Covid-19 is a deadly disease that started spreading around the world during the end of November 2019. The disease originated in the city of Wuhan in China. The first Covid-19 patient was found in Sri Lanka on March 12, 2020.
Soon after the spread of the pandemic, the schools in Sri Lanka were closed. Then, curfew was imposed in the dangerous zones such as Colombo and Gampaha. This caused not only negative impacts, but also positive impacts on society. People had time to relax, enjoy time with family and relatives. The environmental pollution gradually decreased due to the decrease of emission of smoke and fumes from vehicles and factories.
People started to get used to a sanitary lifestyle by taking precautions such as washing hands frequently, using sanitiser, maintaining the social distance and wearing face masks in public places.
However, Covid-19 impacted society in negative ways as well. The economy of an individual family and the Government went down rapidly and still the results are the same. Millions of people lost their lives and this was the largest negative impact of Covid-19.
The pandemic greatly affected the education of students. Even though the schools had started virtual learning during the pandemic, the poor children who have no devices were not able to participate in the virtual learning sessions.
Almost a year has been spent without studies for the students. These are the negative and positive impacts of Covid-19 on society. We should try to minimise the negative impacts and follow the health guidelines even after the pandemic ends.
Shehani Jayasooriya,
Grade 9,
Digana International School, Digana,
Kandy.