Things to consider when returning to normality after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption among the world’s population. As some countries are slowly coming out of the peak effects of the virus, they have slowly initiated steps for their country to come back to normality. For example, England has planned a step-by-step process to bring the country back to normal. As the government announces the next steps, questions are being asked whether these steps are correct and at the right time. There are several factors that the government, employers, and the public have to consider.

Fear and Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting psychological effect as the virus, a non-visible threat can affect anyone out of nowhere. There is still no information on whether a vaccine is possible as the virus mutates after every transmission, and the public is scared and anxious about whether or not to go back to normality. Some will look to the government for guidance and others will be scared of infecting their loved ones and people close to them. Employers will have to consider the psychological mindset of their employees and whether they feel comfortable going back to the office. The individuals themselves will be scared of the unknown as slowly they start to reintegrate themselves back into a similar normal lifestyle. As there is no guaranteed plan out of lockdown, countries are doing what they think is right. As everyone slowly goes back to normality, their fear and anxiety will disappear also.

Accept the new normal

As we go back to slowly reopening different sectors and services, certain restrictions such as social distancing, limiting the number of people in one store and wearing face-covering will be the new normal. We need to accept that we may not have the freedom we had before the outbreak for a while. Having the risk of a potential new outbreak without treatment available will mean the restrictions will be in place until one is found. Stores, restaurants and other services will open but with restrictions/reduction in the services they offer. Many sectors will have to adapt to the new normal but somehow still offer their services in a manner that caters to restrictions put in place by the government.

Flexibility

Since lockdown, many have started to work from home allowing for more flexibility in lifestyle, allowing parents to look after children while working. More flexibility will need to be catered for as primary schools are opening for only a certain portion of students due to social distancing rules. Businesses will need to look into solutions that will allow parents to work but still look after their children on certain days while not affecting business services/operations. Working from home during the lockdown has enabled businesses to adopt new digital technologies that will enable that. Businesses that depend on traditional methods of shopping such as customers coming into stores will need to adapt and offer services without compromising the safety of their staff and customers but still offering a full service. A lot of businesses have adapted to the new situation by offering digital avenues for customers to access their services.

Summary

As governments step up processes to reignite their countries back to normal, governments and businesses will be wary of the confidence among individuals and customers as we slowly come out of lockdown with fears of the virus still raw and the risk of a second wave still high as an effective treatment is still be trialled. Everyone will need to adapt to our new environment and I’m sure new, innovative solutions will come out of this that will make our lives easier to cater for social distancing rules to keep the virus at bay while governments and the science community continue to work on an efficient treatment for the virus through technological advancements.