As restrictions begin to ease and we take a tentative step towards normality, it’s becoming clear that Covid’s legacy will linger long after the pandemic ends. With some people suffering from Long Covid – where symptoms linger for months on end – it seems that some parts of society will be facing a similar fate.

The health service

The pandemic has resulted in a large number of medical staff suffering from burnout and struggling with their mental health. The experience of the frontlines has been harrowing and many NHS workers have left the service due to the vast amount of strain they were under. This loss of staff has dealt a blow to the NHS as the service will now need to attract and train up new staff. This training will be difficult at a time when so many workers and hospitals are already under great pressure as the NHS works to tackle the patient backlog.

Integrated Care Systems across England have seen the barriers between health and care services broken down as services adapted to the pandemic, working together in new and innovative ways to support patients and service users.

Mental health
It is not only those on the frontlines who have had their mental health impacted by the pandemic. The mental health impacts are wide-reaching, affecting children and adults alike.

Lockdowns, irregular routines and remote schooling have all played a role in increased youth mental health issues. Isolation has been extremely difficult for many children who have not been able to see anyone outside their families, especially children who have been isolating for much of the pandemic with vulnerable or shielding family members. Many young people are dealing with anxiety – which is understandable given the situation that they have been living through. This has been heightened by the return to school and socialising which has been a double-edged sword for many as they reacclimate to seeing peers face to face.

Our online world also means that people have been constantly exposed to Covid news, hearing daily death toll updates and tracking the spread of variants in real-time. This constant connection to the pandemic has taken its toll on vast swathes of the population and is a shared experience that will stay with us for many years to come.

Staying covid safe

An interesting question is whether our new covid safety habits will hang around. For example, some people cannot wait to get rid of face coverings, whereas others are embracing the masks as good practice during flu season or whenever we are visiting people with compromised immune systems. Using hand sanitiser in places like shops and restaurants has become the norm and may well be something that lingers beyond the pandemic as a general health and safety practice. Keeping these measures in place as a matter of course also leaves us better prepared for any future viruses.

Social distancing is unlikely to stay any longer than it needs to with many people eager to hug family and attend large scale events. However, some people have found being close to strangers now makes their anxiety worse – another lingering mental health impact of the past year. Though keeping a distance from strangers may stop being compulsory, it may continue to be a courtesy in public spaces.

Health and social inequalities

The pandemic has heightened awareness of inequalities as well as amplifying the inequalities themselves:

‘Many commentators have observed that the COVID-19 crisis has amplified inequalities. National lockdowns have been inherently harder for families with no outdoor space, little access to technology and lower or interrupted incomes.’ 

These economic differences have been tremendously apparent during the pandemic – those in higher-paying jobs were more likely to be able to work from home and have comfortable office space in which to do so, whilst many workers deemed ‘essential’ had to continue working in riskier environments. The furlough scheme, whilst brilliant, was challenging for those on low income as 80% of wages is extremely financially challenging if you already live paycheque to paycheque.

The pandemic has not only highlighted these issues, the ‘pressure on health services combined with an economic downturn are likely to heighten [these] existing inequalities.’ For example, it is anticipated that the increased use of food banks will continue beyond the end of the pandemic as people deal with the personal financial fallout of restrictions and job losses.

On a more global scale, health inequalities between countries have become incredibly apparent. The pandemic has highlighted massive differences in access to healthcare and sanitisation – whilst we deal with the challenges of home working and social distancing here in the UK, it is easy to forget that hand sanitiser, masks, and the space to self-isolate are a privilege.

World of work

Collaborative technologies such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams saw huge successes in the pandemic and changed how we conduct work. For many teams, these changes will be here to stay with remote or hybrid working forming part of the post-covid plan for many businesses. Regardless of the percentage of future work weeks that will be spent in the office, the office as we knew it will likely never be the same again.

While small businesses may forfeit their office spaces – or opt for co-working spaces once covid safety is no longer a concern – larger companies may reduce their office footprint as staff split their workweeks between home and the office. Google is embracing hybrid working and has confirmed that 60% of their staff will be working in the office three days a week.

During their time in furlough a lot of workers took the time to reevaluate career paths and perhaps make leaps into new jobs. Restaurants and pubs struggled to find staff in time for reopening as many workers have sought alternative employment in different industries that are more secure and have fixed hours and pay. Following the overall success of the furlough scheme, Universal Basic Income is soon to be trialled in Wales – the possible beginning of another seismic shift in the world of work.

Summary

While the COVID-19 pandemic itself will eventually fade away, the impacts of the past year are here to stay. Our work lives have changed for the long term, as have our habits and the ways we interact with the physical world around us. 

The things we have learnt and the habits we have gained during the pandemic may well put us in a better place to handle future pandemics, but this greater understanding of battling such a virus has come at great cost.

About the Author: Leo Hynett

Leo Hynett is a contributing Features Writer, with a particular interest in Culture, the Arts and LGBTQ+ Politics.