WASHINGTON — "Where many were, but few remain, of old familiar things / But seeing them, to mind again, the lost and absent brings." Abraham Lincoln wrote those words 175 years ago about his childhood home, but he might as well have been describing the nation’s capital today.
How long will this “new normal” last? The answer, in part, comes from knowing how long those who have recovered from COVID-19 will be immune. Scientists currently don’t know if people can show coronavirus symptoms months after seemingly recovering.
“I think we’re just going to be dealing with that sort of cyclical back and forth sort of dance for several months, if not years," Anna Carroll said.
Carroll works for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). It's a D.C. think tank that last October predicted a coronavirus pandemic.
CSIS’ latest paper warns of a worst-case scenario: immunity for those who recover from COVID-19 could only last for months; a vaccine could take years to discover and deploy; and our lives don’t return to an “old normal” for the foreseeable future.
WUSA9 gathered some families by video chat and asked them what questions they have for the experts studying this “new normal” after stay-at-home orders are lifted but before a coronavirus vaccine is distributed.
Hector Falchetti is an essential worker. He fixes and replaces old building elevators.
“I often think, 'Do I have to make and maintain masks and keep hand sanitizers on me all the time, and it’s going to be part of my every day routine? Do I have to distance myself all the time?'” said Falchetti.
According to Carroll, the answer to Hector’s question is "yes."
“In the workplace, I think there is going to be expanded teleworking for folks who can telework," Carroll said. "I think that when they begin to let people back into offices, there’s going to be fewer people in a given area. There may be things like plastic barriers in between people in places where there used to be open workspaces."
Devon Walker runs a non-profit set to open a private school this year. That’s postponed to next year – hopefully. They’re not afraid of taking a plane to Israel as they planned, but they are of what comes after.
“Let’s say there was social distancing on the airplane. I feel like I would still travel and be forced to sit in a hotel and order curbside. So I don’t feel like I would really get to enjoy the cities that we were going to visit," said Walker.
Carroll foresees global travel crackdowns at airports and quarantine requirements until a vaccine is deployed.
"International travel, unfortunately, is going to continue to pose a risk of re-importation of the virus," she said.
CSIS also believes the Walker’s usual plans at the Capitol One Center this year will be canceled to prevent spreading the virus in crowds.
"Things like going to concerts, going to large sporting events, those are not going to happen the way they used to, I think, until there is a vaccine," Carroll said.
CSIS predicts this future for Walker’s children at school: “Much more handwashing. Fewer teachers to a group of students. They’re sitting further apart. Even when they play together, they’re encouraged to play in small groups.”
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High School senior Maritza Falchetti, Hector's daughter, told us, “I’d rather not have a graduation and prom and risk other people’s lives."
Maritza Falchetti’s future is also on hold. She’s expecting to begin freshman year at Georgia State University this fall.
“So far, they are saying the dorms will be opening up, but depending on how this ends up in the next two months, there is the possibility of online school," she said.
As Hector Falchetti works on elevators inside increasingly empty buildings, he wonders just when he can begin enjoying the life he, and most of us, remember fondly.
"Just being able to walk anywhere at any given time and do anything," he said. "You want to stop in somewhere and have a drink, or if you want to go sit down and have a meal, just all those interactions."
“In restaurants, they’ve talked about spacing out tables so that you’re not interacting with as many people," said CSIS' Carroll. “I think there’s going to be much more of an emphasis on meeting outside, in the fresh air where possible, rather than in enclosed and confined spaces.”
