When it comes to the effects of the novel Coronavirus pandemic- much of what I believe will happen, is also the opposite of what I think should happen.  One of the things I am most worried about would be our mental health. Being in quarantine, many of us are struggling with different mental illnesses and problems with mood, motivation, communication etc. Social interaction and human touch can be some of the most vital things in helping oneself with these issues, and yet we are being deprived this currently. Once we are back in the world, things are not just going to go right back to normal.  People will be hesitant to go to social gathering such as parties and concerts, even things like the movies and restaurants.  People will not be shaking hands or hugging at the beginning either.  Humans crave human touch and it is a way of expression that we may not have for a long time to come. I hope that it comes sooner than I think.

Covid-19 may be a terrible virus, however it has been the structure of our society that has made it even more powerful, because this is the kind of busy, packed world that it thrives on.  A good point brought from BBC Future compared Covid-19 to global warming, “Coronavirus, like climate change, is partly a problem of our economic structure. Although both appear to be “environmental” or “natural” problems, they are socially driven,” (Mair).  This means that after this pandemic is “over”, things will need to change in our structure so that we could potentially prevent similar things from taking us by surprise.  Much like how our airport security changed after 9/11, I am positive there will be precautions put in place.

Directly related to preventing this from happening in the future, Bill Gates wrote about how things should be handled now, “In any crisis, leaders have two equally important responsibilities: solve the immediate problem and keep it from happening again…We need to save lives now while also improving the way we respond to outbreaks in general,” (Gates). While the crisis is killing people right now, this could happen again in the future and I think that we will over prepare.

At The New York Times, a journalist took a point of view of looking back from the year 2025 at how we handled the crisis: “Environmental concerns seemed like idle luxuries when gas was cheap and CO2 emissions plummeted along with economic activity. Demands for gun control and criminal-sentencing reform fell flat in the face of increasing levels of crime” (Stephens).  This is an interesting take because while we have this massive pandemic we are facing now- it takes the forefront.  People are going to forget about other important issues we face in today’s world and it is important not to let them go completely. 

The effects of Corona virus may not all be seen withing the next year, but also over the next ten to twenty years, as well. A lot of people have discovered that they can do their job proficiently from home for instance.  “If proximity to one’s job is no longer a significant factor in deciding where to live, for example, then the appeal of the suburbs wanes; we could be heading towards a world in which existing city centres and far-flung “new villages” rise in prominence, while traditional commuter belts fade away,” (Shenker).  We could potentially have migrations of people and different social classes.  

The effects of this pandemic are far and wide, and no matter how much we may theorize, we wont know until we know.  We must be optimistic realists as we move forward and remember what was important in life before all of this, as well. Don’t let it pull us apart, stay close.

Works Cited:

Gates, Bill. “Responding to Covid-19—a once-in-a-century pandemic?.” New England Journal of Medicine (2020).

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.

Shenker, Jack. “Cities after Coronavirus: How Covid-19 Could Radically Alter Urban Life.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Mar. 2020, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/life-after-coronavirus-pandemic-change-world.

Stephens, Bret. “Covid-19: A Look Back From 2025.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2020, http://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/opinion/coronavirus-future.html.