Practicing social distancing at the officially vulnerable age of 70 as far as practicable and hoping to keep Covid-19 at bay, I would rather not get into controversies. But the number of theories regarding Coronavirus now floating on the internet, and proliferating like the dreaded virus itself, compels me to speak.
Only one of the many “theories” now being peddled is genuine, the rest are either pseudo-theories or conspiracy theories. In the year 2020, the year of the Covid-19, the vast majority of us are wise enough to repose our trust in science and medicine, which is why we consult the doctor, listen to epidemiologists and virologists, run to the hospital and expectantly look forward to the discovery of a cure and a vaccine for this new, deadly virus.
For the only genuine, scientific theory, allow me to quote from Wikipedia: “Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can be mild, such as some cases of the common cold, and others that can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.
“Human coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s. The earliest ones studied were from human patients with the common cold, which were later named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43. Other human coronaviruses have since been identified, including SARS-CoV in 2003, HCoV NL63 in 2004, HKU1 in 2005, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. Most of these have involved serious respiratory tract infections.”
According to our conspiracy theorists, however, Covid-19 is either a Chinese or an American artifice to gain the upper hand in their new trade war.
Now, if this particular Coronavirus is a Chinese creation to hurt America, it has resulted in a severe self-inflicted wound on China itself with dire long-term consequences for the economy and reputation of the country. And if it is a wicked American invention, it has backfired in a very terrible way too. Americans are running scared and the country is probably heading for a deep recession, even a depression.
We know that biological warfare is for real. So, it is theoretically possible that the US or China (depending on one’s own warped worldview) created this deadly virus to let loose on the enemy. However, one fundamental rule which every creator of a virus would know is to create, at the same time, a vaccine as well as an antidote to the virus just in case it is accidentally released on its own people or arrives back on one’s own shores as a blowback.
It is obvious that the US has no vaccine and no cure for this virus and is presently clueless, which constitutes sufficient proof that this virus is not “made by CIA in USA”. Of all the developed countries of the world, the US has revealed itself as the least prepared for the pandemic. Nor did China seem prepared when the virus struck Wuhan, throwing the Chinese leadership into panic.
What Covid-19 has put in very sharp focus is the utter powerlessness of man before the forces of nature as well as the futility of talking science and reason to obscurantists, religious bigots and conspiracy theorists
Conspiracy theorists refer to the movie “Contagion” made in 2011, in which a fictional pandemic of a virus called MEV-1 kills between 25 and 30 per cent of those it infected. This is to suggest that someone somewhere knew about the virus being conceived.
The threat from viruses is nothing new. As far back as in 1958, Joshua Lederberg, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, had warned that viruses pose the greatest danger to mankind. So, the theme of the film was not the accidental revelation of a secret plan, or even science fiction, but based on scientific fact and foreboding.
Some vested interests have instigated xenophobic and crazy thugs to damage 5G phone masts in UK by falsely claiming that “the new network generates radiofrequency radiation that can damage DNA and lead to cancer; cause oxidative damage that can cause premature aging; disrupt cell metabolism; and potentially lead to other diseases through the generation of stress proteins.” This false narrative has neatly interweaved with the conspiracy theories around Covid-19.
Then, of course, there are the super villains, namely, the large, multinational pharmaceutical companies. They are alleged to have engaged in scare-mongering to sell their products. This theory is peddled by the far left, who blame it on these companies’ lust for super-profits.
Last but not least are those who believe that all natural catastrophes, including this pandemic, are the curse of God for our sins (“Ghazab-e-Elahi” for Muslims). All major religions, to a greater or lesser degree, believe that mankind has in the past, and again now, invited the wrath of God for his wayward ways.
According to them, the present pandemic is particularly punishing because man was beginning to think of himself as the master of the earth and of his own destiny. He was filled with conceit and arrogance. He spurned his creator and benefactor. Through this microscopic creature, namely, the Coronavirus, the creator has now turned the table on man, showing him who is the boss.
Members of the Tableeghi Jamaat have scoffed at the idea of social distancing, claiming to be immune from the virus as they dedicate themselves to the cause of God. In fact, they have been responsible for a very large proportion of the infections in Pakistan, India and Malaysia, anywhere from ten to thirty percent.
Similarly, Orthodox Jews in Israel, the Haredims (“God-fearing”), flout the rules of social distancing. The Orthodox-dominated suburb of West Jerusalem called Bnei Brak, has been declared to be a restricted zone as it has become a Covid-19 hotspot. Chaim Kanievsky, an influential rabbi, refused to close packed synagogues and religious seminaries, insisting that “the Torah protects and saves”.
Some evangelical Christians in USA, and Hindus and Sikhs in India, also flouted the rules of social distancing by congregating in churches and temples. But they did so to a far lesser degree than Muslims, in general, and the Tableeghi Jamaat, in particular.
What Covid-19 has put in very sharp focus is the utter powerlessness of man before the forces of nature as well as the futility of talking science and reason to obscurantists, religious bigots and conspiracy theorists.
It is not the first time that the forces of nature have revealed their awesome power. They do so rather often, in the form of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires and epidemics. But, in terms of sheer scale and spread, Covid-19 is unlike anything that mankind has seen since the Influenza of 1918-20, which killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people. But that is an event beyond our living memory.
Mankind will recover from Covid-19, rather humbled from the experience. Science and medicine will forge ahead in the service of mankind. But like viruses, obscurantism will survive and conspiracy theories will mutate. For every onset of the likes of a Covid-(20)19, there will be the equivalent of Stupid-2020, in the form of conspiracy theories and obscurantist nonsense.
The author is a former academic with a doctorate in modern history. He may be contacted at raziazmi@hotmail.com