\u201cI\u2019m so tired of all these routines,\u201d Chen Jun, 29, a tech company worker in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said the other day. He was forced to take three Covid-19 tests in June following an outbreak in the city, and then had to quarantine for 14 days. Thumbtacks he used to pin on a world map to trace his travels have stopped multiplying. \u201cI\u2019m starting to think we\u2019ll never see an end to the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
This sense of endlessness, accompanied by growing psychological distress leading to depression, was a recurrent theme in two dozen interviews conducted in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. After two years of zigzagging policy and roller coaster emotions, terrible loss and tantalizing false dawns, closing borders and intermittently shuttered schools, people\u2019s resilience has dwindled.<\/p>\n
That is sure to pose new challenges for leaders trying to protect their people and their economies. Will the weary obey new restrictions, or risk seeing family and friends after months of forced separation? The question of just how draconian leaders can be when people\u2019s mental health has become so fragile appears to be a core dilemma as the pandemic enters its third year.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHow much more of our lives can we give up for this?\u201d It is still unclear how much of a threat the fast-spreading Omicron variant poses, but fear and a sudden revival of restrictions have added to an epidemic of loneliness. https:\/\/t.co\/4R4pRE7o2t<\/a><\/p>\n — New York Times World (@nytimesworld) December 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n