(Reading time 5mins)
In Part 1, we looked at the situation of lockdowns and isolation from March 2020. In Part 2, we look at the impact that it is having.
ISOLATION SUCKS
During the first period of what I choose to refer to as ‘lockdown’, there was a huge adjustment period for everybody around us.
Businesses needed to implement strategies to allow for staff to work from home. A situation that needed to happen faster than anybody would have anticipated. The logistics of coordinating that isn’t necessarily as simple as logging on from a home computer (although, in some circumstances I’m sure it was). People needed to have clear, designated work spaces, they needed to relocate computers and equipment. Office meetings became video calls with colleagues. The daily routine of getting up and commuting to and from work disappeared overnight.
In conjunction with that, were the closure of schools. Parents suddenly tasked with educating their children from home, and taking on the role of being a teacher, whilst also juggling their own workload.
Families were now suddenly around each other 24/7 and, for some, tensions within households escalated rapidly.
AN IMPACT WE’LL FEEL FOR A WHILE
On top of this was a significant financial impact. For some, closed businesses meant the loss of work, and the loss of income. We faced not just a health crisis, but an immediate financial crisis. All we could do was just sit back and watch the economy take a dive.
Mortgages still needed to be paid. Rent still needed to be paid. Bills still needed to be paid. So did health insurance, school fees, car registration, council rates, etc.
We watched entire industries disappear in the blink of an eye. The performing arts industry simply vanished. Live shows, concerts, plays, movies, performances, touring acts all were cancelled. Venues closed. Doors locked and staff either sent home, stood down or left jobless.
With closed borders and grounded flights, we also saw the entire aviation industry nose dive with thousands and thousands of employees suddenly without a job or an income.
This was all happening at such a rapid pace. How is this something that we’re witnessing and experiencing in not only our own backyard, but across the world?
IT’S ALL JUST TOO MUCH
News reports focused solely on reporting about all things COVID-19 from our local news, National news and International news.
A constant reminder to wash our hands, wear a mask and stay home.
Daily announcements of new infections and death tolls.
Rolling commentary about businesses closing, and interviews with heartbroken owners crying because they’ve watched their dreams and source of income disappear.
The regular stream of memes on social media, from parents about how much they’re hating and resenting home-educating their children.
An uninterrupted stream of comments from people getting annoyed from being around their partners / children / family 24/7.
IT’S ALL A CONSPIRACY
Unfortunately, this global pandemic has opened the doors for ridicule and speculation from anybody who feels passionately enough about it. This constant war of words and conflicting / contradicting information and ‘he said, she said’.
Initially I had spent every day glued to the news, watching in shock and disbelief as this virus ran rampant across the globe, and whilst that was unfolding as rapidly as it did, it was met with a string of alternative theories, including:
- This is all a hoax. It’s not real and it doesn’t exist.
- We are experiencing the modern day plague. Brought upon us by God, to determine those who are truly worthy of salvation by Him.
- Orchestrated by the Government (all of them, apparently).
- Labelled a plannedemic (by China, the WHO, mainstream media, Government, Bill Gates etc – pick one).
- The varieties of coverups
- the rollout of 5G.
- child abduction / child trafficking.
- human sex trafficking.
- viral experimentation on humans.
- human microchipping.
- invasion and control by China / Russia.
- deliberately crippling the global economy so one nation (China / Russia) can rise to ultimate power.
- It’s secretly being used to push a secret agenda for global warming.
(NOTE: I’m personally not interested in listening to conspiracy theories. Any comments received disputing conspiracy theories will be removed. Perhaps instead of creating so many different theories, it would make more of an impact if these ‘believers’ could all just get together and decide, collectively, what the ONE ‘theory’ is going to be. Maybe that way, they’d actually get more people to pay attention to it, instead of the rest of us just rolling our eyes in disbelief at yet *another* conspiracy theory.)
PEOPLE ARE STRESSED
By the end of the first period of lockdown, businesses had started to reopen. It was the breath of fresh air we had all been looking forward to for three months.
We began venturing outside the house again, and we were looking forward to going back to life as it was.
But ‘as it was’ no longer existed.
Our lives have changed significantly, and will be changed forever. There will be no going back to ‘as it was’ because that’s no longer a reality. Yes, we will, eventually, return to a point where businesses can reopen and people can leave the house again, but it will never be the same.
We’re more health conscious now; more bacterially aware.
Personally, I’m anticipating a number of future scenarios:
- seeing people implementing social distancing protocols for quite some time once this second lockdown period ends.
- more people will be travelling around with a facemask and hand sanitiser on them.
- businesses will re-open to the public, and crowds of people (gyms, cafes, restaurants etc) will continue to be more health-conscious and continually cleaning, in order to avoid any potential risk of a single infection.
This is already our new normal. We need to accept this. For this moment in time, right now.
It’s not a forever solution.
Continue on to Part 3 where we talk about some of the signs to look out for…