Old solutions that will work in covid-19 world
Sooner or later, everything old is new again
Stephen King
Over time our society has evolved to this modern , high tech world but we should not forget we have not came here in a quick sprint but rather a long marathon of thousands of years of trial and error. Mankind has faced viruses and pandemics in past and there are some old innovations that we can make use of to fight covid-19. Below is a list of things which I think can be used and some are already used in today’s world to lead a safer life-:
- Return of the Cubicles: I will be honest this is not ancient discovery that was made by Mayans but with all the open office plans and Agile workspace offices which give too much focus on collaboration but completely miss on the silent space where people can focus on doing quality work. Cubicles offer some separation and privacy and also allow physical distancing. I am sure someone in their basement is working on a cubicle design which can give us even better protection by having a collapsible cover with an air filter and a UV light to sanitize our desk before we arrive!
- Copper handles in doors and hospitals: If you have visited some old buildings you might find lot of door handles are made of copper. It’s no coincidence, we have known the properties of copper from ages and have used it for our benefit. Research tells us that coronavirus has one of the shortest life on copper vs most other materials used by currently. Of course copper is expensive but Brass is also an alternative. I think this metal and alloy will make a come back in hospital settings again.
- Face Masks: Most cultures have their traditional masks which are used for religious or other purposes. But it’s been more than 400 years that we have used masks for the medical purpose now and they are here to stay. Below is a 17th Century costume for doctors who were fighting plague. Surgical masks and the N-95 respirators these days are already used commonly in many countries. Recently many countries have banned religious face masks as they thought it does not fit with modern society but there is a big medical reason to cover face now. It is clear that face masks are necessary and they do help. “Thou shall not judge someone with a face mask sitting indoors” More about our 400 year relation with face masks https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-10/medical-face-masks-an-illustrated-history
- Good old Quarantine: In the biblical book of Leviticus they have described the process of quarantine for what it seems to be Leprosy patients. Quarantine has been used in times to black death to flu pandemic of 1918 and now we are recently seeing it used effectively for covid-19 patients. Quarantine is one of the oldest practices for stopping the spread and works well if enforced. It does take a toll on the person who is being quarantined but give that man a Netflix account and Wi-fi!
- Dumb Phones: For a millennial and generations after that this device is right out of Jurassic age when dinosaurs used to roam this planet and T-rex was a pet at Fred Flinstone’s house. But yeah I think dumb phones or feature phones as they are called, the best thing to use during and post coronavirus world. The kind of anxiety that you can get while you work from home and with constant news feed on how most of the civilized world is struggling to get along even in these desperate times is just depressing. Also there is that game of “snake” that you can play. Jokes apart, I think it’s necessary to limit our exposure to all that blue light that our devices emit and mess up our sleep cycle. One silver lining for people concerned with privacy is that no one can force you to download a tracking app on a dumb phone which many governments including the Indian government is also mulling.
- Hats and Head Gear enforcing physical distancing: Hats have been in fashion from ages. All the royalties will wear one to show their wealth, farmers will wear one to save from sun, modern day duchesses don it for fashion. Large hats can be used to enforce physical distancing and they do look cool! 😉
- Disposable Pattal and Dona: In India we have these disposable utensils which are great for the environment or as they say… They are mainly made of Sal leaves and 100% biodegradable. I think restaurants and even homes should take advantage of this old tech and save some time and give a feeling of safety by using disposable and eco friendly utensils. There is some innovation around this as it is being now used for takeaways and even commercially manufactured by a German firm.
- Yoga: Yoga is so popular there days but this centuries old practice of complete mental and physical fitness will even get more popular in future. All you need a mat , some place and little commitment to become better and you can do yoga. There is no need for a partner, no special expensive equipment that you need to go to a gym for! I think there is also potential in app based yoga and meditation programs and remote one to one coaching.