The COVID-19 pandemic was the staple of 2020, and now with the vaccine being distributed, it seems to be coming to a slow end. But that doesn’t mean it’s over. Things such as the ever-growing delta variant and the amount of traveling happening this summer are slowing down the end of the pandemic greatly. For the most part, though, cases are considerably lower than before. Despite all this, shaking off the side effects of the pandemic won’t be easy. A lot of people were hit hard by quarantine, and recuperating from the events of the pandemic won’t be easy. Let’s take a look at what I’m talking about.
Many businesses shut down because of the inability to make profit and provide their services during a lockdown. Restaurants, bakeries, and more were shut down, which in turn caused a drop in employment rates. Without a job, many people slid into poverty, causing homelessness rates to go up. This was an extremely hard time for many people. There used to be about 115 million people in extreme poverty, but now it has risen to 150 million as of 2021. Hopefully people will be able to recover as the pandemic comes to a close (we think), but shaking off the events of 2020 won’t be easy.
In 1990 poverty rates were extremely high, but they slowly became lower until COVID hit. Poverty suddenly peaked, and though it’s not nearly as much as before, this is the first rise we’ve seen since 1990. Before COVID, it was expected that poverty would drop 7.9% in 2020.Now, more than 40% of the world’s population live on below $5.50 a day, and close to a quarter of the world’s population below $3.20.
COVID certainly impacted many people’s lives negatively. Try to help people in poverty when you can. You can make a difference.
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