We need clear information on virus risks to give us some hope amid mounting tension and fear of the pandemic
THE Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, was probably the greatest catastrophe in history, killing up to 200 million people in the 14th century.
Its grimness is captured by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in his painting The Triumph of Death, with corpses, burning ships and a desolate landscape stretching to the sea. Edvard Munch caught the Spanish Flu of 1919 and depicted its effects in a portrait of himself emaciated, jaundiced and close to death. That illness claimed more than 50 million lives.
With such images etched in our consciousness, any pandemic will have a profound impact on how we see ourselves and the threat we face in a bleak, grim and terrifying world. Against that backdrop, is it any surprise that we should experience anything but terror at the thought of being enveloped in a new pandemic?
A few weeks ago, just as the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner fiasco was claiming some political careers, RTÉ commissioned the Behaviour and Attitudes polling company to conduct research on our experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s called ‘The Next Normal’. It covered the impact of the coronavirus on our family relationships, our finances, our physical and mental health and our hopes for the future.
Apart from Covid itself, which was respondents’ top concern, getting the economy back on track (31pc), health services (34pc) and mental health (25pc) were the biggest priorities. This was ahead of housing, employment and education. A total of 33pc felt their mental health had suffered, while 49pc were very concerned or extremely concerned about contracting Covid.
It is hardly surprising that mental health has suffered. Our freedoms have been curtailed as never before.
Where we can go, who we can meet, where and how we can socialise are all strictly controlled. The marking of life’s transitions represented by weddings, funerals and, for many, communions no longer have the same ceremony about them and have become events that are low-key and determined now by diktat.
The removal of day-to-day freedoms that have been part of our lives since birth are frustrating and conducive to dispiritedness and even anger.
Social capital – the values and benefits that attach to our involvement with others in our network – has also been dissipated. Social capital refers to actual contact. Virtual engagement through
Zoom or other technologies are poor surrogates. Social support from involvement with family and friends has been clearly recognised for its role in aiding resilience.
The loss of person-toperson companionship is undoubtedly contributing to our emotional distress. For those with religious commitment, the curtailment of public religious worship removes another plank in the resilience shield.
It is deeply concerning that almost 50pc are very or extremely frightened of catching the virus. Having half the population in this heightened state of health anxiety is not good for society. It will take a huge toll, not just emotionally but also physically, since experiencing continuing stress has an impact on physical health. Will hypertension and heart disease increase as a consequence?
To counter this terror, people should be provided with information on what the risk of getting the disease is. In the absence of data from Ireland, we should turn to the UK.
The Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) study, commissioned by the British government, was published on October
1. It is the latest round of data from the world’s largest study on the prevalence of Covid. Between 120,000 and 160,000 people were randomly selected and tested. The prevalence in 18- to 24-year-olds was 0.96pc; in the 65-plus age group it was 0.29pc. My guess is that these figures are very much smaller than individuals assume the frequency to be.
A difficulty that we all face is the seemingly endless nature of the restrictions. In March, we thought life would be back to normal during the summer, now it is autumn with the whole country under Level 3. The prediction that Christmas as we know it will be cancelled has been gaining traction.
Hope is one of the attributes that every human being needs, but right now there is none in sight – or if there is we are not being told.
Can we be advised if the severity of the illness has lessened? Is the proportion of Covid patients needing intensive care treatment lower than in April? Is the proportion who die during the present surge less, the same or more than during lockdown? These might signpost some hope if correct and provide immediate succour to our mental health.
The Behaviour and Attitudes survey is, of course, a here-and-now exploration of our feelings and sentiments. The view in retrospect may well be different.
The findings of future studies will be intriguing as we evaluate how we handled and coped with the pandemic.