COVID-19 Living In A Changed World

Disaster Struck A Fragile Economy

Hurricane Dorrian has been the most recent experience that has impacted the lives of many Bahamians, especially on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama. It left many people homeless, jobless, fatherless, motherless, and childless.

Today the global pandemic, COVID-19 has struck The Bahamas’economy. Like hurricane Dorian, this pandemic has created fear and uncertainty in the lives of many. Global deaths worldwide according to Johns Hopkins University, at least 171,652 and continues to rise.

The same window I looked out in my previous post Positive Thinking, The Big Game Changer, I find myself looking out of it again, waiting for this turbulence to pass. We continue to experience loss of lives, global economy shutdown, countries have begun closing their borders, and the tourism industry as we know it will never be the same.

The Way We Live and Work

As the world changes so do The Bahamas’ economy and each citizen within their homes. The Bahamas relies heavily on imports, tourists, and investors. Economic prosperity, education, food security, healthcare, immigration, tourism, and the environment are a continuous concern for survival.

No one is hugging, kissing, or practicing nasty habits liking digging in their noses casually, or sneezing and coughing openly around others. With the vast amount of deaths globally, practicing small healthy preventative measures against this virus has been critical. Families are dining in and socializing more at home. Some parents and guardians are spending more time at home with children or extended family members for longer hours than they can actually tolerate or are accustom to. Some children who were forced to take care of other younger siblings while their single parent or guardian worked, can now experience some relief from such unethical decision.

Festivals and national sporting events have been postponed, while visits to community parks and gyms have ceased.

Many businesses, including all schools, churches, shopping malls, airports, and beaches are closed. Businesses, schools, and churches that are able to function virtually are doing so with a smaller scale of staff. Freelancer’s work has been halted, as well as vacations, and the number of funeral and wedding attendees has been limited to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Entrepreneurs who recently received funding from the government to start up their businesses are at home working on bringing that to fruition while others contemplate whether to go forward with their business venture.

Uncertainty Arises

Uncertainty of what will become of life after this pandemic is looming throughout social media platforms. Many looking for affirmation to the conspiracy theory “New World Order” and its schemes to fulfill the Bible prophecy of men being forced to accept the mark of the beast or die.

There are also concerns about buying gold and silver due to the value money will no longer hold in the economy. Another concern is whether or not it is still beneficial to trade during this time. A neighbor contemplated whether he should get a well dug in the back of his yard to eliminate paying water utility charges, or maybe he could begin crop farming to relieve the financial burden that comes with shopping for fruits and vegetables that are beginning to increase in price. A customer who stood on a bank’s line the other day contemplated whether or not he should install solar panels to eliminate paying for power because his resources are running low.

The Government’s Response

The Bahamas Government has committed to $16m allocation to cover detection, isolation, treatment and other COVID-19 mitigation activities, and an additional $4m to provide food, assistance and social support for displaced workers directly impacted, $10m for temporary unemployment benefit, offering the assistance of $200 per week for up to eight weeks, with the assurance to adjust as needed. Normal sick benefits for individuals who contract COVID-19, or are quarantined due to exposure. Workers who are laid off temporarily due to COVID-19’s economic impact will be eligible for unemployment benefits for up to 12 weeks.

The Economy, Governance, Social Policy, and Environment of The Bahamas stands in the balance as the current national development plan struggles to provides sustainability for its citizens. The country’s governing will no doubt be adapted and partnered with a global alliance in the not so distant future. The National Development Plan: 2040 Vision which is in its second draft not yet approved by Parliament, is developed by the Economic Development and Planning Unit (EDPU) in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and in close cooperation with the University of The Bahamas and The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation. It is their hope to improve the sustainability efforts which they have extensively planned.

Global Labour Market

The United Nations (UN) had called for measures to cushion COVID-19 shocks to the labor market as this epidemic has disrupted billions of lives globally.

As stated by the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC), The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced a global recession, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) expects working hours equivalent to 195 million full-time workers to be lost globally in the second quarter of 2020, with workers losing as much as $3.4 trillion in income by the end of 2020. Full or partial lockdown measures are now affecting almost 2.7 billion workers, representing around 81 percent of the world’s workforce.

What Do You Do?

Pray. You may be thinking what does prayer have to do with any of this. Well, it has everything to do with you and your beliefs. Over the years The Bahamas has been known as a praying nation. Just as the Israelites journeyed through time being inconsistent with their relationship, God continued to show compassion when they sought Him in prayer and repentance. God is still compassionate and loves you dearly.

Prayer is simply communicating with God. Ask, seek, knock. James 5:16 (KJV) says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Educate yourself on what is taking place in the world, and be careful of false information that is often published to keep you in the dark.

Hosea 4:6 (KJV) says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

Embrace Change by making the necessary lifestyle adjustments based on the knowledge you’ve obtained about the world’s changes and its direction. There is no doubt that the world will experience events prophecied in the Bible and the time in which we accurately place such events is through comparing the signs as stated therein.

Matthew 24:6-8 says and ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Stay Positive about your life and those who you are responsible to care for. The inchoate danger that you sense in the atmosphere can negatively impact your outlook on life. Your mindset must change if you intend to survive. The need to restructure your priorities is the option of living in this changing world.

Get Rid of Pride. This is a time where everyone’s focus is on survival. Spiritually, financially, physically, or socially, you will be challenged. If you need help, reach out to someone or to government agencies who have committed to providing relief. If you are not computer savvy, get help.

When all is said and done, COVID-19 is a defining moment in history. A global health crisis many countries are fighting to prevent its spread. The virus has forced every country to not only help manage the current crisis but embrace change that creates new ways of doing business in the future; implementing strategies that maximize its potential in achieving sustainable development goals.