For some Americans at present, the size of the novel coronavirus brings to mind 9/11 or the 2008 money related emergency occasions. Both of these are events that reshaped society in massive ways. Starting from how we travel and purchase homes, to the degree of security and observation we’re acquainted with, and even to the language, we use. It is the same for the rest of the world as well. We all know that nothing is going to remain the same in the post COVID world. However, we are all trying to find a positive side of this entire situation.
The worldwide pandemic that keeps us locked in our homes possibly for quite a long time is as of now reorienting our relationship with government, to the outside world, even to one another. A few changes these specialists hope to find in the coming months or years may feel new or disrupting: Will countries remain shut? Will contact become unthinkable? What will happen to cafés?
You must also accept the fact that crisis brings in several opportunities too. For example, progressively modern and adaptable utilization of technology, a revived gratefulness towards the outside world, less polarization, and life’s other straightforward joys. Nobody knows precisely what awaits us. Still, here we are talking about all the ways that society, government, medicinal services, the economy, our ways of life and more will change.
Post COVID world: How are things going to change?
As of now, COVID-19 is moving through the world and the worldwide economy seems, by all accounts, to be falling. This, surely, is one of those seasons of distress—a period when our lives are overturned and loaded up with vulnerability.
Let’s check out a few things that you will get to experience in the post COVID world.
Work from home
Like every cloud has a silver lining, similarly, every tough situation brings in new solutions. Before, only a very small percentage of people used to get the opportunity of working from home. On the other hand, the majority of the people never realized that it was an option too. However, with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, people are forced to work from home, and in most cases, they are liking it too.
It is like a global experiment in work-from-home going on, and entrepreneurs are realizing how sustainable this is in every way. Over the past two months, the productivity rate has become noticeably better, and this trend is surely going to stay. Also, pollution levels in big cities have decreased drastically. A part of the credit also goes to the fact that people are not using any modes of transport for the commute from home to office and back.
Offering a basic salary
A couple of months prior, offering a basic salary like this appeared to be an unrealistic fantasy. Sending each individual in a country a monthly paycheck, irrespective of whether they are going to work, seemed illogical. Moreover, in the majority of the countries, it didn’t seem like anything we’d perceive anywhere soon. However, in the post COVID world, it will be a common scenario. The United Kingdom has already committed to paying 80% of its laborers’ salaries. While Denmark has offered to pay the same up to 90%. Also, the United States is anticipating sending a $1,200 check to pretty much every grown-up American. None of these plans are equivalent to general fundamental salary—yet they’re close.
Dry trials on how these approaches truly influence society are going to be held before proper implementation. However, it’s too soon to state what the success rate of such an initiative will be. Finland attempted offering a widespread basic salary in 2017 and 2018 and presumed that it left individuals “cheerful yet jobless”, which may be what we find in the remainder of the world, also very soon.
Automation
One of the areas the global pandemic has hit the hardest is the manufacturing sector. Anybody working in a processing plant is going through an extremely rough phase. Working remotely isn’t a choice when all the work is done by the hands. So, for certain manufacturing plants, employees cannot take the risk of staying back at home at the cost of their jobs. In any case, for the alleged “lights out” processing plants that are worked altogether by robots, a disease isn’t even an issue.
Organizations that utilize more automation are now showing improvement over those that depend on human labor for their complete manufacturing process. Caja Robotics, for instance, has said that they’ve seen a 25% expansion in work requirements in the previous month itself.
We can anticipate that the majority of assembling organizations should resort to automation to endure — and a ton of other organizations, as well. China has just begun dispensing conveyance drivers with drones. Moreover, they’re reporting that such uses of robotics are making work quicker and more secure.
They’ve explored the different ideas regarding automated hospitals too. Here, machines measure your temperature, deliver your dinners, and sanitize your room to protect people against any contact with outsiders. Such is the condition of evolution already. So, we can well imagine how it can be when this pandemic ends.
Online education
Schools are closing down in about every country that is hit by COVID-19. As a result, parents are forced to become teachers giving way to a completely different era of education. You will find out that in the post COVID world, online education is the standard way of how children are taught. Regardless of how well educated your teacher is, they will need to figure out how to make training advanced.
Reviews from teachers about the trend, up until now, has been generally negative.
The serious issue is that online education comes with a set of disadvantages too. Children whose guardians don’t to push them towards their classes ultimately fall further behind, while people who can’t bear the cost of online education are barred. In any case, each teacher across the globe is getting intense training in 21st-century learning.
They’re ensured to return with thoughts that will change how our children learn. At any rate, the trend of online education in the post COVID world is going to increase. A ton of guardians is going to homeschool their children. Also, self-taught kids tend to score higher in competitive tests than kids who go to school. So, there’s a decent possibility that a majority of those parents will choose to stick with online education.
Reliability of China is over
COVID-19 possessed the world at a time that has proved to be worst for the Chinese trade markets. They were already in a fierce trade war, and COVID-19 has aggravated things majorly. Even till a couple of months back, the world was highly dependent on China, mainly because of its manufacturing industries. They manufacture almost 20% of the world’s goods which is more than any other country in the world.
Besides, they have a significantly greater sector dedicated to human services. 90% of America’s antibiotics are developed by scientists in China. However, the case will not be the same anymore. A few nations have already begun producing their goods, while others are trying to follow the model countries. Right now, we truly must choose between limited options. We will need to start trading with other nations who have considerably better manufacturing units. This is again going to hurt China even long after the pandemic is finished.
The comeback of big government
According to Meghan McCain, “There are no Libertarians in a pandemic”. Regardless of whether that is something to be thankful for or not is up to discuss. However, whether it is positive or negative, there’s a great deal of motivation to accept that it’s real right now. People across the world have been trying to adapt to the big government since the time COVID-19 started to spread. Communist arrangements are being executed all around the globe, even in nations drove by libertarian and conservative leaders.
The US government is anticipating an expenditure of $1 trillion. On the other hand, the United Kingdom’s Boris Johnson has said that there’s no roof to the amount they are willing to spend to stop the virus from spreading more. Big government’s making a comeback for sure. Moreover, in certain spots, it’s happening in the most extreme ways.
The Israeli government has begun to track every person’s phone’s locations to find out who has come in contact with an infected person. If you’ve been close to them, you’ll get a phone call through which you get an order of isolating yourself immediately. Moreover, if in the post COVID world, the hands-off government makes a strong comeback, several pending bills will also get passed.
Casting votes via e-mails
If you take a look at last week’s scenario in South Korea, people went to cast their votes amidst the pandemic situation too. They did it most conveniently without any other initiative taken against the same. people were wearing masks and gloves and queueing up the election center to cast their votes. The only visible measure was that each individual was having to go through a thorough inspection before they could enter the center.
Volunteers and officers were keeping track of every person’s body temperature before letting them inside the booth. However, it was an inconvenient situation and nothing short of a disaster. It seemed that the South Korean government is not yet adept at managing such tough situations. Besides, it is also an example of what the rest of the world should be careful not to follow.
At the same time, the United States is also preparing for its federal elections that are to take place in November. However, the USA is surely considering other options such as the e-mail voting system. Some people are already stating their opinion in support of voting via e-mails. According to the scenario, the newfound system of voting may become prevalent in the post COVID world too.
A loss for small businesses
Hundreds of organizations are being hit hard due to the pandemic, but none as hard restaurants and bars. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are only a couple of nations that have closed down all restaurants and bars. Besides, in the countries that are yet to make official announcements, people are making obvious choices of not going out anyway.
For at least the next few months, these small food joints and businesses will have zero revenue if the local government bodies do not aid them. Most of them will unfortunately not be able to survive to see the post COVID world. According to J.P. Morgan, small startups and businesses will not even be able to survive for a month before they reach the stage of bankruptcy.
Now, there will be severe imbalance around because only big organizations will survive and there will be no trace of smaller businesses. However, there is a bright part of this as well. When everything becomes normal again, and people start going out, the big names will save the industry from incurring further losses.
Universal and free health care
According to Laura Spinney says, after the Spanish Flu of 1918, nations around the globe “grasped the idea of social medication.” It was one of the enduring effects of the last extraordinary worldwide pandemic. Individuals began to understand that the soundness of the health of the poor influenced everyone else. Hence started the talks about social and universal healthcare.
Some countries are still unaware or ignorant about the noble concept of providing cheap or free treatment to people in need. However, the COVID-19 scenario could be a turning point here as well. People can now look forward to a change for the better in certain developing countries too.
Already, a few countries have realized the importance of this concept and started offering free treatments to poor people. Governments need to understand that a pandemic situation cannot be fought by just treating one section of society. Nobody can stop the infection from spreading that way. So, every individual has the right to a healthy life for the betterment of himself, family, and society.
Final thoughts
Every passing day, expert economists, socialists, and governments are coming across more aspects that will change permanently due to COVID-19. The above-mentioned are a few of the most important ones.
