With the fear of the second wave of coronavirus infections in China emanating from imported cases and rumours that local transmissions might still be ongoing, it's becoming crystal clear that there is no end to this battle with the unseen enemy which is running into four months now. Lockdowns, testings, quarantine, self-isolation, social distancing, and medical treatment have proved to the effective in slowing down the spread but the world isn't close to winning this unconventional war with a force that can't be negotiated with. According to the World Health Organization, the number of coronavirus cases might be running into a million in the coming days with the global death toll reaching 50,000. This is even coming after countries especially China have been accused of not being transparent with the number of infected cases.
There is an urgent need for a solution or invention that could end the crisis and save the globe of the massive losses in man-hours, human lives and also financial resources. It has been forecasted that the global economy is to be hit with one of the worst cases of economic recession ever. In the U.S alone, about 47 million jobs could be lost through the economic freeze initiated by the outbreak. Several countries in the Global North specifically in Europe and America which are regularly described by developing countries as 'saner climes' have been humbly brought to their knees by this novel disease despite China showing the world a blueprint on how to contain it. People have been dying in hundreds daily in Spain, Italy, U.S, United Kingdom and others. Morgues have been full, same with the hospitals, PPE for medical workers are becoming scarce, ventilators for patients with severe breathing challenges can't go round and there have been worrying cases of doctors choosing who to die next under emergency circumstances even in developed countries famed for saving lives with their 'state of the art' healthcare systems.
Hopes of a victory are becoming dim. Recently, A well-decorated and highly experienced pediatric neurosurgeon Dr Jim Goodrich in the United States was killed by the disease, over 1,400 New York Police Department officials working tirelessly to maintain law and order have been infected with the virus, 66 doctors have died in Italy, over 9 in the Philippines and most countries have gory tales of their frontline workers becoming soft targets of the ruthless virus. Infections have also been spreading on waterways through virus-stricken cruise ships treated as plagues by countries over the fear of an outbreak.
There is a gory projection that the number of fatalities in the U.S at worst might hit 2.2 million according to the Imperial College of London COVID-19 Response Team. And also, even with the containment efforts of the US government, a leading infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony S. Fauci has predicted that 100,000 to 240,000 people might die in the country. Over 5,000 others have already passed away. These are not mere statistics, the figures entail the family members, friends, loved ones, acquaintances, business partners of people who will forever be missed after their demise.
The truth about the pandemic is that the world will never be at rest until its globally eradicated. If it can spread from the distant city of Wuhan, Hubei province to almost 200 countries, any country left battling it will trigger a second wave and the world goes through the vicious circle again. Its a dilly-dally affair with no end in sight. For example, China which has been making the world believe it has beaten the virus yesterday reported about 1,541 imported but largely asymptomatic cases which are easily ignored by other countries since they show no symptoms but spread the disease and ruin the efforts of the government to control it. The coronavirus is highly elusive because 30.8% of infected people feel no symptoms at all.
Rumours have it that there have also been minor incidents of potential threats in Wuhan and other areas in the Asian country. This means that you can win the battle and also resume it again in the cause of celebrating your victory.
Now, what is the global and most potent solution to the current pandemic? It's simple a vaccine. Drug companies and scientists have to invest their resources in finding a quick cure that can immediately absorb, deactivate and subsequently expel the virus from the human body within a very limited period. The affordable vaccine should also be made available in large quantities and distributed across the world to cure every infected person. With this, there will be a mass eradication of the virus and we will all continue with our daily lives without fear of contracting the disease and dying.
Sadly, most vaccines being developed will not be available until next year, 2021 due to the testing procedures to ascertain its safe use. Who knows what will happen by then with the curves refusing to be flattened? This development leaves us in limbo as we continue to look up to the heavens for a miracle against a common enemy the state soldiers can't directly engage with assault weapons on the battlefield. Without a solution like this, this battle might go on until the end of this year at a very huge cost.
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