Genie, meet Bottle

I worry we can't put the genie back into the bottle. I look around this weekend, and people are leaving social distancing behind them: streets are busy, people are out. Restaurants aren't fully open yet, but I understand in provinces where they have reopened they are packed. Even the recent protests seem to suggest attention is moving to new things, past COVID (though there is a relationship, given the pattern of impact COVID has had in the U.S.).

Attention spans are short; people move on. We see this in all sorts of things, from fashion to video games, and it takes a lot for crises to be different. COVID has been a heck of a crisis, but if there is a second wave, I don't know if countries can get people back in their homes, especially now that it's summer. Social distancing one is a tough new experience, that people can try to fight their way past: doing it a second time is a grind.

Part of me wonders if that's ok. The first round of social distancing let us get the infrastructure etc. in place, and develop some new social norms that will help minimize impact. If there is a second wave, perhaps we keep a light version of social distancing in place, and carefully shelter the elderly and vulnerable, but accept that some others will get sick. I don't know: that is a callous approach, but asking people to social distance again will  not be easy either. Many are struggling with the decision between lives and livelihoods, and there are no easy options.

I think it is probably a question of degree. We will surely want to make some changes to our social fabric to minimize the risk of this happening again, whether it is a second wave or a new disease. Many of the proposed changes have significant costs, and I think we should be hesitant to adopt them. People are social: asking them to keep their distance takes a toll, and I'm not sure it's one we fully understand yet. On the other hand, some changes are probably easily: my father pointed out to me that in NYC, subway rails are copper or brass, because copper has antibacterial properties, and so it reduced disease. We could likely do the same with plastics - bond antimicrobial properties into them and use them in commonly spaced areas. We can invest more in vaccine readiness, and the logistics to produce them, and in epidemiology. We can wash our hands more regularly!

What are you doing to make yourself more productive in these times? And, are they changes you might want to keep even if the pandemic disappeared tomorrow? I do like the forced experimentation aspect of these times, where our routines are disrupted and we try new ways of doing things: have you learned anything that you would recommend?

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