The COVID-19 pandemic provided a needed sanity check for IoT-inspired frameworks and solutions. IoT solutions like remote health monitoring and make contact with tracing provided support for authorities to successfully manage the spread of the coronavirus. This article provides the first comprehensive review of key IoT solutions that impact COVID-19 in healthcare, contact tracing, and transportation during the pandemic. Each sector is investigated in-depth; and potential applications, social and economic impact, and barriers for mass adaptation are discussed intimately. It elaborates on the challenges and opportunities for IoT framework solutions within the immediate post-COVID-19 era. To this end, privacy and security concerns of IoT applications are analyzed in-depth and emerging standards and codes of practices for mass adaptation are discussed. The main contribution of this review paper is the in-depth analysis and categorization of sector-wise IoT technologies, which have the potential to be prominent applications within the new normal. IoT applications in each selected sector are rated for their potential economic and social impact, the timeline for mass adaptation, and Technology Readiness Level (TRL). In addition, this article outlines potential research directions for next-generation IoT applications that would improve performance with preserved privacy and security and wider adaptation by the population.