Do you think things will ever return to our 'old normal'

[isitamapletree]

Just that really. I know a lot depends on whether we find a vaccine and/or effective treatment but I wonder if some things will just never return to how they were before Coronavirus. At the moment it is hard to imagine life as it was before and I can't see it ever being exactly the same again.

9/11 for example changed the way we live in many ways but we have largely adapted and most people see it as normal now. Things like going through airport security, not carrying more than 100ml in hand luggage, being checked before entering large venues, being suspicious of abandoned bags are all a normal part of life now.

What do you imagine changing permanently in the long term due to Coronavirus?

yes, I think it will but probably not until there is a vaccine and enough people have had it - I reckon three years.

@TinRoofRusty I need more positive people like you my anxiety been sky high 😘

Everyone i know wants to keep the good bits (working from home) and ditch the bad bits (no hair and nails etc) so I don't think fear will stop more than a small number of people.
However what about fear of a new virus? If we think China's food industry is to blame a new normal surely has to include pressure for change there?

@Noeuf absolutely! It was only matter of time. I vaguely remember something like this a few years back where there was an illness caught from the markets that they were worried about but thankfully never spread, sure I’m not making that up.

Yes
But possibly with more wfh which is no bad thing. And higher cost for flights. However they may do a loss lead to get people flying again.

Hope I am wrong but the U.K. in the 1980s was very different to post COVID life.

This.
I’ve noticed that if somebody speaks about the reality on MN, they are told they are full of doom or accused of enjoying lockdown.

It is not an option to continue as we were and saying it is, is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Who do you think is going to pay for the health service, research and financial aid given by the Gov to people? We will be paying for this for years and years to come.

Anyone saying or thinking otherwise is wishful thinking which is not what the OP posted about!

We will adapt because we always do. Our children will grow up in a very different world to the one they were in when they entered lockdown. Things have changed. We can accept it or delude ourselves.

@swingingontheswing
We had a pandemic in the 60’s and life got back to normal yes it will take time and lots of job loses etc and it will take time but in reality no one knows as it is a new virus

Deblou43 We are hurtling into a depression, never mind a recession. Economically people are not islands. Because some people are working from home and their jobs are currently safe, it doesn’t change that we have an unknown amount to pay back economically and each and every one of us will pay.

Businesses will go under, . It is already happening. We will all be affected. Yet we will (mostly) adapt. We have no choice.

No. It won’t be the same. By the time this is ‘over’ too much time will have passed for people to remember what ‘before’ was like. Habits will have been replaced with new habits.
It’s is going to be a lot longer than a few weeks before this virus is either treatable or has a vaccine - if ever. Worst case scenario is that it becomes like the cold- an ever changing virus that we never get to grips with, best case scenario is that it become more like our flu and treatment or a viable vaccine can be found that will prevent a lot of deaths - but there will still be a proportion of society that remain vulnerable and succumb. For them, a form of the current measures will remain.
Also recession also always changes things irreversibly.
Add on top changes in practice which are seen to be helpful/more beneficial/cost effective - and its a receive for a new way of living.

No. It won’t be the same. By the time this is ‘over’ too much time will have passed for people to remember what ‘before’ was like

Not sure how you can say that so definitively. Many scientists are optimistic that a vaccine will be ready in the autumn, and can be rolled out worldwide within a year. Other treatment options are also being investigated. Several European countries are already starting to get back to normal.

Obviously there will be serious economic fallout which will take some time to get over. But we've survived recessions and depressions before. I'm not convinced this crisis will lead to long-lasting societal changes.

I’m not saying we won’t survive!!

But I am saying that by the end of this year, things like video consultations for a lot of DR appointments will be normal and we will wonder how we ‘managed’ previously.
Doing one shop a week will become a new normal - or shopping alone. For some, shopping online has become a game changer (looking at my neighbour) and they won’t want to shop like before again.
The effects and habit changes due to the recession/depression will leave lasting effects in those affected - even if it just means more careful spending habits.
People will look back and see clear changes in how things are going to be done v precovid ways of doing things.

The effects and habit changes due to the recession/depression will leave lasting effects in those affected

My point is everyone who pays their own way will be affected.

I think more homeworking will happen, and also people will start walking and cycling for shorter journeys. Be good if they continue monitoring number of people in stores, so much more stress free to shop with less customers around

PMSL at all this 'new normal'. A great many have never been able to do one bloody shop a week as can't afford it, have limited space in their flat or don't have a car to cart a week's worth back. People won't remember? FFS, I'm 50-years-old, I can remember putting my sister's vinyl albums on 45 speed so we could laugh at how the singer's voices were distorted.

God I hope so!!!! I agree we should take stock of the important stuff. More home working, less traffic, more walking and cycling, less air pollution all good, but I miss my hairdresser, beautician, wine/coffee out with my mates, lunch with my Mum, dinner with DH, days out in the countryside/beach, cinema, theatre. We love holidays and they may have to change but we will see.
I work in the NHS and we are far far from any kind of normal sadly

I hope that those posters who are so sure things will return to normal and fairly quickly are right but I can't see it.

How can we me sure there will ever be a vaccine? Or if there is that it won't take years? Just how many years have they been looking for a cure for cancer? Or even the common cold for that matter?

I think it will, pretty much, though it will take a while. Hope we keep some of the changes though, like washing our hands more. That will help to reduce other viruses as well.

I think things will go back to the old normal more or less. I dont think things have changed much after 9/11.
A few more people may work from home more but I think those pubs will be packed almost as soon as they reopen.

More videocalls, less physical meet ups in general. Especially work. Work travel? Pfft!

Goodbye handshake culture.

People wash their hands, finally!

More family centred, close bubbles. Less one night stand culture, more let's get to know people properly and stick it out.

I think the high risk people will social distance forever now

I think things did change after 9/11. Travel became much more security orientated. Plus it had a knock on effect with having to prove who you were, in other areas of life much more difficult. The effects may have been more subtle for some, but life did change.

@TinRoofRusty - yes I remember those things too. But there are an awful lot of people who don’t. I remember party lines and telephone operators connecting your call - but a lot of people don’t even remember hard wired telephones ... mobile phones are normal for some but a new normal for others, and yes, some don’t even know what hard wired phones are or how to use them.
Things change, sometimes slowly, subtly sometimes quickly.

Definitely change. DH’s work have already decided they can 90% work from home, and will do forever now, they can’t deny the massive effect on the environment that not having 500 plus cars a day on the road when they are not needed and that’s only one benefit. It’s proved the doubters of the past that It can and does work, nothing has fell down yet for them. The staff are more productive, less stressed and overall happier. It’s also become obvious how many unnecessary meeting went on!!!!

I really hope there will be permanent changes to the way we work. Fewer hours, fewer face to face meetings, more working from home, less commuting. Maybe we’ll move to a 4 day week? And I’d also like to see permanent changes to education - more home schooling and online classes, less taking children from their families and sticking them in excessively large groups where they’re bullied and unsupported. An end to the situation where every family member spends their day alone at a different school or workplace. Hopefully there will be more localism, support of small local businesses, less stuff imported (especially from China). Essentially reversing what happened during the 20th century, so people’s lives are more centred on their homes and families.