Much
has been written on this topic as the world saw a threat to its very existence
with the emergence of the Wuhan virus. What started as a killer virus from bats
in the Wuhan market has grown into a global pandemic. It all started in
December 2019 in China and eventually spread to all parts so the globe
including even remote islands in the Pacific ocean.
It
did come at a time when the world is at its technological peak and the medical
fraternity has progressed to such a level where it helped people with myriad
medical conditions and prolonged their longevity an life span; of course with a
bunch of medicines none the less. It was no wonder that vaccinations were
formulated within months of the outbreak and found to have a certain level of
efficacy in treating people from sheer death that came with the dreaded Delta
variant.
Children
have borne the brunt of it all since March 2020 when the world was hit with the
first wave. They were holed up within the confines of their homes and attended
school through online virtual mediums. Forget about them playing in the parks
or meeting friends over for birthday celebrations. These little people have
since well coped and adopted to this
"home" life. Sad but true; they have missed out on a couple of their
crucial growing up years by being imprisoned within the confines of their
homes.
The
pandemic left a huge vacuum in economies and hit many countries to almost near
bankruptcy like conditions. Some countries have emerged again while others are
still recovering from the shock wave. There are certain statistics that say
countries lost over 3% of their GDP in 2020 alone. In 2021, the figure
anticipated is approximately 5.7% of the global GDP. In terms of monetary
values, this stands to almost USD 77 billion. (source: statista.com)
The
World Bank says, "Global growth is expected to accelerate to 5.6% this
year, largely on the strength in major economies such as the United States and China.
And while growth for almost every region of the world has been revised upward
for 2021, many continue to grapple with COVID-19 and what is likely to be its
long shadow. Despite this year’s pickup, the level of global GDP in 2021
is expected to be 3.2% below pre-pandemic projections, and per capita GDP among
many emerging market and developing economies is anticipated to remain below
pre-COVID-19 peaks for an extended period. As the pandemic continues to flare,
it will shape the path of global economic activity."
We
can well imagine the number of jobs that were lost starting from January 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, the number of unemployed people worldwide increased from 187
million to 220 million, the biggest annual increase in unemployment in witnessed
within this time period. In 2021, the number of people unemployed increased
slightly to 220.5 million. (source: statista.com).
Mental
health is another major issue that has affected the globe along with this
pandemic. It has taken a toll on people globally. This is natural since no one
alive today on earth has ever seen a pandemic of such catastrophic proportions
till date since the Spanish flu hit the world in 1918 and lasted until 2020.
The Covid-19 pandemic has so far taken the lives of almost 5.5 million people while the count is
expected to grow further with several more waves expected to hit before the
virus finally dies its own death. Good thing to remember is that nothing is
permanent and neither this virus!
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