Anything resembling "normal" may seem unfathomable as the number of COVID-19 cases worldwide dash past 80 million and Canada grapples with a second wave that far surpasses what it experienced in the spring.

It is a term that feels wildly out of place in 2020, but in some parts of the world where the virus has been all but eradicated, like Taiwan and Australia, life is about as close to "normal" as one can imagine during a global pandemic.

This was my final story of 2020. It's a story I’ve wanted to write for quite a while, but never got a chance to earlier.

It is by no means exhaustive, nor is it representative of everyone's experience -- most of my subjects took pains to make clear these were their own views and experiences. A lot was left out, especially details on the different measures taken, some additional colour, New Zealand, etc. (I didn't find someone in time from New Zealand, but I did give them a mention under "Australia". I've written about them before though. New Zealand has also done very well, though population-wise, they are much smaller than the places I focused on for this particular story.)

Suffice to say there are many paths to (relative) "normalcy", to fewer people getting sick, to fewer people dying, but even with good leadership, it can not happen without everyone doing their part.

These things are never quite the same on paper as they are in my head, but I hope this story still offers a snapshot of what could have been, could still be.

Read the story here.