A Lifetime Impact of the Coronavirus

A Lifetime Impact of the Coronavirus

General-purpose: To persuade

Specific purpose: To persuade the audience to understand how and why the ongoing disease pandemic will lasting impact in the world.

Thesis: The disease pandemic will change the socio-economic aspects of life as people try to make lifestyle and economic changes as they try to contain the disease’s spread.

Organizational Structure: Informative

Introduction

1. Open with impact
   1. Imagine if a vaccine or cure for the COVID-19 virus was created or discovered tomorrow? Do you think the world would rewind to the norm? And do you think there would be changes in the way people behave and society in general?
2. Thesis: The disease pandemic will change the socio-economic aspects of life as people try to make lifestyle and economic changes as they try to contain the spread of the disease.

• Connect:
  1. Little by little, the coronavirus is changing different aspects of our societies, and with no prospects of the disease pandemic ending soon, thus, the world will change, and the norms we are accustomed to will be things of the past.

1. Preview: (at least three main things you plan to discuss)
   1. First, I will review how the pandemic is affecting people’s lives and society.
   2. Second, I will discuss the long-lasting social and geopolitical effects of the disease.
   3. Third, I will explore the long-term effects of the economic effects of the disease pandemic.
   4. Lastly, I will look into a rebuttal on whether the coronavirus will affect the global geopolitical landscape.

Body

1. Main point: How is the ongoing disease pandemic affecting people and the world?
2. Economic sector
   1. The disease pandemic has been capable of affecting different aspects of the country’s economy and the global economy.
      1. In an article by the Financial Times, Martin Wolf acknowledges that the disease pandemic and the measures the world governments have taken to control the issue have affected their economies as well as the private sector. He further adds that people are struggling to make ends meet and keep their business afloat.
      2. The manufacturing sector has not been spared either, and the manufacturing industry is experiencing delays in terms of production as the demands for manufactured goods is slow.
      3. The agricultural sector has also been put to the test as the production of food has also declined. Nicola and her colleagues state that “A global crash in demand from hotels and restaurants has seen prices of agricultural commodities drop by 20%” (2020, pg.1). Perishable goods such as vegetables and flowers are not highly exported, which has hurt the global agricultural sector.
   2. 1. Social and geopolitical sector
         1. People are losing their lives as the WHO reports that over 13 million people have been reported to have the virus, while 572 539 have died from the disease (WHO, 2020).
         2. Social amenities such as hospitals are experiencing challenges such as being overcrowded and lack of proper amenities.
            1. In their article in the Washington Post, Kim Bellware and her colleagues’ highlight that hospitals in the U.S. are in crisis mode as the number of new cases is increasing daily, and these hospitals lack adequate equipment to support the patients.
         3. Global trade and movement have been limited as many countries have closed off their borders, which has inhibited the migration and immigration of people into other countries.

Transition: We have been able to look into how the coronavirus has impacted the current world and how society and people are adjusting to the changes. Now let’s look at the long-term effects of the disease pandemic that are likely to occur and how they will change the world.

1. Main point: The cure or vaccine for the disease is not expected for another two years, and the measures employed to curb the spread of the disease will have long-term effects that will change how society and people operate in the future.
2. Economic changes expected
   1. People will begin to make investing and saving serious from now on.
      1. An article by Economic Times noted, “Among the more comfortable monthly income earners, many have lost their jobs; many have settled for significant pay cuts, and hope to hold their jobs” (Shashikant, 2020).
      2. Job insecurity has been witnessed during this period, and people have realized their jobs are not safe.
      3. Thus, people will start to save and invest their income in stocks and better investment options to ensure they have a secure future.
   2. World governments will face an economic crisis before things better as many economic activities have halted for many months, which will impact the world’s economy.
   3. More companies will incorporate their businesses online.
      1. During the pandemic, a lot of companies have taken their businesses online as a way to meet their customers’ demands.
      2. More SMEs have introduced online services like purchasing goods online and delivering them to the customer’s residence. This will continue even after the pandemic is over.
   4. Healthcare
   5. The health sector and industry will become more vigilant in the spread of diseases and the rate of preparedness to counter the spread of the disease.

1. The CDC and WHO will put measures to control the spread of diseases on a global scale to avoid another disease pandemic.
2. The government will seek to improve healthcare and make it cheap and available for all members of society.

• Stakeholders in hospitals will seek to improve the availability of equipment and medical technology that is up to date.

1. Social changes
   1. Education changes are expected to take place that will change the education system, such as the adoption of remote learning.
      1. An article by Futurity states that “Remote learning is a powerful tool from elementary school to professional education classes” (University of Chicago, 2020).
      2. More schools will incorporate the internet and technology for online classes, which supports distance learning, as shown during the pandemic period as more classes have been moved online.
   2. Increase in online activity and a high number of social media users.
      1. An increase in the number of social media users has been increasing since the quarantine measures and the lockdown.
      2. Thus, even after a vaccine is found, more people will continue logging into their social media platforms to interact with others.
      3. Internet and telecommunication services will be improved to support the shift to an internet integrated life from healthcare to education services.
   3. Globalization will also be impacted as people’s movement has been reduced or halted by the disease pandemic.
      1. More people will be reluctant to travel to other countries even after lockdown measures have been eased. The fear of contracting a foreign disease will impair the attitude of people towards moving into other countries.
      2. The labor sector will be affected because the immigrant labor force will be impaired by the fear of moving to other countries.
   4. A new form of patriotism will be born.
      1. People will appreciate the efforts of the doctors and nurses during this pandemic period.
      2. People will also appreciate the attitude of helping each other through charity. People have gone above and beyond to help each other during this tough time, and I believe this attitude will continue even after the pandemic is over.
   5. People will adopt a healthier and eco-friendly lifestyle.
      1. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the effects of not living healthy and why people should take care of their bodies and well-being. Eating a balanced diet and working out will help people boost their immune system, which will help them combat future and existing diseases.
      2. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is a way of taking an eco-friendly lifestyle, and this will play a role in helping avert and mitigate environmental pollution.
   6. Social distancing will last longer than expected since social distancing has proven useful in reducing the rate of COVID-19 virus transmission. This will affect the ability of people to attend public activities and meetings.

Transition: Now, I have shown that the coronavirus will change our lives, how we interact with each other, and the changes expected in the world, I will look into a rebuttal on why these changes may not occur.

1. Opposition & Rebuttal/Call to action or Solution: The coronavirus may change society’s economic sector but may fail to change some social aspects like the global geopolitical order.
   1. The global scene is less likely to view a shift in people’s global migration patterns and movement.
      1. People are still going to travel to other countries as normal after flights have resumed.
      2. This means the trade will continue and an increase in the labor sectors as more people will be moving to other countries in search of greener pastures.
   2. The global geopolitical scene will not witness major economic or social changes arising from the disease pandemic.
      1. The division between developed, developing, and under-developed countries will continue to exist even after the issue has been solved.
         1. Joseph S. Nye Jr. points out that, “Rich countries should realize that recurrent waves of COVID-19 will affect poorer countries less able to cope” (Nye Jr. 2020).
         2. The disease pandemic has affected the global economy, and thus, no country will come out of the pandemic to change the world’s geopolitical landscape.

Signal to Conclude: In conclusion, the world is changing, and the coronavirus disease pandemic is shifting the gears, which will impact the future.

Conclusion:

1. Review:
   1. Today, I have been able to show the significance of the social and economic changes that are facing society during the pandemic.
   2. Then, I highlighted some of the economic changes that people will make to secure a better future in times of uncertainty.
   3. I was also able to show the social and health changes that will be witnessed in the future past the disease pandemic.
   4. Finally, I introduced why some of these might not stick or impact society and the world.
2. Thesis: The disease pandemic will change the socio-economic aspects of life as people try to make lifestyle and economic changes as they try to contain the spread of the disease

• Conclude with impact/Call to action: I would like to challenge each one of us to take this time to challenge ourselves to be better people and play a role in helping control the disease pandemic. Also, I would like to challenge us to think about how the world would look like if major events in history did not occur and realize that we shall overcome this challenge and rise above it. Stay safe and practice safety.

References

Bellware, K., Hawkins, D., Knowles, H., Denham, H., Kornfield, M., Brice-Saddler, M., Iati, M., & Partlow, J. (2020). Coronavirus death toll in U.S. increases as hospitals in hot-spot states are overwhelmed. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/10/coronavirus-live-updates-us/

Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., Iosifidis, C., … & Agha, R. (2020). The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International journal of surgery (London, England), 78, 185.

Nye Jr., J. S. (2020). No, the coronavirus will not change the global order. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-pandemic-china-united-states-power-competition/

Shashikant, U. (2020). New rules of personal finance: How COVID has changed income, spending, saving, investing. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/plan/new-rules-of-personal-finance-how-covid-has-changed-income-spending-saving-investing/articleshow/75913516.cms?from=mdr

University of Chicago. (2020). How will COVID-19 change the world by 2025? Futurity. https://www.futurity.org/covid-19-pandemic-in-five-years-2357022/

WHO. (2020). Coronavirus. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Wolf, M. (2020). How COVID-19 will change the world. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/9b8223bb-c5e4-4c11-944d-94ff5d33a909