The Pandemic Blues, Part 4, looking back: The view from May

 

In this column, which was published in the May edition of Jewish Rhode Island, we had started to realize that, about two months into the pandemic, we were going to be in it for the long haul. The outlook for summer was bleak as far as resuming most “normal” activities.
Now, looking back at that time from early October, any inkling that we had then that the virus was going to be with us for a long while was right as now the virus continues to show no signs of letting up. As I write this, people ignoring social-distancing and mask protocols have led to cases increasing in once-stable Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
So it seems that the more protocols such as limits on gatherings are relaxed, the more we risk the virus coming back with a vengeance.
Our whole disjointed response to this deadly virus has been truly upsetting and discouraging.


May column in the Jewish Rhode Island of Providence

So much has changed since the first column that I did on the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Back then, we were neophytes at this social-distancing stuff, and we were naively hopeful that this would end sooner rather than later.
Now, as I write this in mid-April, it appears that we're in this for the long haul, and we're not destined to return to anything approaching “normal” for a very long time. One study recently reported by newsy.com even suggested that some forms of social distancing may be needed until 2022, while others suggest there will be no large gatherings until at least 2021, and that some form of social distancing will be required until there's a reliable vaccine, which is a year to 18 months away.
In the face of such dire predictions – and with no clear-cut consensus on what's ahead in this titanic struggle against COVID-19 – it's clear that life as we used to know it may not return for months, if not years.
Such talk about non-stop social distancing will have serious consequences --- and not just for the economy. Long-term social distancing will threaten our sanity, raise our anxiety levels to record highs and transform our very existence, because human beings weren't meant to live apart. Yet the reality is that we're living in a world where handshakes and hugs – two of our simplest expressions of human emotion --- may become a distant memory.
Such a dire possibility has put our most precious commodity – hope – at a premium at precisely the time when we can use it the most. With that in mind, and with people who haven't previously defined themselves as religious taking to praying again, here's one person's Prayers in the Midst of a Pandemic:
I'm praying – and hoping – that:
* An acceptable and effective vaccine will be found for COVID-19 within months, not years.
* Health care workers, first responders, delivery people, those in the service industry, supermarket and pharmacy employees, those working in doctors' offices – and all others who are deemed essential will be able to keep themselves safe. They're doing vital work, whether they're striving valiantly to save as many lives as possible or helping the rest of us cling to even a trace of our previous lives.
* Government leaders at all levels will mirror the action of the U.S. Senate and House, which in March passed a $2 trillion economic-aid package. May they resolve to work diligently to continue to find common ground so that their constituents, who have been hurt so devastatingly by the pandemic, can continue to get the help that they need.
* Those same leaders from the highest levels of government all the way down to the local level will vow to put the interests of the nation ahead of their own personal and political ambitions.
* The nation's future workforce – students at all levels through college – will eventually see a return to traditional learning. Online learning is a poor substitute for classroom interaction and laboratory experience. Students also must be allowed to once again enjoy the extracurricular and athletic activities that they, until recently, took for granted.
* Community fundraisers – including road races, golf tournaments and large charitable events – will be able to be held again so that those non-profit agencies don't suffer irreparable harm. Virtual events are a wholly inadequate replacement.
* Sporting events at all levels will be able to be enjoyed again by fans, though no leagues should rush to return until it's positively safe to do so – even if that means that sports don't reappear until sometime in 2021.
* Our social-distancing measures won't permanently damage our psyches and level of trust in people – and that we somehow will be able to get through all of this without being scarred by a fear of human contact. That's something that all of us should be really concerned about the longer that we're stuck in this new reality.
Let's face it, until we feel safe because of a universal and effective COVID-19 vaccine, can we ever take for granted a lunch with friends, a family dinner at our favorite restaurant or a night out at the movie theater?
Until there's a vaccine, will even the most zealous football fan want to tailgate at Gillette Stadium, or will the most dedicated music fan dare sit through a concert at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield or check out a local concert on a town gazebo with a couple of hundred people?
Until we're made to feel safe, will even the most passionate Red Sox or PawSox fan want to watch a game at Fenway Park or McCoy Stadium, or feel safe buying hot dogs, beer and pretzels at the concession stands?
And, who among us will risk holiday shopping at the mall, or even hanging out at neighborhood house parties as long as there's no vaccine against this terrible disease that has already killed so many of our friends, neighbors and relatives --- and thousands across the nation and globe?
Those are only some of the nagging questions that the country will have to answer before we're able to move beyond these dark days.