Coronavirus: I’ve glimpsed a future I could never have imagined

Fourteen days ago I returned to Australia from London. It will never be the same.

Much of what has rapidly and dramatically changed in a few weeks, and will continue for at least the next few months, looks like a temporary pause in life as we knew it.

Saturday is my last day of home isolation, having returned from London 14 days ago. It is a strange feeling because at midnight tonight, when my mandatory period of quarantine ends, I won’t exactly have my freedom back. Instead, like most others, I still will be confined to home and allowed out only for specific reasons for short periods while observing social distancing.

In fact, I had more freedom in London before I boarded a plane to Sydney. That was a bizarre experience. Some passengers wore head-to-toe heavy-duty protective gear. Others were content with masks. While I show no symptoms of COVID-19, that does not necessarily mean I do not have it. Washing hands, using sanitiser and social distancing, and luck, seem to have kept the virus from me.

I tried to maintain a semblance of normal life in quarantine, even if this meant going to extraordinary lengths to do so. Before the stricter lockdowns were put in place, two of my good friends arrived at my home with cocktails, chicken rolls and a care package. They rang the doorbell, left the food and drinks, and retreated.

My wife and I sat on the front porch while they sat metres away on foldaway chairs on the nature strip. We had a terrific discussion, across the footpath, about all sorts of things: work, family, travel, TV and books. Those who passed by gave us a thumbs-up for ingenuity. It was nice while it lasted; this would now be illegal.

Being in quarantine has allowed me to glimpse a future that we could not imagine before. We will not go back to the way things were. There will be a permanent change in how we live our lives. All of us will have experienced new ways of working, learning, service delivery, entertainment, exercise, communicating with others. Much of this will remain.

It is now routine for multiple people to work from home. Video meetings via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime have become standard. So too is the understanding that people are in casual clothes, with children or pets nearby, and with a backdrop that might include an errant husband opening the fridge in full view of a conference call. (That was me this week.)

I am used to working from home to write a column or for longer periods writing books. So there has not been a huge change in how I work, whereas for others it has been. But doing television interviews from the living room has been odd but should now be more common. The point is that many workers can be as productive at home as they were in the workplace, and this flexibility should be encouraged.

It has been extraordinary to see how my two kids have adjusted to, effectively, home schooling. They are in regular contact with their teachers and fellow students, and are just as busy as they were months ago. My wife is doing a university course. Universities have adapted well to online learning because many were already doing it. Education has changed, but not necessarily for the worse.

The decision to allow doctors to undertake consultations on the phone or via video conference will transform the provision of health services for the better. The notion of telehealth was much talked about when the NBN was being rolled out but never really eventuated. Now bulk-billed, it is a huge change that will benefit millions of Australians.

The delivery of food, drinks, clothing, books, furniture and other consumer products is not new. I’m guilty of ordering coffee and toast to be delivered by a local cafe. This, granted, is an indulgence. But I’m supporting local cafes and giving them and their couriers a decent tip. I expect more businesses to shift online and provide delivery, which shows an adaptable marketplace.

It is no surprise that streaming services are seeing a spike in viewers. It is brilliant to see lots of entertainment providers live-broadcasting dance, drama, music and talks. It does not make up for being there in person but it can still be thrilling to watch. The other day I walked into the loungeroom to see my wife exercising with a dozen other people from her local gym live via her phone. Can you imagine this weeks ago?

Staying connected with one another is important. It is distressing that I have not seen my kids or my parents face-to-face for weeks because of being in quarantine. But FaceTime, at all times of day, has been a saviour. We even had a three-way, and three-generational, video conversation this week, which was great fun. We are all making more of an effort to text and phone friends, and that too is a good thing.

While businesses, cultural organisations and community groups are making the most of technology, it is a pity our politicians are not joining them. There is no reason parliament cannot meet via video conference and allow remote voting in extreme circumstances such as these. It seems archaic given how the rest of us have managed to adapt.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the single most impactful event on a global scale since World War II. Lives have been lost. Businesses have gone bust. Economies have been wrecked. Social life has been crimped. Governments have had to take measures to deal with health and economic crises not imagined months ago. We must be doubly attentive to the safety, health and wellbeing of those in isolation. These are difficult challenges and they require governments and citizens to address them.

Much of what has rapidly and dramatically changed in a few weeks, and will continue for at least the next few months, looks like a temporary pause in life as we knew it. We can reassure ourselves that everything will go back to normal when this is over. But much of what we are experiencing will actually be the new normal. Some of the change will be positive. And at least there will still be cocktails.