Covid-19
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Covid-19 has had various effects and lessons to the world. It has affected individuals, businesses, and governments. Through Covid-19, individuals and governments have learned multiple lessons that may be helpful in planning for pandemics of that nature in the future. This work will discuss the effects and lessons learned as a result of covid-19, the role of communications, and how people have received the information about the pandemic.
Covid-19 has had impacts on individuals, businesses, and governments. When Covid-19 struck the globe, people across the globe were seriously affected. Lockdowns and restrictions of movement characterized the beginning of Covid-19. This made it hard for individuals to work or do businesses as they were used before. Thus, their earnings were affected, and therefore means of survival became hard. Covid-19 did not only affect incomes, but it also affected the social life of people. As people remained indoors, they were unable to interact with their friends and relatives as they were used before the pandemic. Also, businesses were affected as their turnover dwindled after the Covid-19 pandemic came. Some even closed their lines of operations indefinitely. This also resulted in layoffs, which made many individuals jobless. According to WHO, close to half of the global workforce is at risk of losing their livelihood(WHO, 2020). Again, governments felt the impact of Covid -19. Some governments were unable to contain patients in their health facility due to high numbers of patients prompting them to use home-based acre. Still, infrastructural projects were affected due to stoppage during the pandemic. Governments are channeling funds to recurrent expenditure in a bid to revive economies at the expense of infrastructure (Delloite, 2020).
During the pandemic, communication has been very vital. Through media and the internet, people across the globe were able to know the appropriate measures to take in order to contain the virus. They have been educational platforms for individuals. Through communications, people got to understand keeping social distance, wearing face masks, and sanitation was vital in dealing with the pandemic. However, for communication to be useful, it ought to be effective. It has to provide accurate information. Therefore rumors and myths ought to be avoided by communication agencies (Reddy & Gupta, 2020). Fake news during the pandemic has left many individuals misinformed. This includes some drugs which were purported to cure Covid-19. This placed individuals in a vulnerable position of contracting the virus since they thought they were safe after using the purported medicine.
The pandemic was new dawn that we are all on the same planet. Distance and human-made boundaries do not matter in case pandemics of this nature arise. Therefore, covid-19 has been a lesson that we should live like brothers and sisters since there are times we will need each other. The pandemic has shown the importance of unity regardless of the distance between people and nations.
The pandemic has been received differently by different people. Some people have overreacted to the pandemic information. Some are no longer enjoying life as before. Around 80% of employed persons have encountered challenges due to the pandemic. They get stressed due to feeling lonely, pressure from family, and concern about their job security (IPSOS, 2020). Though some people are worried about the pandemic, there are those who are less concerned. Some people are underestimating the virus and thus ignoring health protocols (Jakarta, 2020).
During the pandemic, a lot of things have happened. Firstly, some information has been reliable whereas others are fake. Therefore, it is important to look for information from reliable sources like WHO. Also, instead of nations fighting the common enemy, others have resulted in blame games like the war between the US and China (Boylan et al., 2020). However, it is still hard to differentiate between politics and solutions towards covid-19, and whether some actions were taken are acts of humanity or vested interests.
In conclusion, Covid-19 has brought about lessons that are essential for future planning. Since the pandemic has brought about serious harm, individuals and governments ought to treat it with a high degree of seriousness. In order to win the battle, unity across the globe will be needed.
References
Boylan, B. M., McBeath, J., & Wang, B. (2020). US–China relations: Nationalism, the trade war, and COVID-19. Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 14(1), 23-40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-020-00302-6
Delloite. (2020, May 27). The impact of COVID-19 on infrastructure projects and assets. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/ng/en/pages/finance/articles/the-impact-of-COVID-19-on-infrastructure-projects-and-assets.html
IPSOS. (2020, November 19). Public opinion on the COVID-19 pandemic [19th November]. Ipsos. https://www.ipsos.com/en/public-opinion-covid-19-outbreak
Jakarta, S. H. (2020, October 20). Ignorance is proving to be a big killer in Indonesia. ucanews.com. https://www.ucanews.com/news/ignorance-is-proving-to-be-a-big-killer-in-indonesia/89951#
Reddy, B., & Gupta, A. (2020). Importance of effective communication during COVID-19 infodemic. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 9(8), 3793. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_719_20
WHO. (2020, October 13). Impact of COVID-19 on people’s livelihoods, their health and our food systems. https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2020-impact-of-covid-19-on-people’s-livelihoods-their-health-and-our-food-systems.