Coronavirus Pandemic:
the positive from the negativ
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#Coronavirus and #COVID-19 are both, sadly, trending hashtags in every social media site the Internet have today. Every person from every corner of the planet Earth knows what Coronavirus is. This devastating virus has come to transform the life of thousands of people around the world: deaths, quarantines, complete lockdowns of whole countries...economy crash. :(
Today, when almost whole humanity suffers from the devastating effects of this pandemic, someone could think it is difficult to find any positive aspect linked to the effects of this disease...but nothing could be further from the truth.
It happens that Coronavirus itself is truly devastating in terms of human lives and economical aspects but recent studies have shown that there are some “hidden” positive effects derived from this global epidemic.
Positive effects...must be joking, aren´t you?
Well...No... **:o**
Despite Covid-19 being a nasty and terrible pandemic for humanity it seems like there's an unlikely beneficiary of its effects: The Planet Earth.
China, the epicenter of the pandemic, has shown reduced levels of air pollution due to factories being shuttered and because of streets were cleared across China's Hubei province as authorities ordered residents to stay home to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
According to some news given by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the average number of “good quality air days” increased 21.5% in February, compared to the same period last year. It has been observed a dramatic reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions(NO2) as well as carbon dioxide (CO2). If we have in count that China is one of the world's biggest polluter contributing with 30% of the world's CO2 emissions annually, we can realize that the impact of this kind of drop is huge, even over a short period of time.
Fig 1. *Nitrogen dioxide emissions are reducing over whole China(https://cnn.com)*
In the case of Venice, Italy the water looks clearer in its world-famous canals and NASA images show how pollution is dropping rapidly in several cities across the entire country and even the entire globe.
While some news about swans and dolphins swimming in the now clear waters of the canals of Venice are a more wishful thinking than reality, the truth is that the water at the canals is more clear and transparent and the levels of environmental pollution were reduced considerably not only in Venice but in several cities across Italy.
Fig 2. *Nitrogen dioxide levels across Italy and the rest of Europe in early January(https://happymag.tv)*
Fig 3. *Nitrogen dioxide levels across Italy and the rest of Europe in early March(https://happymag.tv)*
There are some reports too about wildlife trying to take back some space we humans have taken away over the years. While is quite difficult to prove the veracity of some of those images and news, it is not so hard to imagine that somewhere out there, there might be some wild animals approaching to nearby areas in closed cities because people are not there to disturb their peaceful life.
According to the magazine “politico.com” there´s even 1 positive economical impact of the Coronavirus pandemic: Refinancing boom.
“The plunge in government bond yields — Treasuries have fallen to record lows as investors seek a haven from a whipsawing stock market — led to a 26 percent jump in refinance applications last week alone” – says a report from politico.com online magazine
The good news for homeowners comes as companies consider shutting factories and recommend people to start working from home avoiding crowds. Lower mortgage rates could mitigate at least some of the damage for many families due to economical uncertainty and given the oil issue on top of that, there’s definitely room for mortgage rates to go even lower.
Another hidden effect of lockdowns due to Coronavirus pandemic is more people are adopting shelter animals. Many animal shelters have been forced to close to new applicants due to lack of space for newcomers and as part of the community efforts to slow the spread of the Coronavirus.
While some communities are being completely indifferents to the problem the vast majority have responded with a high percent of their residents adopting a pet. Animal shelters have used their social media channels to ask for help, trying to commit communities to foster pets until the pandemic is over.
Fig 4. *Photos like this one from the Humane Society of Harlingen, Texas have helped some animals to get a home in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic.(https://www.npr.org)*
As more and more people are required to stay at home due to lockdowns, many animal lovers choose to adopt a pet from some near shelter because, as one proud pet owner said to a local magazine: “Play with our new adopted pet while staying at home is more funny than the 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzle on our dining table.” :)
And last but no least, another effect Coronavirus have brought to us is to have more time to share with our family. This effect is viewed as positive for one people while seen as negative for others. The reasons vary, and experts in human behaviour just couldn't agree if this is positive or negative for family social health.
There are several stories of compulsory isolation or self-isolation due to the pandemic spread, some with devastating effects on people's psyches, while others show an improvement in family relationships over time.
Fig 5. Staying at home with family could be the best thing that has happened to you in a long time (Photo by Elly Fairytale from Pexels)
The truth is that staying long periods of time not only in home but in any other closed place, can be overwhelming for most people, even if they are sharing the same space with others, whether they are familiar or not. For many people being lock down by two or more days could be something really crazy but for others this could be a bless.
The Guardian Newspaper gives some advices for people who has been forced to stay at home long periods of time due to the effects of Coronavirus pandemic, so the quarantine time could be more profitable and positive and less stressful.
Some advices are, among others: to savour the small moments like a morning coffee cup with family without having no rush to make it early to the daily job, strengthen family connections spending quality time with kids and trying to look for the good in others while helping the most needed even through the Internet.
Final thougths...by now
To be clear, the coronavirus pandemic is a tragedy no matter what. It is not my intention to minimize the disastrous effects it has in human life and the global economy. But this global crisis is also an inflection point for that others global crisis we have for quite some time right now.
Positive effects in environmental matters and family relationships could not be denied as well as teachings this situation has to offer in matters of social education we, as humans, must have in order to subsist as a species when we face other pandemics in the future; because let´s face it: this is not the first pandemic humanity has faced but it will be not the last one for sure...when next one comes, we will be more ready and more strong!!!
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