Topic: Lifestyle before and during the pandemic

Brainstorm

Before the pandemic

- Strict sanitation measures were not so necessary

- People could enjoy of outdoor activities, family reunions, meeting with friends

- They had more freedom: they could travel, go out, do sports, go to shops no matter their ID number

- There were no restrictions regarding the use of public transport and trips to other provinces, countries or

places.

During the pandemic

1) Extreme sanitization measures: wash your hands every time you come from the street, use hand sanitizer, not

touch your mouth, nose and eyes, disinfect the products you buy, try not to share mates, respect social

distancing (avoid greetings change from a handshake or a kiss on our cheeks to an elbow bump ) ….

2) Stay at home as much as possible: people have been asked not to leave their homes except for emergencies.

Now, we work, study, do sports/physical exercise from home, not use the public transport

3) Avoid crowds: not getting together with friends, not going to the cinema, prohibition of using public transport,

going to the supermarket (or other places) depending on your ID number, festivals and events postponed

Outline

Introduction

- thesis statement : Humans’ lifestyle has suffered a dramatic change in several aspects since coronavirus has

spread rapidly affecting all countries around the world.

Point by point development…

Body

Paragraph 1) The most striking difference is in terms of hygiene

Before pandemia: Before pandemia sanitation measures were not so important or necessary as they are nowadays…

During pandemic: However, during pandemia we

Paragraph 2) Topic sentence: Another difference between our lifestyle before and during the pandemia is that we

should stay at home as much as possible…

Before pandemic: Before pandemic started, we could enjoy ; for instance, outdoor activities ….
During pandemic: But, now we should respect quarantine and only go out in case of emergence or a necessary

situation…

Paragraph 3) Topic sentence: A third element we can mention closely related with the previous one is respecting social

distancing. / Closely related with the previous aspect, a third element to consider is social distancing.

Before pandemic:

During pandemic:

20 August, 2020

Cejas, Maria Luciana

Human life during Covid-19

Most people might agree that the current year 2020 has been the worst and weirdest year for human beings. In

January we were living our common, daily routines when all of a sudden we were struck by a tiny virus that turned our

lives upside down. Since then, Covid 19 has taken away our freedom and turned kisses and hugs into a risk for our

health. Now, the normal life we were used to seems to laylie in the remote past. Our common lifestyle has suffered a

dramatic change in several aspects since coronavirus has spread rapidly affecting all countries around the world.

To begin with, the most striking difference in our daily life is in terms of hygiene. Before the pandemic , strict

sanitation measures were not so necessary as they are nowadays. Coronavirus can be transmitted just by touching our

eyes, mouth and nose. Because of this, it is essential to wash our hands as regularly as possible and use hand

sanitizer when we are in the street to get rid of any trace of the virus. In addition, it has become very common in our

homes to disinfect the products we buy in the supermarket, shops and pharmacies not to mentioning the fact that we

can not enter those places if we are not using wearing a mask to cover our face. In our country;, for instance, the

popular Argentinian tradition of sharing “mates” with a friend has also changed. Nowadays, to drink “mates” with

another person we have to prepare a different mate for each one since we can not share the “bombilla” with other

people. What we considered our daily “routine” has changed to a kind of “ritual” since simple actions like buying our

groceries, or entering shops involve now a meticulous, selected process of sanitation.

Besides In addition to the extreme hygiene we have to apply to our daily life, another aspect of change in our

lifestyle is the fact that we have to stay at home as much as possible. Before pandemic started, we could enjoy outdoor

activities, going out with friends, and social reunions. Nevertheless In contrast, during the pandemic we must respect

quarantine going out just in case of an emergency or an urgent necessity. Now, we must work, study, and even do

physical exercise from home. This stay-at-home measure has also limited the use of public transport. Due to Covid 19,
if we need to go to the city center we are allowed to get on the local bus depending on our ID number . It can be noticed

that coronavirus has limited our freedom in such a way that we have to get obtain a special “permission” to be able to

leave our homes. We are just like birds in a cage or like a killer whale in a pool forced to live enclosed. We are eagerly

waiting for the moment to be able to breathe and feel the fresh air in our faces again.

Closely related with the previous aspect, a third element to consider is social distancing. Before the pandemic, we

could go to different types of social events, meetings, and give hugs and kisses. However, nowadays since we do not

know who might or might not be infected, one of the best alternatives to prevent coronavirus is to avoid close distance

contact with other people. For this reason, social reunions and meetings are prohibited, cinemas and theaters are

close, and festivals and other events have been postponed. Now, greetings have changed from a handshake or a kiss

on our cheeks to an elbow bump. Have you ever imagined that? Of course not. It' is hard to realize that coronavirus has

taken us away from us things that we never expected we could lose such as the warm hug of a friend, the sweet kiss of

our grandmpas, and even the casual conversation face-to-face conversation with the people with love. We miss social

interaction, and simple things like a conversation. Now, if we want to keep in contact with our beloved s we need to do it

through the screen of our cell phones or computers. Coronavirus has turned face-to-face interaction into interaction

through the screen.

We are trying to get used to this new “normalcy” even though we would like to turn back the clock and regain our

normal lives before coronavirus arrived, but that’ is not a possible dream. However, we can think that everything has a

reason and look at the positive side of this situation. Maybe, when this nightmare is over we would be more empathic

and respectful not only with people but also with animal life, or we would appreciate more the moments with our family

and friends. All in all, coronavirus has come to teach us a lesson on how to improve as human beings even though it

has changed our lifestyle in many different ways.

References

Routine vs. Ritual . (10 July, 2015). Retrieved from

https://joebuhlig.com/routine-vs-ritual/#:~:text=Rituals%20are%20similar%20to%20routines,of%20the%20task

%20being%20completed.

Unicef. (13 March, 2020). Everything you need to know about washing your hands to protect against coronavirus

(COVID-19). Retrieved from

https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/everything-you-need-know-about-washing-your-hands-protect-against-coronavirus-

covid-19#:~:text=Washing%20your%20hands%20can%20protect%20you%20and%20your%20loved

%20ones.&text=Respiratory%20viruses%20like%20coronavirus%20disease,this%20happens%20through%20your

%20hands.

ABC News. (10 April, 2020). How life has changed since coronavirus struck. Retrieved from

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/10-ways-life-changed-coronavirus-struck/story?id=69535464