Mohammad Hosam AlNahas
COVID-19 has adversely affected the world’s economy, enterprises, and lifestyles. Many people have lost their jobs and many others have suffered significant economic loss. In other cases, it is clear that some people are experiencing very tough times, such as being stranded abroad, unable to return to their families.
However, in the middle of adversities, some opportunities may arise. Speaking metaphorically, a surgeon has to cut skin to perform a surgery and save a life. If it were not for wars, we would not have modern ambulance services. Back in the 1400s, Queen Isabella of Spain ordered support for the wounded in battle, introducing ‘tented’ mobile hospitals.
These were known as ambulancias, a Spanish word from the Latin ambulare, meaning ‘to walk’ or ‘move’. At that time, wagons were constructed with beds in them, covered with an awning to transport injured soldiers to a sheltered ambulancia tent, as described by Bell (2009). Since then, ambulance vehicles have evolved to be able to transport the sick and injured rapidly and safely to places of treatment.
Therefore, although catastrophic in nature, wars have provided opportunities for exploring and developing ideas that have inadvertently transformed our lives. COVID-19 has similarly presented the world with certain opportunities, despite the considerable economic challenges that it has incurred. Some individuals have discovered and demonstrated new talents in various areas, including engineering, cooking and music.
Some governments have substantially boosted their research and development (R&D) budgets. People around the globe have become more careful with their personal hygiene.
Moreover, reduced human movement and activity have had a positive impact on the natural environment. Finally, some governments have started to collaborate with each other more actively and closely, while others decided to put their differences aside and battle together against the pandemic.
In fact, there are several instances of how this current crisis could ultimately turn out to be a ‘blessing in disguise’. An outstanding example of this is nine-year old Stephen from Kenya, who has displayed remarkable ingenuity by building a hands-free handwashing device, using locally sourced materials to help his community maintain hand hygiene.
Using a foot pedal, he can open the tap, pour some soap then close the tap without having to touch the tap or soap bottle by hand. His invention has since been applauded by the local and international media and has been adopted by local communities (BBC, 2020). On 2nd June, Stephen told the BBC that he had received a Presidential award for his innovation.
Meanwhile, Eziddin Kamil, an Ethiopian Natural Sciences undergraduate, has invented a ventilator using a plastic pouch, operated mechanically via a cellphone command: a stroke of genius.
After successfully testing a prototype, Eziddin began producing copies of his new ventilator and delivering them to his local community (Chanie, 2020). Despite their poverty and lack of resources, both Stephen and Eziddin have succeeded in coming up with solutions to help their communities combat the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Their stories evoke the Chinese proverb, ‘Don’t curse the darkness; light a candle’. Research Expenditure Although many research projects have been interrupted or suspended, it is reassuring to see governments deciding to increase expenditure on research and scientific studies, not only in epidemiology, virology and infection, but also in other fields.
According to Geulette (2020), the Canadian government pledged C$275 million to coronavirus research on 11th March, as part of a substantial increase in crisis R&D funds.
Similarly, on 19th March, the French government announced that it would increase its research budget by €5 billion over the next 10 years. One-fifth of this will go towards healthcare research in preparation for any future outbreaks. It will also contribute €50 million to an emergency fund for coronavirus vaccine research (Kelly, 2020).
On 29th May this year, the UK’s Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy published their budget allocations for 2020-2021, announcing an increase to £22 billion per year between 2024 and 2025.
In contrast, the allocation for 2020-2021 will be £10.36 billion, which includes backing immediate responses to COVID-19 by providing support to R&D-intensive businesses and higher education institutions to maintain stability during the pandemic, while also sponsoring efforts to manufacture and clinically trial vaccines. Personal Hygiene On an individual level, personal hygiene has likewise improved.
Because of the widespread fear of transmitting or contracting coronavirus, people have become increasingly anxious to maintain good personal hygiene, washing their hands more often, cleaning things well before use, and refraining from coughing or sneezing on others.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a large percentage of foodborne disease outbreaks are spread by contaminated hands. Rabie and Curtis (2006) found that handwashing can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%. We are all being constantly exposed to germs, so there is always a risk of catching an infection, especially in the case of children, pregnant women, the undernourished, and the immunocompromised, who are all more vulnerable to infections.
Therefore, appropriate handwashing practices could reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses and other potentially transmissible diseases.
The Environment Aside from this, while the restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus continue to confine people indoors, the environment seems to be gradually healing.
In a study conducted this past April by Cole, Elliot and Lui (2020), it was found that NO2 - a pollutant closely tied to traffic volume and concentrations of fossil fuel use – fell by 63% from the pre-lockdown level.
Nevertheless, it was also found that concentrations of SO2, emitted from the burning of fossil fuel, and CO from transportation vehicles did not fall in a statistically significant manner following lockdown. Having calculated the potential number of lives saved as a result of cleaner air, it was found that these reduced NO2 concentrations “may have prevented as many as 496 deaths in Wuhan city, 3,368 deaths in Hubei province and 10,822 deaths in China as a whole”.
Another study by Bao and Zhang, published at the end of April 2020, tested human mobility as a potential mechanism underlying the effects of travel restrictions. It was revealed that restrictive measures adopted in 44 cities in northern China significantly reduced air pollution. On average, Air Quality Index (AQI) scores decreased by 7.80% and the concentration of five air pollutants (SO2, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO) was reduced by 6.76%, 5.93%, 13.66%, 24.67%, and 4.58%, respectively. Newburger and Jeffery (2020) also report that some of the world’s major cities have achieved record low percentages of smog and particulate matter, while others have welcomed wild animals in their streets!
Since the announcement of the lockdown, air pollution has reduced to unprecedented levels in Los Angeles, which has the highest smog density in the USA. As a result, the city has witnessed a very clear skyline.
According to the Environmental Pollution Studies Laboratory of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology in Manila, the Philippines, the city of Manila has some of the world’s highest levels of particulate matter in the atmosphere, but saw a drop of 180% during lockdown, resulting in a clearer skyline and improved air quality. Meanwhile, as reported by the BBC, cities like Venice have witnessed clear water in the canals, owing to reduced human activity.
Furthermore, for the first time in decades, the skies are clear in New Delhi (Henriques, 2020). Additionally, as people remain indoors, there has been a sharp rise in the activities of wild animals, with the streets of Ronda in Spain seeing peacocks strolling around, while coyotes trot through the streets of San Francisco (Newburger and Jeffery, 2020).
Global Collaboration But how has political and economic collaboration influenced or been influenced by the coronavirus pandemic? There seem to be conflicting messages here.
We have seen governments become determined to act independently in the face of the pandemic. Feeling threatened, they have closed their borders and banned inbound travel.
In contrast, other governments have extended a helping hand to those in need of financial or medical assistance to face the challenges of what is viewed as a common cause: combatting the pandemic. It is even fair to say that international collaboration has been vital for dealing with COVID-19, especially when it comes to sharing information about vaccines and other potential solutions. Some countries are providing the world with large supplies of ventilators, while others are producing chemicals necessary to conduct testing for the vaccines.
Mohammad Hosam AlNahas is a lecturer at Qatar University
