This COVID-19 pandemic is unique to any other global event in the history of mankind. This unprecedented chaos is because of a few things. We are such an integrated society today and globalization is much more relevant than when the Spanish Flu pandemic was around 100 years ago. We are so integrated that very few people in this country live alone in full isolation. Everyone contacts someone. It is also unprecedented because of the magnitude of its impact. Never has the whole world shut down in such a way. No other global event has had the same economic impact as well as social impact. Economies shift and events can change the way they flow but one thing that has remained constant through almost all of the interactions in human history is our social interactions. “The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 212 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances (Coronavirus Cases).”

                Through big history events like 9/11 the whole country was left absolutely heartbroken and isolated at least for a few days, especially in New York. The difference there is that they craved more than anything else human interaction. They needed each other to fight this thing together so they bonded and stood tall. That type of thing is something we cannot have in this pandemic. Which is quite possibly which makes it so tragic and devastating. People who struggle with mental health are suffering, the elderly are lonely and sad, and even regular families are going crazy and struggling mentally. Never has such am event taken this kind of impact across the whole world.

                Stores shutting down, grocery stores out of stock, farms burning fields because there’s no one to farm them, living in isolation, hospitals overrun, schools being replaced with a computer screen. All of this has made so many people so grateful that they are okay and have realized that they take their live for granted and that when we ‘get out of this,’ which still might not fully happen for a year with social distancing and the banning of large gatherings, they will cherish the way things were more because you don’t know how good you have it until its gone. As Simon Mair of the BBC puts it, “ Yes, the direct cause is the virus. But managing its effects requires us to understand human behaviour and its wider economic context (Mair).” The health and safety of humans in protecting from this virus has arguable become less relevant than protecting them from other influences like starvation, mental health issues, and improper medical care.

                Therefore, my hope and my prediction of the effects of this catastrophe will be social more than anything else. I think and hope that when this is over, we can rejoice in the streets and embrace each other. I want families to be reunited again and hopefully we get some version back of the world as it once was. However, I don’t think this will actually happen. Slowly, one by one, we will be allowed to to more and more things out in the world. Soon businesses will re-open everywhere and then after that we will be allowed to see each other in small groups and then move forward from there, but even that much won’t happen for months. The changes will all be so small that we will barely notice once the world goes back to normal, if such a thing ever happens. “We will only halt COVID-19 through solidarity,” said Dr Tedros. “Countries, health partners, manufacturers, and the private sector must act together and ensure that the fruits of science and research can benefit everybody (Parker).” He was not only talking about keeping the economy afloat, but this was in response to a vaccine.

                This virus is supposed to, as all of them do, resurface with a large jump in numbers in 10 months and this time it will likely be more manageable than the hit was that came in March of 2020, but again, things will not be back to normal by then anyway. I think we will still wear masks to school, work, and stores. I think large gatherings may not be a thing until late spring of 2021. I fear that once we, hopefully, get back to campus-though it is selfish to say- our party scene will be shut down. This is all because we have no healthcare level prevention measures, yet. The flu hits hard every year but we are ready, and most people get their influenza vaccination. This corona vaccine will not be around for at least another year, and until that vaccine is developed I fear our world will not return back to normal at all.

                This COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all. I am sure most of you reading this have barely left the house, hate online school, and have found yourself more bitter than usual (I know I have). Every day this goes on further we seem to question the true level of necessity it brings. Do we REALLY need to be doing this much? Who knows, but what we do know is that doing nothing or just half-assing doing something would be worse. Americans are scared. They are scared to be near other people or touch doorknobs or walk to close by when passing someone on the street. According to Pew Research Center, About nine-in-ten U.S. adults (91%) say that, given the current situation, they would feel uncomfortable attending a crowded party. Roughly three-quarters (77%) would not want to eat out at a restaurant. In the midst of a presidential election year, about two-thirds (66%) say they wouldn’t feel comfortable going to a polling place to vote. And smaller but still substantial shares express discomfort even with going to the grocery store (42%) or visiting with a close friend or family member in their home (38%) (Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Events as They Happen).” This is why I think another aspect of social standards at least in this countries will change for a long time. The preventative measures smart people usually use in flu season everyone now knows about and everyone takes part in. I think that it will be the people who are too scared to see each other when this blows over not the governments not allowing them to be together. Even despite the numbers telling us otherwise. Of the over 3.5 million cases, almost 250,000 deaths from this virus, and over a million have recovered.

                Therefore, as much as I wished to have written a happy paper about how one day when this passes, we will all be celebrating together with nights out and reunion parties, I think that vision is sadly a pipe dream. Though I hope we can return to normal, I logically do not think we will have created a new normal, and the whole world will have to adapt.

                                                               

Works Cited

“Coronavirus Cases:” Worldometer, 4 May 2020, http://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.

“Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) – Events as They Happen.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 28 Apr. 2020, http://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen.

Parker, Kim. “Most Americans Say Coronavirus Outbreak Has Impacted Their Lives.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, 7 Apr. 2020, http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/03/30/most-americans-say-coronavirus-outbreak-has-impacted-their-lives/.

Mair, Simon. “How Will Coronavirus Change the World?” BBC Future, BBC, 31 Mar. 2020, http://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world.