Socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic facts for kids
The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the world, even beyond the sickness itself. As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spread, many people started thinking about how it affected businesses and jobs. The pandemic caused the biggest global economic slowdown in history. More than a third of the world's population had to stay home in lockdown.
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Shortages and Extra Food
The pandemic caused shortages of many things. People started panic buying items like masks, toilet paper, gloves, and hand sanitizer. This meant stores sometimes ran out. There were also reports of not enough food or groceries.
The pandemic also made many social events change. Concerts were delayed, and movie release dates were pushed back. Many movie theaters even had to close down.
However, there was also an increase in something called gleaning. This means people went to farms to pick up food plants left on the ground after a harvest. Because restaurants and other food businesses canceled their orders, farmers had more extra crops than usual. People created new groups to find farmers with extra food. They organized volunteers to collect it and take it to food banks. This helped people who needed food.
Stock Markets and Money
Global stock markets started to fall on February 24, 2020. This happened because many more COVID-19 cases appeared outside of China. By February 28, stock markets around the world had their biggest weekly drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Global stock markets then crashed even more in March 2020.
Businesses and Jobs
Businesses likely lost billions of dollars, and the losses kept growing. By March 16, news reports showed that the effect on the United States economy would be worse than people first thought.
In Africa, the middle class was at risk because of the pandemic. A middle-class person is someone who isn't rich but has a steady income. About 170 million people in Africa are middle class. Around 8 million of them could lose their businesses or become poor because of COVID-19. This is partly because tourism, which helped Africa's middle class grow, stopped when countries closed borders. Experts say a strong middle class helps the whole country.
Nigeria and other African countries also faced problems because oil prices dropped. Since people were driving, flying, and traveling less, oil cost less. This meant oil companies made less money and many fired employees in Africa. Those employees then had less money to spend at local businesses.
Cashless Payments
The coronavirus pandemic led to more people using cashless payments. These are things like credit cards and apps, instead of coins and paper money. Organizations like the United Nations and countries like Kenya and Sweden encouraged people to pay without cash. This is because physical coins and bills can carry germs. Credit cards and apps make it easier to pay without touching other people. However, stores often have to pay a fee to the credit card or app company for each transaction.
Experts say this change might cause problems for immigrants, people with disabilities, and others who can't easily get credit cards or apps.
Education Changes
The pandemic affected schools and universities all over the world, causing many to close. By March 25, 2020, schools and universities in 165 countries had closed because of COVID-19. This affected over 1.5 billion students worldwide. Many classes were stopped for the rest of the school year, and many students started taking online classes instead.
In the United Kingdom, some schools stayed open. They taught children of essential workers, children who were at risk, and children with special education needs. However, some special education students were unfairly sent home.
Race and Fairness
COVID-19 did not affect everyone in each country in the same way. In the United States, black Americans were much more likely to get sick and die from COVID-19 than white Americans. Latino and Native Americans were also more likely to get sick and die. Asian Americans were also more likely to get sick than white Americans.
Experts said this was not because of any natural differences in people's bodies. Instead, it was due to social and economic reasons. For example, black citizens in the U.S. are more likely to work jobs where they serve the public. They also often use public transportation, which can increase their risk of getting sick. They might also live in crowded neighborhoods where it's harder to keep a safe distance from others. Experts blamed the long history of racism in the United States for these differences.
In the United Kingdom, black COVID-19 patients were twice as likely to die as white patients. Other non-white people, like those from India and Bangladesh, were also more likely to die. The government said that differences in money and education explained some of this, but not all.
Indigenous Peoples
Native Americans in the United States also had more deaths from COVID-19 than other groups. For example, the Navajo Nation faced many cases and deaths. Money promised by the government arrived very late. Only 30% of people in the Navajo Nation have running water, which made it hard to wash hands often.
Scientists from Chapman University created a plan to protect the Tsimane people in Bolivia from COVID-19. They said this plan could also help other indigenous groups living on their own land. Many indigenous peoples face challenges like poverty, less clean water, and other lung diseases that make COVID-19 more dangerous. Hospitals might be far away, and racism can affect how doctors treat them.
However, these communities also have strengths. They often have traditions of making decisions together and can grow their own food. The scientists worked with people who spoke the Tsimane language to warn towns about COVID-19, using radio stations too. They found that communities deciding to isolate themselves worked well. This was because the Tsimane already made big decisions together and had a tradition of quarantining new mothers. Other groups in Canada, Australia, and South America also used similar plans.
George Floyd Protests
In April 2020, police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States killed an unarmed black man named George Floyd. This led to months of protests around the world against police racism. Many people said the protests were so big not just because of racism, but also because COVID-19 had hurt non-white people more. It made them sick and cost them their jobs.
Experts said people were protesting against police unfairness. But they were also protesting for the chance to live full lives and not have their lives cut short by force or preventable diseases.
Losing jobs also meant people had more time to protest. An athlete named Anquan Boldin said that all the canceled sports events helped focus attention on the protests. He felt that without sports to distract people, everyone's attention was on this one important issue, creating a chance for real change.
Travel and Transportation
The pandemic greatly affected the aviation (airplane travel) business. This was due to Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and fewer people wanting to travel. Many fewer passengers meant planes sometimes flew empty or flights were canceled.
The cruise ship business also saw a big drop. The value of major cruise line companies fell by 70-80%.
Social Life and Well-being
On March 18, 2020, the World Health Organization released a report about mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Some people worried that pets could pass coronavirus to humans. This made some people not want to keep their pets. However, in the Arab World, celebrities told people to keep and protect their pets. Meanwhile, people in the U.K. bought more pets during the lockdown to avoid feeling lonely.
Many countries reported an increase in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were also concerns about people's mental health. Worries about being isolated, fear of the virus, and losing jobs or money led to worries about people feeling very sad or hopeless.
COVID-19 and Sleep
Normally, people who work during the week sleep and wake up earlier on weekdays than on weekends. This is called social jetlag and can lead to poor sleep. Scientists from the University of Basel found that lockdowns made people sleep longer and at healthier times. This meant less social jetlag. This happened because even people who still worked did so from home, so they didn't have to get up early to travel. However, the scientists also found that people didn't sleep as well because they were worried.
Families Affected
The pandemic had a big impact on families. A study found that 27% of American parents said their mental health had gotten worse. Also, 14% of parents reported their children's mental health had gotten worse. Many families lost childcare and health insurance. Many also found it harder to get enough food. Families with younger children were more affected because they were more likely to miss childcare.
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