The first documented case of human coronavirus dated back to the 1960s. Since 2003, at least 5 new human coronaviruses have been identified, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, which caused significant morbidity and mortality.
A 55-year-old individual from Hubei province in China may have been the first person to have contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus spreading across the globe. That case dates back to Nov. 17, 2019, according to the South Morning China Post according to Jeana Bryner of LiveScience. Ever since then, the diseases have grown in leap and bound ravaging all humanity from East to West, and North to South. Nowhere appears to be saved.
Like every human phenomenon, coronavirus has been plagued with politics and politicking from the global level to the national level, and from individual to individual. At its advent in the USA, Trump was quoted to have described it as Chinese Disease, I guess today, the business mogul turned politician knows better. As of today 12th April 2020 by 1:37 pm (West Africa), close to one million eight hundred people have been infected with over a hundred thousand people dead. The United States is as present the global capital of Coronavirus with 533,115, followed by Spain with 166,019 and Italy 152,271. New York is the epicentre of the pandemic in the USA. In Africa, South Africa is leading with 2,028 cases, followed by Egypt and Algeria with 1,939 and 1,825 respectively. Nigeria now has over 318 cases, though some of the opinion that there are a number of unreported cases. The pandemic is still on the race, bouncing in leap and bound defiling all known human solutions except the natural remedies of social distancing, handwashing, and lockdown. The only cheery news is that over 411,000 people have recovered from the pandemic.
Amidst this struggle for survival, people and leaders have started playing politics with people lives. Public resources are being siphoned for personal use by public officials. Palliatives designed to cushion the effect of shut down and lockdown are being diverted for private use. Many people are now dying of hunger and fear of the diseases in almost proportion to the death from the pandemic. Criminals are now unleashing terror on innocent souls in my local community. The was also the 5G Palava.
These are indeed not the best of times for humanity, one thing that I'm however bemused about is how people can find it easy to play with people's lives. A man was making a mockery of a woman who was willing to sleep with him for just #500 in order to put food on the table for his children until good Samaritans came to her aid. Some local politicians have also catch-in on the trend to further impoverish their gullible followers by dolling out peanuts to them as relief materials. Same at the National level. Joe Biden, for instance, is rolling to victory like a rollercoaster except for something drastic change the trend as a result of the shoddy manner President Trump is being perceived to be handling it. The case is not different in Nigeria. There has been politics of donations and counter donations also.
The religious houses are also not left out. The Biblical injunction of giving without allowing your second hand to know what you are giving has been thrown into the dustbin. Publicity has now become the order of the day, but who will blame the churches for blowing their own trumpets? I will be the last person considering the graving attack on religious institutions these days as institutions that collect without giving back to the society- an Oliver Twist Institution. While the religious houses have the responsibility of purging itself of the evil of greed and exploitation, the devotees of today must know also that churches and mosques are sacred places that must be treated with respect and awe. They must know to give is voluntary, and that their giving is to God and not to man.
In this trying time, my advice is for people not to unleash further burdens on people. The pain and suffering from Coronavirus are sufficient enough for people, if you can reduce the pain, please don't compound advertently or inadvertently.
God Save Nigeria!
God Save Africa!!
God save Humanity!!!
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