COVID-19 pandemic

The **COVID-19 pandemic** is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease which was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan on 1 December 2019. By 6 November 2020, 48.8 million cases had been identified in more than 188 countries and territories worldwide, resulting in more than 1.24 millions deaths; over 32.3 million people recovered. In addition to loss of human life, COVID-19 also devastated the world economy, exacerbated tensions between the "haves" and "have-nots" in many developed countries, served as material for conspiracy theorists to attack 5G towers and the government, and provoked xenophobia and discrimination against Asian people worldwide, especially the Chinese diaspora and tourists.

## History

The disease originated at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where bats and pangolins carrying a form of SARS were sold to significant numbers of people as food. Common symptoms of the emerging disease included fever, cough, loss of appetite, fatigue, shortness of breath, coughing up sputum, muscle aches, and pains, and it was spread via human contact, sneezing, coughing, and other communicable methods. The disease spread rapidly as a result of travel and tourism, especially from people who were asymptomatic at the time. On 31 January 2020, two tourists from China inadvertently brought COVID-19 to Italy, which, on 19 March 2020, overtook China as the country with the most COVID deaths. COVID infections and deaths increased exponentially due to the ease with which the disease was contracted, and, by 4 June 2020,  more than 6.54 million cases were reported worldwide. In addition, COVID-19 has resulted in more than 386,000 deaths, with the United States overtaking Italy on 26 March; by June, the USA had 1,890,814 COVID-19 cases, 108,703 cases, and 431,692 recoveries, and the epicenter of the COVID outbreak in the United States was in the New York City metropolitan area, while most of COVID's victims both in New York and across the United States were from racial minority groups, who made up the majority of "front-line" jobs such as doctors, nurses, and paramedics.

By June 2020, more than 2.8 million people had recovered from the disease. While the vaccine for COVID-19 is still in the development phase, social distancing guidelines are currently in effect in several countries around the world, although with varying restrictions and implementations. Prevention measures include staying at home, avoiding crowded spaces, keeping distance from others, washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, and avoiding touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Wearing masks in public is also highly recommended by public health officials. UNESCO reported that schools hosting more than 90% of the world's enrolled students have been closed as a result of social distancing measures. The total number of the students affected worldwide was 1,576,021,818.

COVID-19 had devastating social consequences across the world. By 8 May 2020, the unemployment rate in the United States had risen to 14.7% (20.5 millon people), with 30.3 million Americans seeking unemployment aid from the start of the virus until that time. COVID-19's impact on the African-American community, among other minority groups, fed into the deepening racial tensions which the United States was experiencing in 2020, and the disproportionate number of black and other minority deaths in COVID-19 was noted during the nationwide racial justice protests of May-June 2020.