The last month of 2019 was the harbinger of a self-styled apocalypse for mankind. The rapid spread of a virus, about which mankind knew nothing, took the world by surprise and shock. People saw their relatives dying, and governments all around the world found their infrastructure inadequate to deal with the fallout. According to Worldometer, over 200 million cases of covid-19 all over the globe have led to over 4.2 million deaths. The invention of vaccines was seen as a landmark in the struggle of humanity against this deadly pandemic, but the world is still too far from getting its population vaccinated. Read more about 4th Wave of COVID 19 below.
The challenge of bringing protection to citizens is humongous for developing countries, which lack the requisite resources and infrastructure to get their people vaccinated. The world has seen three waves of covid-19 up till now and experts are warning people around the world to brace themselves for the fourth one. Although the exact impact of the fourth wave will be discovered only when it is unleashed, various projections have been made regarding what we might be witnessing in the future.
Political Fallout
The surfacing of the news of the delta variant of the covid-19 has spurred chills throughout the world. Where developed countries have been able to keep their citizens under lockdowns, developing countries like Pakistan and India have failed to impose complete curfews to restrict the movement of their citizens. How governments have and will handle the covid-19 will also have an impact on global politics. Authoritarian regimes like China have shown a greater capacity to deal with the pandemic despite itself being the hotspot of the virus due to its centralized governmental setup.
On the other hand, the handling of covid-19 by the Trump administration in the US and by many western democracies forced many people around the world to question the capacity of democratic regimes. The horrific scenes of dead bodies floating on the surface of Ganges and Jamuna in India presented many citizens of the country the opportunity to take their government to the task. Another wave of covid-19 will be a huge challenge for democracies that will find it extremely difficult to keep their citizens at home, as recent protests against further lockdowns in many European countries suggest.
Economic Vulnerability
The world might be seeing another spell of economic stalemate. News regarding the wearing off of the effect of the vaccine in China is emerging. The mutation of the virus has presented new challenges to the global economy as the projections are pointing towards an increase in unemployment after a rise in hiring witnessed recently. 15 out of 22 countries of the Middle East have been identified with the delta variant cases by the World Health Organization (WHO). The prices of oil have recently stabilized after a sharp plunge due to decreased demand during the first three waves.
Another ferocious spell in the form of the 4th wave may force the countries to bring the economic activity to a substantial low, if not a halt, which might affect the prices of oil again. The promised stimulus of $860 billion for the economies of the developing countries by the IMF might not be enough. Developed countries have been able to muster over $11 trillion to support their citizens and economies. Another wave might widen the already yawning gulf of inequality between the two different groups of countries.
Awaiting Social Challenges
The advent of covid-19 witnessed the intensification of the fragmentation of already fractured societies around the world. On one hand, Asians were subjected to acute xenophobia over the charges of being the primary reason for the spread of the viral disease. Whereas, on the other hand, the exclusivist groups around the world looked at the pandemic as an opportunity to further their ideologies. This gave rise to the demands looking to curb immigration and cleaning the countries of the “troublemakers”. Another wave might intensify these sentiments and add fuel to the existing conspiracy theories regarding the origin of the virus.
Whereas the world has seen enough of the destruction and disillusionment due to CoronaVirus, each successive wave will mount stellar challenges for the global community to meet. What the 4th wave will bring is yet to be seen.
Only safety precautions and measures can save you from this virus. Focus to make your immunity strong by taking a healthy diet, and don’t forget to wash your hands with a bar of mild soap to keep germs of this virus away. You can have exciting discounts on several natural products at Dr. Squatch soap.
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