LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL Oct. 18th, 2022

Hello, how are you doing? It is nice and cool these days. I hope no more students will get infected with the coronavirus, but we need to be careful as the virus is so formidable that it has been around for three years now and I hear some people suffer from its aftereffects for a long time. In my case, I was lucky because I did not have any aftereffects. It is said that typical aftereffects of the virus are a sense of fatigue, a taste disorder and a smell disorder.

The virus has prevented us from socializing with each other, joining events and engaging in outdoor activities. I believe this has especially influenced children’s physical and mental growth and the elderly’s mobility and cognitive functions. Young mothers are also struggling because they have to give birth to their babies alone without their family members visiting them in the hospital. And even after the baby’s birth, they bring up their children almost in solitude without good support amid the pandemic.

I heard from an elementary school teacher that many students at her school were injured during the sports day this year. I guess that the number of children who seldom play outside with other kids is increasing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which causes young students to easily get injured.

My mother is in a nursing home and I haven’t seen her in person for almost three years. I am wondering if she has developed more severe dementia and frailty during the pandemic. Elderly people need to get stimulated and encouraged to stay healthy and active since they tend to lose their motivation to do so. So, I hope I will be able to see her face-to-face sometime soon.

Mothers with little kids are deprived of their chances to socialize with people in their communities. They are likely to be confined to their houses. It is not easy for them to go out even for shopping since young mothers’ lives revolve around their children, Mothers often need to give up what they want to do when their little kids are not in a good mood or in a good condition. Young fathers are said to be more supportive of their wives with childrearing these days than they were in the past, but there are still many young mothers who are made to raise their children by themselves with little support from their family or the outside.

I hope the day will come very soon when the virus is contained with vaccine and medicine with considerable efficacy.

夏の喧騒も過ぎ去り、落ち着いてスポーツや勉強できる良い季節になりました。しかしながらコロナが収束せずに、感染したり、感染後の後遺症に悩んだりする人も絶えません。

子どもは外で遊ぶ機会が減り、心身共に健全に成長することが阻まれているのではないかと思います。聞くところによるととある小学校ではたくさんけが人が運動会で出たようです。これもコロナのせいでないといえなくもないと思います。高齢者も外出の機会がコロナで奪われ、認知度や身体能力が衰える危険にさらされています。赤ちゃんや小さな子供を抱えたお母さんはますます孤立化してしまう恐れがあります。お母さん一人での子育てを強いられる”ワンオペ”の話をよく耳にします。

コロナの治療薬の開発、効能のあるワクチンでコロナの収束を願ってやみません。