COVID-19 Quarantine and it’s impact on society

By: Nafisa Siddiqui
The coronavirus (COVID-19), is currently the single-most-important and most concerning the topic in the world.
It has spread through the world in a way that has shaken everyone to their core, indiscriminately attacking everywhere from first to third world countries and ignoring socioeconomic boundaries as it infects both the wealthy and impoverished.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus was first identified in December 2019 in the seafood and live animal market in Wuhan, a city in China. Its exact origin, however, is hypothesized to be bats, who carry its closest wild relative. As the spread of the coronavirus has reached the status of a pandemic, it is being closely monitored by the World Health Organization and the CDC.
As of April 5th, Worldometer shows that the amount of coronavirus cases around the world currently mounts to 1,272,554 as the death count has reached 69,416. It is also important to note that 261,485 people have recovered from the virus globally. In this grave situation where hundreds are dying per day, the numbers in Canada remain modest, as thus far, the death ratio in the country is 7 for every one million people. The actions taken by the government in demanding social distancing and quarantine are working to keep our numbers low, but those measures have also taken a great toll on many of us. This lockdown, though it is beneficial from a statistical perspective, has breeded feelings of helplessness and anxiety as well as a deep uncertainty for the future.
When the government announced self-quarantine, people became panicked. Traffic became heavy, grocery stores encountered long lineups, and all sense of normality was abandoned in light of hoarding items such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Driven by the rapidly disappearing items, my family decided to get some necessities such as food and basic medicines. When we reached the grocery store, many of the shelves had been wiped clean. Feeling desperate, I ran towards the pharmacy in hopes of at least getting some pain killers, cough syrup, and some tissue boxes. When I left empty-handed, I was shocked that nothing from my emergency list was available. When we went again the next morning, we witnessed people fighting over paper towels.
It is difficult to stay put in a scenario that involves death counts and a virus shrouded in mysteries that we have yet to solve. I routinely glue myself in front of the TV, watching the news and finding that doomsday warning, conspiracy theories, and political paranoia which are becoming very common. Though we receive regular updates from health officials and an abundance of scientific facts and guidance, there is still a lot of misinformation.
Social media is flooded with rumors and myths about the coronavirus, including the spread of fake cures such as garlic, vitamin C, and sesame seed oil. The World Health Organization has begun to take down evidence of misinformation and disprove them. For example, after people began to wear face masks, they stated that wearing one will not prevent a person from catching the virus and that they should only be worn by people who have had symptoms. It is very important to remember to take your information from credible places, because misinformation can be incredibly dangerous and can build fear and anxiety rather than prevent it.
Many aspects of the coronavirus are still a mystery to scientists, as well as the questions as to how long it will take for the virus to stop spreading and for it to be brought under control. I was listening to the speech delivered by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, and he said that the best way for the countries to deal with the Covid-19 is to “find the affected by effective testing, isolate and treat every case, and trace every contact,” adding that if countries decide to lift restrictions too quickly, “the virus could resurge” and its “economic impact could be even more severe and prolonged” (CNN). As the situation evolves and we await further instruction by our government and by health organizations, it seems that we still have a long way to go before we win this fight against the novel Coronavirus.