TRAVERSE Issue 18 - June 2020 | Page 19

country reporting cases of infection. In that time many Asian countries have flattened the curve and has seen the epicentre move through Europe then on to the United States, a country that is heavily divided on how to deal with the situation. Little understanding of the virus and a lack of vaccine mandated the need for social distancing measures, it’s unclear which approach has worked best, all have greatly impacted the world economy. It is also unclear how long it will be before a vaccine is found, if at all, of the seven Coronaviruses known to affect humans none has had a vaccine found, including the common cold. The common cold is one of four that originated in humans and generally cause mild symptoms, whilst the three remaining originated in animals and spread to humans, a cross-over event. The original, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) came and went within 2 years (2002-04), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) followed a similar pattern in 2012, although sporadic outbreaks are still seen in some regions. It’s not unreasonable to expect that COVID-19 will follow a not too dissimilar pattern. Some medical experts predict that if a vaccine is found it will perhaps coincide with the natural diminish of COVID-19, a prospect that they say we need to be aware of for dealing with future outbreaks of Coronaviruses. Worldwide social distancing measures have seen busi- 10