Speaking at a virtual forum hosted by Sunway Project for Asian and International Relations, Sheng said richer countries had a greater ability to control the pandemic through faster and wider rollout of vaccinations.

“In economic terms, the biggest lesson from this pandemic is: ‘If you don’t control Covid-19, Covid-19 will control you’.

“Because of the very rapid vaccination in the rich countries, they are beginning to control it and recover,” he said, citing the examples of China, South Korea and Singapore.

He added that in poorer countries, it was likely that the virus would continue to spread and mutate.

The Bristol University pro-chancellor also said the pandemic had widened the gap not only between rich and poor nations but also among businesses and members of society.

The rich and elite, he added, had better access to resources, allowing them to work and do business online.

Sheng said in emerging markets and even advanced countries, small traders and daily-wage earners were struggling.

“Once there is a lockdown, their incomes are gone, once their incomes are gone their insurance and healthcare are gone,” he said at the forum titled “Pandenomics: Global Economic Sentiment to Covid-19”.

These people, he said, are then forced to go online, where it is the big technology companies that dominate the space.

“The losers are the masses and middle class. That is why we have problems and we have polarisation. That’s why people are angry.”

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