Category: Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has, undeniably, exerted a tremendous, diverse, and long-term impact on societies, politics, and economies throughout the globe. In this regard, sports have become one of the most stricken sectors since numerous main sporting events at international, national, and local levels, including games, marathons, tournaments, and championships, have been postponed or even canceled. Moreover, under the influence of lockdowns, the interaction between fans and others involved in sports activities is experiencing unprecedented changes. Therefore, the paper aims to examine the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on sports, primarily the fans’ behaviors and their communication, based on socio-psychological concepts, recent research, and stories for my findings.

Conversation

Millions of people, especially fans, relish watching games in various venues, such as stadiums, sports bars, and hubs, workplaces, or homes. In particular, individuals can obtain intense social experience in public places since fans have an excellent opportunity to share their thoughts and discuss ongoing events in their sporting communities, thereby confirming their dedication to an individual team.

In the last decade, due to technological achievements, including Web 2.0 and high-speed Internet overall, this public viewing has considerably expanded to online platforms, mainly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and teams’ websites. Sports fans can now be involved in games from any location via online TV services (for example, Major League Baseball TV) and, simultaneously, communicate with others through chat facilities, which delivers an unforgeable watching experience.

Change of Perspective

From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries’ governments introduced the policy of total lockdown and social distance limitation, which eventually made public places, including stadiums and sports bars, empty. Furthermore, many large-scale sports events, such as the European Football Championships, the Tokyo Olympics, Six Nations Rugby, and others, have been deferred to the next year. Despite divided public attitudes toward such measures, they were evidently dictated by the urgent need to curb the virus spread and safeguard sportsmen and others engaged in sports-related activities from the pendant danger.

Nevertheless, the disappearance of all main sports exited disappointment and anxiety among passionate fans missing the competition, the socialization, the emotional outlet, and joy. Due to these reasons and also considerable efforts of sports organizations, clubs, and sponsors, the audience’s focus has notably shifted to social media, broadcast, and other services bringing sports directly into their homes. For example, according to Zoomph, 51% of all hashtags on Twitter were directly linked to sports and entertainment, which provides apparent behavioral testimony of this fan passion (Wakefield, 2020).

Herewith, Wakefield (2020) notes that tweeters on the pandemic usually follow Esports and mainstream US sports, including NFL, MLB, MLS. From my findings, the respondents also stated that they are most interested in watching baseball, basketball, and other popular American sports. For example, Johnson said, “I mainly watch basketball and baseball,” whereas Michael prefers to watch basketball and football. Overall, this research illustrates the changes in fans’ conduct and that their interest in sports events remains vivid.

Sociological Perspective

In addition to governments’ internal and external restrictions, another aspect influences fans’ behavior. Specifically, despite the absence of damage to infrastructure or property, the current pandemic can be defined as a disaster since it has caused severe disruption in society’s functioning by threatening lives and livelihoods’ supply (Das, 2020). For instance, because of massive layoffs, in April, the US unemployment rate reached its hit, 14.7 percent, gradually reducing and sticking to the mark of over 8 percent, as of September 2020 (“News release,” 2020). This circumstance has induced falling incomes of the population and its purchasing power.

In such an unfavorable situation, many people economize by prioritizing essential goods necessary for their wellbeing and refuse others, including costly entertainment, or seek cheaper means, namely, online platforms. Besides, as a disaster, COVID-19 has created widespread panic and hysteria, which also has conditioned the reduced public viewing of sports events. In current conditions, most people fear contracting the infection because it can entail a significant risk of death, health deterioration, or considerable expenditures on treatment procedures.

Functionalism

This paragraph will consider the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fans’ behavior from a functionalism view. According to the functionalist perspective, society is regarded as a complicated system of institutions, regulations, norms, traditions, and customs that are interrelated and brought together to secure socioeconomic stability and solidarity (“Sociological perspectives,” n.d.). In addition, functional prerequisites include basic needs, that is, food, clothing, shelter, money, and the factors that promote maintaining social order, such as gender inequalities. For example, the government provides affordable education or healthcare for the families that, in turn, pay taxes that a particular state uses to run and develop. In times of crisis, such as a financial recession, different parts of society have to adapt to sustain stability and productivity.

Due to the pandemic, the United States is experiencing a similar situation since, according to advance estimates, the US GDP growth contracted by nearly 33 percent in the second quarter (Cepal, 2020). Furthermore, despite the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Acts that provide over $2 trillion in economic support, severe unemployment still harms purchasing power and macroeconomic stability (“The CARES Act,” n.d.).

Thus, along with the total lockdown, these issues made the entire US society, especially fans, sports managers, and sportspersons, adapt to new rules and conditions, which provoked the transformation to online or broadcast viewing. In this regard, respondent Michael noted, “I think it’s very interesting how teams are coming up with ideas to make sure athletes are playing with all this pandemic going on.” Furthermore, many people facing the pandemic’s consequences are more concerned about current problems rather than entertainment.

Integrative Function

Nevertheless, it should be admitted that sport fulfills useful social purposes, one of which is integrative function implying that sport creates the conducive integration of individuals and groups from diverse affiliations. Particularly, it promotes the public understanding and acceptance of various cultural beliefs and patterns by collecting persons of different nationalities and values in a single team around a single aim, namely, gaining a win. Presently, it can be frequently observed that white, black, or Hispanic individuals play in one football or basketball club with the same respect and attitude.

Moreover, sport favors collectivity by unifying masses to support a favorite club or athletes that can also be from diverse origins. For example, the respondent Jennifer said, “I watch softball, baseball, and sometimes football. It is easy for me to sit through a game. Especially when I am watching it with my friends.” It is worth noting that this role is tightly connected with the Conflict theory viewing society as a prevalent inequality based on race, social class, and other factors. The concept indicates that effective solutions to these issues should involve extensive changes in society’s structure, which sport facilitates.

Socialization

The second valuable function of sport is socialization suggesting the cultivation of cultural ethics and values and the upbringing of desirable citizen traits. In this regard, sports can socialize by promoting the acquisition of such positive personal qualities as cooperation, a collective orientation, leadership, zeal for achievement, tenacity, self-control, respect for rules and opponents, and rejection of racism. The inculcation of cultural beliefs occurs primarily through two interdependent ideas, namely, reinforcement and modeling. The former relates to the operant conditioning theory stating that approved behaviors should be awarded, while unacceptable acts should be punished. It is assumed that sports possess an integral sanctioning system that praises players for excellent actions and reproaches them for undesirable.

Modeling implies that participants receive specific examples of conduct that are usually set by a group or community leader. In sports, the victorious athletes, typically regarded as a role model, should demonstrate desired behaviors to attain anticipated outcomes. It is worth noting that this idea is supported by symbolic interactionism indicating that individuals build their reality and attitudes based on situations they encounter and by learning behavioral models from others.

Socio-Emotional Function

The socio-emotional function concerns the maintenance of persons’ socio-psychological stability, that is, their psychological adjustment to social circumstances. The role consists of the three main aspects, including the management of conflict and tension, the reassurance of ritualism, and the production of feelings of solidarity and comradeship. The first can be described as the cathartic release or emotional outlet. In this regard, sports allow participants to safely relieve strain, feelings of depression, frustration, and aggression, thereby preventing their expression in social settings, such as family or work.

Moreover, sports can productively treat chronic depression, significantly improve self-esteem, and deliver much joy and inspiration, especially when a person has a serious attitude toward sporting exercises. Overall, such an opportunity to release intense emotions can protect people from harming themselves and others.

The second aspect states that sport can contain ritualism elements perceived as the reassertion of adherence to a particular social structure and cultural values and as a root of confidence in their continuous stability. In essence, sporting activities have definite regularity and predetermined nature formed by established rules and norms, which can ultimately create a sense of certainty and permanence. The emotions caused by sports games and their intensity bear considerable similarity with those expressed in religions.

Finally, the last aspect specifies that sports can promotes diminishing social distancing by exerting a strong feeling of fellowship and unity among teammates and even between opponents. The sense of camaraderie directly derives from the friendship that gradually is being formed due to active and close interactions between players. The behavioral nature of sport requires participants to cooperate, develop a shared strategy, and reach the core objective jointly. Furthermore, when many people gather together to support a fan club, it is an excellent opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas and impressions.

In conclusion, the paper has examined the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on sports, primarily the fans’ behaviors and their relationships, based on socio-psychological concepts, recent research, and stories for my findings. In particular, due to the total lockdown and social distance limitation, the fans’ focus has significantly shifted to social media, broadcast, and other services bringing sports directly into their homes. Besides, from the sociological perspective, the current pandemic can be regarded as a disaster since it has caused severe disruption in society’s functioning, making many people economize by prioritizing essential goods and services.

However, sport fulfills useful social purposes, including integrative function, socialization, and socio-emotional function. For instance, socialization furthers the acquisition of such valuable personal qualities as cooperation, leadership, zeal for achievement, respect for rules and opponents, and rejection of racism.

References

Cepal, N. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on the United States economy and the policy response. United Nations. Web.

Das, M. (2020). Understanding COVID-19 as a ‘disaster’: A sociological perspective. The Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict (SSPC). Web.

News release (2020). US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web.

Sociological perspectives (n.d.). Lumen Learning. Web.

The CARES Act works for all Americans. (n.d.). US Department of the Treasury. Web.

Wakefield, K. (2020). Evidence from the Internet: How The pandemic sparks sports fans on Twitter. Forbes. Web.

Sport is an essential source of physical and psychological health and well-being for many people. This industry includes facilities and institutions for different ages, and interest levels, up to the professional. Through the prism of the pandemic, this aspect becomes crucial, but at the same time, it faces many obstacles in terms of the place of employment. Public spaces such as outdoor playgrounds, gyms, and complexes tend to close completely under restrictions (Hargreaves et al., 2021). As a result, the sustainability of the development of this industry now depends mainly on the laws introduced on this topic at the state level. Compliance with them is now not only a tribute to social or environmental responsibility but also a direct and vital safety function. In addition to compliance with laws, applying new approaches and programs to the organization of sports activities based on the developed models will be a crucial feature of competitiveness and success. Two key elements in sustainability are compliance with new restrictions and the introduction of programs for the resumption of sports, while in risk management there are two more elements: the establishment of vaccination control systems and mitigation of the consequences of crises.

The original complete restriction on visiting such public places has undergone various changes over time. One of the most recent updates included the removal of restrictions on gatherings of one hundred people, as well as the wearing of masks, which, according to several experts, marked an important day for the sport (Craymer, 2022). However, these changes do not completely release all measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Sports facilities, such as stadiums and gyms, must also continue to comply with health regulations, which, if not followed, can lead to violations of the law (Hargreaves et al., 2021). Special markings in sports halls, in crowded places, organizing routes for moving in such institutions are part of a possible way out of this situation. For a comprehensive approach to these restrictions, a framework for informing about the resumption of sports is suitable. This aspect is essential because even minor problems significantly distract the New Zealand population from physical activity (Hargreaves et al., 2021). Habit formation is fast, making it difficult to keep track of the opening of a pool or other sports facilities to maintain physical activity (Hughes et al., 2020). Similar programs are being rolled out in Australia with the support of the state and with the involvement of a mass of experts in public health, exercise therapy, medicine, and sports.

Another trend since the spread of the pandemic has been an emphasis on safety and better risk management. COVID has created a crisis in many areas of people’s lives, reducing economic indicators and significantly raising costs. Sports facilities should also focus on user experience and security. This factor manifests itself in the aspects of vaccination control and mitigation of the consequences in the event of the development of new strains. With almost 95% of the New Zealand population already vaccinated twice, sports facilities with crowded people, such as stadiums, gyms, pools, need to have control systems in place that are accessible and user-friendly and will not cause inconvenience to visitors (Craymer, 2022). Such systems may include integration with software and cloud storage in the future. Mitigation programs were not well developed in the sports industry during the pandemic, but now there is a practical basis and a good reason for their creation. They include some restrictions introduced at certain thresholds for spreading the virus: social distance, crowding, and aspects of interaction with staff (Officer et al., 2022). Consequently, the pandemic has left its mark on the sports facilities business, creating new rules and conditions for operating in this environment. Compliance with these rules makes it possible to be competitive in the field of security, to which so much attention from state structures and the public has not previously been riveted.

References

Craymer, L. (2022). New Zealand sports to welcome back crowds as COVID rules eased,Reuters. Web.

Hargreaves, E. A., Lee, C., Jenkins, M., Calverley, J. R., Hodge, K., & Houge Mackenzie, S. (2021). Changes in physical activity pre-, during and post-lockdown COVID-19 restrictions in New Zealand and the explanatory role of daily hassles.Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 410. Web.

Hughes, D., Saw, R., Perera, N. K. P., Mooney, M., Wallett, A., Cooke, J., Coatsworth, N. & Broderick, C. (2020). The Australian Institute of Sport framework for rebooting sport in a COVID-19 environment.Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 23(7), 639-663. Web.

Officer, T. N., Imlach, F., McKinlay, E., Kennedy, J., Pledger, M., Russell, L., Churchward, M., Cumming, J. & McBride-Henry, K. (2022). COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown and Wellbeing: Experiences from Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2269. Web.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a major disruption for many spheres and especially the sector of sport. Despite the fact that in New Zealand, the pandemic was not as severe as in some other nations, the restrictions imposed by the government made it difficult and sometimes impossible to conduct sports competitions. Such events are among the main areas where the virus can spread quickly and affect large numbers of people (Smith et al., 2022). From the perspective of the provision of major and mega sports events in New Zealand, organizers will have to adhere to the established rules, introduce unconventional logistics, utilize protection mechanisms, and ensure universal vaccination.

Before analyzing and presenting the implication of the pandemic on the contemporary and future sports events in New Zealand, it is crucial to asset the past experience. As mentioned above, the spreading of the virus caused the New Zealand government to introduce restrictions which ultimately impacted the sports sector. Specifically, the country was among the first ones on the planet to launch a nationwide lockdown which put numerous spheres on hold. As a result, the sports sector also was affected by the new restriction, which prevented many competitions and, subsequently, events from taking place. Thus, in the first half of 2020, there were many instances of sports events being cancelled due to the newly introduced lockdown. One of the key examples of such events was the cancelling of the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands (“Briefing,” 2020). The matches held as part of the tournament were suspended, which led to considerable financial losses for the teams participating in the competition.

At the same time, in the second half of 2020, many tournaments, including the Super Rugby competition, resumed, yet certain restrictions continued to be applied. For instance, the main limitation related to the provision of sports events in the second half of 2020 was that audiences were not allowed to attend such events. Essentially, all sports events took place behind closed doors, and no supports were present during them. In order to support sports teams, the government designed a special financial aid package which sought to assist organizations in addressing their problems arising from the pandemic restrictions. Specifically, the government allocated 265 million New Zealand dollars to the industry to support it through a difficult period (“NZ gives sports,” 2020). Thus, despite imposing considerable restrictions, the national government understood the potential negative impact on the sports sector and provided assistance to offset at least a share of the losses.

Before exploring the current and future state of affairs in the sports sector in New Zealand, it is also important to analyze the situation in 2021. Due to the outbreak of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus, New Zealand had to cancel traditionally one of the largest sports events in the country, the men’s and women’s rugby test series (Orme-Claye, 2021). The All Blacks team’s game with South Africa, which had to take place in Auckland on 2 October, and the Black Ferns team’s game with Australia as part of the O’Reily Cup were cancelled. Thus, the country once again had to limit the provision of sports events in order to protect the safety of the citizens and athletes. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that the pandemic and the lockdowns which accompanied it had a significant negative effect on the sports sector in New Zealand in 2020 and 2021.

Now, it is possible to discuss the current and future aspects of the provision of sports events in New Zealand. Today, the country has a clear mechanism in place which regulates all of the sport and recreational events in the country. Specifically, all of the events are subject to the COVID-19 Protection Framework, which divides all situations into three distinct categories and thus determines the restrictions which need to be observed. The Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 is one of the events which took place in March which utilized the framework. Moreover, the tournament received an exemption from the framework rules, namely, it was allowed to increase the number of possible attendees at its venues beyond the framework limit (“Women’s Cricket,” 2022). At the same time, the organizers of the cup also had to introduce their own changes to the competition arrangement. For instance, the teams were allowed to have more substitutes and reserves in order to replace players who were diagnosed with the COVID-19 (“ICC,” 2022). Essentially, the organizers had to be more flexible to conduct the event without facing any major problems.

Based on the information presented above, it is possible to present the implications of the pandemic in terms of the provision of future sports events in New Zealand. The first implication is that all organizers will need to adhere to the established rules, such as the COVID-19 Protection Framework. Essentially, organizers and tournaments will have to observe all of the stipulations presented in such documents to avoid violating laws and forced cancellation of events by authorities. As a result, organizers will have to be constantly in contact with the local officials to arrange their events in accordance with the rules. The next implication for future sports events during the pandemic will be the use of an unconventional approach to logistics during the provision. For instance, DHL Super Rugby Pacific matches in the season 2022 will encounter date changes and venue swaps (McKay, 2022). Therefore, organizers have to be able to navigate the problems by embracing new approaches to logistics, for example, by keeping alternative venue options and reserve dates for postponed matches.

Another considerable implication for the provision of sports events in New Zealand is the use of the most effective health protection mechanisms. For example, stadiums and other types of venues must check the body temperature of all attendees and ensure that they have masks on to prevent the spreading of the virus. Additionally, it is possible to introduce multiple entry gates to keep attendees apart. Finally, the fourth implication for the provision of sports events in the country is the universal vaccination for all participants, including athletes and audience members. The pandemic is likely to continue in the near future, and vaccines are the best solution for reducing the impact of the virus (Kodera et al., 2022). Therefore, it is reasonable to ensure that all people who participate in sports events are vaccinated.

Professionals engaged in the provision of major and mega sports events in New Zealand will need to take this into consideration. First of all, due to the existing COVID-19 management frameworks, organizers will need to adhere to strict rules governing the provision of events during the pandemic. Moreover, organizers will have to rely on innovative logistics approaches and better health protection mechanisms to conduct events without risks for both teams, players, and audience members. Finally, organizers will need to determine that all participants are vaccinated to contain the spread of the virus.

References

Briefing to the incoming minister of sport and recreation. (2020). New Zealand Government.

ICC tweak playing conditions for Women’s World Cup with an eye on Covid. (2022). ICC.

Kodera, S., Rashed, E., &, Hirata, A. (2022). Estimation of real-world vaccination effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against Delta and Omicron variants in Japan. Vaccines, 10(3), 430–443.

McKay, B. (2022).Super Rugby Pacific on tenterhooks as New Zealand teams navigate COVID-19 outbreaks. ABC News.

NZ gives sports sector $157 million boost to get through COVID-19. (2020). Reuters.

Orme-Claye, T. (2021). New Zealand rugby tests cancelled due to national lockdown. Insider Sport.

Smith, J., Hopkins, S., Turner, C., Dack, K., Trelfa, A., Peh, J., & Monks, P. (2022). Public health impact of mass sporting and cultural events in a rising COVID-19 prevalence in England. Epidemiology and Infection, 150, 1–9.

Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 granted Ministry of Health exemption on gathering limits. (2022). Stuff.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many severe damages to people’s lives. It affected all aspects of existence: medicine, economics, and politics. Without any doubt, it also influenced sports and practically all kinds of physical facilities as fitness centers, gyms, and sport clubs were closed. Therefore, many people are not able to actively engage outside of their homes in their regular group or individual sporting or physical activities. Even after most of the facilities were open, attending them would still bear a serious risk, as well as the fact that people have to maintain social distancing regulations and train in masks making it quite uncomfortable. Currently, people are facing a new reality and new rules of life that they need to accept but it is important that fitness enthusiasts find a way to stay physically active even in these given circumstances. The World Health Organization recommends about two and a half hours of reasonable exercise, or about an hour and a half of hard training a week. However, people have found ways to stay active, healthy, and be in good shape under these circumstances as there are always limitless opportunities for practicing at home, online, or outside, taking the required precautions.

Life in lockdown has been difficult because people need to stay healthy, while still remaining safe and adhering to the new rules. During the self-isolation period, the population became used to a sedentary lifestyle with little physical activity and practically no exercise. It has been hard even for professional sportsmen who had to modify their training programs so they could exercise at home. For the population at risk, doctors advise to use home equipment for sports, such as treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes. Today, it is not hard to find guides for training at home; any person can access the Internet and find advice for activities that would be comfortable. There are ways for online training with a real coach that would develop an individual program for exercising and would help one to stay in good shape. There are even professional athletes who give instructions to people on how to stay physically active during the lockdown. Some of the experts manage to demonstrate different exercises that could be done at home, others give guidelines for a healthy diet. Today, it is possible to buy all the necessary equipment for training at home. Even ordinary exercises that everyone can do without special fitness machines are useful. Everybody can make squats, side bends, jumps, press-ups, and many other basic elements of gymnastics. For those people, who cannot do heavier exercise, doctors suggest having regular walks. Moreover, it is usual practice now to go to the backyard and throw a ball around or play other games. However, contact sports such as football or basketball with friends or strangers are still considered to be dangerous as they can result in the increase of the number of infections. Today, gyms and sports facilities should organize their space in a way to prevent the virus from spreading. It is preferable that all the activities that could be done outside were moved there as it is much safer.

In conclusion, sport is an important part of human life. In order to stay healthy a person needs to exercise, and even if it is as simple as walking, this is productive for the body and spirit. Today, safety is the primary factor and the population all over the world should practice the activities that are not dangerous for them and the people around. All people should be wise and take necessary precautions to prevent further transmission of COVID-19, but it is necessary to remember that sport is also one of the best ways to boost the immune system and fight off infection.

The coronavirus pandemic that started in February 2019 became a tragedy for millions of people globally and changed the lives of billions. High death rates and the rapid spread of the virus endangered the health and lives of people, resulting in increasing and unpredictable job losses. Doctors and nurses took on the general responsibility to stop the pandemic, risking their lives. Technology played a particular role in the fight against the virus when scientists started to search the ways of solving current problems. This paper argues that technological change has not deepened globalization or weakened the relevance of the nation-state but was used as an effective tool to fight the virus.

During the past three years, not all society members could fully realize the danger brought by the disease. For many people, the problems of declining economic activity or income from the tourism industry were no less of a concern than the immediate danger posed by the virus. Public attention has been overly focused on social issues, including lockdown restrictions. Despite the apparent victory over the disease after the development of vaccines and the mass vaccination of the population in 2021 in the United States, China, India, and other countries, new strains of the virus spread rapidly due to insufficient restrictive travel measures.

Today, the omicron variant of the virus poses no less serious threat than previous strains. The spread of the virus in Singapore continues, with the latest news mentioning 15,000 confirmed cases per day (“Singapore could see more than 15,000 COVID-19 cases,” 2022). Public health and government officials are urging the public to get vaccinated, as most new cases of illness occur among unvaccinated people (“Singapore could be ‘halfway or more’ through its current COVID-19 surge,” 2021). Singapore is one of the countries where technology is actively used to improve patient safety. For example, in 2020 a SARs testing device was first used to take biological material from the nasal sinuses (“How did Singapore invent and innovate during COVID-19,” 2021). Experts note that this technological innovation is very effective, as it reduces the risks of infection and ensures better conditions for patients’ treatment.

In general, reducing direct contact with covid-positive patients is necessary to improve the daily workflows. For example, at Singapore Alexandra Hospital, a unique robotic device was used to inspect COVID-19 patients in isolation (“Alexandra Hospital using robot technology,” 2020). The robot looks like a tripod on gyroscopic wheels with a screen and control buttons and moves along the hospital corridors from ward to ward. This technological innovation allows doctors to visit patients without contact and communicate in a more relaxed environment.

Equally interesting, in 2020, the Singapore Tourism Board decided to use technology to help the industry build resilience. The experts noted that contactless technologies could be used to make purchases or pay for transportation services (“COVID-19: Singapore Tourism Board,” 2020). In particular, these can be contactless immigration checkpoints to reduce the touchpoints and make traveling easier for citizens. Notably, IT systems developed to enhance the work of government offices make an input in improving the document reporting processes (Ong, 2020). These tools are being used to work with huge amounts of data as part of the strategies used to overcome the pandemic crisis. For example, public health offices may process case data daily or monitor population vaccination rates. Given the above, the use of technology in Singapore does not weaken but strengthens the relevance of the nation-state.

Thus, the ways in which social services in Singapore apply technology were discussed. Interestingly, the application of technology does not destroy but maintains the relevance of the nation-state. Technologies also do not exacerbate globalization but rather are applied at a global level since they have universal functions. For example, robots can be used in healthcare to reduce the risk of infection. Contactless payment devices are also applied to solve the issues in the travel and transportation industry. Therefore, technologies can be used in all fields to overcome the pandemic crisis.

References

Alexandra Hospital using robot technology to inspect COVID-19 patients in isolation. (2020). [Video file]. Web.

COVID-19: Singapore Tourism Board plans to use technology to help the industry build resilience. (2020). [Video file]. Web.

How did Singapore invent and innovate during COVID-19? From crisis to catalyst. (2021). [Video file]. Web.

Ong, J. (2020). Technology is critical to Singapore’s Covid-19 response: PM Lee. [Video file]. Web.

Singapore could be ‘halfway or more through its current COVID-19 surge: PM Lee. (2021). [Video file]. Web.

Singapore could see more than 15,000 COVID-19 cases a day as Omicron wave hits: MOH. (2022). [Video file]. Web.

The Definition of Fatigue in Aviation

Before analyzing and researching fatigue in aviation, one should be acknowledged with the general definition of fatigue. ICAO (2015) defines fatigue as a “physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from sleep loss, extended wakefulness, circadian phase, and/or workload (mental and/or physical activity) that can impair a person’s alertness and ability perform safety-related operational duties” (p. xiii). Thus, although the aviation industry provides one of the safest ways to travel, pilots’ and crew members’ fatigue can cause accidents and incidents (ICAO, 2015). Moreover, the most threatening feature of crew members’ fatigue is that it is inevitable because of the all-day operations and brain activity. Therefore, there should be introduced and established some approaches to address and manage this psychological state. ICAO (2015) provides an overview of the various approaches to fatigue management in the aviation industry, emphasizing the role of such fatigue grounds as the need for adequate sleep, daily rhythms, workloads.

Some scholars emphasize not only the lack of sleep as a contributing factor to fatigue and its possible consequences but also timing and quality of sleep itself. For instance, in the literature review collected by Bendak and Rashid (2020), it is claimed that the “amount, timing, and quality of sleep each day (sleep/wake schedule)” is crucial in preventing fatigue (p. 2). Moreover, such a variable as operations made in multiple time zones is also considered while defining fatigue in pilots and crew members (Bendak and Rashid, 2020). Lee and Kim (2018) also concluded that aviation workers’ night schedules often fail to provide an adequate time for sleep, making the crew members feeling more tired during night shifts. Consequently, pilots and others may experience mental or physical decline or the rest of the defects, which define fatigue (Lee & Kim, 2018). It cannot be claimed that the listed above crucial factors of such a psychological state oppose the definition suggested by ICAO (2019). On the contrary, such research as Lee and Kim (2018) only complements the model definition of fatigue in aviation.

Previous Studies about Fatigue in Aviation

Different studies about fatigue in aviation have already been conducted, and a summary can be made concerning the suggested methods to manage the discussed psychological state. To begin with, Alcéu (2015) analyzed planned pilots’ flights and their psychological state during work. The study revealed the high-risk areas during the early morning flights, late evening, and days with more than four sectors. In such risk areas, the predictions regarding safety were not followed, and the pilots’ estimation of the fatigue level was higher than it should be. Thus, based on the schedule analysis, this study suggests a new approach to managing workload in fatigue and reconsidering the safety settings’ management:

• control should be maintained in the groups that have a higher duty and block hours on specific periods and throughout the year as to maintain them in an acceptable level of safety and capable of dealing with the risks on the daily basis. (Alcéu, 2015, p. 63)

Moreover, Alcéu (2015) recommends that future researchers should conduct a 365-days study to see the correlations in the increase of fatigue level and winters or summers, meaning the most extreme times in a year.

Previous studies on the damaging consequences of fatigue in the work of pilots also provided an understanding that this psychological state can lead to severe accidents, mostly in activities demanding the concentration of attention. Impairment of critical skills and functions is one of the main consequences of cases when pilots cannot concentrate their attention, have poor memory, slow response, and mood changes (Hobbs et al., 2018; Stokes & Kite, 2017). According to Hobbs et al. (2018), “The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has estimated that fatigue is a contributing factor in approximately 20% of major transport accidents” (p. 14). Moreover, the agency included the decrease of fatigue-related accidents in all transport modalities to the list of the first ten safety priorities (Hobbs et al., 2018). This research conducted surveys of Bar Pilots, which are marines, and analyzed their dispatch records for one year. It is an important notion that marine pilots have similar high-risk navigating jobs to airline pilots, and therefore the fatigue itself may have a similar impact. Thus, the study made by Hobbs et al. (2018) emphasizes the necessity of accepting basic safety management measures. Such measures include minimizing the night shifts and providing the personnel with at least 36 consecutive hours to rest in a 14-days working period. Summing all above, there are various studies about fatigue in aviation and other related industries, so it is crucial to review the measures converted into a variable by different scholars.

The Ways to Measure Fatigue in Airline Pilots

In their literature review and meta-analysis, Jerman and Meško (2018) discussed the various instruments that measure fatigue among pilots. Several scales were used: FAI test (a fatigue assessment instrument), a standing-position balance test, CFF test (critical flicker fusion frequency test), subjective rating of sleepiness and fatigue, and many others (Jerman & Meško, 2018). The most crucial notion here is that all the instruments mentioned above are in terms of what they measure and focus on various sides of the psychological state under analysis. However, if some airline companies want to implement the safety management policies recommended in the paragraphs above, they can choose those discussed by Jerman and Meško (2018). Moreover, their literature analysis provides an overview of the tendencies followed by scholars in this research field. Regarding tendencies, even though Jerman and Mesko (2018) conducted a deep analysis of the existing literature, they did not provide readers with recommendations or outline advantages of the discussed instruments to measure pilots’ fatigue.

The work about fatigue measurement through the questionnaire should be discussed in this section. Bourgeois-Bougrine et al. (2003) conducted a study that measured fatigue among 739 pilots from short and long-haul flights using a questionnaire. The results of these self-reported manifestations analysis revealed that night flights and jet lag were the most critical factors that generated this psychological state (Bourgeois-Bougrine et al., 2003). Long periods of awakening and poor quality of sleep, which is a factor that was emphasized by various scholars (Bendak & Rashid, 2020), also increase the level of pilots’ fatigue (Bourgeois-Bougrine et al., 2003). Therefore, the measurement of fatigue through questionnaires can be considered an option because it allows drawing conclusions that other academic community representatives confirm.

Fatigue in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused some restrictions on populations worldwide, which led to an increase in overall anxiety. The most common measures that were introduced to cope with infection were avoiding public areas, hand hygiene, wearing masks, and social distancing. MacIntyre et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional survey of preventive behaviors in adults (people more than 18 years old) in five cities in Australia, the UK, and the USA. According to MacIntyre et al. (2021), “pandemic fatigue was more common in younger people” (p. 199). Although aircraft crew contain younger and older members, a study should be conducted researching how pandemic restrictions influenced the growth of fatigue in pilots’ behaviors and the general population.

Moreover, Morgul et al. (2021) questioned 4700 people to define factors influencing the psychological fatigue of a person in Istanbul, Turkey. Only 35.9% were declared to be psychologically normal (Morgul et al., 2021); “age, educational level, occupational status, place of residence and number of family members” impact the mental fatigue of a person (Morgul et al., 2021, p. 128). The critical role here is playing the knowledge about the COVID-19: what consequences it has, how many infected people are there in the city/state, what are the symptoms, and etc.

The way people are coping with their life in crises affects their psychological conditions. Morgul et al. (2021) argued that:

• normal participants generally showed more positive attitudes than the fatigued in believing that COVID-19 will finally be controlled, satisfaction with preventive measures taken by the authorities, reporting suspected cases with symptoms, and trusting that Turkey can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic (p. 128).

In other words, beliefs affect the mental fatigue of a person. In addition to that, Teng et al. (2020) claimed that being overwhelmed with news regarding the pandemic and other significant infections or crises may lead to increased fear, anxiety, and fatigue. This overwhelming feeling can be referred to as messaging fatigue, which means being tired because of permanent exposure to similarly themed information (Koh et al., 2020). In their research, Kim and So (2018) show that the reaction to this information overload can negatively affect message fatigue. Moreover, psychological fatigue can be tied to information so that a person starts to fear missing something out (Dhir et al., 2018). Thus, pilots and crew members, who are also taking the risk of getting infected on the job and always overloaded with the COVID-19 news, may have negative beliefs regarding the pandemic, resulting in the psychological state of fatigue.

Activities Causing Fatigue and How to Reduce Fatigue with the Boeing Alertness Model

Bunting (2016) examined relationships between the fatigue level in pilots and crew members with solutions such as napping, spontaneous episodes for sleep, and reports for duties. As Bunting (2016) concluded, napping for a short period, usually less than 30 minutes, could help reduce the levels of psychological fatigue. Other scholars, Sivasankari and Karthika (2014), suggested the usage of the iPhone application Crew Alert. According to Sivasankari and Karthika (2014), “the application is intended for use by pilots as a tool for assessment, logging, and reporting of fatigue, to increase safety in the air” (p. 269). In other words, in addition to a short nap, crew members have been advised to manage fatigue by tracking their sleep patterns and work shifts. However, there are other ways to reduce psychological fatigue, such as the Boeing Alertness Model (BAM).

According to Alcéu (2015), modern alertness models for aircrews, such as the Boeing Alertness Model (BAM), have increased previous models’ complexity and outcome reliability by adding extra variables, generating a more precise prediction of psychological fatigue, and therefore, producing better risk management. The BAM also has one of the highest numbers of applications because of the accurate predictions and wide range of taken parameters (Alcéu, 2015). The predictive biomathematical fatigue the Boing Alertness Model (BAM) used as an output the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and the Samn-Perelli 7-point fatigue scale (SPF) (Jahanpour et al., 2020). The former is a 9-points scale (Shahid et al., 2012), and the latter is a 7-point scale, both starting from 1, which means “fully alert, wide awake” to 7 or 9, meaning “completely exhausted, unable to function effectively” (Samn, & Perelli, 1982). One can claim that the BAM measurement scale should be deliberately accurate to be applied in aviation because of deviation in terms of defined thresholds from other existing scales.

The mental fatigue decrease with the help of the Boeing Alertness Model. By conducting schedule analysis with the BAM, Alcéu (2015) concluded that it is risky to have early morning and late evening flights. Hellerström et al. (2010) presented a methodology (based on the BAM analysis) to improve the efficiency of the prescriptive rules to enhance alertness while maintaining or improving pilots’ and crew members’ productivity. Therefore, one can claim that with the help of the Boeing Alertness Model, scholars can draw some recommendations regarding the safest time of flights and rules that will help detect specific mental conditions.

Summing all written above, a new study should be launched researching the impact of the crises on the level of fatigue. It is obvious from the literature review that pandemic restrictions, such as appeared because of the COVID-19, influence a lot on the growth of fatigue in pilots’ behaviors as well as the general population. Moreover, using the BAM measurement scale is one of the most reliable ways to research this topic.

References

Alcéu, P. M. D. M. (2015). Managing fatigue in a regional aircraft operator: fatigue and workload on multi-segment operations (Master’s thesis).

Bendak, S., & Rashid, H. S. (2020). Fatigue in aviation: A systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 76.

Bourgeois-Bougrine, S., Carbon, P., Gounelle, C., Mollard, R., & Coblentz, A. (2003). Perceived fatigue for short-and long-haul flights: A survey of 739 airline pilots. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 74(10), 1072-1077.

Bunting, T. P. (2016). Fatigue mitigation effects of en-route napping on commercial airline pilots flying international routes. The University of North Dakota.

Dhir, A., Yossatorn, Y., Kaur, P., & Chen, S. (2018). Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing—A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. International Journal of Information Management, 40, 141-152.

Hellerström, D., Eriksson, E., Romig, E., & Klemets, T. (2010). Flight time limitations and fatigue risk management: A comparison of three regulatory approaches. Boeing Flight Safety Foundation.

Hobbs, A., Gregory, K., Parke, B., Pradhan, S., Caddick, Z., Bathurst, N., Flynn-Evans, E. (2018). San Francisco bar pilot fatigue study. NASA Technical Report ASA. San Jose State University.

ICAO. (2015). Fatigue risk management systems manual for operators (2nd ed.). Montréal.

Jahanpour, E. S., Berberian, B., Imbert, J. P., & Roy, R. N. (2020). Cognitive fatigue assessment in operational settings: a review and UAS implications. IFAC-PapersOnLine, 53(5), 330-337.

Jerman, A., & Meško, M. (2018). How to measure fatigue among pilots? Zbornik Veleučilišta u Rijeci, 6(1), 13-22.

Kim, S., & So, J. (2018). How message fatigue toward health messages leads to ineffective persuasive outcomes: examining the mediating roles of reactance and inattention. Journal of Health Communication, 23(1), 109-116.

Koh, P. K. K., Chan, L. L., & Tan, E. K. (2020). Messaging fatigue and desensitisation to information during pandemic. Archives of Medical Research, 51(7), 716-717.

Lee, S., & Kim, J.K. (2018). Factors contributing to the risk of airline pilot fatigue. Air Transport Management, 67, 197–207.

MacIntyre, C. R., Nguyen, P. Y., Chughtai, A. A., Trent, M., Gerber, B., Steinhofel, K., & Seale, H. (2021). Mask use, risk-mitigation behaviours and pandemic fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic in five cities in Australia, the UK and USA: A cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 106, 199-207.

Morgul, E., Bener, A., Atak, M., Akyel, S., Aktaş, S., Bhugra, D., Ventriglio, A., & Jordan, T. R. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic and psychological fatigue in Turkey. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(2), 128.

Samn, S.W. and Perelli, L.P. (1982). Estimating aircrew fatigue: a technique with application to airlift operations. School of Aerospace Medicine.

Shahid, A., Wilkinson, K., Marcu, S., & Shapiro, C.M. (2012). Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Springer New York, 209–210.

Sivasankari, A., & Karthika N. (2014). Fatugue risk management using mobile application. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology Research, 2(3), 269-279.

Stokes, A. F., & Kite, K. (2017). Flight stress: Stress, fatigue and performance in aviation. Routledge.

Teng, Z., Wei, Z., Qiu, Y., Tan, Y., Chen, J., Tang, H., Wu, H., Wu, R., & Huang, J. (2020). Psychological status and fatigue of frontline staff two months after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in China: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 275, 247-252.

Introduction

Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in 2019, coronavirus infected more than 140 million and killed more than 3 million people all over the world (“COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic”). China became the first country that identified and combated the new virus, which made a significant impact on at-risk populations, such as women and children. The response to COVID-19 was immediate, yet the mentioned populations were disproportionately affected by its consequences. The total lockdown led to school closures and severe health deterioration in children, while women faced domestic violence, the inability to meet basic needs, inappropriate treatment as frontline workers and migrant domestic helpers.

COVID-19 and Chinese Women

As reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), 70% of health workers are composed of women, meaning that they were the first to work with infected patients (Owen). In early 2020, hospital staff encountered increased working hours, harsh conditions, and a lack of timely rest. Many care providers were instructed not to leave their workplaces, but female workers were discriminated against their natural needs. There was a lack of period pants, pads, and disposable pants, which indicated that menstruation needs were overlooked (Owen). Paradoxically, a greater attention to hygiene as a measure to reduce the impact of coronavirus was accompanied by the disregard for basic female needs.

Another point related to COVID-19 and Chinese Women refers to role equality. Feng et al. state that in China, the population is still more comfortable with considering that male domination is the only appropriate society model. This, for example, can be traced on the presentation of female medical workers in the media. In the outbreak of the virus, male leadership and heroic sacrifices of men were translated to people, while the contribution of female hospital workers remained largely unpublicized.

However, it should be stressed that the Chinese government officially encouraged the community to follow the principle of gender equality (Alon et al.). There is a need to implement gender-sensitive policies that would change the practice of female health providers, thus improving their position in terms of employment, social service, and media.

Domestic violence rates increased with the necessity to spend time indoors because of lockdown. The female activists reported that assaults and emotional abuse between partners were the negative outcomes of the coronavirus. In addition, thousands of female migrant domestic helpers from Indonesia, the Philippines, and other Asian countries working in China faced a lack of access to protective equipment (Feng et al.). While the employers and home countries of these women failed to provide sanitizers and face masks, their risk of contamination was extremely high. Pregnant women composed another vulnerable group that was characterized by higher levels of depression and anxiety.

The study by Wu et al. shows that a “clinically significant rise in the prevalence of depressive symptoms was found among pregnant women increasing from 26% before January 20, 2020, to 34.2% between February 5 and 9, 2020.” These women were more likely to engage in self-harm, and their situation was complicated by social distancing requirements and limited access to medical resources (Wu et al.). In this case, screening for perinatal depression, ongoing check-ups, and online counseling were recommended as coping measures.

Coronavirus and Children in China

The early research on the impact of coronavirus on children demonstrates that they tend to become infected without or with minimal symptoms. These studies noted that more than 90% of children were asymptomatic, while the overall percentage of their morbidity was low compared to adults (Alon et al.). However, Belluck notes the study that was conducted from the point of epidemiology, where the authors found that preschoolers and babies are likely to become seriously ill. Based on the sample of 2000 Chinese children, Dong et al. found that about 6% developed severe symptoms and had respiratory problems (as cited by Belluck). These findings confirm that despite a relatively low number of child patients having COVID-19, pediatric units should be ready to provide relevant and timely help.

Along with health impacts, coronavirus caused school closures, and millions of children were referred to their parents, mainly, mothers. In turn, parents had to work from home, ensuring that their children study remotely, which set a disproportionate burden on mothers (Owen). For those parents, who were not given a choice to work remotely, it was a challenge to provide childcare. As for children, distance learning was a new format of education that required many efforts to adjust to (Owen). In their turn, teachers were not ready to provide online lessons, facing technical and methodological issues. Accordingly, academic performance, as well as the emotional and psychological well-being of children, was at a high risk.

Conclusion

To conclude, COVID-19 made a significant impact on Chinese women and children, creating education, workplace, and psychological issues. Females were affected as health providers, migrant domestic helpers, and working mothers. The threat of domestic violence and additional burden of remote work and childcare were complicating factors. Preschool children and babies were found to be at an increased risk of developing severe symptoms. School closures made it possible to learn at home, but it added tension in families and required adjusting to online lessons. Thus, it becomes evident that children and women are vulnerable groups, while proper policies can help in addressing their challenges.

Works Cited

Alon, Titan M., et al. “The impact of COVID-19 on gender equality.” National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020. Web.

Belluck, Pam. “Children and Coronavirus: Research Finds Some Become Seriously Ill.” The New York Times. 2020. Web.

“COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.” Worldometers. 2021. Web.

Feng, Huiyun, et al. “Can Covid-19 Advance Gender Equality in China’s Health Policies?”. The Interpreter. 2020. Web.

Owen, Lara. “Coronavirus: Five Ways Virus Upheaval is Hitting Women in Asia.” BBC News.. 2020. Web.

Wu, Yanting, et al. “Perinatal Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms of Pregnant Women During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in China.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 223, no. 2, 2020, pp. 240-249.

COVID-19 is a virus caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It is a very dangerous and deadly disease that has appeared in China at the beginning of 2020. It has started to spread rapidly and now every country is affected by it. Everyone needs to stay at home, wear masks in public places and keep a social distance. It is hard to imagine a single thing in the world that has not changed after the pandemic. It impacted the world economy, resulting in economic crises, business closures, and job losses. However, unfortunately, the main consequence of this virus is that a lot of people die after it or have serious implications for their health after recovering. In other words, COVID-19 has significantly changed the world around us and it is hard to imagine that it will never be the same again.

Speaking about my reflections on the topic of the virus, it is very depressing for me to see the current situation in the world with all these deaths and crises. Wherever you go, you will witness the consequences of this disease. For example, one of such objects is the educational system. This point directly affects me because I am a student. Educational institutions started to close and accept distant learning. It became more difficult to study and to see my classmates and teachers. Luckily, the situation has started to change and colleges and schools have started to open again, which brings some optimism. However, it should not mean that other regulations should not be followed. We still need to follow them in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

These regulations mean that people should stay at home if it is possible and if it is not, then it is advisable to wear masks in public places. We also should care about those who are in the risk groups: old people or people with lung or heart diseases. They have a greater chance of getting a serious form of the disease and suffering from lung damage. These groups also have a bigger chance of dying from the virus. We should be conscious of it and try to keep them safe.

Recently, the first vaccines have been invented and we should consider the opportunity to vaccinate. If the vaccines are safe and do not cause any negative effects, then there is no reason not to use them. Sadly, there are reports that some of the vaccines are not secure enough for people’s health, because they may cause blood clots and lead to death. Nevertheless, there are many other vaccines and not all of them are unsafe. I believe it is a good idea to vaccinate because it significantly reduces the chances of getting a virus and suffering from it. Moreover, if all people were vaccinated, it would be a great step in stopping the pandemic.

Unfortunately, another thing that prevents the pandemic from finishing is the people who deny coronavirus and do not follow all the rules. They go to supermarkets and other public places without wearing masks, they sneeze and cough and spread the virus. Moreover, they persuade other people to act this way by spreading fake news and false information about the virus. It is hard to understand why they cannot see that the virus really exists and continues to kill people. However, I believe that the situation changes with time because evidence of the existence of the virus continues to appear. Some of those who were COVID-19 dissidents at the beginning of the pandemic began to change their opinions after they saw their relatives and friends catching the virus or became ill themselves. This gives hope and makes us believe that further enlightenment of people will help to stop the spread of the virus.

Another thing that makes everyone wonder is what our world will look like after the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe we will still be needing masks because they would stop us from getting other viruses. This can be expected because scientists say that new forms of COVID-19 still appear, like the new British Covid strain. These variants of the virus are said to be even more dangerous and deadly than the original coronavirus. Also, according to some media, currently existing vaccines do not prevent you from these strains. These facts mean that, unfortunately, the pandemic may be prolonged for a very long time and it is hard to predict when it will finish.

To conclude, I can say one thing for sure – eventually, this pandemic will end because it is not the first one to hit mankind. There were hoaxes, bubonic plague, and Spanish flu, which were very dangerous and caused many deaths, too, but they were defeated through the joint efforts of scientists and medics. Though COVID-19 is a scary disease, it is not very different from them, which means that with the passing of time we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The article “Breaking the Ice: Delivering the Goods to the Arctic in a Pandemic” draws attention to the activities of sailors whose noble mission is not widely publicized. Few people have heard of Nunavik – its richness in minerals, its harsh climate, and ethnic settlements. Now, when the consequences and restrictions of the pandemic have multiplied on delivering goods to this area, attention has been paid to this event. The original article makes me think about this problem and unwittingly start looking for solutions.

Nunavik is in a unique position, in which about forty thousand people are entirely dependent on the activities of the company for the delivery of goods. Amid the pandemic, this company also suffered losses, faced restrictions, but unlike other organizations could not move to remote locations or suspend operations. The uniqueness of the situation is reflected in the article through the voice of the manager and the people involved. The inextricable connection and importance of this region with the state become clear from the context. Such a responsible mission is impossible without solid support from the authorities. In the situation with COVID-19, the government went to meet the company, softening the restrictions on self-isolation for seafarers (“Breaking the Ice,” 2020). These facts illustrate an example of joint concerted efforts to achieve socially and environmentally meaningful goals – there should be more such examples.

Despite the difficulties with COVID-19, the company has not reported a single case to its team. The pandemic turned out to be another problem that the sailors and the leadership solved on their own. There are many similar problems on seafarers: storms, weather conditions, low temperatures, the complexity of logistics and cargo. However, they cope with each of them, how they coped with the pandemic, how they cope with any obstacle in their path.

Reference

Breaking the ice: Delivering the goods to the Arctic in a pandemic. (2020). Clear Seas. Web.

Currently, the world community is rethinking the problems of a multinational state in the context of measures that can stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus on the planet. The tension of the situation inside America is due to the fact that the problems associated with minorities have worsened, which violates the state of stable civilizational development. As a result of the pandemic, the state’s role in solving global problems has increased, particularly regarding the social issues of minority inequality and environmental racism.

A social class is a large group of people who occupy similar positions in the economic structure of society. Various kinds of differences cause the social inequality of classes between these groups. These differences lie in the nature and amount of ownership of the means of production and goods manufactured, and the level of material well-being. Social class is measured by determining the position of an individual relative to the poverty line (Rossen et al., 2021). This position is determined by the household income ratio to the national average or by meeting basic needs, including social and environmental ones. People with low incomes are the largest group of the population who have the greatest need for medical care and the most significant obstacles in obtaining it. Due to financial difficulties, that group has constant problems getting medical care; therefore, the mortality rate among it is higher. As people belonging to the wealthy class have the opportunity to immediately consult a doctor in the case of COVID-19, their health outcomes are mostly positive.

Initially, the probability of mortality from COVID-19 was only associated with the age and gender of patients, but then the attention to race was drawn. African-Americans are more likely to become victims of the pandemic in the country, and they are also more susceptible to infection (Washington, 2020). The racial gap in coronavirus victims is explained by the social status of rates for people who belong to minority groups. They are at greater risk due to the fact that they are more likely to suffer from diabetes, and they have severe heart and lung pathologies (Wright, 2018). Chronic illnesses are the result of poverty caused by decades of racial discrimination. Access to health care is difficult for many members of minorities. A lot of people do not have health insurance, and if they do, it does not cover all expenses, so serious diseases are not cured on time.

Moreover, one of the leading causes of mortality is environmental inequality – the lack of access for representatives of the poor social class to areas with an unpolluted environment. Representatives of minorities live in the areas with poor ecology, which provokes respiratory diseases and makes them more vulnerable to coronavirus. Harmful biological effects are produced by powerful electric, electromagnetic and ultrahigh-frequency fields, noise used in production. These factors cause disruption of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, metabolism, decreased conditioned reflex activity, and deterioration of reproductive function, hearing, and vision disorders (Washington, 2020). Changes in the composition and properties of the air environment also adversely affect human health. The body’s respiratory, cardiovascular, and immune systems are particularly affected by harmful components of atmospheric air.

The formation of a new inequality is a current challenge for the development of macroeconomic policy. New fears and anxieties of people are associated with the growth of economic and environmental stratification between them. The class stratification is growing between white people of prestigious professions and unemployed minority representatives. The ecological division is also growing between the residents of the prosperous areas of the metropolis and the depressed suburbs of the cities. The pandemic has intensified these processes, and the new inequality is becoming the most important economic problem of the post-crisis era that needs to be solved.

References

Rossen, L. M., Ahmad, F. B., Anderson, R. N., Branum, A. M., Du, C., Krumholz, H. M., Li, S. H., Lin, Z., Marshall, A., Sutton, D. P., & Faust, J. S. (2021). Disparities in excess mortality associated with COVID-19 — United States, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(33), 114-1119. Web.

Washington, H. A. (2020). How environmental racism is fuelling the coronavirus pandemic. Web.

Wright, W. J. (2018). As above, so below: Anti-black violence as environmental racism.A Radical Journal of Geography, 0(0), 1-19. Web.