Is the second COVID-19 wave coming?

The COVID-19 has been nothing short of a nightmare. The virus that had its origins in China spread swiftly across the eastern and western hemispheres. It was pandemonium from the first day of 2020. During this era of chaos, uncertainty, fear, and confusion, people lost their loved ones and saw their colleagues, friends, and family members fight from the virus. Staff at the hospitals including nurses and doctors was the first responders and the warriors who sacrificed everything to save lives.
The COVID-19 has reshaped and restructured the very workings of the strategic and operational dynamics of how the world operates. The businesses that once flourished throughout the year were forced to close their operations, as people were not allowed to leave their homes during the lockdown.
According to www.mckinsey.com, the accommodations and food services sector was the most affected followed by arts, entertainment, and recreation. Educational services were also hampered especially such institutions that did not have a viable online learning mechanism in place. The sector of real estate, rental, and leasing saw stagnant business operations.
The COVID-19 gave a new life to educational institutions as they adopted the hybrid model of teaching. This involves students taking classes at home while some classes are held on campus with a limited strength of students. The faculty members were the ones who had to learn more about the technologies and accustom themselves with Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and other digital mediums to conduct classes. It was a new learning experience for those teachers who had been relying on multimedia projectors and notes when conducting classes.
In Pakistan, the daily-wage workers were compelled to stay at homes during the period of strict lockdown when the first wave of COVID-19 had struck Pakistan. People like masons, plumbers, electricians, street vendors had to withstand the worst of temporary unemployment. They had to consume their savings without any hope of resuming their work.
According to weforum.org, the COVID-19 pandemic could result in the worst period of recession since the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. It is estimated the cumulative output loss to the global economy across 2020 and 2021 from the Covid-19 is expected to be over $12 trillion. According to the World Economic Outlook Update, the world output was 2.9% in 2019. It is expected to decrease by 4.9% in 2020 and later reach 5.4% in 2021. Analysts suggest that in 2021, the GDP of the world will be 6.5% lower than the projection made in the pre-COVID era in January 2020.
The countries that were the hardest hit by the COVID-19 need to ascertain that their healthcare system has been updated and revamped in the last few months. They should be prepared to handle a surge in infection cases that is very much predicted as we near the end of 2020. Among the top ten hardest-hit countries in the world include the United States of American (total cases: 8,702,750 and total deaths: 225,706); India (total cases: 7,946,429 and total deaths: 119,502); France (total cases: 1,172,754 and total deaths: 34,746); Brazil (total cases: 5,409,854 and total deaths: 157,397); UK (total cases: 894,690 and total deaths: 44,998) among others.
In the last two weeks, Belgium has faced a severe rise in COVID-19 cases. It has now become the hardest-hit country in Europe. It reported 1,390.9 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants. In such a situation, the priority will be to maintain and then reduce the number of cases emerging along with treating the affected.
Special care and precautionary measures need to be ascertained by all the citizens across the world. Doctors suggest that high density and high population areas have a higher chance of being affected by the virus, as it was the case before. Even if there is no lockdown implemented in most parts of the world, such as in Pakistan, the public needs to stay cautious. They must follow appropriate social distancing protocols, wear masks, maintain distance from one another, regularly wash their hands, and use sanitizers when needed.
The first wave of the COVID-19 made us learn how to live in seclusion and isolation, how to complete our tasks from home, and how to follow the SOPs. During the second wave, we need to be more cautious than before and hope that it is not as bad as the first wave.