The Pandemic's Other Side

Since a couple years ago, the world has been facing COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. This pandemic causes impacts on several sectors, such as : society, economy, education, work, etc.

Due to the pandemic, the government has ordered the society to do physical distancing to prevent the virus from spreading. Not wearing a mask has become a taboo as well nowadays. Hand sanitizer is like an essentials item if we want to go outside nowadays. Indonesian’s tradition such as kissing older people’s hand such as parents, teachers, etc. in order to greet them are banned as well. Nowadays, they just smile or bow as a form of greeting. Even when the government lifted the mask rule for outdoor places, people still wear mask when they’re outside, especially in a crowded place. This is a proof that our society has a new culture which is born from terror and fear of COVID-19.

The aviation industry is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the physical distancing policy and the pandemic. People can no longer goes on a flight easily during the first year of the pandemic. Only people who works at the critical sector such as : oil industry, electric company, etc. can take a flight. However, they must go through a strict procedure before they’re eligible for a flight. With the customers amount decreased drastically, the airline industry lost a huge amount of their regular income. Garuda Indonesia, one of the most leading airline company in Indonesia, is on the brink of bankruptcy due to little income.

The physical distancing policy caused all of the recreational places in Indonesia temporarily closed. Due to the absence of visitors,  the recreational places have no income. With zero income, some recreational places such as Ciputra Waterpark, etc. are closed down for good because they don’t have the budget for maintenance and salary for the workers. Even one of the famous recreational places like Jawa Timur Park (Jatim Park) looked like an abandoned place due to the moss and plants during the first year of the pandemic.

Many workers are fired from their workplace because the industry’s production isn’t at their regular level. This led to the number of jobless people increased drastically. With the number of jobless people increased drastically, the nation’s economic state is at stake. If no actions are taken, it will lead into several casualities, such as : inflation, hunger, death, etc.

School is majorly affected as well. Due to the physical distancing and the severity of the pandemic, school is closed as well. As the conventional school such as Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and College requires the student to come to the school, with the school being closed, it’s like a chaos for them to adapt with the condition.

After a few weeks of literally no school, the government instructed schools to held an online classes. However, lots of obstacles were faced during the first time online classes were conducted. Whether it’s due to the lack of knowledge of IT or the absence of the required gadgets (phone / pc / computer).

However, if we take a look at the other side from this pandemic. This pandemic also bring positive impacts to a lot of sectors, including the mentioned sectors above.

This pandemic forces school and universities to hold online classes which lead to the advancement of digitalization of the education system. Before pandemic, teachers often found it hard to keep the student’s work organized, grading student’s work, etc. Nowadays, various apps such as Google Classroom, Private E-Learning System, can keep student’s task organized automatically, and even grade their work automatically. In fact, it’s even more efficient and effective with the presence of those apps.

Pandemic forces people to work together in order to develop the solutions for the problems that occurred due to pandemic such as : vaccine, apps, policies, etc. While working together, people would realize that mankind is strong when they unite as one rather than waging war on each other. The development of the solutions push the advancement of science and technology as well.

Talking about hygiene, people now are being more hygiene than ever. Before the pandemic, people would see you as a clean-freak if you wear a mask and use hand sanitizer or wash your hands oftenly. However, people would see you a freak nowadays if you don’t wear a mask or not using your hand sanitizer or not washing your hand. It’s completely different from our previous life, but it’s a good thing.

The quotes “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” hits different during this pandemic. Before the pandemic, people tend to make light of time with loved ones such as families, lover, friends, etc. However, after witnessing how many lives lost because of the pandemic, people would realize how valuable their loved one is and the time spent with them.

Moreover, after experiencing a global-scale pandemic like this, human would be more prepared if there’s another pandemic in the future. People would already know what to do as the solution has already exists. Therefore, although the pandemic caused a lot of casualties and resulted many deaths, it still bring several positive impacts.

 

CITATION

Maryanti, SE. (2021, 21 January). Dampak Covid-19 Bagi Kehidupan. SMK Pelayaran APELNI. https://smk-akpelni.sch.id/dampak-covid-19-bagi-kehidupan/