‘Old normal’ may never return due to this plague of uncertainty
THE return to what used to pass for normal continues, but not quite as quickly or as fully as many had perhaps hoped or anticipated.
As Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said yesterday: ‘The pandemic isn’t over yet. We’re going to have get through at least another winter before we can say it’s behind us… We’re not where we hoped to be or expected to be for October 22.’
There are many who want to know: why not? And others who want to find someone to blame. Some will target the Government, others the 300,000 who have not been vaccinated.
Those are legitimate questions. But there are others such as:
Are we ever going to return to what went on before the pandemic struck, or has our way of life changed permanently?
What will we consider to be normal behaviour in the future?
Will we be accepting of how things may have to be in the future without being wistful for what was the norm before March of last year?
And will we all fall into line with what is required of us?
Think of the following as examples of how life may be permanently changed:
Will you ever again shake hands with someone in the future or move in to kiss someone’s cheek as a greeting?
Speculation
Will you get the chance to stand at the bar having a pint with a friend while strangers jostle you to get their shout in?
Will we end up copying the example of those Asians who, since the days of the first SARS crisis of the 21st century, always wear masks when they are out in crowded public places, both indoor and outdoor?
Will we go to our old place of work each day if we have become accustomed to doing our tasks from the (relative) comfort of our own homes?
Will you stand cheek by jowl with strangers on a crowded train or sit on the bus beside someone you don’t know?
As it happens, of course, we’re already expected to share fullcapacity public transport, with no knowledge as to whether others are vaccinated or not, with the only provision that everyone is masked.
There has been some speculation that we would not be allowed to sit in a full-capacity Aviva Stadium this November to watch Ireland play New Zealand in rugby and Portugal in a World Cup soccer qualifier because of the need to maintain social distancing in the open air, whether masked or not. It was decided yesterday that the Aviva can be full to its 50,000-person capacity and that other stadia can be filled without restriction too.
That’s only logical if you agree with the situation as pertains to public transport.
Some people will wonder if it is safe though, and choose not to go – the matches can be viewed on television after all. Others may have similar safety concerns about public transport, but be left with no option but to use it because, in the absence of a car, they may not be able to walk or cycle to work or school.
The situation in schools remains a point of concern for some. Would it be the right thing to extend the vaccination programme to those aged between five and 12 or would parents cavil? Or should the State’s concentration in schools and in other places be on encouraging proper ventilation given that Covid is an airborne virus?
Illogical
Certainly, all of these things will continue to evolve. And some of the things we are required to do may seem illogical.
For example, when we go to a pub or restaurant, we wear masks as we are shown to our tables, where we promptly remove them. But if we get up to go to the toilet we’re expected to put them on again.
What difference will that walk really make to the potential transmission of the virus?
The rows yesterday about confusion over what’s going to be allowed while nightclubbing or standing at live concerts were unfortunate. You might have thought that plans would have been worked out in advance of the latest lunchtime announcement by the Government.
But maybe it is a telling indication of how it is not possible to be certain as to what to do or how this pandemic will continue to play out.