Life after Pandemic
It was gloomy evening on New Year 2020 when I first heard the term “Corona Virus” from a fellow roommate who was into international politics and stuffs; probably because of his ongoing civil service exam. I paid a little interest to what he described as an ongoing health hazard in China that had something to do with bat soup. I causally remarked saying Chinese peoples are clearly running out of ideas for foods probably. It’s been more than six months since that incident and never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would have to face days like this. In a mere 55–65 sq ft room, I spend my days reminiscing about times before the pandemic when life was moving in full throttle. Cities did not sleep and people synchronized themselves with the sun in search of peace and prosperity. But with the onset of this ongoing pandemic the world came to a halt. Businesses stopped, travels ceased, countries declared health crisis and government ordered lock down in the hope of pacifying the spread of virus. In the eye of a commoner like me, these issues of government have posed a great challenge for continuing our life as before which compels me to think “How will our life be after the pandemic? Will there be a New Normal?” And On a serious note “Do we even have a life after pandemic?”
The first sign of reassurance I feel aptly during this crisis is “We will survive this anyway”. Yes even though the havoc created is immeasurable from our point of view, in this moment of time; considering how low the mortality rate has been compared to the black plague and Spanish flu, there is a high chance most of us will survive this relatively unscathed. However, the uproar it has brought into the societal life, administrative and governing bodies all over the world would probably result in a revolution. The world economy has taken a bad turn because of the nationwide imposed lock down. Millions of people have lost job. In developing countries like Nepal, the situation is grim. The biggest contributor to our country’s economy, the remittance, is paralyzed along with thousands of people losing their jobs in the foreign land. It is difficult to predict how foreign nations will respond after the pandemic subsides. Another impact on our national economy is the loss of tourism and hospitality industry. Even if the travel restrictions are uplifted, there’s a high chance that normal travel won’t start for another six months or even a year. And considering how our countries economy is so heavily dependent on tourism industry, I am pretty much assured that difficult days lie ahead of us.
More than the issue of government and economy, the effect of pandemic on our private and social life is definitely a pertaining question. I believe 3 months long absence of social and conjugal life taught us clearly why ‘man is called a social animal’. Causes of suicides increased and mental anxiety peaked. Instances of people suffering from depression, hysteria saw a rapid growth in their numbers as well. So naturally, we will feel a big sigh of relief once the lock down uplifts. But the question is “Will our everyday life be the same?” I have a peculiar hunch that we will have to wait a little while before everything can go back to normal. Caution, fear and anxiety would certainly hover around for a long time. As I see it, the best medicine for the life to get normal after the pandemic is time. There is an old saying, “Give time some time. It will heal everything”. The essence of this sentence is true now more than ever.
However bad the reputation of the pandemic be, it still has some positive aspects to it, if viewed differently. The principle point being the opportunity to build back better. This pandemic showed the real facets of a country’s Disaster Response System. We can clearly perceive how our economy, health, education and other sectors stand in the scale of deliverability and responsibility. It has given us a window of opportunity to look forward to our challenges and their possible solutions. Who knows what sort of revolution this pandemonium carries with it? Whatever be the final outcome, there’s a high chance an inevitable revolution is on its way.
The Covid-19 pandemic really showed the world how fragile it is. Countries capable of annihilating each other with weapons of mass destruction had to bend its knee to a mere protein covered in layer of fat. This speaks so much for our development model. But there are many questions unanswered. Will it ever go away completely? How will people view their health? And will social distancing for social animals really work?
