Always look on the bright side of COVID19?

Yes, we’ve all had to get used to being frightened to death by switching on the six o’clock news for the latest Coronavirus death toll. But like Eric Idle jauntily warbling on the cross, let’s take five minutes to look on the bright side of COVID19.

Ever since a new and novel strain of Coronavirus emerged from the wet markets of Wuhan, our world has been put on hold. We and all those close to us, now live under the fear of death. COVID19 will go down in history, alongside those other decimating deceases, Spanish Flu and the Black Death.

But how can we take any positives from COVID19 when schools are being closed, people are being laid off, hoarding is rife, staying home is the norm and hospitals are overwhelmed with the sick and the dying? The uncomfortable truth is, a global pandemic was always going to happen. The World Health Organisation has been warning governments for years but they simply chose not to listen.

Although any death is a death too many, in the cold light of day it looks like mankind may have got away lightly. As mortality rates go, COVID19 is positively mild-mannered, compared to more vicious historical diseases. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Smallpox, Ebola and the Daddy of them all, the Plague, had mortality rates that would have put COVID19’s to shame.

So where, I hear you scream is the bright side of COVID19, I was promised? Was it just another clickbait ruse that I fell for? The truth is COVID19 has got our planet pandemic ready. Ready for the next virus, likely to be much, much more virulent than this one. It might just prove to be humanity’s saviour, rather than its exterminator.

Almost overnight, the health of its population became the top priority on government agendas. Research budgets were suddenly raised. Just two years ago, the U.S. Pandemic Response Team was unceremoniously disbanded. Funding for CDCs (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) were slashed by 80%. COVID19 has singlehandedly frightened politicians into action. Obviously, corpses can’t vote!

Even the self-proclaimed, greatest American President EVER, has got off his ample backside and actually achieved something extraordinary. The Orange One has managed to get rival pharmaceutical companies to actually work together. Resulting in hundreds of promising clinical trials being carried out as I write. This research will greatly expand our knowledge of viruses, which could be very handy in the future.

In fact, it’s safe to say that this enforced Coronavirus education, has given the planet tools to fight future pandemics. China has banned the consumption, farming and sale of wild animals, which means their infamous wet markets, (nothing more than public abattoirs), are being closed, hopefully forever.

The importance of basic hygiene practices, like washing hands properly, is now in the spotlight like never before. The world now knows that this simple act, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds, can hinder germs from spreading. Who’d have thought? In an earlier study, research showed nearly 70% of men and 35% of women, didn’t wash their hands after using public lavatories. Yew!!!

Nothing focuses the mind more than a very public health scare. Our behaviour is changing for the better, because we now know the deadly consequences. But there are other benefits to COVID19. Pollution has dramatically dropped in China, saving thousands of lives, that would’ve been lost to pollution related diseases.

Italy, another country hit hard by Coronavirus, has seen significant improvements to its environment. The murky waters of Venice have miraculously cleared. So much so, you can actually see fish swimming about in its canals. Dolphins have returned to Italian ports, something that hasn’t been witnessed for generations.

Maybe there’s another virus going about, spreading like wild-fire throughout communities. A good virus just as contagious, the yin to COVID19’s yang. People are looking out for each other like never before. Random acts of kindness are trending for real, not just on Social Media. Neighbours are being more neighbourly, thousands have volunteered to help the lonely and the elderly. Bravo humanity, I believe in you again. x