Admission time: It is beginning to look as though we’re going to have the coronavirus around for as long as most of us are alive.
That’s what I keep hearing as I listen to the news and read various publications. It makes me wonder: Will the virus continue to disrupt our lives?
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s senior medical adviser, today was dishing out a bit of good news. He said that the virus will morph perhaps by the end of the year from a “pandemic” to an “endemic” disease, meaning that it will still be around but will be manageable enough for us to avoid major life disruptions.
Well … I can live with that.
The “new normal” appears now to include a lifetime with this virus lurking in the background. At least that’s what I glean from it at the time being.
As I have noted already, the idea of wearing masks is seeming to be more “normal” than not wearing one. I’ve been able to travel a good bit over the years and have noticed masks are the “uniform of the day” for most folks in places with poor quality. Residents of Asian cities such as Bangkok, Taipei, Delhi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Mumbai wear masks routinely as they go about their day. Now they have a virus to keep them masked up.
So, it might be for most of the rest of the world.
I’m OK with it, too — as long as it keeps my loved ones and me safe from the virus.