In early March of 2020, no one expected something as serious as a worldwide pandemic to change the perspectives in which people view health safety. Prior to Covid-19, there had been other illnesses that caused scare amongst the general public but were not major enough to strike a series of harsh restrictions, manic testing, and high death tolls. The pandemic has drastically changed the way in which governments are being viewed from the civilians, hospitals are run, and how the current mental health crisis is being perceived.
Many questions have arisen due to the pandemic that doesn’t have simple answers. But how drastic is the difference between the response to Covid-19 from person to person reflected in the way they handle Covid now? What is different about people being perceived as high risk versus people who aren’t? How has the risk and anxieties surrounding a pandemic changed the way people operate now?
How does a nationwide quarantine leave people’s mental health? Humans are social creatures in need of some type of social life. But when an unknown highly-transmitted virus floods the earth, seeing people heightens the risk of exposure and transmission.
John Samerjan, a 69-year-old consultant and professor at Rutgers University, is one of those who are deemed “high risk.” His household consists of him and his wife. “We are both senior citizens, and my wife additionally is a cancer survivor, so from the very beginning, we took very strict precautions. We avoided gatherings, family or otherwise. My teaching and other meetings went to Zoom instead of in person.” Samerjan goes on to discuss the anxieties that coincide with not seeing his family during this scary time.
He says that he is grateful for the opportunity to converse with his family members over the phone or zoom. Being one of those who are high risk can lead to high stress for their safety. Luckily Samerjan and his wife never contracted the virus and have stayed safe for the harshest parts of the pandemic.
The reaction to the pandemic left families unsure of what to do. Prior to Covid-19, for many people in the United States, there hadn’t been a health crisis like this before. Where people were forced to stay in their homes, work from home, lose their jobs, not see their family and friends during the holidays, even wipe down their groceries after buying them from the store.
The delayed response of the United States left a delayed response amongst the population. With the different variants emerging due to Coronavirus being a virus that can mutate, there are different levels of transmission rates. According to the CDC the original, or the known original, version of Covid 19 is the least transmittable variant of Covid. Delta is twice as transmissible as its predecessor and is more likely to put those who are infected in the hospital with extreme symptoms. Omicron, the newest variant, is the most transmittable being 4 times more transmissible than Delta. In a study of 183 houses conducted by the CDC, 124 of them were infected with the Omicron variant this past holiday season.
With every mass experience people go through, there seems to be something that they can take away from it all. That could entail a lesson, a reflection of others, or simply a habit or new routine. The pandemic hit everyone differently and taught everyone some type of lesson.
Guramrit Singh says, “My biggest takeaway from this so far is that there exists events that can impact the entire world in a matter of months, and that nothing is guaranteed. So it is important to do what I can to keep myself and the people around me safe.”
And John Samerjan states that he is “Just reminded again how precious each day is and to take care of yourself and your loved ones.”
