January 2020 and Covid-19

We had just landed on Jinnah International Airport on 28th January 2020. We were making our way from the bus to the airport building when an official barres our way, brandishing a laser gun type gadget towards our forehead. The gadget made a beep and we were allowed to go.

“What was that!”, I asked my husband.

“There’s a new disease in the town; Covid-19. This gadget was checking if you have one of its major symptoms like fever, cough, or temperature.

This was last year.

Few months later, the pandemic had spread full blown, all around the world. Hospitals were brimming with patients and no hospital was prepared to take me for the birth of my son Yusuf. Everyone was talking about COVID-19 and its consiquensis.

The whole year passed in lockdown, gloom, isolation and high death tolls. Christmas, Eids, and Diwali were virtually spent together. The malls , grocery stores, marts, and shopping centers were full of the smell of antibacterial wipes and sanitization. Everyone had a mask on amidst the masses. People started stockpiling groceries. The year should be  named a year of doom as businesses failed, people were fired from jobs, and schooling was affected badly.

Everyone was hoping that January 2021 would bring a fresh start, a change in lives of the people.

One Year Later : January 2021

Everyone was happy. There was a glimmer of hope that now that the vaccine is out, we may be able to make this world a better place to live in.

But alas!! It opened a can of worms. The complications surrounding the vaccine overwhelmed the recovery cases. Moreover! New strains of covid emerged.

Now, covid -19 has become the new norm. It is something we have accepted in our lives.