COVID-19: Impact on health of people and wealth of nations

The prophetic warning by the Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg that “the microbe that felled one child in a distant continent can reach yours today and seed a global pandemic tomorrow” has once again proved its relevance with the emergence of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as the latest pandemic that is affecting human health and economy across the world. As of February 29, 2020, a total of 85,403 confirmed cases and 2,838 deaths had taken place with no respite in geographical spread, mortality, morbidity and economic loss due to the virus. The data currently available indicate mild symptoms in almost 80 per cent of the infected individuals but higher vulnerability of the elderly, especially those with underlying medical condition. Various predictions have been made for the spread of COVID-19 including by a leading Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lips itch who warns that the corona virus will infect up to 70 per cent of humanity within a year.