How Fragile We Are
In less than 6 weeks since my truncated trip to Italy and at the time of
writing this Editorial (April 8, 2020), there are more than 1.5 million
reported cases and more than 85,000 deaths worldwide, and rising.1 Earlier today as I drove home listening to the radio
in my car, Sting was singing, “How fragile we are ”. As
I reflected on the lyrics, I became acutely aware that despite our
collective human ingenuity, scientific discoveries, and technological
advancements such as space travel, sequencing of the human genome,
massive live data acquisition and instant analysis, harnessing of these
data for artificial intelligence, live-connecting people across the
globe regardless of distance and time, and creating global economic
growth with trade, industry, and innovation we remain imminently
fragile and infinitely vulnerable. A previously unknown tiny enemy,
which belongs to a family of viruses that measure 120 nm,2 and carries a genome size ranging from approximately
27 to 34 kilobases, 3 suddenly challenged our globe
beyond our capacity to fight or control it. More than 182 countries are
in this battle, and world “super powers” such as China, Europe, and
the United States, with all their technologic might and economic power,
have been brought to their knees in their fight against this tiny unseen
enemy and continue to endure catastrophic loss of life. This pandemic
changed and continues to radically challenge life as we know it, across
the globe. All over the world, major cities look deserted, students
stopped attending schools and universities, travel restrictions abound,
restaurants and gyms closed, masked faces are everywhere we go, families
can only connect virtually rather than in person, and many people are
working remotely or not working at all. Sports events everywhere,
including the Olympics, are cancelled. Conferences and meetings across
the world are rescheduled or cancelled. Religious gatherings are mostly
online, and business or leisure travel came to a screeching halt. The
economy continues to experience a free fall as supply chains are
increasingly broken and markets face unabated decline. Our modern life
has been turned upside down by a nano-particle. In contemplating our
vulnerable and fragile existence, we all now have to reset our barometer
of humility. Our collective humility as humans will probably be an
essential weapon in this fight by enhancing our global collaboration and
coordination regardless of geography, nationality, economic power,
political system, social structure, or culture as we face this common
threat to our life and even our survival.