Just a few hours ago, the global death toll of the novel coronavirus has reached a staggering 200,000. If anyone has had their criticisms about the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring this as a pandemic, then there might no longer be any lingering doubt in their minds. Coronavirus is a real threat–to the health of everyone, the global economy, and just about every aspect of human experience. Now that all the world at a standstill, we say that it’s time to dissect the beginnings and the implications of this virus.
Where Coronovirus came from. . .
From Wuhan as its point of origin, the virus now continues to spread like wildfire, devastating everyone in its wake. There is now plenty of speculation as to where the virus may have originated from. For example, some say that it has been genetically manipulated for the purpose of spreading havoc globally. However, upon closer inspection, medical authorities have found that it has the same characteristics as that of SARS which had been classified as a bat virus. More theories have stemmed from this, including one that theorizes that Covid-19 is simply a mutated version of SARS. But the jury is still out in the beginnings of this new disease. Experts on the field have yet to be convinced that it is simply a mutated version of another disease, and labs continue to test their hypothesis while struggling to find a cure to it.
Despite the disagreement surrounding its beginnings, experts do agree on one thing: this pandemic has been a long time coming. Not necessarily this specific strain of the virus, but scientists and experts from all around the world have been warning their respective governments of the possibility of a widespread pandemic. Now that it has affected every household all around the world, the fact that we’re all ill-prepared has made itself transparent.
The state of the world in the time of coronavirus. . .
Despite the impressive heroics of those who have stepped up to the task of battling the coronavirus, health systems all across the globe are still on the verge of collapse. Hospital supplies are quickly dwindling, the health of front liners are now dangerously compromised, and morgues are now overwhelmed with the death toll.
Of course, the healthcare system is not the only thing directly impacted by the pandemic. One thing that the virus has been aggressively eating away at is all the world’s economic state. With governments forced to stall economic activities, both smalltime businesses and large scale businesses are now negatively affected. The lockdown, in particular, has been imposed to flatten the infection curve. Yet, the obvious trade-off for a once-again healthy world is the equally worrisome global recession.
Even now at the onset of the pandemic, jobs have been lost and poverty has become even more striking than ever. This means that with the economic recession curve continuing to spike as the infection curve beginning to flatten, it is now as clear as day that sacrifices have to be made. Trade, tourism, and all the major sources of economic boost among countries have drastically dropped, and every country is bracing themselves for the economic storm that will follow this medical emergency.
Where coronavirus is leading us. . .
As daunting as the current situation is, the aftermath is also not something that one might look forward to as well. Between burying our loved ones and rebuilding the world economy, we’re all up for possibly even more trying times.
The good news and bad news (depending on whether we choose to don our rose-colored glasses or not) is that we have an estimated 12 to 18 months to gain access to the cure. This means that we’ll have, give or take, a year to suffer through the consequences of the virus. But this also means that we’ll have more time to come up with a plan to battle the economic crisis that awaits us at the end of this.
Of course, this amount of devastation now calls for a radical transformation in the policies of both macro- and microeconomics. Third-world countries, even at this point, have amassed colossal amounts of loans just to be able to support their citizens. One can only hypothesize what might happen to these economies once its time to pay back their loans.
Let’s not forget, amidst the loan and re-domesticating production, another evil awaits all of us at the end of the line too. We’ve put a name to the most feared economic principle there is and it is called inflation.
With global supply chains at a standstill and productions at a halt, once everything starts churning out necessities again, we’ll soon be seeing a spike on the costs of even the most basic needs. The extent, of course, is still something that experts continue to speculate about. For now, it might be in your best interest to start that backyard garden to at least personally cushion the blow of a full and total recession.
