impact of covid 19 on society essay

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http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1512-4471 Emily Long 1 ,
Susan Patterson 1 ,
Karen Maxwell 1 ,
Carolyn Blake 1 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7342-4566 Raquel Bosó Pérez 1 ,
Ruth Lewis 1 ,
Mark McCann 1 ,
Julie Riddell 1 ,
Kathryn Skivington 1 ,
Rachel Wilson-Lowe 1 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4409-6601 Kirstin R Mitchell 2
1 MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK
2 MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health & Wellbeing , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK
Correspondence to Dr Emily Long, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 7HR, UK; emily.long{at}glasgow.ac.uk

This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery. We first provide an overview of the pandemic in the UK context, outlining the nature of the public health response. We then introduce four distinct domains of social relationships: social networks, social support, social interaction and intimacy, highlighting the mechanisms through which the pandemic and associated public health response drastically altered social interactions in each domain. Throughout the essay, the lens of health inequalities, and perspective of relationships as interconnecting elements in a broader system, is used to explore the varying impact of these disruptions. The essay concludes by providing recommendations for longer term recovery ensuring that the social relational cost of COVID-19 is adequately considered in efforts to rebuild.

inequalities

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated and/or analysed for this study. Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated or analysed for this essay.

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2021-216690

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Introduction

Infectious disease pandemics, including SARS and COVID-19, demand intrapersonal behaviour change and present highly complex challenges for public health. 1 A pandemic of an airborne infection, spread easily through social contact, assails human relationships by drastically altering the ways through which humans interact. In this essay, we draw on theories of social relationships to examine specific ways in which relational mechanisms key to health and well-being were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relational mechanisms refer to the processes between people that lead to change in health outcomes.

At the time of writing, the future surrounding COVID-19 was uncertain. Vaccine programmes were being rolled out in countries that could afford them, but new and more contagious variants of the virus were also being discovered. The recovery journey looked long, with continued disruption to social relationships. The social cost of COVID-19 was only just beginning to emerge, but the mental health impact was already considerable, 2 3 and the inequality of the health burden stark. 4 Knowledge of the epidemiology of COVID-19 accrued rapidly, but evidence of the most effective policy responses remained uncertain.

The initial response to COVID-19 in the UK was reactive and aimed at reducing mortality, with little time to consider the social implications, including for interpersonal and community relationships. The terminology of ‘social distancing’ quickly became entrenched both in public and policy discourse. This equation of physical distance with social distance was regrettable, since only physical proximity causes viral transmission, whereas many forms of social proximity (eg, conversations while walking outdoors) are minimal risk, and are crucial to maintaining relationships supportive of health and well-being.

The aim of this essay is to explore four key relational mechanisms that were impacted by the pandemic and associated restrictions: social networks, social support, social interaction and intimacy. We use relational theories and emerging research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic response to make three key recommendations: one regarding public health responses; and two regarding social recovery. Our understanding of these mechanisms stems from a ‘systems’ perspective which casts social relationships as interdependent elements within a connected whole. 5

Social networks

Social networks characterise the individuals and social connections that compose a system (such as a workplace, community or society). Social relationships range from spouses and partners, to coworkers, friends and acquaintances. They vary across many dimensions, including, for example, frequency of contact and emotional closeness. Social networks can be understood both in terms of the individuals and relationships that compose the network, as well as the overall network structure (eg, how many of your friends know each other).

Social networks show a tendency towards homophily, or a phenomenon of associating with individuals who are similar to self. 6 This is particularly true for ‘core’ network ties (eg, close friends), while more distant, sometimes called ‘weak’ ties tend to show more diversity. During the height of COVID-19 restrictions, face-to-face interactions were often reduced to core network members, such as partners, family members or, potentially, live-in roommates; some ‘weak’ ties were lost, and interactions became more limited to those closest. Given that peripheral, weaker social ties provide a diversity of resources, opinions and support, 7 COVID-19 likely resulted in networks that were smaller and more homogenous.

Such changes were not inevitable nor necessarily enduring, since social networks are also adaptive and responsive to change, in that a disruption to usual ways of interacting can be replaced by new ways of engaging (eg, Zoom). Yet, important inequalities exist, wherein networks and individual relationships within networks are not equally able to adapt to such changes. For example, individuals with a large number of newly established relationships (eg, university students) may have struggled to transfer these relationships online, resulting in lost contacts and a heightened risk of social isolation. This is consistent with research suggesting that young adults were the most likely to report a worsening of relationships during COVID-19, whereas older adults were the least likely to report a change. 8

Lastly, social connections give rise to emergent properties of social systems, 9 where a community-level phenomenon develops that cannot be attributed to any one member or portion of the network. For example, local area-based networks emerged due to geographic restrictions (eg, stay-at-home orders), resulting in increases in neighbourly support and local volunteering. 10 In fact, research suggests that relationships with neighbours displayed the largest net gain in ratings of relationship quality compared with a range of relationship types (eg, partner, colleague, friend). 8 Much of this was built from spontaneous individual interactions within local communities, which together contributed to the ‘community spirit’ that many experienced. 11 COVID-19 restrictions thus impacted the personal social networks and the structure of the larger networks within the society.

Social support

Social support, referring to the psychological and material resources provided through social interaction, is a critical mechanism through which social relationships benefit health. In fact, social support has been shown to be one of the most important resilience factors in the aftermath of stressful events. 12 In the context of COVID-19, the usual ways in which individuals interact and obtain social support have been severely disrupted.

One such disruption has been to opportunities for spontaneous social interactions. For example, conversations with colleagues in a break room offer an opportunity for socialising beyond one’s core social network, and these peripheral conversations can provide a form of social support. 13 14 A chance conversation may lead to advice helpful to coping with situations or seeking formal help. Thus, the absence of these spontaneous interactions may mean the reduction of indirect support-seeking opportunities. While direct support-seeking behaviour is more effective at eliciting support, it also requires significantly more effort and may be perceived as forceful and burdensome. 15 The shift to homeworking and closure of community venues reduced the number of opportunities for these spontaneous interactions to occur, and has, second, focused them locally. Consequently, individuals whose core networks are located elsewhere, or who live in communities where spontaneous interaction is less likely, have less opportunity to benefit from spontaneous in-person supportive interactions.

However, alongside this disruption, new opportunities to interact and obtain social support have arisen. The surge in community social support during the initial lockdown mirrored that often seen in response to adverse events (eg, natural disasters 16 ). COVID-19 restrictions that confined individuals to their local area also compelled them to focus their in-person efforts locally. Commentators on the initial lockdown in the UK remarked on extraordinary acts of generosity between individuals who belonged to the same community but were unknown to each other. However, research on adverse events also tells us that such community support is not necessarily maintained in the longer term. 16

Meanwhile, online forms of social support are not bound by geography, thus enabling interactions and social support to be received from a wider network of people. Formal online social support spaces (eg, support groups) existed well before COVID-19, but have vastly increased since. While online interactions can increase perceived social support, it is unclear whether remote communication technologies provide an effective substitute from in-person interaction during periods of social distancing. 17 18 It makes intuitive sense that the usefulness of online social support will vary by the type of support offered, degree of social interaction and ‘online communication skills’ of those taking part. Youth workers, for instance, have struggled to keep vulnerable youth engaged in online youth clubs, 19 despite others finding a positive association between amount of digital technology used by individuals during lockdown and perceived social support. 20 Other research has found that more frequent face-to-face contact and phone/video contact both related to lower levels of depression during the time period of March to August 2020, but the negative effect of a lack of contact was greater for those with higher levels of usual sociability. 21 Relatedly, important inequalities in social support exist, such that individuals who occupy more socially disadvantaged positions in society (eg, low socioeconomic status, older people) tend to have less access to social support, 22 potentially exacerbated by COVID-19.

Social and interactional norms

Interactional norms are key relational mechanisms which build trust, belonging and identity within and across groups in a system. Individuals in groups and societies apply meaning by ‘approving, arranging and redefining’ symbols of interaction. 23 A handshake, for instance, is a powerful symbol of trust and equality. Depending on context, not shaking hands may symbolise a failure to extend friendship, or a failure to reach agreement. The norms governing these symbols represent shared values and identity; and mutual understanding of these symbols enables individuals to achieve orderly interactions, establish supportive relationship accountability and connect socially. 24 25

Physical distancing measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 radically altered these norms of interaction, particularly those used to convey trust, affinity, empathy and respect (eg, hugging, physical comforting). 26 As epidemic waves rose and fell, the work to negotiate these norms required intense cognitive effort; previously taken-for-granted interactions were re-examined, factoring in current restriction levels, own and (assumed) others’ vulnerability and tolerance of risk. This created awkwardness, and uncertainty, for example, around how to bring closure to an in-person interaction or convey warmth. The instability in scripted ways of interacting created particular strain for individuals who already struggled to encode and decode interactions with others (eg, those who are deaf or have autism spectrum disorder); difficulties often intensified by mask wearing. 27

Large social gatherings—for example, weddings, school assemblies, sporting events—also present key opportunities for affirming and assimilating interactional norms, building cohesion and shared identity and facilitating cooperation across social groups. 28 Online ‘equivalents’ do not easily support ‘social-bonding’ activities such as singing and dancing, and rarely enable chance/spontaneous one-on-one conversations with peripheral/weaker network ties (see the Social networks section) which can help strengthen bonds across a larger network. The loss of large gatherings to celebrate rites of passage (eg, bar mitzvah, weddings) has additional relational costs since these events are performed by and for communities to reinforce belonging, and to assist in transitioning to new phases of life. 29 The loss of interaction with diverse others via community and large group gatherings also reduces intergroup contact, which may then tend towards more prejudiced outgroup attitudes. While online interaction can go some way to mimicking these interaction norms, there are key differences. A sense of anonymity, and lack of in-person emotional cues, tends to support norms of polarisation and aggression in expressing differences of opinion online. And while online platforms have potential to provide intergroup contact, the tendency of much social media to form homogeneous ‘echo chambers’ can serve to further reduce intergroup contact. 30 31

Intimacy relates to the feeling of emotional connection and closeness with other human beings. Emotional connection, through romantic, friendship or familial relationships, fulfils a basic human need 32 and strongly benefits health, including reduced stress levels, improved mental health, lowered blood pressure and reduced risk of heart disease. 32 33 Intimacy can be fostered through familiarity, feeling understood and feeling accepted by close others. 34

Intimacy via companionship and closeness is fundamental to mental well-being. Positively, the COVID-19 pandemic has offered opportunities for individuals to (re)connect and (re)strengthen close relationships within their household via quality time together, following closure of many usual external social activities. Research suggests that the first full UK lockdown period led to a net gain in the quality of steady relationships at a population level, 35 but amplified existing inequalities in relationship quality. 35 36 For some in single-person households, the absence of a companion became more conspicuous, leading to feelings of loneliness and lower mental well-being. 37 38 Additional pandemic-related relational strain 39 40 resulted, for some, in the initiation or intensification of domestic abuse. 41 42

Physical touch is another key aspect of intimacy, a fundamental human need crucial in maintaining and developing intimacy within close relationships. 34 Restrictions on social interactions severely restricted the number and range of people with whom physical affection was possible. The reduction in opportunity to give and receive affectionate physical touch was not experienced equally. Many of those living alone found themselves completely without physical contact for extended periods. The deprivation of physical touch is evidenced to take a heavy emotional toll. 43 Even in future, once physical expressions of affection can resume, new levels of anxiety over germs may introduce hesitancy into previously fluent blending of physical and verbal intimate social connections. 44

The pandemic also led to shifts in practices and norms around sexual relationship building and maintenance, as individuals adapted and sought alternative ways of enacting sexual intimacy. This too is important, given that intimate sexual activity has known benefits for health. 45 46 Given that social restrictions hinged on reducing household mixing, possibilities for partnered sexual activity were primarily guided by living arrangements. While those in cohabiting relationships could potentially continue as before, those who were single or in non-cohabiting relationships generally had restricted opportunities to maintain their sexual relationships. Pornography consumption and digital partners were reported to increase since lockdown. 47 However, online interactions are qualitatively different from in-person interactions and do not provide the same opportunities for physical intimacy.

Recommendations and conclusions

In the sections above we have outlined the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted social relationships, showing how relational mechanisms key to health have been undermined. While some of the damage might well self-repair after the pandemic, there are opportunities inherent in deliberative efforts to build back in ways that facilitate greater resilience in social and community relationships. We conclude by making three recommendations: one regarding public health responses to the pandemic; and two regarding social recovery.

Recommendation 1: explicitly count the relational cost of public health policies to control the pandemic

Effective handling of a pandemic recognises that social, economic and health concerns are intricately interwoven. It is clear that future research and policy attention must focus on the social consequences. As described above, policies which restrict physical mixing across households carry heavy and unequal relational costs. These include for individuals (eg, loss of intimate touch), dyads (eg, loss of warmth, comfort), networks (eg, restricted access to support) and communities (eg, loss of cohesion and identity). Such costs—and their unequal impact—should not be ignored in short-term efforts to control an epidemic. Some public health responses—restrictions on international holiday travel and highly efficient test and trace systems—have relatively small relational costs and should be prioritised. At a national level, an earlier move to proportionate restrictions, and investment in effective test and trace systems, may help prevent escalation of spread to the point where a national lockdown or tight restrictions became an inevitability. Where policies with relational costs are unavoidable, close attention should be paid to the unequal relational impact for those whose personal circumstances differ from normative assumptions of two adult families. This includes consideration of whether expectations are fair (eg, for those who live alone), whether restrictions on social events are equitable across age group, religious/ethnic groupings and social class, and also to ensure that the language promoted by such policies (eg, households; families) is not exclusionary. 48 49 Forethought to unequal impacts on social relationships should thus be integral to the work of epidemic preparedness teams.

Recommendation 2: intelligently balance online and offline ways of relating

A key ingredient for well-being is ‘getting together’ in a physical sense. This is fundamental to a human need for intimate touch, physical comfort, reinforcing interactional norms and providing practical support. Emerging evidence suggests that online ways of relating cannot simply replace physical interactions. But online interaction has many benefits and for some it offers connections that did not exist previously. In particular, online platforms provide new forms of support for those unable to access offline services because of mobility issues (eg, older people) or because they are geographically isolated from their support community (eg, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth). Ultimately, multiple forms of online and offline social interactions are required to meet the needs of varying groups of people (eg, LGBTQ, older people). Future research and practice should aim to establish ways of using offline and online support in complementary and even synergistic ways, rather than veering between them as social restrictions expand and contract. Intelligent balancing of online and offline ways of relating also pertains to future policies on home and flexible working. A decision to switch to wholesale or obligatory homeworking should consider the risk to relational ‘group properties’ of the workplace community and their impact on employees’ well-being, focusing in particular on unequal impacts (eg, new vs established employees). Intelligent blending of online and in-person working is required to achieve flexibility while also nurturing supportive networks at work. Intelligent balance also implies strategies to build digital literacy and minimise digital exclusion, as well as coproducing solutions with intended beneficiaries.

Recommendation 3: build stronger and sustainable localised communities

In balancing offline and online ways of interacting, there is opportunity to capitalise on the potential for more localised, coherent communities due to scaled-down travel, homeworking and local focus that will ideally continue after restrictions end. There are potential economic benefits after the pandemic, such as increased trade as home workers use local resources (eg, coffee shops), but also relational benefits from stronger relationships around the orbit of the home and neighbourhood. Experience from previous crises shows that community volunteer efforts generated early on will wane over time in the absence of deliberate work to maintain them. Adequately funded partnerships between local government, third sector and community groups are required to sustain community assets that began as a direct response to the pandemic. Such partnerships could work to secure green spaces and indoor (non-commercial) meeting spaces that promote community interaction. Green spaces in particular provide a triple benefit in encouraging physical activity and mental health, as well as facilitating social bonding. 50 In building local communities, small community networks—that allow for diversity and break down ingroup/outgroup views—may be more helpful than the concept of ‘support bubbles’, which are exclusionary and less sustainable in the longer term. Rigorously designed intervention and evaluation—taking a systems approach—will be crucial in ensuring scale-up and sustainability.

The dramatic change to social interaction necessitated by efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 created stark challenges but also opportunities. Our essay highlights opportunities for learning, both to ensure the equity and humanity of physical restrictions, and to sustain the salutogenic effects of social relationships going forward. The starting point for capitalising on this learning is recognition of the disruption to relational mechanisms as a key part of the socioeconomic and health impact of the pandemic. In recovery planning, a general rule is that what is good for decreasing health inequalities (such as expanding social protection and public services and pursuing green inclusive growth strategies) 4 will also benefit relationships and safeguard relational mechanisms for future generations. Putting this into action will require political will.

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Twitter @karenmaxSPHSU, @Mark_McCann, @Rwilsonlowe, @KMitchinGlasgow

Contributors EL and KM led on the manuscript conceptualisation, review and editing. SP, KM, CB, RBP, RL, MM, JR, KS and RW-L contributed to drafting and revising the article. All authors assisted in revising the final draft.

Funding The research reported in this publication was supported by the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/1, MC_UU_00022/3) and the Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU11, SPHSU14). EL is also supported by MRC Skills Development Fellowship Award (MR/S015078/1). KS and MM are also supported by a Medical Research Council Strategic Award (MC_PC_13027).

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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Home / Blog

Social Analysis of a Pandemic: How COVID-19 Impacted Society

February 25, 2022

COVID-19 sickened or killed more than 375 million people globally by early 2022, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but its impact goes beyond that striking figure.

The effects of the pandemic touch nearly every facet of society in the United States and abroad, including overall health, the economy, and human behavior. Social analysis reveals that the impact of COVID-19 has been especially pronounced for already vulnerable groups — including people living in poverty, older individuals, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities.

Impact of COVID-19 on Health

The initial impact of COVID-19 on individuals who contract it can be serious. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from the illness in the U.S. Older people, the unvaccinated, and those with chronic health conditions and weakened immune systems face the greatest risk, and marginalized populations have experienced a higher rate of poor outcomes.

A masked server stands in a closed restaurant.

But the pandemic’s implications for health go beyond COVID-19’s initial symptoms to encompass a longer time period and other health conditions.

Health Implications for COVID-19 Patients

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 — fever, cough, fatigue, and loss of taste or smell — typically dissipate after about four weeks. But for those hospitalized after being diagnosed with the virus, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported in 2021, about 9% are readmitted to the hospital within five days of discharge.

Additionally, COVID-19 “long-haulers,” as the Mayo Clinic describes them, can continue to struggle with a host of symptoms, from cough to concentration problems. A 2021 report in PLOS Medicine showed that about a third of the American COVID-19 patients studied had long-term health effects.

The pandemic has lowered life expectancy for Americans overall by a year, according to a report of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). For the Black population, life expectancy decreased by two years, and for Latinos, it decreased by three years.

The United Nations reports that vulnerable populations face steeper challenges in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization cites the example of people experiencing homelessness, noting their inability to take protective measures against the illness.

COVID-19 Implications for Other Health Concerns

The health impact of COVID-19 goes beyond those who contract the illness. The 2021 HHS report describes the impact of COVID-19’s symptoms as four waves: The first wave represents the initial illness for those who contract it, and subsequent waves relate to long-term recovery, health challenges stemming from delays in care, and trauma and mental health concerns.

Emergency department visits for non-coronavirus-related concerns were down significantly in many parts of the U.S. during early stages of the pandemic, as individuals sought to avoid exposure to the virus and adhere to community mitigation measures, HHS reports. Many people postponed in-person medical office visits or elective procedures for the same reasons. With high rates of job loss, especially early in the pandemic, many couldn’t afford healthcare — leading to more delayed medical visits.

The decline in the number of in-person ER visits and elective procedures reduced revenue at many medical facilities, HHS reports, leading to layoffs in a professional field already experiencing shortages.

Additionally, people who put off treatment were vulnerable to disease progression, infection risk, increased complexity of treatment, and increased recovery times. When individuals did visit the emergency room, for example, often their conditions had become so severe as to put them at greater risk of complications or death. In fact, according to a 2021 Epic Research study, emergency department visits that led to hospitalization increased 55% above the expected rate during the month after COVID-19 became a national emergency in March 2020.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy

Social analysis of the pandemic’s economic impact shows sudden turmoil that yielded long-term changes to everything from how companies do business to what employees expect from their jobs. But the financial impact differed according to types of industries and populations of people.

Brookings reports that, at the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, more than 90% of the global economy’s gross domestic product contracted because of supply and demand disruptions. As the U.S. struggled through a recession, 115 million people lost their jobs or saw their work hours reduced between March 2020 and February 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In comparison, 30 million people lost their jobs or experienced a reduction in work hours in 2017.

By 2021, the U.S. economy was rebounding, but effects lingered or worsened in some sectors, leading to what economists call a K-shaped recovery. The long-term impacts of this type of recovery include:

Continuing unemployment among low-income workers
Increasing racial wealth gap
Rising wealth inequality
Growing corporate monopolies

Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Different Job Sectors

With restrictions on in-person activities and traveling, the travel and hospitality sectors took a big hit in the COVID-19 economy. The U.S. Travel Association reports that travel spending declined by 42% in 2020, for example.

Those same restrictions, however, proved a boon for other fields — particularly those related to technology, whose dominance strengthened as people relied on electronic tools to interact with others and conduct business. The top five tech companies already comprised 17.5% of the S&P 500 heading into the pandemic, according to CNBC. By July 2021, Barron’s reported, they accounted for 23%.

The demand for workers in some sectors has outpaced that in others. Meanwhile, many who left the workforce during coronavirus-related disruptions did not return, thanks to concerns such as health, work-life balance, and child care.

Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Different Populations

Low-income employees — many of whom worked in the hardest-hit job sectors — felt the greatest effect in the initial crush of the pandemic-induced economic downturn, and the effects were longer lasting.

For example, according to the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, by June 2021, employment for people earning $60,000 or more a year had increased by 9.6% compared with February 2020. For those whose income was below $27,000 a year, employment during that period had decreased by 21%. Among the factors driving this discrepancy is the inability of many low-income employees to do their jobs remotely.

People of color also were at risk of more deeply experiencing the effects of the pandemic-related economic downturn, with existing inequalities becoming more pronounced as they navigated challenges such as job loss and unexpected expenses.

Impact of COVID-19 on Human Behavior

From how people interact to how they cope with stress, behaviors changed during the coronavirus pandemic, social analysis reveals. Some short-term impacts, such as isolation during lockdowns, led to longer-term problems, such as increases in crime and substance abuse.

Mental Health

Social distancing and stay-at-home measures affected how people perceive and relate to others. As friends, families, students, and employees gathered only through technology, many suffered the effects of separation from loved ones, loss of freedom, and concern about their safety.

A 2020 Frontiers in Psychology research article shows children and young adults were particularly at risk for stress and anxiety, as were healthcare workers, who were most likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder. In an October 2020 survey by the American Psychological Association, about two-thirds of U.S. adults reported increased stress because of the pandemic.

Drug and Alcohol Use

Researchers found an increase in substance abuse and drug overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Center for Health Statistics, for example, indicates that drug overdose deaths increased by 27% between April 2020 and April 2021, likely due to the stress and uncertainty of COVID-19. And a 2020 Psychiatry Research piece shows an increase in dangerous alcohol consumption among 1,000 people surveyed nationwide, from 21% engaging in this behavior to 40% between April and September 2020.

While property crime and drug offense rates fell between 2019 and 2020, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, homicide rates increased by 42% between June and August of 2020 — a spike that may be due to increased stress and a change in routines.

The organization also notes that the pandemic may have exacerbated existing racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system; as jail populations began to drop at the start of the pandemic, the proportion of inmates who were Black, male, and 25 or younger increased. This scenario continued even as jail populations rose in May 2020.

Take a Brave Step Toward Addressing COVID-19’s Social Challenges

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Social and economic impact of COVID-19

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Eduardo levy yeyati and eduardo levy yeyati former nonresident senior fellow - global economy and development @eduardoyeyati federico filippini federico filippini visiting professor - universidad torcuato di tella @efefilippini.

June 8, 2021

Introduction

The impact of the pandemic on world GDP growth is massive. The COVID-19 global recession is the deepest since the end of World War II (Figure 1). The global economy contracted by 3.5 percent in 2020 according to the April 2021 World Economic Outlook Report published by the IMF, a 7 percent loss relative to the 3.4 percent growth forecast back in October 2019. While virtually every country covered by the IMF posted negative growth in 2020 (IMF 2020b), the downturn was more pronounced in the poorest parts of the world (Noy et al. 2020) (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Global GDP growth in a historical perspective

The impact of the shock is likely to be long-lasting. While the global economy is expected to recover this year, the level of GDP at the end of 2021 in both advanced and emerging market and developing economies (EMDE) is projected to remain below the pre-virus baseline (Figure 3). As with the immediate impact, the magnitude of the medium-term cost also varies significantly across countries, with EMDE suffering the greatest loss. The IMF (2021) projects that in 2024 the World GDP will be 3 percent (6 percent for low-income countries (LICs)) below the no-COVID scenario. Along the same lines, Djiofack et al. (2020) estimate that African GDP would be permanently 1 percent to 4 percent lower than in the pre-COVID outlook, depending on the duration of the crisis.

The pandemic triggered a health and fiscal response unprecedented in terms of speed and magnitude. At a global scale, the fiscal support reached nearly $16 trillion (around 15 percent of global GDP) in 2020. However, the capacity of countries to implement such measures varied significantly. In this note, we identify three important preexisting conditions that amplified the impact of the shock:

Fiscal space: The capacity to support household and firms largely depends on access to international financial markets,
State capacity: Fast and efficient implementation of policies to support household and firms requires a substantial state capacity and well-developed tax and transfer infrastructure; and
Labor market structure: A large share of informal workers facing significant frictions to adopt remote working, and high levels of poverty and inequality, deepen the deleterious impact of the crisis.

Additionally, the speed and the strength of the recovery will be crucially dependent on the capacity of the governments to acquire and roll out the COVID-19 vaccines.

This paper presents a succinct summary of the existing economic literature on the economic and fiscal impact of the pandemic, and a preliminary estimate of the associated economic cost. It documents the incidence of initial conditions (with a particular focus on the role of the labor market channel) on the transmission of the shock and the speed and extent of the expected recovery, summarizes how countries attempted to attenuate the economic consequences and the international financial institutions assisted countries, reports preliminary accounts of medium-term COVID-related losses, and concludes with some forward-looking considerations based on the lessons learned in 2020.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

The year 2019 will forever be engraved in many people’s hearts and minds as the time when a deadly virus known as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) invaded almost all the sectors, thereby disrupting daily activities. It is described as a communicable respiratory illness which is triggered by a new strain of coronavirus which leads to various ailments in human beings. There is currently no known cure or vaccine for the virus as scientists worldwide are still trying to learn about the illness to respond appropriately through research (Goodell, 2020). This paper aims at exploring the effects that the pandemic has had on society regarding the economy, social life, education, religion, and family.

The emergence of the pandemic, which began in China-2019, quickly spread to other nations across the world with devastating effects on their economies As a way of containing the disease, many countries instituted strict measures, such as curfews, the mandatory wearing of masks, and social distancing of 1 meter apart (Goodell, 2020). Covid-19 has significantly changed the way these preventive methods relate with each concerning trade matters. The majority of the states affected opted to close their borders as fear among the citizens increased. The implementation of the strict rules interfered with the business operations of many nations. It became difficult for international trade to continue as a result of the closed borders. Most businesses have also had to close due to financial constraints.

When it comes to socialization, people have been forced to use other means to meet their friends and families across the world. Social media platforms have seen an increased usage during this difficult time as people try to find new ways of socializing. It has happened especially in such countries as Australia, where the restrictions were extreme as it enforced a lockdown for close to a hundred days (Goodell, 2020). The use of masks is also quickly becoming the new norm across numerous states. Unlike in developed countries where the governments have offered their citizens some aid mostly in terms of cash transfers, developing countries have struggled to balance between the people’s livelihood and the containment of the Covid-19. As such, most people have turned to social media platforms as a medium of communication and socialization due to lockdowns.

Learning institutions have also not been spared by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most countries affected by the spread of the virus were forced to suspend their educational curriculum calendar to allow children and university students to stay home until the time when the disease is finally neutralized (Goodell, 2020). However, students and parents have been pushing the governments to resume schools with clear protocols which ensure that both the students and the teachers follow the rules, including the mandatory wearing of masks. Religion has also been significantly affected as it has become difficult for people to seek for spiritual nourishment (Goodell, 2020). Many religious leaders have had to devise other ways of reaching out to the congregates. For example, many churches now have to move their services online by using such platforms as YouTube, Facebook, Zoom, among others to convey essential teachings.

Covid-19 has also directly affected many families across the world, as the majority have succumbed to the disease. The United States of America and Italy are some of the pandemic’s worst casualties, where many people were killed by the lethal virus (Goodell, 2020). Some people have in the end lost more than one member of the family because of the disease, and in some worse case scenarios, the illness has claimed a whole family.

In conclusion, this paper has highlighted the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, social life, education, religion, and family units. Many countries and businesses had underestimated the disease’s impact before they later suffered from the consequences. Therefore, international bodies, such as the World Health Organization, need to help developing countries establish critical management healthcare systems, which can help to deal with the future pandemics.

Goodell, J. W. (2020). COVID-19 and finance: Agendas for future research. Finance Research Letters , 35 , 101512. Web.

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How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Students can share how they navigated life during the coronavirus pandemic in a full-length essay or an optional supplement.

Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays

Serious disabled woman concentrating on her work she sitting at her workplace and working on computer at office

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Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many – a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

"I can't help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more," says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students' lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it's the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year," says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. "Maybe that's a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it's OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?"

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

"In general, I don't think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application," Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

"Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student's individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19," Miller says.

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

"If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it," Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn't be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it's common, noting that "topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it."

Above all, she urges honesty.

"If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself," Pippen says. "If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have."

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. "There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic."

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them – and write about it.

That doesn't mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

"That's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer," Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there's likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

"This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student's family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties," Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, "could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant."

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it's the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

"My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic – and that is, don't write what you think we want to read or hear," Alexander says. "Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell."

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, "What's the sentence that only I can write?" He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that's the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

"Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability," Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

"It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all," Pippen says. "They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle."

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PERSPECTIVE article

The psychological and social impact of covid-19: new perspectives of well-being.

A commentary has been posted on this article:

Commentary: The psychological and social impact of COVID-19: New perspectives of well-being

Read general commentary

$\r\nValeria Saladino*$

1 Department of Human Sciences, Society and Health, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio of Cassino, Cassino, Italy
2 Independent Researcher, Milan, Italy
3 Department of Political and Social Studies, Sociology, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has had significant psychological and social effects on the population. Research has highlighted the impact on psychological well-being of the most exposed groups, including children, college students, and health workers, who are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of distress. The social distance and the security measures have affected the relationship among people and their perception of empathy toward others. From this perspective, telepsychology and technological devices assume important roles to decrease the negative effects of the pandemic. These tools present benefits that could improve psychological treatment of patients online, such as the possibility to meet from home or from the workplace, saving money and time and maintaining the relationship between therapists and patients. The aim of this paper is to show empirical data from recent studies on the effect of the pandemic and reflect on possible interventions based on technological tools.

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic led to a prolonged exposure to stress. As a consequence, researchers showed an increased interest in measuring social and community uneasiness in order to psychologically support the population. This increased attention might help in managing the current situation and other possible epidemics and pandemics. The security measures adopted in managing the pandemic had different consequences on individuals, according to the social role invested. Some segments of the population seem to be more exposed to the risk of anxious, depressive, and post-traumatic symptoms because they are more sensitive to stress.

The following article has two focuses of interest: (1) the evaluation of the psychological and social effects of the pandemic on the population, mostly children, college students, and health professionals; and (2) the identification of new perspectives of intervention based on digital devices and in line with the social security measures and mental health promotion. Telepsychology, for instance, is a valid tool, effective in taking charge of the psychological suffering caused by the pandemic and in preventing the chronicity of the disease. The prolonged stress could involve anxiety, depression, and the inability to manage traumatic and negative emotions. Furthermore, the constant fear of contagion affects daily life and leads to social isolation, modifying human relations.

COVID-19 and At-Risk Populations: Psychological and Social Impact of the Quarantine

Studies of pandemics faced over time, such as SARS, Ebola, H1N1, Equine Flu, and the current COVID-19, show that the psychological effects of contagion and quarantine is not limited on the fear of contracting the virus ( Barbisch et al., 2015 ). There are some elements related to the pandemic that affect more the population, such as separation from loved ones, loss of freedom, uncertainty about the advancement of the disease, and the feeling of helplessness ( Li and Wang, 2020 ; Cao et al., 2020 ). These aspects might lead to dramatic consequences ( Weir, 2020 ), such as the rise of suicides ( Kawohl and Nordt, 2020 ). Suicidal behaviors are often related to the feeling of anger associated with the stressful condition widely spread among people who lived/live in the most affected areas ( Miles, 2014 ; Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, 2020 ; Mamun and Griffiths, 2020 ). In light of these consequences, a carefully evaluation of the potential benefits of the quarantine is needed, taking into account the high psychological costs ( Day et al., 2006 ; Mazza et al., 2020 ).

As reported in a recent survey administered during the Covid-19 pandemic, children and young adults are particularly at risk of developing anxious symptoms ( Orgilés et al., 2020 ). The research involved a sample of 1,143 parents of Italian and Spanish children (range 3–18). In general, parents observed emotional and behavioral changes in their children during the quarantine: symptoms related to difficulty concentrating (76.6%), boredom (52%), irritability (39%), restlessness (38.8%), nervousness (38%), sense of loneliness (31.3%), uneasiness (30.4%), and worries (30.1%). From the comparison between the two groups—Spanish and Italian parents—it emerged that the Italian parents reported more symptoms in their children than the Spanish parents. Further data collected on a sample of college students at the time of the spread of the epidemic in China showed how anxiety levels in young adults are mediated by certain protective factors, such as living in urban areas, the economic stability of the family, and cohabitation with parents ( Cao et al., 2020 ). On the contrary, having infected relatives or acquaintances leads to a worsening in anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, the economic problems and the slowdown in academic activities are related with anxious symptoms ( Alvarez et al., 2020 ). In addition, an online survey conducted on the general population in China found that college students are more likely to experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression than others during the pandemic ( Li et al., 2020 ). These results suggest monitoring and promoting mental health of youths in order to reduce the negative impact of the quarantine ( CSTS, 2020 ; Fessell and Goleman, 2020 ; Li et al., 2020 ).

Health-care workers (HCWs) are another segment of population particularly affected by stress ( Garcia-Castrillo et al., 2020 ; Lai et al., 2020 ). HCWs are at risk to develop symptoms common in catastrophic situations, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout syndrome, physical and emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and dissociation ( Grassi and Magnani, 2000 ; Mache et al., 2012 ; Øyane et al., 2013 ). However, an epidemic presents different peculiarities compared to a catastrophic event, for instance, the stigmatizing attitudes in particular toward health professionals, who are in daily contact with the risk of infection ( Brooks et al., 2020 ). During SARS, up to 50% of health-care professionals suffered from acute psychological stress, exhaustion, and post-traumatic stress, caused by the fear of contagion of their family members and the prolonged social isolation ( Tam et al., 2004 ; Maunder et al., 2006 ).

As a consequence of the pandemic, the health professionals who were overworked suffered high level of psychophysical stress ( Mohindra et al., 2020 ). Health professionals also lived/live in daily life a traumatic condition called secondary traumatic stress disorder ( Zaffina et al., 2014 ), which describes the feeling of discomfort experienced in the helping relationship when treatments are not available for all patients and the professional must select who can access them and who cannot ( Roden-Foreman et al., 2017 ; Rana et al., 2020 ). Data from a survey on 1,257 HCWs who assisted patients in Covid-19 wards and in second- and third-line wards showed high percentages of depression (50%), anxiety (44.6%), insomnia (34%), and distress (71.5%) ( Lai et al., 2020 ). Also, the constant fear of contagion leads to obsessive thoughts ( Brooks et al., 2020 ), increasing the progressive closure of the person and reducing social relationships. In line with these results, Rossi et al. (2020) evaluated mental health outcomes among HCWs in Italy during the pandemic, confirming a high score of mental health issues, particularly among young women and front-line workers. Furthermore, Spoorthy et al. (2020) conducted a review on the gendered impact of Covid-19 and found that 68.7–85.5% of medical staff is composed of women, and the mean age ranged between 26 and 40 years. Also, women are more likely to be affect by anxiety, depression, and distress ( Lai et al., 2020 ; Zanardo et al., 2020 ). Liang et al. (2020) also found a relation between age and depressive symptoms associated with the pandemic. Indeed, the medical staff at younger ages (<30 years) reports higher self-rated depression scores and more concern about infecting their families than those of older age. Staff > 50 years of age reported increased stress due to patient’s death, the prolonged work hours, and the lack of personal protective equipment. Cai et al. (2020) also found that nurses felt more nervous compared to doctors.

As emerged by the recent literature, the promotion of psychological interventions on the specific population who is more likely to develop pathologies and suffering is needed. The Lancet Global Mental Health Commission’s observation ( Patel, 2018 ) reported that the use of digital technologies can provide mental health interventions in order to reduce anxiety and stress levels and increase self-efficacy ( Kang et al., 2020 ; Xiao et al., 2020 ).

Telepsychology: Training and Promotion of Psychological Well-Being

In order to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms widespread among the population, the World Health Organization (2019) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) proposed specific guidelines on the correct use of health protection with the aim to minimize the distress associated with health-care professions.

At the same time, as a consequence of the emerging issues, psychotherapists provided psychological support online, addressing the technological challenge ( Greenberg et al., 2020 ); Liu et al., 2020 ). In line with the technological progress, professional organizations promoted specific guidelines and policies related to customer protection, privacy, screening, evaluation, and development of self-help products ( Duan and Zhu, 2020 ; Zhou et al., 2020 ). Technological development in mental health foreshadows future trends that include “smart” mobile devices, cloud computing, virtual worlds, virtual reality, and electronic games in addition to the traditional psychotherapy tools. In this perspective, it is important to help future generations of psychologists and patients to collaborate in the potential growth areas, through education and training on the benefits and effectiveness of telepsychology ( Maheu et al., 2012 ).

Indeed, more awareness of the potentials of the online services is needed, exploring the main differences between the devices (chat, video-audio consultation, etc.) in order to use them in relation to the specific purposes identified by the professional. For example, the Italian Service of Online Psychology conducted a study based on a service of helpdesk on Facebook. This service guided people in asking for psychological help, working on their personal motivation. At the same time, another helpdesk on Skype provided some psychological sessions via webcam ( Gabri et al., 2015 ). In this line, telecounseling is a diffuse online method used by counselors and psychologists during the recent pandemic ( De Luca and Calabrò, 2020 ).

One of the future goals of public and private psychological organizations should be the promotion of specific training for psychologists and psychotherapists, with the following aims: (1) developing the basic skills in managing the effects of a pandemic and of emergency situations; and (2) sensitizing patients to online therapeutic relationship, providing the main rules and benefits of the process ( Stoll et al., 2020 ; Joint Task Force for the Development of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists, 2013 ). On this line, a significant example is the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) which proposed PhDs in telepsychology, with the aim of training future psychologists in managing the psychological effects of the pandemic through an online psychology service ( Baylor et al., 2019 ). The service provided by the VCU had been effective in reducing anxiety, depression ( Sadock et al., 2017 ), and hospital recoveries ( Lanoye et al., 2017 ). As shown, telepsychology assumes a key role in the improvement of health care. Online psychological services avoid geographical barriers and are suitable to become a useful integrated tool in addition to traditional psychotherapy ( APS, 2020 ; Perrin et al., 2020 ).

Advantages of Psychological Support and Online Psychotherapy

Online psychological services provide several advantages, especially in the current situation of pandemic. First of all, online services help people in a short period of time, reducing the risk of contagion and the strong feeling of anxiety in both psychotherapists and patients, who feel uncomfortable in doing traditional psychotherapy due to the pandemic ( Békés and Aafjes-van Doorn, 2020 ). Furthermore, Pietrabissa et al. (2015) identified some of the main advantages of telepsychology, such as the decrease in waiting for the consultation, because it takes place from home or from the workplace, saving time and expense, less travel and rental costs for the office, for those who provide the service and for those who use it. As reported by the authors, online psychological services facilitate access to people who struggle to find support close to their social environment, avoiding difficulties related to mobility. Also, online services help people who have less confidence in psychotherapy. Indeed, mostly online psychotherapy takes place in one’s comfort zone, facilitating the expression of problems and feelings.

According to the situations, online services could provide a different medium. For instance, the chat is a useful tool to establish a first assessment of a person who feels uncomfortable in using video. Indeed, the online psychotherapy is perceived as more “acceptable.” Suler (2004) defined the term online disinhibition effect demonstrating how the web, unlike the real life, leads to the failure of the hierarchical relationship based on dominant-dominated among individuals; this aspect, according to the author, allows a greater sense of freedom in expressing oneself and less concern related to judgment ( ibid .). Other researchers ( Mantovani, 1995 ; Tosoni, 2004 ) have integrated to the construct of online disinhibition effect the concept of social space, emphasizing the role of the “situation,” of the “social norms” ( Brivio et al., 2010 , p. 811), of the tools (“artifacts”), and of the cyberplace, which allow different levels of interaction. Each person has a different experience of the network and several levels of disinhibition. For instance, a mild disinhibition could be a person who chooses to ask for help talking with a psychologist about their problems; while a high disinhibition could be represented by flaming, an expression of online bullying or cyberstalking.

Online psychological services should be integrated with the various territorial services in order to provide the patients local references in relation to the specific health and economic needs. Finally, the possibility for the therapist and for the patient to record the sessions via chat and in audio/video mode—with the informed consent of the participants ( Wells et al., 2015 )—provides another useful tool to compare the sessions and to underline the positive outcomes and the effectiveness of the therapeutic process. According to this perspective, online psychological support and psychotherapy become a resource for psychotherapists and patients in a co-build relationship ( Algeri et al., 2019 ).

Psychological and Social Suffering and the Empathic Process

In analyzing the psychological impact of the quarantine, the importance for individuals to feel integral part of the society emerged, an aspect often undervalued in psychological well-being. Experts of public health believe that social distancing is the better solution to prevent the spread of the virus. However, although it is not possible to predict the duration of the pandemic, we know very well the serious impact of these measures on the society, on relationships and interactions, in particular on the empathic process. In the early 90s, empathy was described as a form of identification in the psychological and physiological states of others. This definition led to a debate between the disciplines of philosophy of psychology and philosophy of the mind ( Franks, 2010 ). Willard Van Orman Quine (1908–2000) renewed attention to the debate on empathy with a thesis on the development of language and mind in the analytical philosophy. According to Quine, the attribution of the so-called intentional states, through which the psychology commonly explains human behavior, is based on empathy ( Treccani, 2020 ) and leads people to attribute beliefs, desires, and perceptions ( Quine, 1990 , 1992 , Pursuit of Truth: Revised Edition, 1992). Analyzing this aspect within the recent situation of the pandemic, an increment of antithetical positions and attitudes could be noticed. On the one hand, people identify themselves with those who suffer (neighbors, friends, relatives who are living stressful events), promoting activities such as the so-called “suspended expenses.” For instance, solidarity and humanitarian activities, food, and medicine delivery for people who are unable to go to the supermarket. On the other hand, there is a part of the population who experiences a feeling of “forced empathy.” This aspect could be also emphasized by the use of technological devices that might lead to a depersonalization of relationships, forcing the sense of closeness, at least virtually. The hyperconnection of feelings becomes a way to reduce the self-isolation and its consequences, representing the contrary of the idea of Durkheim (1858–1917), who considered society as a specific entity, built on social facts ( Durkheim, 1922 ). The sensation “to be forced to feel” could lead people to distance themselves from others after the emergency situation, incrementing social phobias.

Also, human communication is changing. The formal question “how are you?” at the beginning of a conversation is no longer just a formality, as before the pandemic. For example, the relationship between employee and the manager is different, leading to more responsibilities in listening and understanding feelings expressed during the video call, generating a forced reciprocity. Hence, the aforementioned “forced empathy” may be common in this period because the social distance and the emergency situation make people want to be heard and appreciated, and the simple question “how are you?” becomes an anchor to express fears and emotions ( Pasetti, 2020 ).

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the way people live interpersonal relationships. The lockdown was characterized of a different organization of daily life, with an incrementation of time at home and a reduction of distance through digital devices. This period was also seen as an evolution in the concept of empathy, producing new perspectives in the study of the phenomenon according to a sociological and neurological points of view. Indeed, empathy—defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another—involves several elements, such as: (a) social context and historical period of the individual, (b) neurological mechanisms, and (c) psychological and behavioral responses to feelings of others. The neuro-sociological perspective analyzes the mechanisms involved in the empathic process, focusing on human communication and interpersonal relationships ( Singer and Lamm, 2009 ; Decety and Ickes, 2009 ). Specifically, in this historical period characterized by an increment in the man–machine relationship, neurosociology could become one of the principal sciences for the study of human relations and technology. “We live increasingly in a human–machine world. Anyone who doesn’t understand this, and who is not struggling to adapt to the new environment—whether they like that environment or not—is already being left behind. Adapting to the new, fast-changing, technologically enhanced context is one of the major challenges of our times. And that certainly goes for education” ( Prensky, 2012 , p. 64).

According to the abovementioned considerations, our suggestion consists in:

Primary prevention. Studying the impact of the pandemic toward an at-risk population to reduce symptoms related to stress and providing specific online psychological counseling based on the target (students, medical staff, parents, and teachers).

Secondary prevention. Overcoming the limitations of the human interaction based on digital devices: (1) developing new spaces of inter- and intrasocial communication and new tools of support and psychological treatment, reproducing the multisensory experienced during the face-to-face interaction (Virtual Reality, holograms, serious game etc.); (2) training the next generation of psychotherapists in managing online devices and in implementing their adaptive and personal skills; and (3) sensitizing the general population on telepsychology and its advantages.

Research according to the neurosociological perspective . Studying human interaction mediated by new technologies and the role of empathy, associating neuroscience, sociology, and psychology.

Author Contributions

VS, DA, and VA conceptualized the contribution. VS wrote the paper, reviewed the manuscript, and provided the critical revision processes as PI. All authors approved the submission of the manuscript.

This work did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Keywords : COVID-19, empathy, psychological disease, psychotherapy, social distancing, telepsychology

Citation: Saladino V, Algeri D and Auriemma V (2020) The Psychological and Social Impact of Covid-19: New Perspectives of Well-Being. Front. Psychol. 11:577684. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.577684

Received: 29 June 2020; Accepted: 03 September 2020; Published: 02 October 2020.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2020 Saladino, Algeri and Auriemma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Valeria Saladino, [email protected] ; [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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The positive effects...

The positive effects of covid-19

Read our latest coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Bryn Nelson , science journalist
Seattle, WA, USA
bdnelson{at}nasw.org

As the coronavirus pandemic continues its deadly path, dramatic changes in how people live are reducing some instances of other medical problems. Bryn Nelson writes that the irony may hold valuable lessons for public health

Doctors and researchers are noticing some curious and unexpectedly positive side effects of the abrupt shifts in human behaviour in response to the covid-19 pandemic. Skies are bluer, fewer cars are crashing, crime is falling, and some other infectious diseases are fading from hospital emergency departments.

Other changes are unquestionably troubling. American doctors have expressed alarm over a nosedive in patients presenting to emergency departments with heart attacks, strokes, and other conditions, leading to fears that patients are too afraid of contracting covid-19 to seek necessary medical care. 1 Calls to poison control centres are up by around 20%, attributed to a rise in accidents with cleaners and disinfectants even before President Trump questioned whether injected disinfectants might stop the virus. 2 Calls to suicide prevention lines are skyrocketing, while health experts are fretting about signs of rising alcohol and drug use, poorer diets, and a lack of exercise among those cooped-up at home. 3 Millions of people are hungry and unemployed.

But doctors, researchers, and public health officials say the pandemic is also providing a unique window through which to view some positive health effects from major changes in human behaviour. And the pandemic may lead to a public more willing to accept and act on public health messages.

Alice Pong, a paediatric infectious disease physician and the medical director for infection control at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California, said the hospital has seen a sharp decline in paediatric admissions for respiratory illnesses. These include diseases such as influenza, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and human metapneumovirus.

“We track positive viral tests through our hospital lab and those numbers have gone down dramatically since everybody went into quarantine,” Pong told The BMJ . “We do think that’s a reflection of kids not being in day care or school.” The hospital is testing fewer patients, she said, which could be because more children might be staying home with respiratory symptoms. But more serious cases and intensive care unit admissions are down as well, suggesting a true decline in life threatening illnesses.

Beyond the disease reducing effects of social distancing, Pong said she believes children and families are taking advice on hand washing, personal hygiene, and other prevention measures seriously. “I think this is going to be a good lesson for everybody,” she said. ‘‘The public is seeing why public health officials have advised them stay home when they feel sick, for example, and why they’ve emphasised hand washing and covering a cough or sneeze. Kids growing up now will know this is how germs are spread,” Pong said. That message could spread to their families and broaden awareness.

Fewer cars, blue skies

With covid-19 shutting down economic activity in most parts of the world and people staying closer to home, street crimes like assault and robbery are down significantly, though domestic violence has increased. 4 Traffic has plummeted as well. As a result, NASA satellites have documented significant reductions in air pollution—20-30% in many cases—in major cities around the world. 5 Based on those declines, Marshall Burke, an environmental economist at Stanford University, predicted in a blog post that two months’ worth of improved air quality in China alone might save the lives of 4000 children under the age of 5 and 73 000 adults over the age of 70 (a more conservative calculation estimated about 50 000 saved lives). 6

Although baseline pollution levels in the US are lower, Burke said a similar 20-30% reduction in pollution would still likely yield significant health benefits. “A pandemic is a terrible way to improve environmental health,” he emphasised. It may, however, provide an unexpected vantage to help understand how environmental health can be altered. “It may help bring into focus the effect of business as usual on health outcomes that we care about,” he told The BMJ . “In some sense, it helps us imagine the future.” Getting there, he says, could instead come through better regulation and technology.

A separate report coauthored by Fraser Shilling, director of the Road Ecology Center at the University of California at Davis, found that highway accidents—including those involving an injury or fatality—fell by half after the state’s shelter-in-place order on 19 March. 7 “The reduction in traffic accidents is unparalleled,” and yielded an estimated $40m (£32m; €37m) in public savings every day, the report asserted.

Whereas average traffic speeds increased by only a few miles per hour, traffic volume fell by 55%. Hospitals in the Sacramento region reported fewer trauma related admissions while other reports indicated fewer car collisions with pedestrians and cyclists.

In Washington, collisions on state highways fell even further—by 62%—in the month after the state’s stay-at-home order went into effect on 23 March, compared with the previous year, according to the Washington State Patrol. The question, Shilling said, is whether researchers can learn from the information to design safer transportation patterns. “We’re not going to be guessing anymore about what happens when you take half the cars away,” he said.

Emptier highways, though, may be triggering reckless driving that could undo the mortality reductions. Washington State Patrol spokesperson Darren Wright said that troopers are seeing a “scary trend” of more drivers travelling at extreme speeds—a phenomenon also observed in Missouri. “We’re seeing speeds in the 120 and 130 miles per hour range,” Wright said. One motorcyclist was clocked at more than 150 miles per hour.

Reassessing priorities

If the pandemic has prompted risky behaviour for some, it has encouraged others to embrace preventive measures. Randy Mayer, chief of the Bureau of HIV, STD, and Hepatitis at the Iowa Department of Public Health, said the public has become more responsive to calls from the department’s partner services, which perform contact tracing for people who test positive for HIV, gonorrhoea, and syphilis. “People are really interested in calling us back and finding out what information we have for them,” he said. That increased cooperation, Mayer said, may be a benefit of people associating public health departments with trying to keep them safe from covid-19.

Even so, he worries that a noticeable reduction in the number of new HIV diagnoses may partially reflect a reduction in available testing with many clinics open for limited hours, if not completely closed. But growing evidence suggests that more people are also heeding recent pleas by public health officials and even dating apps to reduce the risk of covid-19 infection by avoiding casual sex with new partners. Researchers in Portugal and the UK told The BMJ that they were beginning to see shifts in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections but were still collecting data to support their observations.

Miguel Duarte Botas Alpalhão, a dermatovenereologist and invited lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, said that he expects to see a lower rate of sexually transmitted infections during the lockdown. The crisis has caused people to question their priorities “and how much they are willing to give up to protect their lives and those of their loved ones,” he said. “People are now more aware that nothing really matters when health is lacking, and this raised awareness may be the driving force towards healthier habits. We will have to wait and see.”

Competing interests: I have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare.

↵ Grady D. The pandemic’s hidden victims: sick or dying, but not from the virus. New York Times. 20 April 2020. www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/health/treatment-delays-coronavirus.html .
Schnall AH ,
↵ Bharath D. Suicide, help hotline calls soar in Southern California over coronavirus anxieties. Orange County Register. 19 April 2020. www.ocregister.com/2020/04/19/suicide-help-hotline-calls-soar-in-southern-california-over-coronavirus-anxieties .
↵ Dazio S, Briceno F, Tarm M. Crime drops around the world as covid-19 keeps people inside. Associated Press. 11 April 2020. https://apnews.com/bbb7adc88d3fa067c5c1b5c72a1a8aa6 .
↵ NASA. Airborne nitrogen dioxide plummets over China. 2 March 2020. www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146362/airborne-nitrogen-dioxide-plummets-over-china .
↵ Burke M. Covid-19 reduces economic activity, which reduces pollution, which saves lives. G-FEED.org. 8 March 2020. www.g-feed.com/2020/03/covid-19-reduces-economic-activity.html .
↵ Shilling F, Waetjen D. Special report (update): impact of covid-19 mitigation on numbers and costs of California traffic crashes. 15 April 2020. https://roadecology.ucdavis.edu/files/content/projects/COVID_CHIPs_Impacts_updated_415.pdf .

A group of people wearing face masks in a socially distanced circle

Preparing for the next health crisis: COVID-19 showed the importance of community-engaged research

Research Associate, Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Disclosure statement

Julia Smith receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Research BC.

Simran Purewal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Simon Fraser University provides funding as a member of The Conversation CA.

Simon Fraser University provides funding as a member of The Conversation CA-FR.

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Community-engaged research involves the active and meaningful involvement of people directly affected by a research problem. Like most activities that require personal interaction, this type of research was disrupted by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This research approach is intended to build trustworthy relationships and yield mutual benefits. Community-engaged projects have garnered attention over the past two decades as they focus on tackling inequities , which often arise during public health crises.

Conducting community-engaged research has several benefits, like increasing the relevancy of studies , incorporating lived experience , and supporting the sharing of findings back to affected communities. Community engagement also plays an important role in emergency responses. Community-engaged emergency responses can promote the uptake of public health interventions and bolster advocacy efforts.

Community-engaged research during the pandemic

Researchers’ ability to engage with communities was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health measures focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19 (such as limits on in-person gatherings) halted traditional forms of fieldwork. For example, researchers could not safely host in-person interviews. They were forced to quickly adapt to unfamiliar virtual teaching and learning platforms.

At the same time, civil society organizations (CSOs), non-profit agencies operating separately from government and business, were stretched thin as their demand soared. These organizations are sought after as community research partners since they are embedded in the communities they serve and provide crucial services to community members. Examples include the United Way BC and Sources Community Resource Centre , which provide direct services, support and relief to communities across B.C.

In 2023, the Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics, and Society ( PIPPS ) hosted a roundtable with community-engaged researchers at Simon Fraser University to learn about their experiences engaging with communities amid the pandemic. Findings from our roundtable, supplementing this article, have also been included in our Community-Engaged Research during Health Crises: Engaging with Civil Society Organizations handbook published by PIPPS and SFU Community Engaged Research Initiative .

Barriers to conducting community-engaged research

Roundtable attendees first discussed the challenges of conducting research remotely, with one noting how their research plans were put on pause for more than three months because of pandemic-related restrictions. Attendees also highlighted how managing multiple forms of online communication disrupted their work-life balance.

Several attendees found it difficult to recruit research participants; they discussed the challenges of the digital divide , referring to the gap between communities’ access to information and communication technologies.

Researchers faced challenges with ethics review boards, which did not consider the risks and unique considerations of engaging communities in a public health crisis. While ethics applications were expedited, researchers felt they lacked guidance for community-engaged research during the pandemic.

Researchers also found it hard to maintain relationships with communities amidst the pandemic. Some key ways researchers connect with communities are through sharing findings and hosting food-sharing events, such as lunch and learns. These opportunities were not available during the pandemic. In addition, many of their long-standing relationships with CSOs were strained as they experienced layoffs and increased demand. Researchers did not want to impede on CSOs’ frontline pandemic-related efforts.

Opportunities emerging from the pandemic

A man seen from behind waving at participants on a screen in front of him

Despite the challenges they faced, researchers identified a range of opportunities that emerged as a result of the pandemic. They noted how they could increase the scope of their projects since virtual tools, like Zoom, allowed them to reach rural and remote communities. These platforms also provided low-barrier forms of participation for participants with accommodation needs.

Researchers also discussed how the pandemic forced the “professional veneers to slip away.” Over time, researchers connected on a more vulnerable level with their community partners, as they all attempted to get through the pandemic. Collectively, they showed up in their most authentic way and practised humility in their partnerships. Moreover, research teams emphasized the importance of building community, which reinforced their commitment to mutual benefit .

Through their community-engaged work, some researchers hired people with lived experience of the research problem of interest. This opportunity emerged during the pandemic. Compensating members of the research team for their knowledge strengthened the relevancy of their findings as they directly learned how the pandemic was impacting distinct groups.

Lessons learned: Conducting community-engaged research in future crises

Participants were asked what they would do differently in future health crises. Some discussed the significance of holding informal check-ins with their teams to openly discuss professional and personal challenges. Others pointed to the need for knowledge and resource sharing with other community-engaged researchers, to break down silos.

Additionally, attendees underscored the benefits of interdisciplinary research teams , bringing together diverse skills and expertise. In health crises, they aim to work collaboratively with academics and service providers from CSOs.

Two women in face masks sitting at a table talking

Based on the key themes of the roundtable, three recommendations emerged to support community-engaged research in future public health crises:

1) Post-secondary institutions should develop guidance for community-engaged research in health emergencies

Since post-secondary institutions increasingly recognize the importance of community-university partnerships , institutions should create protocols to support community-engaged research in public health crises. Attention should be paid to crisis-related considerations, including funding sources, resource challenges and ethics.

2) Develop targeted funding opportunities for community-engaged research partnerships

During the pandemic, research unrelated to COVID-19 faced funding drawbacks and resource constraints . This may have secondary effects in the “ post-pandemic era ,” especially for projects addressing health inequities. To avoid these unintended consequences, partnerships should be proactively supported by post-secondary institutions and funding agencies, to provide research partners with honoraria for their time and insights shared, and to help academic researchers build networks for engagement.

3) Prioritize capacity-building in partnerships

Mutual benefit is a guiding principle of community-engaged research . In partnerships, academic researchers often benefit through career advancement and a sense of fulfillment . Yet, community partners are not always assured the same benefits. To ensure mutual benefit, capacity building , referring to the process of building skills, abilities and resources, should guide community-engaged research partnerships. Both academic researchers and community partners bring significant assets to projects; these assets and training gaps should be uncovered at the outset of projects and considered throughout the partnership.

In addition to these recommendations, a repeated theme for participants was how community-engaged research should be viewed as a fundamental component of their work, as opposed to an afterthought. Rather than treating community-engaged research as a “ peripheral activity ,” the principles of community engagement should be embedded in research, teaching and learning.

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Governments today are facing serious, seemingly intractable public management issues in the aftermath of COVID-19 that go to the core of effective governance and leadership, testing the very form, structure, and capacity required to meet these problems head-on. Leaders have found it necessary to go beyond established parameters and institutional structures, working across organizational boundaries in pursuit of multilayered, networked approaches that better respond to system and societal shocks brought by the pandemic.

In fall 2020, the IBM Center for The Business of Government initiated a Challenge Grant competition soliciting essays from academics and practitioners describing how government can best transform the way it works, operates, and delivers services to the public in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Edited by Center Leadership Fellow Michael J. Keegan, COVID-19 and its Impact: Seven Essays on Reframing Government Management, features selected commentary on sustaining transformation and increasing resilience. ICMA's Tad McGalliard, director of research and development, and Laura Goddeeris, director of survey research, are among the contributing authors. Their essay draws upon ICMA survey research in exploring which pandemic-driven innovations and operational changes might prevail in a post-pandemic environment.

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"The key to transformation is not to lose momentum and fall back on the old ways, when potentially innovative practices and programs are still evolving from the crisis." -- Tad McGalliard, ICMA director of research and development

Key takeaways from this report include:

The pandemic accelerated changes in the way government works and delivers services that were already underway. This change has unlocked opportunities to build a new civic future.
Local leaders will need to address numerous policy issues raised by these changes in work environments and service delivery. Fostering a more flexible and outcome-driven culture will contribute to a new model of success for government.
Expectations of individuals and communities will focus on access to continued online services even after conditions merit reopening of government facilities. Building a hybrid operating model to engage with citizens that adopts consistent standards for customer experience will be necessary for successful government performance.
Cities and counties across the country are leading the way in understanding how to deliver COVID and other services to communities in need, who suffer disproportionately during the pandemic.
Governments must anticipate risks and develop data-driven programs to mitigate risks, respond to events, and be resilient in the aftermath of inevitable threats—physical and cyber—that face agencies at all levels.
Unprecedented demand on public procurement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic reveal significant vulnerabilities in government supply chains and procurement processes. The pandemic offers the opportunity to consider how governments can make contracting more resilient going forward.

Essays featured in this compendium:

Five Ways COVID-19 Changes How Local Governments Do Business, by Richard Feiock
The Future of Work in Local Governments Beyond COVID-19, by Sherri Greenberg
Transforming Local Government Service Delivery in the Wake of COVID-19, by Tad McGalliard and Laura Goddeeris
Community Driven Government—Reimagining Systems in a Pandemic, by Maya McKenzie and Gurdeep Gill
COVID-19 and the Resilience Imperative in Public Procurement: Building Back Better, by Zach Huitink
Achieving Supply Chain Immunity: Planning, Preparation, and Coordination in National Emergency Response, by Rob Handfield
Trust and Resilience: How Public Service Principles Encouraged Compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Guidelines in New Zealand, by Rodney Scott and Eleanor Merton

You may be interested in related resources from ICMA survey research:

COVID-19 Impacts on Local Governments (complete survey summary), July 2020
New ICMA Survey Shows Depth of Economic Downturn for Cities and Counties, July 2020
New Data Estimates Local Governments Will Spend Up to $20 Billion On COVID-19 Actions, March 2020
Government Technology Solutions Survey (complete survey summary), 2017

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More research needed to explore effects of covid-19 on society.

Participants at the Seventh Biennial Social Science Conference at Winneba in the Central Region have recommended further research to explore the effects of Covid-19 on the various facets of society.

They also resolved that collaboration between research and industry needed to be strengthened to enhance synergy and effective coordination of research ideas.

The recommendations were put in a communique issued at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), signed by Prof Anselm Abotsi, Dean of the Faculty of Social Science Education (FSSE), during a two-day conference at the UEW.

It was hosted by the Department of the FSSE UEW on the theme: “Bringing the Grown to Town; Governance, Society and Post-Pandemic Adjustments.”

The communique called for continued funding from the government, industry and research bodies to expand the scope and scale of research at the various levels.

The participants, drawn from diverse institutions and countries, shared research findings on various topics of global relevance including, “performance expectancy and efforts expectancy.”

There was also a robust engagement of intellectuals, lecturers, scholars, experts and practitioners in the social sciences, humanities and allied courses.

Prof Victor Antwi, Pro Vice-Chancellor of UEW, who chaired the conference, extended compliments from Prof Joseph Jobson Mitchual, Vice-Chancellor of the University, to the FESSE for organising the conference.

It formed part of the university’s core mandate in generating a data driven conversation through research and advocacy.

He highlighted the appropriateness of the conference theme, which sought to examine post pandemic adjustments through governance and societal lens.

He applauded the presenters for their dedication and commitment to research, given the challenges in securing funds, long tenure of research processes and other competing activities.

Prof Peter Quartey, the Director of Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana - Legon, delivered the first keynote address on the topic: “Ghana’s Economy and the Post Covid Adjustment.”

He revealed that between 2004 and 2013 the nation’s GDP was 4.1 percent even though emerging markets and developing economies grew by 6.4 percent.

Unfortunately, the challenges and vulnerabilities developing countries faced were visible before the pandemic, as real GDP growth rates suffered a sharp decline in 2014 and did not recover till 2016 when a marginal growth was recorded.

He said Ghana's post Covid-19 GDP growth rate had been rising and there was significant expectations of recovery, albeit with a low projected growth in 2023 (3.8 percent), saying the country seemed to have borrowed beyond its sustainable threshold with no buffer to absorb major shocks.

He recommended the creation of a fund to service debts from 2025, the broadening of the tax base to rope in the informal sector and the need to rationalise government spending to ensure value for money.

Prof Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, who spoke on: “Bringing the Statistical Grown to Town, Governance, Society and Post Pandemic Adjustments”, urged academics and the public to be active participants of the data revolution as current developmental challenges required data driven discussions and solutions.

He advocated support and collaboration in building capacity in data and statistical literacy as well as liberating data for transparency and accountability.

There was the need for an understanding of emerging issues like mapping pandemic hotspots and severities, adaptations and infrastructural support like the recent undersea cable damage and internet disruptions as well as cost efficiencies during pandemics, he said.

Prof Samuel Kojo Kwofie, the Head of Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana, who delivered the second keynote address, titled: “Bringing the grown to town; The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI),” explored the implications of machine learning and AI to understand societal issues on agriculture, healthcare, education and humanitarian aid.

He recommended the creation of supportive policies, regulations and robust infrastructure, development of AI ethics review committee, provision of state, private, local and inter-nation funding, as well as scholarships and training opportunities for Ghanaians.

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Future-Ready Leadership Summit: President of EBID highlights keys to organisational success
Position yourself for future eventualities – EBID’s Dr Donkor counsels business leaders
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Review on Global Carbon Neutrality Development Based on Big Data Research in the Era of COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities

Review article
Published: 16 April 2024

Cite this article

Shangyi Zhang 1 ,
Aleksandra E. Jachimowicz 2 ,
Xinran Liu 3 ,
Victor Amber 4 &
He Zhang 5

The present study is based on an analysis of carbon indicators in the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It aims to provide an outlook for the future development of global carbon neutrality in the post- pandemic period.The research on the carbon index during the COVID-19 epidemic is a new scientific work, which is of great significance for the future development of environmental science. Therefore, it is necessary to write a review report on past events before fully conducting this study. It utilized various climate models, initially 232 papers, but eventually narrowing it down to 49 papers for the final context and examination. By examining the carbon neutrality of different phase of the pandemic (pre-pandemic, mid-pandemic, and post-pandemic), as well as considering various climate scenarios, we aim to generate diverse research findings. As the result, the epidemic has had a global impact, posing threats not only to human health and lives but also having far-reaching economic and environmental implications. In the short term, the pandemic has had some positive impacts on advancing carbon neutrality goals. However, in the long-term, it could lead to a slowdown or delay in the achieving global carbon neutrality due to various challenges. These challenges include diverting more resources towards pandemic response and reducing investment in clean energy. Pandemics contribute to global health and economic crises, necessitating significant societal resources such as medical equipment, medicines, human and financial resources to control transmission and treat infected individuals. Consequently, other vital environmental issues like climate change may be neglected or postponed. Ultimately, the financial constraints faced by many countries and businesses during the pandemic may compel them to reduce investments in clean energy as a means to save money and cut costs.

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Towards carbon neutrality: what has been done and what needs to be done for carbon emission reduction?

Liming Yao, Shiqi Tan & Zhongwen Xu

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Acknowledgements

The research group members show the highest esteem for Feike Dijkstra in the Agricultural Science Department in the University of Sydney, for his assistance on linear regression analysis

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Shangyi Zhang

Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

Aleksandra E. Jachimowicz

Irving Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Department of Environmental Science, The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, NY, USA

Victor Amber

Department of Computer Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

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S.Z.—conceptualization; A.J.—data curation; V.A.—methodology; X.L.—supervision; H.Z.—writing – original draft preparation and writing – review & editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Zhang, S., Jachimowicz, A.E., Liu, X. et al. Review on Global Carbon Neutrality Development Based on Big Data Research in the Era of COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities. Waste Biomass Valor (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-024-02506-3

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-term impact on industries worldwide, with the hospitality and food industry facing significant challenges, leading to the permanent closure of many restaurants and the loss of jobs. In this study, we developed an innovative analytical framework using Hamiltonian Monte Carlo for predictive modeling with Bayesian regression, aiming to estimate the change point in consumer behavior towards different types of restaurants due to COVID-19. Our approach emphasizes a novel method in computational analysis, providing insights into customer behavior changes before and after the pandemic. This research contributes to understanding the effects of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry and is valuable for restaurant owners and policymakers.

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This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery. We first provide an overview of the pandemic in the UK context, outlining the ...
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COVID-19 sickened or killed more than 375 million people globally by early 2022, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but its impact goes beyond that striking figure. The effects of the pandemic touch nearly every facet of society in the United States and abroad, including overall health, the economy, and human behavior.
Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Systematic Review
The quality of the papers selected by the two individuals was assessed independently using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS). ... Social isolation in COVID-19: The impact of loneliness: Banerjee D, Rai M: 2020 India: Review: ... Social impacts of the spread of coronavirus in Iranian society. Soc. Impact Assess. 2020; 1 (1):87-103. [Google ...
PDF Social and economic impact of COVID-19
Brookings Institution 1 1. Introduction The impact of the pandemic on world GDP growth is massive. The COVID-19 global recession is the deepest since the end of World War II (Figure 1).
Insights into the impact on daily life of the COVID-19 pandemic and
1. Introduction. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented changes in people's daily lives, with implications for mental health and well-being [1-4], both at the level of a given country's population, and when considering specific vulnerable groups [5-7].In order to mitigate the untoward impact of the pandemic (including lockdown) and support mental health ...
Social and economic impact of COVID-19
Introduction. The impact of the pandemic on world GDP growth is massive. The COVID-19 global recession is the deepest since the end of World War II (Figure 1). The global economy contracted by 3.5 ...
How the COVID-19 pandemic has changed Americans' personal lives
The outbreak has dramatically changed Americans' lives and relationships over the past year. We asked people to tell us about their experiences - good and bad - in living through this moment in history. Pew Research Center has been asking survey questions over the past year about Americans' views and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic
In conclusion, this paper has highlighted the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, social life, education, religion, and family units. Many countries and businesses had underestimated the disease's impact before they later suffered from the consequences. Therefore, international bodies, such as the World Health Organization, need ...
How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay
Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays. Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic. The global impact of COVID-19, the disease ...
Here's How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Changed Our Lives
From lifestyle changes to better eating habits, people are using this time to get healthier in many areas. Since the pandemic started, nearly two-thirds of the survey's participants (62%) say ...
Insights into the impact on daily life of the COVID-19 pandemic and
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented changes in people's daily lives, with implications for mental health and well-being [1-4], both at the level of a given country's population, and when consid-ering specific vulnerable groups [5-7]. In order to mitigate the untoward impact
Frontiers
Furthermore, Spoorthy et al. (2020) conducted a review on the gendered impact of Covid-19 and found that 68.7-85.5% of medical staff is composed of women, and the mean age ranged between 26 and 40 years. Also, women are more likely to be affect by anxiety, depression, and distress ( Lai et al., 2020; Zanardo et al., 2020 ).
COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health
Abstract. This essay examines key aspects of social relationships that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses explicitly on relational mechanisms of health and brings together theory and emerging evidence on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to make recommendations for future public health policy and recovery.
The positive effects of covid-19
Fewer cars, blue skies. With covid-19 shutting down economic activity in most parts of the world and people staying closer to home, street crimes like assault and robbery are down significantly, though domestic violence has increased.4 Traffic has plummeted as well. As a result, NASA satellites have documented significant reductions in air pollution—20-30% in many cases—in major cities ...
Impact of COVID-19
Horrific history. Looking back, the COVID-19 pandemic stands as arguably the most disruptive event of the 21st century, surpassing wars, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the effects of climate change, and the Great Recession. It has killed more than seven million people to date and reshaped the world economy, public health, education ...
Editor in Chief's Introduction to Essays on the Impact of COVID-19 on
I issued an invitation to the Associate Editors to submit a brief (3000 word) essay on the implications of COVID-19 on work and/or workers with an emphasis on research in the area. At the same time, a group of international scholars was coming together to consider the effects of COVID-19 on unemployment in several countries, and I invited that ...
Preparing for the next health crisis: COVID-19 showed the importance of
Published: April 8, 2024 11:45am EDT. Community-engaged research involves the active and meaningful involvement of people directly affected by a research problem. Like most activities that require ...
COVID-19 and Its Impact: Seven Essays on Reframing Government ...
A special report, COVID19 and its Impact: Seven Essays on Reframing Government Management and Operations with essays from academic and government experts around the country. Governments today are facing serious, seemingly intractable public management issues in the aftermath of COVID-19 that go to the core of effective governance and leadership ...
Papers with Code
Understanding the impact of different social interactions is key to improving epidemic models. Here, we use extensive registry data -- including PCR test results and population-level networks -- to investigate the impact of school, family, and other social contacts on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the Netherlands (June 2020--October 2021).
The Soundtrack of a Crisis: More Positive Music Preferences During
Economic and social developments affect the well-being of society. Country-specific pandemic severity had a negative social impact during the COVID-19 pandemic (Foa et al., 2022).The pandemic also caused an economic recession that increased unemployment and reduced consumption (WorldBank, 2020; Hodbod et al., 2021).During the COVID-19 crisis, the change in unemployment was 2 to 5 times greater ...
Positive and negative impacts of COVID-19, an analysis with special
At the time of writing this article, COVID-19 has infected 5,306,928 persons worldwide (when the article was finalised for publication, the number has increased up to 15,947,291). The article is aimed at analysing the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 in a sociological perspective.
More research needed to explore effects of Covid-19 on society
Source: GNA. 15 April 2024 1:01am. Participants at the Seventh Biennial Social Science Conference at Winneba in the Central Region have recommended further research to explore the effects of Covid ...
Review on Global Carbon Neutrality Development Based on Big ...
The outbreak of COVID-19 has profound impacts on the global economy and society, particularly in the areas of energy, industry, and transportation, which in turn affected the global carbon emissions. According to estimates, global carbon emissions experienced a decrease of approximately 7% in 2020 as a result of the impact of COVID-19.
A Bayesian Regression Approach for Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on
Stay informed on the latest trending ML papers with code, research developments, libraries, methods, and datasets. ... The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-term impact on industries worldwide, with the hospitality and food industry facing significant challenges, leading to the permanent closure of many restaurants and the loss of jobs. ...
The coronavirus global pandemic and its impacts on society
The economic impact of COVID-19 is believed to be much greater than estimated as China's role in the global economy has grown significantly. China now accounts for 19.3% of the world economy. ... The impact of COVID-19 on society is not just spreading and mortality that threaten the whole world. The sad thing is that people lost their loved ones.
Impact of corporate disclosure on dividend policy: a novel ...
The COVID-19 pandemic, with its unique impact on business operations, serves as the backdrop for this analysis. Findings The findings indicate that firms with more extensive COVID-19-related disclosure are more inclined to distribute dividends in the form of stocks or cash instead of omitting them. Originality/value
The Effect of COVID-19 on Education
The transition to an online education during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may bring about adverse educational changes and adverse health consequences for children and young adult learners in grade school, middle school, high school, college, and professional schools. The effects may differ by age, maturity, and socioeconomic ...

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Introduction

Social networks

Social support

Social and interactional norms

Recommendations and conclusions

Recommendation 1: explicitly count the relational cost of public health policies to control the pandemic

Recommendation 2: intelligently balance online and offline ways of relating

Recommendation 3: build stronger and sustainable localised communities

Ethics statements

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Social Analysis of a Pandemic: How COVID-19 Impacted Society

Impact of COVID-19 on Health

Health Implications for COVID-19 Patients

COVID-19 Implications for Other Health Concerns

Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy

Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Different Job Sectors

Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Different Populations

Impact of COVID-19 on Human Behavior

Mental Health

Drug and Alcohol Use

Take a Brave Step Toward Addressing COVID-19’s Social Challenges

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Social and economic impact of COVID-19

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Introduction

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

10 Ways to Discover College Essay Ideas

College Admissions: Get a Step Ahead!

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PERSPECTIVE article

Introduction

COVID-19 and At-Risk Populations: Psychological and Social Impact of the Quarantine

Telepsychology: Training and Promotion of Psychological Well-Being

Advantages of Psychological Support and Online Psychotherapy

Psychological and Social Suffering and the Empathic Process

Author Contributions

Conflict of Interest

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The positive effects of covid-19

Fewer cars, blue skies

Reassessing priorities

Preparing for the next health crisis: COVID-19 showed the importance of community-engaged research

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Community-engaged research during the pandemic

Barriers to conducting community-engaged research

Opportunities emerging from the pandemic

Lessons learned: Conducting community-engaged research in future crises

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