Pandemic end points to road ahead
March 2022 marked two years since Pennsylvania locked down to reduce the spread of COVID-19, changing everything about life as we knew it. Office employees moved to remote work from home; many people were laid off; hospitals were overwhelmed with patients and new protocols; children shifted to remote learning with parents as teacher aides; gyms, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues were shuttered, and churches halted worship services.
The ripple effects strained finances, mental health and relationships, as isolation and cabin fever took over. For emergency responders, police, ambulance and hospital workers, Personal Protective Equipment was a new requisite to work, and fear of the fiercely virulent coronavirus was an added stressor in already difficult jobs.
A look back on the past two years must first and foremost take into account the devastating losses as the U.S. is approaching 1 million deaths from COVID, a toll once believed impossible. That is 1 million people whose absence has left holes in others’ lives — empty seats at the dinner table, missed laughter at family gatherings, unfinished work in communities. Parents, grandparents, friends, siblings — so many people whose lives ended too soon in a pandemic curse.
A look back raises the questions about the lack of preparedness in public health, the failures of leadership on all sides of the political spectrum at one time or another, and our refusals at times to put aside personal discomfort and embrace the greater good.
On the other hand, turning our eyes forward shows the ways in which we adapted and changed, often for the better, and with a sense of creativity as we integrated different ways of doing things into our daily lives.
Examining some of these changes has been the focus of a series of news articles, “The Road Ahead,” by MediaNews Group. One of the series’ highlights was the integration of technology into everything from church services to classes to work meetings.
We learned from Father Gus Puleo of Norristown that by embracing technology, the church now tapes ceremonies and makes them available to extended families. For a parish with a large number of Hispanics, the ability to stream a wedding or funeral to Latin America has been a way for families to celebrate across borders and miles.
The series showed us that police found new ways to deal with the increasing number of calls involving mental health issues, establishing a hub in the Lansdale area to create collaboration within the social service and law enforcement networks. Social workers praise the new system for its effectiveness in identifying and addressing individual problems. The result is less crime because of intervention and more trust among agencies.
Politics and the work of municipal councils and school boards suddenly had audience participation in the form of Zoom calls and virtual meetings, much like the change to church services and classes but with more public comment. Be careful what you wish for: Streaming meetings got more citizens to experience their local government firsthand, but it also created comment and discontent. School board meetings once held with a limited audience now had packed houses with parents giving input on everything from library book choices to the quality of cafeteria food.
Even the professionals dealing in the invisible demons of the pandemic — depression, drug use and mental illness — saw a silver lining. A Wyomissing psychologist now finds it easier for patients to attend regular therapy because they can do it virtually and fit it in to their schedules. School officials say coping programs for child trauma effects and staff burnout are more effective because virtual learning avoids the fear and stigma of help for mental illness.
Many lessons were learned through hardship, but others were learned through opportunities realized. Restaurants and local retail stores saw a chance to build takeout and delivery businesses that now offer new streams of income. Many employees saw ways to add balance to their home-life mix, and employers became more willing to work with that flexibility
Taking a look at the road ahead is an exercise in challenging long-held beliefs and habits and realizing that some good has come from the very difficult pandemic era. Embarking along that road, we have found some new tools to get us where the future leads.