Even prior to last Thursday鈥檚 announcement, many people already were talking about the new normal we鈥檒l be living in after the end of the quarantine, while others are hoping to soon return to just normal.聽
Now, when the beginning of the re-opening the province is less than a week away, we all are eager for changes, but nobody knows yet what exactly they鈥檒l bring, how they鈥檒l look and how smart we鈥檒l be as a community to slow ourselves down and keep following uncomfortable rules even when the danger is not that close.聽
Last weekend I was talking to dad, and just as it鈥檚 happening in every conversation since the beginning of this let鈥檚 call it 鈥渄ifferent normal,鈥� we quickly changed the subject to coronavirus and how it is reshaping the world.
I focused on the changes in global migration and the tourism industry, and dad was quick to notice that we probably would never get back to things like big soccer games the way we knew them (in Saint-Petersburg the local team usually pretty much fills the 68,000-seat bowl for every home game). And I was quick to argue with that.
I believe that we never enter the same water twice and that every day is a new chapter. So especially after such a serious shake as a world pandemic, many things will become a notion of the past. But nevertheless, I feel that just like throughout the previous thousands of years, the public will always need its bread and games. If we prove that we can keep it boring, stay sober and hold the distance, then we may get our big events in a new format in the foreseeable future. If not, then we鈥檒l have to wait for COVID-19 to sate its thirst for blood first and maybe not even then, but eventually, we'll get our big gatherings back.聽
The spheres that will change the most are work and education. My auntie is a school teacher. For over 30 years her favourite part of the job was working with kids, just watching them grow and develop. Now, working through Zoom and over email, even she (if not for the cause, as she keeps saying) is enjoying the flexibility the new format gave her.聽
While the school education probably wasn鈥檛 completely ready for the changes, the serious shift to distant work and online postgraduate education was well overdue prior to the pandemic. And if we manage to organize it now, I believe most white collars won鈥檛 get back to a full-time office routine. The 鈥渆nd鈥� will remain the same 鈥� getting work done and keep going forward. But I think the means will look very different.聽
Even though healthcare once again proved to be the most essential and resource-needing industry, it鈥檚 also been going through major changes. Those working on frontlines had to focus on personal protection (which may now become a greater value even during the peace times), and others were trying to find ways to help their patients when no personal contacts are possible. Online medical services, allowing people to receive qualified advice from the comfort of their homes, has become quite popular and probably will keep growing and improving in the days to come.聽
Another service that I think won鈥檛 be back to what we were used to is public transit. Estevan doesn鈥檛 have public transportation to worry about, but most people here every so often probably use planes. Now that we are feeling more and more comfortable staying six feet apart at least with strangers, I can鈥檛 imagine my shoulder touching the neighbour in a small crowded charter heading to the Caribbean. And even though most people I know are looking forward to the end of restrictions on travelling (I definitely do), I don鈥檛 see the planes being as full or organized as they used to be any time soon.聽
In general, I think that the social distancing that is a part of our current "different normal" may become just normal. It's comfortable and it keeps us safer. Will we ever shake hands again? I don鈥檛 know. After all, it is a rudiment that was originally invented to ensure that upon meeting, counterparts didn鈥檛 have a knife in their hands or sleeves. So chances are we'll leave this tradition in the past and come up with something pandemic-generated, like an elbow bump.
Politics is another sphere that will see big changes. Without an option to go door to door or attend big community events, politicians will be forced to gain attention online. And while it will be somewhat easy for currently known figures, those who are trying to gather the electorate will have to come up with loud Internet campaigns heavily relying on social media (so we may soon see hundreds of Trumps Tweeting about their platforms all over the world).聽
World of art and performances, urbanization, global migration, the value of particular occupations, just the employment itself and the very consumerist society might be shifting. Many more possible foreseen and unforeseen changes might be coming. Or not, and the "different normal" we have now will soon turn into a story of the past.
