Benefits of Coronavirus in the World – COVID-19

As at the time of writing this article, the whole world is living in fear and anxiety. And the source of the fear and depression in the world is the new Coronavirus, COVID-19.

We entered the New Year with excitement and looked forward to an amazing 2020. Little did we know that COVID-19 will throw fear into the hearts of men and women – young and adult. We didn’t envision COVID-19 ruining our year.

Although it isn’t yet considered as deadly as its sister viruses SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, it has to be the worst viral infection the world has experienced in a very long time.

Because the human mind is wired to see negative things all the time, it is very easy to ignore the benefits of coronavirus in the world. I know this isn’t what you want to hear but the Coronavirus outbreak has some benefits although the negatives far outweigh it.

It isn’t an easy time to stay positive but still, I choose to see positives. This article is not me trying to be insensitive or turning a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands of people infected and dead. This is not me saying lives don’t matter.

In this article, I explore some of the benefits of coronavirus no one talks about.

1. World Reset

When everything is going well, it is difficult to think there will ever be a time like this. A time when you cannot go out to socialise.

We’ve seen pandemics happen in movies but I doubt anyone ever thought they’d get to experience one.

Most of the people currently alive cannot fathom what is currently happening. Life is not linear but full of ups and downs.

The period of economic boom, prosperity and happiness cannot last forever.

As good times cannot last forever, so also does bad times.

The world is currently going through a reset. A reset is not bad. It is good for reflection, solitude and understanding things that are important.

Reset time is a time to make corrections and learn.

So many countries, for example, are now understanding their shortcomings. The virus is really a wake-up call for us all.

 

2. Understanding what is important

We often get our priorities wrong most times. I was at ‘Boots’ the other day to buy hair clipper. Some sections in the shops were sealed off.

I saw what I wanted but could not get it because of the barricade. I asked one of the store assistants for help. Her response was that no one is allowed to buy anything from the sealed off part of the store.

I asked why. She responded by saying those are not essential things and they only sell essential things.

Coronavirus has helped us to understand that food and shelter are possibly the two most important things. We can add quality health care and spirituality to the mix.

No one can afford to be wasteful of their resources at this moment. In fact, most people will have to ration what they have because of the fear of going out to get another.

The lockdown caused by coronavirus has helped us to have perspective and understand things that are essentials of human existence. There are a lot of things that are important to us, like going to the cinema, music festival, watching our favourite football teams on live on TV or in a stadium.

While all these are important, they are not essential.

The arrival of coronavirus helped us to understand this.

 

3. Self Improvement

How long have some of us been putting off getting certain things done because of our busy schedule? When last did some of us take out time to breathe, to self reflect? How many ideas have you written down but haven’t found time to plan and execute?

The untold truth is that no one has an excuse for not making the most of the period. Yes, the quarantine period is boring and most are used to their work environment more than they are used to their own home. But we have to make the most of this period.

There is no better time to think creatively away from distractions. No better time to come up with ideas. No better time to finish up that online course you’ve been putting off.

What I’m trying to say is that we owe it to ourself to come out of this period better than we started it.

 

4. Families coming together

The coronavirus pandemic which has placed a lot of cities and towns on lockdown has also brought families together. Normally, most families spend as little time as possible together because the parents go out early to make a living and come back late. The children also spend most of their time in school.

The pandemic has kept everyone home. It creates opportunities for family bonding and reunion.

Dad, mum and the kids have time to play games, watch movies together and catch up on lost time. Couples have lots of time for those important conversations they’ve been putting off because of time.

It goes further to help some people connect to their extended family via video call, text messages and traditional phone calls. Some people just did not have time to make phone calls before the coronavirus outbreak.

5. Time to look for new opportunities

A lot of problems will originate from this pandemic which will require people to seek solutions. As a result of this pandemic, there will be new opportunities for problem-solving. Money is a reward for solving problems. There will be people whose lives will change for the better from the rewards they will receive from the problems they’ve solved.

Think about it, vaccination will be developed at some point. Whichever company or individual who has the breakthrough of the vaccines will make profits. There is nothing wrong with making profits as long as it’s not someone taking advantage of someone else’s circumstances.

Money is a net result of providing valuable products and services.

6. Homeschooling fun

Most people including me have never thought that I will ever home school my kids. I am not saying I don’t do home works with my kids. The responsibility of having to educate your kids yourself without input from the traditional education systems isn’t what most parents are prepared for.

The pandemic now makes it compulsory for parents to home school their children because schools in most countries of the world have shut down.

Personally I am finding it fun and challenging homeschooling my kids.

I think it’s beneficial because we get to be a bit closer to our kids and take more responsibility for their learning. Not just school learning but also life learning.

 

7. Appreciating one another and stronger community spirit

The pandemic lockdown helps us to appreciate one another more. A lot of people we see regularly now seem very far away from us. Because of social distancing, you cannot even get too close to your neighbour. You only have your immediate family around you. Everyone now seems to be supporting one another through phone calls and text messages. You can see people showing one another kindness and love.

People have been reaching out to one another through social media and staying connected during this difficult period.

 

9. The excitement of travelling abroad reduce

As an immigrant in the UK. I know the craze back home about travelling abroad to seek greener pasture. I know the craze will return after the pandemic is over. But for now, during this pandemic period, no one seems to be interested in going abroad. The talk at the moment is about staying safe wherever you are. Most countries are affected by the pandemic so going to another country will not make anyone safe and makes no sense.

 

10. Closer to God

The coronavirus pandemic is clearly an invisible battle the world is fighting. Human beings are the highest form of God’s creation. Humans will win. The battle with the pandemic has made a lot of people reconnect with their maker.

And it makes sense too because humans are notorious for only turning to God when in fear or things are going bad.

Even people that do not believe that God exists find some solitude and connect with a higher power they think is responsible for making life work.

 

12. Health workers more valued

The health workers are a very important part of the process of getting the world back on their feet.

Who’d have thought that the world will finally see health workers as heroes?

The society now appreciates health workers more than they usually do. There have been kind gestures from various businesses towards the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Free sandwiches, pizza, special shopping house from the supermarket, The list goes on and on.

 

13. Air pollution is reduced

As a result of the pandemic, the roads are more quiet than usual and mother nature thanks us. The lockdown in various countries indirectly means less pollution. Reduction in movements has even been recorded in places with small coronavirus outbreak. No one wants to go out because of the fear of being infected. This is a good thing because of less pollution in the world. The same goes for thousands of flights cancelled worldwide.

This is another positive.

Obviously, the damage to the economy is massive and will take a very long time to recover.

This article by NBCNews sheds more light on this.

 

14. Working From Home

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many people have to walk from home. Even organisations who naturally frown upon their staff working from home for any reason are forced to make arrangement for home working where possible.

Let’s be honest, working from home also saves us money from transportation and having to eat out.

The nature of some jobs requires them to be present in their workplace. However, any job that can be done on a computer is now been done from home because of the spread of coronavirus.

 

15. Interest rate down and stock market crash

If not for the Coronavirus pandemic, the interest rates of most countries wouldn’t have come down. The interest rates have both its benefits and disbenefits. If you are a cautious investor, you will surely not like that the interest rate is zero.

Can you believe the interest rate can be reduced to zero? That is what it is in America. In the UK it was initially reduced to 1.25 when the pandemic just started. To save businesses and the economy, it was further reduced to 1.

I do not encourage borrowing but it should be good news for people who have businesses with good growth prospect. If money is why you haven’t taken your business to the next level, you can take advantage of the very low-interest rate during this period.

While it is not a good thing that the stock market has crashed and stock prices have gone down significantly. It is still an opportunity for people that are wise with money to buy stocks of companies they like for cheap.

The stock market throughout history has corrections and crashes. The stock market has been due for a while to either get corrected or crash but coronavirus was very instrumental to the black Monday 2020 crash.

 

Final Thoughts

This coronavirus pandemic period is a strange, unprecedented and extraordinary time. It is a period we have never experienced before. No one really knows what to do as this is uncharted territory for the world. But we must not give up hope. Never.