As devastating news arises from India and other developing countries regarding yet another deadly wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the endgame seems to be further than ever. Closer to home in Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Singapore are currently imposing social restrictions in order to curb the spread of the disease, which has been made more complicated by newly imported strands of the virus and vaccine hesitancy among the population.
Whether it takes a year, or two, or more, the pandemic will eventually flame out — either because enough of the world population has been inoculated against the virus, or because the virus has infected enough people so that a sort of natural herd immunity is achieved. It’ll likely be an uneven mix of both.
When the dust has settled and the threat of the virus has subsided, the world would have changed profoundly. It would have gone through a tremendous collective social experiment unheard of since the Second World War — an experiment in which a trip to the grocery store is dangerous, meeting your grandparents is deadly, and international travel is as uncertain as the weather.
Of course, with the virus still raging on like wildfire in many parts of the world, it is right that all the attention is focused on what we should be doing now to save lives and livelihoods. However, it’s worth spending a moment to reflect on the profound challenges that are heading our way once the pandemic is brought to heel. Here is what we can expect.
1. An Outpouring Of Stories
Future generations will look back at the time of the pandemic and wonder how people coped with not being able to attend weddings and funerals for over a year; how hospital staff could turn people away from their sick loved ones as they draw their dying breath.
Indeed, these are heartbreaking scenes that are unusual, even immoral, during peacetime (assuming that the pandemic we are in is war). Once the pandemic is over and the world has collectively taken a deep breath, expect an outpouring of stories of grief and burden that will sting and shape our conscience in the years to come.
We will hear of the unbearable heartache of watching a parent die alone, quarantined in a hospital room. We will hear heartwrenching tales of parents unable to book a last-minute flight to visit a dying child. From the business community, we will hear of the extended nightmare of having to decide every day whether it’s worth keeping the lights on, knowing full well that the pandemic might spiral out of control any week and cripple business operations yet again.
Books will be written, movies will be made, and papers will be published examining these deeply unusual times and the effect they have had on the human psyche. Only time will tell just the kind of toll that this pandemic will have on the soul of the world.
2. Political Upheaval
For countries that limped through the pandemic, they will be left with an unenviable, combustible mix of problems: high debt, low funds, and a hungry, angry population that wants compensation for the opportunity cost of virus control measures. The hospitality and F&B industries will demand to know why they were the first to be targeted in any lockdown. They will demand to see the science, demand to know who made the decisions, and demand compensation for the perceived costs of any governmental misstep. The hospitality and F&B industries may be holding their tongue for now, but in due time their voices will be heard loud and clear.
People who were living below the poverty line and had their means of making a living cut off by governmental lockdown measures will become vocal, and in the worst-case scenario for governments that do not want to be held accountable, they might organize and set off powerful political movements. The Covid nouveau poor will be a sizable population in developing countries and will hold considerable power if they choose to form a coalition of change. Expect some regimes to scrap through; expect others to be overthrown.
3. Periodic Outbreaks
Even once the immediate threat of the virus passes, it is entirely conceivable that minor outbreaks of the virus will still happen on occasion in the years to come. This is because not everyone will be vaccinated (and even those that are are not 100% immune). Isolated, rural populations with poor healthcare infrastructures will be particularly vulnerable should an outbreak occur.
Even in urban areas, minor outbreaks of the virus (or mutations of the virus) will occur, which might necessitate a soft lockdown for a short period of time if they pose a threat to healthcare systems. Scientists have already openly speculated that we might need a Covid-19 jab annually should the virus mutate beyond what our antibodies can manage. In other words, Covid-19 will likely be a thorn in the flesh of humanity in the years to come.
Conclusion
After the worst of the pandemic has passed, a brave new world awaits, whether we like it or not. It will be prudent for leaders and thinkers to imagine ways now to shape that new world into something more positive, more hopeful, and more inclusive. We cannot allow the atrophy of grief, pain, and rage to set the tone for our future.
