As everyone is doubtlessly aware, we are at the dawn of a new era, known as the “New Normal”. On 21 June, all phases and confinement will have ended. We will only be obliged to wear a mask, hopefully one covering our face and not dangling from our wrist. Domestic travel restrictions will disappear and we will be able to venture outside of our cities and our provinces. In the next ten days, airports will be open to international travel as well.
We will be able to go out into the world again though perhaps with somewhat more caution for ourselves and hopefully with more consideration for others. Nonetheless, anyone with a half a brain can see that countries are opening up, not because it is safe to do so, but merely because they cannot remain closed any longer. The number of recent outbreaks throughout the world indicates that we will have to continue to play it safe (or at least try to). Though Europe has been given a breather, cases elsewhere in the world are skyrocketing.
It is evident that the coronavirus is not going to vanish in the near future. Covid-19 is more powerful than anyone had ever dreamed. It has infected ministers in Spain as well as a prince and a prime minister in England. It has even killed government leaders in Nicaragua. It has annihilated at least 500,000 people throughout the world. In all likelihood, this is not even an accurate estimate because, as we all know, governments lie and never more so than in Times of Coronavirus.
Covid-19 is so powerful that it has bankrupted Argentina. It may eventually lead to the fall of the president in Brazil or to the loss of an election for the president of the USA. Doubtlessly, the coronavirus felt offended because it was originally reported to be a hoax invented by the Democratic Party or a “little flu” that could be easily survived with a sufficient dose of ‘manliness’. It never pays to underestimate an enemy.
In Spain, to stop its deadly progress, the government had to shut down the country and cause everything to come to a halt. Everyone had to remain inside. These three months of confinement have taught us a great deal about others. For example, we now have a clearer idea of which world leaders are more intelligent than a fifth grader. We also know that almost no one was able to outguess the virus, which turned out to be smarter than the whole world. The few people who saw how the pandemic would play out and were courageous enough to voice their opinion were laughed at and/or were labeled as alarmists.
These three months of confinement have also taught us things about ourselves. We now value healthcare workers over soccer players. Those of us with job security have become accustomed to working from home. Most of us are now kinder and more patient with each other. All of us have reset our priorities because we have been affected by the sadness of being separated from the ones that we love.
It is now a question of profiting from these lessons and permanently engraving them in our long-term memory. We have spent three months within our coronavirus cocoons, and it is now time to emerge, either as a dazzling butterfly or a befuddled worm. It is our choice.
I began writing www.timesofcoronavirus.com as a creative way of remaining sane and not surrendering to craziness. I decided to write a post every day until confinement was over. There were days when I thought that I had nothing left to say, but then an idea started to germinate and a text magically appeared.
Needless to say, I have had a great deal of fun with this, more than I had thought possible. Fortunately for our friendship, the Neanderthals and the Sitting Bulls are not digitally literate. Nor do they have any knowledge of English. I am also glad that Professor Clairvoyant is not among my FaceBook friends.
However, now that confinement is ending, real life is beginning to intrude. On Monday, I will be able to physically return to my office in the university. I have been reminded of abstruse papers that I have promised to write, an even more arcane book that I must edit, a course to plan, translations to do, and other obligations that only those in Academia would appreciate.
Originally, I had planned to end the blog when the coronavirus had ceased to rule our lives, but now I find that the blog has acquired a life of its own. I have become caught up in the little world that I have created. So that means that I will continue to post, though not every day unless, of course, we return to Square One, and then the game will begin all over again.
