- Question
Will coronavirus change the world?
First encountered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 has spread rapidly within China and reached many other countries as well. COVID-19 is highly transmissible, with no vaccine or treatment currently available, and on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Will the coronavirus lead to an unprecedented global pandemic, as some experts predict? Or are warnings over the dangers of COVID-19 just fearmongering?
Coronavirus will not change the world significantly
This position holds that coronavirus would not significantly change the world, judging worst-case fears overblown. Made early in the outbreak, it argued a true global pandemic would be contained by concerted effort, and that most Covid-19 cases were mild with a low mortality rate.
Coronavirus will cause irreparable harm
This position holds that coronavirus will cause irreparable harm. It argues the pandemic will wreak havoc on the global population—killing many and proving impossible to contain—while devastating the economy and dividing people through fear and panic.
Coronavirus will teach the world valuable lessons
This position holds that coronavirus will teach the world valuable lessons. It accepts that the pandemic costs lives and resources, but argues it will also drive important progress — strengthening international scientific collaboration and prompting better, more far-sighted public health policies.