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Michael LaRue

ENC1102

Dr. Guenzel

April 26, 2021

The changes to daily social life from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

With the recent event of the pandemic humbling the world with a sense of vulnerability

there are changes to be made that will affect what is normal life in the future. This research

project of mine is going to go into that topic of what are the changes to come that will

differentiate the future and the past by those adapting to the times given light by the COVID-19

pandemic. The entire world’s society has done its best to survive the trial of the pandemic but the

need for protection is the change that will be on the rise from here on out. I will look over three

perspectives on what better ways to protect our lives from a crisis in the future are being made

today. The research on daily life to come is necessary to show what are critical parts of life that

people need to take more seriously if the changes are to succeed. The project will discuss these

expectations of what is to come and what it is about the parts that were wrong in the first place

when the pandemic came through. The different ways of life were brought to a stand still and

wore away at society until the world started moving again, so the reasons that will be brought up

are ones that will be informative to anyone that was confused on how the world could have fallen

apart this way. My purpose in the research is to find the reason behind why the changes are

happening at all and see how the world will look in future these changes will bring in. I will be

looking through my sources on the points that discuss the change to the main perspectives on the
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sectors of life society operates on.

The method I have in my research process is to look at the common places affected by

the pandemic and in those which are in the process of making changes to their inner workings to

be able to withstand a pandemic in the future. I was able to narrow this down to the three markets

that were stopped or overwhelmed by the pandemic, with the most damage dealt to they would

be center points that people will need to have trust in again. I had looked into sources related to

the three sectors I saw to be an important priority for getting credible and useful information. I

had looked for articles that would give the most benefit to my research’s discussion on the world

after this pandemic. I made a note of the main discussion the authors and articles had on the

corresponding industry fields. I worked out the message that seemed to be the planning and

actions being put out to create a stable landing for the industry to begin work for the world again,

with knowledge of the threat a pandemic brings. These perspectives brought up most commonly

surround changes to the economic, transport, and healthcare industries. These are the ones people

need to have responsibility in being stable, so life is able to be safeguarded from the worst

encounters from a pandemic or crisis.

The first perspective brought up is the economy needs infrastructure to remain stable

while in pandemic conditions in order for the needs of peoples lives. The economies around the

world have put the most efficient and cost benefit methods in actions while ignoring the stable

decisions that could have prevented their addition to the problems during the pandemic. That is

the common take away on what happened to make the economy not be able to withstand a

pandemic and the choices to correct it are drastically important to the chance of holding some

ground should another incident arise. The articles I have do have some points on what the

economy would have to change in order to work fully while implementing their own precautions
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for a pandemic sort of crisis. The article, “A critical analysis of the impacts of COVID-19 on the

global economy and ecosystems and opportunities for circular economy strategies” states the

following, “It argues for a rethink of the present global economic growth model, shaped by a

linear economy system and sustained by profiteering and energy-gulping manufacturing

processes, in favour of a more sustainable model recalibrated on circular economy (CE)

framework”. In another article, “Coronavirus: Will our day-to-day ever be the same?” brings up

the point, “Law, finance and consulting – industries whose high-flying growth helped create the

modern global city – have abandoned ritzy downtown offices for Zoom”. Also the article, “The

Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World” states that,

“The baseline forecast envisions a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP in 2020, using market

exchange rate weights—the deepest global recession in decades, despite the extraordinary efforts

of governments to counter the downturn with fiscal and monetary policy support”. Along with

that the article says, “Global coordination and cooperation—of the measures needed to slow the

spread of the pandemic, and of the economic actions needed to alleviate the economic damage,

including international support—provide the greatest chance of achieving public health goals and

enabling a robust global recovery”.

The second perspective I have is that the transport and travel industry needs to optimize

the protection of people’s health and safety for when using services to travel to their destination.

The transportation industry has had many risks known to it for a long time however that manner

of protection to health safety has been shown from the pandemic to need more work done. The

main services that will have to take drastic changes to operate again if a pandemic should come

are cruise ships and air travel. These have had the cases of worst containment during the

pandemic with only containing the population to stay inside with the virus. The doubt of people’s
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safety and trust in these services looking out for the customers will be a definite change to come

to the post pandemic world. The articles I picked out have the main ways they expect the travel

services that were most susceptible to the pandemic to readjust. The article, "Coronavirus: Will

our day-to-day ever be the same?” states the following, “Parts of business travel, the wanton

criss-crossing of the global for a single meeting variety, for example, may be gone forever as we

have become habituated to the good-enough world of Zoom, and lot more tech innovations to

come that make video meetings lot better”. Also the article, “COVID-19 Trends Impacting the

Future of Transportation Planning and Research” states that, “the length of the economic

recovery, virtual substitutions for in-person business travel, and potential changes in leisure

travel behavior will all play a role along with public confidence in flying”. Along with that the

article says, “The big unknown is at what rate people will go back to using transit, at least until

we have a widely available vaccine”.

The third perspective that I noted to be a way the world is going to be different mostly is

with the healthcare system change to get more support and backing by the government to protect

people’s lives. The healthcare system has been shown its importance to the world’s governments

during the pandemic and in ours it has shown how it is a necessary protection for the nation. The

pandemic overwhelmed and overworked the healthcare system to breaking points as important

supply was not implemented to allow for protecting and treating people in the country. The need

for serious care to be given to the healthcare system has been accelerated from the true cracks

being revealed of the inadequacies for treatment. The many people in healthcare have brought up

many good discussions on what actions need to be done, so that our government can be helping

the system be its most useful as long as it looks to listen. The authors and articles that are the

arguments and changes on what is needed by the services I have found are aiming for this goal.
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The article, “Helping healthcare teams save lives during COVID-19: Insights and

countermeasures from team science” states the following, “As the COVID-19 pandemic has

ravaged the United States, health care teams are on the frontlines of this global crisis, often

navigating harrowing conditions at work, such as a lack of personal protective equipment and

staffing shortages, and distractions at home, including worries about elderly relatives or making

childcare arrangements”. In another article, "Coronavirus: Will our day-to-day ever be the

same?" brings up the point, “Investing in public services and infrastructure, including health

surveillance and testing systems, improved living conditions for low income people and

supporting vulnerable workers, while enforcing guidelines to balance economic and public health

concerns through collaboration between local and national governments”. Also the article,

“Covid-19 — Implications for the Health Care System” states that, “For the first time since the

Great Depression, crippling financial losses threaten the viability of substantial numbers of

hospitals and office practices, especially those that were already financially vulnerable, including

rural and safety-net providers and primary care practices”. Along with that the article says, “New

federal legislation is necessary to clarify and bolster the ability of the federal government to

intervene decisively and rapidly, and especially to require states and localities to implement

critical health measures that are currently the responsibility of states but are vital to the health

and welfare of persons in other states”.

To conclude, the impact from COVID-19 left devastating effects. In this research paper, I

discussed multiple changes that need to occur to ensure the safety of not just American citizens,

but the world. COVID-19 has brought tragedy to practically everyone in America. Businesses

had to be closed down, and owners lost their income. Many employees got laid off and lost their
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jobs. Students were unable to attend their graduation or see their friends one last time. And as for

everyone else, we were forced to social distance and not get to hug or even visit our friends and

families. It's no secret that COVID-19 has brought suffering upon us all. Looking at the effects

of the coronavirus, I believe that my three perspectives will allow our economy and citizens to

withstand another pandemic or similar event. To do so, multiple changes must be made. As I

explored in my research paper, changes must be made to the economy, transportation system,

and healthcare system. The economic infrastructure needs to be built on stability. By doing so, it

will ensure it works for the lives of people and not efficiency and cost-cutting. Another change

has to occur to the transportation sector. Transportation needs to focus on protecting the people's

health and regaining the citizen's trust after the pandemic. Lastly, the healthcare system must

have the ability to survive and withstand another pandemic or event similar to COVID-19. To

ensure the healthcare system can do this, it needs the proper amount of supplies and not being

short-staffed. With these changes happening, we will be able to ensure the safety of American

citizens. COVID-19 has brought struggles and hardship to many. By making these changes, we

will not just survive another pandemic but thrive.

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Works Cited

“Coronavirus: Will Our Day-to-Day Ever Be the Same?” BBC Worklife, BBC,

www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201109-coronavirus-how-cities-travel-and-famil

Y-life-will-change.

“Helping Healthcare Teams Save Lives during COVID-19: Insights and Countermeasures

from Team Science.” PSNet,

www.psnet.ahrq.gov/issue/helping-healthcare-teams-save-lives-during-covid-19-i

nsights-and-countermeasures-team-science.

Ibn-Mohammed, T., et al. “A Critical Review of the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Global

Economy and Ecosystems and Opportunities for Circular Economy Strategies.”

Kyushu University, Elsevier,

kyushu-u.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/a-critical-review-of-the-impacts-of-co

vid-19-on-the-global-econom.

“COVID-19 Trends Impacting the Future of Transportation Planning and Research” NASEM,

Nationalacademies.org,

www.nationalacademies.org/trb/blog/covid-19-trends-impacting-the-future-of-transportat

ion-planning-and-research.

“The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World”

Worldbank, “The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A

Changed World.” World Bank,

www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/08/the-global-economic-outlook-during-th

e-covid-19-pandemic-a-changed-world.

“Covid-19 — Implications for the Health Care System” NEJM,

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Blumenthal, David, et al.

“Covid-19 - Implications for the Health Care System: NEJM.” New England Journal of

Medicine, 22 Oct. 2020, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsb2021088.