Positive and negative impacts of COVID-19, an analysis with special reference to challenges on the supply chain in South Asian countries

K. Karunathilake ()
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K. Karunathilake: University of Kelaniya

Journal of Social and Economic Development, 2021, vol. 23, issue 3, No 8, 568-581

Abstract: Abstract The Coronavirus or COVID-19 is a disease based on an unknown virus. It seems that it started in China and has widely spread in almost all countries in the world. This pandemic situation is one of the widely spread diseases in recent history. However, there was an influenza pandemic in 1918 with the exact number of deaths still unknown. Some believe that the death toll would have been about 50–100 million people. At the time of writing this article, COVID-19 has infected 5,306,928 persons worldwide (when the article was finalised for publication, the number has increased up to 15,947,291). The article is aimed at analysing the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 in a sociological perspective. It is further focused on possible challenges to the supply chain in South Asia. South Asian countries are highly influenced by the pandemic situation, and the regional representation is about 4% in the later part of May 2020 with an increasing tendency. Also, the article has a proposal for the control of the disease as well as the entire socio-economic, environmental and political atmosphere in a country, whilst particularly giving more weight to South Asia. The proposed actions are analysed in short-term, mid-term and long-term basis, and any expert and social worker who is involved in the pandemic control process can gain an insight into what to do and how to perform their tasks. A sociological analysis on COVID-19 is very important because there is a wing comprising dominant medical experts in the control and management of the disease. The article emphasises the importance of a sociological analysis in a pandemic situation. Naturally, anyone would think of a pandemic situation in very negative terms due to its emotional, socio-economic, environmental, political and cultural factors. However, it is also positive due to certain factors that help to reintegrate and reorganise the social system as a whole.

Keywords: Control and management; COVID-19; Positive and negative impacts; Social domains; Social impacts; Supply chain; Sri Lanka and South Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1007/s40847-020-00107-z

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