The Impacts of Covid-19 (Kòrónà)

I slowly became aware of everything. First, the ticking of the clock on the drawer beside my bed, then the softness of bed, the hum of the air condition, then the slight discomfort in my lower belly. I moved my hands over the area and gradually down, and I was shocked to feel it. SHOOT! My eyes came alive! I scrambled off the bed and dashed to the bathroom. How did this happen? I thought I had prepared for this before going to bed this morning because  you see, I had stayed up all seriously doing nothing. I did prepare but the sleep position changed things.  This thought led me almost immediately to how we try to avoid disaster but despite our efforts, still encounter what we fear. For example, preparing for an exam but missing it altogether because you somehow manage to have the wrong time, savings that do not cover unexpected unbudgeted expenses, and epidemics/pandemic. It is interesting how the brain quickly finds things to attach the simplest thing ever to larger more complex situations.

After tidying up, I went back to bed, it was 7:00 am but you would not know it because there is no natural lightning in the room. I tried to make myself get as comfortable as I can be without using a pain reliever and switched off the light, even the ones in the bathroom. Adjacent me is the radio with the green light time. I shifted to make myself more comfortable, then I noticed another green reflection from the temperature control panel. Then the slim slip of yellow light from the door.  It is not surprising to know that a dark place which can at times evoke fear and at another time be a safe zone and how a dark room can at a point be too lighted. I closed the door on that thought and went back to the previous one about lady issues and COVID-19  .  

Apart from the meaningless wars to show dominance and exploit others, plagues and diseases have always been forces that indiscriminately strive to continuously wipe out the human race. From the bizarre Dancing plague, Sweat plague, Smallpox, Malaria, the various forms of the black plague, The Spanish flu, The swine flu, Ebola, HIV/AIDS and now, the “reigning queen’’ Despite the advancement of research and innovations the developed worlds have made in combating these strange plagues and diseases,  and thinking that they were prepared for anything,  they fell helplessly to the ravaging tide of Corona.

COVID-19 has affected the lives of everyone, and will continue to do so in the coming years. I remember the different reactions during the earlier days the virus was reported in Michigan. Some like  me were a bit scared and cautious- I always had a sanitizer on me but not cautious enough to have a mask as I noticed with some Asians wearing masks. This was when it had not been made compulsory. Some people on the other hand did not just care. I remember a trip to the grocery store where a man was so interested in making small talk and no one seemed to care that the man was coughing and all over the place even when they had no  mask on. On the trip back to my house, another man was on the phone going on about how he does not believe coronavirus is that serious.  Though I was not in close proximity with these guys, I went into panic mode and started trying all that could help if I had by any means caught it on the bus by distancing, vigorously washing hands to the extent they became painful, drinking hot lemon water, disinfecting all the time (at the risk of ingesting the chemical). I spent all day following the news, checking counts by countries, states and counties, reading people's accounts of their symptoms, checking the CDC sites for updates. My panic heightened when I started feeling sick even when it was the usual  Dysmenorrhea. Healthline reports Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety and depression to be one of the three major effects of Covid on health. I believe everyone at a point has this even without having the virus. There are also long term health issues, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and the risk of other organs being affected.

All learning institutions and religious organizations have been shut down and countries that have what it takes to move to virtual meetings have done so, but those that find themselves in countries with no prospects have and will continue to put education and socio- religious observance on hold until the whole thing comes down. The question is when will it be safe? In one way or the other, we have experienced anxiety over prevention  anxiety about coping with treatment and isolation when we or someone around has it, stress with being locked in with family members  especially for those whose home front is chaotic.  These are some of the social consequences of the virus on the educational system, religious practices and human  psychology.

According to scenario simulations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global growth could fall by 0.5 for the year 2020. Covid-19 has not spared the economy of any country. There has been a massive case of lay-off across almost all sectors apart from health, essential retails, security and some manufacturing companies.  The airlines, tourism, arts and sport are all closed. Like the air transportation where Helane Becker, an analyst with the investment bank Cowenit says it could take two to five years before passenger numbers return to the go-go levels of 2019, it would take a lot time to recover from the economic fall and people will have to deal with the consequences that come with it.

Covid-19 has environmental  effects too especially with the disposable masks and gloves.  Tons of these when not properly managed find their way to the sea, causing more harm to the environment. Also, there is heavy reliance on electricity which does not help the cause of sustainability. There is however no doubt that there is less air pollution because  there are less chemical emission with plants and car fumes 

Oprah while chatting with Iyanla on a recent episode of Sisterhood Saturdays said that the virus has magnified the fears we had before in that the lockdown has created more time and environment to feed these fears. We should however think of  the positivity that comes with it, a sense of purging where we see those things that we think we cherish taken away and at the end come to the realisation of what is most important.  This  leads to a  rediscovering of  one's essence. In this way, man despite all challenges is resilient.