As summer winds down, and vacations come to an end, it’s back to normal for many of us who consider summer to be a reprieve from our normal schedule.  But what will normal look like this fall?  Is normal what we had exactly one year ago, with masking and social distancing, and limited in-person indoor events?  Or is this autumn’s normal going to be like two years ago- a life without restrictions, without masks, and continuing our indoor events unrestricted?  

I think we all know that answer.  It’s going to be closer to the former.  I can’t reasonably envision a scenario in which masks and social distancing aren’t in our lives for the foreseeable future, which also means a lack of gatherings in-person as we go through a second autumn of adjusted expectations.  Why is that?  It’s shockingly simple. 

Viruses only can sustain when they have hosts- they jump from host to host to continue living- without it they die.  There are three possible ways that particular virus can be stopped: 

Vaccination/Antibody: 70% of people either get vaccinated or get the disease so that their antibodies fight off getting the disease a second time. The idea is if 70% of people can’t get the disease, then there won’t be enough people to transmit it and it peters out.  

Social Distancing/Masking/Quarantine: The virus needs to be close to people to transmit through air droplets, so if people distance from each other, or wear masks when they can’t, it would peter out over time.  If people stayed home when they were contagious, it would help greatly- that’s literally a self-quarantine.    

The Virus Mutates Into a New Strain: If we don’t do either of the first two, then this virus ends when it becomes a new virus.  This new strain will likely be deadlier, and possibly unfazed by previous vaccines.  The cycle continues indefinitely. 

That’s the options, and these options don’t care about your politics, or a pseudo-science meme you saw, or a conspiracy theory that you heard from your cousin’s-aunt’s-friend-who-knew-a-guy-who-used-to-work-for-scientist-once.  There are two options to stop the spread- and if we don’t choose one of them, or a combination of the two, Covid-19 will be with us in ’22, ’23 and beyond.  The only difference is, it will be more infectious, deadly and debilitating.  I can’t fathom why that would be our choice, but so far, seemingly it is.     

If you can’t tell, I’m frustrated, angered, disappointed and drained from this fight.  Because it shouldn’t be a fight.  Chris Cillizza wrote something the other day that encapsulates my view perfectly: “It’s not about freedom – we have never had the freedom to endanger others knowingly…” Yet here we are.   

I want to take the second half of this column to point out some silver linings.  If this is inevitable for the near future here are a few things you can look forward to, be thankful for or use as indicators of how we’re doing.   

First off, schools will be open for in-person schooling for now- this is huge.  If, and it’s a big if, we can prevent the spread enough to continue in-person schooling, there will be no greater workforce enhancement than that.  It’s all connected.  If a parent needs to stay home for a remote learning student, then they can’t go to work; conversely if that student is in school all day, then they can work.     

According to a study done by the National Center for Education Statistics, over 10,000 public schools in the U.S. saw at least a 20% reduction in kindergarten enrollment in 2020.  Parents don’t want their kids starting school during a pandemic.  We can’t have that again in 2021, so please continue to do what you can to limit the spread.   

Secondly, many businesses have now adapted their business models to handle any restrictions that come, so if we do get locked down again, have social distancing and masking policies, or go back to curbside pickup only, businesses know how to staff that and execute that work plan.   

It’s just like our Midcoast Tree Festival, which we did as an in-person event in 2019, and last year as an online auction.  We are beginning to plan the in-person event for November 19-21 and November 26-28.  However, if that needs to change as we get closer, we know exactly how we will need to adapt.  

A third silver lining is that employees have gotten used to working remotely.  In fact, several local businesses have hired people that may not have been able to come to a specific worksite due to elder care, childcare or transportation limitations, but they can work fine from home when given the chance.  Working remote is something that has become quite common, and that comfortably opens up opportunities for some employees- which is a great thing.   

Another piece to keep in mind is that the State of Maine just received a portion of their American Rescue Plan funds from the federal government and many state agencies and county governments are determining what projects they want to fund with these dollars.  Our chamber has been invited to three of these sessions in the coming week to discuss which community projects need these funds.   With it earmarked so broadly we should be able to find several key areas of need to invest in.   

Finally, the FDA just approved the Pfizer vaccine this week.  We all know someone who has said “I’m not taking a vaccine that isn’t FDA approved.”  Well, it is approved now.  It’s worth asking those people in your life who feel this way, if they will get the vaccine now.  Each step closer to 70% vaccination gets us one step closer to a return to the real normal.  If those unvaccinated folks feel comfortable enough to take the vaccine and get us over 70%, that would be the biggest silver lining of all.

Cory King is the executive director of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber.

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