COVID-19 has already altered the way we study, work, and spend our time. Students gave their predictions on how this virus will affect our lives in the long-run. One thing became clear from their answers: they believe our world will never be the same.
The focus of the mainstream media is currently on the short-term effects the novel coronavirus is bringing to our world; however, the question that lingers is how our society will be affected by the virus in the long-run. As of April 23, it has been confirmed that 2,638,909 people have been infected with COVID-19 and experts believe that life will only return to "normal" (although the normal we are looking at is very different from before) after a vaccine is found, which scientists at Imperial College London estimated will take up to 18 months.
Although numerous experts have given their predictions on what the world will be like after quarantine, we can't know for sure.
Four students gave their opinions on the matter by answering one simple question: what will the world look like after the Coronavirus?
Cecilia Loyola, a sophomore at EARJ, felt apprehensive and unsure about the end of quarantine, “People will act differently around each other. I feel like a part of my cultural identity will be stripped from me. Here in Brazil, we always greet each other with kisses on the cheek, and we love hugging. I’m afraid that will change.”
Christian Iturri, a freshman, opted to talk about the EARJ community and how our reality will change once we go back to school, “We’ll smile at the teachers we once disliked,” he said. “And we will literally love everything, even the cafeteria food.” For him, our sense of appreciation over mundane aspects of life will change completely.
Both students also agreed that COVID-19 has introduced a new sense of anxiety into society, and as Cecilia Loyola put it, “this anxiety will only get worse after quarantine. People will continue to worry about the virus for another year or two.”
Finally, Christian Iturri addressed the virus’s impact from different standpoints.“We can look at the virus from an economic, social, or political view, but from any lens, the world will change completely,” he said.
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Gutiérrez, Pablo. “Coronavirus World Map: Which Countries Have the Most Cases and Deaths?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 26 Apr. 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/26/coronavirus-world-map-which-countries-have-the-most-cases-and-deaths.
Annelies Gartner; Lizzie Roberts; Global Health Security Team. “How Close Are We to a Coronavirus Vaccine? Latest News on UK Trials .” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 27 Apr. 2020, www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-vaccine-trial-news-covid-19/.
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