Opinion
This Week’s Editorial: Corona again and again
Ejvind Sandal
December 6th, 2020
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This article is more than 4 years old.
The new norm (photo: Pixabay)
The virus is still bothering us. The daily count is about 1,000 new cases, even though the hospitalisation and casualty numbers are far lower than in April.
Early turkey for Xmas?
On the other hand, the fur business has been eliminated, along with 17 million mink, in the hope we can avoid mutations of the virus that are immune to the vaccines in the works.
Government minister Mogens Jensen ordered the cull without proper legal basis, instigating his own turkey hunt in the process, although he didn’t even make it to Christmas.
And while the festivities aren’t cancelled, it will be very different to the ones we’re used to. Santa will have difficulty obtaining clearance to cross borders, so even the nice kids have reason to be nervous.
Look, it’s Concorde!
The whole of Europe is more or less locked down in the hope of taming the third-wave spikes.
In the meantime, life is going on in accordance with the new normal. We have adopted the extensive use of masks. We are working from home and avoiding public transport. We are pointing to the sky when we see a plane as they are a rare sight like 75 years ago.
This will be our reality for months to come. We are still waiting for the world’s best brains to produce a vaccine, but probably with no light at the end of the tunnel until springtime.
Pioneering Pyongyang
It is ironic that the only country in the world without the virus is North Korea – a country totally locked down for political reasons for 60 years. We have growing concerns that we are moving in that direction, and a growing resistance against the restrictions is emerging in many countries.
In Denmark, the travel, hotel and entertainment businesses are reduced to next to nothing. Thousands of cabins, rooms and venues lie empty. And while the population mostly remains patient and disciplined, the murmur to reconsider the policy is growing.
After all, the mortality rate is not above average for the season – not least because the normal flu season has been hit by the distancing and improved hygiene along with rigorous vaccination. In fact, if these habits are the new norm, we may find ways to loosen the grip and find the golden middle way.
AC/AD’s Highway to Hell
The sad truth is that even if we eliminate this coronavirus, we will be merely waiting for it to happen again – in another shape and form. We live on with the knowledge that a virus can capsize modern society at will.
Whether we like it or not, our way of life must change – so much so that 2020 could become our new year dot with AC (After Coronavirus) replacing AD.
About
Ejvind Sandal
Copenhagen Post co-owner Ejvind Sandal has never been afraid to voice his opinion. In 1997 he was fired after a ten-year stint as the chief executive of Politiken for daring to suggest the newspaper merged with Jyllands-Posten. He then joined the J-P board in 2001, finally departing in 2003, the very year it merged with Politiken. He is also a former chairman of the football club Brøndby IF (2000-05) where he memorably refused to give Michael Laudrup a new contract prior to his hasty departure. A practising lawyer until 2014, Sandal is also the former chairman of Vestas Wind Systems and Axcel Industriinvestor. He has been the owner of the Copenhagen Post since 2000.
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