When Will COVID-19 End? 2020 What’s Good? By Akunna Igbokwe
Like other plagues, COVID-19 will come to an end but the question is when. Unfortunately, no one has the answer to this question, at least not yet. Those with certain expectations for the year must be very disappointed. Those who planned to start new businesses, those who wanted to move, those who made travel plans and even international activities. We all can’t wait for this seemingly long nightmare to come to an end so we can all return to our lives.
The coronavirus has made it impossible for social gatherings and hangouts and this is a problem, especially for the youths. The popular belief among this group of people is that the fatality rate is lower and for some reason, they believe that they have immunity to the virus and as a result might continue to go about their normal lives, pause and think about your parents and other family members who at a higher risk of ending up in the hospital if infected. This is the time to be our brother’s keeper, prioritize your safety and that of everyone else. That is to say, even if the lockdown is extended and we are deprived of social activities, we must comply in order to survive.
There are several things we need to brace ourselves for post-covid-19. One of which is inflation, in Nigeria, record shows that the inflation rate rose from 11.61 to 12.2 percent between October 2019-February 2020. Already a lot of people have lost their jobs and the bills won’t consider your current predicament as they keep piling up. And for those who managed to keep their jobs post COVID-19, you’d probably still earn the same salary while prices of goods and services skyrocket. But where there’s life there’s hope and only the living can acquire wealth so regardless of the current situation the goal is to stay safe and survive. If at any point there’s shortage of food, I implore the privileged not to be selfish but to look out for one another. Now more than ever, we need to re-evaluate our societal values.
Personally, the biggest effect that this pandemic will leave behind is depression. People face enough as it is and their jobs, friends and social life is a way of escape for them but with this pandemic, they are forced to confront those problems as they self-isolate and calls and texts. Even the doctors and nurses that are at the frontlines are tired and scared for others and for themselves. According to a survey carried out by Kaiser family foundation, 45 percent of adults (53% of women and 37% of men) say that the pandemic has affected their mental health.
2020 went from a year of making declarations to a year of survival. What does that tell you? We’re all just pencils in the hands of the creator. You are not a God Afterall. How does that make you feel? Humbled? You should be. So, what to do? How about you get involved with what’s going on around you. Ask yourself at a time like this what is my purpose? Get informed and get to work. But remember life is for the living so the goal is to survive.
