The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Exploration of Environmental Implications

Abstract

The corona virus disease (COVID-19) was declared to be a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 and the outbreak was declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health organization. COVID-19 affects people differently, with some people remaining asymptomatic, some exhibiting mild symptoms and others developing severe complications. As of November 2020, more than 61,000,000 people have been identified to have contracted the infection and more than 1,440,000 associated deaths have been confirmed globally. Given the varied response of infected people and the ease with which the disease is spreading, many measures have been adopted world wide to minimize the spread of the disease. These steps include lockdowns, controlled operations in cities, travel bans and restrictions, work from home, ban on gatherings, the use of masks, social distancing practices, isolation and quarantine practices and frequent washing of hands. The measures adopted have triggered a plethora of environmental effects some positive and some negative. The purpose of this paper is to highlight various environmental impacts of the COVID -19 globally and to recognize critical environmental issues magnified by the outbreak.