Life goes on as COVID-19 pandemic rolls on

Doha: It was the day he dreaded the most, but rather expected. When the news of his father’s passing had reached him one August morning, he just woke up from a beautiful dream of a trivial yet happy moment from his childhood he spent with his father.

The last time he saw his father alive was 11 days before, when he had to video call his family back in his home country because of his father’s deteriorating health. It was painful to see his father’s once strong and commanding presence turn feeble, weakened by old age and time which he regrets not spending with him more. He is able to return home only once a year in the past two decades he has been working in Qatar to provide for his family. 

This year, however, is unique from the previous 19 years of his life as an expatriate. The pandemic has rendered it impossible for him to fly home for his annual leave, or even bid his father his last goodbye. 

He was inconsolable, but had to be strong for the people who depend on him. After a couple of days of mourning alone, he was back to work as if it were just a bad dream that did not happen in reality.

Call it some sort of foreboding; one of his friends who is also based in Doha lost her father three months before his father’s death. Both died of old age, in their sleep. Stories of many COVID-19-unrelated deaths – from ordinary people to those of high stature in life - make him wonder of the extent of how the pandemic has been impacting human life as the world’s biggest existential challenge in recent history.

The pain of losing someone dear thousands of miles away at the height of the pandemic is compounded by difficulty in air travel, long periods of quarantine and other stringent pandemic safety protocols being implemented by different countries. 

Latest data from the World Health Organization place the number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases at over 47 million globally with fatality rate of more than 1.2 million. However, the adverse impact of the pandemic goes beyond health and loss of human life. 

As the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic rolls on, its socio-economic consequences have become more and more apparent and far-reaching.

Around the world, unemployment rate has risen exponentially as numerous companies cut millions of jobs while many others face permanent closure. Amid all the unprecedented economic disruptions the pandemic has caused, he thought he is still fortunate to have a roof above his head and a job to sustain his and his family’s needs while millions of people are struggling to make ends meet.

As countries have imposed mandatory lockdowns, work from home, social distancing and other COVID-19 safety measures, an increasing number of people have experienced isolation which has put a lot of stress on their mental health.

Getting in touch with loved ones via social media and other apps as well as online entertainment have been his way of coping with the challenges of self-isolation and of maintaining a sound mind amid the obstacles that come his way.

During the initial phase of the outbreak, even going out of his home to buy his daily needs was quite a demanding task. Getting near strangers who don’t wear face masks can be daunting, stoking fear and anxiety of the possibility of contracting the coronavirus. 

Strolling along bizarrely quiet streets devoid of people was like a scene from a movie he never thought would come to life.

Long period of social distancing and self-isolation however was an aha moment, which made him better understand the significance of valuing friendships and building strong relationships. A short face-to-face conversation or perhaps just a simple handshake that people take for granted and is now virtually impossible to do is crucial to one’s mental well-being.

One day when things return to normalcy, life will never be the same again, he reckons. Perhaps he will emerge much stronger and wiser, more mindful of setting priorities, focusing more on little things that matter most. More than two months have passed since that fateful day his father passed away. Grief lingers on, but life goes on.

For now things might still be unclear and the future uncertain, but there’s a reason for everything, he thought. For sure, at the end of all these, everything will fall into place.