After the coronavirus crisis
By Claire K. Racine
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.
Once the standard greeting, handshakes have quickly become
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.
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.”
Previously for those too busy — or unable — grocery delivery options are now
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Like a self-fulfilling — or perhaps selfrising — prophecy, stories and pictures of bread-making 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.
The World Health Organization said there’s nothing wrong with handling cash these