Six pandemic innovations that are worth keeping
Americans showed great ingenuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families, businesses and governments adapted to continue meeting their obligations under trying conditions.
Just because the country is getting back to normal doesn’t mean we have to discard all of those innovations. Some are valuable enough to be continued.
Working from home
Many industries proved they can continue to do business without having all of their people together in an office. Remote work has benefits for employers and employees.
Employers can shed the costs associated with having an office, including rent, utilities, security, maintenance and janitorial services. If in-person work still is required for some staff members, they may be able to do it at a smaller location.
Some employees are happier working from home. They don’t have the stress and cost of a commute. They may feel they have a better work-life balance. And the more satisfied they are with their job, the less likely they are to look for another. Reduced turnover is another benefit for bosses.
Medical parole
To reduce the potential for coronavirus outbreaks, many prisons and jails allowed their most-vulnerable inmates to be released on house arrest. That reduction in the number of people behind bars should continue.
Pennsylvania should adopt a more-lenient penal system for inmates
who are old or sick. The state and counties would save a lot of money and resources by not having the responsibility to provide medical care for them.
Some would receive care at the state’s expense, through Medicaid. But the cost would still be less, an estimated $22 million annually.
Prisoners serving time for committing violent crimes or those who have a history of being violent while incarcerated shouldn’t qualify.
Mixed drinks to go
To help restaurants and bars that were saddled with capacity restrictions, indoor dining bans and bar service bans, state officials temporarily allowed mixed drinks to be sold for takeout.
The change was popular with customers and should be made permanent.
Sure, there’s always the chance that someone will sip their cocktail while on the way home. But that danger has always existed with beer sales.
Legislation is working its way through the General Assembly to make these sales permanent. House Bill 1154 passed the House last month by a vote of 187-14. It is pending in the Senate, where it breezed through its first committee vote
Livestreaming government meetings
Taxpayers were more engaged with their elected officials during the pandemic, as state officials were making decisions such as business closures and virtual schooling that were affecting lives and livelihoods.
Engagement seemed to be higher on local levels of government, too. I believe a lot of that was because people could watch municipal council meetings and school board meetings from home, as the meetings were streamed on Zoom, YouTube and government websites.
Just because many of those meeting venues have reopened to the public, allowing residents to attend in person, doesn’t mean meetings have to stop being streamed.
Local governments should be doing all they can to keep their residents engaged and informed. People may not be able to go to a meeting because of their duties at home, such as helping children with homework or ferrying them to their evening activities. But they may be able to watch a meeting from home or a ball field on their phone or laptop. Or, they can watch the recording later.
Virtual doctor visits
Telemedicine already was becoming more common, but the pandemic hastened its use in some practices, as physicians and patients sought ways to reduce close contact with others.
Virtual visits aren’t always a substitute for a trip to the doctor. But if the visit is to have a discussion or to review test results, that conversation can be had virtually just as easily in many instances.
I had one virtual visit during the pandemic and it wasn’t any different from being face-to-face with my physician. And instead of unproductive time waiting for my turn to be seen in the office, I was able to continue working at home until the moment my doctor started my video call.
Patients don’t have to use sick time — if they have it — to travel to the physician’s office. And virtual visits can be less work for the staff at a physician’s office.
Streaming funerals
My great-uncle passed away in April. At any other time, my wife and I would have gone to Florida for the service.
But we weren’t fully vaccinated and weren’t comfortable getting on a plane. Other family members didn’t travel, either.
We were grateful to be able to participate by watching the funeral on Facebook.
With attendance limited at funerals in many states during the pandemic, more funeral homes started streaming services. In 2019, only about 1 of every 5 funeral homes had that capability, according to USA Today.
There always will be people unable to attend a service to say their final goodbye. Work, family commitments and health problems may prohibit their attendance, even if the funeral is local.
Being able to participate virtually, even if they can only watch a recording of the service later, gives loved ones an opportunity to grieve and pay their respects.