JUST TO SHARE (Lau Tai Onn): Covid-19: Psychological and Socio-economic Impact

(Published in July 2020 issue of IEM’s monthly bulletin JURUTERA)

By Dr. Lim Ju Boo

BSc PG Dip Nutri MSc MD PhD FRSM FRSPH, Post-doctoral Evolutionary Biology (Cambridge); Astronomy (Oxford); Forensic Science (Cambridge).

Formerly Medical Researcher, MIT (USA) and Institute for Medical Research, Malaysia

The blogger’s note:

It is very “challenging” for Dr. JB Lim to write a stipulated 800-word essay because a prolific writer like him is so used to write lengthy articles (see: https://taionn.blogspot.com/2020/06/dr-jb-lims-brief-introduction-of.html).

This is the first time Dr. Lim wrote for IEM and I wish to extend my utmost gratitude to him, in my capacity of the Secretary of the Standing Committee on Information and Publications and a member of the Editorial Board.

I also feel excited because I have a short write-up and photo of “Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Footbridge” for the “Engineer’s Lens” published in the same July 2020 issue of JURUTERA (see: https://taionn.blogspot.com/2020/06/my-engineers-lens-published-in-iem.html). Dr. Lim’s article on Covid-19 was earlier targeted to be published in the August 2020 issue, but was somehow recommended by the Secretariat to be pushed forward a month earlier. This is indeed be an honour for me to appear side by side with my most learned friend in the same publication.

It gives me great pleasure to present to you the masterpiece of Dr. JB Lim as follows:

Dr. Lim’s original Manuscript:

Much has been written on the current Covid-19 pandemic in terms of infectivity, incidence and mortality rates, its clinical features and pathology.

A lot has also been emphasized on social and preventive medicine such as social distancing, lockdown, movement control, hygiene, hand washing and even wearing of face masks, albeit face masks are not recommended by WHO, Disease Control Centre in Atlanta and even locally by the Ministry of Health.

Much has also been reported on the treatment aspect such as use of anti-malaria drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, and the anti-viral drugs like remdesivir, besides the development of vaccines.

However, absolutely nothing has been written on the socio-economic impact of this viral pandemic on the people’s social and economic lives, their livelihood, and the maintenance of economy of many countries and individuals due to lockdown and movement restrictions.

What is immediately more important is not just the socio and economic or physical health, but the direct impact on their psychological health which in turn may affect their physical health and well-being.

This area is almost either forgotten or neglected.

There were many reports in Italy, Spain of people committing suicides because of death of their entire families due to Covid-19 and in Malaysia too there were at least two suicides in Penang due to the loss of job and business.

Let us look at the impact the virus plays, not just on physical health but also the psychological well-being, both short and long-term.

The psyche effect of even ancient pandemic such as the Black Death or bubonic plague from 1347 to 1351 cost the lives between 25–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351 caused untold amounts of hardship mentally and physically to people’s lives.

So was the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic (H1N1 virus) where 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. It took one year for the pandemic to flatten.

But it was not just millions lost their lives or were affected physically, socially and economically in all sense, but what is even more disastrous was the psychological impact called “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD) which is a mental traumatic condition caused by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it, that persisted for many years, long, long after the event was already over.

Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts, muscular jerks and uncontrollable movements about the event as found in many people during the previous pandemics.

They suffer tremendously mentally for years, long after the pandemic or a traumatic event was over.

PTSD can remain for years anything from 2-3 years till 60 years or longer at the thought of countless loss of lives especially their family members and loved ones one after another.

Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better.

If the symptoms get worse, last for months or years, they greatly interfere with family and working and all socio and economic lives as well as physical health including psychosomatic illnesses.

PTSD symptoms are generally intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and in mood and changes in physical and emotional reactions.

Severe depression, loss of desire to live among others may persist even though an event such as the Covid-19 that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives world-wide may soon be over due to herd immunity, combined immunity or shared immunity reinforcing the virus to weaken due to antibodies being shared and transferred to the next infected person.

But anxiety, insomnia, nightmares that may persist for many, many years from PTSD as recorded in many people who survived World-War II.

Now it is reported in Shanghai a new mental problem called “panic pandemic”.

Even though the number of coronavirus cases in Malaysia as on June 2, 2020 at 7,877 with 115 deaths, and 6,470 recovered is comparatively low compared to the United States, Spain, China, Italy and other countries, social and mental health may persist.

We have no statistics on the numbers who lost their jobs, loss of business, being retrenched, loss of social dignity, and loss of family relationship.

According to a very well-known psychiatrist, Professor Dr. Kua Ee Heok from the National University of Singapore whom I know, and whose mechanical engineer brother Kua Ee Kia was my Batu Pahat High School classmate, but now settled in the UK, he suggests that during this difficult time we need to indulge in relaxation exercises, practice yoga and meditation, listen to relaxing music, take up hobbies like gardening and have pets, eat proper diet, avoid alcohol, tea, coffee and smoking among others.