are very few commercial flights.
Superman? He, too, has to obey stay- home orders and social distancing.
A bird? Now that is much more likely. Armed with a field guide book — or more likely, Google — and binoculars in hand, backyard birding has taken off. With few people out and about, birds are the more likely culprit to spot out the windows.
A nature walk — a rediscovered outdoor activity — is another prime time to spot a warbler or Great Blue Heron and put identifying skills to the test.
Baking bread
Like a self- fulfilling — or perhaps self- rising — prophecy, stories and pictures of breadmaking have circulated on social media. Those, in turn, led to new bakers opting to give it a try.
Intimidated by sourdough? Not anymore, thanks to Instagram how- to videos.
Unwilling to let those bananas you braved the grocery store for go to waste? Welcome to the warm happiness that is banana bread.
And for those who want to save on time and clean up, there’s always the option of a bread machine — an appliance many seem willing to pay for. Sales of breadmakers were up 195 percent the second week of March compared with the same week the prior year, according to data from market research firm The NPD Group.
Cash
The World Health Organization said there’s nothing wrong with handling cash these days,
so long as you wash your hands, especially before handling or eating food.
Still, plenty of people are avoiding banknotes in favor of contactless transactions like Apple Pay and Google Pay as shoppers try to restrict what they touch in stores — if they go out at all.
Where backers once pitched contactless technologies for their convenience, retailers are giving them new consideration for their health and safety benefits.
“I can see consumer behaviors changing for sure from the situation we’re in,” said Linda Kirkpatrick, president of U. S. issuers for Mastercard. “When those consumer behaviors change over several months, they tend to stick.”
At- home exercise3
Exercise is important for your body and mind. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, keep your blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels in check, increase bone strength and help manage stress, just to name a few benefits.
Yoga, long walks and even trampolines — which have the added benefit of being super fun and tuckering out rambunctious kids — are some of the options people have turned to in lieu of gyms and exercise classes.
Jigsaw puzzles3
Jigsaw puzzles scoffed at for their old- timey nature have seen a revival.
Games provide a way for people to socialize with their families while they can’t go out and see friends, while puzzles can help people home alone pass the time, said James Zahn, senior editor of The Toy Insider, a review and news website.
“It’s the screen- free play a lot of families are rediscovering,” Zahn said. “They’re finding they have something they didn’t have before, which is time.”
Sewing3
A sewing machine dusty and unused is confined to a closet no longer.
Learning how to put together a facemask for family, friends and maybe even first responders — if
you’ve got the know- how — has breathed new life into that previously ignored Singer, reminding you why you bought it in the first place.
Perhaps it is time to tackle that rip you’ve been meaning to repair. Or hem a pair of parts. Or maybe sew an entire outfit from scratch — OK, that might be taking it a bit too far, but you get the idea.
Movie streaming3
Already a phenomena, Netflix and chill has become a daily, rather than weekly, part of life.
The company picked up nearly 16 million global subscribers during the first three months of the year, helping cement its status as one of the world’s most “essential” services in times of isolation or crisis.
While experts say it will be difficult to unseat the company — there’s a reason its name is part of the saying — other video- streaming services have taken a stab at it. In only six months since launch, for example, Disney+ amassed more than 50 million subscribers.
Working from home3
Working from home — or WFH, for those trying to sound in the know — was once a rare, coveted arrangement. Now, it’s the norm.
No need to go into the office every day to meet with your boss or coworkers. Instead, video- conferencing apps can fill that obligation as increased use has shown.
Users of Microsoft Teams soared to a new daily record of 2.7 billion meeting minutes in one day, a 200 percent increase from 900 million on March 16, the company said on April 9. Even amid security concerns, Zoom has gone from being used by 10 million office workers a day to more than 200 million people.
It seems likely that remote work is here to stay.
Ride- sharing apps3
Few places to go coupled with concerns over who might have been in the car previously means the traditional users of ride- hailing services have been staying away.
But, delivery of food and other items has helped fill the gap.
Uber has an internal app
that helps its ride- hailing drivers find work for Uber Eats and other jobs and Lyft is partnering with government agencies, nonprofits and health organizations to help its out- of- work drivers find jobs delivering essentials to people in need.
Meals at home3
For many people, cooking at home has always been their go- to method and a pandemic will not change that. Perhaps the “Joy of Cooking” or Betty Crocker serves as their guide or Allrecipes. com or even crowd- sourced suggestions on social media.
For those who prefer to have someone else do that work, options remain. Traditional restaurant delivery and pickup still reigns, as newer methods like DoorDash and GrubHub provide another venue to secure a tasty meal.
Bidets3
A common European fixture, bidets have long been pooh- poohed by Americans and never really caught on in the United States. But then came panic- buying and stockpiling, leading to a toilet paper shortage and perhaps a change in heart.
U. S. searches for “bidet” reached an all- time high in March, according to Google Trends. Tushy, which makes a $ 100 bidet attachment for toilets, said its sales spiked in mid- March, hitting $ 1 million in a single day. Sales are still running 10 times ahead of projections, Tushy said.
While they are unlikely to truly dethrone toilet paper, with store shelves emptied, it seems Americans have decided to give the bidet a second chance.
Locally grown agriculture3
Just like the Victory Gardens of World Wars I and II, the idea of growing more food at home seems to have resonated with many.
“World War I, to me, is a pretty stark parallel,” said Rose Hayden- Smith, a historian and author of “Sowing the Seeds of Victory: American Gardening Programs of World War I.” “Not only was there a war, but there was an influenza pandemic.”
Now, gardeners new and old are getting online and on social media to post pictures of freshly tilled backyards, raised garden beds, seeds germinating under grow lights or flocks of chickens. To fit with the more modern world, Victo
ry Garden Facebook groups have sprung up.
For those who cannot garden themselves, there’s community- supported agriculture, allowing consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
Hand sanitizer3
It is hard to imagine anyone will ever take hand sanitizer for granted again.
Previously, it was left sitting at the bottom of a backpack, perhaps hauled
out when traveling or when flu season kicked in.
Now, it’s a highly soughtafter, must- have accessory — if you can find it.
Pocket- sized or industrial, homemade or store bought, scented or odorless, hand sanitizer seems here to stay.
Virtual job interview3
Virtual job interviews can have all the benefits of face- to- face meetings with potential future employers
without the drawbacks from in- person interviews such as travel and, you know, the possibility that one of you might infect the other.
Done right — with good lighting, mental preparation ahead of time and, of course, pants — they can be just as successful, said Vicki Salemi, a career expert with the online job and recruitment site Monster.