Last year around this time, after two to three months of the complete international shutdown, the world was talking about the ‘new normal’ to be followed in the rest of the decade. But the new normal is yet to arrive.
In 2021, life is still in a flux amid new mutants of coronavirus even though vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus has touched the shores of many continents, albeit slowly.
It is natural for humans to recover from any setbacks with the belief that losses and misses are part and parcel of one’s life journey.
The Covid of 2020 was depressing because people were self-locked inside their homes, cities, and even countries, while the Covid 2021 has been more about personal losses, including jobs for many.
According to WHO, fear, worry, and stress are normal responses to perceived or real threats, and at times, we are faced with uncertainty or the unknown. “It is normal and understandable that people are experiencing fear in the context of the pandemic.”
Adding to the fear of contracting the virus are the significant changes to daily lives and new realities of working from home, temporary unemployment, home-schooling of children.
While my friends pretend to carry on with daily lives as nothing has happened, the reality is different. They just move on with this guilt of being helpless when their people need them the most. The situation is not a one-off or expatriate specific, and some of our Omani staff have faced similar problems despite being in the same country
Most of these concerns are addressable and tolerable compared to losing closed ones, in some cases more than one person at the same time or in a matter of months.
“I have friends who lost their very close ones suddenly in the recent past. They were not able to make it to see them for one last time due to travel restrictions,” said Sarath, a resident who also has some HR responsibilities.
“While my friends pretend to carry on with daily lives as if nothing has happened, the reality is different. They just move on with this guilt of being helpless when their people need them the most. The situation is not a one-off or expatriate specific, and some of our Omani staff have faced similar problems despite being in the same country.”
Sources in the counselling fraternity told the Observer that Covid-19 related losses would have a long-term impact on a person compared to losing some due to chronic or other illness. “Here, happenings are so sudden, and, in many cases, people do not get enough time to rectify the situation.”
In recent days, there have been reports of people in their mid or early 30s losing lives in Oman due to Covid, leaving a vacuum in the lives of everyone around, not just their family.
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