5 Things I Would Miss About the Pandemic

 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

BY JEFFREY KLUGER

5 Things I Would Miss About the Pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic vanishes into history (which, to be clear, isn’t happening yet), no one in the world will mourn its passing. But that’s not to say every single change we’ve made to accommodate the crisis has been a bad thing. Here are five COVID-related practices we’ve learned to live with—and that I’ll miss if they go.

Wearing masks on public transportation

According to the American Public Transportation Association, in 2019, the last year before the pandemic shut down much of the world, 34 million Americans boarded public transit each weekday—more than 9 billion a year. In big cities especially, that kind of crowding makes subways, buses, trains, and light rails petri dishes for germs. Mandatory masking on public transportation during the pandemic helped keep COVID-19 under control in those settings—and it could do the same against more common respiratory illnesses like colds and flu in the fall and winter. Now that we’ve gotten into the masking on public-transit habit, let’s keep it up.

Curbside pickup

What could be easier than curbside pick-up? Just place your order online, cruise to the store, and grab your package, which will be waiting for you outside. According to a study by Salesforce, 39% of U.S. retail executives introduced curbside pickup during the pandemic, generating up to $72.5 billion in sales in 2020. Cash for the seller and convenience for the buyer—without having to interact with other people and their germs. What’s not to like?

The rise of telehealth

According to a study by McKinsey & Company, telehealth visits—for both physical and psychological care—have increased 38-fold since the start of the pandemic. Early in the pandemic, one survey of members of the American Psychiatric Association found that before COVID-19 hit, only 2% of U.S. psychiatrists reported using teletherapy with their patients most of the time. Once COVID-19 ran riot, that figure jumped to 84%. The telehealth door has been blown wide open as a result of the pandemic—making health care easier for both doctors and patients. I hope it doesn’t close afterwards.

The end of the handshake

The human hand has an average of 150 different species of bacteria living on it at any moment (not to mention the cold and flu viruses), according to research conducted before the COVID-19 virus joined the pathogen list. Yes, the coronavirus is principally spread by air, but early in the pandemic, before the transmissibility routes were known, the handshake fell out of vogue . I say keep it that way. COVID-19 or not, colds and flu are transmissible by touch. If you must touch hands to feel like you’ve exchanged a real greeting, the Cleveland Clinic recommends the fist bump. One 2014 study found that the transfer of germs is “dramatically reduced” when bumping a cool, dry fist replaces clasping a warm, damp hand.

No more coming to work sick

In the Before Times, it was a badge of honor to come to work even when you were feeling sick. Thankfully, those days are over. Clearly, the office is a no-go zone if you test positive for COVID-19, but those play-it-safe practices increasingly apply to other more common illnesses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend staying home with a cold, flu, or other illness—to say nothing of COVID-19. So-called “presenteeism” —showing up to work even when you are sick—may not only earn you glares from co-workers worried about catching what you’ve got, but it also hurts a company’s bottom line. According to the Adecco Group, a global human resources organization, presenteeism costs U.S. and European businesses an average of $45 billion per year, due to low productivity from workers who are on the job even when they are too sick to work effectively.

Source: Time Health