The Effects of the Corona Virus on our Lives

How does a Reduction in Travel affect the economy?

Well, to answer the first question we see that covid 19 has affected the global poverty rate in a pretty big way. If you limit the amount of trade that happens between countries, then countries' GDP will suffer. The GDP (gross domestic product) is pretty much how much a country makes in a year. For example, if the USA made 50 bucks from trading with Israel then that would add 50 dollars to the GDP of the USA.

If global trade isn’t allowed to continue, and no country is trading goods to other countries then the poverty rate (how many people are poor) will rise. This is because if Joe makes a canoe and sells it to someone in another country then everyone would make money. The country joe lives in would make money because of import and export taxes, the shipping company which takes the canoe would make money, and Joe would make money because he sold his canoe.

Quarantine and Mental Health

As a result of people being restricted to their homes and being asked to be alone in quarantine, there is a high chance of someone being severely affected psychologically, which is further impacted by the lack of accurate guidelines or treatment.

For example, in the USA originally the “experts” said no need for masks, then they said don’t wear masks because the professionals such as doctors and nurses need them. Then they said no we were wrong everyone has to wear a mask, then they started locking down cities (which has been proven ineffective) and saying no one should go outside.

However, one of the best ways to fight the disease is by getting vitamin d, which you get by being outside.

There were other strange things, such as politicians ordering people not to get haircuts and then getting them themselves, no going to restaurants, then eating at restaurants, and the whole time you’re sitting at home alone wondering which laws to follow today.

The government during all this did not offer additional resources (such as free psychiatrists, or workshops to bring people together virtually) and the situation got worse and worse.

The authorities also limited the ability for people to exercise, eating habits, gardening, dancing, meditation, learning, and other activities resulting in a negative impact on people’s minds, and the sustainability of their psychological health being damaged (Yao et al., 2020).

Reduction of Transport

In relation to global emissions, the lowering of CO2 emissions relates to the effect of COVID-19 on human development. The slowing down of human development and declining rates of change along with the loss of environmental damage.

It was observed that in Asian and European countries, the extent of the pollution in the air has declined significantly.

In urban and industrial areas, the amount of carbon monoxide (which is a poisonous gas) and other aerosols have also declined.

These environmental benefits have directly mirrored the losses in the fields of health, education, income, and trade. In other words, because there is less trade, there are fewer ships, which means there are fewer emissions, but less money overall.

References:

Bai, Y., Lin, C.-C., Lin, C.-Y., Chen, J.-Y., Chue, C.-M., and Chou, P. (2020). Survey of stress reactions among health care workers involved with the SARS outbreak. Psychiatr. Serv. 55:9. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.55.9.1055

IMF (2020). World Economic Outlook Update, June 2020: A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery. Available online at:https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/06/24/WEOUpdateJune2020 (accessed 13 July 2020).

IMF Blog (2020). COVID-19 Worsens Pre-Existing Financial Vulnerabilities. Available online at:https://blogs.imf.org/2020/05/22/covid-19-worsens-pre-existing-financial-vulnerabilities/ (accessed 13 July 2020).

UNAIDS (2020). Impact Of COVID-19 On Mental Health and Quality of Life of Young Key Populations and Young People Living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific. Availble at: https://www.unaids.org/en/20200612_mental_health_ykp_ap (accessed 30 June 2020).

Yao, H., Chen, J.-H., and Xu, Y.-F. (2020). Rethinking online mental health services in china during the COVID-19 epidemic. Asian J. Psychiatry 50:102015. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102015