The coronavirus pandemic was never among the major challenges alluded to by researchers and authors as likely determinants of the 21st Century. The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) Virus infection of 2003 had come and passed and people moved on with life, with performance of world economies never being associated with the SARS. Come December 2019, and the World Health Organization (WHO) China office reports a case of pneumonia like infections of unknown cause in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Wuhan has a population of just over 11 million people, which is higher than the combined population of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Kiambu, and Nakuru, that have a combined population of 11,340,917 according to the 2019 Kenya population census. Wuhan’s population is also much higher that that of New York city (8.6Million) and London (8.7 million).
The infections spread so fast that by the end of January 2020, it started being reported in other countries and continents across the world. On 11th March 2020, the WHO declared it a Pandemic. This meant that the WHO was recognizing the importance and significance of the infection and the likely magnitude of impact it is likely to have worldwide, and was thus signaling all countries across the globe to give it very serious attention in trying to control its spread. Note that the World Health Organization never declared the SARS of 2003 a pandemic, even though it affected 26 countries. This is because it was quickly brought under control and only a few countries including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Canada were significantly affected.
Read full article by Prof. Justus Munyoki, PhD at https://uonresearch.org/blog/corona-virus-covid-19-pandemic-a-wake-up-call-for-africa/
