At the end of 2019 and in the early days of 2020, the world witnessed the spread of a viral disease of unknown origin, in which patients presented with acute symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and weakness, followed by coughing, and many of those who had to be hospitalized for severe acute respiratory failure did not survive after a prolonged period of hospitalization.
Those were very strange days, where we learned to be constantly on alert. I still remember the first few times I left the house to stock up on supplies or to come to work (I was on a mixed regime of teleworking and face-to-face work, with mirrored teams and fortnightly rotation), all because of the incubation period, which at that time was known to be around 7 to 10 days, of looking at the other people I came across, with whom I ended up interacting, with a certain degree of mistrust.
Information about the disease and ways to prevent it began to emerge. But just as information was disseminated by some global health organizations, misinformation, or content without scientific evidence, was also widely disseminated by social networks, local communities, and even some political parties.
Much was said, much was discussed... but at the end of the day, Covid didn't care about anyone's opinion.
I was one of the people who got the vaccine, but I only had two doses. At the time, I decided to get vaccinated on the advice of my doctor, as I could have had some complications if I had the acute form of the disease.
I ended up contracting Covid later, like virtually the entire population, as it is a virus that has gone from pandemic to endemic. It currently circulates among the population and has a much lower morbidity rate.
But I notice that even today, almost six years later, many people are still petrified by what they went through at that time. All their fears, anxieties, and worries have been transposed into an illness that could eventually cause more serious health problems.
At the beginning of the week, I had to go to one of the leading hospitals in the Portuguese capital for a routine appointment.
When I arrived at the waiting room, I noticed that the chairs still had the stickers that were common at the time, indicating that the chair should be left free to maintain distance from other people.
I believe that a society with external rules is no more developed than an informed society. After so many years, do we still need to have warnings stuck on the tops of chairs? Isn't it common sense that if we are sick, we should keep our distance from other people, and if possible, we should even avoid traveling unnecessarily?
Sometimes I look around, and many of the things I see happening only happen because we are entangled in our routines and rules. Distracted by a screen that sucks up practically all our attention and energy. We no longer look at others.
We are increasingly focused on ourselves, and social distancing, which was once a necessity, has become a rule for many. It is comfortable because we are not concerned with others, we only look at ourselves, and only after looking at a backlit screen that we carry around with us all day in our hands.
We should pay more attention to everything around us. I increasingly choose to be aware of what is going on. If we give ourselves the opportunity and have patience, believe me, it is much more beneficial to be attentive and curious about life.
And how did you spend the lockdown? Did you also suffer from mandatory isolation? And what remains from that period? Do you notice that society is still learning to look around again and trust others? And the younger generations, what do you think they will be like when they reach adulthood? Will they be prepared for challenges greater than those that can be asked of ChatGPT?
Photocollage made with Canva
Photographic edition with PhotoScape X
Photographed with Samsung A26 by @xrayman in 2026, 10 February
Original text written by me in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)
