How can life find a way amidst COVID-19?
TL;DR — just read the bolded bits!
It might seem bleak if you turn on the TV or social media or even look outside the window you could be forgiven for thinking that maybe the world is ending. The media are painting an ever-bleak picture of the health crisis around us and people are acting in strange ways because of it. All around us entire industries are seemingly shutting up shop and planning to reopen “when the time is right”. On that latter point, the unknown timeline on this crisis might well be the most worrying thing of all.
But there is hope. The virus is bringing folks together, quarantined residents are singing from the rooftops, small businesses are finding novel ways to support local residents. Restaurants (like this one in the small town where I grew up) are doing what they can to support communities along a broad spectrum from keeping spirits up to providing a lifeline for the self-isolating and vulnerable. Employees and managers in small companies are taking salary cuts to avoid making lay offs (you all know who you are — thank you so much for your sacrifices!). Also huge shout out to anyone working on the front line in our hospitals and clinics, workers in distribution centres and supermarkets for putting yourselves in harm’s way to keep the world turning!
Humanity is nothing if not resourceful. Over the years we’ve had to fight through crisis after crisis both man-made and natural: from world wars to hurricanes, from forest fires to oil spills. We will get through it.
What we do need to do is try to carry on as best we can if we’re not sick and if it is safe to do so. I’m not advocating that we all go outside and pretend there’s nothing wrong and get people sick. However, we are very lucky that in 2020 we have high bandwidth internet and technology to help us to do our business remotely without putting others in danger.
I’d be foolish if I didn’t understand and acknowledge that some jobs can’t be done from home and honestly there are no easy fixes for that. If you have been furloughed for the foreseeable or laid off please know that you are valued and needed and that things will get better.
There are an unprecedented number of businesses pivoting to help with the virus and adapting to new models in the brave new world. Breweries making alcohol hand sanitiser, yoga teachers running live streams of their classes for those stuck at home, others I mentioned above like restaurants who are moving primarily to home delivery. In the tech sector (my stomping ground), firms are scrambling to do what they can to help with research on SARS-COV-2 (the virus that has caused the COVID-19 crisis) and to provide help where they can. My own company are providing heavily discounted chat-bots and AI solutions to small businesses and charities to help with spikes of user demand and staff absences during this crisis. On the other hand, people in the community are also trying to help small businesses to survive by buying gift cards for future use.
I don’t want to detract too much from the positive message of this essay but I do feel that governments could do more to help and that people need to put more pressure on their local MP (or senator or however it works in your country) to help people and businesses who can’t “pivot” or “adapt” to get through the coming weeks.
Despite what the mainstream media may want you to think, there is so much hope, enthusiasm and compassion in the world right now! Keep calm, get creative, support each other, be kind and life WILL find a way!
