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As the infamous COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, it is also changing billions of lives. Simple activities such as going shopping at the mall or going out to eat at your favorite restaurant have become merely a dream, as millions of people are forced to follow social distancing mandates. Countries like Italy and China have been on lockdown for months, while other countries like Spain and the United States only started their lockdown and social distancing orders a few weeks ago. No matter what county you’re from, odds are you have been affected by this pandemic in one way or another. Yet, now experts are beginning to wonder what the world will look like after the pandemic fades out, and if some of the coronavirus preventions may stay in place.
Forbes recently came out with a list of predictions about the way the world will run after the coronavirus pandemic passes. Some of the biggest changes can be expected to be found within the health industry. Telemedicine platforms are now used for routine checkups and for doctor appointments for patients with minor injuries or sicknesses. Many companies and doctors offices advertised the use of virtual appointments, but now more than ever this service is being utilized to its full potential. Experts expect that virtual appointments will gain popularity in the near future. Before the coronavirus pandemic, many medical experts were arguing that hospitals had too many beds, and that there should be fewer hospitals. With the rising number of coronavirus cases, there seem to be fewer and fewer beds available, and many doctors and nurses worry that their hospitals will not have enough beds for all the sick patients.
Experts also predict that contactless payment options will see an increase in usage. Services such as Apple Pay or Google Pay allow customers to tap their phones and go, which avoids any physical contact between people. Before the pandemic, contactless payment hadn’t been as popular in some countries. Many customers say that sliding or inserting a physical credit gives them peace of mind.
While contactless payment methods are seeing an increase in usage, so are online shopping sites. Third-party sellers through Amazon have seen their annual profits double in a single week during the pandemic. Meanwhile, brick and mortar stores and shopping malls are struggling even more than they were before the pandemic. For stores in shopping malls, rent payments are still due, regardless of if the stores are open or not. Even if shopping malls were open, many stores would struggle to bring in merchandise, as most of their inventory comes from China. China wouldn’t be able to fulfill all their orders, as many of its factories have been shut down or forced to reduce production levels due to the virus.
Finally, many companies expect their employees to keep working from home. Most employers used to think that their employees were more productive in the office rather than at home. Yet, new studies have proven this old hypothesis wrong. Working from home prevents employees from having to make long commutes to work every day, which enables employees to start working earlier in the day with fewer distractions from coworkers. We once thought this shift would take an additional 5 to 10 years, but now experts say we can expect to see more employees working from home, even after this pandemic is over.
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