How do we get back to ‘normal’?

Whatever sport has tickled your fancy over the past European or American summer, most of us were envious of the large crowds that have been welcomed back into their sporting arenas — for the most part, not physically distancing or wearing the ubiquitous face mask. It’s a picture of a world before March 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic is certainly not a thing of the past for the northern hemisphere nations, as case numbers rise among children in the US now returning to school, and we should watch what unfolds as they enter autumn and winter.

What has enabled a return to something resembling normality has been their vaccine roll-out: more than 65% of the UK and 53% of the US population is fully vaccinated. In staging some of their crowd-filled events, venues have introduced vaccine passports to clamp down on the spread of the disease that has taken more than 4.5-million lives globally.

As South Africa settles into spring and looks forward to summer, the country’s policymakers and leading businesses are considering just how to get us back to normal, whatever that will mean in a post-covid world.

Although the drive behind Discovery’s call to accept only vaccinated staff back to its headquarters may have much to do with filling its ludicrously expensive rental for its futuristic office in Sandton, there will certainly be an increasing clamour by other businesses to introduce some sort of vaccine passport.

The legalities will be interesting to watch and we’ve explored this topic in the Mail & Guardian this week. On the surface, companies do have the right to determine who enters their premises: construction or mining companies have rules as to how people dress on site. Walk around without your hard hat and you are likely to receive a warning or possibly even be fired. Will a vaccine passport bear a similar consequence?

It will be a fascinating journey back to “normal”; some people have even raised comparisons with apartheid divisions — between those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t. This debate won’t be helped by the social-media echo chambers, where conspiracy theories have found a new life.

The industry perhaps most in need of direction of just how we get back to what we were in 2019 is the sports sector. The Springboks may have given a timely reminder to the rugbywatching public that they are indeed the world champions in defeating the British and Irish Lions, but how much more of a statement would it have been before a jam-packed Ellis Park or Cape Town stadium? Kaizer Chiefs’ miraculous run to the Champions League final would have been better accompanied by at least a half-full FNB stadium, which could have pushed them over the line.

Will vaccine passports be the ticket to our new normal? If the northern hemisphere emerges from its colder months without a surge in cases, there’s every likelihood they will be.