How long until we return to normal?

[onedayinthefuture]

I know this is the million dollar question and obviously I don't expect anyone to know, but would be interested to hear your opinions? With us now going into this new phase, I am feeling very anxious about our 'new normal' and listening to the government briefing, this is going to be like this for a long time. It's not just about work and getting the kids back to school, it's when we can have things to look forward to again. When will we be able to go on holiday? Throw a party for our kids? Meet up for a meal with friends? Play a team sport? I just want to see my family, my sister and her kids and my parents and be normal again. Life is short as it is and precious time is already being lost, months that we'll never get back. My parents missing quality time with their grandchildren.....

Some people I speak to think next year we'll all be back to normal and booking holidays? Or by Christmas we'll be back to normal but I'm not sensing that. Will this take years?

You're posting in the wrong place OP. The doom mongers here take great delight in telling you that life will never be the same again and that you need to get used to "the new normal."

In the real world, the one where we have lived through pandemics before, without the science and technology that we have now, we will go back to normal at some point. Social distancing measures will probably last to the end of the year at least. It will possibly be 2 years before everything is back to relative normal. But life will not change forever.

I’m not sure it will be permanent. Viruses usually go away in the end

@whatswithtodaytoday

must admit in my darkest moments I do wonder if this is the end of the human race...

Wow! Never thought of it like that.. Makes you wonder though.

I don't think it will be quite two years. I think in the near future we'll see "bits" of normal. Society/schooling/working/ traveling will look different, but not unrecognizable. Will it ever go back to how it was? Not sure. Shattered my crystal ball in a fit of rage over having to remember how to graph linear equations so I could tutor my son...

Wish I knew, though. The uncertainty of it all - to me - is worse than my fear of the virus.

@DamnYankee the uncertainty is worse for me also....

I think winter might bring on another wave but that's pure speculation.

I don't think we will go back 100% e.g. this could accelerate a cashless society scenario

I think my working life will long term change e.g. working from home majority of the week of not all of the week. I've already tried cycling into work and the route is fine so I wont be taking public transport anymore.

I've saved so much for not eating out or getting coffee from starbucks etc so I wont be going back to that esp working from home.

Until most of us have had it!, or they get a vaccine!!

And no all the pubs won’t disappear, as a nation we just like going to them to much, though I think a lot of chain restaurants might go as they already are in a lot of debt.

I will be going back to my local bars especially the ones owned by local people.

When the ROI is below 0.5 for six weeks..

And that will only happen when idiots work out that a viral epidemic isn't cured because you got bored.

Some of the things you wish for will come sooner rather than later, some may be taken off us again for a while. Winter may be a rough one the bog standard flu will not have disappeared so we will still be catching that one. And will be relieved it is only flu!

Prob never imo, and you can consider that good or bad depending on your outlook.

HIV changed life and sex forever, but now most people dont remember what it was like before. This will be like that.

How is a virus that mainly kills people way past reproductive age and with a mortality rate of at very most 2-3% going to be the end of the human race?! Unless China and America start nuking each other I’m fairly confident we will survive as a species. We survived the Black Death, various flus etc with far less medical knowledge and resources than we have now.

1.5 to 2 years. Those years may be pretty awful and probably lots of people will die. Probably some things have gone forever, other things will replace them. People are very adaptable in the long term.

I think pubs will disappear. They were already on the way out.

Pubs will not disappear in our area, I think it depends on what part of the country you live, they are a regional problem.

Hopefully next summer to be fully back to normal and people having the confidence to live normally. I'm hoping prior to that things will gradually improve. If we have to isolate ourselves for 2 weeks so I can spend Christmas with my parents then that's what I'll do.

I'm not saying this experience won't change me because it will as it has made me reevaluate things but only as it's making me realise what is truly important to me and because I want to support my local economy more in the future.