Monday, April 20, 2020

Are the poor more affected by coronavirus than the rich?





Are the poor more affected by coronavirus than the rich? 


Is coronavirus a classed-based pandemic? Does it just contract the poor section of society? Are the rich immune to this deadliest virus? So far, the available statistics from across the world validate these claims. However, it has not been the case. What really matters in this context is the degree of vulnerability against getting contracted.


The debate that pandemics affect the poor and rich differently is as old as the history of pandemics. During 160s AD in the Roman Empire, Antonine plague played havoc, killing millions of people. Most of the people who fell prey to that virus were the poor. Similarly, when Black Death revealed its face in Europe in the 1340s AD, the same poor suffered most. The accounts of the Italian writer, Giovanni Boccaccio, in his book, “The Decameron”, written during the 14th Century, give evidences of such claims.


As a matter of fact, the factors such as job security, daily wages, access to health care, awareness, and other facilities increasingly contribute to this phenomenon. Be it in any country of the world, it has been observed that the upper crust of society has resorted to their second homes, mostly situated in pastoral or rural areas. Taking stock of the situation, they may have chosen the best option.  They have same basic facilities more or less at their disposal, which they enjoyed at their hi-fi homes during city life. They do not have to worry about earnings, and feeding their dependents. Perhaps, the current crisis was specially reserved for wealthy class and hoarders, and this pandemic just like came as a blessing in disguise for them to spend their accumulated wealth for an appropriate cause. This makes their mobility restricted. Hence, unlike the poor, they are less likely to get infected by this novel virus -COVID-19



On the contrary, it has not been the case with the lower crust of society, exposing them more to pandemic than the rich. The urban poor in slum areas are concentrated densely, thereby increasing their rate of contracting coronavirus. For Instance, the cities like Mexico City, Karachi, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Dhaka that are slum in nature have the highest cases of COVID-19.  The labor class has also been severely affected. Those whose vehicles of life were dependent on daily wages are paying a heavy price. Unable to feed their beloved ones, the laborers get frustrated and make different efforts from usual ones to get wages. This phenomenon also makes them susceptible to the virus. In addition, the schemes of providing ration and financial help to the poor by the governments, such as in Pakistan, worsen the situation on an unprecedented scale. While getting rations, they do not strictly follow the protocols of social distancing. Think of an infected person among such crowds. Due to the rippling effect, he has the potential of infecting thousands of others, if not hundreds, to say the least. Also, they do not have basic health facilities in most cases. In countries like Nigeria, Laos, and even Pakistan where health sectors are ranked the worst ones according to World Health Organization, the contraction of this deadliest virus has more possibility than the other countries.  And no wonder, it has been evident through present data and figures.


In absolute terms, it can be argued that this pandemic is not a class-based. It spreads and infects indiscriminately. What makes the poor more vulnerable to its contraction is their lifestyle, along with governments’ failure to provide services that mitigate the chances of its spread.  






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