The world was utterly unprepared for the ongoing pandemic. The virus spread live a wildfire, taking countries by storm, bringing our lives to a halt, leaving a mark on the lives of everyone, infected or not. Entire industries were shut down, and as a result, millions of people have lost or will be losing their jobs. The big events that we built our lives around – movie premieres, sports competitions, trade fairs, and fashion shows – were either postponed or canceled for the year.
No matter where you live and what you do for a living, the ongoing pandemic has certainly left a mark on your life already. And its long-term effects we can only imagine.
A new accessory
The fashion forecast for 2020 contains a lot of face cover – at least when it comes to the first half of the year. Face masks are already all around us and in time, they will become the new normal. There are already quite a few examples of stylish and fashionable face masks out there – it’s just a question of time before designer models start to hit the market.
Products like Lekko’s antipollution scarf will become more commonplace – these accessories combine the stylishness of a scarf with the filtering properties of face masks. Many of these were created with air pollution and pollen in mind, helping those with allergies – and anyone worried about the polluted air of big cities – live a normal life. These filter-fitted scarves will most likely become commonplace and a stylish trend in the coming months, maybe years.
Cooking at home
With restaurants closed, and people stuck in their homes, home-cooked meals – eaten in a family circle – may quickly become the highlight of the day. And with it, many will discover the joy of a home-cooked meal.
The internet is already filled with a myriad of recipes – now people stuck in their homes will have the time to try them. And many of the ingredients used by them will be local, maybe homegrown – minimizing the risk of exposure makes people shorten their supply routes – giving a boost to small producers. At the same time, the healthy eating trends that received so much attention before the outbreak will continue – leading to many delicious, home-cooked meals prepared with love and eaten with the family.
The post-COVID workplace
Finally, let’s take a look at what our workplaces may look like in the post-COVID world.
With all the non-essential businesses closed in some areas, people who are able to do so are working from a home office. Companies were reluctant to adopt this workplace model in the past – now when they are forced to, they will probably realize that their employees can be just as productive while they work remotely as they are at the office. Hopefully, this will lead to a healthier work-life balance for a significant number of people.
And, hopefully, they will appreciate those who can’t work from home but are essential to the functioning of our society: retail workers, fast food servers, nurses, and many others.
One of the most important changes the ongoing pandemic will bring is, hopefully, compulsive hand-washing, as Dr. Fauci put it. Because washing our hands whenever we can is not only effective against the spread of the coronavirus – it can prevent the spread of many other diseases.
