Globalization has proved to be a game changer for the whole world in terms of mobility of people resources and capital; the flow of people and resources has also made the flow of diseases especially viral diseases through global interconnectedness. The year 2019 proved to be fatal for the whole world as coronavirus observed in Wuhan city of China spread in a way that in March 2020 Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO and in October 2020, the number of confirmed cases was more than our imagination and millions of people have died throughout world. The Coronavirus was reported in China initially and later due to free movement of people across borders and lack of availability of information on its symptoms and causes it spread to almost all over the world and hit the states from highly developed states to least developed states and alarmed the Global Health and Security.
According to World Health Organization, the total number of covid cases registered is 174 502 686 and3 770 361 people died due to Corona. The pandemic has also posed a great impact on health care systems and a huge burden on the world economy and social set-up and contributed to the shift in Globalization trends. Since the occurrence of Covid 19, the world has totally changed and it has left strong impacts on global security as states have faced many challenges in health, domestic and economic sector and a complete shift in Globalization trends.
Although globalization has ensured economic and cultural growth in the recent past but as mobility of people across borders become easier, the spread of diseases also became easier as the bubonic plague was transmitted from China to Europe through trade routes and influenza pandemic spread during WW1 due to movement of armies and Asian flu of 1957 was spread via land and sea travel. Hence, the global transmission of diseases has been amplified by the phenomenon of globalization and there is link of how the close integration of people and flow of trade and commerce also causes disease transmission. The lockdown measures adopted by states to counter the spread of virus during the global pandemic in has not only impacted our livelihood but also affected the economy in terms of supply and demand as marketplaces were closed most of the time and decelerated the economic growth of affected countries which reduced trade and increased poverty.
Although, there were negative impacts of globalization to various areas like trade, education, health, travel and tourism sector but there are also some areas that have seen growing demand like online websites, you-tube channels, online apps like zoom etc. Moreover, the low and middle income countries like Pakistan have faced a collapse in health care systems. The countries like Pakistan, India have faced bed shortage, non-availability of oxygen cylinders, lack of trained staff and doctors, less ventilators and hospitals. The lockdowns and restricted movement have put pressure on transportation systems resulting in loss of income, disruption of global trading and tourism and loss of production, and employment. The tourism industry faced a major blow as there was complete restriction of movement of people and many states have to impose lockdowns to stop the spread of virus.
Unemployment has become a major issue as the jobs related to industries have shown a decline of fourteen percent. Many businesses have to cut down their employees as they were at a loss. The education sector has been affected too mostly in developing and under developing states. For example, initially when the schools, colleges, and universities were closed the students as well as teachers couldn’t adapt immediately to online mode and that made it difficult to acquire quality education. Moreover, the states like Pakistan where internet availability is limited and there are many households that lack access to the internet especially in rural areas, education could not be provided through online mode. Although the studies at the University level continued through online mode, but primary and secondary education sectors were severely affected. And this is clear, that the learning acquired by attending institutions and learning at home through online mode is very different and the latter requires self-regulation that is very less in today’s youth who have various other distractions in terms of electronic gadgets, social media, and mobile phones.
COVID became a global issue in the past two years and all the states and international organizations were active to cooperate and spread awareness and adopted measures that could halt its spread. It affected all states and posed challenges on economy, health, education and made it necessary for states to recheck their health management systems as their capacity has also been tested in these two years. The developed states like US have faced difficulties in controlling the spread of the epidemic and the less developed have been further unable to respond to and control the situation. The Covid has not only posed challenges to economic and health system but the trends of globalization have also shifted. The states adopted counter strategies where institutions were closed, lockdowns were implemented, travel banned and people have to restrict movement.
In short, Covid has been and still is a challenge that states are facing and all states and international organizations have cooperated to fight this evil through research on its causes and effects. The Global Community has been successful to produce vaccines that will control the spread of Corona in the future and generate immunity for viruses among people. The fight against Corona is still there and the future holds secrets of this global virus that has changed the whole global structure and posed challenges to developed and underdeveloped states equally as no one was prepared for this deadly outbreak. There will not be a complete shift in globalization trends in the near future as it will be able to survive through certain challenges that Covid has brought to its face, but it will emerge differently. By the end of Corona, many states will have the opportunity to evaluate their capacity to fight sudden out-breaks. Moreover, removing travel bans will spur the terrorism and travel sector. The industries and businesses will also work hard to compensate for loss and with collective effort, everything will be normalized and humans will adapt to the new normal.
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