Does a Pandemic Have an End Date?
By Faiza Zia Khan
Newport Beach, CA
Will the COVID-19 really ever end? If you have not said this out loud you probably would have thought about it silently while gazing longingly at the open spaces from your home window. What exactly will we remember from this pandemic once this era becomes a dusty past in our rear view mirrors?
What will be the takeaways, the lessons learned, the physical and emotional scars left behind to deal with? At this point in time no one really has a clue about anything. There are no real answers to questions posed. Every individual who is living through this pandemic has been affected in one way or another for generations to come.
From job/financial losses to losing the lives of our dearly beloved there is no easy way to describe the destruction this invisible enemy has caused. Cutting through the noise, this fact is a certainty and that is we are not going back to the normal way of life - not so soon to say the least. In order to eradicate the Coronavirus effectively there has to be a permanent shift in lifestyle, not just the mindset. There is a dire need to radically change our demeanor towards everything we do from within the safety of our homes to our external behaviors. To sum up this means adapting to a completely different style in the way we work, exercise, socialize, shop, manage our health and healthcare, educate our kids, care for family members/aging relatives, and above all how we interact with other people in a public space.
History tells us pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical end, which occurs when the disease is not reprised and death rates are significantly reduced; and the social end, when the fear about the disease fades in the minds of people. In other words, historians claim the end of a pandemic usually occurs not because a disease has been vanquished but because people grow tired of constantly living in anxiety and panic mode, exhausted and frustrated with the limitations thrust upon them. They make peace within themselves socially and psychologically to learn to live with the disease and combat it in their own personal ways.
A pandemic of fear is worse than a pandemic of illness, where public consternation is palpable. Even when the pandemic will fade away there will still be trepidation around our social behavior. Coughing or sneezing in public will gain a very visible reaction from people such as moving away from each other, or even verbally chastising the others for not having adequate social distance. It is a basic human need to crave for freedom, to be able to just walk out without a mask, gloves, or sanitizing wipes. But this may not be possible in the years to come unless we have an all-encompassing medical solution available widely to this particular type of virus. We all want things to go back to normal quickly. But what most of us have probably not yet realized is that things cannot go back to normal after a quick few months. Just like most things in life we are used to having an expiration date, a best-before date, sell-by date, or a use-by date and not having one in this pandemic is unsettling on many levels.
As the economic catastrophe wreaked by the lockdowns increases with each passing day, throngs of people have taken to the streets in protests and are saying, “enough already.” The economic aftermath of this pandemic resulted in millions of Californians losing their jobs and as a domino effect their employer initiated health insurance and other medical benefits associated with the jobs such as drug/prescription plans. These people will likely remain uninsured or will switch to Medi-Cal or Covered California, if eligible, and coverage options that bring in less revenue for providers than do commercial insurance programs. Also, the level of coverage for the healthcare seekers changes with each insurance type, thus reducing privileges and benefits for those receiving medical care. California reopened some non-essential businesses such as bookstores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, and florists right before Mother's Day with strict contactless curbside pickup, delivery, and social distancing guidelines. The caveat being no entry is allowed inside these stores. Even with such strict guidelines in place the businesses that reopened were surprised by the eagerness of customers to line up for several hours just to shop first hand and deal with an actual person. With months of online shopping, doorstep deliveries, and carefully planned visits to the grocery stores it seemed to be a sight for sore eyes as shoppers got bouquets customized and hand-picked flowers for their loved ones. Governor Newsom teased further reopening of businesses which seems to be an integral move at this moment in time to provide the economy a much needed boost for survival.
Fast forward this to the year 2060 and forty years from now our generations will look back at this coronavirus pandemic extrapolating data, experiences, social media posts, and analyzing what they learned to prepare for an event of this magnitude in the future. In all honesty there is nothing that can prepare any nation for a silent attack such as this no matter how extensive preparation and planning efforts they pour into it beforehand. The challenge remains that in a pandemic there is no sudden victory where a white flag is waved and an abrupt truce is called. The only way to get to the end of a pandemic is with patience, persistence and the relentless pursuit of perseverance which will be a long and difficult process in the days to come.
(Faiza Zia Khan holds a Master’s in Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She has collaborated with news media outlets including Global National and actively volunteers for several community investment projects for the Red Cross, United Way and the Breast Cancer Foundation)
