Is COVID finally gone?

[Jazzy]

It’s been four years since the pandemic began. In your opinion: Is COVID finally gone? (Why or Why Not)

 

[Lamb]

Covid is here to stay forever, but not in its originally form. It's mutated so much that it's now just a cold or flu for the healthy people of the world.

 

[tango]

It will probably never fully go away, but it's nowhere near the same problem it was four years ago.

I've been living with this "no problem" worldview for most of the past four years. It became pretty obvious very early on that most of the things we were expected to do were just posturing. Even the New York Times admits the absurdity of people walking through a restaurant with a cloth on their face only to take it off when they sat down. It didn't take a whole lot of thought to figure that an adult coughing could spread particles far further than six feet while a child talking quietly would spread them far less, or that the endless wiping of everything in sight made little practical difference because they weren't wiping absolutely everything. I said at the time that it's all well and good to wipe the handle of shopping carts but if someone picked up an item from a shelf, checked the ingredients/price/whatever and then put it back nobody was wiping it.

 

[Forgiven1]

It has become like the flu. There are going to be variants each year same as the flu. Wash hands frequently and stay home when ill. It amazes me how quickly people have gone back to old habits as I see in public restrooms with people not washing hands as before the epidemic.

 

[tango]

It has become like the flu. There are going to be variants each year same as the flu. Wash hands frequently and stay home when ill. It amazes me how quickly people have gone back to old habits as I see in public restrooms with people not washing hands as before the epidemic.

The trouble with public restrooms is that you never know how clean the taps are. As a rule I avoid touching anything with my hands unless I can clean my hands afterwards, or I know how clean something is. In a public restroom unless I can control something with my elbows or similar I'll avoid touching it unless it's absolutely necessary. Part of the reason I dislike hand dryers that blow warm air is that you can't use them to open the door when you're done - you can use a paper towel to hold the door handle and keep your hands clean that way.

During COVID I was aware how many places would do things like turn off the water fountain (for my safety, apparently) but then leave a regular pull handle on the inside of the bathroom door that it was impossible to avoid touching. One brewpub I visit has things at the bottom of the door so you can pull it open with your foot, which seems like a far better solution. Of course it involves spending a couple of bucks, and you can posture much more cheaply by taking things away.

 

[NewCreation435]

I still from time to time hear some of my clients tell me that they have had covid recently. Like others have said already on this thread it isn't as bad as it was originally and it is more of a strong cold. I've had it twice and the second time was not as bad as the first time.

 

[Jazzy]

COVID will never be over. It has become an endemic disease. It's like waiting for the common cold to be over... Not gonna happen.