Society, as we knew it, was to change quickly and completely. Normally and naturally social animals, humans were unable to mix and be together. People were told to stay in their own home as much as possible, and to keep two metres apart at all times when outside. The media overwhelmed us with propaganda that scared and depressed us. Governments were advised by so-called experts who were calculating how the virus might spread and kill, and the authorities reacted in a way they thought best. Businesses were drastically affected and some industries were closed for most of the year. Although compensation was paid to both individuals and companies, many will never recover. Governments have borrowed money like never before and will be paying it back for a generation.
Masks were gradually introduced and that is something that would have been unthinkable just a few months before. We’d seen Asian people wearing masks and accepted it as something they did to protect others; never would we have expected to wear them in the west. Many of us were reluctant at first, but then they became mandatory.
For me, people wearing masks was the biggest indication of how different our lives had become. We began by wearing them awkwardly, unsure how we looked and what good they were doing. Paper masks were the norm, but some wore comical masks and others used them as a fashion statement, matching them to their outfits. All, however, covered the mouth, a part of the face that had always shown us expressions of sadness and joy. Now, those revealing expressions are hidden and mask-wearing is so normal that it’s only noticeable if a person isn’t wearing one.
Also for me, as someone who grew up greeting people with a handshake, and more recently while living in Spain with a double-kiss, it was difficult to stop doing so, and to occasionally awkwardly knock elbows as an alternative. I so miss a firm handshake as a greeting and demonstration of trust.
Are vaccinations the first indication that we will ever get back to what we knew as normal; to see the interaction of fellow humans in a social and safe way; to go out to cafes, restaurants and bars, sit together and chat, and to laugh and communicate in a friendly way? Our social behaviour has changed beyond recognition and it’s going to take some time before we can enjoy personal contact in the way we used to. The vaccination programme has started slowly and has a very long way to go. We'll need to rely on an international effort to rid us of Covid, but I do hope that, late in 2021, we will be able to see safety restrictions lifted, so that we can get back to living in a pre-Covid way, without worrying whether the person next to us is likely to infect us.