Opinion | The coronavirus pandemic offers a chance to make the world safer and fairer

Although the Covid-19 epidemic in China shows signs of slowing, in the rest of the world, the crisis has barely begun.

With more than 200,000 confirmed cases in at least 145 countries and an incalculable number of asymptomatic carriers, the human race can expect a long battle against the coronavirus. People’s daily lives have been severely and inevitably affected. To turn the situation around, we must strictly and responsibly follow the precautions advised by epidemiologists and medical experts. The world must stand as one.

However, at a time when most governments are desperate to contain the virus, the British administration is taking a laissez-faire approach. The “herd immunity” strategy presented last week, a kind of social Darwinism in which the strongest survive, succeeded in infuriating citizens and triggering panic; it has since been replaced – by only somewhat stricter measures. A government that fails to act will only worsen the pandemic. Worse, as geopolitics heats up, we might be looking at global conflict.

The Covid-19 pandemic is leading to border closures and economic shutdowns across Asia, Europe and other affected areas. Global trade is being disrupted, and stock markets are collapsing. The world’s economy is falling into recession. Before we can begin to arrest the decline, we must reflect on some deep-seated problems.

In focusing on Covid-19, it is easy to miss the bigger picture. Yes, the first cluster outbreak was reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, and the Chinese government should be accountable for initially concealing the outbreak.

However, the Western world is also largely responsible for worsening the outbreak. US President Donald Trump has waged trade wars on different countries. The trade war with China was fought, in part, to force US companies to relocate production from China to other developing countries, or back to the US.