As of 17 March, over 196,000
cases of the disease in over 160 countries, resulting in about 81,000
recoveries and over 7,900 recorded deaths. Regions affected by major outbreaks
include mainland China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, and the United States has
soon become commonplace. On 13 March, the World Health Organisation declared
Europe as the new epicenter of the pandemic (CIDRAP, 2020). This is because all
countries with the continent of Europe except Montenegro have been reported to
have double over periods of typically 3 to 4 days. ECDC (2020) posited on 14
March that over 1500 people were reportedly killed in EU/EEA and UK by the
Coronavirus.
Accordingly, the
coronavirus pandemic has created far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of
the disease and all reasonable efforts to quarantine it. There is currently no vaccine or any antiviral
treatment process, though scientific and laboratory research is ongoing. The
only recommended preventive measures by WHO include hand washing, maintaining
distance from people who are sick, and self-isolation for fourteen days if an
individual is suspected of being infected (CDC, 2020). There have been widespread
reports of supply shortages of pharmaceuticals and manufactured goods due to
factory disruption in China, Italy, and Hong Kong, seeing panic buying and
consequent shortages of food and other essential items. Thus, an assessment of
the socioeconomic impact of the novel coronavirus on industry and social life.
Conceptual clarification
Pandemic: A pandemic is an epidemic occurring on a scale
that crosses international boundaries, usually affecting a large number of
people (Porta, 2008), a widespread
endemic disease is not a pandemic because it kills, example cancer is
responsible for many deaths but it is not infectious and contagious.
Socioeconomic: Socioeconomic means social and economic factors
that help in the development of society. Edoho (2017), opined that the term
implies two terms; social and economic, were both acts as a tool for
development in the society.
Coronavirus: is the respiratory tract infection. The name
originated on 11 February 2020, as WHO established Coronavirus “COVID-19” as
the name of the disease caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS-CoV-2), with the first case on 1st December 2019 at Wuhan,
China.
Method
This paper employs the content analysis
method. The study relied primarily on secondary sources gathered from news
articles, ongoing researches, and information recorded by verified online
sources of information. An aspect of this paper is to assess the applicability
of current literal observation, it is not intended to provide a detailed
restatement of its clinical content but more of conceptual research of existing
socio-medical works.
Findings and Discussion
On the Economy:
On 25 February, CNA (2020) has expected that Australia, Mainland China, and Hong Kong
would have the most direct economic impacts from the disruption, with Hong Kong
already in an economic recession at that time after a long period of ongoing
protests since 2019. As Mainland China is
a major economy and a world manufacturing hub, the viral outbreak of
coronavirus has been seen to pose a major threat to the world economy.
According to (DW) 2020, Agathe Demarais of the Economist Intelligence Unit
forecast in January that markets would remain unpredictable until a clearer
image emerged on potential outcomes. Some market analysts estimated as early as
January that the economic fallout of the epidemic on global growth could surpass
that of the SARS outbreak of 2002 and 2004. Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting (OPEC) Countries is reportedly twisted after a steep decline in oil
prices due to lower demand from China. This has affected Nigeria, a country
with over-dependence on oil. Global stock markets have fallen due to a
significant rise in the number of new cases. Smith (2020) reported that, stock
markets worldwide saw their largest single-week declines since the 2008
financial crisis. As the pandemic spreads widely, conferences and events across
technology, fashion, and sports, are being canceled or postponed. While the
monetary impact on the travel, bans and trade industry is estimated to be in
the billions and increasing as more territories are infected.
The pandemic
coincided with the major travel season associated with the Chinese New Year
holiday. Because of its widespread, all events involving large crowds are being
canceled by national and regional governments, with private companies also
independently closing their shops and tourist attractions, as well as sports
and religious activities. coronavirus has a significant impact on even the aviation
industry due to the travel restrictions as well as reductions in passenger
numbers. This has resulted in planes flying empty between airports and the cancellation
of flights.
Under listed are a
few mentions of the socioeconomic impact on events around the world to either
crash, be canceled or postponed and institutions to be closed. These include
the following:
On Sport Activities:
Quite a lot of key sporting
events were canceled and postponed, The Hockey News (2020) reported on 7th
March that its 2020 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships is canceled. Also on
the same date CBC reports its 2020 Arctic Winter Games as canceled. The Formula One Australian Grand Prix 2020
was canceled by a declaration of the F1 via 7news. The 2019–20 UEFA Champions
League as well as the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was on 13 March, suspended
(UEFA, 2020). Earlier on 12th
March, All NCAA collegiate athletic competitions for the remainder of the
2019–2020 academic year including the 2020 College World Series and the 2020
Men's and Women's Division I basketball tournaments were all canceled (CJOB,
2020). Japanese officials suggested that the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
might have to be delayed by up to two years, although the IOC insisted that
preparations for the games would continue as planned. Others are 2019–20 NBA
season suspended, 2019-20 NHL season suspended, 2020 Major League Baseball
season suspended (MLB, 2020), the 2019–20 Premier League was suspended, together
with lower divisions. The 2019–20 Bundesliga was suspended together with lower
divisions. 2019–20 Serie A was suspended, together with lower divisions. The 2019–20 Ligue 1 was suspended indefinitely.
(BBC) 2020 also gives reports for 2019–20 La Liga as suspended together with
lower divisions, as well as the cancellation of the 2019–20 DEL season.
Others include Americas
Qualifying Event – Baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics which was scheduled for
March 22–26 has now been postponed till further notice. The inaugural Basketball
Africa League (BAL) 2020 season has been postponed. The 2020 Boston Marathon scheduled
for April 20 has been postponed to September 14 pending when the outbreak will
be subdued. The 2020 London Marathon scheduled for April 26 has been postponed
to October 4. The Chinese Super League postponed the 2020 season. The 2020 Copa
Libertadores group stage's third matchday scheduled between March 15–21 has
been postponed. English men's and women's Premier League, English Football
League, FA Women's Super League, and FA Women's Championship were postponed on
March 13 till early April. The 2019–20 Eredivisie, suspended March 12, 2020.
Jackson Amanda
reported through CNN (2020) the WWE NXT tapings through the end of April, WWE
Raw on March 16, 2020, which was originally scheduled for in Pittsburgh, and
WWE SmackDown on March 13, 2020, in Detroit have been moved to the WWE
Performance Center and will be held with no live audience.
Others postponed with
no new date include the following: the 2020 Jakarta ePrix, originally scheduled
for June 6, the 2020 Paris ePrix, originally scheduled for April 18, the 2020
Rome ePrix, originally scheduled for April 4, the 2020 Sanya ePrix, originally
scheduled for March 21, the 2020 Seoul ePrix, originally scheduled for May 3.
On Politics:
The Islamic Republic
of Iran has been heavily affected by the virus, with approximately 10% of the
Iranian legislature being infected, as well as at least 15 other current or former
top government officials. National Review (2020) stated infection to include
the vice president, and advisers to Ali Khamenei and Mohammad Javad Zarif have
died from the disease. Others include series of protest in the special
administrative region of Hong Kong, the United States President Donald Trump
was largely criticized for false claims and downplaying on the impact of the
pandemic (Burns, 2020). On the contrary, several countries have shown support,
for instance, Tiezze (2020) reported that Hun Sen paid a visit to China to show
Columbia’s support in fighting coronavirus.
On Finance:
Economic turmoil
associated with the coronavirus pandemic has wide-ranging and severe impacts
upon financial markets, including stock, bond, and commodity especially as
concerning crude oil price. Major events include Nigeria’s collapse of crude
oil prices and a stock market crash in March 2020.
On Religious Activities:
Since participation
in public gatherings significantly increases the risk of contagion. This poses
a danger to those especially most vulnerable to contact it in their religious
centers.
The World Council of
Churches through Olav Fykse Tve its General Secretary announced that "This
situation calls on our solidarity and accountability, mindfulness, care, and
wisdom as well as for our signs of faith, hope and love" The Vatican has
announced on CNN, march 14 that Holy Week observances in Rome, which occur
during the last week of the Christian penitential season of Lent, have been
canceled. Many dioceses have recommended older Christians to stay at home
rather than attending Mass on Sundays, which is usually required; some churches
have made church services available via online live streaming or television. In
the American state of Ohio, Roman Catholic bishops dispensed the faithful of
their obligation to attend Sunday Mass until Easter Day, saying “As Catholics,
in every Sunday Mass we celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of our
Lord.
The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. At this moment,
we are experiencing uniquely the passion of our Lord as this pandemic prevents
us from gathering for the Sunday Eucharist. In this very difficult time, we
encourage the faithful to turn to the Church’s treasury of prayer. Sunday
remains a holy day, and we encourage the faithful to pray using the rich
resources of our faith, including praying as a family or individually the
rosary, divine mercy chaplet, the Liturgy of the Hours, stations of the cross,
etc. We also urge you to participate in prayer by way of a radio broadcast or
televised or live-streamed Mass and make a spiritual communion” (CNN, 2020)
Amongst the Islamic
religion, The Islamic Society of North America recommended that congregations
suspend Friday congregational prayers and gatherings. The Dome of the Rock has
closed, though Muslim prayers are still occurring in the Temple Mount. Mosques
have closed in Singapore and Malaysia.
In Judaism, The
Rabbinical Council of America, speaking on behalf of Orthodox Judaism, issued a
guideline stating that "public gatherings in synagogues and schools should
be severely limited”. The Rabbinical Assembly, speaking for Conservative
Judaism, stated that "Protecting human life overrides almost every other
Jewish value" and recommended that weddings be postponed.
In Sikhism: The Sikh Coalition
recommended the canceling of services at gurdwaras, and amongst the Mormons, according
to a report by the Salt Lake Tribune (2020), the April General Conference of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be broadcast with no live
attendance at the Conference Center.
On Education:
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected academic systems
worldwide, leading to the widespread closures of schools and colleges. By 17
March 2020, UNESCO reports that governments in 73 countries have announced or
implemented school closures in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease,
including 56 countries that closed schools nationwide and 17 countries with
localized school closures.
This has over 421 million learners globally while
localized school closures have put over 577 million learners potentially at
risk. According to data released by UNESCO on 10 March, school and university
closures due to COVID-19 have left one in five students out of school globally.
School and university closures. An unprecedented number of youth and adults are
not attending universities because of COVID-19.
Since school closures have become nationwide, hundreds of millions of
additional learners will experience education disruption.
School closures in light of COVID-19 have shed a light
on numerous issues affecting access to education, as well as broader
socio-economic issues. As of March 12, more than 370 million children and youth
are not attending school because of temporary or indefinite countrywide school
closures mandated by governments in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Thirteen countries have shut schools nationwide, affecting students who would
normally attend pre-primary to upper-secondary classes. Nine more countries
including India have implemented localized school closures to prevent or
contain COVID-19.
Even when school closures are temporary, it carries
high social and economic costs. The disruptions they cause affect people across
communities, but their impact is more severe for disadvantaged children and
their families including interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare
problems and consequent economic cost to families who cannot work. In response to school closures caused by
COVID-19, UNESCO has 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.
Conclusion:
The coronavirus pandemic is disastrous, an earlier
research about Sinophobia by Edoho (2020) had reported the disease to be
pandemic before the declaration of WHO a few days after. Another impact of the
coronavirus pandemic is causing a "revolution in working from home",
as major companies have implemented expanded telecommuting arrangements for
their employees to prevent the virus from spreading Sandy (2020).
There is
already a negative impact on business travel and international conferencing and
the rise of their virtual equivalents.
Sociologically, the globalization of disease has taken its shape, as
more claims are spreading that globalization could be jeopardized by a
prolonged global health crisis, as well as supply chains been disrupted.
The pandemic may have mixed effects on the fight
against climate change mitigated generally in human emissions of greenhouse
gasses (GHGs) because of reductions in industrial and transportation activity.
This has reduced emissions in the short-term, while according to Politico
(2020), the cheaper oil prices will make it harder for the dirtiest oil to
compete. However, emissions are expected to rebound following a possible
recession. As resources are diverted from climate action, the world's clean
energy transition may be slowed down.
Other problems such as Lack of access to technology or
fast, reliable internet access at this time can prevent students in rural areas
and from disadvantaged families in the area of schooling. Students dropout
rates may increase as an effect of school closures due to the challenge of
ensuring all students return to school once school closures end. Even in
civilized countries, School closures may put a strain on parents and guardians
to provide childcare and manage distance learning while children are out of
school. The impacts are far-reaching, as
many children worldwide rely on free or discounted meals at schools.
In
Alabama, where state-wide school closures as of 18 March have affected over
720,000 students, the state Superintendent announced that staff in schools
disproportionately affected by poverty would create meal distribution networks
to provide food for students who rely on school lunches. In Washington State, millions
of students enrolled in traditional public and charter schools qualify for
subsidized school meals and may be affected by food insecurity as a result of
school closures. Yet, there is currently no vaccine or any antiviral treatment
process, though scientific and laboratory research is ongoing. The only
recommended preventive measures include hand washing, maintaining distance from
people who are sick, and self-isolation for fourteen days if an individual is
suspected of being infected. Thus, government at the Federal and State level
should work to negate the novel coronavirus which mortality rate is not
anywhere near ebolavirus, as such facility preparedness and information
dissemination in the wake of the pandemic should be upheld, which mismanagement
and corruption in the use of funds should be closely monitored throughout the
process. We must all take precautions regarding social gatherings and
transferring business processes to the virtual network and explore the use of the
internet, in obedience to the guidelines of governments and the World Health
Organization. Washing of hands regularly with sanitizers, maintaining distance
from people who are sick, and self-isolation for fourteen days if an individual
is suspected of being infected, and reporting every suspected case to the
ministry of health.
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Written By: John Gospel EDOHO, and MFON Unyime-Young
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