Asian Journal of Healthy and Science

p-ISSN: 2980-4302

e-ISSN: 2980-4310

Vol. 2 No. 1 January 2023

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HEALTH IMPACTS AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Medika Oga Laksana¹, Sayudin², Siti Munawaroh³, Widia Ningsih⁴, Tedi Herdianto⁵

Universitas Muhammadiyah Cirebon, Indonesia^1,3

Universitas Swadaya Gunung Jati, Indonesia²

Universitas Islam Bunga Bangsa Cirebon, Indonesia⁴

Universitas Catur Insan Cendikia Cirebon, Indonesia⁵

Email: dikaalksn@gmail.com, sayudinsay93@gmail.com, widianingsih633@gmail.com, tedi.herdianto07@gmail.com

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic started with a pneumonia outbreak that occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in early December 2019. The outbreak occurred in a market cluster that sold various types of animal meat. The epidemic is thought to have originated from the meat of one of the animals sold at the market and infected some people who were at the market. This study uses a quantitative approach together with a qualitative approach. The focus of the research is to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in Pati Regency from three aspects, namely health, economy and social. The COVID-19 pandemic has had quite a big impact on Pati Regency. Regarding the health aspect, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Pati Regency shows a fairly high number in areas which are the centers of government and community economic activity. However, the death rate actually occurs in areas that are quite far from the center of government and economic activity. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other aspects of health is a decrease in the coverage of most health services.

Keywords: Pandemic; Health; Economy.

INTRODUCTION

In March 2020, WHO announced that the world is facing a pandemic called Corona Virus Infectious Disease 2019 or COVID-19 (Li et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic started with a pneumonia outbreak that occurred in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in early December 2019. The outbreak occurred in a market cluster that sold various types of animal meat. The epidemic is thought to have originated from the meat of one of the animals sold at the market and infected some people who were at the market.

The impact of the Covid-19Aeni18 Pandemic has spread to other countries. The spread of COVID-19 occurred very quickly until the end of 2020. As of October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred in more than 200 countries with different fatality rates (WHO, 2020). WHO considers the COVID-19 pandemic to be dangerous because of the large number of cases and the relatively high death rate. As of October 2020, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 worldwide has reached 37 million cases with deaths reaching 1 million people (WHO, 2020). The main medium for transmitting the SARS-Cov-2 virus is droplets which can easily be spread when humans interact directly with a certain distance. At the beginning of its spread, the average transmission power of the virus was still quite low, which was around 2.2 (Sun et al., 2020). However, in its development, the SARS-Cov-2 virus underwent mutations so that several new virus variants emerged that had a higher transmission capacity, such as those that occurred in England, South Africa, Brazil and India (van Oosterhout et al., 2021). COVID-19 is developing rapidly so many countries are not ready to adapt. From the start, WHO has suggested focusing on handling the pandemic on the health aspect by implementing regional isolation and banning activities that involve crowds. However, for several countries this was not done because they doubted the COVID-19 pandemic would last for quite a long time (Setiati & Azwar, 2020). Indonesia is one of the countries considered to have responded slowly in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Singapore, are conducting massive inspections and implementing strict lockdowns to detect and prevent transmission of COVID-19. As a result, the country can control the rate of spread of COVID-19 and has a low death rate (Fauzi & Paiman, 2020). In Indonesia, the first case of COVID-19 occurred in March 2020 in Depok City, West Java. After that, the spread of COVID-19 occurred rapidly so that within one month, the number of COVID-19 infections reached more than 1,500 cases with the number of deaths reaching 139 people. Until the end of March 2021, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia reached more than 1.3 million people with more than 40 thousand deaths (COVID-19.go.id, 2021). With this number, Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia with the most positive cases of COVID-19 (WHO, 2020). The Covid-19 pandemic has been a difficult period for all countries that have experienced it, including Indonesia. The pandemic has not only had a direct impact on the health aspect, but other aspects of life, such as economic and social aspects. The policy of social restrictions and regional quarantine has the potential to limit the community's ability to carry out economic activities, so that the circulation of goods and services is hampered. This condition occurred for quite a long time, causing a decline in economic growth in regions experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic (Chaplyuk et al., 2021; McKibbin & Fernando, 2020). This decline in economic growth will be followed by other economic impacts such as an increase in the unemployment rate (Coibion et al., 2020). The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can then trigger impacts on other aspects such as the social aspect. The poor are one of the most vulnerable groups to feel the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Whitehead et al., 2021). In addition, the World Bank has also predicted an increase in the number of global poor people during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has occurred in various regions in Indonesia with different intensities. Several areas, especially on the island of Java, have become centers of the spread of COVID-19.

The region is generally the center of government and economy and has a high population density. As a result, these areas were recorded as having higher positive cases of COVID-19 and/or deaths, so they were designated as red zones. As centers of the spread of COVID-19, these areas are required to make efforts to handle and prevent the spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, these efforts are predicted to have an impact on economic and social development in the region. Pati Regency is one of the areas that was once recorded as a COVID-19 red zone in Central Java. This is because Pati Regency has a higher case fatality rate than other regions. Based on this background, the research objective that can be formulated is to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, economic and social aspects in Pati Regency. The health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen through the number of positive cases and the fatality rate from COVID-19 as well as the coverage of health services during the pandemic. The economic impact will be represented through economic growth and the unemployment rate, while the social impact will be seen through the level and distribution of poverty.

The COVID-19 COVID-19 pandemic is not the only pandemic that has occurred throughout human life. It was recorded that at least 15 pandemics had occurred before the arrival of COVID-19. The long history of pandemics even began hundreds of years BC. The pandemic began to emerge when humans decided to leave their nomadic lifestyle and chose to settle down. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest pandemics in human history based on the scope of distribution, the number of positive cases, and the number of deaths (Morens et al., 2020). In general, a pandemic can be interpreted as an event with a high incidence or prevalence rate, mainly related to timing and wide and fast spread coverage. Meanwhile, Morens et al. (2020) defines a pandemic as an epidemic that occurs globally. Furthermore, pandemics are usually associated with the spread of an infectious disease, such as the Spanish Flu pandemic, the HIV pandemic, and the Ebola pandemic. Furthermore, based on the scope of events, pandemics are divided into three categories, namely trans-regional (occurring on one continent or between regions), interregional (involving two or more regions), and global (occurring in almost all/all regions). COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus, which is a member of the Corona Virus family which also causes the SARS and MERS pandemics (Liu et al., 2020). However, SARS-Cov-2 tends to be more contagious than SARS and MERS (Sun et al., 2020). COVID-19 is a respiratory disease with a mild to severe spectrum. Common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, bone pain and shortness of breath (Li et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2020). However, most patients with mild infections report loss of taste and smell (Vaira et al., 2020). It is COVID-19 with mild symptoms that makes most of the positive cases of COVID-19 go unreported, so that the actual number of COVID-19 infections is likely to be higher (Noh & Da-nuser, 2021). In addition, the fairly high transmission rate also makes the number of asymptomatic infections that are not recorded become even greater (Satyakti, 2020; Singh & Chaubey, 2021). During the initial period of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei, around 86% of COVID-19 infections were not recorded by the government (Yang et al., 2021). Meanwhile in India, the actual number of cases is predicted to reach 17 times the number of cases recorded (Singh & Chaubey, 2021).

Similar conditions also occur in Indonesia. Sayakti (2020) estimates that cases of the Impact of the Covid-19Aeni 20 Pandemic are actually positive for COVID-19 possibly numbering 1.9 to 2 times the number of cases reported by the government. However, COVID-19 infection also shows quite severe symptoms, especially in certain groups. Several studies have reported that there are groups that have a relatively high susceptibility to being infected with COVID-19, such as male sex, the elderly, smokers, high mobility, and groups with comorbidities, (Hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, Jan. -tung, and Asthma) (Kahar et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020). The symptoms experienced by this group are usually severe enough to cause death. This condition causes the high fatality rate of COVID-19. At the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 had a relatively high fatality rate but varied in various regions. Oke & Heneghan (2020) reported that until April the death rate in cases of COVID-19 or the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) ranged from 0.08 – 15.49. Meanwhile Meyerowitz-Katz & Merone (2020) estimates that the case of death in the infected population or the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) is around 0.68%. CFR decreased in most countries that experienced the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Fan et al., 2020). However, several countries still show a fairly high death rate from COVID-19, one of which is Indonesia. Kahar et al. (2020) states that Indonesia's CFR is the highest in the Southeast Asia region.

The Ministry of Health (2021) reports that until the end of 2020, the CFR in Indonesia will still be 4.35%, although it continues to show a decline. Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on reducing the quality of human life in various aspects, both physical, psychological and environmental (Banarjee et al., 2020; Epifanio et al., 2021). The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the health aspect. On the health aspect, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is the high number of positive cases and deaths from COVID-19. WHO states that for approximately 17 months since the first case of infection in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 has become an epidemic in more than 220 countries with positive cases totaling 160 million people and deaths reaching 31 million people (WHO, 2021). The high number of positive cases of COVID-19 has focused the resources owned by the government, both central and regional, on handling COVID-19. As a result, health services for other than COVID-19 are hampered (Moynihan et al., 2021; Pangoempia et al., 2021; Purnamasari & Ali, 2021). In addition, the decline in health services was also influenced by the attitude of health service users who were worried about accessing health services. Apart from having an impact on the health sector, the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a major impact on all aspects of life. However, the impact that is quite felt is the impact in the economic field. McKibbin & Fernando (2020) stated that all countries experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic will experience a decline in economic growth at different rates, depending on the policies implemented and population size. The economic slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic was mainly caused by changes in the distribution and demand for goods and services due to the activity restriction policies implemented (Vitenu-sackey & Barfi, 2021). Chaplyuk et al. (2021) added that in 2020, the global economy is predicted to correct up to -3%, but will increase again by around 5.8% in 2021. In addition, developing countries are expected to experience a more tangible economic impact compared to developed countries. .

The economic slowdown that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic has subsequently led to an increase in unemployment and poverty. Coibion et al. (2020) stated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused many workers to lose their jobs, while the new workforce also did not try to find work due to the unavailability of new jobs. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has also caused a decrease in income followed by an increase in the number of poor people. Whitehead et al. (2021) stated that the poor are the group most vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The World Bank predicts that the number of poor people globally in 2020 will increase to 130 million people (Tateno & Zoundi, 2021). The same condition also occurs in Indonesia. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in unemployment to more than 7%, while poverty also increased to 9.77% (BPS, 2021).

RESEARCH METHODS

This study uses a quantitative approach together with a qualitative approach. The focus of the research is to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred in Pati Regency from three aspects, namely health, economy and social. The impact of the pandemic on health is represented through an overview and distribution of positive cases of COVID-19 in Pati Regency as well as the coverage of several health services available during the pandemic. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic aspect will be seen based on changes in economic growth and the open unemployment rate in 2020. Meanwhile, on the social aspect, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be described through changes and distribution of the poverty rate in 2020.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health aspect is the number of positive cases of COVID-19 and deaths caused by the disease. The first COVID-19 infection in Pati Regency occurred in March 2020. Since then, the number of new cases of COVID-19 infection in Pati Regency has continued to increase and reached 2,456 cases until March 2021. Since then, every month, Pati Regency experienced an increase in positive cases of COVID-19. A drastic increase in the number of positive new cases of COVID-19 has occurred since October 2020 and reached its peak in December 2020. This increase occurred after the Pati Regency Government relaxed the implementation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) by allowing public facilities and tourist attractions to operate normally. In addition, during this month, community activities involving large crowds, such as weddings and parties also experienced an increase. Positive cases of COVID-19 in Pati Regency occurred in 21 sub-districts with different intensities. An overview of the cumulative distribution of positive cases of COVID-19.

According to Whitehead et al. (2021) The COVID-19 pandemic will have an impact for quite a long time. This condition is feared to exacerbate global poverty. Tateno & Zoundi (2021) estimate that the number of global poor people will increase to more than 130 million during the Covid pandemic.

McKibbin & Fernando (2020) added that around 49 million people will experience extreme poverty. Restrictions on areas, whether fully or partially implemented, have contributed to a decrease in the income of poor families. However, the decrease in income was actually followed by an increase in expenses because family members spent more time at home. This was proven by a study by Whitehead et al. (2021) that around a third of poor families with children have experienced increased spending during the pandemic. The increase in poverty in urban areas tends to be higher than in rural areas (Tarigan et al., 2020). This is caused by the disruption of the supply of food from rural areas to urban areas. Barriers in supply will increase food prices thereby increasing consumption spending in urban areas. The COVID-19 pandemic also has an indirect impact, namely the potential for a decrease in the quality of future generations (McKibbin & Fer-nando, 2020). Low-income families with relatively low levels of education experience a worse impact than high-income families with higher levels of education. During the pandemic, educational services for children were limited. For families with low economic levels, this becomes an obstacle because they do not have sufficient resources to provide educational services at home. Apart from education, families with low economic levels also tend to be unable to access health services. This condition has the potential to reduce the quality of life of the community and in turn have an impact on the quality of future generations.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has had quite a big impact on Pati Regency. Regarding the health aspect, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Pati Regency shows a fairly high number in areas which are the centers of government and community economic activity. However, the death rate actually occurs in areas that are quite far from the center of government and economic activity. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other aspects of health is a decrease in the coverage of most health services. Social restrictions and regional quarantines implemented during the pandemic caused obstacles to the supply and demand for goods and services. These conditions led to a decline in economic growth. However, the agricultural sector and agricultural-based processing industry as the main pillars of Pati Regency's economy are still showing positive growth. The subsequent economic slowdown has led to an increase in unemployment, especially in the micro business and home industry sectors. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social sector has been an increase in poverty. The increase in poverty in Pati Regency mainly occurs in areas that have a large number of vulnerable and near-poor families. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty can last for quite a long period, and can even affect the quality of future generations.

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Copyright holders:

Medika Oga Laksana, Sayudin, Siti Munawaroh, Haryati, Widyaningsih (2023)

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AJHS - Asian Journal of Healthy and Science

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