Life in the time of Coronavirus

It has been a long time since something so big has not disrupted equally, everybody, at the same time, in
every corner of the world. Our daily routine has been altered lately by an invisible being that is changing
the simple things we used to take for granted.

Coronavirus has being conversation topic in every single place for a while now and the global situation is
getting serious. Governments worldwide still face huge uncertainty of how to manage the situation.
Meanwhile, people try to readapt their lives according to the new measures to comply with the pack of
solutions given. The OMS insists that the virus is here to stay and we have to act accordingly. The
measures taken to stop the virus from spreading today will help us to achieve the goals of tomorrow.

The coronavirus was declared a pandemic a month ago , but the way is changing the world so far , is
radical. The spreading of the virus has modified the way we think , interact , and socialize as human
beings. The turning point will be visible , it regardless . If we think about how pandemics changed
societies back in the days , we would be surprised . For instance, in 1918, Spanish flu caused 50 million
deaths worldwide. At the time, there were no drugs or vaccines for the flu. By the time the flu was
controlled , non-precedents advances and researches were done on viruses and vaccines development.
This helped the society to fight new strains and invest in infrastructure for a new sanitary system.
London plague outbreak in 1665 , killed 20% of London population. The city reinvented itself. London
became the first city in the world to have a sanitary pipe system and health infrastructure. However ,
communities would have a long way to go to be able to avoid more devastating and challenging diseases
to happen.

The deadly virus we are facing has been making us think about basic needs and re-consider the way
everything is structured in our modern societies . The key questions are : is there any lesson to be
learned after all is over ? how this situation is going to change the way we see ourselves in a
community? Is this change going to last? . Humans are highly social beings. We have being social from
the beginning of the times. Thousands of years ago , nomads groups used to stick together for hunting ,
reproduction and protection. We have always lived in communities , we was tough to survive as a
whole. As a result , the human brain areas involved in higher social cognition evolved rapidly , such as
conscious thought, language, behavioral and emotion regulation as well as empathy. We are, biologically
hard-wired for interacting with others with an inherited social brain.

However , Nowadays , the sense of community has been forgotten. The prove is out there. Selfishness ,
individualism and indifference are some of the characteristics blossoming since the pandemic started.
Taking advantage of people in need , putting ourselves first , forgetting elders and buying goods
outrageously are actions that we have to analyze in times like this. Although this reckless human
behavior might have been there before, this time , we have a complete picture of how some individuals,
leaders, and civilians act while facing problematics. The wrong decisions of some while affect us all. This
is communism is its highest expression but without classism or power trips.
Consequently , during this pandemic , we have an eye-opening experience towards community and its
importance. We realized we all need each other to surf some situations and cooperation is not the only
but most effective way to synchronize towards a result. “simply , what we learn in time of pestilence :
there are more things to admire in men than to despise” This is how Albert Camus , author of “the
plague ”, described a fictional story written about a real town of Oran in Northern Algeria massacred
by a pest. In times of crisis , men can show the worst miseries and the best attributes.

How do we do a retrospective in order to understand the importance of cooperation in a global

pandemic panorama?. Well , this is the million dollar question . Hopefully , we still have some
humanity out there. I believe the ones having this sense of community should teach the ones who
doesn’t have it. They all play a part on the way to educate people to care about others: Governments
,ONGs , Religion groups , anybody that’s willing to help others to understand how to work together .
If we don’t change , what Corona is here for?. Besides the collaterals the world will have to face after
Coronavirus , what positive side could we extract from all of this mess?. We need to analyze our
options and make a choice. We need to decide how are we going to be during and after the
pandemic, The ones who scare or the ones who learn and grow . This small individual decision will
make a big collective difference to overcome the vital situation and to start planning wisely ahead ,
for future generations and for better results.