The Pandemic and its Impact on Human Lives

The Covid-19 Pandemic is an ongoing health emergency, started in the month of December 2019, in Wuhan, China. A string of pneumonia cases culminated to be a deadly RNA virus unknown to mankind. The pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge to public health. It impacted economies, changed the viewpoint on diseases. The importance of healthcare workers became prominent. This article will discuss the impact on human lives, social fabric with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region.

According to the WHO, 3.3 billion risks losing their livelihood. Without a job, many are struggling to feed themselves and their families. Informal economy workers are at risk as they lack social protection and access to quality healthcare. Agriculture is the backbone of south-Asian countries, millions of agricultural workers are facing high levels of poverty, malnutrition and poor health. WHO predicted farmers experiencing income losses would resort to negative paths to cope, i.e., falling prey to predatory loans, selling off assets, child labour. The announcement of the nationwide lockdown in India created widespread panic amongst migrants stranded in different states. The government did not provide prior notice and shut down commercial activities, cutting off the income of labourers. Without income, labourers were unable to return home or sustain themselves in consecutive lockdowns. The Indian media reported on the labour families returning home, resorting to perilous journeys by bicycle or foot. In the journey, 198 migrant labourers were killed and approx. 1390 injured. In an unfortunate incident, a train killed 16 migrant labourers who were exhausted and fell asleep on the railway tracks. 80 passengers died in the special ‘Shramik trains’ designated to the homecoming labourers. These incidents shed light on the misfortune of the workers and the level of unpreparedness for the implementation of lockdown. The airline industry was affected by the pandemic. The purpose of airlines is to bring people and cities closer and this was threatened as nations banned air travel. Airlines drastically cut back flights due to lack of demand, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region furloughed 101,675 employees in 2020. According to The Times of India, APAC airlines could lose $29 billion in 2020 and a 49% drop in airline demand from passengers. According to the International Labor Organization, economic downfall owed to the pandemic affected 81 million jobs in Asia-Pacific. Employment suffered a 4.2% decline, with a gap of 4.6% for women and 4% for men. Labour income dropped 9.9% in the first three quarters of 2020, equivalent to a 3.4% drop in GDP. The ILO added that many workers were pushed back to poverty. The regional economy, workers and enterprises are struggling to recover from the crisis to make progress towards inclusive growth. Airline employees lost their livelihoods, faced discrimination as they were perceived as a threat and carrier of the coronavirus.

The pandemic brought misfortune and material damage, mental and psychological damage. Quarantining and self-isolation, loss of a loved one to coronavirus, loss of freedom and social interaction cause deterioration in mental health. Children, elderly, differently-abled individuals and health workers are at high risk of psychological damage. A systematic review on the meta-analysis on the prevalence of psychological morbidities amongst the health workers, Covid-19 patients by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry was conducted. It was discovered that ½ of the population faced psychological impacts of the pandemic. 3/4^th [74.1%] of the participants reported a moderate level of stress, 71.7% reported poor well-being.

Specific mental issues during the pandemic were:

1. Emotional problems: Fear, rage, mood swings, frustrations, depression and inability to cope.
2. Bangladesh and India saw a rise in the suicide rate in their population.
3. Paranoia and fear are common and enhanced due to constant exposure to flash news on the coronavirus.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India remains the most affected country in terms of lives lost. 10.7 million infected, 154,000 lives lost to the virus as of January 2021. Singapore, Taiwan, The Philippines lost 9,299 people to the Covid-19 disease. Losing someone to Covid-19 was detrimental to families. Funerals could not be held and the deceased were buried unceremoniously to mitigate the risk of contamination.

After WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic, students required to stay at home after the closure of educational institutions was 1.598 billion from 194 nations. An online survey was conducted by the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Ljubljana. It was discovered that the pandemic had negative implications for higher-education students by affecting their physical and mental well-being. Students raised concerns about their future and job opportunities during uncertain times. Socio-demographic and geographic factors were crucial in the student’s perception of different aspects of their lives during the pandemic.  Studies suggested there was a greater impact on male students, part-time students, undergraduate students, applied science students and students from a low-income family or less developed regions like Asia and Africa. Due to a lack of digital education infrastructure in India, students struggled to sustain online classes as families lost jobs. Universities failed to provide flexible learning methods, modified curriculums or user-friendly equipment. An academically excellent 15-year-old girl from Kerala committed suicide assuming her academic performance was negatively affected. She missed online classes for an extended period leading her to be depressed. Lack of access to technology stemming from economic problems, the girl’s fragile state of mental health contributed to the unfortunate incident.

Amongst the race to build vaccines, to secure economies a moment should be taken to assess and re-evaluate the human cost of the Covid-19 pandemic. 103 million cases worldwide, 2.23 million deaths worldwide, over 200,000 patients in every continent and more than 3 billion people quarantined, the pandemic has left a mark on humanity. Affecting individuals from every class of the society, it wreaked havoc on the lives of poor and uprooted established business in months. Children faced stress and adults lost their livelihoods overnight. Students and teachers felt the severe impact of adjusting in an online setting, harming their academics, work and mental health. We must recognize the opportunity and support each other through difficult times.

References:

1. “Impact of COVID-19 on people’s livelihoods, their health and our food systems”, ed. WHO, ILO,FAO, IFAD [joint statement], accessed on 29^th January, 2021, https://www.who.int/news/item/13-10-2020-impact-of-covid-19-on-people’s-livelihoods-their-health-and-our-food-systems#:~:text=The%20economic%20and%20social%20disruption,the%20end%20of%20the%20year.
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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-020-00293-8

8. “How Covid-19 pandemic affected higher education student’s lives globally and in the United States”, ed. Aleksander Aristovnik, accessed on 1^st February 2021,

https://www.unr.edu/business/international/blog/covid-19-affecting-students

9. “First case of student suicide in India due to the Covid-19 education crisis: A brief report and preventive measures”, ed. Remya Lathabhavan, Mark Griffiths, accessed on 1^st February 2021,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7297156/

Sayani Das ( Intern, AGA)