The COVID-19 Pandemic: Making Sense of Rumor and Fear Op-Ed
The COVID-19 Pandemic: Making Sense of Rumor and Fear Op-Ed
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DOI：
10.1080/01459740.2020.1745481
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发表时间：
2020-03-28
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Ali, Inayat
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ali, Inayat
First documented at the end of December 2019, the coronavirus spread with pace in January 2020 as China was about to celebrate New Year. The epicenter of the disease was the city of Wuhan, particularly in and near a live animal market which was subsequently closed.由于其基因与 SARS（爆发于 2003 年）相似，最初被称为“严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）”，2020 年 2 月 11 日，世界卫生组织（WHO）（2020a）将其命名为“COVID-19”。 In the first two months of the year, the virus extended from China to over 143 countries and territories (WHO 2020b);从那时起，它的传播呈指数级增长。世卫组织最初不愿宣布国际卫生紧急状态，“因为国外病例数量有限，而且还考虑到中国和中国当局目前为控制该疾病所做的努力”（世卫组织 2020c）。 By January 30, 2020, however, COVID-19 had been declared a global health emergency; 2020 年 3 月 11 日，它被宣布为全球大流行。随着病例、死亡和分布的惊人升级，此后在（自我）隔离、边境关闭、旅行禁令、宵禁、商品和服务供应中断以及宣传方面发生了很多事情。 The spread of the virus has had a substantial effect on the world economy. Each day brings new debates, discussions and disturbing developments.许多人陷入恐慌。 These factors provide fertile ground for rumors and conspiracy theories to go viral.社交媒体上充斥着各种争论和观点，包括关于没有禁止往返中国的旅行禁令，以及这种新病毒与另外两种毁灭性流行病——香港流感（1968-69年）和1918年西班牙流感之间的相似之处。历史上，在新旧传染病爆发期间出现了大量不同叙述的例子。在我目前关于 2012-13 年巴基斯坦信德省麻疹疫情的项目中，我观察并分析了当地和全球环境中不同利益相关者如何呈现不同的叙述（Ali 2020）。 Consecutive outbreaks resulted in over 20,000 clinically confirmed cases and hundreds of deaths (WHO 2013).正如我所记录的，这些疫情的爆发引起了当地人们的恐慌，否则他们会认为麻疹是童年时期不可避免的感染，同时也是一种神圣的疾病，需要进行特定的仪式。人们用死于麻疹的儿童尸体进行抗议，以引起政府和其他利益相关者的注意，以获得所需的药物。 After the protest, health officials provided an ambulance and a ward in a district headquarter hospital.病例和死亡人数的迅速增加引发了政治家、政府内部以及包括世界卫生组织和邻国在内的全球利益相关者之间关于疾病传播和控制的辩论（Ali 2020）。 Politicians wrote letters to the government and discussed the issue in parliament.各种谣言四处流传，包括上届政府使用了过期的疫苗，以及麻疹疫苗本身造成了严重的副作用和死亡。由于疫情的强度和规模，该国联邦监察员（2013）注意到相关利益相关者的低效率问题，据称这些利益相关者未能负责任地采取必要的病毒预防措施（巴基斯坦政府，2013）。 For this, the ombudsman constituted a committee to study the outbreaks.
First documented at the end of December 2019, the coronavirus spread with pace in January 2020 as China was about to celebrate New Year. The epicenter of the disease was the city of Wuhan, particularly in and near a live animal market which was subsequently closed. First called “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” due to its genetic similarity to SARS (the outbreak of which was in 2003), on February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO)(2020a) named it “COVID-19.” In the first two months of the year, the virus extended from China to over 143 countries and territories (WHO 2020b); since then, its spread has been exponential. WHO was initially reluctant to declare an international health emergency “because of [a] limited number of cases abroad, and also considering the efforts which are presently made by China, Chinese authorities, in order to try to contain the disease”(WHO 2020c). By January 30, 2020, however, COVID-19 had been declared a global health emergency; on March 11, 2020, it was declared a global pandemic.Along with the startling escalation of cases, deaths and distribution, much has happened since in terms of (self) quarantine, border closures, travel bans, curfews, the disruption of the supply of goods and services, and propaganda. The spread of the virus has had a substantial effect on the world economy. Each day brings new debates, discussions and disturbing developments. Many people are in a panic. These factors provide fertile ground for rumors and conspiracy theories to go viral. Social media is flooded with debates and opinions, including in relation to the absence of a ban on travel to and from China, and the parallels between this new virus and two other devasting epidemics–the Hong Kong Flu (1968–69) and the Spanish Flu of 1918. Historically, plenty of examples of different narratives emerge during outbreaks of new or old communicable diseases. In my current project on the measles outbreaks in Pakistan’s Sindh Province in 2012–13, I have observed and analyzed how different stakeholders in local and global settings present distinguishable narratives (Ali 2020). Consecutive outbreaks resulted in over 20,000 clinically confirmed cases and hundreds of deaths (WHO 2013). As I have documented, these outbreaks caused local panic among people who otherwise would have regarded measles as an inevitable infection of childhood and, concurrently, a sacred illness for which specific rituals were prescribed. People protested with the bodies of children who had died from measles in order to gain the attention of the government and other stakeholders to get the required medicine. After the protest, health officials provided an ambulance and a ward in a district headquarter hospital. The rapid increase in cases and deaths precipitated debates about disease transmission and control among politicians, within government, and among global stakeholders including the WHO and neighboring countries (Ali 2020). Politicians wrote letters to the government and discussed the issue in parliament. Various rumors circulated, including that the previous government had used an expired vaccine and that the measles vaccine itself was responsible for severe side effects and deaths. Because of the intensity and size of the outbreaks, the country’s federal ombudsman (2013) took suo moto notice to probe into the inefficiency of relevant stakeholders, who were alleged to have failed to act responsibly to take necessary preventive measures against the virus (Government of Pakistan 2013). For this, the ombudsman constituted a committee to study the outbreaks.