A nation changed by coronavirus
Emily JohnsonAs our country makes its way through the coronavirus pandemic, history is happening fast. Generations from now, these days will make up whole chapters in the story of America. In this ongoing series, titled An Uncertain Distance, USA TODAY NETWORK photographers document the faces, the families, the playing fields, the farms, the factories – most of them in surreal states of being.
We found kindness, grief, boredom, puzzlement. We saw togetherness, aloneness, helpfulness, alienation. We captured scenes reflecting a common yet alien experience, where everything we see takes on a different shape, a new color, a newfound dimension. One overarching question looms: What will our “new normal” look like?
An insidious outbreak
The novel coronavirus, unknown to Americans earlier this year, has thrown every aspect of our society into turmoil. The strains on all corners of the economy have evoked comparisons to the Great Depression, as five years of employment growth and stock market gains were wiped away in days. Nearly every student in the country is out of school. Parks, roads and beaches are empty – often by order of local or state authorities. Most of what people so recently took for granted now hangs in question.
Reaction time
“Sheltering in place” is a concept few Americans ever have had to consider. Now it’s the daily existence for most people – with no clear end in sight. It has meant closures, postponements, displacements and cancellations of the events Americans have cherished most. The more than 300 million inhabitants of our country have had to think hard about how every little act could affect themselves, their families and their communities.
Daily life upended
Americans have begun to adjust to a new normal. “Virtual happy hours” have replaced gatherings of more than a few people in the same place. Visits with loved ones have become strained as families waved to grandparents through windows. Even as communities have tried to rally together by staying apart, the number of coronavirus cases has increased and the death toll has steadily risen.
