Covid-19
Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is a new strain of RNA viruses that first emerged in Wuhan, China from the Pangolin Armadillos and Bats which were sold at China’s “wet-markets.” The two animal versions of Covid-19 were apparently spread and passed through these market trades, while simultaneously being transferred to the Civets (small, nocturnal mammals found in Africa and Asia) that lived in the area. The worldwide virus-strand ended up cultivating in humans starting at the end of 2019, hence the Covid-19 number origin. The people of Wuhan had referred to the virus as the “Wuhan pneumonia” and passed it around to foreign travelers unknowingly. Once these foreign travelers returned to their countries of origin after their visit to this region, they passed it onto their family members, co-workers and friends. The coronavirus is highly contagious due to the genetic makeup of our RNA system, and by March of 2020, the world was overcome with a wave of hospitalizations and deaths, shutting down cities and countries across the globe.
Within the first four months of global spreading, the virus had led to about 700,000 deaths in countries like Italy, China, the United States, and more. At this time, Covid-19 has been the primary cause of over 5,000,000 deaths around the world in just a little more than two years. When these statistics started to increase rapidly, we witnessed the shutdown of international travel, international shipping, and then even local traveling. The world was at a standstill for months, waiting for the virus to die down. The only countries who had a handle on Covid-19 by 2021 were provinces in China, New Zealand, Australia, North Korea, and a number of island territories in the ocean. To this day, the rest of the world still battles the virus despite the distribution of vaccinations. Multiple countries are still under strict lockdown, mask wearing and social distancing rules that do not seem to be letting up until herd immunity (meaning around 80% of the population is vaccinated) is achieved.
This global pandemic has brought about a whole new set of norms set by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.). New regulations such as the “social distancing” (six feet or two meters apart at all times), regulated indoor dining, the requirement of masks, and the televised rollout of new information became the basic standard of living in this new Covid-19 world. Every store had a mask requirement, and some took it a step further by only allowing a certain number of customers in the store at any given time. People could not meet in large gatherings or events, and if they planned on doing so, they were encouraged to quarantine for 10 to 14 days prior to and afterwards to ensure there would be no spread of the disease. The same directives applied to traveling. If traveling, you were required to take a Covid-19 test before leaving and quarantine for 10 to 14 days upon arrival at your destination before interacting with the new environment. You were also encouraged to quarantine again upon your return. These were all new lifestyles that were encouraged to protect ourselves and others from the deadly virus.
As lockdowns lifted and vaccinations from Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and others were rolled out in different neighborhoods, Covid-19 restrictions began to loosen to the point of allowing 50% capacity in indoor dining, traveling opened up for some, and even schools started to meet in person again (at least a few times per week, as long as they were practicing Covid-19 guidelines). The loosening of these strict restrictions reflected progress in the fight against the virus, but did not mean the world was out of the danger zone just yet. Covid-19 rates are still fluctuating in many parts of the world, preventing them from opening the local economies back up completely in most countries, and there is no clear end date in sight. It has been projected that the world could face at least another year or more before even returning to a semblance of what “normal” used to be.