It was announced to us three months ago, now it is here: the second wave of the corona pandemic and lockdown number two with it. If there weren't any leaves lying on the paths everywhere – you'd think it would be March again …
It's almost a bit scary how well some experts can predict the future: In summer the virus would withdraw, but in autumn there will be a second wave of infections – unless we are clever enough to prevent them. We kept hearing that for months, over and over and from all possible directions.
Obviously we weren't smart enough, because now the second wave is here and with it the second lockdown. That alone would be almost reason enough to stop believing in the good or the bad in people from now on, but only in the stupid (and that can be both good and bad). We are obviously unable to avert disaster even if we are told that it will happen if we do so. We still behave like this (greetings to our climate and our environment, by the way). Wow!
Of course, most people have tried and behaved prudently and considerately since the beginning of the pandemic. And it is certainly anything but easy to leave family members alone in the nursing home or to prevent children from playing with others if the situation does not appear threatening and there are no corresponding prohibitions. But then some of them exaggerated the carelessness – that's why we couldn't avoid the second wave.
But that's not all. It looks like we didn't even learn that much from wave and lockdown number one. From the discussions you have with friends and family to the behavior you observe on the street and in the shops: it almost seems like someone has turned back time. If it weren't for the chocolate Santa Clauses on the supermarket shelves …
5 things we didn't learn from Corona
1. There is enough toilet paper for everyone
In spring it was almost funny and psychologically interesting to stand in front of empty toilet paper shelves every day. But the fact that the big hamsters set off again at the beginning of the second wave just a few months later has something unbelievable and yet raises one or two doubts about the definition of humans as "rational beings". Have the March supplies really been used up …?
2. Together we can limit the damage
If everyone were to participate, the infection process would quickly be under control again, long before the situation becomes threatening. Since obviously not everyone sees it that way and doesn't like to limit their social contacts to a minimum on their own, restaurants, gyms, cinemas and the like are now closed again. After all: now we all moan together.
3. Our government does not restrict our freedom out of fun or ill will
After the first lockdown, we saw that our government's measures helped. We didn't have the same conditions as in the USA, Italy or Spain. And, unlike people in Italy or Spain, we were always allowed to go outside the door – at a distance and as alone as possible – as freely as we wanted. So our government cannot have managed the situation very badly. Nevertheless, there is now again demonstration, abuse and consideration of how one can bend the rules or break them unnoticed. Whereby the most astonishing thing is: The people who suffer most from the new lockdown (gastronomy people, travel industry, tattooists …) tend to be the quietest and most decent again.
4. Better safe than sorry
As much as we wish the restaurants, bistros and co. Every turnover, it was a bit of a surprise to see how many people "took advantage" of the last weekend before the second lockdown. Theoretically, we should all know that with this kind of behavior and this "do what goes" mentality, we only delay an improvement and a decrease in the numbers even more. The restaurants might be better served if more people had used out-of-home sales more often two weeks ago. Admittedly, restaurant visits certainly did not trigger the second wave – but rather the "do what works" mentality.
5. Participation is the only way
In the end, it doesn't matter how individuals feel about the pandemic and the corona rules – as long as you stick to the latter. People have demonstrated and denied the existence of the virus. It was worth a try, but unfortunately it didn't go away. In fact, corona deniers also died of the disease (for example 33-year-old fitness influencer Dmitriy Stuzhuk). Regardless of whether we think the lockdown makes sense or not, if we rebel against the rules, the situation will not get any better. The fact that celebrations with up to 100 guests are being broken up by the police these days is a reason to assume that not everyone has understood this even now.
Since we are already going into our second lockdown, one would have thought that it would be less bad than the first and that it might not last as long. But if – as it currently appears – the less sensible thing will really prevail in people, the second wave could be far worse than the first. Because this time hardly anyone is afraid …