Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic in Daily Life of Nepalese People

Anish Lamichhane

COVID- 19 [Previously known as ‘Novel Coronavirus’] has affected day to day life and is slowing down the global economy. This pandemic has affected thousands of peoples, who are either sick are or being killed due to the spread of this disease. The common viral symptoms of this viral infection are fever, cold cough, bone pain and breathing problems, and ultimately leading to pneumonia. This, being a new viral disease affecting humans for the first time, vaccines are not yet available. Thus the emphasis is on taking extensive precautions such as extensive hygiene protocol (e.g., regular hand washing, avoidance of face to face interaction etc.), social distancing and wearing of masks, and so on. This virus is spreading exponentially region wise. Countries are banning gathering of people to the spread and break the exponential curve. Many countries are looking their population and enforcing strict quarantine to control the spread of the havoc of this highly communicable disease.

Global Status of COVID-19 Pandemic

• Total Infections: 4,440,989
• Deaths: 302,376
• Recovered: 1,587,780
• Active Cases: 2,550,833 [12:20 PM, 15 th May , 2020]

National Status of COVID-19 Pandemic

• Total Infections 258
• Deaths :0
• Recovered : 35
• Active Cases: 223 [12:20 PM, 15 th May , 2020]

COVID-19 has rapidly affected our day to day life, businesses, disrupted the world trade and movements. Identification of this disease at an early stage is vital to control the spread of the virus because it very rapidly spreads from person to person. Most of the countries have slowed down their manufacturing of the products. The various industries and sectors are affected by the cause of this disease; these include the pharmaceutical industry, solar power section, tourism, information and electronics industry. This virus creates significant knock-on effects on the daily life of citizens, as well as about the global economy.

Presently the impacts of COVID-19 in daily life are extensive and have far reaching consequences. These can be divided in to various categories:

A. Healthcare:

• Challenges in the diagnosis, quarantine and treatment of suspected or confirmed cases
• High burden of the functioning of the existing medical system
• Patients with other disease and health problems are getting neglected
• Overload on doctors and other healthcare professionals, who are at very high risk
• Overloading of medical shops
• Requirement for high protection
• Disruption of medical supply chain

B. Economic:

• Slowing of the manufacturing of essential goods
• Disrupt the supply chain of products
• Losses in national and international business
• Poor cash flow in the market
• Significant slowing down in the revenue growth

C. Social:

• Service sector is not being able to provide their proper service
• Cancellation or postponement of large-scale sports and tournaments
• Avoiding the national and international travelling
• Disruption of celebration of culture, religious and festive events
• Undue stress among the population
• Social distancing with our peers and family members
• Closure of the hotels, restaurants and religious places
• Closure of the places for entertainment such as movie and play theatres, sports club, gymnasiums, swimming pools, and so on
• Postponement of examinations

This COVID-19 has affected the sources of supply and affects the global economy. There are restrictions of travelling from one country to another country. During travelling numbers of cases are identified positive when tested, especially when they are taking internationals visits. All governments, health organizations and other authorities are continuously focusing on identifying the cases affected by the COVID-19. Healthcare professional face lots of difficulties in maintain the quality of healthcare in these days.

Source of information

• Huang C,Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):497e506.
• Wang M, Cao R, Zhang L, et al. Remdesivir and chloroquine effectively inhibit the recently emerged novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in vitro. Cell Res. 2020;30(3): 269e271.
• Jin YH, Cai L, Cheng ZS, et al. A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version). Mil Med Res. 2020;7(1):4.
• Campbell D, Bannock. ‘Unlike Anything Seen in Peacetime’: NHS Prepares for Surge in Covid-19 Cases; 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/ unlike- anything-seen-in-peacetime-nhs-prepares-for-surge-in-covid 19-coronavirus- cases.
• Chinazzi M, Davis JT, Ajelli M, et al. The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak. Science. 2020. https:// doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9757.

Anish Lamichhane, BPH, 7th Semester, Central Institute of Science and Technology (CIST)