HAS COVID-19 PERMANENTLY CHANGED YOUR LIFE? TELL US HOW

It's about trust. Our relationship with our readers is built on transparency, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This column is part of that project.

Our youngest daughter came down with a nasty throat infection just before Easter weekend. Based on her symptoms (and our extensive experience) we were fairly certain it was strep throat.

My wife whisked her to our local walk-in clinic figuring she would get a rapid test confirming it was strep and walk out with a prescription for antibiotics she could get filled before our local pharmacies shut down for Good Friday.

That's not what happened. The doctor told my wife the clinic no longer offers strep rapid tests, then muttered something about a public health policy change brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, we had to wait several days to get confirmation from the lab it was, in fact, strep throat before she could get antibiotics and begin recovering.

I know it's a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but it got me thinking about what other long-lasting changes — big and small — COVID has wrought.

There are obvious things like the Plexiglas barriers you encounter at the grocery checkout or mandatory masking at many medical offices.

Then there's the huge increase in people working from home — some part time, others full time — which has triggered a corresponding surge in virtual meetings and left many office buildings empty, or near empty.

Home delivery services for everything from clothing, groceries, furniture, toys and electronics, already on the upswing before COVID, have skyrocketed while many shopping malls struggle to get people through their doors.

Dozens of reports have also pointed out how the pandemic pushed long simmering social issues to the forefront, such as growing mental health challenges, especially among youth, fractures in our health-care system and the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor.

But there are likely dozens, if not hundreds, of other ways in which our lives have been permanently altered by the pandemic.

In the coming weeks and months, our reporters will be exploring which changes have become the "new normal" and how those changes will shape all of our lives and the fabric of our communities in the years to come.

If you have a story to share about how the pandemic irreversibly changed — for better or worse — your daily life, your job or something else you're passionate about, we'd love to hear from you. Please, drop us a note at newsroom@simcoe.com.