On Monday, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister announced that Canada was closing its borders to non-Canadian citizens, with limited exceptions, as of 12.01 am EDT, on the 18th March, in the hope of restricting the spread of COVID-19.
Similar actions have been taken by the governments of Russia, Malaysia, Switzerland and Germany, to name a few, as they too try to put a desperate handle on the current pandemic which is slowly driving the planet into a lockdown situation. Across the globe, governments have started to issue further internal restrictions including the closure (until further notice) of day care centres, schools, and universities, and placing limits on the numbers of people being allowed to gather in social groups. Whether we want to accept it or not, the world is slowly grinding to a virtual standstill as it battles the current rampaging virus.
The last pandemic which confronted the planet’s medical experts was HIV/AIDS. First identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, the virus, which peaked during the period of 2005 to 2012, has been responsible for the deaths of 36 million people. As treatments have been developed and the disease has become manageable, the death rate has declined significantly. Today, it is estimated that there are between 31 and 36 million people living with the HIV virus.
The three previous pandemics of the last century were caused by the influenza (flu) strain. The 1968 virus, commonly referred to as the ‘Hong Kong’ flu, led to the death of more than one million persons, of which 500,000 were residents of Hong Kong who comprised 15 percent of the then current population. Sources vary on the final tally of the Asian Flu pandemic of 1956/58, but the World Health Organisation approximates the final figure at two million.
The Flu pandemic which exploded across the Earth in 1918 was of an entirely different magnitude, affecting the lives of one third of the world’s population. It was estimated that 25 million people died within 25 weeks of the outbreak, with the final figure close to 50 million.
As the world hunkers down to battle with an opponent invisible to the naked eye, and social distancing becomes the new temporary norm, we can contemplate the latest changes in the way we go about our daily lives. Fortunately, pandemics are not frequent occurrences during the lifetime of the average person
As the virus continues its rapid expansion and the death toll mounts, we can heed the advice of Kwon Jun-wook, a senior official from South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion, who urged people to take the virus seriously and follow recommended precautions.”In a similar way to how the Sept. 11 attacks completely changed people’s perception about security, quarantine authorities like us believe the daily lives of all the people around the world will be changed because of COVID-19,” Kwon told a briefing earlier this week. “From now on, if you are sick, you should voluntarily rest to prevent a spread to others.”
