A Review on Post-COVID-19 Effects on Businesses and the Government Initiatives to Counter the Impacts of the Pandemic in Zambia

Abstract

The 2019 global coronavirus epidemic affected numerous companies and governments. Zambia, in the middle of the Southern African Development Community, Eastern and Southern Africa, might have unlikely deemed a coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. The World Health Organization designated COVID-19 a pandemic on March 1, 2020, and a worldwide public health emergency on January 30, 2020, although its severity remained unclear. Zambia announced its first two COVID-19 incidences on March 18, 2020 and took immediate action to control it. On July 3, 2020, the Zambian government released the findings of a UNDP-funded Business Survey on COVID-19's impact on the country's enterprises. According to a study, Zambian enterprises were heavily impacted by COVID-19. Seventy-one percent of the enterprises were working part-time, while fourteen percent were completely closed and 15% were working on a normal basis (Estrada, Koutronas & Lee, 2020). COVID-19 hit education, transportation, and hospitality worst. 60% of health and social care services operated, whereas 85% of educational institutions had to be closed. Zambia handled all three pandemics with allied help (Saasa & James, 2020). Washing hands, wearing masks, staying inside and avoiding others helped Zambians avoid illness. Better COVID-19 monitoring accelerated detection. Zambian adults might get the COVID-19 vaccine since COVID-19 immunization initiatives began. But unfortunately, vaccine reluctance kept Zambia's adult vaccination rate below 10%. Zambia worked hard to stop the spread of COVID-19. Zambia's COVID-19 program suffered from underfunding, misinformation, misperceptions, and vaccine skepticism. This article will highlight the effects of post-COVID-19 on businesses and government initiatives to counter the impacts of the pandemic in Zambia.