The Quarantine

During the 14^th century, the plague disease was spreading all over Europe. And in order to protect the coastal cities, all passengers arriving at the port were put in isolation for 40 days to ensure that the plague disease don’t spread. The plague transmitted to humans by either bitten by a rodent flea carrying the disease or contacting an animal infected. Millions of people were killed by the plague since at that time there was no efficient cure. The only way which ended the plague was through the quarantine.

In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 was declared. Within 3 months, the social disconnection across the countries began. Leaving the chance to whoever want to reunite with his family to evacuate and start the lockdown. Many people were forced to stay away from their families due to the restriction of movement as well as the shutting down of international airports and putting to ground all aviation fleets.

The pandemic, in addition to the fatalities, caused severe consequences on the psychological behavior of the humans. In specific the students who had to suffer the stress and difficulties to focus on the online studies with total social disconnection which is a key factor in developing new generations.

Many people suffered from depression and sleep disorder during the quarantine. The consequences were severe and could prolonged for years. On top of that, the pain which followed the death of beloved family members or friends without being able to attend their funeral.

Due to the severe recession in the industries, a lot of companies had to down-size their staffs and keep only the key positions which were able to operate remotely. Many positions became useless during this period.

From economic side, up till this moment, the consequences of lockdown are still affecting almost all businesses. Different productions were shut down while few remained operating with limited capacities during the quarantine period. The demands from industries dropped drastically. The shortage of labors was massive, and many industries are yet to recover the economic crisis and to satisfy the current market demands.

Employees enjoyed working online from home. The flexibility to wear a comfort outfit without the need to be fully dressed the whole day. There was no stress of driving through traffic early morning nor at close of business hours. However, this flexibility was chained with the inability to disconnect between family and work.

The nature benefited from the quarantine, it led to drop in the pollution worldwide due to the fact that many industries were not operating. In addition to that the emissions (carbon and noise) caused by the human movements be it public or private transport were negligible. The research showed an improvement in air and water quality.

Lastly, while many businesses were into lockdown, the heroes in the front lines were obliged to face the pandemic and rescue lives. Doctors and nurses who sacrificed their lives to cure others who needed medical help and sentimental support while being hospitalized.

Hopefully, this experience will be only a memory and a story to tell the future generations.