The National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka - Long-Term Social Impacts of

The National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka Long-Term Social Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic Statement The International Webinar on the “Long-Term Social Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic”, organized by the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka from 22-24 February 2022, sought to explore the social dimensions of the Covid-19 pandemic, while focusing on its possible long-term impacts. [...] Key Observations from the Webinar The following is a summary of observations from the keynote and lead papers, as well as from thematic papers presented at the webinar: • Although it is estimated that about 400 million persons were infected, with over 5.5 million deaths at the time of the webinar, the death toll is likely to be much more. [...] • The pandemic also brought to the fore the volatility of national economies and inequity between the rich and poor countries in terms of disease management, including vaccination, and social support. [...] De facto increases in the role of governments in epidemic control tended to erode the normal functioning of democratic institutions in some countries, and even resulted in the use of security forces in some cases, leading to conflicts and coordination challenges between agencies. [...] • The need for and potential of the greater use of foresight analysis was also demonstrated, through the example of an exercise carried out in relation to the pandemic.