The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications.
Political impacts
A number of provincial-level administrators of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were dismissed over their handling of the quarantine efforts in Central China, a sign of discontent with the political establishment's response to the outbreak in those regions. Some experts, such as political scientists Dali Yang and Willy Wo-Lap Lam, believed this to likely be a move to protect Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping from people's anger over the coronavirus pandemic. A news report published by the Financial Times expressed that outcry over the disease was a rare instance of protest against the CCP in China. Additionally, protests in the special administrative region of Hong Kong have strengthened due to fears of immigration from mainland China. Taiwan has also voiced concern over being included in any travel ban involving the People's Republic of China (PRC) due to the "one-China policy" and its disputed political status. Further afield, the treasurer of Australia was unable to keep a pledge to maintain a fiscal surplus due to the effect of the coronavirus on the economy. A number of countries have been using the outbreak to show their support to China, such as when Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia made a special visit to China with an aim to showcase Cambodia's support to China in fighting the outbreak of the epidemic.
The United States president Donald Trump was criticised for his response to the pandemic. He was accused of making several misleading or false claims, of failing to provide adequate information, and of downplaying the pandemic's significance. Trump was also criticised for having closed down the global health security unit of the United States National Security Council, which was founded to prepare the government for potential pandemics. Research suggests that the pandemic was a contributing factor to his failure to win reelection in the 2020 United States presidential election.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran was heavily affected by the virus, with at least two dozen members (approximately 10%) of the Iranian legislature being infected, as well as at least 15 other current or former top government officials, including the vice-president. Advisers to Ali Khamenei and Mohammad Javad Zarif have died from the disease. The spread of the virus has raised questions about the future survival of the regime and continuity of operations.
Sovereignty
M. Nicolas Firzli, director of the World Pensions Council (WPC) and advisory-board member at the World Bank Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), refers to the pandemic as "the Greater Financial Crisis", that will "bring to the surface pent-up financial and geopolitical dysfunctions ... [many] national economies will suffer as a result, and their political sovereignty itself may be severely eroded".
Civil rights and democracy In April 2020, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that using states of emergency during the pandemic "should not be a weapon governments can wield to quash dissent, control the population, and even perpetuate their time in power". According to the OHCHR, around 80 countries already declared some form of state of emergency, with the most severe being among Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, Peru, Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan, and Hungary.
Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, and Yemen banned or suspended the printing and distribution of newspapers. On 30 March 2020, the parliament of Hungary granted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the power to rule by decree for an indefinite period.
Conflicts
The pandemic appears to have worsened conflict dynamics; it has also led to a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a global ceasefire. On March 23, 2020, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued an appeal for a global ceasefire as part of the United Nations' response to the pandemic. On 24 June 2020, 170 UN Member States and Observers signed a non-binding statement in support of the appeal, rising to 172 on 25 June 2020. On 1 July 2020, the UN Security Council passed resolution S/RES/2532 (2020), demanding a "general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on its agenda," expressing support for "the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General and his Special Representatives and Special Envoys in that respect," calling for "all parties to armed conflicts to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause" of at least 90 consecutive days, and calling for greater international cooperation to address the pandemic.
Educational impact
The pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the widespread closures of schools and universities. According to data released by UNESCO on 25 March, school and university closures due to COVID-19 were implemented nationwide in 165 countries. Including localized closures, this affects over 1.5 billion students worldwide, accounting for 87% of enrolled learners. Those higher education universities have also impacted their students by deciding not to stop classes but rather migrate everything to virtual. Of 195 students interview surveyed at a large university, their findings show that there is an increased concern in mental health of these students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people who were not connected to the internet lost access to health care and education. Production in all industries was seriously harmed.
COVID-19 and inequality Low income individuals are more likely to contract COVID-19 and to die from it. In both New York City and Barcelona, low income neighborhoods are disproportionately hit by COVID-19 cases. Hypotheses for why this is the case include that poorer families are more likely to live in crowded housing and work in the low skill jobs, such as supermarkets and elder care, which are deemed essential during the crisis. In the United States, millions of low-income people may lack access to health care due to being uninsured or underinsured. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance after losing their jobs. Many low income workers in service jobs have become unemployed.
Many people began teleworking during the pandemic, however teleworking has only been suitable for a tiny group of workers. Highly educated workers, usually in white-collar professions have been able to telework more than other working environments. For those still commuting to work despite the pandemic or other factors, transport remains vital.
Religious impact
The pandemic has impacted religion in various ways, including the cancellation of the worship services of various faiths, the closure of Sunday Schools, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages surrounding observances and festivals. Many churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples have offered worship through livestream amidst the pandemic. Relief wings of religious organisations have dispatched medical supplies and other aid to affected areas. Adherents of many religions have gathered together to pray for an end to the pandemic, for those affected by it, as well as for the deity they believe in to give physicians and scientists the wisdom to combat the disease; in the United States, Trump designated 15 March 2020 as a National Day of Prayer for "God’s healing hand to be placed on the people of our Nation".
Healthcare and COVID-19
One of the social impacts of COVID-19 is its influence on healthcare. Two main changes in healthcare include the providers’ experience of patient care and delivery of care. With the start of COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers struggled to keep up with an increase in demands, a reduced capacity, increased stress and workload, and to lack of protective equipment.
COVID-19 changed the perception of patient care for providers. Research about patient care during COVID-19 suggested that nurses, for example, felt more confident in their skills and role in the healthcare team. Nurses viewed their profession as essential and felt increased pride in their services, as well as, patients and other healthcare workers gained a better perspective of the nursing profession. The close contact and extensive care nurses provided during the pandemic allowed them to appreciate the nursing profession. Moreover, the research indicates that nurses achieved professional growth, and uncovered a greater need to provide counseling services for COVID-19 patients to help cope with their illness. Additional research suggested a different progression to nurses’ caregiving during COVID-19. Initially, nurses experienced negative emotions associated with patient care such as increased fatigue and stressful emotions. Many nurses found self-coping styles such as teamwork and altruism to combat their fatigue. As the pandemic progressed, nurses developed a sense of gratefulness and self-reflection as opposed to the negative emotions during the initial stages of the pandemic.
Healthcare delivery is another aspect of healthcare that changed during the pandemic. Most healthcare providers transitioned to providing virtual or telemedicine visits in place of traditional office visits. One study found that psychiatrists faced some barriers using telemedicine such as lack of non-verbal clues, access to internet issues, and environmental distraction. However, the overall transition to telemedicine was positive and successful, even though many patients and providers still prefer in-person interaction.
For healthcare providers, there is a shared feeling of responsibility, added challenges from working with COVID-19 patients, and finding ways to be resilient. As the research finds, COVID-19 placed healthcare providers in a new environment and with unexpected challenges. Providers experienced fears of helplessness, coupled with the obligation to know answers for their patients. Other common fears included becoming infected and spreading the disease to others. To mitigate these fears, the study suggested providing extensive and regular training to healthcare professionals.
Post-quarantine transmission risks A current debate going on amongst the community involves the transmission risks post-quarantine. When COVID-19 reached the United States, the original required quarantine was 14 days of length, and later was shortened to 10 days, then 7 days, and eventually even 5 days in some places. Researchers have conducted studies using a variety of methods to analyze the statistical data behind the transmission risks. A group of researchers performed an experiment at numerous college universities, testing to examine what the post quarantine transmission risk was. From Harvard University, Duke University, Boston University, and Northeastern University, the post quarantine transmission risk after 7 days, was 13%. However, the difficulty with this is that some individuals may remain communicable as short as 4 days or as long as 14 days. Another leading factor to the post quarantine transmission risks that researchers discovered, was that the different variants of covid, had different levels of contractibility. After comparing the transmission risks from individuals with different strains, the Omicron strain was found to be the most communicable on day 5, but begins to balance out with the other strains in days 5-10. Having differing rates of infectivity for each variant can play a role in the amount of time an individual should quarantine. This is one of the many factors affecting the post quarantine transmission risks, and more research should be done before coming to a set conclusive quarantine time.
Psychological impact