10 lessons learned in a year of lockdown

On Mar 13, 2021

One year ago Saturday, the country went into its first stage of lockdown, though some adhered to guidelines better than others. Three hundred and sixty-five days later, Covid-19 has snuffed out more than 530,000 lives in the world’s most prosperous country — roughly one-fifth of the global death toll.

Despite a bumpy rollout campaign in some states, many foresee a summer filled with hugs, dining out, vacations, concerts, sporting events, beers at bars, worship services, in-person learning, parties, museums and packed movie theaters — among other pleasures that we took for granted.

After receiving his second dose of vaccine, Joe Sanders, 93, of Princeton, West Virginia, told CNN last month that he didn’t have audacious plans; he was simply looking forward to slipping out of the nursing home, where he’d been confined for his safety, for a little country ham and red-eye gravy.

“I was just really relieved, and I have hope that I’m going to get out of here and do some things,” Sanders said. “That kind of sustains you, instead of feeling you’re going to be here till the end.”

Hope, too, has been a valuable weapon. It’s one of many things Americans have learned in the last 12 months.

Other lessons:

1. On resilience

It wasn’t always pretty. The pandemic has exposed our swagger, and also our naivete and divisions, but we learned to adapt to the most devastating episode in recent history.

Not only did we acclimate to the jarring disruptions that came with pandemic life — at work, at school, in our social lives — we did it while navigating the busiest hurricane season on record and a long-simmering racial reckoning.

It was far from a uniform effort, but by all accounts, we showed our mettle, our resilience. The overwhelming majority of us kept donning masks and avoiding large gatherings to keep ourselves and others safe until the cavalry arrived in the form of vaccines.

Recovery appears near, but we would do well to remember those among us who lost loved ones and livelihoods. They could have been any of us, and for them, the effects of the pandemic will linger long after the final vaccination phase. The best prescription? Some collective compassion.

2. On sacrifice

What we’re willing to sacrifice in a catastrophe runs the gamut from almost nothing to just about everything.

Even the leaders most vocal on the virtues of masks, distancing and staying home couldn’t help heading to the hair salon or a Michelin-star restaurant. They set a terrible example, but their temptations aren’t foreign. Who among us didn’t want an inch or two trimmed off, or some expertly prepared surf and turf?

Still, many of us decided we could wait. Super-spreader events snared the headlines, but beneath the media spotlight were tens of millions of people giving up the favorite parts of their lives to save others.

Not everything was a choice, of course. Many businesses shut down. Hospitals and nursing homes banned visitation. Events were canceled and travel banned, but we would be remiss to ignore the accompanying sacrifices that amounted to tiny acts of heroism and doubtless saved myriad lives.

3. On our elders

Knowing a loved one is dying alone is excruciating, as is not being there to help ease their pain. Saying farewell via Zoom or from a parking lot is heartbreaking.

Before the pandemic, there was an epidemic of isolation and depression among seniors, and the nation got low marks in general for how it cared for its elderly. Older Americans were already missing physical touch and seeing people’s faces more than most. The pandemic magnified these shortcomings in profound ways.

Coronavirus homed in on the elderly with particularly deadly effect, and Americans were slow to step up and protect them. Take Gov. Andrew Cuomo, initially considered a stalwart and model of Covid-19 response: He now faces allegations he obscured the death toll among New York’s nursing homes.

America isn’t exceptional here. In September, many months into the pandemic, the World Health Organization director-general expressed disappointment in hearing a colleague say the massive global death toll was “fine” because the victims were mostly old.

“No, when the elderly are dying, it’s not fine. It’s a moral bankruptcy,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “Every life, whether it’s young or old, is precious and we have to do everything to save it.”

The takeaway: We can take much better care of our elders.

4. On who’s essential

Covid-19 highlighted the necessity of many professions. At the top of the list, health care professionals and teachers are underpaid, while doctors take their Hippocratic Oath seriously, too often at their peril.

Those employed in agriculture and the restaurant and grocery industries, as well as delivery drivers, are vital to keeping people healthy in times like these. Janitors, police and social workers also put their safety on the line.

In a nation that places immense, some might say lopsided, value on athletes and celebrities, the pandemic forced a…