COVID-19

This is just an essay I wrote about the current COVID-19 situation for something else, but that's it's on the blog, read and enjoy!

    Currently, we are living in a world where most people read the word “Carnivorous” as the “Coronavirus,” where most people around the world are stuck in their homes, eagerly waiting to leave, and where most people fear their own lives. The irony here is clear, 2019 was a year where we were tired of our jobs, waiting to go home every moment, but 2020 is different, a year where we can’t wait to go back to work, where we wait to go back to our normal schedules as soon as possible. I wondered, how could a microscopic particle, something we can’t even see with our eyes, unprecedently change the world with an ability to approach and attack every country in our only home- the Earth. How? Where did the virus come from, why is it so lethal, and what’s its impact?

    Let’s start from the beginning, just as everything has an origin, this virus too has an origin. No one knows for sure, but researchers and scientists predict the origin of the coronavirus to be in Wuhan, China, in the well-known meat market of Wuhan. You see, this market, unlike other meat markets in the world, was different. This market had all kinds of different animals, even animals no one dared to eat. One such animal was the infamous bat, a Wuhan meat market special, and the ultimate culprit. The novel coronavirus has been in bats for no one knows how long, but that interaction in the Wuhan market between the man and the bat was the beginning of a long and brutal virus that would take billions of dollars and thousands of hours of manpower to extinguish.

    What’s a virus and how does it kill someone, some might wonder. And, to other’s surprise, viruses are not living. A virus is a non-living pathogen whose main goal is to reproduce, and it can do that only through infecting other animals, in this case, humans. In simple terms, the coronavirus can be described as a microscopic ball made of protein, and in it is viral DNA (we will come back to this later). Protruding from the balls are tiny sticks made also of protein, who have kind of a key to enter the cell. What happens first is that the virus gets to the target cell and attaches itself to the cell. Then, using the protruding keys, it attaches itself to the cell’s lock, gaining access and hijacking itself into the cell. Ones it’s inside, its one-stop destination inside is the cell’s nucleus, where the cell’s DNA resides, which the cell uses as a template to create protein the body uses. Ones inside, something incredible happens, the virus inserts its viral DNA into the nucleus and by doing so, the cell makes viral protein instead of cell protein, and as a result, new viruses are produced which then infect other cells, and in the process, the virus kills the cell.

    Just as a single, smaller than a bacteria pathogen can kill a 6 ft tall person, it can also just as easily ripe the world apart. The consequences of that one person getting into contact with that bat are huge, which range from the collapse of the world economy, the death of millions of innocent lives to the end of the world as we know it, maybe. For example, let’s take the US economy, where its already in shambles. As the lockdown is extended in the US, more and more people file for unemployment. This results in a lack of essential cash, lowering the number of money citizens spend towards the corporate economy. This then puts a strain on the insurance and banking industry, which the intern needs the government. And as the government lacks sufficient cash and capital to supply all parts of the relief funds affects the stock market. And again, as stock prices go down, not to mention the oil prices going in the negatives, eventually affects every single part of the US, and also eventually the whole world.

    Those are just some examples of how the Coronavirus can impact the world. We are at a time where every human on this planet has an important duty, a duty to stay home and protect lives. The simple act of you stepping out can kill thousands of poor people just like you, so think. Maybe learn a new skill when your home, maybe study online, read a book, or participate in competitions just like this one! But remember, this is the time to do what you like, to follow your passion and have the time of your lives! With that, have a wonderful rest of the day!

Picture- Credits to Centennial, Colorado Gov. (https://www.centennialco.gov/Residents/Health-Environment/Coronavirus)