As Orthodox Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, I would like to wish you a very happy holiday! Religious or not, we all enjoy these traditional holidays, looking forward to them as a time to be with family and friends, perhaps going on trip to another city, or enjoying a day off out in the spring sunshine.

But this year, of course, we face a situation unprecedented in almost all of our lifetimes: The global pandemic of the novel coronavirus means that we here in Ukraine, as in many other countries, must remain at home, indoors, unable to see in person our friends and wider family.

Of course, the measures imposed by Ukraine’s government and its local authorities, which follow World Health Organization recommendations, are absolutely necessary at this time. By isolating ourselves, and keeping a physical distance of two metres from others, we reduce the rate of transmission of the coronavirus, which will in turn ease the strain on Ukraine’s healthcare system. And while it is still too early to relax these restrictions, there is some encouraging news emerging from Ukraine’s Ministry of Health that the restrictions are indeed working and that a “flattening of the curve” is starting to appear in the data that describe the progress of the COVID-19 disease in Ukraine.   

This Easter holiday will be unlike those of other years. COVID-19, being highly contagious and with no vaccine or cure, is a very dangerous disease, and by following the advice of the government and the WHO, we are all, quite literally, saving lives.

But while being in isolation, with today’s technology we do not have to be alone. Modern smartphones, computers and applications, connected to the Internet, can link us together in an instant. We might not be able to meet in person, but we can still see the familiar faces and hear the voices of friends and family in video calls. We should all take advantage of this technology during this holiday in particular, when those we love might be feeling isolated and anxious. By maintaining our social connections with others, even though we are physically distant, we help maintain our psychological health as well as our physical health.

This crisis will pass. Cures and treatments for COVID-19 will be discovered. A vaccine for the coronavirus will in time be developed. The situation in the world will normalise, although hopefully people around the world will remember the truths many have learned in recent weeks: That we humans are social beings; we function best in solidarity with each other; we are capable of immense kindness; we all depend on others; and our health is directly connected to the health of the environment we live in.

These truths, of course, underpin the ethos of the Sustainable Development Goals and the values of the UN family. The COVID-19 crisis is of course a trial for us all, but there is hope that after the pandemic passes the world will emerge with a greater appreciation of the need for fair, sustainable and inclusive development, and the realisation that none of us should ever be left behind, or alone.

Happy Easter!