In
the last 12 months, the novel coronavirus has paralysed economies, devastated
communities and confined nearly four billion people to their homes. It has been
a year that changed the world like no other for at least a generation, possibly
since World War II.
More
than 1.6 million people died. At least 72 million people are known to have
contracted the virus, though the actual number is likely much higher. Children
became orphans, grandparents were lost and partners bereaved as loved ones died
alone in hospital, bedside visits considered too dangerous to risk.
"This
is a pandemic experience that's unique in the lifetime of every single person
on Earth," says Sten Vermund, infectious disease epidemiologist and dean of
Yale School of Public Health. "Hardly any of us haven't been touched by
it."
Covid-19
is far from the deadliest pandemic in history. Bubonic plague in the 14th
Century wiped out a quarter of the population. At least 50 million succumbed to
Spanish Influenza in 1918-19. Thirty-three million people died of AIDS.
But
contracting coronavirus is as simple as breathing in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
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New disease, lockdown -
On
February 11- 2020, the World Health Organization named the new disease as
Covid-19. Four days later, France reported the first confirmed death outside
Asia. Europe watched in horror as northern Italy turned into an epicentre.
"It's
worse than the war," said Orlando Gualdi, mayor of the Lombardy village of
Vertova in March, where 36 people died in 25 days. "It's absurd to think
that there could be such a pandemic in 2020."
First
Italy, then Spain, France and Britain went into lockdown. WHO declared Covid-19
a pandemic. US borders, already closed to China, shut to much of Europe. For
the first time in peacetime, the summer Olympics were delayed.
By
mid-April, 3.9 billion people or half of humanity were living under some form
of lockdown. From Paris to New York, from Delhi to Lagos, and from London to
Buenos Aires, streets fell eerily silent, the all too frequent wail of
ambulance sirens, a reminder that death loomed close.
Scientists
had warned for decades of a global pandemic, but few listened. Some of the
richest countries in the world, let alone the poorest floundered in the face of
an invisible enemy. In a globalised economy, supply chains ground to a halt.
Supermarket shelves were stripped bare by panic buyers.
Chronic
underinvestment in healthcare was brutally exposed, as hospitals struggled to
cope and intensive care units were rapidly overwhelmed. Underpaid and
overworked medics battled without personal protective equipment.
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'Absolute calamity' -
"It
is a scene out of a horror movie," said Virgilio Neto, mayor of Manaus in
Brazil. "We are no longer in a state of emergency but rather of absolute
calamity." Bodies were piling up in refrigerated trucks and bulldozers
were digging mass graves.
Businesses
closed. Schools and colleges shut. Live sport was cancelled. Commercial airline
travel saw its most violent contraction in history. Shops, clubs, bars and
restaurants closed. Spain's lockdown was so severe that children couldn't leave
home. People were suddenly trapped, cheek by jowl in tiny apartments for weeks
on end.
Those
who could, worked from home. Zoom calls replaced meetings, business travel and
parties. Those whose jobs were not transferrable were often sacked or forced to
risk their health and work regardless.
In
May, the pandemic had wiped out 20 million American jobs. The pandemic and global
recession could push to 150 million the number of people living in extreme
poverty by 2021, the World Bank has warned.
Social
inequities, which for years had been growing, were exposed like never before.
Hugs, handshakes and kisses fell by the wayside. Human interaction took place
behind plexiglass, face masks and hand sanitizer.
Instances
of domestic violence soared, so did mental health problems. As city dwellers
with means congratulated themselves on riding out the pandemic at palatial
second homes in the countryside and governments floundered, tempers boiled
among those trapped in cities and rage spilled onto the streets.
Not
even the rich and powerful could buy immunity. In October, Trump contacted
Covid-19 as had Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro in July. Trump's response to
the pandemic likely helped cost him the election to Joe Biden. British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson spent three days in the ICU with coronavirus in April.
A-list
movie star Tom Hanks and his wife fell sick. Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the
greatest footballers of his generation, tennis champion Novak Djokovic,
Madonna, Prince Charles and Prince Albert II all tested positive.
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2021 vaccine drive -
As
the year draws to a close, governments are on the cusp of innoculating
millions, starting with the elderly, medics and the most vulnerable before
moving into mass campaigns presented as the only ticket back to a normal life.
In
December, Britain became the first Western country to approve a vaccine for
general use and then roll out the innoculation developed in the BioNTech lab in
cooperation with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The United States quickly
followed suit and regulatory approval is expected in Europe by the end of the
month.
"If
I can have it at 90 then you can have it too," said Margaret Keenan, the
British grandmother who became the first person to receive the approved
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
As
wealthy nations rush to buy up stocks, 2021 will likely see China and Russia
vie for influence by expanding beyond their borders their own, cheaper
vaccines.
The
extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic will leave a lasting legacy is far from
clear. Some experts warn it could yet take years to build up herd immunity
through mass vaccination, especially in the face of entrenched anti-vax beliefs
in some countries. Others predict lives could snap back to normal by the middle
of next year.
Many
expect a more flexible approach to working from home, increased reliance on
technology and supply chains that become more local. Travel is likely to
resume, but how quickly is uncertain. The disease can leave otherwise healthy
young people debilitated for months.
If
home-working for white-collar workers remains common place, what will happen to
commercial real-estate in downtown cities? Could urban centres start to
de-populate as people, no longer bound by the commute, move away in search of
greener or quieter lifestyles?
There
are also concerns about the impact on civil liberties. Think tank Freedom House
says democracy and human rights have deteriorated in 80 countries as
governments abuse power in their response to the virus.
Others
predict that fear of large crowds could have profound consequences, at least
for public transport, cultural, sporting and entertainment venues, and the
cruise ship industry.
"I
think there are going to be some profound shifts in our society," warned
Yale School of Public Health's Vermund.
The
world economy is also in for a rough ride. IMF has warned of a recession worse
than that, which followed the 2008 financial crisis. But for many, the pandemic
is just a spot on the long-term horizon of a far deadlier, far more challenging
and far more life-changing calamity.
"Covid-19
has been something of a big wave that's been hitting us, and behind that is the
tsunami of climate change and global warming," says astrobiologist Lewis
Dartnell whose 2014 book "The Knowledge" advises how the world can
rebuild following a global catastrophe.
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