One year on since the WHO declared a global pandemic. And how much longer before it ends?
When the WHO declared a global pandemic on March 11th 2020, I thought maybe they were being over-cautious? Perhaps my optimistic view was partly from living in Asia for three years, narrowly missing two potential global pandemics. Having accepted a job in Kuala Lumpur in early February 2003, I quickly watched with concern about the outbreak of SARS in late February 2003. Although SARS had significant impact on five countries, including neighbouring Singapore, it was incredibly contained. By the time I started my job in August 2003, it was no longer a real problem. The second potential pandemic was "bird flu" which was hugely serious for millions of birds in South East Asia, but did not transmit to rapid spread in humans as feared. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the start of this coronavirus global pandemic. Most anniversaries of difficult events such as the loss of a job or loved one mark a stretch of time passing of remembrance, grief and adjustment. This yea