I’ve been working on a series of reports at work. Working title: “The new, new normal… whatever that is.” I say working title because I’m just waiting for a producer to say, “It’s too long. It won’t fit on a graphic.”
Anyway, I’m immersed right now in thinking about life after Covid. Just what will we go back to? What will be changed?
I’m pretty sure that the way I was before the pandemic is not coming back. I used to be a hugger. Not anymore. When I see someone coming at me to hug or shake my hand, I back off. That’s definitely my new normal.
The Wall Street Journal takes on this very topic. “Handshakes? Hugs? After Vaccines, How to Navigate the New Covid Etiquette.”
The piece starts with two guys who meet at a softball game. One sticks out his hand. The other isn’t quite sure what to do.
The Journal talked to an etiquette expert, Jaqueline Whitmore. “There aren’t any etiquette manuals I can reference in times like these. We are entering uncharted waters.”
There is a new normal coming. Sooner than later. The CDC just put out new guidelines on masks.
Reading from Katie Couric’s Wake Up Call…The CDC said Tuesday that fully-vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks outdoors, except in large crowds.
President Biden says this brings the country one step closer to normal.
Before we get too excited that this is almost over, we look to India. Fox News is reporting that India just reported 200,000 thousand deaths from Covid, 3,000 in the last 24 hours and 362,000 new infections. The most ever in a single day.
The healthcare system in India is overwhelmed. They have run out of oxygen to put into tanks. Why now? Variants of the virus and a low vaccination rate.
So, this is the new, new normal. Looking ahead. A light at the end of the tunnel. And looking over the shoulder. It’s not over. Not yet.