What's Your Opinion: Do you believe the COVID-19 situation will have a lasting impact on the field of occupational safety and health?

I think the virus will become similar to the seasonal flu, although a bit more serious. Even once a vaccine is available, viral mutation will always remain an ongoing concern and issue.

The pandemic has us taking a serious look at how orientation and training is delivered. We're also eliminating the paper forms we can and automating them so they don't have to be circulated physically. Many of these changes will be permanent. Universal precautions for our first aid team have been strengthened, and we've provided face shield to Team Members who speak with truck drivers. Again- great improvements we should keep.

I believe that many people, not just construction workers, have gotten into a habit of not washing hands after using the toilet. I truly wonder each time I have shaken hands over the years who is washing and who is not. Not being a clean freak, but always trying to keep awareness up with our crews about working in a dirty environment means cleaning hands before eating. Also, that contaminated clothing needs to be removed and bagged before getting into a car, and transferred to your loving family at home. If we think about what we are doing at work, do we really want to expose our families with the products we encounter on a daily basis? As for safety and health in general, I know that our company will stock better with the items that are in such short supply right now. As an "Essential Employees - Exempt" company we are continuing to work on most of our job sites, and now have very little PPE for hospital and medical office work. Our supplies have always been acquired when the job called for it, and not keeping a huge stock. Our hearts go out to the families that have lost someone due to this outbreak, and we hope and pray that it does nor consume us as a nation.

Businesses and the world, as a whole, will take this more seriously going forward. There are now vaccine developers working on a universal flu vaccine that may end the threat of pandemic flu forever. We have the minds and the technology, but all is dependent on time. It baffles me somewhat that only now is there a sense of urgency when virologists have known for well over a hundred years that a pandemic flu is capable of wiping out the human race. Employers are now going to be more diligent about sending employees home when they are sick. Before, they turned a blind eye while presenteeism hurt productivity and a sick individual put their fellow employees at risk of illness. And for what? To show they could tough it out? It really only proves someone is being inconsiderate. We may also see more acceptance and more cases of employees working from home more routinely as the shelter-in-place policies throughout the country show that much can be done outside of the office's walls and even more productively. This may be the beginning of some businesses existing in name without a hardened facility and the entire employee base working remotely.

Proper cleaning of hands is always stressed in the food processing/handling industry. Covid 19 gives us the opportunity to educate ALL WORKERS in ALL INDUSTRIES on the value of proper hygiene.

I believe this will change some practices at facilities, that will be strictly enforced for about 3 months or until the next thing comes along and then people will start to gradually going back to what they were doing before. Especially if a vaccine becomes available like with the flu, workers and businesses will get the vaccine and think they are super man and it will bounce off them.

Now all of a sudden, with no formal training, many of us are now the "experts" on how to handle a Pandemic in the workplace. We are now required to comply with best practices, social distancing, and how to keep the workplace disinfected and our employees safe. Then the regulatory issues that arise. and Are we an "essential" business? Who can work at home? What PPE do we need? Or can get? What do we do if someone is sick? Tell our customers and suppliers to stay away? How do we conduct training, and keep our distance? And how many webinars do I have to watch...….. And the stress on the safety guy.

"Lasting" no, there will be some improvements that will stick but we tend to forget very easily.

Our occupational health group has been busier since the pandemic started, but in a whole "new" category of oversight of cleaning of buildings and facilities and writing of new procedures to minimize exposure. However, I think the biggest impact we have seen among clients and contractors alike is the fact that everyone understands what we do on a different level now. It's not just about indoor air quality or abating hazardous building materials. It is about public health and safety - for employees, employers. clients, vendors, communities; everyone has to participate in the efforts needed to keep us all healthy and safe.

I'm afraid with many organizations having to look at massive changes to their budgets, personnel cuts and the such, that Safety personnel and safety equipment will get thrown to the side. Too many times I have seen cutbacks and they remove the Safety position and give the responsibilities to someone who is already overwhelmed with their own duties and under qualified to be the "safety guy". I think we will feel these repercussions for a long time to come and we'll see an increase in injuries/work comp claims due to their belief that a safety program and the Safety person cost too much.

During this time it is apparent that many business have not thought about this type of crisis and are not prepared. This has led to panic not only by employees but the business owners as well. I believe this is an eye opener for many Industries and better plans will be developed so we are more prepared in the future. This includes our Government.

Two Words, "Lessons Learned". Lessons Learned has been a goal of any Exercise held to test the ability of any organizations response to a given set of circumstances or situation. Lessons Learned are also a goal of review of organizations response to a an adverse or unusual event. The problem is and has been the Lessons Learned determined from these events generally do not cause corrections to methods used or plans to mitigate the circumstances or situation which was the subject of the exercise or situation. This has had the spotlight put on by the current Covid-19 pandemic and the failure of our government to address the issues of the Lessons Learned in the 2017 CDC/NHI Pandemic Exercise. So my take away/Lesson Learned from this is FINISH the JOB. Use your Lessons Learned to correct the Problem Causes Learned.

I agree with most comments that were stated, through good communication internally in our companies and reacting to the daily and sometimes hourly changes were able to keep our people safe and react accordingly when circumstances change. But I really like James Chrissey's comments. Tough times bring out the best in people and leaders, this is just another example of needing LESSONS LEARNED to give our people good leadership and most importantly, keep them safe. Business will move forward again, but only when we have good people to run the business. Safe, healthy people.

The pandemic has drastically shaped the way we live and perform daily duties, some simpler than others. It truly makes me miss things I might have taken for granted since they were readily available and no restrictions on them. If you think about this though, practices being implemented are practices that should regularly be pushed forward by all individuals, no matter what industry you may work out of. Food, construction, corporate...does not matter...practice good hygiene for yourself, your peers, your loved ones, strangers you walk past in the bread aisle...everyone you come in contact with daily. Secondly, social distancing, regardless of the unfortunate spread of COVID-19 or not, should be continuously practiced. I believe this for two important reasons, (1) personal bubble and (2) hygiene purposes. Give people their space, allow them their privacy. If someone is sneezing or coughing, should you really be within their breathing zone? I believe practicing social distancing is a component of practicing good hygiene. Amidst this pandemic, I believe some practices/changes implemented today will stay for the future. Aside from the ones mentioned above, shifting gears...restaurants offering delivery when before they did not, might be implemented as a regular service, dependent on factors, but from what I have heard and read, there is positive feedback on these services. My heart goes out to the individuals and their families impacted by the virus. Stay strong and we will overcome this together.

I believe one of the lasting impacts of the Covid-19 situation will be an enhanced concern for sanitized/disinfected employee work stations/work areas.

COVID-19 will become a lasting imprint on the healthcare industry. It has and will forever change how we interact with each other at home, work, or out in the public. It has unified the minds of people in general. Now you don't have to be a healthcare worker to understand the need for general hygiene, or universal precautions. Everyone knows now that germs can be transmitted through various ways including by handshakes, and by coughing. Hopefully people can continue with self-awareness, and then move on to being mindful of the next person. I am hopeful that we now understand that diseases can easily travel from one region to the other, and we will be better prepared for future threats. To all those who love travelling like myself, it is important to check in with the State Department to find out if there is anything to watch out for in the country/region you intend to travel to. Going forward, it will only take a cough in the office and all heads will be turned towards that person, simply because everyone has seen how ravaging this pandemic is. Companies/Corporations will change their standards, especially those that require a lot of traveling, locally and/or abroad; and healthcare facilities will also change several of their policies especially Infection Control, and stocking/restocking of medical supplies. As healthcare professionals, we hope that there will be a cure, as well as a vaccine for COVID-19 and that people may take it when recommended to do so, and those that develop the disease will get the treatment they deserve before it gets out of hand. So in conclusion, COVID-19 has already altered our lifestyle in so many different ways and will continue to do so in years to come.

I do not believe the virus is going away any time soon. I feel there is a lesson to be learned and that every organization needs to step up its safety measures, such as disinfecting, replacing air filters often and discouraging large group settings. I do not feel this will go away. If we go back to our old ways (both personally and professionally) we may very well have another pandemic and again not be prepared!

I think that once we get through the fall (autumn) season, and the U.S. election is over in November, researchers will look at the number of cases of COVID-19 deaths and compare them to those deaths caused by the flu and miraculously find that it is no worse than the flu. I think that this whole thing is a huge ploy by the media to trap Trump into doing something for which they disapprove and make him lose the 2020 election.

I believe people are finally understanding the importance of hidden Health and Safety hazards/issues and they appear to be taking a stronger safety stance. What they are witnessing and learning now, should go a long way to strengthen their home and workplace health and safety.

All of the talk about COVID 19 from the newsrooms to the break-rooms and the construction sites to the plant floors is premature in that we are still learning about this virus and its effect on our population. We have learned more about it in the last two months than we knew in the first three. I hear more narratives gleamed from Facebook, YouTube and the nightly "Expert" briefings and opinion news programs each day at work that will cherry pick the facts to match the narrative that each individual wants to believe. Those same individuals will then repeat it as the truth. We will not have all of the information on this particular virus that we need for some time. That may be a year or two away. We should be keeping politics and the usual suspects out of the blame game and come together to educate everyone to help eradicate this virus. In a year from now we will have better data on this virus's morbidity rate and whether the H1NI “Normal" flu is more deadly. That is not what we should be caring about now. Now we should understand that Social Distancing and good Hygiene and being respectful by wearing a face covering when working within 3 feet of another is a positive way to lower exposure to this virus. If nothing else, those three practices have been shown to work. And a year from now, after all of the politics, pandering and talking Heads have finished expressing their opinions; we may find that our personal behavior has changed at the onset of the next flu season when we will continue to practice Social Distancing, Good Hygiene and being respectful for one another. Judging by the changes that I have seen on this facility, I believe we will.

The last time a pandemic of this proportion hit in the United States was in 1918. The Spanish Flu pandemic had 2 resurgent's due to lowering the social distancing standards to soon. We obviously did not learn anything. Hopefully this time we will. This is certainly a severe hardship for all those without a job right now ; how do you put food on the table for your family when the money isn't forth coming. Small businesses may never reopen, the states services are overwhelmed and people are finding it hard to open up unemployment claims and businesses cannot get their loans to keep their employees heads above the water. I think COVID-19 will have an impact in all areas not just in the Health & Safety field. I would hope that after this that our government and our businesses would have the common sense to put in place Disaster Plans and Standard Operations Protocols in the event that similar tragedy's occur. we were not prepared.

They have only been saying this and even made movies about it, it was coming. Medical schools in our lovely administrations in the past and the future I hope we'll prepare the American people for situations like this much better then the past administrations.it's so sad that politics get in the way of people's lives Nancy pelosi Chuck Schumer I don't care if they're democrat or republican or independent all they are is it thorn in the people's side they're just trying to drag their feet because they're upset they lost an election. This is not an election this is about people's lives in America and around the world but apparently certain people just don't care that's why certain people don't want you to have money right now, they love chaos. The people that caused this they will find out in the future probably about 50 years from now the people that caused this will be dead bad and I hope it doesn't kill too many people but we should not trust our government to protect us without having mega oversight on all of them everyone the administration Congress ,Federal reserve, FBI, CIA etc etc , the people that are charged with doing the best for the American people there health and prosperity of the nation. for some reason up till now this is not been the case with previous administrations they just think that the American people are completely stupid. Time to grab the BULL by the horns and get the PROBLEM SOLVED. LISTEN TO THE SCIENTIST AND TOP HEALTH OFFICIALS OF THE WORLD AND MOST OF ALL OF AMERICA, INDEBTED TO THE HEROES OF AMERICA FIGHTING THIS BATTLE THAT NEED ALL THE HELP THEY CAN GET FROM EVERY FEDERAL STATE AND COUNTY AND CITY MUNICIPALITY. Y'ALL ((((( GET ER DONE)))))).

Adapting processes to enforce non-pharmaceutical measures (hand washing, wearing face masks, social distance, air ventilation, use of appropriate PPE), will be the strongest job to maintain for at least 18 months....

CoVid-19 will certainly change how safety professionals educate companies. Presently, I, as a consultant, see companies putting safety and safety training on the “back burner” and concentrating mostly on temperature reading of workers, wearing masks, and social distancing at work. Don’t misunderstand me, I do believe this is necessary at work as well. However, the typical safety and safety training MUST continue, as workers are extremely worried for themselves and their families as to whether or not they will get sick from CoVid-19. This certainly effects the workers ability to concentrate on his/her job, especially the tasks being performed. Safety professionals must convince management that safety training must continue as before to keep the workers safety from the daily hazards they encounter. Safety absolutely cannot take the “back burner” and emphasis on safety must continue.

COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic we will experience. If anything COVID-19 has opened up the eyes of organizations for the need to prepare/plan for more than just physical losses such as fire, accidents, etc. In most cases organizations will look to EHS & Facilities personnel to assist in the planning and training of personnel.

I do not believe this event will have any long lasting impacts on the OSH field. This event intensified relationships between the Safety and other support areas such as finance, emergency management, procurement, and management. Outside of obtaining more than usual amounts of PPE, the Safety Professional is not doing anything "new" today considered to be game changing. Program development, change management and risk analysis each form the foundation Safety leadership and management. While the support effort may have been increased, analyzing, planning, communicating, implementing, and adjusting is routine business.

I feel like it prompted my company to look at disinfection/sanitization processes with a wider lens. As a company that provides public transportation, there are many changes/modifications we have made to our daily routine that will continue long after the current pandemic is over.

I believe the COVID situation has shown the value of having an EHS staff prepared and supporting the organization. This event will likely elevate pandemic preparedness in line with other items we typically list in our preparedness plans such as: earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters. It is no longer a question of "if" a pandemic will occur, but when and HOW we will respond based on emergency preparedness and business continuity planning.

There was very little attention paid to issues around Pandemic Plans because there was the belief that there were more pressing safety issues facing the nation. Now that there was the need to institute a plan by ALL maybe presidents and CEO's will listen going forward.

'MY PEOPLE' This is the "New" 21st Century, that each of Us, with all of our Professional EHS Career Feilds of learned knowledge & experiences, education, training & developed skills & abilities. Here we are, for the 1st time in our OSHA history, the 1st time in the majority of the lives of our member's community. To have this resilient engineering opportunity, to rewrite, direct, and enforce our future OSHA Safety & Health Compliance Standards & Best Practices. For the 1st, in the evolution of our present-day American Society. In this presence of the Covid -19 Pandemic, with all of the learned Safety & Health lagging data & statistics, and our lagging OSHA Core Standards of Compliance, even our Professional Involvement of Best Practices, has brought each & all to a standstill. The COVID-19 Pathogen has blindsided Science, Humanity, and Society, as we once knew & lived within its past boundaries of conceivable Safety & Health Awareness. We, as Environment Safety & Health Professionals, should & shall step up & beyond our scope of duty & responsibility to the identification, elimination, administration, and protection of our American Employees, Safety & Health for one & all! To respond in the means & ways that will mediate and, in the end, subjugate the COVID-19 within our American & World Workforce. The opening of our American Society will be the culmination of Safety & Health Action Plans & Policies, Human Safety & Health Behaviors, Workforce Safety & Health Workplace Environments, and in the same, the reinforcement of the OSHA Act Laws of Compliance & Standards, Safety & Health Best Practices, Industrial Hygiene, and Alliances within the American Society. As a Safety & Health Professional member within the citizenship community of Our United States. Now is the Time! In turn, be at the forefront & upon the frontlines, in this War against the Pandemic COVID-19 pathogen within our American Society & it's Employee Workforce. To be Involved within the Proactive Safety & Health Alliance Cooperatives. To support, communicate, educate & train, all levels of stature within the American Industrial Community, Small Business Community, and Government Agencies of Employers & Employees Workforces. To secure the foundations of each of our own being, as a Professional Environmental Safety & Health Professional, within & of our American Society & Employee Workforce. "THE CHAINS OF IGNORANCE CAN ONLY BE PLACED UPON A WILLING WRIST" 'Bruce G'

I believe most changes will be short-lived in many industries. Hopefully, they will continue with the cleanliness. Distancing, masks, etc will most likely end. People will find the most comfortable way to do their work. Once all the hype fades, we will begin going back to how functions and grouping were in the past.

We have learned more as a nation about infectious disease than we ever have before. With this new knowledge, employers and employees alike will look for higher standards in protecting against future infections. Some things will never be exactly the same, but we have discovered new ways to complete tasks and some are more efficient than our old ways. In the end, our changes will be for the better.

When handwashing became “the thing” back in the 1600s the worlds population quadrupled. Such an easy safety measure to prevent transmission of this type of infectious diseases. Perhaps we will become more aware of personal hygiene and even a little more cautious with a respiratory. Perhaps we will become more aware of personal hygiene and even a little more cautious with a respiratory protection With “PPE” now a household term... perhaps workers will adapt a more oppressive view of all types of PPE and the need for their task ... One can only hope. My criticism of this current “crisis” yes, it ain’t Ethal. methyl death. Many of us conduct routine work in a hazardous substance situation successfully by means of the basic principles hot warm and cold zones – proper PPE”Many of us conduct routine work in a hazardous substance situation successfully by means of the basic principles “hot, warm and cold zones – proper PPE”. This is the principles that I am still in my customers at their place of work and extend it to their home residence. At home I encourage them to deep clean their house, making that a cold zone. Utilizing one entry exit to the home has the warm zone or they can decontaminate change of clothing prior to entering the Cortizone. At home I encourage them to deep clean their house, making out a cold zone. Utilizing one entry exit to the home has the warm zone or they can decontaminate change out clothing prior to entering the cold zone. When practical is simple practice can work as many workplaces as well. Of course follow all the basic COVID-19 precautionary measures, but a bit just a little to create that “hot, warm, and cold environment.

The need for a standardized response plan and oversight for future unexpected situations is more important than ever. The plan cannot be limited to management or safety departments, but needs to involve all employees at every level. Thank you for requesting feedback.

With COVID-19, our entire workforce has a better awareness of proper processes and procedures to minimize the spread of infectious diseases. I believe employers will be held accountable for this new knowledge and expected to take all reasonable steps to ensure their workplaces are safer than ever. It may be as simple as more in-depth sanitation measures or as involved as more remote work options to keep large groups out of the workplace. We have certainly learned new ways of doing business during this period and have found that these "new ways", in some cases, are better ways that we will want to continue.

I think there is a realization that this could happen again and some of the process that have been implemented will be useful to keep as tools in our toolbox. I also think being forced into some virtual training has demonstrated that it can be effective if done correctly and I think you will see more of that continuing where appropriate. I think parts of the social distancing might become habit and we might see more hand washing and cleaning of surfaces. Companies might allow employees who are sick but feeling good enough to work from home, to do so, reducing sick time spread. We were forced into learning to do things differently but we are resilient and I am sure there will be many positive things come out of this effecting employees health and safety. At the very least, if it happens in the future we will be better prepared having been through it once already. Lastly, I do think we will see some unnecessary meetings and functions be reduced as we have learned different communication methods during this time that are more efficient.

I appreciate the comments by the many safety professionals and their valiant efforts during this uncertain time. I echo the comments that this is our finest hour to rise to the needs and concerns of our employees. Additionally, I cannot over emphasize the necessity of clear and prompt communication with proactive protocols and policies. The current operating standard we have in my company to help alleviate employee concerns is to implement policies and standards that enable our work environment to be safer than a trip to the gas station or the grocery store.

This is an interesting issue for safety managers...there are so many different 'scientific' answers, that it is difficult to prepare against. Preparing against the flu (washing hands, staying home and avoiding contact with others when sick) would have the same beginning results. We are dealing with something that has never been released before. Lets start with the ABC's, and go from there. Baby steps. There may never be a vaccine available...the common cold is a corona virus and it has been around for ever, but there still is no vaccine.

Will it make a change, absolutely! We are always overreacting to threats, real or imagined. And as a result rules are made to cover as many scenarios, reasonable or not, in order to lower liability. It is my opinion (therefore not supported by data, or studies, which I believe is much the way OSHA is driven) that sensationalist responses and rules will always win out over common sense. Thus, of course, we will have new sets of rules by which to go, that will outstrip resources and common sense. I see this as pragmatist rather than pessimist. Thank you for your time

I hope that this will change how employers emphasize coming to work at all cost, regardless of whether an individual is sick or not. We need to allow our workers to make intelligent responsible decisions about their own health, as well as the health of their coworkers. Allowing them to stay home when sick, will go a long way to limit future outbreaks of whatever the latest pandemic is.

I am afraid it will be like almost all situations it will be the hot topic until the next one comes along the same as most, out of site out of mind.

The stress level of protecting 600 + employees from industrial hazards and at risk behavior is what the "safety guy" signed up for. Today, we are being tasked with participating in front line testing, determination, and almost diagnosing of Covid-19 cases. With Zero training on dealing with pandemics we are placed in harms way daily, and I am seeing colleagues retiring early, sick from stress or Covid, and taking other roles in their organizations as a result.

1. People will exercise higher standards of cleanliness. 2. Use of PPE will become more common. 3. The days of on-site training by outside trainers and consultants are over. Almost all will be done by videoconference. 4. Whatever hasn't been done

Personally I have accepted and exercise more hand sanitizers then I ever did. I think this trend will continue. As the safety guy, I thought I had enough N95 masks for the safety of my crew with replenishment every other month... I will now and others will probably keep more stock on hand to avoid the price gouging. Lastly, I think more people will pay closer attention to their surroundings and the people in their safety zone.

The pandemic impacted our safety culture across the world in how we do business in general. There is three phases we will have experienced during this time. Crisis Response, Risk Assessment, and Long-Term Resolution. Currently I feel we are in the Risk Assessment phase, although we do have some short-term Resolution. The biggest and most concerning challenge to our Health and safety environment is the unknowns about the virology of COVID-19. Employees want to feel safe at work, and it our responsibility to ensure both mentally and physically that we provide a Healthy and Safe work environment. We will have to continue to adapt and apply successful practices that best encompass the specific risk to individual industries. As we learn more from the Medical and Scientific community we will be able to then understand what changes the Long-Term Resolution will be.

Simply put, tragic pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently fighting, make us rethink how we do just about everything...whether it be in the office, in a warehouse, or in a manufacturing production area. Pandemics force us to closely analyze, under a microscope, everything we ask our employees to do on a daily basis...from A to Z. So too permanent changes in the workplace may be dictated by rule-making authorities. (It has been know to happen!)

This is being used to expand the safety model. Specifically PPE to all. For example workers have had to understand exposure hazards and wear PPE such as face mask. Now families are getting to not only see but understand what PPE is and what it does. So now families and kids can ask Daddy did you wear your PPE at work today?... Thanks Gregg Close

I think the COVID 19 pandemic will have effects for several years at least. At this point no one knows how long it will take to develop a vaccine. We do know from looking at the 1918 flu pandemic as a guide that we are almost certain to have more waves of this roll through the population of the country. I see impacts directly as the single HSE position in the company I work for is going to be eliminated due to the shrinking economy. While I still can I'm doing all I can to assist with review and developing new programs to assist this transition while hoping that the market changes enough that this won't happen. However, life is change and I know that we will all manage to adapt to the dynamics of this pandemic and most people will make it through. Anyone who has talked to a survivor of the 1918 pandemic knows it had a lasting impact on them as individuals but as a society the nation wanted to move on and put it behind us. I expect the same thing to happen this time around as well. On one hand I understand the desire to "get back to normal" but I hope we don't forget how vulnerable we are to these types of event and how much we can lose when we allow ourselves to forget the lessons of the past, be they last month or 100 years ago.

The future outlook in regard to COVID-19 is that companies take a more serious look in regards to the emergency action plans and realize their importance. Not only to have them written but to practice and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. Training is a critical aspect of being prepared to respond to an incident. Upper management needs to provide the time, resources, and support to demonstrate their commitment to safety and the wellbeing of every employee. To lose one life because we're not prepared is unacceptable. It's time to be more proactive than reactive. Just look at the recent events in every city ....prepared?

While I believe that COVID 19 is a serious virus with possible devastating effects for some people, I do not believe that shutting down our society was or is warranted. COVID 19 is the most recent form of Corona which has been a documented virus for a number of years. There are many health issues, both physical and mental, that effect our health and wellness in today's world. Many of them cause death in epidemic proportions greater than those we have seen from this virus, especially in our state. I believe that overstating and dramatizing any situation is potentially dangerous to society as a whole. I believe the negative social and economic ramifications resulting from the actions taken during this perceived threat, will far out weigh the positive. Having said all of that, there are most certainly some positive changes regarding general hygiene which will no doubt result in a healthier population. Washing ones hands should be automatic, but apparently, it is not. Therefore, that simple act should be part of the "new normal". Going to work, shopping, and visiting when one is sick should be normalized as well. Employers need to encourage folks to stay home if they are ill rather than penalize them. With the technology implemented during this time frame, no one should feel forced to go to a workplace either by their employer or their economic situation. Many of those the tasks can be completed from home and if not, can be delegated or can simply wait a few days. I believe social distancing leads to paranoia and distrust of our 'fellow man" to keep it simple, when we really need to feel connected and valued as united members of a free society. In short, there are valuable lessons to learned by this experience, but I fear not all positive. I had a Boss

The recent pandemic has definitely made it very clear that wellness and safety at work place can impact the overall well being of a person other than their homes . There needs to be long term guidelines and protocols in place in the national and local level to ensure safety and wellness at work place on physical , mental and emotional levels as even though we have testing, contact tracing and may be treatment soon , the bottom line is to maintain a high level of well being to fight virus, bacterias or other pathogens that are apart of our daily life. Endemics , epidemics and pandemics and just a collective result of such vulnerability and proneness to illness in our society at large other than the obvious causes of such outbreaks.

It is human to touch, to be touched, to commiserate, joke, tell stories, laugh with each other and to enjoy each other's smiles. It is human to be with our loved ones when they suffer, when they hurt, and when they are dying. It is human for children to play with each other and to see the joy or sadness or anger in each other’s faces. It’s how they connect with each other and learn non-verbal communication. We have allowed the Covid scare to push us into the realm of being anti-human and we need to find the courage to be human beings to each other again. Even with flu vaccines anywhere from 60K to 80K people die every year from the flu including the elderly and children and if last year's flu season would have been reported like this years "pandemic" we would have been just as afraid then as we are now. The PPE that is being required in the work place and in public is promoted without communicating the health risks that come with wearing a mask over your face all day. Consequently many in the workplace and in public are experiencing debilitating headaches, fatigue and dizziness. Some even pass out because no one told them the risks so they could take appropriate protective actions. Objective science has not ruled the day. Government control has and when scientific data is brought forward by epidemiologists, virologists, and MDs, all experts in their fields, that challenge or contradict the government or the media's dogma, it’s ignored and even worse censored. Things don’t bode well for us in the future if we cannot find the courage to be human beings again with each other.

I believe that COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on hygiene. In construction, you do not often see hand washing stations, sanitizer, disinfectants, etc. I think that COVID will change the way our industry looks at cleanliness and personal hygiene on the job-site. We may see workers become more cognizant of staying home if they are sick -- be it the flu, cold, or corona!

I do not foresee COVID-19 having a lasting impact on the field of occupational health and safety unless safety professionals step up to the task to do so. We safety professionals need to articulate the special skills and knowledge that we possess to manage this and other infectious disease pandemics that no doubt will be coming. It would be good to know of success stories where safety professionals took a leadership role and saved their respective organisations from excess costs and employee illnesses. I don't think the average manager makes the connection between the safety profession and managing a pandemic response. We have to do that for them and we can't wait for someone else to do it for us.

My opinion about the COVID - 19 is to foster compliance to the principles stipulated, in order to eradicate the virus of the global pandemic illness and for that, I also conccur that the societies are facing challenges from PPE system approach. For instance mosts are using surgical mask, on the range of FPR1 while OMS recommends FPR2 which can protects about 95%. If you choose to use a FPR3 it can protects you 99%. Besides, all thoses referenced masks are discardable, designed to be used for a shift (8 hrs/per). Thereon we can face tradditional home made mask with a different material applied but for sure without considering any convetional masure of a standadirsed Safety protection what might expose peoples to the disease. I believe that if we all obey with the Safe principles on the demand we will soonner eradicate COVID - 19. The leading indicator laies on its agrassiveness to many fatallities already caused on short period of time. Let us all fullfill with the quarentine obligations, social distancing, mandatory use of mask, desinfection by used of sanitary gel or any detergent and take measure of the body temperature by tracking any synthoms tendency. That we all adhere to a standardised house keeping and be all merged through OMS globaly. Lastly, that the Safety committies, legal institutions, medical bodies and the internal orders services backed up by the nationals defense and security system protect the societies to avoid anarchy.

It's crazy that we need something like this to bring us back into reality. It is GREAT when people listen and follow the advise given. I step. back and see people for the best mark doing what is right. I say hats off and keep up doing what is right and not get hung up on personal and political biases.

Human nature is one of short lived memories. Once the 'crises' is over it will be a short time before it's 'back to business' as usual. I do believe there will be longer short term affects, possibly a couple of years, and then those lessons learned will be soon forgotten also. To support my theory I submit the previous H1N1, Swine flu, etc.. With those experiences, and knowing a stronger more vibrant virus was on the horizon, did companies prepare? I submit that most of them did not. Currently we think this will have a long lasting affect which will change the way we think, act, participate in society and business, but, this too shall pass.

As a Safety Professional I have always tried to be proactive rather than reactive. I lot of people in the Safety Profession, myself included, will now be more prepared to handle situations like this in the future. We were all blind-sided by this. This will not be the last pandemic we will experience. Be ready.

More people now know what PPE stands for and what an N95 mask is.

I have staff who must wear the cloth face coverings all day. I am concerned about how OSHA identifies 20% oxygen requirement in the work environment and how this might affect workers long term use of face coverings.

We still have not found a permanent solution to rid the world of the flu. It continues to raise its ugly head every year with a different strain year after year. It still causes thousands of deaths year after year after year. COVID-19 is a lot more serious and who knows how many different strains will come of it in the years to come. The flu has not (yet) caused the impact on the workforce or economy that COVID-19 has or will in the months to come. It has caused a sad and tragic part of our country and its history.

For those who do not have an infectious disease appendix to their respiratory protection programs and policies, one will have to be added, along with steps for safe and rapid training, medical clearance and fit-testing.

I believe once the vaccine is available this will be over. If we continue to force our workers to wear face coverings in heat over 100deg, we are going to see workers with heat strokes or more devastating results. Clients don’t care, trying to explain the restrictions they are requiring Construction Co’s to make workers wear mask even after trying to explain the restrictions they are requiring is hurting our workers, no reasoning with them, if a worker has a health reason and cannot wear a mask, they are not allowed onsite.

After being in the trades as a worker and in business for 50 years, I see the younger people and society careless of self respect of others. Its is all about them selves. I do think this is from up bringing from the home. It is amazing how many people today are xxx We as Americans, All need to work together to survive . This is a Humanitarian issue not a political issue. This reminds me of the movie Independence Day, elimination of man kind. In reality if this continues will it happen? Hope not. Wake up, the spread continues and continues. What your freedom of speech or your beliefs are, you might be silenced not by the virus but from mankind not doing the right thing. All the money and status that one has achieved is worth less , as you can`t take it with you and all the money can not buy Health. In the greater of the world, start to work together, ware a mask save your love ones and the people of this world.

In the short term, we'll all be very careful. But I wonder about long term. Football games, NASCAR Races and Movie Theaters pack them in like sardines. I don't see Americans social distancing for years to come. It probably sucks to be a teenager right now trying to date the head cheerleader having to sit 6 feet apart at the movies or at the restaurant. Vaccine or an antidote for whatever COVID-19 is, a virus or an escaped bio-weapon.

Really Rex? Your words: "Before, they turned a blind eye while presenteeism hurt productivity and a sick individual put their fellow employees at risk of illness. And for what? To show they could tough it out? It really only proves someone is being inconsiderate. We may also see more acceptance and more cases of employees working from home more routinely as the shelter-in-place policies throughout the country show that much can be done outside of the office's walls and even more productively. This may be the beginning of some businesses existing in name without a hardened facility and the entire employee base working remotely." Do you realize that not all workers can work from home and earn a paycheck? If companies would give more actual paid sick time, more workers would do the right thing and stay home when sick. It isn't about toughing it out, it is about paying the bills and meeting your responsibilities as person. If it is losing money because I stay home and in some causes getting fired for doing the right thing guess what the worker will do? Show up and go to work, yet companies allow the very few "bad" employees to set the policies for the mass majority of the "good and honest" workers. Handle the "bad" workers without punishing the good and you may see workers be willing to stay home when they are sick. Until that happens we will always have sick workers showing up to do the right thing for their families and even for the company. Without the "line" worker the product you are selling doesn't get out the door, which means no revenue. Can we stop blaming the workers and look a little deeper for the real cause?

When a vaccine is developed this wii be treated as any other seasonal flu. You will be asked to get the current year flu shot. It will be important to keep up the research to yearly develop the best shot. The importance of getting the yearly shot right should be paramount after this situation. Since so much power over everyone & everything was put into the Governor/Government hands any real change will have to be holding them responsible for their actions i.e. the NY governor ordering nursing homes to accept covid-19 patients that they had no facilities, equipment or training to handle. If the Governor/Government is going to have such power that is where any lasting change must take place. The test of us can only respond to their dictates. They must keep their politics/agendas out of medical/safety situations.

i think that the virus not able to impact in our field occupational safety &health forever but it will effecting a little of those people who are not follwo the rules on work place such as wearing facemasks , washing hands always with sanitizing and wearing gloves some times , so this pandemec is very dangerous that is true but we can controll it by follwoing the ligslations on deffirent places .work home offices road any how any where and it cant to stop our safety life at all. thank you

Because I know that our president would'nt leave us or can't just let more people die because of this pandemic

With the rapid changes and cleanliness requirements that were implemented; I can't see going back to the previous state. For example hand shaking. I do believe the overall impact on the communities will be ever-lasting. Those that were severely affected. There will be PTSD that we have to deal and manage for the next few years.

We have never faced a pandemic like this so aggressively. H1N1 was almost a non-event with many non-participants. As long as we have the development of potentially hazardous substances like the C19 virus, in addition to all the normal flu bugs, etc., that we have to face, there will be challenges for the world. From a macro approach, it seems that we need to look seriously at the "herd" mentality and what we have done in this pandemic and focus backwards to (1) at least attempt estimate the numbers of deaths and disease incidents we would have had predicated on countries like Sweden and (2)compare that experience to all the other country's experience and (3) determine the most effective method to eliminate fatal and debilitating occurrences in the world population by way of the best approach to these situations in the future. Good habits have evolved, face masks, personal hygiene, social distancing etc., but , but these are not the norm. As humans, it is most natural to be interactive - not sure what the "new norm", if it can be called that will be.

I believe the main thing that has evolved is the paperless communication activities. We have requested for a few years that our companies invest in electronic communication methods that allow safety professionals to hear and respond to unsafe actions in real-time. I see more and more training being done virtually, and yet sometimes it is delivered without meaningful interactions or measurement of understanding. I am in favor of all these methods as long as we don't lose the personal connection and trust of Front-Line Workers.

I think it will interesting to see how OSHA will require additional policies and programs to address communicable diseases, particularly how they consider business's responsibility and accountability towards keeping workers safe. Already we've seen the initial efforts placing responsibility on the business owner without regard to whether or not the affected worker contracted the disease at work or in a non-work setting. This ambiguity will create administrative and recordkeeping troubles down the road without effectively solving the issue.

It depends . . . Those of the Nanny-state persuasion may further EXPECT government should do whatever it takes to take care of them, so more regulation and intervention are warranted. Those who do not ACCEPT that the state owes them a "risk-free" personal life may view OSHA even less favorably as simply engaging in regulatory over-reach during a public health crisis. Regardless, COVID-19's impact on "health" hopefully instills continued workplace cleanliness, elevating hygiene into habit.

Only because we let it change, it CAN go back if we help it!.

This will always be in our life just like all the other virus. My opinion, the government and health organization knew it will come to Canada, or was it already here and it was kept quiet. I wish people would stop blaming other country , and take responsibility for there own. The government needs to make up their minds on what they are doing, stop changing things.

There is so many new cases developing around the world. One time I was visiting a friend in the hospital, and I asked a nurse I I still need to wear my mask in the room, she didn't know the answer. And when I noticed things are being cleaned, they use the same cloth over again and never change it. There need to be a training on how to help stop spreading covid 19.

So here is my opinion, not popular and somewhat polarizing. We are now at 7.8 Billion in terms of population with approximately 85 million infections and nearly 1.9 million deaths. This seems significant, but the statistics show that this is certainly not the worst pandemic in history and realistically there will be more pandemics. The earth, according to scientists, has the capacity to sustain a maximum of approximately 11-12 billion people, we will reach this number in the next 30 years, so not promising for future generations. The problem is that we don't want to accept that we cannot all live, some of us must die to make room for others to live, no one wants to hear that of course, what if it's my mother, father, son, daughter die etc... Well get with the program, we don't get to live forever, that's just the way it is. Whether you die because of a disease, accident or any other reason, the fact is we all die. At this point we are trying to save everyone and we won't, many people will die and that's the circle of life, like I said not a popular opinion. When the Spanish flu ended in 1919, between 40-50 million people had died, they must of thought that was horrible, but the reality is that is wasn't , the earth's population was at 2.5 billion and in the last 100 years, the earth's population has now tripled, you can see where I'm going with this. Even if we tripled the death toll from that time which would mean that approximately 150-200 million people would die, we wouldn't stop the growth of the earth's population in any way. Unfortunately, these things will happen over and over again, so we as human beings will have to accept death, this is the way it is and the planet needs us die to make room for others, especially so that we don't over consume all of earth's resources which will create other major world events we really don't want. So all that said, we cannot shut down everything every time there is a virus, this could destabilize the world economy, I think we are close to that right now, no one wants to talk about stuff like that. So in the end we need to reopen the economy and use the best possible mitigation strategies to minimize losses, but realizing that we can't save everybody. I for one am not prepared to live the rest of my life behind a mask and if it's my time to go so Beit. I will end with a Star Trek quote from Spock, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few", let's all remember that.

The intersection of public heath and occupational health is more apparent than everr, and I believe that more people now are aware of what OHS professional do. I see the public now knows what "PPE" stands for, and the hierarchy of control. The pandemic highlighted the need for the use of evidence-based science and the need to transfer such knowledge in meaningful ways.

One of the comments that stood out for me was " Our occupational health group has been busier since the pandemic started, but in a whole "new" category of oversight of cleaning of buildings and facilities and writing of new procedures to minimize exposure. However, I think the biggest impact we have seen among clients and contractors alike is the fact that everyone understands what we do on a different level now." - I believe these shifts in mindsets can make significant improvements in OHS performance and may eliminate or reduce the need for strict enforcement . However, managing infectious disease in the workplace will continue to have challenges because the problem of contracting a virus may have more to do with a persons health state, than it is about spreading disease to others. From an OHS lens, at minimum, I hope the pandemic has influenced and educated employees/clients/contractors to understand their own health states and to access OHS policies and wellness programs designed to first protect themselves through preventative and/or post treatments. Organizations can be empathetic, caring and even reward in ways that help employees help themselves. Some have viewed " OHS shared responsibility" to mean employee between employee, it is between employee and the organization. It is not reasonable or helpful to take on the responsibility of another's health state and probably one of the reasons why we are seeing comments from people accusing others of being insensitive or reckless to the health needs of others. This is a zero sum game.

Covid-19 has provided a good example of how we must have standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to respond to emergencies of any type. We can never anticipate all of the hazards we'll face, but we must be prepared to respond with appropriate SOPs. When we get to the point where we've gone through all the steps we have already established, then we begin an additional analysis, and attempt to make wise decisions from this point on. Members of the management team, employee representatives, and subject-matter experts can help in this process. We must learn how to appropriately respond to all emergencies.

Sadly, our culture has switched to a "crisis management" mode from one of "deliberative study, analysis and behavior". It is just the way our modern short attention span culture functions. Rapid-fire electronic content delivery is replacing reading and focused study essential for retention and assimilation of presented information. Back during my period as a safety trainer (I am now 74 and regarded as being obsolete), I observed that students who were "page-turners" performed better than "click-chasers."

I agree with Tim Greenleaf

My opinion on the vaccine rollout Why are young people under 30 to look after small children getting the Covid jab before police school teachers gas electric water people that are going close contact all the time with members of the public I think it is an absolute disgrace

How could anyone not think COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on Occupational Safety & Health? It already has. Employers are more diligent about sending employees home when sick. Since we've known about the risk of widespread pandemics for decades, this new impetus is only getting us to the point of complying with what was already a duty under our IIPP and General Duty Clauses, ie-to provide healthy and safe workplaces for employees, and permanent telecommuting is now a big part of the mitigation of the hazard. For those that continue to work at the workplace, disinfection products, sanitizers, and nitrile gloves will surely continue to be part of our collective efforts at germ control from now on.

I believe Covid19 will have a lasting and negative affect on the safety of field worker as well as office personnel. We don't know much about this virus. It has mutated and time is going forward on this event.

ON THE VIRUS OF COVID 19 I THINK THAT THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DID NOT USE THE PAST EXPERINCE ON DIFFERENT DISEASES . YELLOW FEVER HAS LONG BEEN AN ILLNESS THAT THE VACCINE DEVELOPED FOR IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL . I THINK THAT FOR THE SAME REASON COVID 19 COULD HAVE USED THE SIMILAR OR A MORE DEVELOPED VACCINE FOR HUMAN.THERE IS NEED TO HAVE A VACCINE FOR CORONA VIRUS BUT THE SAME DISEASE SPREAD OVER WITH YELLOW FEVER. MEDICALS SHOULD HAVE BASED THEIR RESEARCH ON YELLOW FEVER VACCINE.

ON BOARD OCEAN GOING VESSELS IT IS COMPULSORY FOR THE SHIP CREW TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST YELLOW FEVER AND THEY HAVE A YELLOW FEVER CARD KNOWN AS YELLOW CARD. THIS VACCINE IS VERY IMPORTANT IN CHINA SEA AND CHINEES PORTS BECAUSE THERE IS WHERE THE DISEASE ORIGINATED THE YELLOW FEVER VACCINE IS TO IMMUNE THE SHIP CREW FROM THE DISEASE AND A PERMISSION FOR THE SHIP TO CLEAR QUARANTINE PROCEEDURE.

After *managing* one year of this pandemic madness, I believe the long-lasting effect on us all is the new way of behaving (or not) at work. Every time someone in a room sneezes, it immediately captures everyone's attention. If someone complains of an upset stomach, the action taken is to send them home instead of asking them if they have other symptoms. When someone tests positive, it seems they are treated like a leper on an island: no one wants to communicate with that person to find out how they are doing. It's like people think they can get the CV19 just from talking with someone on the phone. Ridiculous? Yes! I have a difficult time getting managers to follow up with their own team member(s) when they test positive and are in quarantine. As a safety specialist, I spend more time doing someone else's job with regards to our protocols and less time doing my own work. Burned out? You bet I am. Everyone wants the latest information and numbers, but no one wants to look it up for themselves. On the flip-side, everyone is an expert on whether or not the virus is "just like having the flu". Babysitting a plant full of grown adults is taxing: "Your mask has to cover your nose AND mouth", "Wash your hands", "You MUST take your temperature as soon as you walk in the door", Did you remember to COMPLETELY fill in your daily CV19 questionnaire"?, "the form says to PRINT YOUR NAME, a squiggle is not acceptable - I cannot interpret squiggles", "Yes you have to quarantine for X amount of days when you return to U.S. soil, so you don't bring your cooties into our plant", "Will you be paid when you return from PTO? Only if you have more PTO hours - you chose to go on vacation, now enjoy the next leg of your vacation away from work." Think I'm kidding? I bet every one of you have had this experience. Now excuse me while I go wash my hands for the 3,000,000th time... ;-)

Yes. Because overzealous do-gooders will be pursuing their unicorn of "absolute safety", regardless of the cost. And once they get a new rule to jam down your throat, they are loathe to ever give it up.

None

Covid19 is going to stay with us like HIV/AIDS. Some humans don't have discipline. Others are trading on it.

The discipline and practice of industrial biosafety is rapidly developing as a field of occupational hygiene. Industrial biohazards include biological agents, metabolites, products produced by plants,animals and microbes that cause infectious and non infectious diseases in the workplace. The development of occupational; exposure limits, standard methods for samplign and analysis and control methods are too primitive but are rapidly developing. The role of the occupational hygienist in health care is also increasingly differentiated from the role of infection preventionist. Related but different fields of endeavor.

Stop letting people travel for pleasure. Travel in airports okay for people who need it work related. Stop travel between provinces, unless needed for work. It’s not that hard to figure out!!!!!

Yes, we will continue to have issues with COVID-19 for some time. With the weather getting warm and wanting to enjoy it. I have notice a lot more people not wearing mask, social distance is not being practiced. We require our employees to wear mask inside of the plant, but once they get out they can do what the want. It will be sometime before we get back to a somewhat normal life.

I think covid cases rises due to mosquito (as they can carry blood of different body)

Ewan

Yes

I think the virus will become similar to the seasonal flu, although a bit more serious. Even once a vaccine is available, viral mutation will always remain an ongoing concern and issue.

your site is very informative about health thanks for sharing this post with us.

I think Covid is far from over. People are careless. And most don't wash their hands. They don't cover their mouth when they cough, they don't realize it, but they don't. They spit on the ground, or laughing out loud, they spit their words out. We all do it. Stores packed with people. They touch everything. Now that people have their mask off,, they can't remember the people who died so fast from Covid. As for me, I'm keeping my mask on. I pray for everyone every day. I think this is the calm before the final storm. If I'm wrong. I rather be wrong. But I feel it's far from over. Shots or no shots it's far from over. Thank you.

Covid 19 is day by day increasing many people got the disease

thanks for sharing your post with us.

i think there are people not getting vaccinations for covid feel that those of us that are make it possible for them to ignore they're responsibility.

It's my belief that the current outbreaks of Covid19 are the responsibility of three major groups of Australian society. The first is the Federal Government who have failed the Australian people on multiple fronts, by continually blaming the State Governments for the lockdowns and denying responsibility for and being obstructive if not destructive by failing to use current government facilities for quarantine purposes and also failing to commit to building more quarantine specific facilities. The second group is the anti-vaxxers who by spreading misinformation in multiple languages have created a fear in non-English speaking communities towards the the vaccines that are available and their efficacy. As far as I am concerned if an anti-vaxxer attends an emergency department and complains of having severe symptoms of Covid19, that person should only be treated after those in the emergency department suffering from Covid19, who have wanted to but haven't had the vaccine but haven't had the opportunity to have the vaccine. The third and probably most disrespectful group is those who believe they are immune to Covid19 and as such, continually attend parties and functions where there is always the possibilites of becoming infected than not.

Hand therapy is important for the patient as it prevents injury or impairment helps to restore functional activities and enhances participation in daily life. The hand therapist diagnosis the current condition of your hand pain and will create a customized rehabilitation plan.

Yes I do because people yes I do because people in Alabama are still struggling because of the pandemic and our government or our federal government or our show called great president is doing nothing to help a

This pandemic is the pits, I want it to end now and I don't care about the contamination or the coronavirus as long as we have our own vaccine shots we are just fine. Hire the people back to work I don't care about the covid-19 people need jobs and they need them now or if the answer is still no all jobs must go a business all of them.

This pandemic it's more like the double depression or the triple or quadruple depression. People don't want to work remotely. I myself I'm not ready for retirement yet I'm not the right age to retire from work yet.

Why are some business establishment like Starbucks are not allowing costumers to dine without complete shots of vaccine or not having vaccination card. Is think that is illegal.

Great, Thanks for sharing excellent information

Creo que la situacion de mexico, ha sido muy particular,las decisiones tomadas en muchos aspectos al rededor de la pandemia han sido de muchas enseñanzas, en esta nueva etapa, seguramente saldremos adelante..

Yes

what are 5 facts and 5 opinion regarding of covid 19

I think the masks against covid are not efficient and offers no protection,so will be better not to wear them but to keep social distance,washing hands,etc...and who want to wear masks by their choice let them to wear it.Thanks.

Yes I believe it will have an impact. I believe that as much as everyone wants to get back to 'normal' (i.e., pre-COVID-19 days) that desire/wish is impossible. What we have is now what is normal. That is, everyone will understand that a virus, be it flu or cold or COVID, is spread through the closer we have contact with each other and can spread much faster with inadequate hand washing. Look at the reductions in flu with our existing COVID-19 precautions of social distancing and hand washing and face mask use. The incidences of flu have gone way down! Once these precautionary measures we are doing now are halted then we will again see a rise in the spread of viruses. Yes, some are manageable, but others are more severe and will be with us more and more as we go forward. How do you know if a co-worker has a benign type of virus that is manageable like a common cold or something more severe? The viruses act alike in many cases showing similar symptoms. Will we have to have daily testing of workers as they enter the workplace to ensure they do not have a 'severe' virus? More than likely. And what will companies put in place to ensure our food supplies remain safe from potential severe virus contamination? What about hospitals, how will we make sure patients going in for routine medical procedures are not put at risk to get a virus when they are in hospital or when we go about our daily lives and go for doctor or dentist appointments? How many people that have had a severe virus will have secondary issues with their health, from the affects of what is called 'long COVID'? How do we get insured for this 'pre-condition'? Will our jobs be secure if we are out for several days if not a week or more with an acute virus infection? Every workplace will need to make sure that the work areas have not been contaminated and how will they do this, close the office for a day or so to disinfect it? What if someone working beside me with asymptomatic virus symptoms gives me the virus and it develops in me that then requires severe hospitalization (e.g., ICU)? If I got sick/infected at the workplace is my employer responsible to pay for my healthcare? How will my costs be covered or will they be? Not every employer currently provides adequate healthcare coverage so now will they need to make sure they do have this in place? How will that affect premiums we pay or will they ask us to sign a waiver not to hold them responsible if we get sick at work? Laws will need to be put in place and society as a whole need to come to grips with the fact that what we have now is 'normal'. There is no going back to what it was like before so don't fight it, work within it and take viruses, any viruses, seriously! Get vaccinated. Everyone needs to be willing to prove to their neighbour/co-worker that they have been vaccinated so they are not a potential risk to someone else! To drive you need to prove you have a drivers license and that you are insured. A virus proof of vaccine certificate is just something that is now part of what is now the norm! So get vaccinated and carry with you a vaccination certificate and when asked show it!

Because of this pandemic, we have learned a lot. Not just in being disciplined, but in how we treat each other. Maybe it's also one of God's ways, for us to fully comprehend the importance of everything here, or in what we have. Just for now or in the next few days. Let's start again and let's not waste even a second to change what we need to change in and out of our appearance.