Pandemic: Legal and Social Response

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the world and accelerated processes that could have taken decades without a pandemic. In this paper, the authors discuss the public and government responses to the new normal, nowadays reality, and most importantly, the legal regulations that have been enacted in different countries in response to the challenges. The paper discusses in detail issues related to security measures, social distance, gender issues, abortion, education and student mobility, employment, and entrepreneurship. A pandemic that has survived more than a year needs to be addressed. The decision-makers made efforts to create a provision for the influenza virus after it became prominent in society. The intention is not to be pessimistic but to be optimistic enough to create provisions for the future. Countries are aiming to achieve their commitments to recover from the pandemic. A pandemic demands a legal response as well as a social response. The research paper aimed to divert the attention of the readers to the untouched aspects of the law that are related to emergency situations, including pandemics. In the paper, we discuss the paradox of the pandemic, lockdown, and post-lock- down situations, as well as protests/riots, gender-based violence, healthcare, and education topics related to the changes that have taken place due to the pandemic.