Face masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes. These health safety accoutrements have become ubiquitous in America ever since the Covid-19 pandemic exploded upon us in the first months of 2020. It wasn’t long ago when these kinds of items were the exception in normal life– now they’re so commonplace nobody bats an eye when seeing them in virtually every public space. In fact, many of us look askance at those who aren’t taking what are considered proper precautions, and we’ve all seen stories and/or video of angry confrontations between those who ignore the recommended protocols and those who try to enforce them.
Certainly these have been wise precautions in the face of a deadly virus, but what about once the Covid danger has passed? Will Americans go back to the “old way” of doing things?
Not likely.
The coronavirus outbreak has definitely changed the way we think about protecting our health. Sure, in the past we’ve done things such as get our annual flu shot and taken supplements (such as Vitamin C) that we hope keep us from getting sick. But because of what we’ve experienced the past year, most of us (as well as businesses) now have come to the conclusion that it’s wise to take greater safety measures. And it makes sense to think that what we’ve done to deal with this pandemic would carry over into more “normal” times.
So what would that mean? Certainly we’ll be seeing many people still wearing face coverings and stores offering hand cleaner squirt bottles at their entrances.
Then there’s technology.
The pandemic created a cottage industry for companies that created high-tech methods to battle the virus. One of the most popular is the use of ultra-violet light as a germ killer. We’ve seen demand soar, with firms producing a wide number of products ranging from large items such as entire room lighting and UV-armed robots to small, personal machines that can zap your cellphone clean (with varying degrees of success). A client of mine, Carrie Martz of Clean Light Labs, even went so far as to have independent university researchers prove the efficacy of her product, Puritize, in wiping out Covid on personal items. Hers is just one of dozens of products on the market today.
That brings us back to what the future holds. The outbreak has created what you might call a new “culture of cleanliness” in the country, and combined with our love affair with all things tech, it’s likely we’ll be embracing more 21st Century methods to fight off germs. And don’t be surprised if these kinds of high-tech devices begin showing up more and more as essential appliances in our homes, possibly even web connected as part of the “internet of things” that is currently reaching into every aspect of our lives.
