It’s been five years since the Trump administration declared a nationwide emergency across the US on 13 March 2020, The announcement came days after the World Health Organization (WHO) designated Covid-19 a global pandemic.
Since then, there have been 1,222,603 deaths from Covid in the US. Much of the country, along with the rest of the world, has moved on from the pandemic, with fewer people wearing masks and life returning to the way it was before the outbreak started.
Among the dozens of people who shared with the Guardian how their lives have changed since, many talked about embracing remote working and the greater work-life balance they have achieved. Others mentioned feeling encouraged to change jobs or start their own business, as well as how their relationships were strengthened by the shared experience.
Many reported being diagnosed with long Covid and the permanent impact this had had on them. Some still said they experience loneliness and find it difficult to socialise, while others feel trust between people has eroded and that differing views highlighted by the pandemic has made society more divisive.
Here, six people in the US tell us how their lives have changed since the start of the Covid outbreak.
‘It’s like everyone is moving on without us’
In February 2020 I was living a vibrant, full life. I hiked, backpacked and rock climbed. I had a strong community. I was planning to go to med school. Lockdown was hard but we were all in it together.
Then, in 2022, I got Covid despite taking extreme precautions. Now, I am bed-bound with long Covid while everyone thinks the pandemic is over. My partner and I are so lonely, seeing everyone believe Covid is over and moving on without us.
I used to be whip-smart and witty, and now I labor to process basic sentences. I used to be a risk-taker and spontaneous, and now I have to plan out my walks to the bathroom. I used to love six-hour talks with friends; now I can barely handle a short phone call. I had traveled to 20 countries and 30 states; now I leave the house once or twice a year for medical appointments.
I lie in bed and think of how my life used to be. I miss the sky. I miss my old life so much it’s unbearable. I feel like a ghost. Some days, I feel everything is behind me except suffering and oppression. Others, I am able to listen to a good book and text a friend, and I feel hopeful I could improve someday, though most likely never recover. Nash, 25, unemployed, Washington DC
‘I harvested dead trees and left behind tables and benches’
In March 2020, I began frequenting Gilbrook nature area, a local woodland I had become fond of near my apartment. As a carpenter, my love of all things tree-related had caused me to notice the unusual nature of this little patch of woods.
Every day I would walk there and wonder why more people weren’t doing the same. That’s when the gravity of the situation of the pandemic really sank in. People were scared. I wasn’t. That was freeing.
With a few hand tools and a wagon, my trips became not walks in a lovely park, but a mission to harvest dead trees on the ground. Once I made my first cut, I was hooked.
I hardly missed a day up there for over a year and left behind tables and benches – one of my largest pieces was a 16ft table. I even replaced a rotten set of steps down to a pond where beavers lived. It was an experience like no other.
People started to notice and I was on the local news and featured in a YouTube video about different characters in Vermont. The city became aware of my activity and actually approved of it. To my great surprise, they provided me with a place to work where I am engaged to this day. Five years on, I never expected for any of this to come out of the pandemic – it’s been fun. Thomas Locatell, 67, retired carpenter, Winooski, Vermont
‘We’ve become closer as a family’
Prior to the pandemic, I had a good relationship with my parents overall. My father’s chronic condition started accelerating and I think it brought my mother and I closer together. When the pandemic started getting serious, I started talking to talk to my sister more often and I think that brought us closer to one another.
Just before the pandemic, my father was in a memory-care facility for his advanced dementia so when the world shut down my mother called me in a panic. She was living alone for the first time ever, so I took control and made a point of making sure that I sounded confident and knowledgable for her sake. Being panicky or diffident in that situation serves no one.
Looking back, I think the pandemic gave us all a lesson in patience, grace and compassion, and I think our reactions to the pandemic showed all of us who we really are.
Now that my father’s passed away, I’ve become the de facto head of my family. I think that role would have happened eventually but that the pandemic accelerated that. I’ve taken a more parental role with my 80-year-old mother; not that she isn’t capable, but being my father’s caretaker took a lot out of her. The three of us are still close and supportive of each other, but most of all we’ve learnt to be more honest with one another. David, 54, engineer, Washington DC
‘We have spent thousands on masks, PCR testing and Hepa filters’
As someone with a previous traumatic brain injury and a heart arrhythmia, I am at high risk of catching Covid. It’s an ever-present threat and one I am forced to navigate on a daily basis.
Five years on, being Covid conscious is my reality now and the precautions I take in order to avoid infection are exhaustive. Both my wife and I wear N95 respirators every time we leave the house. We never eat in restaurants, or meet with friends and family for drinks or anything that potentially exposes us to sick people. Holidays are now impossible to enjoy because we cannot remove our masks. We have spent thousands on masks, home PCR testing equipment and Hepa filters. Every interaction in public is a calculation of risk versus reward.
It’s isolating, sad and exhausting that we still must live this way to protect ourselves while the rest of the world has moved on. I’ve grown apart from my family as our values have diverged considerably, and I no longer trust people to be considerate of others. What’s worse is the denial of Covid while it continues to go on. It makes me feel crazy at times for keeping up with the precautions I do. It’s as if the word Covid has become a taboo to speak about.
The one good thing to come out of the pandemic is that both of us have worked remotely at different jobs since 2020. This has allowed us to alter our lifestyles to be more aligned with our values and it’s been exceptionally liberating. Austin, 31, graphic designer, Austin, Iowa
‘It feels as though we have ignored the lessons of yesterday’
I have worked in public health for 10 years now, most of that time spent in applied infectious disease control. While I was finishing my graduate degree I read an email about some “undiagnosed pneumonia” in a Chinese city. I still remember the goosebumps flittering up and down my arms. We had always been taught about “Disease X” and that another pandemic would eventually happen, but here it was.
Studying pandemics in textbooks and through academic journals pales in comparison to living and working through one. I remember receiving calls from friends and family asking about what to do, how to respond, questions about anything from masking to vaccines. I learned to take responsibility for each word I gave in answer.
At the same time, I remember the sense of pride I felt that I was able to go into work each day and help people. I remember the joy at hearing about the results of the vaccine trials and the excitement I felt standing in line at the hospital to receive my first dose.
Being adjacent to such suffering has taken a toll on me that I have yet to fully process. If I have changed as a person, it is perhaps that I feel more cynical. How could so many people die, and yet so many more be so unmoved by such tragedy? It feels as though we have ignored the lessons of yesterday at our own peril.
My anger at the injustice around me has driven me to consider political work and to continue my path towards practicing medicine. There is always work to be done, there is always responsibility to be taken, and I want to be involved. Nicholas, 29, works in public health, New York
‘I doubt I would have quit my old job without the pandemic’
I used to work for a prominent university and was the associate director of a research institute. My life was very stable and I thought I would be in the same job until retirement.
During the first year of the pandemic, I felt like we were all in this together. I found the second year harder and didn’t feel like the students or institutions were as supportive as before.
After teaching every semester during the pandemic, organizing two summers of remote internships, and trying to keep my student advisees on track, I was burned out and took a one-year sabbatical from teaching and administration in 2022.
Discouraged by the resistance from higher-ups to giving me this break, I started looking for alternative jobs. I’ve now been working remotely at my new employer for 18 months and have a much better work-life balance. It’s more challenging but I doubt I would have quit my old job without the pandemic push. Sonya, 50s, research scientist, US
