Challenges of the Pandemic Analysis

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Introduction

Nowadays, many countries are being paralyzed by infectious disease COVID-19. Since December, it has been spreading all around the globe extremely fast. Still, the governments have not found any solution to this dilemma yet. It turned out that no one was ready for it; that is why the process of treatment is so long-lasting. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current situation in the world caused by COVID-19 and to suggest possible changes that will occur as a result of what has happened.

The History of Appearance of COVID-19: How it Affected the Rhythm of Daily Life

COVID-19 was identified on December 10, 2019, in Wuhan city in China, where one of the suppliers on the local market was hospitalized with pneumonia. The governments of the countries did not pay attention to this case, and the international tourism functioned without any changes. It resulted in the extremely fast transmission of the disease all over the world. The first COVID-19 case appeared in UAE in the middle of January (Duncan & Gautam, 2020).

Many laboratories have already started searching for the cure, but at the moment, there is no treatment. The spread of the virus affected all spheres of life, including politics, economics, art, education, and healthcare.

First of all, COVID-19 has significantly affected the everyday life of people. In many countries, it is forbidden to leave the house. Parks, restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, offices, and airports are closed (“Coronavirus disease 2019”, 2020). Moreover, it has affected the families: people spend all day together with their partners and children. It requires absolute modification of daily life, including both householding and working habits.

Isolation affects social connection in its great variety of forms. There is no chance to visit friends or relatives physically; the only opportunity to do this is to use video conferences. It is also important to mention that many varieties of hobbies such as hiking, riding a bicycle, swimming, climbing have become unavailable. The working process also needs modification – people work online, communicate using social networks, and plan their time independently. At first sight, all these things separately do not cause any severe problems. However, in the case when they occur simultaneously, they change the lifestyle of every human entirely.

Search for the Cure

COVID-19 showed that not enough studies were done to understand the epidemiological level and to find the solution in time. None the less, this disease is a great chance to get some data and analyze it using different technologies. Researches of the evolution of the virus, the speed of its spread, and its ability to mutate would be helpful for future generations in the situation of the similar pandemic.

The search for the vaccine requires the collaboration of several laboratories to provide a more efficient result. However, there is a problem of shifting the priorities by the scientific institutes. Currently, all of them are concentrated on producing and providing tests for COVID-19. To make the development of the drug faster, it is necessary to have the needed equipment, the data of the disease, the qualified human resources, and the laboratory itself. It requires material support from the government and the collaboration of the specialists of different spheres such as chemistry, microbiology, virology, and others.

Economics

The economics of most countries has been overcoming a challenging period. The airline, tourism, and hospitality industries suffer the most in the current situation. UAE is not an exception as it had to close its borders and cancel all the flights from the airports of the country. There are several reasons for the crisis in this industry: first of all, these spheres depend on the global market, that is why if some countries close their borders, that already means that the local airline company is losing money.

Secondly, these sectors of economics survive not because of the high prices, but thanks to the number of clients. The global airline industry is supposed to lose about 70% in revenue by the second quarter of 2020 (Almezel, 2020). Under those circumstances, the government has to provide financial aid to all the organizations of that type.

The oil price war between Saudi Arabia, and Russia is another crucial problem that the global economics face during the period of COVID-19. It negatively affects the situation in the countries that depend on the income of the export of natural resources and makes reaching the objectives of SDG in the era of the pandemic even more complicated (Saidi, 2020). This situation affects industries that are not related directly to oil or travel business, among them are medicine and the supply of basic products that are much more important for ordinary people.

Smart Transformation

The new reality has a great impact on the daily schedule of people all over the world. The global community uses the online sphere to communicate, to read, to search for the latest news, and to enjoy their hobbies. Sport is not an exception: the fitness clubs are closed; it is forbidden to leave the house without permission. Dubai Sports Council and New Age Fitness have announced the new platform that is supposed to help people to do sports at home (Salman, 2020). In UAE, many new sources appear to encourage people to live a full life during the pandemic.

The healthcare system also moved to online platforms intending to support people during a hard time. The Ministry of Health in UAE has announced the “virtual doctor” service that plays the role of doctor’s assistant and answers any question concerning the infectious disease. The online sources play an essential role in the modern world and aid people not to deny the pleasures of life even during COVID-19.

Healthcare System

The medical system was not ready for this pandemic for several reasons. UAE researchers even propose the idea that the lack of understanding of what is going on among the healthcare workers may lead to a decrease in the level of treatment (Bhagavathula et al., 2020). Nevertheless, this situation seems to be a good illustration for the governments of all countries that medicine requires serious transformation.

There should be more hospitals for infectious diseases, specific equipment, including special protective clothes and masks for the staff. More subsidizing is needed in general, because government hospitals cannot afford some medicine that is extremely necessary, but very expensive. This pandemic seriously affected the healthcare system and showed the necessity of its improvement.

Covering the topic of the healthcare system, it is essential to mention the level of subsidizing of laboratories, research and experimental centers. If the laboratories are more equipped, it is always easier to analyze the virus and to understand its real danger (Giesecke, 2017). It is also the question of salaries, the attractiveness of the profession and competence of the specialists. Government has to provide all researchers of infectious diseases with free training courses, educational programs, the possibility to take part in scientific conferences. Laboratories and research centers have to be upgraded both in human recourses and specialized equipment for studies and experiments.

The problem of equipment is not only in its absence or unsuitability but also in its inaccessibility for the laboratories. The government usually controls the supply of all the necessary instruments. COVID-19 is a clear illustration of what can happen if the laboratories do not have all the required facilities. During the pandemic, the world senses a lack of tests to diagnose the disease. The tests are usually invented in the research centers and then run into mass production.

The laboratories cannot overcome all the difficulties without financial support from both government and private foundations. That means that the system, in general, does not function: the researchers cannot provide the models of the tests, and the factories are not ready to produce such amount of it. This situation shows the importance of shifting the priorities into the medical sphere and establishing the processes of production in the social field.

In UAE, particular attention is paid to public health and the awareness of ordinary people about the pandemic. The government has created a special website where anyone could get the primary information about COVID-19, including the rules of social distancing, ways of transmission of the virus, and its characteristics (Sebugwaawo, 2020).

The authorities did the same work in the medical sphere: virtual lectures were produced to inform all healthcare workers about the latest issues of COVID-19. This idea was implemented not only by UAE but also by international companies such as the World Health Organization that shares educational videos via its online platform. The medical sphere in the whole world is undergoing changes; the pandemic shows that it needs the improvement of the system and governmental support.

Education and Work

This situation also proposes a fresh look at the everyday routine of working and learning. For example, it is evident that the system of education is outdated. There is no more need for traditional lessons that require everyday presence in the class. For students, it is much more convenient to study from home, café or library instead of going to the university every day. After the pandemic, universities would use online platforms for lectures. For the seminars, it would be more convenient to use video conferences and messengers.

It is possible to assume that the relationships between teachers and pupils would significantly change. The role of the tutor and educator would go back to the parents, and the schoolmaster would only explain the subject. On the one hand, it would help the teacher to be more objective. On the other hand, it causes the problems of socializing for a child and making friends in the class. These ideas and concerns show that online education is not the perfect opportunity for children. However, the online format of learning the material without spending an hour on the way to school and wearing the uniform illustrates the disadvantages of the traditional system.

The question of working from home for employees is ambiguous. Several governmental resources provide useful information for business-owners about telework (“Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19)”, 2020). Work from home would become more popular and more respected. During the pandemic, all employees have understood that there is no significant difference between working at home and in the office. Working and educational spheres would be partly shifted to online mode after the pandemic.

The History of the Latest Epidemics

From the very beginning of life on Earth, infectious diseases have been a companion of humanity. They occurred with regularity throughout the years, and even in the modern world, they are nearly constant. During the 21st century, the world faced five epidemics, including the on-going COVID-19. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed around one thousand people in 2003.

In 2009, the Swine flu took the lives of 200 thousand humans. Over the past decade, the world suffered from MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19. The history of the epidemics shows that it is a regular process that people cannot avoid. Nevertheless, it is necessary to draw conclusions and improve the healthcare system to overcome future pandemics with much less sacrifice.

UAE fighting COVID-19: Comparison with Singapore, China, and South Korea

When the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, UAE and several other countries like Singapore, South Korea, and Japan acted very quickly that helped them to slow the spread of the virus. All the borders and the airports were closed, the flights were canceled. The educational system moved to online platforms with the aid of the government, which made access to the most popular learning platforms free for the period of the pandemic. The authorities ordered a quarantine and prohibited public events.

The governments of South Korea and Singapore introduced flexible working hours and disinfecting the streets. In UAE, decontamination also plays an important role, but employees work full day from home. In China, a hospital was built for ten days, but in UAE, more attention is paid to de-designation of the existing medical centers. Despite the differences in the measures, all the compared countries successfully fight the virus thanks to the strict rules and quick reaction.

Artificial Intelligence

The pandemic is not only about identifying the problems, but also about challenging the existing technologies. One of the most perspective spheres, in this case, is the artificial intelligence. Some scientists maintain that collecting data now would help to prevent situations like that in the future (Alimadadi et al.,2020). This disease appears to show what is important and helps to find out what can be useful in these circumstances. It challenges all the spheres of life and shows which of them need some improvement.

Artificial intelligence is necessary not only for the future epidemics but also in the current moment. By analyzing social media and the lifestyle of a person, it might predict the risk of infection. It helps as well to keep people informed by the messages from a chatbot with the latest news and statistics (Moideen, 2018). Artificial intelligence is a way to automate and simplify the processes during the pandemic and make this period more comfortable for thousands of humans.

Recommendations

The experience of COVID-19 is beneficial in the case of future pandemics as a source of information and examples. Thanks to this infectious disease, it is possible to propose several recommendations for the next generations. First of all, having a plan for epidemics and understanding how it would be realized is crucial. Secondly, it is necessary to monitor the situation all the time, so it would be easy to identify the disease at the very beginning.

The next step is to reduce the spread of the virus in the country by establishing the rules of social distancing and home isolation. The healthcare system should be reorganized in an efficient way and get financial aid immediately. It is essential not to forget about the communications: the authorities should keep people informed, provide them with access to online platforms for working and learning.

This pandemic showed that no one is safe and that the priorities should be balanced in another way. Business, entertainment, or marketing do not seem of much importance under the present circumstances. The governmental budget should be disaggregated in a more socially-oriented way. For example, more money should be allocated for medical education, especially in the sphere of epidemic problems. What is more, the government has to care more about people: control the number of working places, provide financial add during the hard times. All these steps need long-range planning, which means that it is crucial to start now to be ready for future challenges.

The pandemic affects the value of sustainable development goals. It would be necessary to improve the healthcare system, to modify the educational field, to reorganize the governmental budget, and to make several innovations for employees. All in all, there is no doubt that life would change after COVID-19 – it would be switched more to the online sphere and care of social and medical institutions by the government.

References

Alimadadi, A., Aryal, S., Manandhar, I., Munroe, P. B., Joe, B., & Cheng, X. (2020). Artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight COVID-19. American Physiological Society. Web.

Almezel, M. (2020). COVID-19 fallout: Global airlines get hit with 70% dip in revenue. Gulf News. Web.

Bhagavathula, A. S., Aldhaleei, W. A., Rahmani, J., Mahabadi, M. A., &Bandari, D. K. (2020). Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) knowledge and perceptions: A survey on healthcare workers. MedRxiv. Web.

Duncan, G. & Gautam, S. (2020). Coronavirus: UAE records first case. N.UAE. Web.

Giesecke, J. (2017). Modern infectious disease epidemiology. CRC Press.

Government of the United Kingdom. (2020). Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19). Web.

Moideen, T. (2018). Change Is Coming: Artificial Intelligence Is All Set To Disrupt The UAE Healthcare Sector. Entrepreneur. Web.

Saidi, N. (2020). The Arab World’s Perfect COVID-19 Storm. Project Syndicate. Web.

Salman, N. (2020). Dubai Sports Council, New Age Fitness launch digital fitness training platform. Emirates News Agency. Web.

Sebugwaawo, I. (2020). Combating Covid-19 in UAE: Virtual platform to update information, spread awareness. Khaleej Times. Web.

World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Situation report – 57. Web.

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