Possible outcomes of life after corona pandemic
In past weeks we have experienced enormous changes in our day to day life. The ordinary way of doing things was deeply altered in favor of social distancing in a bid to curb the COVID-19 virus. The changes not only interfered with our day to day life they affected other areas economically, politically, and societal at large.
It is a bit early to predict the duration COVID-19 pandemic will last, however, we can say it will run its course and end just like previous pandemics. During the Ebola pandemic measures such as hand washing and social distancing were put in place to curb the spread. As we speak, people are more prepared now and there is almost a global agreement as to how we are going to conduct ourselves when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus. Equally, additional measures learned during the COVID-19 pandemic will become useful in the case of future pandemics.
Perhaps the fear of shaking hands and touching face may remain long after the end of the pandemic but the duration it takes may differ from person to person. Connecting via the internet may become more favorable to meeting in person as this will be considered safer to many who have lived through this pandemic having the idea that being around people in an enclosed space can be risky.
Many businesses have shut down due to a lack of productivity making them unprofitable as businesses exist to make a profit. Tourism, hospitality, and airline businesses remain greatly affected and laid off many of their employees to survive the crisis. Job sectors that can be automated will be automated making it difficult for people without the right skills to compete in new after COVID-19 economy. Jobs that can be made remotely capable will be made remotely capable perhaps improving remote work technology and help reduce time wasted moving from one location to another to simply hold a meeting. Many will find that they prefer working remotely and if it proves effective during the crisis many companies will give their employees a chance to work remotely. Once the right remote working measure has been put in place, companies will cut down costs on office space, and perhaps we will see more people moving away from the densely populated cities to more remote cost-effective areas. As time goes by companies may find that they will shift their focus to highly skilled workers in lower-paying countries.
Tech companies and ecommerce platforms will make short term and lasting gains. Due to a shift in consumer habits, Cloud computing services such as Amazon will make huge profits. Remote work services like Zoom and streaming services like Netflix will make huge profits and experience huge growth. Ecommerce platforms, food delivery services, and logistics companies will be winners during and after the pandemic.
New changes and innovations geared towards scaling up the delivery of primary health care will emerge. In light of COVID-19, governments and leaderships across nations are now looking into their preparedness towards responding to health emergencies with the same magnitude as other threats such as terrorism. Governments may increase ICU based infrastructure as well as stay put with other emergency-related protective gear used during emergency situations.
Governments will also apply more stringent measures along their borders. Regional and national borders checkpoints may use biometric screening to detect viruses and take appropriate measures such as quarantining infected travelers.
Perhaps new ways of handling ailments that are considered less risky will be devised. Communicating with health care providers via video calls will keep you away from the waiting room and safe from patients with infectious diseases. The use of self-test kits may become more popularized giving a new wave to the way we handle our medical needs.
Perhaps after the pandemic is over, we will experience a new sense of patriotism towards the medical fraternity. Many doctors were suddenly faced with unfathomable tasks and a risk of death they never signed up for. The same sense of patriotism awarded to the military may now be equated to those who were in the frontline against the virus. Perhaps, we will start understanding patriotism as a sacrifice to save lives as rather than blowing up communities.
Areas that have been ready for reform for a long time will now experience overdue change needed. By moving classes online, many families will find that they prefer full or partial homeschooling to the usual. This makes tuition fees more affordable and costs such dormitory fees will be avoided altogether. Perhaps huge student loans will become a thing of the past as remote learning may demonstrate more cost-effective.
Finally, the COVID 19 pandemic may enable the development of stronger multilateral relationships among countries. International cooperation towards monitoring, reporting detecting, and contingency measures will be put into place so that when another pandemic strikes more lives will be saved and the economic crisis will not last for a shorter period.