CURRENT AFFAIRS
CORONA VIRUS
THE WORLD STANDS STILL AND HELPLESS
The world was surprised in 2002 when a new
coronavirus called SARS emerged from
southern China and spread to 17 countries,
causing more than 8,000 disease cases and
nearly 800 deaths. The world was again
surprised in 2009 when a new H1N1 influenza
strain emerged in Mexico and caused
worldwide panic. And again surprised in 2014
when Ebola virus broke out in three West
African countries, with nearly 30,000 cases and
more than 11,000 deaths. And here we are now,
facing the 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak.
The problem is that most government institutions don't
prepare to defend against infectious diseases the way
they do other threats to national security. Would one
consider going to war and then ordering aircraft
carriers or other weapons systems for the fight? Yet
that is how states often deal with vaccines and drug
treatments for diseases of epidemic potential. States
are woefully underprepared because of a lack of
investment and public will. If we are serious about
protecting ourselves, governments of the world must
make long-term, proactive investments in
pharmaceutical agents, medical equipment, supplies
and basic research. It is not just the prospect of any
human getting sick or dying. Second and third-order
effects can be devastating both to economic and
personal wellbeing. With industrial supply chains and
food production largely globalized, everyone can be at
the mercy of one another.
Corona viruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that
cause illness ranging from the common cold to more
severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Corona Viruses are zoonotic
meaning they are transmitted between animals and
people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV
was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-
CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several
known corona viruses are circulating in animals that
have not yet infected humans.
For a government like hammer every problem looks
like a nail. The only problem this time being, corona
virus cannot be pushed in or pulled out like a nail, it
needs to be acted upon with utmost care, something
the Chinese government has failed to understand until
now. About 900 people have already lost their lives and
about 40,000 have been affected, these are the data
released by the Chinese government, whereas some
sources also claim the number to be exponentially
higher than what the Chinese government projects.
The Chinese nationals are slowing seeming to get
frustrated of the ways and means of the government to
contain information and virus simultaneously. "Change,
and only change, is the best commemoration of Dr. Li
Wenliang," said a petition that had been signed by 28
academics, lawyers and business figures by Sunday
morning. "Otherwise, all our outrage and all our tears
will end up as bubbles," it said, calling the outbreak a
man-made disaster.
Another petition, circulated on the site Matters, urged
the government to apologize to Dr. Li and other
medical workers hauled in by the police for sharing
information about the virus. By Sunday, nearly 1,000
people across China had signed it.
Economists are predicting a significant blow to China's
economy, which could worsen significantly if
businesses and factories struggle to resume
functioning. Millions of Chines away from home are in
limbo because of travel restrictions and quarantines
imposed after the virus emerged.
Now is not the right time, but many questions must be
answered in the due course, like where did this virus
originate from? With hindsight, international
organizations should come up with framework to tackle
such crisis, also keeping in mind the increasing
animosity and tension in the geo global nationalistic
world which might not rule out bio warfare if needed
the feel to resort to.
The current epidemic is caused due to novel corona
virus (nCoV), this is a new strain that has not been
previously identified in humans. This was first reported
from Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019.
article by Advait Nambiar
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