It seems to be a fact that we now have to live with Covid for many years to come. There will be variants and there will be vaccines and the controversies that come with it. Therefore, to speak about post-Covid at this stage is quite premature. Variants are here to stay. Certainly, our life-style will change until we get used to some form of other normality. We have learned a lot; such as the usefulness of online work and online teaching. It would be a pity if we simply throw all this aside. I think that giving children and students the ability to do online learning for a day or two a week will certainly be beneficial and, if anything, also improves traffic control. Moreover, we may have to deal with the fact that the precautions we have been taking need to be ingrained into our systems on a daily basis.

What we need now is to foster a sense of reality, solidarity and a good dose of common sense to return to some form of normality. There is no doubt that the mental health of populations is at stake. The tension can be felt among people and we need to be careful about not politicising the situation, but I do feel that the Archbishop’s speech carried mainly the idea that we must be responsible so that we can return to a sense of well-being. Everyone has contributed but there is a point where enough is enough for most before public health measures and police control seem to be, across the whole of Europe, impinging on the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

I am writing this as I sense that the solidarity we have fostered so far can now become a power struggle among politicians with one side trying to do what is best and the other saying what ought to be done. Many people understand the situation; others in Europe feel that they are under a quasi-martial law, something which till now is not felt locally. For this many countries are attempting to relieve the public and to thaw down many restrictions.

The point of all this is that a pandemic is considered among one of the many types of disaster situations. Disasters, as we usually refer to them, are things like earthquakes, large fires, tsunamis and so on. These are usually managed with strong public health measures and a save-as-many-as-possible stance which often requires change towards a utilitarian ethic. This was the case back in March to try to decrease the gradients of the curve. When this is limited to a time and perimeter it is acceptable[1]. When a disaster occurs such as a pandemic, the perimeter is simply not there – it is the whole world. Moreover, the pandemic is not limited by time. But does this mean that after a year-and-a-half (or so it soon would be) we have to continue as we were. I doubt how much the Italians will now go out on the balconies to sing opera or how much the police will go in the roads with their guitars. It may repeat itself but certainly it will not be the main mode of living.

The public have a right to public health measures but they also have a right to know when all this is going to stop or what is being planned, both at local, EU and global level – in other words, when all this is either going to stop or to bring it under some form of control. While we have gotten ourselves into states of drunkenness with holiday and business international travel, entertainment and so on, we understand that these now have to be put under some form of control. But the main point is that uncertainty leads to anxiety, which in turn may lead to frustration and protests.

This brings us to the crux of the matter mentioned – that of mental health. We cannot expect that the pressure put on people will not take its toll. Many people have been stuck inside, especially the elderly, for over a year; their mental and physical health has decreased. Even though the Minister for Health and Deputy Prime Minister himself told people to go out for exercise, many were afraid to do so or simply could not because of stairs and other forms of frailty or hindering factors. Children and students have lost their social contact. Teachers, on the other hand, felt that they were treated like baby-sitters when they thought that schools ought to have been closed. In fact, they managed to put in place good protective measures.  Many schools were among the safer places to be.

We now appreciate the things we used to grumble against. Some enjoy working from home; others find it not only lonely and monotonous but miss the “family” at work. The truth is that we have to find the “Aristotelian mean”. We have to start meeting physically again but accept that a good chunk can be done online. I used to scandalise myself, when we discussed the traffic issue in the past, at how many meetings schools organise not realising the amount of traffic they cause or the endless queues for parent’s days. Conversely some scout troops asked parents to bring the kids to Marfa to catch the ferry, rather than organising. Why do we need to daily take hundreds of people to government offices when things can be done online? Why do we, as parents, feel pressured to drive our kids to private lessons, parties, friends’ houses and other places across the island instead of training them to use the bus? Even in health care, giving a free anticoagulant may save time, money and traffic instead of bringing people in to check their blood.

There have to be some form of restrictions – but more than restrictions we need a continuous input of public education about masks, social distancing, alcohol and change in habits. It is an exercise in what used to be called civics. Indeed, if we were to see the positive of Covid, there is a lot to count but perhaps the more important is that of an awareness not only of how not to catch the virus but also not to transmit it. Vaccination is a moral obligation. We humans are social animals.

We now need to foster a positive thinking and take the fight on the virus in its own territory, while our scientists work out the new ammunition. We need political solidarity not only within countries but between them. Relaxation of restrictions does not mean the battle is over; perhaps it has just begun. But we need to get the feeling that we will overcome this through good measures used with a sense of fraternity. Perhaps we should start using Churchill’s Victory sign to boost morality. It certainly worked in the UK when it was being bombarded. Positive thinking got them through and kept them mentally sane within a sense of togetherness.

 

Pierre Mallia is Professor of Family Medicine and Patients’ Rights and teaches at the University of Malta. He chairs the Bioethics Research Programme of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He also chairs the Bioethics Consultative Committee.

This article is his personal opinion and does not represent the opinion of any committee or Board he serves on. He can be contacted on [email protected]