Nimbus and Stratus have arrived not with sirens, but with a whisper—often the whisper of a voice that was clear the day before. In many cases, infections remain mild, yet that sudden hoarseness or searing throat pain has become a subtle alarm bell, especially in schools, offices, and care homes. Behind the scenes, wastewater data and hospital testing show the same pattern: the virus never left; it only grew quieter as our attention drifted elsewhere.
What has changed is not the virus’s existence, but our relationship with it. Vaccines, boosters, and antivirals now blunt the worst outcomes, turning potential catastrophe into something survivable, if still serious. The response no longer relies on lockdowns, but on choices—testing when symptoms appear, staying home when sick, masking in crowded rooms, protecting the vulnerable without retreating from life. Nimbus and Stratus do not herald a return to 2020; they remind us that normalcy and vigilance must now coexist.