The global map of coronavirus as of yesterday

It's a difficult time for the world right now. It often is. But this time it's a difficult period for different reasons. This time the world is fighting a common enemy - coronavirus. It's as though the world has united to fight hostile aliens and this new enemy requires us all to work together in solidarity to defeat it. We are literally all in it together.

What makes coronavirus different?

We've been here before with SARS and other viruses that have originated in China. However, with coronavirus things are different. The impact globally has been far worse than many of us anticipated when we learnt of the outbreak in China in January. Far more people outside of China have been infected with this virus and the global transmission rate is increasing daily. Governments all over the world are now scrambling to contain and combat the illness, with the US President Donald Trump now banning all travel from Europe. The effort governments are adopting is quite extraordinary and we haven't see anything like this before. Although most people who contract the virus will survive the virus is a very real and serious threat, especially for older people or anyone with underlying health conditions. The negative impact on the markets and the financial cost of the virus is also colossal. Even crypto has been significantly affected. Take a look at the price of Bitcoin right now, you'll see what I mean.

So why does China keep experiencing these epidemics?

Why are these viruses originating in China? I have no answer that explains fully why China has been the epicentre for these pandemics. I dare say a huge population, poverty and living conditions in parts of the country have combined to play a role. You see China is a tale of two stories played out far more starkly than in other countries. On the one hand China is a very rich country producing more and more millionaires each year as its economy continues to grow and dominate the global economy. But on the other hand China suffers with a lot of impoverished communities and poverty is rife in certain areas of the country. Poverty is often the backdrop for poorer standards in healthcare and hygiene.

Did China's dangerous obsession with secrecy make coronavirus worse?

Yes. Another factor to consider when discussing China is its quasi communist government. More importantly the government's obsession with secrecy and the suppression of news and information. Many people believe this made the entire situation in China much worse. The Chinese regime seeks to control all public information and it is very active in policing the internet. Although progress in opening up China has been made in recent decades the flow of data and news in the country is still very different from the West. Obtaining the truth in China can often be a very difficult task. Many believe that this commitment to secrecy has significantly made the coronavirus outbreak much worse. Had details surrounding the virus been allowed to freely circulate around the country without censorship at the start this outbreak could have been made easier to manage and lives saved. Very importantly the spread of the virus to other regions and the wider world might have been less worse or even avoided.

Should China now face global demands to improve their viral prevention and containment practices?

In short - absolutely. China has now had four major virus epidemics in the country, all have turned into pandemics. It's obviously not any one individual's fault of course as to why these things happen but the Chinese government needs to do more. It's almost as though China experiences viral epidemics on a cyclical basis now, therefore they have a responsibility to their citizens and the wider world to start introducing measures that will prevent these outbreaks from occurring in the first instance, and when they do to have a prepared plan of defence to contain the outbreak. If they don't start to seriously introduce new measures then it is down to other governments in other countries to persuade China to do so and if they don't then sanctions should be imposed on China.

Is there a duty on China to pay global reparations for the coronavirus outbreak?

No there isn't. However, given that this is now the fourth serious virus outbreak China has experienced that has go ont to develop into a global pandemic perhaps there is a reasonable argument for China to provide financial reparations for the global devastation it has caused. It might seem harsh and it might be an unpopular matter to discuss but the damage to people, families and livelihoods across the world is considerable. And as this is now a pattern of events it is probably only a matter of time before China causes the world another crisis with another viral outbreak.