Enya Loo, Trinity College Student
Image via Yale Medicine
Afghans are fleeing their country, clinging onto jets,
New Zealand is back in lockdown,
Haiti has been hit by the worst earthquake in a decade
Millions of people are affected by Covid-19
and the list goes on.
Ever since the pandemic has ushered us all into endless lockdowns, travel restrictions and health concerns, it seems like our “normal” won’t be returning anytime soon, and it makes us feel like the worst has yet to come.
What was initially unusual, has now become our “new normal” - If you want to go out, wear a mask. Planning a dinner with your friends? Then pray that the government doesn’t issue a sudden lockdown in a couple of hours.
Sounds bad? We haven’t even addressed the elephant in the room.
In an April 2020 interview with TIME, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb comments, “This can become a livable pathogen where it’s there, it circulates, you’re going to hear on the evening news about outbreaks in a dorm or a movie theater, but people go about their normal lives”.
With vaccines rolling out, people remain hopeful that a brighter tomorrow awaits. However, experts say that Covid-19 will become a common pathogen, but will be controlled with the help of vaccinations and herd immunity. In order to overcome the many challenges thrown at them, many sectors like education have adapted and tried to innovate newer methods in order to continue purging out quality teaching and the student experience. Of course with such challenges, breakthroughs have been made. The pandemic has only hastened the adoption of measures related to digitalisation, and we can definitely expect a physical-digital hybrid world in the near future for many sectors. Be it shifting the majority of foundational classes online, to virtual tours around campus, any industry that used to operate face-to-face regularly has been hit with reality: we will never go back to what it used to be.
Perhaps we’ll finally be able to pack our dusty suitcases hidden in the corner of our houses and hear the sounds of airplanes taking off - but not without a vaccination passport. Perhaps we will one day be able to see the smiles on people’s faces when they laugh. Perhaps we can soon reunite and enjoy a meal together. But all of this is just, perhaps.
Covid-19 will be here to stay - we just have to live (literally) with it.