In different parts of the world today there are many changes in the air as various lockdown measures continue to be eased. Thailand has lifted its curfew of more than two months; local trains in the Mumbai area are starting to run again; several land borders across parts of Europe are reopening; and restaurants in the Paris area are doing business once again.
Here in England, though not in Scotland and Wales, non-essential shops are throwing open their doors today. So it’s possible once again, if you’re that way inclined at the moment, to go shopping on the High Street for items such as clothing, shoes, electrical goods and books.
The reduction of the restrictions in many parts of the world is partly driven by economic reasons and partly because of perceived and/or real progress in tackling the virus. For many of us at this juncture, it is perhaps an opportune moment to look back at the last few weeks of lockdown and reflect on the individual experiences we have been through.
For each one of us, it has been a strange journey so far having to deal with unprecedented internal and external pressures. The novelist Michael Faber has been writing about what he has learned during lockdown and provides some useful advice. Faber said:
“If there’s one thing I hope to carry away with me from this strange period, it’s an enduring awareness that we’re all living through a different reality, despite the media rhetoric about how we’re in this together. Some people in the second world war had “a good war”, in the sense that they learned new skills, were emancipated from sexist constraints, went on adventures, even made money. Others had a very bad war, suffering torture, bereavement, the destruction of every dream they ever had. We mustn’t presume we understand what this pandemic was like for another person until they open up and tell us.”
Faber’s comments are contained in a thought-provoking article in which various writers give their own individual insights on being forced to stay at home over the last few weeks.
For most of us the impact of the pandemic is far from over and it may be a long time before we can fully move on. Some of the lockdown easing allowed today may have to be reversed if infections spike again. And, of course, in some parts of the world, such as Brazil, Chile, and Pakistan, the number of Covid-19 cases is rising alarmingly.
However, to end on a positive note, it was very uplifting to see that New Zealand lifted all its lockdown measures last week after the nation declared itself virus-free.
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