13TH APRIL 2020 VOL.

12

#Meliorist
Weekly Catch : The New Normal?

Without vaccines,
what are some of Never the same again Editor's column, by Nazurah

the new normals? The world has been changing since COVID-19 has
A new normal, a new world - life during and after COVID19. been announced as a pandemic. People start to
Face masks practise new habits, such as social distancing and
Covid-19 has caused chaos worldwide and we are now witnessing
taking more care about their body by checking their
an uncharted series of events that none of us has experienced before.
Working from temperature more often.
The way we socialise, the way we work, the way we learn and the way
home
we live our lives is changing – leaving many to wonder when things
These such things are being called the 'new normal' to
Virtual might revert to normal.
us. Before COVID-19 became a world concern, people
meetings
cared less about keeping their surroundings clean or
While everyone is very anxious to go back to their normal life,
using soap when washing hands - but now, everyone is
Online classes there is one thing that most people have not realised – many things will
practising these new normals, in which would
never be the same again. Covid-19 could transform the world at work,
definitely help in making a better, hygienic
the businesses we use and the way public transport systems operate. In
More cooking surrounding for us besides protecting us from the
this new world, mingling with people who we do not know intimately
harmful virus. This is a good side of the COVID-19 that
could be the greatest comfort of life. Simply put, this would mark a
Or food I'm thankful for.
profound change in human behaviour. Also, postponing and reducing
deliveries
mass gatherings that bring people together and have the potential to
My only hope is that when COVID-19 is no longer the
E-commerce amplify the disease are much required at the moment, as it increases
the risk of transmission of the virus due to the large numbers of people world's most concerning disease, people would still
thrive
in close contact for extended periods. practise these things in order to sustain good health
Less patrons in and prevent the invasion of other viruses or bacterias
restaurants that may harm our body 😊
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancelling
Sanitation and social and religious gatherings should be seriously considered and
cleanings instead, virtual alternatives using platforms such as television, video
conference and social media can be used to substitute the old
Wider polite traditional activities. This is very important to reassure them that they
personal space
can still perform spiritual reflection, prayer and breaking fast with
families and friends – but from a healthy distance. We must remind
Temperature
checks ourselves that we are facing a global pandemic, thus, unprecedented
measures have to be put in place to ensure the well-being of everyone.
Spaced-out
seatings As workers from all over the world have been asked to work
remotely in a bid to slow the spread of the outbreak, the new norm has
Price of goods
seen homes turning to temporary workplaces and many business
& services rise
activities are shifting online. Thanks to the advancements in
Cancelled technology, the work from home option is made possible for jobs across
public myriad industries such as writer, programmer, data analyst and many Lost in Translation
gatherings more as they have turned to digital tools to support this new way of
Literally!
working. For business leaders, this new working pattern would likely be
These are only a gist of
adopted permanently especially for the white-collar workers who work
the things changing -
and who knows how at a desk and eschew physical labour. While for the jobs that are
long this new practice impractical to work from homes such as those involving front-line
will have to remain. operations or fieldwork in construction sites, staggered working hours
can be implemented to increase the physical distance between
Let's hope for the employees. I was a volunteer English teacher in a rural area of
best soon! Vietnam when one day a couple of students asked me
In brief, staggered working hours is a system of working in to “come dessert!” I hadn’t had ice cream in weeks, so I
How about school? which the employees of an organisation do not all arrive and leave at was keen. We boarded a very crowded bus, which should
the same time. It can be implemented in several ways, for example, a have been flag number one as we lived in such a small
team of employees may come to the office every other week, every town. We normally ride bikes or walk everywhere, but
other day or at different start times within the same day. According to this time we rode forty minutes out of town to a Russian
the experts, staggered working hours is not only effective to avoid resort town. I was under the impression we were going
traffic congestion but also practical to curb the spread of coronavirus to a rather fancy dessert restaurant. Nope.
Students, parents and on the overburdened public transport at certain peak hours.
teachers adapt to
Half an hour later, the horizon had changed entirely
new norm in Australia
Today's crisis marks an extreme epoch in our modern history with from tropics, to full blown sand dunes. We got off the
a huge social upheaval and an economic ripple effect that will leave a bus, and I asked my friend to explain again what  we
#Meliorist
deep mark in the future modern society. were doing. “Dessert” she said, pointing to the mighty
Shaza . Nazurah sand dunes. Oh dear!  “It’s pronounced desert!” I replied,
Ikmal . Aqmar laughing. It was a great day though – we rode ostriches!

"The further I travel, the closer I am to myself."

-Andrew McCarthy-