The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 novel virus, originated in Wuhan, China before rapidly spreading around the world.
COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease, with a high rate of transmissibility. Symptoms of infection include fever, joint and muscle aches, respiratory distress, loss of the sense of taste, cognitive fog, fatigue, sore throat, and more. Senior citizens are most at risk of dying from the disease, though secondary pre-existing conditions like obesity can make some patients more susceptible to danger. In severe cases, patients undergo respiratory distress and require intubation on ventilators.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, governments have initiated several policies to prevent spread. Many countries have severely restricted flights or entry into their state, with some like Israel adopting color systems to rank the risk posed by each destination. Contact tracing has become the norm, with citizens being obligated to quarantine after they have come into contact with an infected person. Social distancing and mask mandates have also become popular in many countries to prevent spread of infection. Early in the pandemic, lockdowns were used to prevent interaction between the public, in a severe attempt to halt transmission. Perhaps most controversial were the introduction of coronavirus passports, which would allow vaccinated citizens to move freely with a new form of ID. Critics assert that coronavirus passports represent an extreme violation of liberties.
There is an ongoing debate as to the origin of the coronavirus. Initially, it was accepted that the coronavirus originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China, within bats sold as food. However, it has been suggested that the virus may have originated from a virus research lab in Wuhan.
Several pharmaceutical companies have developed innovative mRNA vaccines to counter the coronavirus. Pfizer, Biontech, Astrazeneca, Moderna, Sinopharm and others have produced vaccines, however there is ongoing debate about their efficacy against new strains of the virus. Other pharmaceutical companies have developed treatments and drugs to alleviate and combat coronavirus symptoms.
The coronavirus is prone to mutations, and has already produced several well known variants, including the Delta and Lambda strains. The pandemic and virus may also colloquially be known as corona and COVID.
A new, 107-page, Hebrew-language report by the Health Ministry’s data branch headed by Ziona Haklai revealed causes of death.
We should draw a lesson, once again, that the lethality of a global pandemic requires collective collaboration from every country in the world, as disease knows no borders.
Even if it's longer a requirement, you should still take care to protect high-risk groups.
For many people, the arbitrary nature of the pandemic, with tough rules one day about things like masks, and then rules discarded the next, has left an imprint.
Most people gradually overcame their worries about venturing out to the world again, but some are still so traumatized by COVID.
A total of 12,500 people in Israel had died from the COVID-19 pandemic since the first victim died on March 21, 2020.
Lifting it is a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas, but COVID-19 is here to stay, the WHO has said, even if it no longer represents an emergency.
The amount of issued passports is expected to rise to 300,000 per month with the post office preparing to increase its passport delivery capacity accordingly.
Since giving its initial high alert for COVID in January 2020, a panel of experts have continued to examine the prominence of the crisis.
JPOST Digital Library
