That blue wall at the right is not good. At all.
As we reach the end of March 2020, I feel compelled to take a breath and reflect on how the world has changed in just a few weeks. I trust that everyone will remember this month for a long time to come. And even as we brace for an April that may be more grim and stressful, March will hold a special place in our memory, proving just how much and how fast life as we know it can change. So where are we now?
Big Picture. If you like to look at statistics, then there are some easy ways to observe that we are in a very different space than we were on March 1st.
COVID-19. On March 1st, there were around 10,000 cases outside of mainland China. That number has since grown past 700,000, with more than 37,000 people having died globally. A bad month.
Economy. February 2020 unemployment rate in the US was 3.5%, and there were 5.8 million people unemployed. In contrast, in March almost 3.3 million Americans lost their job in one week, and we have no idea how bad it might get. Some think we could hit 32% unemployment and 47 million unemployed, a staggering prediction that evokes thoughts of the Great Depression or worse.
Politics. In the US, the South Carolina primary took place on March 1st, and Bernie Sanders was widely considered the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for President. Now at the end of the month, Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee, and the election is expected to hinge on President Trump’s response to COVID-19 and the US economy. It may be hard to remember that impeachment proceedings were still taking place in February.
Impact on People. This month has had a profound impact on people across the globe, in ways massive and minor, straightforward and complex. Here in the US, more than 3,000 people have died from COVID-19, and government estimates say that 100,000 or more could follow. Our health care workers and grocery store clerks are fighting on the front lines, and shortages of equipment and toilet paper remind us that we could all have been more prepared.
Health and life. The greatest impact is of course those who have been sickened and died from COVID-19. Stories abound of people who have been hospitalized and isolated, hoping that they’ll survive to see family again. Grief and anxiety are everywhere.
Social distancing. We’ve all had a crash course in “flattening the curve,” even as we fight a silent and invisible killer that rides on our handshakes and drives a wedge between us. How much is enough? We’ll know after it’s over, and we’re only as strong as our weakest link, whether those are senior citizens with health conditions or young people partying on a beach.
Jobs. Our economy has been put into a “medically induced coma” to try and stem this virus, and people are feeling the impact everywhere. I’ve had conversations with people who are trying to figure out how to keep their staff employed, and others brainstorming how to renegotiate their lease to get a break to keep their business afloat. Deals that were urgently closing a few weeks ago have been put on hold to get a sense of what the heck is going on. We still have no idea what our economy will look like when we can begin to wake up from this nightmare.
Silver Linings? During the Great Recession, I felt like everyone was talking about green shoots, or signs that the economy was coming back from the brink. And evidently I wasn’t the only one tired of the term. There is no doubt that it is way too early to think this is over. Sadly, we are still on the front end. But I do think there are some silver linings we can point to, signs that there can be hope even when catastrophically bad things are happening.
Everyday heroes. We all know the nurses and doctors who are working tirelessly right now, risking their lives, and coming home exhausted but unable to hug their own children for fear they might infect them. They are working flat our to heal the sick and discover a cure, and we are reminded just how much we owe them as a society.
Coordinated response. We should evaluate what we might have done differently. But let’s also celebrate how much has been accomplished in our effort to save lives. Massive closures or cancellation of sports seasons and championships, of schools and universities, and of travel plans and vacations. A $2.2 trillion government stimulus. If you’d asked me a month ago if all of this would be possible, I would have been skeptical even when faced with a massive health crisis. What other crisis might benefit from such resolute and collective action?
Simplicity. Never let a good crisis go to waste, right? Let’s use this time to realize just how certain necessities were not really necessary. Do we need to fly everywhere, or will a video call work reasonably well, even if it doesn’t make us feel quite so important? Can we benefit from cooking in and reducing our nights out? In the end, aren’t the social interactions we’re all missing the experiences we really care about? What will we take with us after the moment passes?
Like many families, we rediscovered the joy of jigsaw puzzles…
I don’t have answers to where we’re headed next. Here in Virginia, the Governor just issued another executive order so that people will stay home. We may be a month or more from the virus peak before a slow return to normal can begin. But let’s pause and reflect on just how much has changed this March, and how we are all different people than we were not so long ago. More than ever, we know that we’re in this together.