A Pandemic Year

A year ago this week saw the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

As of today, over 118 million cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, have been confirmed worldwide, and more than 2.62 million deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

Two dates stand out for me in particular: April 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the global coronavirus health emergency a pandemic; and March 25, 2020, when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered the first “stay-at-home” order in response to the pandemic. This edict represented a significant ramping up of Minnesota’s effort to constrain the pandemic, an effort that had begun on March 14 with a flurry of emergency decrees (see newspaper headline above). At the time, health officials said the lockdown would help prevent hospitals and intensive care units from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.

Because of my work as a chaplain (or spiritual health provider) in the Palliative Care department of a hospital just north of the Twin Cities, I was designated as an “essential worker.” Because of this, I continued working throughout the lockdown, one that lasted considerably longer than first anticipated.

I’ve written about my experiences and shared others’ observations of this time in the following Wild Reed posts:

• Out and About – Spring 2020
• A Prayer in Times of a Pandemic
• The Calm Before the Storm
• Hope and Beauty in the Midst of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic
• Marianne Williamson: In the Midst of This “Heartbreaking” Pandemic, It’s Okay to Be Heartbroken
• Examining the Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
• The Lancet Weighs-in on the Trump Administration's “Incoherent” Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Memes of the Times


Soul-exhausting

Since my writing of the above posts, I’ve continued working throughout the pandemic as a chaplain. Of course, chaplaincy work, especially palliative care chaplaincy work, is emotionally taxing by its very nature, but with the added stress of the pandemic – and in particular the fall 2020 surge of COVID-19 cases – it’s been at times a very soul-exhausting experience. (Perhaps I’ll share more about this in a later post.)

Prior to December 2020, part of this exhaustion for me was to do with the stress of constantly staying viglilent against contracting the coronavirus. I say prior to December because it was in that month that I received the first of two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine. The second shot followed three weeks later in January 2021.

I feel a tremendous sense of relief and gratitude as a result of being vaccinated. I am grateful for science! . . . And for the many scientists and researchers who have worked tirelessly over the last year to develop a number of COVID-19 vaccines. I’m also heartened by the steadily growing number of people who are being vaccinated all over the country. It definitely feels as though we are experiencing the beginning of the end of this pandemic.

Our lives have changed

All this being said, we’re not out of the woods yet. And I strongly believe that if as a species we don’t stop destroying biodiversity around the planet, it will only be a matter of time before another infectious disease emergences and spreads. For as numerous scientists continue to warn us, there is a link between human destruction of biodiversity and increasing disease threats.

With all this in mind, I think it’s fair to say that everyone has, in one way or another, experienced some form of stress, fatigue and/or exhaustion from the pandemic year we’ve lived through . . . and the pandemic time we continue to live through.

Our lives have changed. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. One of my favorite quotes from this past pandemic year is by Sonya Renee Taylor, who in April of 2020 said: “We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalized greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.”

Amen, sister! Amen.

I close this post by sharing an excerpt from an article by Rachel Schallom and the staff of Fortune magazine, an article entitled “One Year Later: 15 Ways Life Has Changed Since the Onset of the COVID Pandemic.”

This week marks the first anniversary of Fortune’s decision to ask all U.S.- and Europe-based staffers to work from home. Looking back on the e-mail announcement is like looking at a time capsule. There was a strong focus on cleaning and sanitization, which we now know isn’t a good use of time and resources in fighting the battle against COVID-19. Business travel was canceled. Training sessions on working from home were offered. But most notable is that initially the office shutdown was scheduled for just one week: “We will reevaluate the need to extend this temporary policy next week and will communicate updates accordingly.”

I haven’t been back in the office since.

The past year has transformed nearly every aspect of our world. Seemingly overnight, the quirky (wearing leggings during a Zoom call with clients!) became mundane. Meanwhile, our friends, family, colleagues, and communities have had their lives changed in critical ways that promise to have much longer-lasting effects. Living through a global pandemic has driven dramatic shifts in our jobs, eating habits, childcare, and even our collective sense of time.

Fifteen Fortune staffers reported on some of the most significant ways in which our lives have been altered, and one lesson rings true: Virtually no one has been left untouched after 12 months of such dramatic disruption. A generous dose of empathy and understanding of that truth will make us all stronger as we rebuild and remake our world in the year ahead.

To read Rachel Schallom’s article in its entirety, click here.

Related Off-site Links:
March 11, 2020: The Day Everything Changed – Laurel Wamsley (MPR News, March 11, 2021).
Dr. Anthony Fauci Reflects on One Year of Coronavirus Pandemic – Norah O'Donnell (CBS News, March 11, 2021).
How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Transformed Our Lives One Year Later – Amna Nawaz (PBS Newshour, March 11, 2021).
President Biden Signs Sweeping $1.9 Trillion Covid Relief Package Into Law – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, March 11, 2021).
Exhausted Hospital Chaplains Bring Solace to Lonely and Dying – John Rogers (Associated Press News, January 18, 2021).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• An Infectious Disease Specialist Weighs-in on Covid-19
• A Prayer in Times of a Pandemic
• Hope and Beauty in the Midst of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic
• Marianne Williamson: In the Midst of This “Heartbreaking” Pandemic, It’s Okay to Be Heartbroken
• The Calm Before the Storm
• Sonya Renee Taylor: Quote of the Day – April 18, 2020
• Examining the Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
• “You're All Kings and Queens”
• The Lancet Weighs-in on the Trump Administration's “Incoherent” Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Memes of the Times
• Out and About – Spring 2020