Despite it all, we are learning some fundamental lessons from COVID-19

To say that COVID-19 has shaken the world to its core would be the understatement of the year. 2019 saw incredible things happened.

We saw youth-led climate activism going global. For the first time in history five black women held the crowns at the world’s top beauty pageants. Astronomers released the first ever image of a black hole. Lori Lightfoot became the first black female and openly gay mayor of Chicago. The year was filled with firsts and although not everything was great, many things were. Then 2020 came around and everything was different – lives were lost and changed forever. But if we’ve learned anything from the global pandemic it’s that we are resilient and rise after we fall. Although devastating, COVID-19 has certainly taught the world a thing or two.

We can’t prepare for these things; only evolve

The emergence of the pandemic forced societies to leave behind tools they relied on, in all facets of life, and find new ways of doing things. The economy, society and healthcare as we knew them had to fundamentally change to accommodate a crisis no one was prepared for. Hospitals, education systems and governments came together to fight a battle which had never been experienced. Some things worked and some didn’t, but the bottom line is that the world joined forces to find new solutions.

Mental health needs to be prioritised at all costs

Due to the nature of the virus, medical staff began working around the clock to treat and prevent a worldwide epidemic. However, once we knew we were in for a long game, mental health started to be prioritised. Deaths, job loss, insecurity and a global shutdown took its toll and people started suffering. But then individuals began talking about mental wellbeing, support systems were built, and people held each other up.

Reassurance goes a long way

COVID-19 turned the job market on its head. In an instant, thousands of employees either got retrenched, put on a no-work-no-pay basis or took major salary cuts. An air of panic spread through the world, leaving both employers and employees across all sectors uncertain. However, what we have seen, is that reassurance from companies to their employees goes a long way. Being told where they stand, how things will move forward and what to expect saved a lot of people.

Diseases know no borders

First World countries, Third World countries and all those in-between have been affected by COVID-19. From a number’s perspective, certain countries certainly felt the effects of the pandemic more than others – but there has not been one city that that hasn’t been affected, whether that was physically or mentally. The pandemic taught us that diseases certainly do not discriminate.

Maxine Volker