The old normal and confirmation bias

HAPPY Birthday to my daughter, former Manila Times columnist Nicole.

I wonder what changes resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will be permanent, transient or partial. As President Rodrigo Duterte himself has been consistent about, he will only lift all restrictions when there is a vaccine. It does not mean other leaders and countries will act the same. Obviously, United States President Donald Trump and some Republican governors are not and that is to America’s peril. Others who have succeeded like Hong Kong where I presently am, daily routine seems nearly normal but just for the people who are here. Yet here in Hong Kong it is a strange old normal in the way it is conditioned on boundaries and exclusion and inclusion. This near normal is not available to others who want to come but are restricted from doing so. Also, many of those who are here want to take a break from Hong Kong but cannot go anywhere or if they can, have to deal with a mandatory quarantine for now upon their return.