TOPIC
The Social and
Economic
Impact of
Covid-19
Impact of the Internet Musician Tiffany Wilson performs as part of
The Quarantine Sessions at a recording
studio on March 29, 2020 in Shoreline,
Internet access has proven to be a lifeline for many Washington. As live concerts are canceled,
this is one way for local musicians to
during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those
livestream concerts to a wide audience.
quarantined at home.
Challenges
• Not everyone has the internet. Some countries
(Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, and Myanmar)
impose internet shutdowns to parts of the country.
Activity 1
Millions of Americans can’t access or afford
internet service. a. Read this information, use a dictionary to
Benefits learn new vocabulary.
• The internet has been integral to the survival and
b. Respond to the question according to the
well-being of those in quarantine. School activities,
information you read. (5 lines minimum)
work routines, grocery shopping, and What unique challenges do people without
entertainment have moved online to an extent access to the internet face during a pandemic?
never seen before.
Activity 2
Make a concept map with the most important ideas from this information.
The New “Essential” Worker
As the saying goes, “It takes a village.” With millions of people staying home to slow
the spread of the virus, certain industries and workers have been deemed essential:
• Providing health care
Hospital and laboratory personnel, caregivers, mental health workers, doctors, nurses, researchers, pharmacists, dentists, social
workers, technicians, and funeral home and cemetery workers
• Maintaining order
Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and 911 call center workers
• Sustaining access to food
and medicine
Grocery store clerks, pharmacists, cooks for take-out restaurants, delivery drivers, animal agriculture workers, farmers, food
processing workers, warehouse workers, and food truck delivery drivers
• Keeping infrastructures running
Utilities and telecommunications staffers, natural gas/propane workers, electricians, employees maintaining drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure, mass transit workers, mechanics, trash collectors, postal and shipping workers, air transportation
Restaurants like the well-known Steirereck
in Vienna, Austria, mostly sit empty unless
the owners have moved to a take-out and
delivery approach. Experts question
whether restaurants and small businesses Socially and Economically
will survive the pandemic and reopen. Vulnerable Populations
Activity 3:
The most medically vulnerable populations dealing with COVID-19 are
a. Give the meaning in Spanish of the
the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Other
vocabulary.
populations also face unique risks during the pandemic:
b. Wrtite one sentence with the
vocabulary words:
• Low-income workers often don’t have the choice of staying home to
❑ Vulnerable populations
❑ Elderly avoid contracting the virus, and many don’t have health insurance.
❑ Risks
❑ Low-income • Incarcerated people live in confined spaces surrounded by large
❑ Incarcerated people numbers of other people and with little access to adequate medical
❑ Retail workers care, meaning an outbreak in a prison or jail could sweep through
❑ Workers in service industries a population. Some correctional facilities are releasing inmates
convicted of low-level crimes.
• Tens of thousands of retail workers are being forced to take
temporary unpaid leave from work, essentially leaving them without
income.
Video Activity 4
a. Watch the video with the link.
https://youtu.be/6l23CBHhaBU
b. Make a report from the video with 5
relevant ideas from the video translate
into English.
Activity 5.
Read this information and make a
glossary of 10 words with its meaning
in Spanish.
Financial Fixes and Volunteer Efforts
Whether or not the economic fallout from COVID-19
turns into a full-blown recession, many countries are
already scrambling to find ways to support socially and
economically hard-hit citizens.
• The U.S. government enacted a financial stimulus
package aimed at providing relief—and checks—to
individual citizens and large industries.
• The U.S. package also provides billions of dollars of
small business loans to help local shops stay afloat.
A Martha's Table volunteer helps distribute free hot meals to underserved communities
in and around Washington, D.C., during the coronavirus pandemic. This nonprofit’s
emergency response of financial and food support includes a weekly distribution of
• Volunteers set up meal trains and donation systems
more than 6,000 bags of groceries at sites in Southeast Washington, DC.
for those most affected by the crisis, such as hospital
