Covid-19
COVID-19 has had tremendous effects since it was discovered. The disease has spread to different parts of the world and has led to massive loss of lives. However, since the first case of the disease was reported in the state of Washington, healthcare officials have identified more than three hundred and thirty cases of the disease in the U.S and more than nine thousand deaths in the U.S. The disease has also spread to other states in the U.S such as California and New York.
According to the World Health Organization, coronaviruses are a unit of illnesses that can have effects such as common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome. The disease was first discovered in 2019 in China (World Health Organization, 2020). In the United States of America, organizations such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization are observing the disease and enlightening people about it. Such organizations are also issuing advice on prevention measures.
According to the World Health Organization, some of the signs and symptoms of the disease include high body temperatures, dry cough, a running nose, fatigue, and difficulty in breathing. According to reports from medical practitioners, older individuals, and people living with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart-related diseases are more likely to suffer from this disease.
Individuals are advised to maintain levels of hygiene to prevent the pandemic from spreading. Therefore, individuals are encouraged to wash their hands using detergents for at least twenty seconds. However, individuals who cannot access water are advised to use alcoholic sanitizers (Erduran, 2020). People who may have come into contact with sick individuals are also encouraged to seek medical attention. For instance, in the United States, local health departments have come up with hotlines, where individuals can get all the necessary assistance.
The virus mostly spreads between individuals who have come into contact with each other. The virus spreads mainly through breathing precipitations that are disseminated when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. Therefore, keeping a social distance is regarded as one way of reducing the spread of the pandemic (Novel, 2020). To avoid spreading the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also advocates for measures such as washing repeatedly affected exteriors.
COVID-19 has had tremendous effects on different sectors of the economy. Many countries in the world U.S included have closed learning institutions as a safety measure to avert the prevalence of the virus. The closure learning institutions not only interferes with the learning of the students in different parts of the world but also overlaps with a severe examination period, and many examinations have been suspended or negated. Besides, the lockdown on learning institutions affects not only internal assessments in the U.S but also other parts of the world (Dong, Du & Gardner, 2020). However, to lessen the effects of the pandemic, learning institutions need capital to reconstruct the loss in studying once they re-open. However, schools should have enough knowledge and evidence on students who got more affected by the pandemic. Rather than canceling examinations, schools should focus more on pushing the dates of the assessments to avoid wasting time for the students. This can ensure that there is no extension of unemployment periods in a society which can increase the rate of crime in the community.
The spread of the pandemic has also affected the economies of different countries in the world. The virus has led to the closure of businesses in different parts of the world. Closure of companies has, in turn, led to the loss of employment among individuals due to lockdowns, which have been effected in different parts of the world. As a result, the consumption rate has significantly reduced hence reducing the gross domestic product of the country (Dong, Du & Gardner, 2020). Besides, the pandemic has immensely affected the tourism industries due to travel restrictions, thereby affecting the collection of revenue and especially in countries that heavily rely on tourism to run their economies.
Explaining COVID-19 using sociological concepts
COVID-19 pandemic has managed to illustrate how interconnected the world is. The first case of the virus was reported in Wuhan China in December 2019, and the disease has now spread to different parts of the world immensely. In the past, first world countries could stand alone and be independent, but today, all countries in the world have become a part of a separate order.
Social construction assumes that individuals create their comprehension of the surrounding and the values they give to relations with others. In response to the spread of COVID-19 in the world, different governments have adopted social distancing as a central aspect to limit the prevalence of the virus (Dong, Du & Gardner, 2020). Social distancing encompasses behavior change, such as lessening the rate of contact among individuals to reduce the risk of transmitting the pandemic. Governments are implementing social distancing by quarantining places and constructing isolation facilities.
Social stratification refers to how a community categorizes its people into classes of socioeconomic ranks grounded on issues like capital, revenue, race, education, and power. According to sociologists, whenever a pandemic occurs in a society, the poor in society are likely to be hard hit compared to the rich who can easily access the prevention of the disease. Over the past few months, a significant number of individuals have lost their jobs due to the effects of the pandemic (Dong, Du & Gardner, 2020). If such individuals can fall sick, they have little or no resources to deal with such an illness and risk spreading it as they move from place to place to earn a living.
Social control in a society believes that relationships, commitments, values, and beliefs encourage conformity. Different groups from different parts of the world behave, which includes rumors, protests, and riots. For example, in the COVID-19 pandemic, rumors and fabrication in social media have been spreading in different parts of the world. People have been coming up with varying claims on the causes of the pandemic and how it can be prevented (Novel, 2020). Although different social media platforms have come up with measures to deal with the fake news, they have not fully succeeded.
Deviance encompasses any behavior that violates the accepted code of conduct in a community. Countries that have a high prevalence of COVID-19 tend to have few cases of crime occurring. The disease has brought people together, and people are now working to eradicate the pandemic. There is also a significant relationship between poverty and age. For instance, casual laborers cannot afford to miss work for fear of lacking necessities such as food and housing. If they lose on such obligations, they can be compelled to depend on aged persons in society such as parents and grandparents.
In conclusion, COVID-19 has taken the world by storm and led to massive loss of lives. Therefore, there is a dire need for all governments to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the disease. All people should take personal initiative to assist the government and other healthcare personnel in combating this epidemic. The governments should also invest in the healthcare sector to deal with arising heath issues.
References
Dong, E., Du, H., & Gardner, L. (2020). An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. The Lancet infectious diseases.
Erduran, S. Science Education in the Era of a Pandemic: How Can History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science Contribute to Education for Understanding and Solving the Covid-19 Crisis?.
Novel, C. P. E. R. E. (2020). The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi= Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi, 41(2), 145.
World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 67.
Covid-19
Paper details
Choosing a Current Event. A current event refers to something that is happening in the world at present and
they are usually described on the news and in mass media. You must choose a report (written, from the radio,
or televised) of an event that has been reported on within 3 months of the assignment deadline. Remember,
the event you choose must have some relevance to the study of society, and you must properly cite the source
from which you got your report.
Describe the Current Event. Second, you will need to provide a brief summary of the current event. This should
include details such as location, timing (i.e is this an ongoing event, does it appear to be a one time event, is
this an example of an event that happens frequently), people involved, and any analysis offered by the
report(er).
Analyzing the Current Event. The final step in the process is conducting an analysis of the current event using
knowledge you have gained from the course to-date. The most important thing here is that the analysis should
not just be your opinion about the current event, but grounded in sociological theory and prior research. You
will need to use at least 4 sociological concepts covered in this course to analyze the current event (i.e. social
construction, stratification, social control, crime, deviance). You are strongly encouraged to use and cite
sources. Sociological concepts should be clearly identified, defined and then applied. Any paraphrasing or
direct quotes used from another source should include APA formatted in-text citations and a full reference at
the end of the essay.
This course has “Resubmission” status enabled to help you if you realize you submitted an incorrect or blank
file, or if you need to submit multiple documents as part of your Assignment. Resubmission of an Assignment
after it is graded, to attempt a better grade, is not permitted.
DISCLAIMER: Originality of attachments will be verified by Turnitin. Both you and your instructor will receive
the results.
