The devastating impact on women and their families caused by COVID-19 is dragging the world into a depression since one year ago when the World Health Organization (WHO ) on 11 March 2020, declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic
WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that since late February 2020, the number of cases outside China increased 13-fold and the number of countries with cases increased threefold. The pandemic officially began one year ago, according to the National Library of Medicine and the World Health Organization.
Losing a sister, a husband, a child, to COVID-19 is horrible. “Goodbye,” is a phone call at best. No hugs, no kisses, no contact.
Every number has a face. Civil Society Solidarity Partners Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
Humanity in one year said goodbye to 2.6 million members confirmed to have died from COVID-19.
“Every one of those numbers has a face and the love of a family and friends, and the tears of likely another 150 million of their friends and loved ones,” says Fred Harris, the team leader of the Civil Society Solidarity Partners who are tracking COVID-19 around the world from Singapore.
- COVID-19 has set brother against brother fighting over scraps after a huge percentage of the world’s population lost their jobs, their food and their shelter.
- COVID-19 has robbed children of their face time at school with their peers.
- Some very small children have been imprisoned inside their homes for all their cognizant life.
- COVID-19 has set people against each other, beating each other’s brains in at Walmart over wearing or not-wearing a mask.
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “Older persons are particularly susceptible to the risk of infection from COVID-19, especially those with chronic health conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Older persons are not just struggling with greater health risks but are also likely to be less capable of supporting themselves in isolation. Although social distancing is necessary to reduce the spread of the disease, if not implemented correctly, such measures can also lead to increased social isolation of older persons at a time when they may be at most need of support.”
The COVID-19 Family Life Study is a research study that explores the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on family life across cultures. The results from this study will inform policies, programs, and supports for families across culture. Join The COVID Family Study.
For questions, please refer to the paper (https://psyarxiv.com/gcqhp) and feel free to contact abrik@hbku.edu.qa
Every Number has a face. Do not forget humanity.
Every number has a face. Every face has a name.
File Photo courtesy Civil Society Solidarity Partners . Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
It is not the China virus we are fighting. It is indigenous to Southeast Asia mainland countries.
It began probably as long ago as 2010 when we first know Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, in fact all the continental Southeast Asian countries were contending with a virus that looked like SARS-CoV-2. Read if you wish: ‘Virus similar to SARS-CoV-2 was already present in Cambodia‘.
“Knowledge of the origin and reservoir of the coronavirus responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is still fragmentary. To date, the closest relatives to SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in Rhinolophus bats sampled in the Yunnan province, China. Here we describe the identification of SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses in two Rhinolophus shameli bats sampled in Cambodia in 2010.
“Metagenomic sequencing identified nearly identical viruses sharing 92.6% nucleotide identity with SARS-CoV-2.”
“Most genomic regions of this virus are closely related to SARS-CoV-2, with the exception of a small region corresponding to the spike N terminal domain. The discovery of these viruses in a bat species not found in China indicates that SARS-CoV-2 related viruses have a much wider geographic distribution than previously understood, and suggests that Southeast Asia represents a key area to consider in the ongoing search for the origins of SARS-CoV-2, and in future surveillance for coronaviruses.” Citing “BIO-RXIV A novel SARS-CoV-2 related coronavirus in bats from Cambodia”
“Human populations in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam appear to be much less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than other countries in the region, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. This suggests that the populations of these four countries may be benefiting from a level of herd immunity to Sarbecoviruses, the group of coronaviruses that includes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, respectively responsible for the SARS epidemic in 2002-2004 and the current Covid-19 pandemic,” citing Alexandre Hassanin, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN).
That SARS-CoV-2 emergence began in 2010 or in 2019 matter les than knowing climate change and its harmful disruption to the viability of life, global warming, and mankind’s encroachment on wildlife habitats, say most scientists researching and writing on the subject.
“Many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. Deforestation, which occurs mostly for agricultural purposes, is the largest cause of habitat loss worldwide. Loss of habitat forces animals to migrate and potentially contact other animals or people and share germs. Large livestock farms can also serve as a source for spillover of infections from animals to people. Less demand for animal meat and more sustainable animal husbandry could decrease emerging infectious disease risk and lower greenhouse gas emissions,” notes a Harvard T Chan School of Public Health brief.
Every number has a face. Photo credit: Melissa Hemongway for Civil Society Solidarity Partners Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
Global COVID-19 Data on 5 Dec 2024