When Will the COVID-19 Pandemic End? | For a year now, the SARS-CoV-2 that caused the COVID-19 pandemic got many people thinking: “When will this pandemic end?” The answer is still unclear because the vaccines made for COVID-19 are still on the rollout to be distributed to different countries. Let us have a quick recap of how the pandemic year started and the measures that the government, public health officials, and the World Health Organization did to arrive at almost seeable light at the end of the dark tunnel of COVID-19.
The highly contagious virus initially known as SARS-CoV-2 that caused COVID-19 started in 2020 at Wuhan City, China. As the world watched the news about this deadly respiratory disease, the virus quickly proliferated and was categorized not just as an epidemic but a pandemic that affected millions of people on a worldwide scale.
Health experts raced their way to create a test that would determine if a person contracted the virus or not. When flu-like symptoms start to be exhibited by a person, there are immediately put on isolation facilities to undergo a COVID-19 test or PCR test that will determine if they are positive for coronavirus or not.
The public was also frequently reminded to stay socially distant even from a relative, especially to senior citizens, as they are the age group most vulnerable to the disease. Frequent handwashing and wearing of face masks are encouraged to help minimize the spread of the virus.
One significant factor that countries found to be a virus spreader is international travel. For this reason, fit-to-fly COVID tests were implemented for travelers who urgently need to go to another country. At the same time, some governments opt to do travel bans to and from countries with high recorded cases of COVID-19.
Today, to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, several vaccines are already authorized to be used for vaccination. These are what health experts look forward to in ending the pandemic and help people go back to their “new normal” lives.
On the 11th of March 2020, the whole world was in a state of shock when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. What started as a respiratory infection in Wuhan City, China, reached many countries and infected millions of people. The highly infectious disease spread faster, not giving a chance for medical authorities and governments to contain it in its early stages.
Media outlets worldwide started to report many people being infected. One reason is the late issuance of travel bans to countries that have reported cases of the virus. At first, airline personnel set up thermal scans at airports to trace abnormal body temperatures. Later during the pandemic, medical personnel are deployed at airports to conduct fit to fly COVID test through PCR test or the polymerase chain reaction test as countries adapt to the new normal.
Fit to fly COVID tests are used for flight passengers with urgent matters to attend to another country and overseas workers.
Still, a year in the pandemic, people continue to ask when the pandemic ends, and most medical professionals cannot say when. Still, the focus is on getting many people vaccinated as soon and as many as possible to achieve “herd immunity” against the virus.
The public health guideline that governments and health professionals issued is timely to help end the pandemic. It took communities’ collective efforts to follow the safety guidelines to prevent the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Part of the effort to contain the virus is to encourage people to undergo a COVID-19 test regardless of whether they have the symptoms or not. Many health practitioners saw the test as a preventive measure and most influential in determining if a person is ready to go back to work or school.
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