It all started exactly a year ago, where it all went wrong. The first known case of covid 19 can be traced back to November 17th 2019. According to a report published by a popular Chinese daily, a 55-year-old man from Hubei province was first suspected to be infected.
The initial reports mention that the pandemic was a result of live animal market — the Huanan seafood wholesale market. Although the transmission of viruses from animals to humans is rare, this new strain likely came from bats. However, it is uncertain as to how exactly the virus spread to the humans.
Since then, the pandemic has killed more than 1.25 million people and infected tens of millions.
There is no field that hasn’t been affected by this deadly virus. Every industry is hit and still is on the recovering phase.
Cases reported worldwide:
The first covid case in the US was confirmed on January 21st 2020. Japan, South Korea and Thailand also reported their first cases one day prior. India reported its first case on 30th January 2020. On January 30 2020, the World Health Organization declares a public health emergency of international concern, for the sixth time in history.
Effect on the economy:
The covid 19 pandemic is a global shock like no other involving simultaneous disruptions to both supply and demand in an interconnected world economy. The extreme uncertainty about the path, duration, magnitude and impact of the pandemic could pose a vicious cycle of dampening business and consumer confidence and tightening financial conditions which could lead to job and investment losses. Service industries such as tourism, hospitality and transportation have suffered significant losses due to reduction in travel. The international Air Transport projects a loss in airline. As the numbers of cases started to increase globally, the world financial and oil marked significantly declined. The small-scale industries and vendors and all those who depend on daily wages are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic. Due to lockdown, their business almost hit rock bottom. People working in IT and Business can get work from home jobs, the vendors or hawkers don’t have this luxury. It is difficult to make a living in this competitive world as it is, now we have the virus to battle with. The coronavirus recession is an economic recession happening across the world economy in 2020. Global stock markets experienced their worst crash since 1987. Between April and June 2020, the International Labour Organization estimated that an equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs were lost across the world.
The Arts:
The pandemic had a sudden and substantial impact on the arts and cultural heritage sectors worldwide. By March 2020, across the world most cultural institutions had been indefinitely closed, exhibitions, events and performances cancelled or postponed. Many individuals temporarily or permanently lost contracts or employment.
Sport:
Most major sporting events were cancelled or postponed, including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were postponed on 24 March 2020 until 2021.
As the spread of the virus is likely to continue disrupting economic activity and negatively impact manufacturing and service industries, we expect that financial markets will continue to be volatile. As outbreaks of novel infections are not likely to disappear in the near future, proactive international actions are required not only to save lives but also to protect economic prosperity.
Effect on people’s livelihoods:
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year. The COVID-19 outbreak affects all segments of the population and is particularly detrimental to members of those social groups in the most vulnerable situations, continues to affect populations, including people living in poverty situations, older persons, persons with disabilities, youth, and indigenous peoples. Early evidence indicates that that the health and economic impacts of the virus are being borne disproportionately by poor people. For example, homeless people, because they may be unable to safely shelter in place, are highly exposed to the danger of the virus. People without access to running water, refugees, migrants, or displaced persons also stand to suffer disproportionately both from the pandemic and its aftermath.
Elderly People:
Older people are particularly affected by COVID-19. They need special attention during the COVID-19 crisis, and their voices, opinions and concerns are important in formulating responses. Some countries like Africa, have fewer elders and so they have very few health cares for them. It is very important that the elders be taken care of. There are some NGOs that take up this responsibility, hence, dampening the impact of the virus.
Effect on Education:
The covid-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the near-total closures of schools, universities and colleges. Most governments around the world decided to have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to reduce the spread of covid-19] As of 30 September 2020, approximately 1.077 billion learners are currently affected due to school closures in response to the pandemic.
Being a student, I can say that this has taken a huge toll on our lives. Even though the initial days felt like we were enjoying the unlimited holidays, it was not until the exam times that we actually realized the importance of attending institutions. The plus side is that we get ample amount of time to do things other than academics. We get a lot of time with our family and it is somewhat relaxing. Having said that, education still tops our priority list. Without proper education the future is bleak.
The online classes effect the rural community the most. Not all the students have access to PCs or internet. There are many organizations who have started a campaign to provide the necessary equipment. But there are many students who are not lucky enough to get a PC of their own and continue their education.
Students who are graduating this year have their own battles. Due to the recession, not many companies are recruiting, thus increasing the unemployability rate.
Easy prevention:
An easy way to decrease the infection rates is to avoid virus exposure. People from India should avoid traveling to countries highly affected with the virus, practice proper hygiene, and avoid consuming food that is not home cooked. Necessary preventive measures, such as wearing a mask, regular hand washing, and avoiding direct contact with infected persons, should also be practiced.
We can overcome this together by not being together. For a safer future.
It would not be possible to write the above article without the help of the following mentioned sites:
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-coronavirus-started/story?id=69435165
https://voxeu.org/article/economic-consequences-covid-19-multi-country-analysis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/everyone-included-covid-19.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_education