The Future After Corona Virus

What does the future hold for human society and the environment?

The future looks very bleak and depressing from the point of view of humans. It is hoped that this corona virus pandemic triggers a change in our entire out-look towards human relationships and social interactions, leading to far-reaching impacts in the near- and long-term future after the world recovers. We would have paid a very heavy price for the recovery in terms of human lives and may face an extended economic depression mirroring that of the 1930s.

As more and more people struggle to hold on to jobs in an uncertain economic situation, there could a drastic fall in demand for in non-essential goods such as branded leather bags, branded clothes, watches, high end cell phones and cars. Most importantly, non-essential and leisure travel will also be affected as people will avoid spending their hard-earned money on such luxuries.

However, the retail and travel industry make huge profits and employ millions of people. And as a large proportion of the population stops buying and spending, these industries would be unable to produce, sell or market themselves. As a consequence, the millions of jobs lost would be impossible to recover for years to come.

There would be countless people who would have lost high paying jobs, many more would be left with just enough financial resources to manage a reasonable lifestyle and those who would just about eke out a living doing odd jobs.

The lockdown would have helped people in increasing social contact with family and friends, though staying apart for long periods of time could increase mental stress and possible depression among several sections of the working class, notably the healthcare workers, police, airline and shipping staff. People would also accept the fact that they can get through life without resorting to high-cost non-essential goods and eating in restaurants on a regular basis. Reducing physical proximity also being an efficient control strategy for preventing spread of infectious disease, people will be more tuned to proper hygiene and in turn a drastic reduction on restaurant spending and taxi trade is also a possibility.

It is time for the government to grab this opportunity

The current generation would no doubt be blamed for mess that we find ourselves in. Excessive consumption of natural resources without any regard for sustainability of the ecosystem has characterized the lifestyle habits of a large proportion of the population. This has already had an adverse impact on the natural ecosystems and wildlife. The corona virus pandemic is the result of our disregard for nature, for mis-utilization of resources to the extent of bringing us to the threshold of no-return.

The Millennials and future generations would never forgive us if we let go this opportunity to make a difference and pledge to change our world, “to make it a better place”, to understand that “the world does not belong to us, we belong to the world”.
Let us make a start towards making it a better place for our children, grand-children and generations to come.

Suggestions for the government when the lock-down is slowly relaxed in different parts of the country

The government must consider allowing people to cycle to their workplaces, using dedicated bicycle lanes. Present lack of traffic on the roads maybe used to mark-out these lanes and re-lay the roads and change traffic signal operations to prioritize cycle traffic.
This will have an added advantage of ensuring that only those who are fit and free from infection will venture out on a regular basis.

When roads are re-opened for vehicular traffic, personal cars and two-wheelers should be allowed to operate only on odd-even basis (The New Delhi traffic plan can used as a template for all the cities). This will automatically free-up road space for public transport buses and reduce pollution of greenhouse gases. Public transportation for school children and senior citizens can be made free of charge.

To ensure that social distancing norms are followed by everyone, all factories, industries and offices, banks, private companies, schools and colleges, tutorials, including government offices should work on alternate days only, irrespective of weekends and public holidays.

This should be made applicable even for grocery stores and consumer retail outlets (electronics, textile, furniture, etc) and restaurants. Similarly, malls and cinema halls also should operate on alternate days.

Industries which require continuous operations, such as food, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, automobiles maybe allowed to work on daily basis with staff alternating each day.

Industries like IT must be forced to have half of their employees work from home.

These suggestions are radical and extreme. But, considering the dangers of the corona virus, mitigating measures also must be radical. When the entire population works on alternate days, the burden on infrastructure is reduced by 50%. By foregoing all weekends and holidays for the next 2 years, we can ensure that productivity and efficiency is not reduced and at the same time keep the virus at bay.

The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth