**2. Journey through the COVID-19 pandemic phases in India and its impact on various sectors**

## **2.1 The initial impact**

Although the initial impact of the virus was seen majorly in the developed countries, India got affected during January when the first case of it was reported from the Kerala province in southern India [5].

Further, lockdown and curfew were imposed in different countries, which eventually dwindled the economy globally affecting the poor and middle-class earners, maximally. In India, the daily wagers were forced to flee from their working place to go back to their native places. Since transportation was at standstill due to lockdown these workers along with their family members had to cover their long distances on foot only. Sooner or later, many social activists took the initiative to help these sufferers. At this point, the blame game of the politicians towards each other started pouring in.

Over time, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many sectors which majorly include health, education, hospitality, and entertainment sectors. Diagramatic representation as documented in **Figure 1**.

### **2.2 Impact on the health sector**

The situation on the other hand, in the hospital sector, was far more frightening as more and more casualties were happening due to limited beds and a greater number of patients requiring hospitalisation. Urgent steps were thought of and many

**Figure 1.** *Various sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.*

### *A Journey through and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indian Setup-Lessons Learnt So Far DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100290*

places like hotels, train bogies, etc. were soon made as alternatives to hospital beds. Health care workers despite all the stress of contracting the disease themselves took the front seat to take care of the sufferers, but to their very surprise many people, by this time, had become prey to different myths and false beliefs and had to face the resistance from these society members. The situation was grave in certain parts of the country and police had to take some harsh steps to control the nuisance.

Amongst the patients, the effect was seen majorly in elderlies and in patients suffering from cancer and with comorbidities. In their article published by Wang et al., concluded that patients above 70 years of age had a faster progression of disease in the elderlies [6]. Similarly, a study was done by Liang et al. documented that case-fatality rates were higher in elderlies and also the pulmonary complication requiring resuscitation were higher in those suffering from cancer [7]. Besides its impact on these patients treatment delays due to the lockdown became a major issue. Various modifications in the treatment guidelines were framed by this time by various eminent treating societies to make the treatment continued and minimise the delays. Also, working protocols of different departments were modified and policies to screen the COVID-19 patients were formulated.

Though modified protocols were important from the clinical point of view, the psychological effect of the suffering had a deep impact on society. Effective healthrelated communication has thus remained a need of the hour. An article published by A. Finset et al. concluded that effective health communication is important in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic [8]. Similar importance of health communication has been documented by Reddy et al. in their article [9]. Amongst the various modes of communication, telecommunication with patients has also proved to a boom during the pandemic. As the majority of the patients who had queries related to the disease and treatment-related queries were also taken care of. Also, scheduling of all appointments further made things organised both for the patients as well as the treating physicians.

From a treatment point of view the rat race to treat and cure the ailment was soon catching the pace by this time. Many different permutation and combinations of drugs were thought of during this phase, with not much success to it. Alternative medicines like homoeopathy and ayurvedic soon joined the race and tried their best to come up with a possible solution. Since the disease was due to the virus, the only hope for it was thought of by generating an appropriate vaccine. Research on making the vaccine soon began. Different countries to the very best of their capabilities are trying till date, to make an effective vaccine. In India, Bharat Biotech took the initiative and completed the initial phases of the trials.

Covaxin and Covishield are the two vaccines that were developed and brought forward for mass vaccination. The Government decided to carry out the vaccination in a phased manner with age group 45 and above along with health care workers and patients with comorbidities receiving the initial jab. Although a majority of people have got vaccinated, a lot many still doubt the efficacy of the vaccine and remain concerned with its side effects. The false rumours regarding the vaccine have further added to it and have prevented a lot of many to refrain from getting vaccinated. While people were being told about the advantages and necessity of getting the vaccination done, the second wave of the pandemic came into existence.

### **2.3 Impact of the COVID-19 on the education sector**

The very initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted the education front, as the lockdown and curfew forced all the schools, colleges, and universities to shut down. The digital model was soon implemented and the majority of the teaching soon began through online mode. An article published by Pravat Kumar Jena,

has highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Govt. Of India on the education sector. Also various positive and negative effects have been emphasised [10].

Although the effect of this form of education can only be assessed with time as of now, the digital mode has surely taken care of the education front.

### **2.4 Impact of the COVID-19 on the tourism and hospitality sector**

Besides the health and the education sector, the hospitality industry has also been affected badly by the pandemic. The hospitality industry accounts for 10% of the global GDP. The travel restrictions have not only led to revenue losses also the jobs of various workers have come to stake. As per United Nations World Tourism Organisation that international tourists will be down by 20–30%

In India, the hospitality industry is likely to be hit hard. Experts suggest that domestic hotel companies faced a weak FY20 and a much weaker FY21. The challenges and learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian setting have been elaborated in the article published by V. Kaushal et al. [11].

Other than India, the major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can also be seen in countries whose economy depends largely on the tourism and hospitality sector.

### **2.5 Impact of the COVID-19 on the entertainment sector**

Music and film plays a very important role in one's life and is not only a source of entertainment but is also a major revenue generator for the country. The lockdown and curfew have led to the downfall in film production and indirectly to revenue collection. G. Nhamo et al. in their study found that the pandemic has led to the cancellation of productions, films, and music festivals leading to multibillionaire losses which furthermore has led to a devastating impact on the livelihood of artists [12].

### **2.6 COVID-19 and international health security**

United Nations brought the concept of health security during the year 1994 [13]. Some of the alternative terms include global public health security, public health security, and global health security [14–18]. Global Health Security is defined as the activities required, both proactive and reactive, to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events that endanger people's health across geographical regions and international boundaries [19]. Four well-known international organisations that takes care of the health security issues are- World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

A well-developed Health security system is the backbone of a strong infrastaructure of every country. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown how segregated and poorly funded health systems are worldwide. In a simplified form, it could be said that it has exposed the ground realities of the health security systems of all countries, revealing that no country is safe. Even countries like the USA, UK which receives top ratings for pandemic preparedness in the Global Health Security Index, have reported a significant number of COVID-19 cases and deaths [20]. India on the other hand, ranks at 57th position, with a cumulative score of 46.5, and fairs poor in the Global Health security index [21]. Compared to other countries, though the COVID-19 outbreak occurred late in India, the impact of it was much more severe. Further, the effect was seen in a wavy fashion with the first wave soon followed by the second wave. The impact of the second wave was much more severe than the first wave and majorly affected the younger population. Although India shares with

### *A Journey through and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indian Setup-Lessons Learnt So Far DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100290*

the United Nations the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), still a lot many steps are needed to be taken to improvise the Health security status.

Furthermore, not always security concerns are overlapped with health issues. Recently, both bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases have raised alarming bells on health security issues [22–24]. An international cooperation is thus highly solicited in containing the spread of infectious diseases and enforcing a strong health security system. Also, establishing a global centralised Disaster Management Society and developing a comprehensive Global Disaster Rescue Plan could be possible measures for curtailing future pandemics.
