Social and physical distancing and restrictions on international travel (thereafter “social and movement measures”) have been introduced to reduce the risk of acquiring or spreading infection with COVID-19 in various community settings. Whilst the risk of infection to COVID-19 decreases, social and movement measures exacerbate the economic slowdown and can worsen socioeconomic inequalities. Calibrating social and movement measures is complex as it has direct and indirect health and economic impacts, across different subpopulations, now and in the future, and is characterized by uncertainty, urgency, need for multiple levels of decision-making. In this type of context, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. But inclusive decision making, systematically informed by data and communicated clearly will promote transparency in the process, increase the legitimacy of the decisions and promote trust between the population and the decision-makers. The World Health Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development describe, in their joint publication, a decision framework to assist countries as they continue to calibrate social and movement measures until there is widespread population coverage with the vaccine.

The far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the critical need for evidence-informed, transparent and inclusive decision-making. Policy-makers have grappled with complex choices amidst uncertainty. With the increasing threat of emerging pandemic-prone pathogens, new guidance released jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank elucidates the role of mathematical modelling – specifically integrated modelling – in addressing these challenges.

This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of the causes and impacts of COVID-19 on populations, economies, politics, institutions and environments from all world regions. The book maps the causes, effects and impacts of the virus and describes the impact of the virus on among others health care, teaching and learning, travel, tourism, daily life, local and regional economies, media impacts, elections, and indigenous populations and much more. Contributions to this book come from the humanities, social and policy science disciplines as well as from emerging transdisciplinary fields including climate change, sustainability, health care and epidemiology, security, art, visualization, economic and social well-being, law and borderland studies. As such, this book will be a rich source of information to all those geographers, social scientists and urban and regional planners working in this field.

This book focuses on sustainability issues post COVID-19 outbreak, discusses ways to restrict global spread of the pandemic, and also how to survive holistically in the environment. It also discusses the economic impacts on the world due to the coronavirus outbreak. There is a strong need for monitoring and analysis of pandemics for sustainability like epidemic risk analysis by using pattern recognition or the mental health challenges during an outbreak. This book presents ways to find solutions and gives insights to explore innovative methods and predictive modeling techniques, such that masses are prevented from pandemics.​

This book gathers and disseminates opinions, viewpoints, studies, forecasts, and practical projects which illustrate the various pathways sustainability research and practice may follow in the future, as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and prepares itself to the possibilities of having to cope with similar crisis, a product of the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) https://www.haw-hamburg.de/en/ftz-nk/programmes/iusdrp.html and the European School of Sustainability Science and Research (ESSSR) https://esssr.eu/. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe human suffering, and to substantial damages to economies around the globe, affecting both rich countries and developing ones. The aftermath of the epidemic is also expected to be felt for sometime. This will also include a wide range of impacts in the ways sustainable development is perceived, and how the principles of sustainability are practised. There is now a pressing need to generate new literature on the connections between COVID-19 and sustainability. This is so for two main reasons. Firstly, the world crisis triggered by COVID-19 has severely damaged the world economy, worsening poverty, causing hardships, and endangering livelihoods. Together, these impacts may negatively influence the implementation of sustainable development as a whole, and of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in particular. These potential and expected impacts need to be better understood and quantified, hence providing a support basis for future recovery efforts. Secondly, the shutdown caused by COVID-19 has also been having a severe impact on teaching and research, especially –but not only – on matters related to sustainability. This may also open new opportunities (e.g. less travel, more Internet-based learning), which should be explored further, especially in the case of future pandemics, a scenario which cannot be excluded. The book meets these perceived needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant risks to particular communities and individuals, including indigenous communities, migrant workers, refugees, transgender individuals, and the homeless population. The disadvantaged population is overwhelmed by deprivation, inequality, unemployment, and infections, both communicable and non-communicable, which make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its negative consequences. These marginalized groups struggle to obtain an admirable political representation and face marginalization and lack of access to health, education, and social services. It is imperative that these marginalized groups and their right to life and their livelihoods are supported, especially when they are put at risk during global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Handbook of Research on the Impact of COVID-19 on Marginalized Populations and Support for the Future represents a way of acknowledging an improved, pandemic-free, and prosperous environment for everyone in the future where society does not leave behind any poor or marginalized individuals. The book is a representation of the voice of the marginalized people in the new normal attempting to draw on a comprehensive knowledge bank, which includes anthropology, sociology, gender studies, media, education, indigenous dimension, philosophy, bioethics, care ethics, and more. This book focuses solely on the marginalized people, examines the oppressed communities in depth, and provides insights on how we should stand by these vulnerable people. This book is a valuable tool for social workers, government bodies, policymakers, social justice advocates, human rights activists, researchers in gender and race studies, practitioners, academicians, and students interested in how COVID-19 has impacted marginalized populations and how social justice can be advocated for in the future.