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Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective

Received: 11 October 2021     Accepted: 3 November 2021     Published: 27 November 2021
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Abstract

COVID-19 has spotted profound concerns over time in Bangladesh as the country is known as a developing country though it has lower HDI. This densely populated country is facing various fundamental problems caused by the spreading of Coronavirus. One of the most difficult challenges is to ensure social distancing, while the environmental impacts of COVID-19 wastages need foresight to be taken care of. Another environmental impact of COVID-19 is rather positively accepted that the pollution rate dropped greatly for a while due to lockdown, but it was knowingly temporary as people tend to not follow the pandemic situation. Social distancing and health protective instructions are moderately followed by different classes of people from different socio-economic levels. Changes in social norms and family rituals to avoid the infection are noticeable. The importance of digitalization has increased during this pandemic; people are being dependent on various social media and digital communication apps for education, work and social belongingness. Telecommunication and digital media sectors are contributing to build awareness about Coronavirus among people. Due to the economic impact, Bangladesh is undergoing a social transition. Skyrocketing unemployment, limited sources of daily supplies, problems in digital schooling of children, lack of social security, emergency aids for the vulnerable possess great concerns. Initially the Government distributed 0.2 million PPE to the doctors and medical staff, but the management of these PPE wastages are neglected which possesses great health and environmental threats. Air pollution in major cities was deducted to a great level which did not happen for many decades whereas demand for proper water supply has increased. Many organizations are working alongside the Bangladesh Government for ensuring social distancing as well as distributing relief aids to the vulnerable group. Local authorities and voluntary workers are trying to deliver essential supplies in the lockdown areas. People now are conscious about cleanliness and management of wastages which boosted environmental benefits.

Published in Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 7, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15
Page(s) 198-205
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social Impacts, Environmental Impacts, COVID-19, Bangladesh

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mahmuda Akter, Md. Mizanur Rahman Sarker, Nazneen Islam Nishat. (2021). Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 7(4), 198-205. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15

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    ACS Style

    Mahmuda Akter; Md. Mizanur Rahman Sarker; Nazneen Islam Nishat. Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective. J. Health Environ. Res. 2021, 7(4), 198-205. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15

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    AMA Style

    Mahmuda Akter, Md. Mizanur Rahman Sarker, Nazneen Islam Nishat. Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective. J Health Environ Res. 2021;7(4):198-205. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15,
      author = {Mahmuda Akter and Md. Mizanur Rahman Sarker and Nazneen Islam Nishat},
      title = {Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective},
      journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research},
      volume = {7},
      number = {4},
      pages = {198-205},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20210704.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20210704.15},
      abstract = {COVID-19 has spotted profound concerns over time in Bangladesh as the country is known as a developing country though it has lower HDI. This densely populated country is facing various fundamental problems caused by the spreading of Coronavirus. One of the most difficult challenges is to ensure social distancing, while the environmental impacts of COVID-19 wastages need foresight to be taken care of. Another environmental impact of COVID-19 is rather positively accepted that the pollution rate dropped greatly for a while due to lockdown, but it was knowingly temporary as people tend to not follow the pandemic situation. Social distancing and health protective instructions are moderately followed by different classes of people from different socio-economic levels. Changes in social norms and family rituals to avoid the infection are noticeable. The importance of digitalization has increased during this pandemic; people are being dependent on various social media and digital communication apps for education, work and social belongingness. Telecommunication and digital media sectors are contributing to build awareness about Coronavirus among people. Due to the economic impact, Bangladesh is undergoing a social transition. Skyrocketing unemployment, limited sources of daily supplies, problems in digital schooling of children, lack of social security, emergency aids for the vulnerable possess great concerns. Initially the Government distributed 0.2 million PPE to the doctors and medical staff, but the management of these PPE wastages are neglected which possesses great health and environmental threats. Air pollution in major cities was deducted to a great level which did not happen for many decades whereas demand for proper water supply has increased. Many organizations are working alongside the Bangladesh Government for ensuring social distancing as well as distributing relief aids to the vulnerable group. Local authorities and voluntary workers are trying to deliver essential supplies in the lockdown areas. People now are conscious about cleanliness and management of wastages which boosted environmental benefits.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    T1  - Contextualizing the Impacts of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: An Evidence from Social and Environmental Perspective
    AU  - Mahmuda Akter
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Author Information
  • Graduate School of Economics, Rissho University, Tokyo, Japan

  • Department of Agricultural Statistics, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh

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