Unintended Consequences of a Pandemic

You hardly need to be told that life has changed over the past few weeks — we’re all experiencing an upending of our lives.

Nonetheless, progress and recovery are being made on many fronts. Just to name a few, Estonia is providing free digital education to those in need and South Korea is using AI to implement early measures against the virus. But while we continue to face unintended and unexpected consequences of a pandemic, we are seeing newfound — and perhaps even better — ways of living and working.

With the pandemic forcing us to rethink our current lifestyles, what does it mean, then, to live and work in 2020? Here are four lenses through which we can answer this question.

COVID-19’s implications for businesses

Business leaders need information and insight on the economy to make decisions and act quickly. In turn, analysts from McKinsey have offered some help, by saying that there are three economic scenarios that might unfold amid the coronavirus’s impact on the global economy: a quick recovery, a global slowdown, and a pandemic-driven recession.

What do each of the scenarios entail for businesses, and how should business leaders respond? Their in-depth executive’s brief offers several perspectives and more. The analysis is updated regularly, so be sure to bookmark it to stay in the know.

Exposing the gap of gender inequalities

The coronavirus is hitting women harder than men. For one, the number of domestic violence cases in China has been surging, with over 90% of cases attributed to the outbreak. While experts are frustrated that policymakers aren’t budging away from gender-neutral approaches toward pandemics any time soon, they believe this could be the first outbreak where gender inequalities are taken more seriously by politicians.

Re-designing cities of the future

In 1918, there was the Spanish flu, and in 2014 there was the Ebola virus outbreak — both of which have shaped the design of cities. Now with COVID-19, how will the design of cities change?

For Michele Acuto, director of Connected Cities Lab, he believes that the coronavirus will have its influences on urbanisation and future pandemic preparation. In addition to that, Michele gives special attention to a city’s digital infrastructure, saying that its improvement could be the “sanitation of our time”.

Silver linings for the environment

While there is nothing to celebrate about the spread of the coronavirus, environmentalist Laura François believes the virus could be the one that “saves our environment”. From reduced global carbon dioxide emissions to changes in buying behaviours, Laura explains how such changes in consumerism are helping curb climate change.