Challenges in the new normal

Olivia Gurumayum *

Losing track of dates and days has become new normal. We are approaching towards the mid-month of the year 2020 staying at home without much socializing. "Man is a social animal', said Aristotle centuries ago. Man lives in towns, cities, tribes, villages, but never alone.

Loneliness brings him boredom and fear. Man needs society for his living, working and enjoying life. Society has become an essential condition for human life to arise and to continue.

Human life and society always go together. With new phase of lockdown or Lockdown 4.0 with new guidelines and rules to be followed while many wait for the government to announce "lockdown is lifted". We all are waiting for that big day "Freedom from coronavirus" but only if we follow the guidelines and rules strictly.

There was news with a headline "spitting is prohibited" which felt like one of the dreams come true. Breaking traffic rules and spitting on road should be imposed with heavy fines. Hygiene should be a habit and maintain throughout our lives. With the size of the road which is not appropriate with the number of vehicles in the state we need strict rules.

In such a stressful situation many people are tackling the situation differently. By the time coronavirus issue ends almost half the population will become "Atma- Nirbhar" as we can see there is no snapback of the pandemic most of the people are utilizing their time, energy, skills and talents productively.

At the same time there is also an increasing impact on psychological issues. With many stranded coming back home it would be wise enough for the both returnees and those at home to be more careful than before.

As we enter another phase of lockdown we should take utmost care to receive the homecoming of the stranded. It would be better if those stranded are brought home giving some days or a week gap to avoid overcrowding the stations as we could see. That way it will be easy to maintain hygiene in the quarantine centres.

At the same time everybody must follow the guidelines of the government strictly as we could see breaking social distancing in many places. Social distancing is something we are adopting it all of a sudden and might feel awkward to practice it immediately. But, it is the need of the hour and has to keep maintaining the distance.

For a working woman it is always a big challenge to balance both family life and workplace. Being a mother is not that easy as it looks and it is not a 9 to 5 job. Her day begins and ends with duties and responsibilities.

The other day I had a short conversation with a nurse working in JNIMS who narrated me a story of one of her colleagues. While she was attending the covid19 patient she got a call from her home saying her baby is crying the whole night and had fever at night. Nothing she could do but shedding tears. Even if she wants to be there with the baby she has to be quarantined for 14 days.

But, gathering all her courage she carries on with her duty in the hospital. A child can never be away from her or his mother for a moment. The battle between her responsibilities at workplace and the responsibilities at home her strength wins over both. Being a mother and a nurse working during these pandemic days is beyond anyone's imagination.

We have been hearing many stories about doctors and nurses that their locality or neighbors are troubling for the fear that they will spread the disease. They have been staying back at the hospital for many days with the patient of Covid 19, they can reunite with their beautiful families only after following the protocols that needs to be followed after their duty.

Another nurse who suffered from Coronavirus resumed her duty after she recovered from the illness. And, the struggles to save lives from the virus are same for all the front liners everywhere round the globe. What would be the impact on them after all their experiences that they are facing during this pandemic?

There shouldn't be time that the front liners have to undergo counseling for the weight they carry during this battle. As it is the battle that needs to fight together it is important for the public to be more cooperative. We are in such a crucial situation but we are able to be with our family. We should really appreciate for their bravery on fighting against Covid19 risking their lives.

In this coronavirus pandemic days we all have become soldiers leading by doctors, with those working in the hospitals as front liners of this battle. Each one of us has our own role to play to end this pandemic.

It is important that we become more responsible citizens staying at home and going out only when it is extremely essential which is the first and foremost step to end spreading the virus. The government has also taken up many measures and given orders that need to be followed during this fourth phase of lockdown.

Many citizens are helping each other and are also helping the government with donations in many forms either by cash or distributing vegetables. The doctors and nurses with all other staffs working in the hospital selflessly have contributed so much of their time and energy serving the nation fighting against the invisible enemy and being the immediate contact for the coronavirus patients.

This time of our lives will be a different history to be told to our future generations of what was it all about, what happened during the coronavirus pandemic days and how we made it through. We all will have different stories and experiences to tell after we made through this phase.