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.
Also read: Review of "Cake" movie
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.
Also watch: People Who Predicted Coronavirus Pandemic
Very informative
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