What comes next after COVID-19?

Life after the pandemic – Changes we might see after the COVID-19 Quarantine.

#COVID-19 Pandemic has resulted in countless changes to daily life. In the immediate, though the outbreak can appear bleak, a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways for better or worse.

With schools being closed, abandoned playgrounds, travel, political and entertainment events being upended, closed restaurants, and world sports events being canceled or postponed - the global, novel virus is already reorienting our relationship with the government, economy, and the world outside.

No one exactly knows what will come in the next few months: Will nations stay closed? Will air quality improve with the industries being closed and less vehicle traffic? Will touch become a taboo? Will organizations shift from traditional to more technology-enabled workplaces to support work from home? Will there be a shift to online education? What will become of restaurants? Here is my take on the situation.

From past a few days, I have been avidly following the news and have been talking to many entrepreneurs and businessmen and here is what my interpretation is: even though the situation might bring a few challenges, it will present some new opportunities as well: more sophisticated, in-depth, and flexible use of technology, less polarization, newfound ways to work from home, etc.

Lockdown by various governments has sustained further spread of the virus but at a significant economic cost. The stock market has taken a major hit and financial markets are primarily driven by sentiments. The global economy under lockdown is being compared to the 2008-09 downturn. But for some industries, the virus may have already caused the biggest meltdown in history.

Though the situation might be different for different countries, it entirely depends on the policymakers and government on how they implement measures for mobility at both the national and local levels. Perhaps, according to me, S&P, Fitch, and Moody’s should take the response of the country and the ability to take hard choices as one of the parameters while calculating the country credit ratings.

 Based on my interpretation, I can think of three scenarios that could arise with this situation. 

Scenario 1: Optimistic

With Novel virus keeping every contained in their homes and people maintaining #SocialDistancing, many new things have become popular:

• Greetings with Namaste have become new normal with Government warning people not to shake hands
• According to me, a Darwinian reset is taking place in the country while bringing a paramount sense of community and compassion
• In a post-pandemic era, Countries that invest in and adapt to more communication-focused technology are more likely to succeed.
• In real estate, you will see some downward pressure on the prices.   
• Stock market volatility will be there only for a month and we will see all the major stocks back to their level in 3 to 6 months.  

Scenario 2: Realistic

With some permanent damage to the economy it might take a minimum of six to twelve months to get the economy rolling, only provided if the spread of the virus is contained further. If the lockdown remains for more amount of time, the economy would affect even further.

• There would be a serious impact on daily wage workers.  
• Employees from other sectors (excluding pharma) would see a serious impact.
• Predictions are there might be some job cuts. I have already heard that some of my friends’ projects have been terminated because of the fall in the US Dollar.
• There would be strong domestic supply chains and an increase in imports
• Major restraints on mass consumption
• Real estate will see some severe impact in a newly developed suburb. In the downtown would see some corrections.
• Companies that understand and react to the situation

So, let us brace ourselves up and get ready for difficult situations in the country. Pay cuts and impact on the jobs would be there especially where the companies are dependent on Europe and the US market. 

Scenario 3: Pessimistic

• As the CDC urges everyone to wash their hands frequently, hygiene among people has become a priority. There is a spike in the sales of hand sanitizers by 73%, a spike in sales of thermometers by 47% and aerosol disinfectant product sales went up to 32%.
• There would be major ramifications in urban life, where driving alone, and telecommuting would increase.
• Voting by mail will become the new norm and election in the US may get delayed
• A further ban on the travel will lead to further downward pressure to global oil consumption

Apart from many challenges, COVID-19 has imparted some learning experiences as well. It has reshaped the economy, people have become inclined to technology, like face time with a doctor might happen, interviews can happen via skype, more radio interviews will happen over the phone, Political campaigns will have to be more interesting to go viral on social media and reach out to masses, etc.

It is not all the bad things, the way COVID-19 situation will reshape the economy, it has already started changing the way we work. For many companies where online work was considered as a distant possibility, many companies now have started finding innovative ways to work remotely. If the strategy is implemented properly long run, many companies will be able to reduce the fixed cost.  

We talked about the future, but what should we do now to curb the situation? And as always, Sadhguru has an outstanding piece of advice as quoted below. I received this message after writing the article but nevertheless sharing it with everyone so that we all stay positive.

“Whatever we are talking about is what we are perpetuating in our experience. The only way to keep any kind of illness or virus or flu away is to not talk about it and it will dissipate itself. What we do instead is keep checking the statistics or keep spreading the "awareness" messages on social media without noticing it that the more we talk about it the more it becomes active in our vibration. History is full of evidence of epidemics because of the mass consciousness created by fear of the disease. Fear is a very strong vibration and more fearful we are of any epidemic it becomes a reality very fast.. it's the law. The more you feed the energy of fear the more profound it becomes. Ignore the things you don't want to participate in. Stop discussing it with family and friends; stop checking out the latest statistics. Stop watching incessantly the news about Corona Virus. Take your attention away and It has no power on you. The creation of anything is to give thought to it by keeping it active in our vibration by being afraid of it. Hook yourself up with an ever-flowing stream of well- being”.

We would love to know your views on the situation and how are you planning to prepare for this? Let us use collective intelligence to better prepare ourselves.