It's the most wonderful time of the year. Most people look forward to it irrespective of religious inclinations. The exchange of gifts, pleasantries, camaraderie, splendour, the stunning Xmas lights and that unique air of conviviality and generosity.
It never disappoints even when the economic prospect is not as bright as anticipated at the individual, corporate or national level. Everyone loves Xmas. From the most lavish lights and decorations lining the trees on the entire stretch of Champs Elysees' 1.9 km Street in Paris to the Medellin in Columbia, Hong Kong's Symphony of lights, the Rockefeller Centre's Xmas tree lighting show in New York, the 13-metre centrepiece Christmas tree lighting at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi and the glittering transformation of Ajose Adeogun Street in Victoria Island, Lagos to the pride of Africa, it is one helluva of adoration with an endless flow of human traffic.
That was in the past. With over 79 million people infected and over 1.7 million people dead (as at December 23), it is a gloomy, corrosive, Covid Xmas this year. The decorations are mostly still there but the protocols forbid large social gatherings, part of the measures adopted to curb the bodybags. It's an inevitable burst to the bubble of the annual ritual.
There is hardly anyone in the world who has not lost someone precious to the coronavirus pandemic- a friend, co-worker, neighbour, acquaintance, kinsman, townsman. The last time the world experienced a worst catastrophe was the 1918 flu pandemic which claimed 50 million lives worldwide. Researchers predicted that this SARS-CoV-2 may affect 60% of the world population. That means a whopping 4.68 billion people risk infection by Covid-19 or its variants! That's always the danger with airborne transmission. It's exactly the same reasons why the World Health Organisation advocated mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing. It's a small price to pay for good health, peace and quietude.
Thankfully, over 200 vaccines are in various stages of development, according to the World Health Organisation, some of which have been approved swiftly to stem the tide. It could take as long as 10 years to develop a vaccine but with the aid of Artificial Intelligence and years of research, the world was able to crack it within one year, a glowing tribute to scientific breakthroughs.
Apart from lost lives, coronavirus inflicted maximum damage on millions of businesses. Even the young ones who are equipping themselves for a brighter future were scotched. A United Nations statistic projected that over 1.6 billion students in 198 countries had their academic programmes disrupted by the pandemic.
The impact will be with mankind for years but economic rebound from the virus is anticipated to intensify from the second quarter of 2021. Some people across the world are fortunate to live in climes where their governments have introduced palliatives to cushion the effect of the pandemic while others think it is all over because there is no help from anywhere in the horizon.
This is the time for people around the world to reach out and see who they can save from melancholy and morbidity. Any help to your friend, neighbour or a total stranger will go a long way to saving lives. Coronavirus killed social gatherings but it should not kill the heart of gold in us all.
#Xmas
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