Opinion

Morning Poll: To what degree is your life back to a pre-pandemic normal?

(Updated at 10 a.m.) We’re one year and nine months into the pandemic and it’s probably safe to say that most people just want things to be largely back to normal.

And, aside from wearing masks and working remotely, in many ways it is.

Most people are vaccinated. Covid-related hospitalizations, at least in Arlington, are relatively low. You can eat inside at restaurants, attend sporting events, go to school — basically do anything you used to be able to do, with only minor modifications.

There’s also good news on the return-to-normality front: a forthcoming Pfizer anti-viral drug holds the promise of further reducing severe illness and death from Covid, while an antibody cocktail appears effective in combating Covid among the immunocompromised, for whom vaccine effectiveness is limited.

Plus, there’s talk the the pandemic phase of the Covid era may be coming to an end soon.

On the other hand, it seems unlikely that we’ll return to pre-pandemic work habits, at least among those office dwellers. Two-thirds of white collar workers are still working remotely at least part time, and 91% of workers hope remote work is here to stay, according to a recent Gallup poll.

And for those with health conditions that make them vulnerable to Covid — or who have members of their household with such conditions — the threat is still here. In Arlington, the seven-day moving average of new cases has actually risen in each of the past four days, reaching 28 daily cases today after bottoming out around 20, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data.

Covid cases in Arlington as of 11/9/21 (via Virginia Dept. of Health)

Given all of the above, if you had to arbitrarily assign a percentage to it, to what degree is your life back to a pre-pandemic normal?

Author

  • Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.

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