Will things ever go back to normal after the pandemic?
By Kayla Valenzuela
I’m sure we are all wondering when things will go back to normal, or whether it ever will go back to normal completely. This COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many questions, but as we see restrictions in Australia easing, and the stats of infected people decreasing, we are all wondering when things will go back to normal.
What many people are concerned about is whether people will be comfortable with returning to restaurants, bars and large events once restrictions ease. A new survey of 2,225 people by Vox Pop Labs has found that only about 1/8 Australians would attend a large event even if they could, fewer than 1/5 would get on a plane, and only 40% would go to a bar or restaurant. It is only natural for people to be weary of returning to life as it was before the pandemic. The same survey displays that about 40% of people believed it would be more than 12 months before things were more or less back to normal.
Personally, I don’t think everything can ever completely go back to how things were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people and countries have been affected, so they will likely be extra cautious when restrictions ease to avoid a second spike. Therefore, things such as travel, music festivals, clubs etc. will have to implement methods of hygiene to ensure people will still feel safe in public areas, especially with crowds. Even the school environment will change, for example teachers may prefer hand ins to be electronic rather than physical to reduce the risk.
Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe everything will go back to normal completely. However, the chances of that happening are relatively low, due to how many people are being affected by the pandemic. Because the effects of COVID-19 are being felt across the world and for months already, once restrictions ease many people will still be weary of going back to living life normally.
There are many conspiracies of what the world will look like in the future, however right now, I think we should all focus on getting through these difficult times together.