The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in ways that we could not have imagined. Once busy streets are emptied, bars and restaurants are closed, many children are still unable to go to school.
But what might our future society look like as a consequence of the response to COVID-19? And what might we be able to learn from this experience to make the world a better place?
If we analyse the act of “social-distancing” sociologically, isn’t it a new form of untouchability? Of course yes, as earlier in the Indian society after the Vedic period, people of the upper caste used to maintain social-distancing with untouchables so that they don’t impure the people of upper caste. On the same pattern, in the contemporary society due to Covid-19 all the constitutional norms eliminating untouchability and promoting integration seems to be failed as people are asked to maintain social-distancing.Social isolation measures have severe consequences for mental health, particularly for those who live alone, and even more so if they have pre-existing health problems. We now know much more about the health-damaging consequences of loneliness, but we must also think about the practical difficulties that people face, like buying food or getting medicines.
People who are unable to work during the pandemic risk losing their income and face possible unemployment if businesses fail. We know from previous experience, like in the global financial crisis of 2008, that loss of income or employment has profound consequences for health, and in particular, for mental health.