Covid-19 – An Unprecedented Crisis And Also A Tantalising Opportunity

Henry Kissinger, in one of his infrequent statements says, “When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, many countries’ institutions will be perceived as having failed. Whether this judgment is objectively fair is irrelevant. The reality is the world will never be the same after the coronavirus. To argue now about the past only makes it harder to do what has to be done.”

- Dr. Palitha Kohona

The changes being forced upon the world by COVID-19 can and must be viewed as the new opportunity, which will enable those who grasp it to evolve into a dynamic new global socio-economic environment. A challenging new landscape beckons, as underlined by Kissinger. The reality is that the world will never be the same after COVID-19. And those who aspire to survive and succeed must also make the clever choices in the major drama of our times.

I spent 15 years of my life in New York City, the throbbing heart of the American economy and the greased skateboard of the world economy. But today, it is eerily quiet. Even after 9/11, the city briefly faltered but recovered its swagger rapidly. But COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented and unmanageable crisis and the city is facing an unusual emptying after Governor Cuomo ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state.

New York hospitals are overwhelmed as COVID-19 cases soared to more than 222,000 and 14,500 deaths, accounting for more than 40 percent of America’s cases and 7 percent of the world’s. Alarmingly, the number is not going to remain static. (The US has recorded over 712,000 confirmed cases and 32,000 deaths, leaving China way behind). Afro-Americans account for over 70 percent of the infected.

The devastating mantel of COVID-19 are visible everywhere. The usual posies of fresh flowers, red roses, carnations, at the 9/11 Memorial, are missing. The sadly fluttering postcard-sized stars and stripes, abandoned behind a makeshift plastic railing, look forlorn and faded.

Broadway, the “Great White Way”, is missing its glitz. The subway system is eerily silent. Times Square, normally such a roiling mass of raucous humanity, is almost devoid of people.