The COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 1.7 million people worldwide. Millions were thrown out of work, millions more sank back into poverty, and the global economy shrank by an estimated 4 percent. The losses are such that the future looks quite topsy-turvy as we stare at the oblivion.
Life Beyond Numbers intends to spread positivity which is exactly why we always focus on the good around us and the things that we need to talk about.
Moving forward with the same motive, we are here with what all good happened in this rather gloomy year. We are so busy complaining about the bad things that we fail to see the bright side, most of the time.
1. COVID 19 Vaccines bring hope
India has logged over 1.02 crore coronavirus cases so far, the second-highest in the world after the United States. Over 1.47 lakh people have died after contracting the virus.
The widespread havoc has forced scientists across the globe to roll out vaccines for the disease. While it generally takes 4 years to develop a vaccine, pharmaceutical companies have done it in less than 12 months, bringing us hope.
A dry run of the Covid-19 vaccination program will be held in four states of India to test the planned operations and the laid-out mechanisms for the coronavirus inoculation drive. It will start from 28 December and 29 December in Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat, the day after recording the lowest daily Covid-19 cases in nearly six months.
2. Women leaders proved their mettle
Jacinda Arden, prime minister of New Zealand, led a nationwide effort to eradicate the virus and become the world’s most COVID-resilient country. Taiwanese female president, Tsai Ing-wen, Angela Merkel in Germany, and Sanna Marin in Finland also won praise for their early responses. Kamala Harris was elected as the US’ first female vice president marking women’s undeniable place as a world power.
3. Drastic reduction of carbon emissions
Due to worldwide lockdown and reduced automation, CO2 emissions fell by a record seven percent in 2020; they are very likely to rebound in 2021 and beyond if we don’t take further action.
Countries across the world are paying heed. China, Japan, and South Korea committed themselves this year to net zero emissions by mid-century. In the U.S., Joe Biden promised a $2 trillion climate plan. The EU and the UK seem to be competing for the greatest emissions reductions by 2030 (pledging 55 percent and 67 percent respectively). Corporations are on the same carbon reduction bandwagon, with Apple going net-zero by 2030 and Wal-Mart following the suit in 2040 respectively.
4. Ocean Clean up
Fourteen nations that own 40 percent of the world’s coastline banded together to create the world’s biggest ocean sustainability initiative.
Such protections are working: The UN recently announced that the amount of large fish in the formerly-overfished Mediterranean and the Black Sea has doubled in the past two years.
5. Large scale protection of animals
China’s wet market became a huge matter of scrutiny with claims of the origin of coronavirus from bats that are sold there. As a result, China took some drastic measures to do damage control. The country’s Wildlife Protection Law now applies at sea for the first time, reducing its vast fishing fleet’s massive footprint. Moreover, China started protecting the pangolin, the world’s most trafficked mammal, which was close to extinction.
On the other hand, Interpol launched a massive international crackdown on multiple forms of protected species smuggling.
Also, lockdown led to lesser traffic in turn reducing fatal collisions with animals. In the U.S. alone were down 58 percent this year.
6. Fighting racism
The death of George Floyd came as a bang, marking the uprise of a nationwide protest in the US which also took its slogans to every nook and corner of the world. The Black Lives Matter movement is probably the most impactful protest post-emancipation. It not only did rise for the blacks but also the colored.
As a result, Police funding was slashed in Minneapolis, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, and Portland.
7. The Work-From-Home Revolution
For the first time in history, the world realized that there was scope to work from home.
Only an estimated 3.4 percent of the U.S. workforce was allowed to work from home pre-pandemic, a number that had barely budged from 2.9 percent in 2015. But now, says one Stanford economist, it’s 42 percent.
As a result, many companies have realized they didn’t need all that expensive office space and many employees have realized they can work from anywhere; many families are spending this holiday season figuring out where “anywhere” is. A number of tech firms like Twitter have already announced their employees have the option to work from home forever.
You see, when things go wrong, one has to always look at the flip side in order to survive.
As we bid adieu to 2020, let’s be full of gratitude for surviving to see another new year, another sunrise, and another day to live that comes with hope and opportunities.
From us to you, A Happy New Year!!!