As The World Gets Ready To Live With COVID-19

The COVID-19 has wrecked unprecendented havoc on people and the world economies. As we continue to pray for the victims of this deadly pandemic and those that are still on hospital beds recovering, we need to reflect on the decisions many leaders around the world are making to live with this disease.

The Current State of Things

Within months, the Novel Coronavirus has killed nearly 7% of people infected with the disease, compared with the Spanish Flu that killed nearly 5% of those infected with the Flu. These alarming statistics reveal how virulent and aggressive COVID-19 is. It is fair to say that the lockdown of most places across the globe may have prevented its spread, and the social distancing policy may have slowed human-to-human transmission. However, many of those deaths, to be honest, could have been prevented if some nations have not carelessly politicized and undermined the potency of COVID-19.

China’s Factor

China has been accused of not being transparent in the handling of the pandemic. From failing to report the disease on time to tampering with the figures of those who are affected by COVID-19 within its jurisdictions. China had made several attempts to accuse the United States and other foreign nations as the “source” of Novel Coronavirus. Its latest infamous move, actualized by Guangzhou Provincial Government, to accuse Africans as the “source” of the virus backfired terribly. The African Union (AU) and most African leaders have warned China to desist from such an unreasonable gamble. And the country has instructed its diplomats on the African continent to apologize profusely for the misstep.

A Chinese diplomat apologizing to the Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives (Photo Credit: Al Jazeera)

Can We Live with the COVID-19?

Beginning from this week, and under intense pressure from their citizens, many countries will be opening up their economies for business and other activities. However, the important question experts are asking is: Are we really ready to live with the COVID-19? Living with a disease is not a new concept: Human beings have chosen in the past to live with some pandemic-causing diseases such as Cholera, Measles, the Flu, Leprosy, and so on. But there are still some unanswered questions as whether we are actually well prepared to live with the COVID-19. Some of these grave concerns include:

1. Lack of testing kits in most countries; without proper testing procedures, it is always impossible to know who are already infected with the disease.
2. Lack of effective vaccines to prevent healthy people from contracting the disease; even though researchers in the UK, Germany, USA, Israel, and Australia are rushing to test some vaccines, it is too early to assume that they will be effective against COVID-19.
3. Poor or inadequate medical or health facilities; the primary reason Europe and America recorded the largest number of COVID-19 victims is that the unexpectedly high rate of Coronavirus infection caused their health infrastructures to be massively overwhelmed and unable to timely stem the tide of infections and the resulting deaths.

Looking at the cogent points raised above, it is very clear that we may witness a second wave of COVID-19 infections if nations do nothing to address the lapses in their healthcare systems.