NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) SHOCK AND REVERBERATIONS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Nearly a century after the Spanish flu of 1918, the world is confronting reverberations of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, labeled as COVID-19. As time passes, there has been a serious loss of life and well-being all across the world. According to the latest data issued by the Johns Hopkins University, more than 185 million people have been infected and slightly over 4 million people have already lost their lives. With some respite during the July–October 2020 period, the world economy is once again plunging down as a result of subsequent waves of the pandemic. According to the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world GDP has already suffered a loss in the range of US$8–12 trillion due to disruptions in economic activities. Even though Pakistan is among those countries where a relatively mild health-related impact was recorded during the first wave, the situation is fast deteriorating on the health and economic fronts with the severity of the latest wave. The objective of this study is to capture the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system and the economy of Pakistan. In particular, an attempt has been made to understand how this new normal situation has encouraged e-commerce (online) commercial and trade activities, on the one hand, and inculcated the concept of work from home among the corporate and public sector employees, on the other. The initial evidence confirms that despite a limited support from the formal banking and financial sector due to insufficient financial deepening, the commerce and trade sector has recorded a substantial growth in its online transactions. Moreover, in view of the contagion hazard, a large number of corporate entities and most of the education sector employees have been allowed to work from home thereby challenging the orthodoxy about shirking and mistrust.