ESSAY for CBSE Boards

COVID-19
IMPACTS ON OUR DAILY
LIFE
___

By Suyash Purwar

INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case was identified in Wuhan, China, in
December 2019. It has since spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic. The virus that
causes COVID-19 spreads mainly when an infected person is in close contact[a] with another
person. This unexpected and unfortunate on-going event has disturbed everyone around the
globe. Scientists all around the globe are working days and nights to develop the vaccine but the
development of the vaccine seems to be far as of now.

In this essay, the Impacts of COVID-19 on our daily life is briefly discussed. So, without any
further ado, let’s get started!
A Brief Overview of the current COVID-19 situation
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has affected day to day life and is slowing down the global economy.
This pandemic has affected thousands of peoples, who are either sick or are being killed due to
the spread of this disease. As of writing this essay, approximately 91.3 million people are
infected by this dangerous virus, and cases are further expected to increase soon. The most
common symptoms of this viral infection are fever, cold, cough, bone pain and, breathing
problems, and ultimately leading to pneumonia. This, being a new viral disease affecting
humans for the first time, vaccines are not yet available. Thus, the emphasis is on taking
extensive precautions such as extensive hygiene protocol (e.g., regularly washing of hands,
avoidance of face to face interaction, etc.), social distancing, and wearing of masks, and so on.
This virus is spreading exponentially region wise. Countries are banning gatherings of people to
spread and break the exponential curve. Many countries are locking their population and
enforcing strict quarantine to control the spread of the havoc of this highly communicable
disease.

COVID-19 has rapidly affected our day to day life, businesses, disrupted world trade and
movements. Identification of the disease at an early stage is vital to control the spread of the
virus because it very rapidly spreads from person to person. Most of the countries have slowed
down their manufacturing of the products. The various industries and sectors are affected by
the cause of this disease; these include the pharmaceuticals industry, solar power sector,
tourism, Information and, electronics industry. This virus creates significant knock-on effects
on the daily life of citizens, as well as on the global economy.

Covid-19 Lockdowns
There are curfews, quarantines, and similar restrictions in place in many countries and
territories around the world, related to the COVID-19 pandemic and established to prevent the
further spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which
causes COVID-19. By April 2020, about half of the world's population was under lockdown, with
more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories having been asked or
ordered to stay at home by their governments. The World Health Organization's
recommendation on curfews and lockdowns is that they should be short-term measures to
reorganize, regroup, rebalance resources, and protect health workers who are exhausted. To
achieve a balance between restrictions and normal life, the long-term responses to the
pandemic should consist of strict personal hygiene, effective contact tracing, and isolating
when ill. Countries and territories around the world have enforced lockdowns of varying
degrees. Some include total movement control while others have enforced restrictions based on
time. Mostly, only essential businesses are allowed to remain open. Schools, universities, and
colleges have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in 63 countries, affecting
approximately 47 percent of the world's student population.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the near-total
closures of schools, universities, and colleges.

Most governments decided to temporarily close educational institutions in an attempt to reduce

the spread of COVID-19. As of 12 January 2021, approximately 825 million learners are
currently affected due to school closures in response to the pandemic. According to UNICEF
monitoring, 23 countries are currently implementing nationwide closures and 40 are
implementing local closures, impacting about 47 percent of the world's student population. 112
countries' schools are currently open.

School closures impact not only students, teachers, and families. but have far-reaching
economic and societal consequences. School closures in response to the pandemic have shed
light on various social and economic issues, including student debt, digital learning, food
insecurity, and homelessness, as well as access to childcare, health care, housing, internet, and
disability services. The impact was more severe for disadvantaged children and their families,
causing interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare problems, and consequent
economic cost to families who could not work.

In response to school closures, UNESCO recommended the use of distance learning programs
and open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach
learners remotely and limit the disruption of education.

Impact of COVID-19 on Economy

Nearly 162 countries were in lockdown and many are still in lockdown, and businesses across
the globe are operating in fear of an impending collapse of global financial markets. Covid-19
pandemic clubbed with sluggish economic growth in the previous year, especially in a
developing country like India, is leading to extremely volatile market conditions.

Let’s see how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the global economy:

1) Millions of enterprises face an existential threat. Nearly half of the world’s 3.3 billion
global workforces are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Informal economy workers are
particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality
health care and have lost access to productive assets.
 2) The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has laid bare its fragility.
Border closures, trade restrictions, and confinement measures have been preventing
farmers from accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce,
and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and
international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe, and diverse diets.

3) The tourism industry is the worst affected due to the COVID crisis, internationally. The
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2020) estimations depict a fall of 20–30 percent
in international tourist arrivals.

4) After the Government of India indefinitely suspended tourist visas, airlines are said to
be working under pressure. Nearly 600 international flights to and from India were
canceled for varying periods. Around 90 domestic flights have been canceled, leading to
a sharp drop in airline fares, even on popular local routes.

5) Nearly 55% of electronics imported by India originate from China. These imports have
already slid down to 40% in light of the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown.
As a countermeasure, India is considering the promotion of indigenous production in a
bid to reduce dependency on a single market. Additionally, China is India’s third-largest
export partner for the export of raw materials like organic chemicals, mineral fuels,
cotton, etc.; and a lockdown of the countries is likely to lead to a substantial trade deficit
for India.

Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of
countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO
survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating
impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for
increased funding.

WHO has previously highlighted the chronic underfunding of mental health: prior to the
pandemic, countries were spending less than 2 percent of their national health budgets on
mental health, and struggling to meet their populations’ needs.

And the pandemic is increasing demand for mental health services. Bereavement, isolation, loss
of income, and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. Many
people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as
delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological, or substance use
disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection ̶ they may stand a higher risk of
severe outcomes and even death.

Countries reported widespread disruption of many kinds of critical mental health services:

● Over 60% reported disruptions to mental health services for vulnerable people,
including children and adolescents (72%), older adults (70%), and women requiring
antenatal or postnatal services (61%).

● 67% saw disruptions to counseling and psychotherapy; 65% to critical harm reduction
services; and 45% to opioid agonist maintenance treatment for opioid dependence.

● More than a third (35%) reported disruptions to emergency interventions, including

those for people experiencing prolonged seizures; severe substance use withdrawal
syndromes; and delirium, often a sign of a serious underlying medical condition.

● 30% reported disruptions to access to medications for mental, neurological, and

substance use disorders.

● Around three-quarters reported at least partial disruptions to school and workplace

mental health services (78% and 75% respectively).

Environmental Effects of COVID-19

The global disruption caused by the COVID-19 has brought about several effects on the
environment and climate. Due to movement restriction and a significant slowdown of social and
economic activities, air quality has improved in many cities with a reduction in water pollution
in different parts of the world. Besides, increased use of PPE (e.g., face mask, hand gloves, etc.),
their haphazard disposal, and generation of a huge amount of hospital waste have negative
impacts on the environment.

Positive Environmental Effects

1) Reduction of air pollution

2) Reduction of water pollution
3) Reduction of noise pollution
4) Ecological restoration and assimilation of tourist spots
Negative Environmental Effects

1) Increase in biomedical waste generation

2) Safety equipment use and haphazard disposal
3) Municipal solid waste generation, and reduction of recycling

Postponement of Exam amid COVID-19 outbreak

One of the major impacts made on students from all around the globe is the postponement of
exams in this pandemic. Students, especially in India where exams like NEET and JEE play a
major role in one’s career, are distressed and depressed. In times, where institutions are closed
resulting in a lack of preparation and teacher guidance and evermore increasing cases, students
are heavily demanding the postponement of exams. Parents are afraid to send their children to
exam centers because of the possibility of getting infected.

The government tried to come up with solutions to this problem keeping student’s and parent’s
concerns in mind. The government is listening to queries of students, parents, and teachers to
find a fit solution and is taking an ample amount of time to decide. Student’s health and career
cannot be comprised at any time.

Almost all national exams were postponed and all the subsequent jobs like counseling, starting
off the new academic session in college, and schools were postponed as well. Because of the lack
of teacher’s personal offline guidance, a significant of course was also reduced.

Impact of COVID-19 on Internet Ecosystem

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a profound global shock. It has required people to stay at
home, if possible, and socially distance themselves from others when outside the home.
Businesses, industries, schools and governments closed in many countries, limiting the ability
to earn a living, gain an education, and provide important government services. The Internet
has bridged the distance in many cases, allowing family and friends to communicate and
entertain themselves, enabling people to work at home, helping students do virtual learning,
and providing online tools, including health advice, to help fight the pandemic. On the other
hand, the impact has not been universal, highlighting the need for policy and regulatory
solutions to bridge digital divides.

The response to the pandemic has provided a general validation of the Internet’s design, albeit
under such unfortunate and unwanted circumstances. The Internet has largely accommodated
the increased usage and has proven resilient. However, the increased demand for access and
usage has highlighted existing gaps in access and infrastructure, in terms of both the Internet
access networks’ reach and capacity. At the same time, the demands have changed, pointing
toward needs for online content and services, for work, school, government services, socializing,
shopping, health, and entertainment.

Future
We are thirteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic and infections and deaths are accelerating
in many parts of the world. There are now more than 91 million confirmed cases and near to two
million deaths.

As nations and individuals, we must stand together in tough times to help overcome the
impacts of this pandemic. Times are tough but we are tougher. Humanity has come a long way
and we will go far no matter how tough time becomes.