Editorial: Post-COVID-19 Reopening

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked unprecedented havoc worldwide with catastrophic ramifications. The disease broke out in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and spread globally unabated, fueled by international travel and business interactions that have become the hallmarks of the global-local continuum. In response, governments enforced crippling restrictions on economic, academic and social activities epitomized by numerous lock-downs which literally brought life to a standstill. Once again mankind with all the intelligence and technology was caught off guard thus exposing the folly of complacency in infectious disease control. The situation is reminiscent of ‘God’s wrath’, a feature of many religious teachings as recorded in divine references, both written or folkloric. To contextualize, the COVID-19 scenario, three citations of past pandemics are instructive.