Is Coronavirus Dying out?
A Chronicle of Stagnant Changes
Down the year, the obligatory rituals imposed by Coronavirus, have slowly become merely ceremonial. Looking at myself, it is clear that I am not washing my hands as religiously as I was during the early days of the onset of this virus.
With a slightly deeper reflection, I now acknowledge that it’s not just about washing hands — I have become ignorant of this pandemic itself.
An Overview
You use the internet to assure yourself of the existence of the other people like you.
The first thing I did was to go to Google Trends and investigate what the issue really is. Luckily or unluckily, it turns out I am not alone — it seems this unforeseen drama has stretched far beyond peoples’ patience.
In short, I think people have grown bored with this crisis. Google trends are only one indication, and this emerging temperament is what we’ll talk about.
See that peak around April? Interest in the virus has only declined since then — while cases have only spiked. This weird pattern is visible in other related searches too.
The Reason?
For busy organisms like us, Time is everything. With time, our opinions, preferences, aspirations and satisfactions change.
The Beginning of Excitement
The early months of the pandemic were witness to an unpredictably long barrage of sinister events. People had to prepare themselves as quickly as possible — psychologically, in particular.
A disease that was for long hidden behind prevailing global tensions had started spreading like wildfire. While countries were inching towards the edge of armed conflict, some were placing bets over the possibility of another World War. Even our own country was facing internal turmoil at the time. Yet, in no time, the entire public space was captured by one single celebrity — the microbe entering one country after another.
People wanted to know.
Naturally, people took so much interest because they knew nothing about the virus — or what it could lead to. New research, new guidelines, new policies, and new hopes — there was something unprecedented to the story every day. Everyone was a self-proclaimed epidemiologist. Every single infection, every single life mattered.
I remember checking Wikipedia and Worldometers every day — hoping to get access to every bit of trickling information. Unaware that this would continue — for months to come — everybody I know was effectively binge-watching the news of the crisis, just to keep pace with the developments
What changed, then?
With time, people became aware and assimilated. Things became more obvious and less overwhelming.
Sluggish Changes and Realization
When this thing began, everyone was sure we would deal with it quickly — there was a general belief that things will be fine in no time.
With the inevitable drag of the crisis, people began discovering the reality of every claim they were exposed to — Vaccines take months if not years before they are ready for public use, medicines cannot be developed overnight, health facilities cannot be ramped up when the country is facing one of the most acute economic strains, and that it is virtually impossible to correctly predict infections while cases break every record anticipated.
People read and think about situations when they see the possibility of change and action.
The passive image that COVID-19 established before the public eye has slowly made it less lucrative — less worthy of learning more about.
In short, Interest has started to fade away. News channels have got hold of better topics to discuss — and updates about COVID-19 have lost the awe they held. From the point of discussing every single infection and recovery, we have reached a situation where patients are counted simply in tens of thousands.
Not very coincidentally, I haven’t visited Worldometers in a month already.
Locked, Bored and Troubled
People in the larger part of the known world have been too lucky to experience any confinement like this lockdown, in the past. Nobody can overlook these shackles that they are put into, but it is also true that as humans, we get bored and fed up.
We have a host of other challenges to worry about.
People are struggling to retain their livelihoods, entire industries are trying to survive a potential extinction, students are helplessly coping with the uncertainty and uneasiness of the new ways — these being just some problems among other grueling ones, like chronic mental trauma.
People wish to escape from the pandemic — back to the old times. More than the crisis itself, getting out of it is what now matters.
Unlocking back to ‘Normal’
Alright, this was unavoidable. We always had to go back to normal — someday or the other.
While the eutopian dream of the ‘new normal’ hasn’t been defined in the first place, there is a popular conviction that these ‘normal’ times will return.
Now that unlocking has been initiated almost everywhere (keeping or not keeping in view the ongoing situation), there is an atmosphere that the virus is retreating. Whether or not the ‘unlocking’ process is necessary, or even suited to current conditions, it effectively beats the victory drum of a war that hasn’t ended.
Habituation
It is distressing to live under pressure for a day, a week, or even a month — pressure as behemothian as this. Yet, it does become more and more tolerable with the ticking of our clocks.
It has become a usual affair for people to stay away from society, strictly at homes whose doors open only for home deliveries. Avoiding vacation, or rather any excursion has become naturally acceptable, and contemplating all the luxuries of the outside world has become a regular fantasy.
People have become tuned to the “new world”. It doesn’t seem as daunting — and with time these changes have mattered less and less.
Should we really ignore COVID-19?
Short answer — no. Long answer — maybe.
Accelerating Cases
We cannot deny the new cases that are coming in every day — at an accelerating rate.
There’s reasonably still a lot that we need to learn and adopt. Newer technology, medication, lifestyle, governance, communication, and much else — we have a long way to go before we can sit back and rest.
From that perspective, it does seem we need to care.
How can we prevent this from happening again if we do not care? But again, what does ‘care’ even imply? Does it imply fear or awareness? Or is it just a fancy word for knowledge and desire for transformation?
I leave the answers to my readers’ decision.
Fear
We all are cognizant of how COVID-19 was welcomed with ignorance at several places. It was called a feeble common flu virus. It did turn out deadly — but is it still worth the hype and fright it is being awarded?
Without a doubt, this pandemic has changed how people think of hygiene and sanitation. It has practically terrorized people — and people are genuinely becoming bundles of contradictions when it comes to hygiene and the actual logic behind it.
This is a topic for another article, but surely, the fear ingrained in people has left them vulnerable to marketing tricks and publicity stunts — from needless products and senseless, unspoken rules to propaganda from either side of the spectrum.
Why? Plain fear.
I am not saying its wrong to be afraid — but that fear alone is not the solution.
Fear should only be a motivation to think broadly, not an obligation that makes our thinking shallow.
Let’s make sure we do not let fear overpower our intelligence — we are smart animals whose organization stands over the firm ground of centuries of accumulated knowledge. While we do care about Coronavirus, let’s allow space for reason to reign.
Weighing with Prudence
Did we start too early — or were we too late?
First of all, is it fair to criticize the past at all?
“The Future is always a hazy blur of uncertainity.”
When this started, there was not a lot of information available to public institutions who were running out of time to make a tough choice — either impose stringent measures and cause inevitable economic collapse, or look at the economy and put enormous populations at possible risk.
Nothing was clear back then, but now that we have seen the outcome and have access to a greater volume of data, we can easily identify the lapses in the past. However, for decision-makers at the time, either of the two choices could have proved inappropriate and vulnerable to future criticism.
Rather than hoping for a different past, we should thus seek a different future. We can learn, and clear out some of the mist that surrounds the coming times — though we cannot be certain, we can be prepared.
Does the ‘New Normal’ Exist?
There is essentially nothing ‘new’. The ‘normal’ was always coming.
Think about it — all this technology that has suddenly become unimaginably potent — or even newer lifestyles, work cultures, governance styles — all this was anyway expected.
Surely, it might have taken a bit longer — but at the end of the day, we would have developed into the so-called ‘new normal’ even without COVID-19. Down the decades, at least in terms of socio-technological development, this era would be nothing but a highlight — a year of relatively quick innovation. Perhaps further down, it won’t hold any distinction at all.
What is the ‘new normal’ then? Well, I believe it’s simply another cool terminology to describe the inevitable.
Reflection
This is one thing that I cannot argue against. The events that have taken place in recent times have, for one thing, made us realize who we really are.
We can already see how important togetherness is. We hardly realized the marvel of ordinary affairs around us — routine tasks that we now so dearly miss. We have a new outlook on life at this point in time — where life is not just about us, but about everyone around us.
In short, we are not just another species with superb buildings — we are intelligent beings who had neglected the presence of happiness around us in the quest for superficial gains. We have noticed the true reflection of humanity, staring back at itself through eyes that now see deeper.
So, is Coronavirus Dying Out?
The Future is always uncertain — and I will have to guess. Yet, I can speak with conviction, that this question will soon not matter at all.
Coronavirus will definitely die out of the minds of people — people will slowly stop fearing and will resume ‘normal’ lives. Those who lost their people will eventually heal, and the fortunate, careless audience will get caught up in other stuff.
We can never claim we were a success in handling this disaster — but we weren’t a failure either. This crisis may be written about in History Books, but I am sure it will be quickly buried under more gruesome events of the past and perhaps the future.
We might even see another pandemic — but we would surely be better prepared.
The virus might one day die out, but the strength, resilience, unity and conviction that it left behind will become immortal.
This story was published in Technifity — A Growing Publication with a difference! Follow Technifity today and stay updated about everything happening — that matters to our times.
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