The COVID-19 response
The COVID-19 response worldwide has significantly been surmised on physical distancing; however, this has regrettably been diffusely referred to formally and informally as social distancing. There is a significant difference in the two ideas, with physical distancing not by automation preventing social connectedness, while social distancing assumes disconnectedness. But for the physical distancing not to also bring about social distancing as well as inter-personal disconnectedness, some societal conditions need to be reached and be indiscriminately available (“social impact of COVID-19,” 2020). The needs include basic infrastructure access: everyday basic living needs, internet, and shelter. However, it’s sad that even in developed societies, it is not the case across the globe. Long-established social inequalities and marginalization economically have led to large proportions of the world’s population being deprived of basic needs, leaving alone the capacity to be physically distant while still connected socially. These issues are further projecting the challenge of managing the COVID-19 spread globally.
Notably, what has come up is the systematic racism, specifically on people with an Asian background, in western societies. There is indeed a lot of informal evidence on racist attacks across many countries. This is not a new phenomenon; a vital existing body of evidence highlights that during crises, whether economic, environmental, health or even security-related, members of the minority groups are often used as scapegoats and are made susceptible to exclusionary, racist and many a time practices of violence (Chakraborty & Maity,2020). The pandemic is exposing that the world community will only be capable of containing the infectious virus if the public health system of its underdeveloped nations will get support. Eliminating the health threat currently and other global threats needs not less but a lot more transnational solidarity, equitable capacity-building in sustainable development goals, and more intercultural dialogue. The solidarity and intercultural dialogue are worthy in the pursuance of ethical and cosmopolitan tendencies and their critical and practical roles of transformation in making sure the safety, sustainability, and well-being of the whole community are met.
References
Chakraborty, I., & Maity, P. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak: Migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention. Science of the Total Environment, 138882.
The social impact of COVID-19. (2020, April 6). DISD. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/2020/04/social-impact-of-covid-19/