Will The World Ever Get Back To Normal After Covid?

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected, in some format, everybody and everything. It has triggered an avalanche of devastating consequences. Shutting down businesses, locking everyone indoors, damaging jobs and economies, striking fear into the hearts of everyone worried about both their loved ones and themselves contracting the virus, sending everyone into corona-fuelled existential crises asking 'what next?' and perhaps more pertinently 'will the world ever get back to normal after this?'... I don't know the answer to the first question. I can't see into the future. There is no miraculous crystal ball able to warn us of what is going to happen next and even if there was, anyone who has seen the  'Back To The Future' films is aware of the danger of knowing our futures (as Doc avidly teaches Marty, it disrupts the space-time continuum). Despite not knowing the future, I do (obviously) know the past which provides some insight into the answer for the second question: will the world ever get back to normal? The long answer is complex and nuanced. The short answer is an almost definite no.  

The world will probably never resume back to complete normality... whatever 'normality' is anyway. What I mean is things may never return exactly, hundred percent back to the way they were before the pandemic. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The pandemic forced us all to step back from our usually busy, bustling lives and re-evaluate what really matters to us. Working from home of course led to a range of challenges and difficulties, but also enabled everyone to spend more time with their loved ones, in a period where connections with others was of the utmost importance. The lockdown has shown people the importance of spending time with loved ones rather then focusing only on work. And clearly work is important. We all need to make a living and support ourselves and our families in some way. It goes without saying that work shouldn't be neglected or ignored in favour of other more entertaining activities as that's just not a sensible thing to do... however the lockdown has shown the importance of achieving a healthy work-life balance and of making time for loved ones.  

Environmentally the pandemic actually resulted in some beneficial effects. Lockdown resulted in a decrease of carbon dioxide emissions, lowered pollution rates and an improvement in air quality. A sudden soar of wildlife encapsulated the world whilst tourists were away. The issues surrounding the environment, what with global warming and climate change being brought increasingly more to our attention, evidently call for action to save the planet. Immediate action. (There is, after all, no 'planet B'). It appears that the pandemic, however, has paved the first small steps towards a better environment.  

So no, things will most likely not return to the same, typical 'normal' we were acclimatised to before this devastating virus. Change is inevitable, and necessary. The future is uncertain but we know one thing for sure... that there is hope. Hopefully lockdown has permitted us the chance to reflect on the world we live in and how it works. Hopefully we will use the information and the experience that we have gained in order to create a better, brighter future. One where we care more for the environment and prioritise spending time with loved ones over slogging endlessly away at work.

By Frances Hudson