The Importance of Putting a Human Face on the Coronavirus Epidemic
In the past few days, the charts for new infections and deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic has made for some grim reading. Even as the number of new cases tapers off in mainland China, the number of new cases and deaths has jumped manyfold in Italy and across western Europe. The list of countries with infections is continuing to grow, with cases now being uncovered in countries that have less institutional and medical capacity to stem future spikes in new infections. As the World Health Organization declares a pandemic, countries are quickly shutting down borders to save themselves.
However, the way that new cases are being reported is unfortunately country-centric. In grouping new cases by countries in charts, media outlets inadvertently hammer into their audience the idea that countries ought both to be the unit of measure when it comes to an epidemic, and thus also the primary party in charge when it comes to taking whatever actions necessary to stem future increases in cases. Spikes in new cases are squarely blamed on the national government, tinged with negative racial stereotypes that blame greater instances of the disease on some sort of national culture.
Of course, there is no denying that there is some element of truth in the state's primacy in handling an epidemic. After all, the state has a monopoly on pooling necessary resources and taking emergency measures over its entire jurisdiction. Shutting down borders, quarantining entire cities, and concentrating resources on building new processes to detect and treat a new virus is simply not capable of private non-state actors, even if they are powerful multinational organizations like the United Nations or multinational corporations.
But at the same time, the emphasis on the primacy of the state risks slotting individual cases and regions into a bigger whole that covers up the uniqueness of each infection. The example of the cruise ship Diamond Princess is illustrative. While there is no doubt the Japanese authorities bungled the response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus onboard through its slow and hesitant response, the country is not entirely to blame for the rapid spread in the first place. The structure of a cruise ship that makes it an ideal place for a virus to spread has been proven in other ships since the Diamond Princess made headline news.
Given the uniqueness of many cases' advent and diffusion, it is necessary to tell their individual stories as much as possible, without automatically resorting to the narrative that the state is at fault for the failure of containment. The US-based TV network CNN deserves praise in this aspect for directly interviewing those who tested coronavirus, from the Diamond Princess and beyond. By giving normal people a platform to tell their own stories about the virus to an international audience, the network did its part to debunk the xenophobic myths that some countries and peoples are simply more prone to the virus because of who they are and where they are from.
And featuring individuals, rather than states, at the center of the coronavirus epidemic helps to negate the nation-centered idea that people in different countries are fundamentally different. By showing that people from every country often panic and fall ill in the same way, and then become emotionally distraught for the same reasons and lose the same things in life, a people-centered narrative helps the general public empathize across national and cultural borders. By driving home the message that coronavirus does not discriminate against different nations, cultures, and races in its spread, people of different backgrounds can support one another in ways that they often do not think of doing in times of peace.
On this particular note, the Economist was particularly strong with its obituary of Dr. Li Wenliang, the whistleblowing doctor who first warned the authorities about the outbreak of an unknown virus in the city of Wuhan. While the obituary has a political message of his being muzzled by the authorities, it also did much to celebrate him as a normal person, who was known for his oh-so-ordinary love of fried chicken, concerns about pay, and grumblings about working overtime in the best of times. By portraying Dr. Li as an ordinary person thrust into an extraordinary position, he became someone people around the world can identify with and eulogize.
Yet, as the number of cases rises dramatically across the world, it will become increasingly difficult to put a human face on the coronavirus. More cases symbolize that the weight of each case becomes less significant, and every circumstance that can possibly be had with an individual would already be profiled one way or the other. However, it is important to remember that an epidemic is fundamentally a collection of individual tragedies and not just a number assigned to each country. Only by remembering the individuals that suffer from the coronavirus can we go beyond a state-centered discussion of stereotypes and policy failures.
However, the way that new cases are being reported is unfortunately country-centric. In grouping new cases by countries in charts, media outlets inadvertently hammer into their audience the idea that countries ought both to be the unit of measure when it comes to an epidemic, and thus also the primary party in charge when it comes to taking whatever actions necessary to stem future increases in cases. Spikes in new cases are squarely blamed on the national government, tinged with negative racial stereotypes that blame greater instances of the disease on some sort of national culture.
Of course, there is no denying that there is some element of truth in the state's primacy in handling an epidemic. After all, the state has a monopoly on pooling necessary resources and taking emergency measures over its entire jurisdiction. Shutting down borders, quarantining entire cities, and concentrating resources on building new processes to detect and treat a new virus is simply not capable of private non-state actors, even if they are powerful multinational organizations like the United Nations or multinational corporations.
But at the same time, the emphasis on the primacy of the state risks slotting individual cases and regions into a bigger whole that covers up the uniqueness of each infection. The example of the cruise ship Diamond Princess is illustrative. While there is no doubt the Japanese authorities bungled the response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus onboard through its slow and hesitant response, the country is not entirely to blame for the rapid spread in the first place. The structure of a cruise ship that makes it an ideal place for a virus to spread has been proven in other ships since the Diamond Princess made headline news.
Given the uniqueness of many cases' advent and diffusion, it is necessary to tell their individual stories as much as possible, without automatically resorting to the narrative that the state is at fault for the failure of containment. The US-based TV network CNN deserves praise in this aspect for directly interviewing those who tested coronavirus, from the Diamond Princess and beyond. By giving normal people a platform to tell their own stories about the virus to an international audience, the network did its part to debunk the xenophobic myths that some countries and peoples are simply more prone to the virus because of who they are and where they are from.
And featuring individuals, rather than states, at the center of the coronavirus epidemic helps to negate the nation-centered idea that people in different countries are fundamentally different. By showing that people from every country often panic and fall ill in the same way, and then become emotionally distraught for the same reasons and lose the same things in life, a people-centered narrative helps the general public empathize across national and cultural borders. By driving home the message that coronavirus does not discriminate against different nations, cultures, and races in its spread, people of different backgrounds can support one another in ways that they often do not think of doing in times of peace.
On this particular note, the Economist was particularly strong with its obituary of Dr. Li Wenliang, the whistleblowing doctor who first warned the authorities about the outbreak of an unknown virus in the city of Wuhan. While the obituary has a political message of his being muzzled by the authorities, it also did much to celebrate him as a normal person, who was known for his oh-so-ordinary love of fried chicken, concerns about pay, and grumblings about working overtime in the best of times. By portraying Dr. Li as an ordinary person thrust into an extraordinary position, he became someone people around the world can identify with and eulogize.
Yet, as the number of cases rises dramatically across the world, it will become increasingly difficult to put a human face on the coronavirus. More cases symbolize that the weight of each case becomes less significant, and every circumstance that can possibly be had with an individual would already be profiled one way or the other. However, it is important to remember that an epidemic is fundamentally a collection of individual tragedies and not just a number assigned to each country. Only by remembering the individuals that suffer from the coronavirus can we go beyond a state-centered discussion of stereotypes and policy failures.
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