7 Ways Covid-19 Has Devastated Our Lives

Since December 2019 when the first case of coronavirus was reported from Wuhan, the disease soon spread throughout the world like wildfire. It did not only pose serious threats to our modern health care system but also questioned our astonishing advancements in pharmacology. We all witnessed how a common cold-like sickness thrashed the overall systems of world trade, economy, education, tourism, health, and finance. Since December 2019 people from around the globe are waiting anxiously for the conditions to normalize as that before the outbreak of the virus. Although various vaccines have been launched, the regular mutation in the virus structure gives rise to new strains every few months. The past year has been devastating for all of us in various ways. Here is an insight into how Covid-19 has caused irreparable damage to our lives in a way or another.

 1. Closure of Educational Institutes

Worldwide outbreaks and a terrible mortality rate forced every government and state around the globe to take drastic measures to contain the spread of the virus. The most important and primary of which was to prevent the children from the disease as they have low immunity. as a result world wide schools were closed. Later on in an effort to avoid mass gatherings and social contact, universities, colleges, and other educational institutes were closed too. Although it was done for the greater good and health of the students, it has caused irreparable damage to the educational activities and learning. In Pakistan educational institutes were closed on 16th March. After almost 6 months of closure, the government decided to open the schools, colleges, and universities on 15th September only to close again after a month and a half on 26th November. Educational institutes have been closed for the third time on 25th March 2021. During this time only a small percentage of students availed themselves of online classes. conditions were worse for juniors and students who had experimental studies. 

2-International Traveling ban

The first case of Covid-19 in Pakistan was reported on 26th February in a student who arrived in Karachi from China. Similar international travelers were found responsible for spreading the disease in almost every corner of the world that forced the states to take action against free and unrestricted traveling followed by the complete or partial ban on flights by different countries. This action not only raised immense problems for Expatriate Pakistani workers in other countries, students, and businessmen but banning international travel is also a big setback for a country's aviation industry. However, the pandemic has forced countries to take measures without counting on the profit loss equations and based solely on the health and well-being of the populations. If you are a student who just won a scholarship to study abroad before the outbreak of the virus, you indeed are an unlucky one as most of the countries are still not allowing international students to get back on the campuses. Similarly, Pakistanis who are working in different Gulf and European countries have longed to see their families throughout the year but international flight restrictions have not allowed them to have this joy yet.

3- A Grave Test of The Health Care System

Our first line of defense against the alarming spread of the Covid-19 disease was the health system including our hardworking doctors, paramedic staff, and rescue workers. The challenges endured by the medical professionals in this pandemic are indeed overwhelming. Thousands of doctors from around the globe have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. When all of us were locked up in our homes fearing the contact with the deadly virus these brave people were out there in the field fighting for others' lives by putting their own at risk. Billions of dollars have been invested by the governments worldwide into their health care systems to provide relief to the sufferers and offer security to the doctor's and paramedical staff for their own safety. Despite all efforts and courage, the fact is that this virus has tested our health care systems more than any other disease emergency. The number of people affected by the virus till today is 124 million with 2.73 million casualties. This means that during this time at least 124 million people have been under direct or indirect surveillance of the hospitals. In Pakistan government tried to improvise all available resources and strengthened the Primary and Secondary Health care department to share the burden of the mainstream health facilities. Despite all the efforts and honest intentions, the pandemic has caused serious damage to our healthcare system by taking the lives of several doctors and forcing the authorities to invest a huge amount in the purchasing of the equipment and vaccine.

4- Unemployment and Dearness

Covid-19 has forced the authorities to implement occasional lockdowns in various parts of the country since the outbreak of the disease. Apart from the educational institutes' restaurants, marriage halls and markets were closed as well. this act somehow ensured the safety against the virus but also made living hell tough for the daily wagers. Markets and restaurant closure put millions of people in grave danger by making it tough for them even to sustain a hand-to-mouth lifestyle. Although the government provided them with corona relief funds that were never enough to fulfill their needs. As a result of which ordinary household and kitchen item's prices have seen skyrocketing trends in the past twelve months. Daily wagers and people who used to earn very little for their families have seen a very horrible time and things are yet to become easy for them with the third wave already hit Pakistan.

5- Artificial Scarcity of Essential Medicines and Oxygen

The covid-19 has tested us mentally, physically nationally, and morally. Apart from other grounds where we might have performed well, we have failed to register a very pleasant experience on the moral ground. With the spread of the disease as the world was carrying out the research and possible cure of the disease with existing medicine, each medicine suggested by the expert to provide some relief from the disease was already disappeared in our country. Corona patients often need a continuous supply of oxygen but in our country, it was hardly possible to find an oxygen cylinder. If you are extremely lucky to have one then it would have cost 20-30k. All essential medicines have been blacked and sold at unbelievably higher rates by creating an artificial scarcity in the market. Each one of us must have run here and there in search of essential medicines like those of hypertension, coronary diseases, and diabetes for our parents in this drastic year. The situation was even worse in smaller cities. This thing has not only caused panic but also put the lives of millions at risk due to diseases other than corona.

6- Unemployment

Since the world has already been enduring the staggering downfall of powerful economies, the condition was no different in Pakistan too.  There have been thousands of people out there who had lost their jobs and had to face the hardest time of their lives. Specifically, the closure of private schools and colleges left many teachers unemployed, and since most of the private institutes give a very small salary to their employees, losing their jobs only added to the agony. The closing of institutes left many small businesses run in these colleges and universities struggling for survival. Inflation and dearness shut many small businesses down, as a result, adding to the unemployed nationals. 

7- Depression and Anxiety

According to the studies at the center for the science of social connections at the University of Washington, psychological scientists have feared that due to the everlasting impacts of coronavirus we might be heading towards a depression epidemic. We would have never thought that in this age of science and technology advancements a tiny microscopic entity would force the whole world to stop and impose lockdowns to contain its havoc. Everything from the economy to the defense of each and every nation on the globe has been compromised and challenged brutally. The initial death rate in certain countries like Italy, the USA, China, and India was so staggering that the busy life in some of the busiest and mightiest cities was brought to a standstill. 

People lost their jobs, there was no education or recreation for the children, many longed to see their families and relatives, we felt alone at times of need, millions had to shut their businesses down. All these things fueled up a deep depression and anxiety among the masses independent of their nationalities. 

The condition is still not in our control and efforts are being made by the scientists, doctors, and governments to ease the pain of the moment. But as inhabitants of the world, we are obliged to cooperate with each other in this calamity and try to defeat it by joining our hands with each other forgetting the differences of language, region, borders, religion, and cultures. The only way to defeat this catastrophic disease is to work with courage, hope, and honesty.