Coronavirus - It's not all bad news

History may show that Coronavirus and the birth of the web mark two of the greatest advances in human development. There’s lots of bad news around at the moment and it's hard to see anything positive whilst we’re in the middle of this current crisis. But there are always positives to be found. Viruses don't respect borders or discriminate. They don't single out nations, ethnicities, genders, preferences, social or financial status. So we can't conveniently ignore the plight of our neighbours no matter who or where they are. We are all AFfected even if we’re not INfected as travel becomes more risky, food shortages appear and people think twice before going into work or going shopping at the weekend.

This is a truly global challenge and China's leadership has been open and honest in sharing information about the virus, its consequences and the country's response so other nations can mobilize resources and prepare. This has also allowed researchers and pharmaceutical companies to begin developing vaccines and drugs that reduce or eliminate the effects of the virus on the body. This open cross-border communication and response shows that humanity isn’t discriminating either. China has learned well from the hard lessons of the last SARS outbreak.

In November 2002, doctors in southeast China began to see the first cases of what would become known as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Over the next several months, 8,096 people in 26 countries contracted the new virus, leading to 774 deaths. The slow reporting and inadequate response of Chinese authorities helped the illness spread but globally-enforced medical practices eventually ended the outbreak. This time however, China responded rapidly. Mirroring the behaviour of the virus by immediately reaching out and spreading information, they called upon the collective resources of humanity to mobilize in defence of our species. They also showed the world how effective humans can be if we work together by building a 1000 bed hospital in just 10 days! Touché.

Inequality is still hitting the headlines and as we look forward to celebrating women’s rights on World Women’s Day this Sunday, perhaps it's worth remembering how vital it is that we don't discriminate for our very own survival. Discrimination causes divisions and creates boundaries that hinder our global progress. The current viral crisis shows that in adversity we can communicate, collaborate and move forward as a species better than ever before. We see great signs of empathy and transnational cooperation. The level of resource mobilization in fighting Coronavirus is now far beyond that of many other similar diseases that actually kill more people every year.

Communication and the web allows us to see for ourselves what’s happening around the world and this stimulates our innate ability to survive as we work together to find new ways of defeating the spread and effects of the virus. Scientists share research, investors share capital for drug development and trials, media companies share guidelines to minimize the spread of the virus and families share food and other resources. Yes it's very sad some people lose loved-ones as the virus spreads through the population. And latest figures suggest around 3500 people have died from Coronavirus so far. But heart disease and strokes kill 15 million people every year so they pose a far greater threat to humanity than Coronavirus. Let's try to be positive and see the benefits. Morale is very important in building resilience and maintaining motivation and good spirits. We are learning fast how to respond to these outbreaks. This marks a new solidarity with our fellow human beings. Global adversity is bringing us together and reminding us we're basically all the same. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.