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Coronavirus pandemic: All stories
OpinionLetters

Letters | This coronavirus can be beaten, if the world unites for the fight

  • More than ever, the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the interconnectedness of our world
  • Cooperation on every level is needed, not only to curb the spread of the disease, but also mitigate its social and economic impact, especially on the most vulnerable

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A sign calls for a concerted effort against the novel coronavirus on a near-empty street in Milan, Italy, amid a nationwide lockdown over a deadly Covid-19 outbreak. Photo: LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Letters

The upheaval caused by the coronavirus is all around us. I know many are anxious, worried and confused. That’s absolutely natural: we are facing a health threat unlike any other in our lifetimes.

Meanwhile, the virus is spreading, the danger is growing, and our health systems, economies and day-to-day lives are being severely tested. The most vulnerable are the most affected – particularly our elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions, those without access to reliable health care, and those in poverty or living on the edge.

The social and economic fallout from the combination of the pandemic and slowing economies will affect most of us for some months. But the spread of the virus will peak. Our economies will recover.

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Until then, we must act together to slow the spread of the virus and look after one another. This is a time for prudence, not panic; science, not stigma; facts, not fear.

Even though the situation has been classified as a pandemic, it is one we can control. We can slow down transmissions, prevent infections and save lives. But that will take unprecedented personal, national and international action.

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