COVID-19 and Its Impact on Societal Structure and Behavior

Introduction

Since its breakout in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, Covid-19 impacts lives and behaviour worldwide. Covid-19 was the third biggest outbreak of a novel coronavirus in the 21st century following SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012. Whereas previous outbreaks have been shown to have severe effects on community health and substantial economic ramifications for an infectious disease outbreak. Covid-19 has revolutionised lawmaker's thinking, resulting in unparalleled advice, legislation, and impact on the lives of people, corporations, and institutions. First and foremost, previous epidemics have demonstrated the importance of restricting each other's avoidance behaviours since they might have significant economic consequences without necessarily limiting infections. The high mortality rate of Covid-19, on the other hand, has taken away people's initiative for avoidant socialisation by imposing extreme national modules of social distancing and business closures that foster lowering disease propagation and fatality rates at the expense of conceivably substantial economic consequences. Given its heavy dependence on well-documented medical evidence, the UK crisis provides an ideal basis for evaluating whether it has socioeconomic effects or the effects of non-pharmaceutical behavioural endeavour to overcome them. The report further provides the information about the structure VS agency, critical analysis of structural theory, covid 19 impacts on socialisation. The report further discusses clap for NHS movement, social constructs and social change. Lastly the report focuses on the impact of COVID 19 and globalisation on public services and the impacts of social change and structure on public services.

Structure Vs Agency

Structure

Structure refers to the limitations set by the crisis on people and other industries including private and public sectors in the United Kingdom. As COVID 19 is a deadly disease that is taking the lives of millions of people across the world including the United Kingdom, The lawmakers of the United Kingdom has thus taken a lot of initiatives by restricting and limiting people's everyday chores that they used to perform before the COVID 19 pandemic (Bowers et al., 2020). Restrictions and limitations the people of the UK have to face are as follows

Social distancing:- This means the people of the United Kingdom have to maintain a proper distance from each other to prevent spreading disease (Greenstone et al. 2020).

Lockdown:- The governments of all the countries including the United Kingdom have decided to put a complete lockdown wherein people stay in their homes and avoid any unnecessary gatherings and meetings to reduce the spread of infection (Carr et al., 2021).

Agency

People of the United Kingdom are indeed facing a lot of restrictions and limitations due to the COVID 19 situation of the country; however, they are also given few amenities which are helping them to live a happy life and not getting deprived economically. The following amenities are provided to the people: -

Work from home:- There has been an increase of 25.9% of people working from home in the United Kingdom (Bryce et al., 2020). People are allowed to work of their free will and public offices are open for offline work.

Online education:- As all the schools and colleges of the United Kingdom have been closed because of the severe spread of COVID 19, still, the colleges and schools are providing education to the students through an online mode of education and training (Choi et al., 2021). Students are not getting deprived of their rights and education and are getting all the necessary education they need.

Critical analysis of structural theory

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused enormous loss of human lives worldwide and poses an unprecedented risk to public health, food safety and the working environment. The advent of highly contagious illnesses that have become outbreaks, such as COVID-19, as a result of numerous global social and environmental processes generates substantial health and societal problems. The world population is becoming increasingly urbanised and concentrated in larger cities as a result of economic development, and the global population has expanded significantly since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The concentration of the present population is greater than ever before. In addition, human migration has increased enormously throughout the geographical area. These settings facilitate the development and dissemination of new viral infections. This especially applies to corona viruses such as several types of influenza and COVID-19, more shockingly. COVID-19 is mostly a medical ecological condition because it depends on the situation of a person. The social and economic impact of the epidemic is catastrophic: vast numbers of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, and an estimated 690 million people under-nourished might increase to 132 million by year-end (Coronini-Cronberg et al., 2020). There is a possibility of hundreds of millions of companies leaving the business. Almost half of the 3.3 billion people worldwide are at risk of losing their employment. The global COVID-19 epidemic has had a substantial economic impact on the United Kingdom. Tourism, the financial industry, jobs, several businesses, and transportation have all suffered as a result. Some organisations reported significant losses of income as funding events were annulled as a result of the discovery of a £4 billion funding shortfall (De Biase et al., 2020). Several people and institutions, which helped those affected by the pandemic, had started making donations to humanitarian agencies. The 99-year-old Tom Moore raised almost £28.2 million, the largest ever campaign of JustGive. As of April 2010, the London Marathon was slated for October 2020 as the world's biggest yearly fundraising event. On Marathon Day, £66.4 million for charities were raised in 2019. As mentioned by Greenhalgh et al., 2020, the Mass Participation Sports Organizers Group organised the 2.6 Challenge to compensate for the loss of income. As a result of Covid-19, companies and organisations confront CSR difficulties. Several companies/retailers have tried to benefit from the problem according to sources. The Competitive and Market Authority in the UK, for instance, set up a special task force to prosecute companies benefiting from the pandemic by inflating prices or making fraudulent product claims, as a means of preventing profits from becoming widespread (Hungerford and Cunliffe, 2020).

Socialisation

It does not affect people. Communities including the poor, the elderly, disabled people, adolescents and indigenous communities seem to be affected by this. A preliminary study reveals that the human and financial impacts of the virus are unfairly suffered by the poor. In the absence of a safe place to stay, for instance, the impoverished are more exposed to the virus. The United Nations and the United Kingdom has a 75-year-old world health crisis, which is destroying lives and causing suffering, and which disrupts human livelihoods. We are in the midst of this international health crisis (Kursumovic et al, 2020). However, this is not merely an emergency for health. It is a disaster that is humanitarian, financial and social. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has been classified as a pandemic in the World Health Organization (WHO), causes community turmoil. A founding member of Environmental Sustainability's UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (SDGs) headquarters, each aim in a position and all of its partners can work together to ensure that no one is left behind. The Division of the United Nations DESA for Integrated Social Development (DISD) monitors macroeconomic patterns at national and global levels, identifies possible issues, and analyses their impact on national and international social policies. We are an important analytical voice to increase social inclusion, decrease inequalities and alleviate deprivation.

Group formation

On the 10th of June, a federation of several community organisations disseminated an open letter on it's website calling on the entire UK to take part in it. It was clap for NHS. NHS has played a crucial role in its 72-year history of delivering care to the nation's population regardless of their proficiency to pay. NHS has helped a lot of people to go through these rough times, it has also helped them to conquer the disease as well as the trauma that follows. NHS United Kingdom has helped a lot in providing help to the people in the time of the COVID 19 pandemic. The doctors and healthcare providers have provided exceptional care to the public of the United Kingdom, they have also provided the public with mental and emotional support to overcome the post covid effects (Williamson et al. 2020). The NHS and its healthcare providers have done their absolute best to treat people suffering from COVID 19. Therefore, there was an initiative taken by the government and people of the United Kingdom to thank the NHS for whatever they have done for the benefit and welfare of the people living in the United Kingdom. The main factors that lead to this are the fact that the workers of the NHS have worked beyond their capacity and have saved the lives of millions of people from this disease (Wymant et al. 2021). The doctors and healthcare providers working in the NHS are thankful for the applause and appreciate it, however, they do not want it because they feel like they must help the people of the country. They also mentioned that applause should be made for both the government and the public for having faith in the NHS.

Societal constructs and Social Change

Sexuality and gender are ideas used in many ways but often mean binary and unchangeable identities. The repatriation of sexuality with gender gaps could be incorporated as a social expression of sexual diversity in theories about online constructivism (such as socialisation process models) as well as authoritarian models founded upon revolutionary or Marxist feminism. A trend has been introduced to the effect that gender has been the result of social organisation and that sexuality can be seen as an expression of gender with different kinds of causality offered, with the risk of over-complicating rather difficult arguments (Newlove-Delgado et al. 2021). Many public service organisations dealt with the pandemic COVID-19, with outstanding leadership and tremendous sacrifices from the frontline staff. After months of crisis management, nations are opening up again during their normal activities. They must strike a balance between protecting the health of inhabitants and restarting business and economic activity. No one knows how long the virus coexistence phase will last. On the other hand, the world is a quite different place after lock-down. People and companies look forward to leading them through uncertainties in the next months, if not years. There is much to contemplate and there are unknown social, political and economic ramifications. Following are the impacts of COVID 19 on cultural values, beliefs and its implications of public services:-

Citizens:- As a result of its outbreak people became more aware of the involvement of the government in their lives (Peto et al., 2020). The emphasis placed on public service offers an opportunity to re-establish the brand of public service.

Services:- When individuals can't see each other, perfecting the virtual service delivery paradigm requires creating a spirit of human connectedness to them. Having the correct combination of in-person and virtual service choices is also important (Razai et al., 2020). Public service is constantly helping to improve the quality of services.

Collaboration:- Developing the bonds formed during the crisis can help non-government organisations, corporations, charities, and individuals play a bigger and much more integrative contribution.

Trust:- There is a need for a new trust-built social compact with people prepared for the protection of people and the greater good of their behaviours. In the face of the next catastrophe, this is important.

The crisis has eventually tested the devotion of firms to responsible business practices and CSR. Some might say that the financial limitations of the outbreak both in the short and long term compel companies to prioritise short-term benefits, sometimes even by robbery and wrongdoing, while at the same time reducing long-term CSR investments, due to the lack of money and increasing survival stress. The COVID-19 pandemic affects every part of society, but particularly those in disadvantaged groups.

Covid-19, Globalisation & Public Services

The worldwide COVID-19 epidemic has wreaked havoc on public services in the United Kingdom and Ireland. To maintain business as normal, the economic and health effects were far-reaching, and public services were substantially enlarged (Roland et al., 2020). One of the most difficult tasks was to keep the economy afloat. Financial assistance has prompted a variety of responses from government agencies to

assist the health service to assure that it is prepared to provide supervision during the pandemic;

assure that important assistance is conserved, comprising disaster feedback services, penitentiaries and teaching;

assist industries; and

deliver assistance to partners of the public presently encountering difficulty because of the pandemic.

The administration of COVID-19-related projects by public authorities is under great strain despite continuing to function normally. There has never been a greater relevance to intergovernmental cooperation and stakeholders. There was considerable emphasis on ensuring that people who need financial help receive them today as quickly as possible. This has consequences for certain of the most basic concepts of public accountability and successful governance, such as ensuring uniformity, adequacy and acceptable pricing (Tromans et al., 2020). Given the ambiguity about the health implications of the pandemic and the availability of a vaccine, it is impossible for governments to accurately forecast the future cost consequences of the pandemic. Nevertheless, long-term consequences for public expenditure and service delivery are likely. In ensuring that strong management principles are followed, that spending decisions are based on solid forecasted results, and that the budget is balanced. Many public service organisations dealt with the pandemic COVID-19, with outstanding leadership and tremendous sacrifices from the frontline staff. After months of crisis management, nations are opening up again during their normal activities. They must strike a balance between protecting the health of inhabitants and restarting business and economic activity. No one knows how long the virus coexistence phase will last. On the other hand, the world is a quite different place after lock-down. People and companies look forward to leading them through uncertainties in the next months, if not years.

Social Change, Structure & Public Services

The social economy is composed of groups, cooperatives, foundations, reciprocal organisations and social companies. However, the social and economic industry in the EU comprises 28 million businesses, which account for 6.3% of total jobs. In nearly all economic sectors, from health and education to finance and services, social-economic players can be found. Some are small, but some are major global companies. It concentrates on sustainable and integrated economic practices: Organization, involvement and democratic control of local economic activity and tight cooperation with other economic players and stakeholders involved. Never was demand greater for the social economy. Social-economic organisations that work towards addressing critical health and social needs in the front lines of the crisis have proved to be trusted partners (Unadkat and Farquhar, 2020). They suffer from lockout consequences, including a decrease in revenue, like other economic actors. Certain legal groups of the social economy (for example organisations or foundations) can be a barrier to companies seeking support from the government during the crisis. Economic efficiency and resilience are required for the COVID 19 problem. Initially, the social economy was meant to "fix" societal issues (such as homeless, exclusion from the labour market and other kinds of social isolation in vulnerable communities). However, in a more connected, sustainable economy and society after the COVID, the social economy may play a far more prominent role. The social-economic industry has shown that innovative techniques and alternative economic structures are a pioneer (Wielogórska and Ekwobi, 2020). These inventions have been legitimised and accepted by the actual economy on many occasions (ethical financing, for example, fair trade, organic food movements). These new developments have led to social, economic and post-COVID instability. The "social economy" is critical for managing and mitigating the impact on economic growth and society of the COVID-19 problem in both short and long terms. The crisis will be helped by sustainable social actors to recover by providing innovative ideas to enhance governmental public services in the years to come. Social-economic groups, through supporting sustainable and equitable models, can assist to modify the post-crisis economy. The social economy can inspire companies with years of expertise, distinctive features, and core beliefs to develop a sense of significance in social innovation theories.

Conclusion

Covid-19 revolutionised lawmakers' thoughts and resulted in unparalleled counsel, legislation and impacts on individuals, businesses and bodies' lives. First and foremost the importance of curbing mutual avoidance behaviours, as previous epidemics could have significant financial effects without necessarily restricting infections. On the other hand, Covid-19's high death rates have taken away the initiative of people to avoid socialisation by imposing national extreme modules for social distance and corporate closure that encourage reduced disease propagation and fatalities at the expense of significant economic consequences. Given its heavy dependence on well-documented medical evidence, the UK crisis provides an ideal basis for evaluating whether it has socioeconomic effects or the effects of non-pharmaceutical behavioural endeavour to overcome them. The administration of COVID-19-related projects by public authorities is under great strain despite continuing to function normally. There has never been a greater relevance to intergovernmental cooperation and stakeholders. There was considerable emphasis on ensuring that people who need financial help receive them today as quickly as possible. This has consequences for certain of the most basic concepts of public accountability and successful governance, such as ensuring uniformity, adequacy and acceptable pricing. Given the ambiguity about the health implications of the pandemic and the availability of a vaccine, it is impossible for governments to accurately forecast the future cost consequences of the pandemic. The "social economy" is critical for managing and mitigating the impact on economic growth and society of the COVID-19 problem in both short and long terms. The crisis will be helped by sustainable social actors to recover by providing innovative ideas to enhance governmental public services in the years to come. Social-economic groups, through supporting sustainable and equitable models, can assist to modify the post-crisis economy. The social economy can inspire companies with years of expertise, distinctive features, and core beliefs to develop a sense of significance in social innovation theories.

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