Wuhan is located at the convergence of the Yangtze and Han River, it was known as the cultural,

political, economic, educational and transportation hub in Central China. Eventually, it then became the
doorway of its neighboring provinces and a potential gateway for the rest of the world, having then
called “The Chicago of China”. Flagging its tourism into the international scene, the rich past and the
present history associates to their cultural museums, cuisines, artistic showcases and natural landscapes
that were frequently marketed to the tourists. Significantly as the capital of Hubei province, it developed
as a beaming metropolis for the Chinese community because of its pivotal role on domestic
transports. It can then be described as a thriving metropolis situated strategically at the core of China
and traced on the banks of Yangtze with its general population of census that is relatively big being
conglomerate within the nine provinces leading thoroughfare. Having to be located at the convergence
of the two rivers, it paved a way for the city to have a significant transportation hub that cartels to
waterway railroads, expressways and the dams that were built potentially in the area.
Pronouncedly early this year, the city of Wuhan battled through the novel coronavirus that
quickly spread through the broadcasts from the international news channels. It was suspected that it
rapidly spread through close contacts, particularly if the person has cough or colds that can be
transmitted through droplets of coughs and sneezes. Also with the primary investigation of the previous
case of SARS wherein this phenomenon had happened in 2003, similar circumstances of the human-to-
human transmission, the ramifications of the current disease lead to the conclusions that patients could
be triggered to severe if they have the factors of history to smoking, bacterial infection, high blood
pressure, diabetes, and old age. With the early identification, the fatalities then preceded to makeshift
hospitals of confirmed cases. Believing that the epicenter of the renamed disease as COVID-19 or
Coronavirus Disease 2019, was a bleak for Wuhan City, it then created fear and hysteria that echoes
through the viral contagion for the global health community.
Tracing it back to where it the infection has started, it was likely to believe and suspected that it
happened to be in one of the food markets in Wuhan, the Huanan Market. And though it was not found
precisely to be the evidence and all these markets are all over Asia, the Chinese officials firmed to close
the market. Associating it to the first cases of patients that were confined with COVID-19 were said to
have a history that came at the market before, the investigations found that the market was said to
believe that it was also a place wherein some animals and wildlife species were said to be sold as
cuisines. Knowing that when it is consumed they can transform further into a new virus once they get
into the human population that could possibly be highly contagious and deadly. Spiraling it to the
resemblance of getting into the thread of the social media phenomenon, it was reported that the
hypothesis of how it all started came from the bats that were sold as food, as to the several cases that
ties with the first investigation of the place of where it started, still the live animal market. With the
widespread information, it circulated through rumors of the Chinese cultural civilizations of the
presumed trait of live animals’ trade that provides conspiracy for the virus. Accepted to be true that the
virus was correlated to the markets in Wuhan, it is scientifically proven that viruses have the unusual
means to jump from one specie to another which for instance is the encounter of the animals, given the
bats and pangolins that were sold at the wet market. For the most parts of the Chinese region, these
markets are selling live animals to be slaughtered and sold for consumption on site. And knowing how
overpopulated the cages could be, this then could produce as the sources of disease with their blood
and meat mixed, before being passed from human to human. Leading to facts of the transmission of
bats to humans that are likely to be the original source, it was still of the complete mechanism of
transmission that was unknown which needs further evidence to see the link. But knowing that all the
while, their viruses are still mixing and mutating it further increases to the odds that it finds its way into
humans. With the regional government claiming that they have mitigated the shutdown of its presumed
source, the wet market. It is still delinquent for it to be present at any Asian countries with a culture of
selling these animals at markets. At highest risk, the start of the transmission might be from the
handling process where the wild animal has been taken out of its natural environment and consumed in
some way that comes into contact with people in an unnatural way.
With a city of more than 11 million people, wherein it is a relatively large city by population
making it the seventh largest city in China. It presents to the medical records as to when it first occurred
in December of 2019, wherein the first patients were assumed to have a pneumonia but of an unknown
cause. And initially, most of the patients were investigated through the cross species contamination as
to relying on their preceding visit or livelihood to be in the wet market. Similarly, subsequent cases have
begun to spread that quickly involved the healthcare workers that had been exposed to these patients
and likewise also to infect the family members of the patients that evidently raised the possibilities of
the human-to-human transmission.
As investigated, the initial infections were estimated to be as early as November of 2019 and
shown by its cause, after multiple infrequent cases that began to rapidly increase within the province of
Hubei, this then escalated across China that was reported to the World Health Organization. Making it
through the case of the human-to-human transmission, it is then demonstrated to happen across the
borders of China that rapidly spread through an extent overseas. Assumed that person is symptomatic,
it is then believed to be transmitted easily as well when they are sick. Having then individuals who may
be perceived as asymptomatic, there is still a risk of having them as the couriers of the virus leading to
the period of outbreak that approximately doubles the number of patients every week. Scientifically
explained, it seems that it happens through the respiratory droplets that primarily leads to contacts of
individuals that were sneezing and coughing that are similar to the indicators of respiratory viruses.
Aware that it can be transmitted via airborne within the vicinity of the contact, it most likely then entails
to close contact with the infected individual. Inevitably having some asymptomatic to the case,
transmissions could have resulted via fomites that can remain infectious even without direct contact
with the individuals who were positive of the case. Hence, its rapid spread could have resulted to public
spaces, facilities and items that could have been used by an unknown infected person. Understanding
how this is obtained by contamination, various public locations were identified to be a critical risk of
transmissions and spread the severity of the disease that prolongs the contamination of the virus. In
addition, the doctors examined that it can also be transmitted through a loose stool or the feces that
causes outbreak along its potential to contaminate hands, food, and the water that are probable to
cause infection when the microbes enter the mouth or eyes, or are inhaled. As further, it then causes
gastrointestinal infections that is correlated to the previous case of SARS that caused diarrhea in most
patients that primarily was infected by the feces as to be part of the transmission mechanism of the
COVID-19 case. Significantly, it is acknowledged that it is common to the Chinese community to have the
known the “squat latrine” methods in public restrooms. In which for instance, the standard public toilets
have toilet seat covers and the “squat latrines” does not have those, lacking covers that could be a
source of transmission. Subsequently, if their hands are not washed thoroughly with soap or sanitized
after visiting the bathroom, it is diagnosing with the contamination of virus.
With the World Health Organization that declared the new corona virus or COVID-19 as a public
health emergency, it has approximately hit 25 countries that reported confirmed positive cases of this
disease with a majority in numbers located in Hubei, China and the surrounding provinces. Being certain
that it is now inevitable, it eventually makes a critical record of spreading across countries. For that
reason, fatally now called pandemic, it is disease that escapes our control, sweeping across the world,
killing millions and changing civilizations that ventures through countries and streets being deserted as
to the people that fear for the infection. Probing it then, if one a half percent of the hundred-person
cluster were asymptomatic then it is certainly more infective as it spreads far more rapidly than the
previous case of SARS that makes it very difficult for the medical field to investigate on how to control it.
With that, the eventual extent of this pandemic has already struck over 80 countries, making each
individual susceptible as a possible courier of the infection. And with the current level of mortality rates
of the infected patients, it primarily means to an extent of a million deaths worldwide that was recorded
in the first wave of the virus despite of the fraught of the lockdown measures being implemented in
China.
Some journalists explained that the breadth of this outbreak is because of the authoritarianism
of China’s president, Xi Jinping with his massive state cover-up and the lack of press freedom in the
mainland. Presenting that there was an only doctor who tried to stand in the early days of the outbreak
as to being ultimately succumb to the disease was detained and told to be silent to the current public
health situation. The Chinese citizens did not have the mechanism to show the transparency to raise the
alarm about the outbreak that is happening within their country. In which one of China’s influence is the
pressure that it has put on the World Health Organization to be reluctant to call the Coronavirus
outbreak a pandemic because it would trigger panic for the rest of the world that does not put any
treatment for the outbreak control. Indicating that most diseases that are infecting mankind are caused
by a virus that began in a wild animal, it is left to humans that were set to make them into a living or
making businesses operating in wildlife/wet markets with impunity were already certainly across Asia
that could be run by organized crime syndicates who are still undercover giving gist that the global
pandemic could easily begin in one of those cages in the markets, that can be a prescription for a virus
to formulate again.
Knowing how quick the spread could be, this will require the full community response to the
urgency to make everybody understand that we are currently facing a global health challenge that can
be overcome and yet still limit its impact. Putting into conclusion all the facts that were gathered, it is
reasonably and scientifically explained by experts that there has to be an extensive testing to not
furtherly come with the scenario of having more millions being infected that puts up to more risk in
health systems being dangerously overloaded. Possibly, the human technology has made the pandemic
inevitable. With acts of deforestation for example, it brought up more wild animals into contact with
more humans and factory farming that has brought more opportunities for viruses that can be
combined into one that can infect the workforce who are in there. Detecting to the whereabouts of this
pandemic that has a high fatality rate, the situation is turning rather serious with the fatalities increasing
day by day. Shaping a measurable instance, it is crucial that the main responsibility is left to empower
the citizens, to act upon the prevention, respond and control the emerging viral threats thinking that
this is the only way to safeguard our health.
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