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Worries about crowded restaurants or store crowds are a reflex from the last twelve months. The reality now is different.
Summer is coming to the country and people are going outdoors. The pedestrian zones fill up, the stores and restaurants, first outside, then inside. High spirits, big crowds, finally. But many people feel queasy when they see the pictures: isn’t this dangerous and downright irresponsible? Since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s been like the yo-yo: phases of easing up were soon followed by restriction, and lockdown was followed by a bit of freedom. The ups and downs seem to have become so ingrained in many people that they now see the next wave of Corona coming and the next lockdown.
That’s understandable, but a mistake. It is the old look, but the situation is new. The images should give us courage, not fear.
Fear is not rarely though a good advisor. Without fear of the unknown danger, the evolution of mankind would probably have come to its end somewhere between mammoth and saber-toothed tiger. But worry is neither an end in itself nor should it continue to be marketed politically. The reality of the pandemic is now different. That’s what counts – and is allowed to put people in a good mood.
After all, infection figures, risks or restrictions are new and must be evaluated differently when the groups at mortal risk are fully vaccinated – which they were not before. Larger groups of people lose their threatening nature when all participants have been tested on a daily basis – which they were not able to do before. Even larger outbreaks are more manageable with upgraded health departments – which was impossible before. To summarize: The typical victims of the first twelve months of Corona are no longer defenseless. They can fight back, as it were, thanks to vaccination, thanks to testing, thanks to lessons learned from government weaknesses. Fear of contagion no longer has to be the measure of all things.
Hygiene requirements remain
In any case, this pandemic will not end with one last vaccination or one last case of illness. For the time being, Corona will be as much a medical part of life as the flu, which is not to say that Corona is “just” the flu. The trick is to create a transition from a state of alarm to a vigilant normality on a broad front. Given today’s knowledge and skills, Corona does not justify a permanent state of emergency any more than the usual waves of influenza.
Those who nevertheless do not (yet) want to switch their lives back to “normal” should do so and behave accordingly; there is no compulsion to celebrate. But the same applies: After science, politics and citizens have laboriously opened the way back to a normal life, whoever wants to should now be allowed to tread this path. It is called freedom.
- hp/picture: pixabay.com
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