On the first of June, 2020, bars and restaurants will open in Victoria. While still subject to the State's instructions regarding social distancing, this is a small step towards normalcy for many. The past three months have been an existential and in some cases mortal upheaval. The Coronavirus Pandemic has forced nations and the global society as a whole to re-evaluate so many aspects of our lives and the ways in which we do things. These are all self-apparent statements. Everyone has tried to make the best of what is an awful, once-in-a-lifetime upheaval, and we have the chance to return to a new normal. Not the way things were before, but a new normal. When a bone is broken, it is set with the intention of allowing the bone to re-unite in alignment. The two ends of the bone may be fixed with metal struts, or just set in a plaster cast. Regardless, steps are taken to set right the thing that has been broken. The new bone is usually healthy, able to bear weight, and functions just like the old one. Despite this, the new bone is not the old bone. Bones finish healing and turn out subtly different to the way they were before. They may be angled very slightly, rotated to within one tenth of a degree, or shortened by a fraction of a milimeter. In this same way, muscles, nerves, arteries and skin all heal, remaining functionally preserved but not the way they were before. So it is with our communities. We as a society have suffered an injury that one year ago seemed as unlikely as any one of us winning the lottery. Now is the chance to repair and to heal. In a broad sense, our actions have been guided by our political and scientific leaders. With them at the helm, Australia has managed to come through a global pandemic which has seen four million infected and more than a hundred thousand dead globally. The cost of this Pandemic cannot simply be calculated in terms of dollars, life-years lost, or in individual lives. It is a credit to this country that we as a society have navigated the worst of this with the same cheerfulness, quiet resolve, and irreverent good humour that characterise the Australian spirit. But we are not out of the woods yet. The challenge remains to continue and finish the healing process. The acute phase of our societal and global injury may have passed, but the best outcome comes from attentive rehabilitation and careful repair. Broken bones heal when attended to regularly, skillfully, and with care. In this way, the new bone will work just as well as the old bone. Sometimes, the new bone can be even stronger. The challenge we face now is not to return to normal, because that normal has passed. The challenge we face now is to define our new normal and to work towards that. We have the chance to make a better normal through the process of healing that has to occur, and in the reorganisation of our way of doing things in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Since February, we have seen a resolute determination and community spirit that speaks to the goodness in our communities. We have a chance to embrace that goodness and to make it a keystone of our society moving forward. We can come through this with our society being stronger, more equitable, and fairer for all of us. We all have the chance to contribute to this, and to help define the new normal. Here's how we at Atlas Physio are going to do our bit towards that. From today, Monday 2020/05/18, the Fairfield Clinic will be open for business. We will be open from 5PM to 10PM from Monday to Friday, and from 6AM to 10PM on Saturday and Sunday. We will be running on reduced hours to ensure thorough and proactive infection control will be followed. We will be running late hours so that people do not need to take time off work in the event of injuries, and so that essential services can run without disruption. We will continue to offer extended sessions in a safe, clean, and personalised environment to maximise the efficacy of our services. We will continue to waive callout fees, and we'll let you know when we bring them back. At Atlas Physio, our clinic has always run in guidance with our Mission Statement; to provide Supportive, Accessible, Flexible and Effective care to our clients and to work in the best interest of our communities. We believe that by using our Mission Statement to inform our practice, we can do our bit to make our New Normal a better way of living than the one we had before. We look forward to seeing you in clinic, and to helping you to work towards a New Normal for yourselves and for your loved ones. - Alex #AtlasPhysio #PhysioClinic #Fairfield #Physiotherapy #Health #Wellness