COVID-19 is a health crisis whose impact has been felt throughout the world. Initially, most states in the world thought that it would only take a few months to contain the spread of the virus. However, about two years later, the crisis is still affecting the globe with most nations currently struggling to immunize their citizens. The COVID-19 crisis mostly impacted the elderly with developed countries such as the United States being impacted the most (Branicki, 2020). In addition, the virus adversely influences individuals with underlying serious illnesses such as diabetes and lung cancer. Individuals who survived the disease were also left with adverse effects related to their respiratory systems. This paper analyzes the challenges and actions taken to combat the COVID-19 crisis and evaluates whether they were successful.
One of the challenges faced is the complete alteration of an individual’s everyday life. At the family level, every person has to deal with the stress of social distancing and quarantine. The shutdown of schools has caused exams to be postponed and the introduction of home-schooling. There has been increased pressure on parents as a result of working from home because they have to work extra hard to maintain their businesses and keep their jobs (Fegert et al., 2020). At the same time, parents have to take care of their children’s homeschooling. Furthermore, there has been a restriction when it comes to caregiving services and this applies to the whole family including grandparents (Fegert et al., 2020). Another challenge is that the crisis may disrupt support and connections among family members. In addition, since the pandemic adversely affects a particular group of people, the fear of losing someone belonging to that particular group has dramatically increased. In most countries, the pandemic has further affected the usual bereavement process, which may cause additional psychological problems for individuals.
Parents are now solely responsible for educating and informing their children about COVID-19 and how they can manage anxiety and fear associated with these unpredictable circumstances. All community members have specific fears concerning the pandemic and, as a result, this can cause psychological distress among these individuals. In addition, there are numerous economic challenges associated with the crisis (Fegert et al., 2020). Previous research shows that pressure on the economy has serious mental health implications. During the pandemic, most individuals have lost their jobs or experienced pay cuts leading to an increased amount of borrowing (Fegert et al., 2020). All these are highly associated with mental health issues that could be detrimental to an individual. The crisis has also affected the economic situation of the country and this has led to recession. This is a challenge because it makes it difficult to deal with the pandemic due to a lack of economic resources.
To deal with the crisis, the Centers for Disease Control introduced social distancing measures. According to Lai and Wong (2020), individuals are to sit one meter away from each other to minimize the spread of the disease. The coronavirus cannot reach a distance of one meter, therefore, individuals have to increase their distance from one another. The other measure to contain the disease is to avoid contact such as handshakes with other people. The virus can spread through contact with others, and avoiding such pleasantries is necessary for combating the disease (Lai & Wong, 2020). There was the introduction of wearing face masks while in public places. Since the virus is airborne, face masks were introduced to prevent the inhalation of the pathogens. Public gatherings were also abolished to inhibit people from coming into close contact with one another. Schools were closed and religious meetings in religious places were burned. Countries closed their borders and some of the sectors of the economy were also closed. Most countries, especially developed ones intensified their research and development activities in search of a vaccine to help manage the disease.
Most of the choices made were successful; however, some were not effective in managing the crisis. Measures such as avoiding contact with one another and social distancing were successful in reducing the spread of the virus. Additionally, burning public gatherings in schools and churches was effective in keeping individuals at home (Lai & Wong, 2020). Furthermore, investing in research and development to find a vaccine for the disease produced excellent results. Currently, several people have been inoculated against the virus and life is slowly returning to normal. Most countries have lifted the burn on entry and every economic sector is regaining its normal operation.
Some measures did not work as expected due to their impact. For instance, the hospitality industry was one area that was adversely affected by some of the measures taken. Most countries closed hotels and other recreational areas for several months. Individuals working in this area went without pay for all this period with most of them barely surviving (Lai & Wong, 2020). During this time, there was an increase in the number of people with depression and other psychological problems. In some cases, individuals committed suicide due to a lack of finances to support themselves and their families. Closing a country’s borders was further detrimental to the economy. When there is no entry or exit from a particular country, import and export goods cannot move. The result is that a nation will experience economic strains related to the loss of crucial businesses with other countries.
References
Branicki, L. J. (2020). COVID‐19, ethics of care and feminist crisis management. Gender, Work & Organization, 27(5), 872-883.
Fegert, J. M., Vitiello, B., Plener, P. L., & Clemens, V. (2020). Challenges and burden of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: A narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 14(1).
Lai, I. K., & Wong, J. W. (2020). Comparing crisis management practices in the hotel industry between initial and pandemic stages of COVID-19. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), 3135-3156.